Chapter 196 The Deepest Hidden Chess

Minghua Hall, Tianxiang Pavilion.

Xue Qingyao listened to the news that Biyu had inquired about, and raised his eyebrows calmly, "Are you saying that King Xian's men are about to break into the palace?"

As she spoke, she involuntarily glanced towards the corner where the bronze tripod was hidden.

During this time, the insects were raised by her to be plump and round. It all depended on whether Murong Ye's rebellion today could succeed.

If successful, the lover dragon will be planted on Murong Ye.

If he fails, the lover dragon will be planted on Murong Che.

No matter what the outcome today is, she can attack or defend.

Seeing that she was not panicking at all, Biyu nodded her head vigorously and said, "My Lord, the queens in all the palaces are all frightened. Aren't you worried that the King Xian will break in?"

"The emperor is in the palace, so we don't have to panic." Xue Qingyao glanced at her and calmly took a sip of tea. "You don't have to run outside anymore. Stay here and wait for news. If you encounter the rebels who attack us, you might die without knowing how!"

Biyu shrank her neck, "Okay, I will listen to you, Master! Now we will close the gate of Minghua Palace tightly! So that the rebels can't get in!"

Xue Qingyao reached out to the charcoal brazier to keep warm, feeling uncontrollably proud.

She had it all planned out. When her lover's snake took effect, the first person she would kill would be Xue Youli.

This woman must die at her hands!

…

Cining Temple.

"Empress Dowager, something terrible has happened!"

Li Ma, an old lady over fifty years old, ran into the Buddhist temple breathlessly and reported to Queen Mother Yin, "Prince Xian has rebelled and forced the palace to abdicate! He brought a lot of troops and surrounded the entire palace! What should we do?"

Queen Mother Yin paused while holding the rosary, then slowly opened her eyes, "Prince Xian rebelled?"

"Yes!" Nanny Li stood behind Queen Mother Yin, her face full of worry, "I heard that Prince Xian's men are ramming the palace gate. Once the palace gate is broken open, won't we have no chance of survival?"

Queen Mother Yin slowly raised her head, her eyes clearly fixed on the Buddha statue in front of her, but she seemed to be looking at a place far away, "Did the princess return to the capital?"

Nanny Li was stunned. She never expected that Empress Dowager Yin, who had been away from the court and worshipping Buddha in the harem, could immediately guess the most direct reason that prompted Murong Ye to rebel.

She hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded. "I did hear a rumor that the 100,000-strong army from the Northern Frontier is on its way to the capital! This rumor must have been spread deliberately by the virtuous king to shake our morale. The Northern Frontier is so far away, how can a 100,000-strong army just come here as it pleases?"

However, Queen Mother Yin knew very well that Murong Ye was a cautious man and never fought a battle without preparation.

Since he dared to choose this time to attack the imperial city, he must have consulted his elder sister Murong Mian.

But she also believed in her son. Murong Che was no fool, as he was able to secure the throne and quell the war in Nanzhao in such a short time.

From the moment Murong Ye woke up in the Imperial Hospital and left the palace, Murong Che should have guessed that Murong Ye would not let it go.

The son whom she helped to ascend the throne was capable of shouldering the responsibility of being the ruler of the world, so he would naturally find a way to resolve the matter.

Thinking of this, Queen Mother Yin said slowly, "This is not something you and I should worry about. Go out and tell everyone in Cining Palace not to leave without my order. If anyone dares to disobey my will, they will be considered as accomplices of King Xian and will be thrown into the prison!"

"I will obey the Queen Mother's order!"

When Nanny Li heard this, her hands tucked into her sleeves trembled.

But the next moment, she made up her mind, clenched the handkerchief in her hand and wanted to cover Empress Dowager Yin's face.

However, since Empress Dowager Yin was facing the Buddha statue, she was standing some distance away from Empress Dowager Yin.

Nanny Li gestured at the back of Empress Dowager Yin's head for a while, and when she saw that she couldn't reach Empress Dowager Yin's mouth and nose, she was about to take two steps forward.

At this moment, the clear voice of the little palace maid came from outside.

"I have met Concubine Xue! The Empress Dowager is worshipping Buddha. I will go and report to her."

Nanny Li was guilty to begin with, and she was frightened by the sudden noise outside, and her handkerchief slipped off her sleeve.

Nanny Li was startled and reached out to grab the handkerchief.

Unexpectedly, Empress Dowager Yin heard the noise outside and turned to look at her, "Madame Li, please help me go out and take a look. Concubine Xue must have come here for something."

Nanny Li glanced down at the handkerchief that had fallen at her feet and replied with gritted teeth, "...Yes."

She held Empress Dowager Yin's arms with both hands and helped her up from the mat.

"I pay my respects to the Empress Dowager."

Xue Youli entered the Buddhist hall and immediately bowed to Queen Mother Yin.

She lowered her eyes and pretended to look at Li Ma's feet casually, "Eh? Li Ma, your handkerchief fell off."

Nanny Li was startled, and then followed her gaze and looked down at her feet, "Oh! I am so foolish, how could I have accidentally dropped the handkerchief?"

As she spoke, she bent down to pick up the handkerchief on the ground.

"Wait a moment!"

Xue Youli suddenly spoke up, stopping her from moving. "Why do I feel like there's something wrong with this handkerchief?"

Nanny Li was greatly alarmed and hurriedly grabbed the handkerchief on the ground and tried to stuff it into her sleeve.

Unfortunately, she was still a step too slow. Xue Youli saw through her intention and snatched the handkerchief from her hand. "Huh? Why is this handkerchief wet?"

While talking, Xue Youli brought the handkerchief under his nose again, sniffed it carefully, and then showed a shocked expression, "It seems that there is a drug on this handkerchief."

"You, you're talking nonsense!" Nanny Li's evil thoughts were exposed, and her face turned pale, but she still denied it, "I have been with the Empress Dowager for most of my life, how could I use drugs to harm the Empress Dowager?"

Xue Youli did not miss the flash of panic in her eyes. "Madame Li, I never told you that you were going to murder the Empress Dowager. Why don't you confess now?"

"I,!"

Nanny Li was stumped by Xue Youli's question and was speechless for a moment.

Her eyes rolled, and she quickly knelt on the ground, expressing her loyalty to Queen Mother Yin, "Queen Mother, others may not understand me, but don't you know what kind of person I am? I have served you for decades and have been loyal to you. Please don't be provoked by those with ulterior motives!"

"Madame Li, there's no one else here, so there's no need for us to beat around the bush."

Xue Youli didn't want to waste time with her, so she handed the soaked handkerchief in her hand to Queen Mother Yin, "Queen Mother, I am not talented, but I know a little about medicine. I can smell that there is a very strong drug on this wet handkerchief. As long as someone inhales a little, they will fall into a coma. Before I came in, there were only you and Nanny Li in the Buddhist hall. What do you think Nanny Li was gesticulating behind you with a handkerchief soaked with drugs for no reason?"

"This old slave is innocent!"

Nanny Li had never expected that Xue Youli would actually see her attempt to attack the Queen Mother. She could only kneel down in front of the Queen Mother Yin and loudly plead for justice, "Queen Mother, my loyalty to you is known to all! Please, Queen Mother, see clearly!"

Empress Dowager Yin looked at Nanny Li who was kowtowing to her with a complicated expression, and her heart was as clear as a mirror.

When King Hyeon rebelled, the people he had planted in the harem would inevitably look for opportunities to create chaos.

She was unwilling to believe from the bottom of her heart that Nanny Li, who had followed her for many years, was actually the King's woman.

However, with Xue Youli's status, it is impossible for her to get along with an old mother.

"Pei Rong, when you entered the palace, I gave you your name. Fifteen years ago, I was afraid that you would grow old and have no one to rely on in the palace, so I pardoned you and allowed you to get married and have children. You have been married for six years, and you came back to tell me that your husband died of illness, and you, a widow, had no way to make a living outside the palace, so you begged me to take you in. I let you stay with me. Is this how you repay me?"

Queen Mother Yin entered the palace when she was in her teens and had worked her way up the harem for so many years. The fact that she was able to sit on the position of Queen Mother showed how scheming and resourceful she was.

How could Empress Dowager Yin not have trusted Nanny Li and not have noticed her abnormality?

Nanny Li shuddered, knowing that she could not hide anything from the Queen Mother, so she kowtowed to her desperately, "Queen Mother, I was wrong! I deserve death! But I have no choice, my son is in the hands of the King Xian, if I don't do what he says, he will kill my son! You are also a mother, you must know that a son is the apple of a mother's eye! I don't deserve to die, I just beg you to have mercy on my poor son!"

Xue Youli looked at Nanny Li crying bitterly and said slowly, "Your son died of illness nine years ago. At that time, you took your son to seek medical treatment everywhere and met Murong Ye, who was about ten years old. He recognized that you were a maidservant of the Empress Dowager, so he deliberately took your son away and forced you to enter the palace to be his spy at the risk of your son's life. All these years, the boy that Murong Ye asked you to see was someone he randomly found from the Charity Bureau to fool you. He was not your son at all!"

These were also what Xue Youli found out from the Book of Heavenly Secrets.

She then realized that Nanny Li was the most hidden chess piece.

In order to control Nanny Li, Murong Ye deliberately found a boy of similar age to pretend to be her son after her son died of illness.

Nanny Li couldn't understand such words and shook her head vigorously. "No, it's impossible! My son is still alive! He is still alive! Last month I received a pair of earrings that he bought for me with his own savings. He must still be alive! Don't try to fool me!"

Xue Youming understood her feelings. After all, no mother could accept the news that the son she had raised for many years had actually passed away many years ago.

"Mother and child are connected by heart. You have already discovered that the child does not look like your son. You have been deceiving yourself all these years."

"No! My son is not dead! The child that King Hyun raised is my son!"

Queen Mother Yin looked at Nanny Li who was arguing with Xue Youli, her eyes showing disappointment and heartache, "Pei Rong, if Concubine Xue hadn't shown up in time, would you really have planned to harm me?"

Li Peirong entered the palace with her, and the master-servant relationship that had lasted for so many years would eventually come to an end.

Nanny Li looked up at Queen Mother Yin, her pupils trembled, and she kowtowed to her several times, "Queen Mother, Prince Xian has promised me that you are also his mother. He only wants to use your life to threaten the Emperor, and will never hurt you! I know it's too late to say anything now... I have betrayed your trust, and today I can only die to atone for my sins!"

After saying that, before anyone could react, she rushed to the wall and slammed her head against it.

Bang!

With a terrifying muffled sound, Nanny Li fell to the ground, with sticky blood slowly flowing down her forehead.

Nanny Li weakly supported herself on the ground with her elbows and tried her best to crawl towards Empress Dowager Yin bit by bit using all her strength.

She opened her mouth and cried, "Empress Dowager, I am so sorry... I actually know that the child is not my Dong'er... He doesn't have a mole on his neck... He doesn't have a mole... I will go find Dong'er now... Find him... Please take care of yourself in the future... Don't let me get angry and hurt you..."

When Nanny Li saw that the tassels on Empress Dowager Yin's feet were messy, she reached out to help her tidy them up, but then she thought of retracting her hand as she was afraid of dirtying the uppers of Empress Dowager Yin's shoes because her hands were covered in dust.

Her hand had only shrunk halfway before it dropped heavily, her head tilted to the side, and she looked completely lifeless.

Empress Dowager Yin looked at Nanny Li, who was already lifeless on the ground, closed her red eyes, and let out a long sigh.

After a while, she opened her eyes and her expression had regained its composure. She said directly to the outside, "Madame Li accidentally broke her head when she fell, and died before the imperial physician could see her. I appreciate her hard work and great contributions over the years, so please give her a proper burial."

After the palace servants carried Nanny Li's body out, Queen Mother Yin turned her head and looked at Xue Youli, her tone softer than ever before, "Xue Fei, you saved my life today, I owe you a favor."

Once she falls into Murong Ye's hands, Murong Che will be concerned about her life and will have to be cautious when confronting Murong Ye. Then Murong Ye's chances of success in the rebellion will be even greater!

When he obtains the throne, even if he does not kill Queen Mother Yin immediately, he will at least keep her under house arrest in the harem.

After a while, she can be killed by any excuse.

Xue Youli met her admiring gaze and smiled slightly, "The Empress Dowager's safety is the most important thing to me and His Majesty. I'm sorry that the Empress Dowager was frightened today. You should have a good rest. I will take my leave now."

Queen Mother Yin nodded and said, "Go and get busy. There has to be someone in the harem to take charge of the overall situation."

By saying this, she acknowledged Xue Youli's ability.

Not long after Xue Youli left, a panicked voice was heard from outside the door of Cining Palace.

"Aunt! Aunt! Open the door!"