"She was partly responsible for the tragic deaths of your maternal grandfather's family; you must never forget that she and you, and I, are sworn enemies with a blood feud that cannot be reconciled!"

The doll clutched tightly in the queen's hand was crumpled into a ball, and the doll's features, embroidered with silk threads, were as distorted as her own face. Between her lips and teeth, which she was grinding together, one could almost hear the "clucking" sound of her biting into the flesh of her enemy.

"Promise me!" The Empress now fully revealed her terrifying dark side. Like a demon from hell, she stared fiercely at Shang Dongyang: "When you succeed in your great cause, you must personally deal with her, skin her alive, tear out her tendons, and cut her into a thousand pieces, making her suffer all the pain and torment in the world until she dies! Only in this way can you comfort the heroic souls of your maternal grandfather and quell the hatred in my heart!"

Shang Dongyang felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, making his whole body feel cold. He quickly clasped his hands and replied, "Your son understands. Your subject will follow Your Majesty's teachings." Then he slipped away.

As he was leaving, Shang Dongyang inexplicably thought of the bandit's face, which always seemed to have a bright and cheerful smile. A thought suddenly popped into his mind: his future crown princess and empress should be such bright and warm women.

Women like his mother and the Empress Dowager are certainly very helpful allies;

But it's truly terrifying to be the person you share your bed with day and night.

I wouldn't dare to sleep soundly with a woman like that!

Who knows, one night while she's asleep, she might wake up and stab him in the back?

As evening approached, the banquet in the banquet hall was drawing to a close.

After Emperor Shang Xiche left his seat with a sullen face, the others also left one after another, calling to their children as they prepared to go home.

The bodyguards accompanying Ji Fengyao had already reported to Shang Xiye during the banquet that the Empress Dowager might invite Ji Fengyao to have dinner at Cining Palace, which was likely a trap.

As Shang Xiye emerged from the banquet hall, a eunuch from Cixi Palace was indeed waiting for him.

Upon seeing Shang Xiye emerge, the eunuch respectfully stepped forward, bowed to him, and said, "This servant greets Your Highness. Your Highness, the Empress Dowager and Princess Chonghe had a very pleasant conversation and therefore invited the Princess to dine with her. She has specially ordered this servant to wait here for Your Highness and invites Your Highness to join us for dinner."

Shang Xiye nodded, and together with Wuying and the eunuch, they went to Cixi Palace.

This wasn't their first time at Cixi Palace; Shang Xiye and Wuying both knew the way.

However, shortly after they entered Cining Palace, Shang Xiye and Wuying discovered that although they were heading in the right direction, the surrounding buildings and scenery were all unfamiliar.

Just as Wuying strode forward, intending to grab the eunuch leading the way to ask him what was going on, his hand grasped nothing.

"A phantom?" Shang Xiye frowned slightly. "It was that person from the palace who made the move."

"Your Highness, what should we do?" Wu Ying asked, as if facing a formidable enemy: "The Princess Consort is in Cining Palace. Could she have also fallen into a trap?"

"It shouldn't be, Your Highness and I..."

Before Shang Xiye could finish speaking, she suddenly smelled a strange fragrance. She quickly held her breath and telepathically told Wuying, "Hold your breath! It's poisonous!"

"They were right to poison us. They don't know that our princess is a master of poisons," Wu Ying joked with a smile, taking an antidote pill that Ji Fengyao had processed and refined and tossing it into his mouth as if it were a game.

Mentioning his wife, a gentle smile appeared on Shang Xiye's handsome face as he took an antidote pill.

"Uh..."

Just then, a woman's voice could be faintly heard coming from a house not far away.