Chapter 27: Selecting Troops and Generals
The screams of Concubine De being dragged away were still ringing in their ears, and the air in the Cining Palace seemed to freeze like ice. The concubines who had just been whimpering and begging for equal treatment were now silent as cicadas, their faces as pale as paper. They knelt on the ground, not daring to even raise their heads, wishing they could disappear right there.
They regretted it deeply:
[It's over! It's all that bitch Defei's fault! Now she's got herself killed, and she's dragging us down with her! That little evildoer... no, the little ancestor is looking at me!]
Dongfang Yuning, however, seemed oblivious to the suffocating low pressure. Her delicate white hands cupped her cheeks, her delicate chin resting on the backs of her hands. Her clear, almond-shaped eyes shone startlingly, as if she had discovered some unparalleled treasure.
That simple and innocent smile looked like a devil's smile to the trembling concubines below.
【Tong~】
She called out joyfully in her heart,
[Are all the melons in the melon field ripe? I want to order some! Pick the big ones!]
System 118's voice responded immediately, full of the excitement of discovering a new world:
[Ding! Master Host! The melon fields are fertile, vines are everywhere, and the fruits are fragrant. Every one is guaranteed to be ripe, sweet, and explosive! Take your pick! Please indicate your target!]
The spectators were already in place. The Queen Mother twirled her Buddhist beads, seemingly resting with her eyes closed, but in reality, her ears were perked higher than anyone else's. A subtle smile of doting and interest played at the corner of her mouth, as if she were treating her daughter-in-law like a commentator on a palace drama.
Queen Dongfang Qiwu sat elegantly, with not much emotion visible on her cold face. Only in the depths of her eyes, as she looked at her sister, was there a glimmer of tenderness and indulgence as she admired the adorable sight of her own kitten showing its paws.
Dongfang Yuning's gaze was like a searchlight, sweeping over the concubines who were like quails, and finally locked onto a concubine who was wearing a dark green palace dress and seemed to be trying to remain calm, but her fingertips were trembling slightly.
[Tong, it's her! The lady in the dark green palace gown! She seems a little guilty, what does that mean? Quick, dig deeper!]
[Target locked: Concubine Hui, Tang Guanhuan! Prime Minister Tang Xiangzhao's legitimate daughter!]
System 118's voice suddenly became excited.
[Host! Hold on tight! A super explosive melon is ahead! Nuclear bomb level! Prepare to detonate!]
[Hey, Tongzi, don't keep us in suspense! Hurry up! Is my brother-in-law going to get another bump on his head?]
The little devil in Dongfang Yuning rubbed his hands excitedly.
Beside the dragon throne, Emperor Nangong Yu, who was trying hard to calm down his anger over the Defei incident, felt as if his heart was stabbed again when he heard these words!
[Sister-in-law! Thank you so much! Can you please give me some hope?!]
He looked at his sister-in-law dejectedly, but only saw a profile full of "innocent curiosity".
Prince Yong, Nangong Ye, who was standing by, had an expression of watching a good show. His lips curled slightly, and his eyes fell lovingly on the little man who was about to stir up a storm. His inner thoughts were:
[The little guy is really picky, he always picks the biggest one. ]
[Here we come! Host! Shocking secrets!]
The electronic sound of System 118 reached its highest point.
[Concubine Hui, Tang Guanhuan, was not a virgin when she entered the palace for the selection! She was already pregnant before entering the palace! She was pregnant with someone else's child!]
boom--!
This news was like thunderclap from a clear sky, instantly shocking everyone who could hear the inner voices! The air seemed to freeze!
The Queen Mother's hand that was twirling the Buddhist beads suddenly stopped!
Queen Dongfang Qiwu paused slightly while holding the tea, then looked up at Concubine Hui with a complicated expression.
Nangong Yu's face instantly turned pale! The veins on his forehead throbbed violently!
【What? ! 】
Concubine Hui Tang Guanhuan, who was kneeling on the ground, trembled violently the moment she heard the words "secretly pregnant", as if all the bones were pulled out and she could no longer support herself. She collapsed to the ground with a "thump", her face pale, her lips trembling, she could not even utter the words to beg for mercy, only boundless fear remained!
Wow!
Dongfang Yuning exclaimed inwardly,
Is the imperial palace's selection of concubines so unreliable? Don't they do a physical examination? Didn't I hear the stewardess wanted to check something?
Good question!
System 118 continues to expose information,
[Here's the key! Concubine Hui's father, the powerful Prime Minister Tang Xiangzhao, paid a large sum of money to bribe the nanny in charge of the physical examination! Not only did she help conceal the fact that she had lost her virginity, she also forged the physical examination records! This allowed her to deceive everyone and successfully enter the palace!]
[Hiss! What a generous move, Prime Minister! What a courage!]
Dongfang Yuning took a breath of cold air.
[Courageous? This is just the beginning!]
System 118's voice was filled with disdain and the excitement of exposing the conspiracy.
[The bigger melon is yet to come! After entering the palace, Concubine Hui deliberately ate and drank lavishly during her pregnancy to cover up the fact that she was pregnant, creating the illusion of a large belly.
When the due date arrived, she was afraid the baby would be too big and it would be a rip-off, so she actually...]
【What? Tell me now!】
She actually staged a premature birth drama! When she announced she was eight months pregnant, she deliberately ran to the path in the Imperial Garden that the Empress must have passed by at the time.
She calculated the time perfectly, and just as the Empress came over, she fell hard to the ground! Then she insisted that the Empress was jealous of her favor and deliberately pushed her, causing her premature birth!
【What? ! 】
Dongfang Yuning instantly got furious!
【She framed my sister?!】
[That’s right!]
System 118 was filled with indignation.
[There was a huge commotion at the time! Concubine Hui was crying and wailing, and her father, Prime Minister Tang, even gathered his followers to put pressure on the court! The Emperor... The Emperor...]
The system paused, as if considering its words, but ultimately said truthfully:
The Emperor was deceived and had some misunderstandings about the Empress. In a rage, he actually believed Concubine Hui's lies! He severely reprimanded the Empress for this! He even...didn't set foot in Fengyi Palace for a long time!
[And the so-called prematurely born Third Prince Nangong Heng,]
System 118's voice was cold.
[It was actually a full-term, healthy, chubby baby! The midwife was surprised at the time, wondering how a premature baby could be so strong. But intimidated by the Prime Minister and Concubine Hui's power, no one dared to say anything!]
[The ambitions of Concubine Hui and her father Tang Xiangzhao go beyond this! ]
System 118 throws the ultimate bomb,
Their deliberate plan was to have the Third Prince replace His Royal Highness the Crown Prince! To push him to the supreme position! And Prime Minister Tang ultimately wanted to be the Emperor who hid behind the throne and directed the country's affairs - the Retired Emperor!
[Ding! A shocking bonus!]
The sound of System 118 is like the hammer of final judgment,
[A bright yellow dragon robe embroidered with a five-clawed golden dragon is hidden in the secret compartment of Prime Minister Tang's residence! The evidence is irrefutable!]
"puff--!"
Concubine Hui Tang Guanhuan, lying on the ground, could no longer bear the thought of the dragon robe. She suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted completely! She knew that the Tang family was finished! She was finished too!
The entire Cining Palace was as silent as a grave! Only the cold voice of the system and the sound of Concubine Hui vomiting blood echoed.
The Queen Mother's fingers trembled slightly as she twisted the Buddhist beads, and a gleam of light flashed in her cloudy old eyes!
[What a daring Tang Xiangzhao! What a guts!]
The moment Crown Prince Nangong Chengqian and Prince Yong Nangong Ye heard the word "dragon robe", their eyes suddenly became extremely sharp!
Almost at the same time, the two of them made a very obscure gesture in a certain direction outside the hall.
In the shadows outside the palace, several dark figures vanished silently like ghosts—they were the Imperial Guards. Their target: [Prime Minister's Residence! Confiscate the property! Arrest the individuals! Waiting for irrefutable evidence!]
Nangong Yu's face had changed from ashen blue to pale, and then from pale to extreme rage!
He stood up suddenly, his tall body trembling slightly because of extreme anger!
[Deceiving the emperor! Confusion of the royal bloodline! Secretly hoarding the dragon robe! Intending to rebel!]
Each of these charges was enough to execute his entire clan! And yet, for such a vicious woman, for a bastard, he had been so harsh and cold towards his first wife, the apple of his eye!
System 118's revelations continued, but the next words were like a poisoned ice cone, piercing Nangong Yu's heart fiercely:
[Host, you don't know how heartbroken your sister was when the Emperor criticized her for Concubine Hui! How those concubines in the harem, who flatter the powerful and look down on the weak, secretly mocked the Empress!]
So what if she was the Empress? So what if she gave birth to twins? It's all because she couldn't control her man's heart! Tsk tsk tsk, your sister's heart completely turned cold from that moment on, and she sealed away her love for the Emperor bit by bit. Serves her right! Now that you know the truth, it's too late to regret!]
[Wuwuwuwu…]
Dongfang Yuning couldn't hold back any longer when he heard this, and a huge sadness and anger erupted in his heart.
[My poor sister! What kind of life is this? Framed, ignored, ridiculed... That filthy brother-in-law! Why does he treat my sister like this? He's blind and heartless! He doesn't deserve it!]
She suddenly raised her head and looked at Nangong Yu, who was sitting at the top, his face pale and his eyes full of endless regret and pain. His clear big eyes were now filled with tears, and he undisguisedly gushed out strong accusations and contempt!
[Dirty man! You deserve to be cheated! You deserve to have a patch of green grass on your head! My sister is so good! You don't deserve her at all!]
【elder sister! 】
Dongfang Yuning's heart was filled with tears, but she turned to Queen Dongfang Qiwu with great determination.
Don't worry! When I, your sister, have established a stable career and made enough money, I will definitely take you far away! Let's leave this cannibalistic cage! The sky is high and the birds can fly freely, the sea is wide and the fish can leap freely!
Let's open a shop in Jiangnan, see the grasslands beyond the Great Wall, and eat all the delicious food in the world! We don't want this dirty man anymore! Let him, his bastard, and those whimpering monsters go!
Her heart is filled with longing for freedom and the future.
Queen Dongfang Qiwu listened quietly to her sister's inner thoughts, watching her anger and heartache burst out for her, as well as the beautiful blueprint she painted... In her cold eyes, the frozen lake seemed to have been thrown into a hot stone, rippling out circles of warm ripples.
She didn't say anything, but nodded slowly, extremely gently and firmly to her sister.
That look, full of trust, dependence, and a yearning to break out of the cocoon, silently said:
[Okay, Ning'er, I'll wait for you. From now on, I'll rely on you.]
That look, that silent promise, was like the sharpest blade, piercing Nangong Yu's heart fiercely! It was shattered to the ground, the kind that couldn't be put back together!
He saw the long-lost light in Wu'er's eyes, which was no longer burning for him. It was a desire for freedom outside the palace!
It was Wu'er who he had pushed away with his own hands, and now she was being taken away from him by his sister-in-law in the most decisive way!
【Wu Er...】
Nangong Yu's heart ached so much that he couldn't breathe, and a huge panic gripped him.
[No! I can't lose you! I was wrong! I was really wrong!]
Can he still get Wu'er's forgiveness? Looking at the yearning for life outside the palace in her eyes that almost turned into reality, Nangong Yu felt cold all over, as if falling into an ice cave.
For the first time, he realized so clearly that he might really lose her forever.
Dongfang Yuning, the instigator of the crime, after finishing his criticism of Concubine Hui and accusing his brother-in-law, looked at the paralyzed Concubine Hui, then at his pale and shaky brother-in-law, the Crown Prince and the Emperor's uncle, who were waiting with cold eyes for the consequences of their property being confiscated. Finally, his gaze fell on his sister's gentle yet resolute face...
【Tongzi,】
She yawned slightly and rubbed her eyes.
[I've finished eating the melon and watched enough of the show. I'm feeling sleepy. The atmosphere here is too murderous to sleep. Should we...retreat?]
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