Meanwhile, the emperor, hiding in the shadows, was practically spitting fire in his eyes.
After witnessing Zhou Jing'an holding Jian Yang's hand and smelling and kissing it, his rationality was about to be completely burned away.
But he kept telling himself with strong willpower that a small act of impatience could ruin a great plan. Jian Yang was dealing with Zhou Jing'an at the moment, and he could not ruin the important matter because of a moment of anger.
However, when he saw the two of them heading towards the bed, the last string he had been holding onto snapped.
Without thinking, the emperor prepared to rush into the room, but Jian Hong held him back tightly.
"Your Majesty!" Jian Hong said in a low voice, "Please calm down. This is all A Yang's scheme. She is very capable and would never let herself suffer a loss."
"How can I remain calm in this situation?!"
Seeing his beloved woman entangled with other men would be unbearable for any man, let alone an emperor.
Jian Hong advised, "A-Yang made this sacrifice for Your Majesty. Do you really want to ruin her plans with your own hands?"
The emperor clenched his teeth tightly, feeling particularly distressed and heartbroken because he knew Jian Yang was trying to help him.
"It is my fault for being useless, repeatedly pushing A-Yang into dangerous situations."
He ultimately chose to remain silent.
Jian Hong breathed a sigh of relief and kindly advised, "Since Your Majesty understands A Yang's good intentions and sacrifices, then this humble subject has a request that may be made to Your Majesty."
The emperor swallowed the bitterness in his heart and nodded, saying, "Speak."
Jian Hong said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, I have no intention of offending you. But last time, the secret guards I sent to protect Your Majesty told me that A Yang left the palace because she was jealous of the concubines in the harem."
Your Majesty understands that bringing this up now is inappropriate, but since the matter has come to this point, I hope that after the Second Prince is overthrown, Your Majesty will grant A-Yang her freedom as soon as possible.”
The emperor looked at him in astonishment and asked, puzzled, "What do you mean by that?"
Jian Hong sighed and said, "A-Yang has no mother since she was a child. As her elder brother, I have been stationed at the border all these years and have never fulfilled my responsibilities as the eldest brother. I know that it is impossible for Your Majesty to dismiss the harem, so I want to protect my sister."
The emperor's expression tightened, and he said in a deep voice, "A-Yang doesn't trust me, and you don't trust me either. Do you both want me to become a lonely figure?"
Jian Hong suddenly raised his eyes: "Does Your Majesty mean that you are willing to disband the harem for A Yang's sake?"
The emperor said decisively, "That's right."
Before Jian Hong could speak, he saw a woman dressed in jewels leading a group of people rushing towards Jian Yang's room.
The two quickly fell silent.
Upon seeing the woman's face clearly, the emperor slightly curled his lips and said, "This is the second prince's concubine. This is going to be interesting."
"Let me in!" the woman shouted angrily.
The guard at the door said with great difficulty, "Madam Yan, His Highness is not at a convenient time."
Zhou Jing'an has not yet taken a principal wife, but he has many concubines, the most favored of whom is the lady Yan in front of him.
However, these concubines were usually kept in a separate courtyard. Zhou Jing'an was cautious by nature and never allowed these women to live in his prince's residence.
However, Madam Yan somehow heard that Zhou Jing'an was keeping a woman in his mansion. Since she couldn't find out about the woman's family background, she thought the woman was weak and easy to bully. So she led her servants to kill her.
Madam Yan retorted angrily, "What do you mean by inconvenient? It's obvious that His Highness is having a secret rendezvous with that vixen here!"
Jian Yang had already helped Zhou Jing'an onto the bed and naturally heard the commotion outside the door.
At this point, the effects of the drug had taken hold, and Zhou Jing'an began to ramble incoherently.
However, his hands were anything but honest, grabbing Jian Yang and trying to touch her all over.
Jian Yang resisted the urge to poison him with a handful of powder and deliberately leaned close to his ear to ask, "Your Highness, where is the key to open the artificial mountain mechanism?"
Zhou Jing'an was completely bewildered. When someone asked him a question, he answered without thinking, "Naturally, it's on me."
Jian Yang coaxed again, "Then how about I take a look?"
Zhou Jing'an reached into his sleeve pocket to rummage, but his hands were no longer under his control, and he couldn't find anything after rummaging for a long time.
Annoyed by what Jian Yang saw, she took matters into her own hands and ended up pulling out a strangely shaped token.
The token is made of brass and has no inscriptions, only a tassel hanging from it.
"What the hell!" Jian Yang was a little angry, and reached into Zhou Jing'an's sleeve pocket again to rummage around, but there was nothing else in Zhou Jing'an's sleeve pocket except for the token.
At this moment, Madam Yan was not only making a scene outside, but it also seemed that she wanted to force her way in, which made Jian Yang panic.
Worried that Madam Yan might burst in at any moment, Jian Yang stuffed the token back into Zhou Jing'an's sleeve and quickly searched his entire body, but still couldn't find the key.
"You bunch of dog slaves, if you stop me today, His Highness will beat you all to death one day!" Madam Yan cursed.
"Madam, His Highness is indeed unwell. Please return." The guard said with great difficulty.
Madam Yan was not about to give up. She pointed to her belly and said, "Let me tell you the truth, you dog servants. I am carrying His Highness's child. The position of Princess Consort will surely be mine one day. If you dare to stop me, none of you will have an easy time in the future!"
The guards at the gate were all surprised when they heard that she was pregnant with Zhou Jing'an's child.
If this is true, if we offend Madam Yan today, not only will she seek revenge in the future, but the Second Prince will also likely not let us servants off the hook.
The two guards at the gate looked at each other for a moment, then each stepped aside to make way for a path.
Madam Yan pushed open the door.
At the same moment, after much deliberation, Jian Yang finally took out the token from Zhou Jing'an's sleeve again.
As soon as Madam Yan entered the room, she saw Jian Yang standing by the bed with his back to her, while Zhou Jing'an lay on the bed.
She was immediately consumed by rage, strode forward and shoved Jian Yang aside, cursing, "You vixen, how dare you seduce the Second Prince! I'll beat you to death!"
As she spoke, she raised her hand to slap Jian Yang.
Jian Yang glared at her coldly, her eyes sharp and intimidating, which startled Madam Yan into pausing.
She was just a concubine and had never seen the Empress, but Jian Yang's eyes were so terrifying that they made her feel fearful.
"Take him and get out!" Jian Yang coldly rebuked.
Just then, Hongguo rushed in and immediately stood in front of Jian Yang, giving Madam Yan a sharp look.
Hongguo had been serving Zhou Jing'an. Seeing this, Madam Yan knew she couldn't afford to offend the woman in front of her, so she snorted and ordered her servants to drag Zhou Jing'an out of Jian Yang's room.
After Madam Yan left, Hongguo immediately knelt down and apologized: "Your Majesty the Empress was frightened. Please forgive me!"
Jian Yang said with tears in her eyes, "Please leave. I want to be alone."
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