Inside the Linhua Palace, the flickering candlelight creates a luxurious yet somewhat chilling atmosphere.
The young eunuch knelt in the hall with his head lowered and reported everything that happened in the court today without missing a word.
Concubine Shu sat in front of the bronze mirror, listening quietly, the corners of her lips slightly raised, and then she gently waved her hand: "Retreat."
Nanny Zhao stepped forward and asked tentatively, "Your Majesty, what should we do if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince still disagrees with this marriage?"
Concubine Shu was adjusting her hair accessories in front of the mirror, and her fingertips gently stroked the phoenix hairpin, and golden light flickered between her white fingers.
She smiled brightly, confident: "Whether he agrees or not, it's all good for me."
Aunt Zhao was stunned and frowned in confusion, "This...what did the Queen say?"
Concubine Shu's eyes turned slightly, and her fingers gently moved the tassels on the phoenix hairpin, and she said slowly,
"If he agrees to send Yuan Zhao to marry, then he will completely break away from Huo Yan. The three of them will no longer be of the same mind. In this way, if we want to get rid of one or two of them..." She smiled lightly, a hint of coldness flashing in her eyes, "Wouldn't it be much easier?"
"What if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince disagrees?"
Concubine Shu's smile did not fade, she shook her head, her voice a little nonchalant.
"If I don't agree, I'll lose the support of my subjects and the people... Thanks to the new king of Northern Qiang, the conditions offered are so generous... Yuan Cheng is destined to be unable to refuse this position."
She sighed softly, "Unless... he doesn't want to be the crown prince anymore."
Concubine Shu slowly raised her eyes, her gaze fell on herself in the mirror, and a sneer appeared on her face.
Her fingertips rested on the phoenix hairpin, but there was a hint of murderous intent in her eyes.
After a moment, she asked, "Where did your Majesty go after court?"
Nanny Zhao hesitated for a moment, opened her mouth, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.
Seeing her like this, Concubine Shu's eyes turned cold and she sneered, "It's Changchun Palace again, right?"
Madam Zhao nodded helplessly and said softly, "Yes, Your Majesty has been going to Changchun Palace for a while every few days recently."
The phoenix hairpin in Concubine Shu's hand slammed onto the table with a "snap". The coldness in her eyes deepened instantly, and the smile on her face completely disappeared.
After a moment, she suddenly swept the bead box beside her to the ground, and the pearls rolled all over the floor with a crisp sound.
"Eternal Spring Palace... Ha." She snorted softly, a hint of cold hatred in her eyes, "Forget it... Since I can't get his love, then the throne must belong to Heng'er!"
Speaking of Yuan Heng, Nanny Zhao sighed slightly, "Your Majesty... His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin has written to you several times, urging you to stop, otherwise it will not only harm the Prince of Jin, but also your Majesty..."
"What do you know?!" Concubine Shu shouted angrily, "Whether Heng'er is willing or not! I can't let Shen Yian's son become emperor!"
“I want Shen Yian’s son and daughter to have no good ending!”
Madam Zhao fell silent for a moment, not daring to persuade her any further. She quickly said, "Your Majesty, be careful with your words! Be careful with your words!"
At this time, a palace maid came in hurriedly and asked for a meeting.
Concubine Shu calmed down her anger and let the maid in. "What's the matter?"
The maid looked around to make sure there was no one else in the palace before whispering to Concubine Shu,
"My Queen, the people from the Northwest have arrived and are waiting for you in the secret room!"
Concubine Shu calmed down and regained her arrogant expression. She picked up a piece of rice paper on the table and took Madam Zhao to a side hall.
In the side hall, there was a secret room where a masked man was waiting.
Seeing Concubine Shu coming, the masked man took out his token. Concubine Shu confirmed that it was correct and handed the thing in her hand to him.
"This is a portrait of Yuan Zhao and her children. If you catch one of them, you can threaten Huo Yan."
The masked man opened the scroll, confirmed the content of the painting, and took out something from his pocket and handed it to Concubine Shu.
"Once this enters the body, it will gradually absorb the person's vital energy, causing them to show signs of weakness, and after three months, they will die completely."
Concubine Shu held the jade porcelain bottle with a frown on her face.
Seeing her hesitation, the masked man advised, "If you want to achieve great things, you must be ruthless."
Then, he didn't stay any longer and disappeared quickly.
Concubine Shu stood there, staring at the jade porcelain bottle in front of her, her eyes deep.
…
Yuan Cheng returned to the East Palace and as soon as he entered the study, he picked up the teacup on the table and threw it to the ground.
Song Yunci heard the noise in the study and hurried over.
When I opened the door, I saw Yuan Cheng's face full of anger.
She slowly approached, and before she could speak, Yuan Cheng looked up and saw her. His expression froze, and he quickly took a step forward and carefully helped her sit down.
"You are heavy, why are you running here?"
Song Yunci shook her head slightly, worry in her eyes: "Your Highness, do you have any ideas?"
She had also heard about the marriage proposal in the court.
Yuan Cheng sat beside her, rubbing his brow. "Duota...first they kidnapped Zhaozhao and held her captive. Now they're sending a betrothal gift and asking for marriage. This is clearly a threat!"
He gritted his teeth and said, "How can Zhao Zhao marry such a person?"
He paused after saying this, his expression showing a hint of pain and uneasiness: "What's more, there's A Yan... and those children..."
This situation was really difficult to solve. Yuan Cheng was at a loss for a moment and could only sigh.
"I can only send a letter to inform A Yan and Zhao Zhao first. I will stabilize the capital first."
After saying that, he spread out the paper and pen, and wrote quickly, filling the entire sheet with dense handwriting.
After finishing the letters to Huo Yan and Yuan Zhao, he took out new letter paper and wrote another one.
Song Yunci looked at him and couldn't help asking, "Who is this letter... for?"
Yuan Cheng did not hide anything and said calmly, "Ah Heng."
Song Yunci nodded and didn't ask any more questions. She just stayed with him quietly.
After Yuan Cheng sealed the letter and handed it to his subordinate, she looked at his tired face and sighed softly, "Your Highness has done his best."
Yuan Cheng sat back down beside her, reached out and gently stroked her belly, feeling the subtle rise and fall of the fetus's movements.
His eyes softened a bit, and he raised his hand and gently touched the top of her head, his voice low and deep,
"I'm afraid things won't be peaceful for a while... You don't have to worry about anything. Just take good care of yourself and give birth to the baby safely."
Song Yunci looked at him and saw the worry in his eyes.
"You let Xuan'er go with A Yan because you were afraid..."
Yuan Cheng held her hand tightly, a little too hard, "I'm just afraid..."
His other hand was still on her slightly bulging pregnant belly, confirming the little life inside, but his heart was filled with indescribable bitterness.
"As long as you're by my side, I'm not afraid... But I can't let this road take our entire family down."
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