Jian Yang suddenly raised her head.
Judging from his statement, could it be that the emperor himself came last night?
Although she quickly composed herself, Zhou Jing'an could still detect fear and worry in her eyes.
He curled his lips into a smile and took out his token from his sleeve, playing with it.
"I have come to bother Your Majesty today to inform you that I have found this token."
Jian Yang's heart trembled when she saw the familiar token in his hand.
She didn't have time to care whether the emperor had obtained the account book or not; all she wanted to know was whether the emperor was safe and sound.
"Then congratulations, Your Highness." Jian Yang forced a smile, then pretended to be nonchalant. "I heard that the Prince's residence was attacked by an assassin last night. I wonder if the assassin has been caught?"
Zhou Jing'an smiled and shook his head, saying, "Although we didn't catch the assassin, he was chased to the point of no return by my guards and eventually fell off a cliff to his death."
Upon hearing this, Jian Yang's face drained of color, and her heart nearly stopped beating.
Seeing her like this, Zhou Jing'an knew that his previous guess was indeed correct—the loss of the token was inextricably linked to the Empress.
He finally suppressed his smile and questioned, "Empress, did you steal this token? What use do you have for it? Is it for the Emperor?"
Zhou Jing'an was so certain because he had interrogated Madam Yan all night the night before.
He not only used threats and inducements, but also subjected her to severe torture before he finally confirmed that Madam Yan had indeed not stolen his token.
Although he suspected Jian Yang at the time, he had no evidence to prove it.
Upon seeing the emperor's familiar features and her distraught appearance, Zhou Jing'an was almost certain that the token had been stolen by Jian Yang.
This made him feel extremely angry.
He wasn't angry because the token had been stolen, but because the woman in front of him had actually betrayed him.
He cared for her so much, giving her so much patience and tenderness, yet she still betrayed him, which he found utterly unacceptable.
He has to make her pay!
Zhou Jing'an's aggressive questioning suddenly roused Jian Yang from her deep sorrow, making her realize that something was amiss.
If the emperor were truly dead, the imperial city would never be so peaceful now.
Moreover, Zhou Jing'an should never have confronted her with a tone that seemed to be questioning but was actually verifying her claims.
This is clearly a scam!
She felt ashamed that she had been deceived.
When she finally came to her senses after figuring everything out, she found that Zhou Jing'an was pressing her closer and closer, almost forcing her to the edge of the bed.
Looking into his eyes, which were filled with anger and desire, Jian Yang immediately lost her composure.
Damn it, it seems that even if I'm bluffing her, it might not be true; sleeping with her is the real reason!
Without thinking, she took out a bottle of poison powder from her sleeve and sprinkled it on his face.
Zhou Jing'an had been on guard against her poisoning him these past few days, but in his anger, he was caught off guard and fell for her trick. By the time he realized what was happening, he could no longer stand.
With a loud bang, he fell backward and crashed into the table, shattering the teapot and teacups on the floor.
Hearing the commotion inside, the guards outside the door, fearing something had happened to their master, immediately pushed the door open without asking permission and entered. Sure enough, they saw Zhou Jing'an lying on the ground in pain.
Jian Yang stood aside with a cold face and warned, "I did not use any lethal poison today. If you dare to offend me again in the future, I will kill every man, woman, and child in your household!"
Upon hearing this, the guards were shocked and quickly dragged the half-dead Zhou Jing'an away.
"Close the door!" Jian Yang shouted angrily.
Someone immediately ran over and closed the door for her.
Jian Yang was now basically certain that the emperor was not dead, so the tension that had lasted all night finally eased, and she went to the bedside and fell asleep immediately.
She wasn't afraid of Zhou Jing'an making things difficult for her at all. After all, it would take several hours for his poison to be cured, which would be enough time for her to catch up on some sleep.
Sure enough, under the treatment of the imperial physician, the poison in Zhou Jing'an's body was finally neutralized before sunset.
He slowly woke up.
When Wei Cong saw that he had woken up, he immediately declared that he would kill the Empress.
Zhou Jing'an shook his head and said, "Let's not worry about her for now."
Wei Cong angrily said, "Your Highness, having this poisonous woman by your side is a huge security threat. If you can't bring yourself to do it, I'll help you!"
Zhou Jing'an looked at him coldly and said, "Mr. Wei, she is still useful. I will not allow anyone to hurt her."
It's not that it's useful; it's clearly that they can't bear to part with it.
How could a woman like that possibly accomplish anything great!
Wei Cong gritted his teeth and stopped talking.
Now that the poison in his body had been cured, Zhou Jing'an decided to go to the palace to verify some things.
He immediately ordered his servants to prepare a carriage for him to enter the palace.
Half an hour later, Zhou Jing'an arrived at the imperial study and saw the emperor, who was still reviewing memorials.
Zhou Jing'an frowned.
Since confirming last night that the person who broke into his residence was the emperor, he ordered his men to block all entrances to the palace in order to monitor whether the emperor would return.
Furthermore, since it's a day off today and the ministers don't have to attend court, it makes it even easier for him to monitor them.
Until he woke up half an hour ago, his subordinates told him that they had not seen the emperor since last night.
This means that the emperor was still hiding outside the palace and had not entered it.
But since the emperor has not returned, who is the person in the imperial study reviewing memorials at this moment?
Zhou Jing'an decided to give it a try.
He walked to the center of the imperial study and knelt down in front of the emperor with a thud.
"Your Majesty, I am guilty!"
The emperor was startled, put down his brush, and rose to help Zhou Jing'an up.
"Brother, why are you so noble? The ground is cold, get up quickly."
Zhou Jing'an said, "I have not visited the Empress Dowager in the palace for several days, and I feel truly ashamed!"
The emperor laughed and said, "I thought it was a big deal, but it's alright. Your Majesty can go see Mother later."
Zhou Jing'an nodded and, taking the emperor's arm, tried to stand up.
As he stood up, he pretended to be unsteady and grabbed the emperor's arm tightly.
"Your Majesty, my legs are numb. I beg your forgiveness."
Zhou Jing'an pinched the spot where he should have been injured, but was surprised to find that there was no gauze bandage and no wound.
He was stunned.
Could this person in front of me really be the emperor?
Who was it that went to his residence last night to open the secret room in the artificial hill?
Zhou Jing'an was filled with great confusion.
The emperor, however, seemed not to notice anything amiss and laughed, "It's just numbness in my legs. My legs go numb occasionally too. It's a minor issue. If you're really worried, I'll have the imperial physician take a look at you."
Zhou Jing'an nodded and said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."
Suddenly, he froze.
This emperor is a fake!
This emperor must be a fake!
At this moment, his mind was completely occupied by this thought, and he was absolutely certain that the emperor in front of him was a fake emperor.
After all, the emperor never gave Dingbian a kind look again after eliminating the Prince of Dingbian.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
