Xiao Cui immediately knelt down and begged for forgiveness, kowtowing repeatedly: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I acted rashly in a moment of panic. I didn't mean it. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
Zhao Xueqi, however, remained calm. She reached out and pinched Xiao Cui's chin, her red lips parting slightly: "I know you are the most loyal. Now, there's something you'll do for me, won't you?"
Zhao Xueqi laughed so hard she was shaking, covering her mouth and chuckling, which looked quite frightening.
Xiao Cui was so frightened that she tried to back away, but her chin was clamped and she couldn't move. She stammered, "Your Majesty needs Xiao Cui, and Xiao Cui will naturally do her best, no, risk her life to serve Your Majesty."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xueqi finally showed a satisfied expression. She leaned close to Xiao Cui's ear and whispered something in a very soft voice, almost inaudible, but Xiao Cui still heard it clearly.
Xiao Cui's eyes were filled with shock, and she was terrified. The Empress actually wanted to use the Third Miss in the Cold Palace to harm the Emperor and the newly arrived concubines. If this were found out, she would be beheaded!
Xiao Cui: "Your Majesty, this matter is far too dangerous. If it is discovered, Your Majesty will be beheaded!"
Xiao Cui pleaded with Zhao Xueqi, saying that she really didn't think her mistress could succeed. They hadn't even gained a foothold in the palace yet, and the old and new factions were deeply intertwined. It was impossible for her to do anything under her own control. Had Her Majesty lost her mind?
Xiao Cui's attempts to persuade her were ineffective; Zhao Xueqi remained unmoved and even impatiently dismissed Xiao Cui, leaving her with the words, "If you can't do it, then die!"
Seeing Xiao Cui emerge from the house looking dejected, Xiao Yuan quickly went to comfort her: "Sister Xiao Cui, did Her Majesty blame you?"
Xiao Cui shook her head, pushed Xiao Yuan away, and went back to her own room. As the Empress's head maid, she had her own room. She thought, "So be it. Consider it repaying the Empress's life-saving grace. At worst, I'll still be a hero in eighteen years."
——————
Night had fallen, and in the cold palace, a madwoman was muttering incoherently: "System, my system will definitely return! System... I'm hungry, I really want to eat... Kill the female lead, kill that bitch!"
A slender figure quietly approached her. The woman's face was covered, and she carried some pastries in her arms. She called softly, "Third Miss, Third Miss."
The madwoman paused, then began muttering again: "Eat...eat...go home...?"
Xiao Cui felt much relieved. She threw the pastries containing the medicine in front of the woman and said, "Third Miss, I feel sorry for you. Please have some pastries."
In this desolate palace, everything was in a state of ruin. The wind swept away the fallen leaves, the cold wind howled, and the paper on the windows rattled loudly, making the night even colder.
Xiao Cui's voice was almost bewitching, coaxing, "Third Miss, this is a token of my mistress's affection."
The woman, still looking foolish, didn't even glance at the pastries that emitted the fragrance of osmanthus blossoms, and instead stayed even further away.
Seeing this, Xiao Cui's eyes darkened, and she immediately sneered, "I never expected that the Third Miss would pretend to be crazy in front of me. How ridiculous!"
Xiao Cui: "The once glamorous Third Miss has actually come here to play dumb! Hahahaha, heaven truly has eyes, bringing you to such a wretched state!"
The woman, Zhao Xueqi's half-sister Zhao Xueqing, was once the prime minister's most favored daughter. She had been banished to the cold palace by the late emperor shortly after entering the palace. Now, dressed in rags and withered leaves and weeds in her hair, she raised her head, her eyes filled with hatred: "It's all your fault, you vile women!"
Xiao Cui: "Don't you want revenge? My mistress, your elder sister, has her eyes on you!"
Xiao Cui approached the aging woman step by step, a hint of reluctance flashing in her eyes. However, for the sake of her master's plan, she still obeyed orders. Besides, the Third Miss had killed her master's mother and younger brother, so it was only right that she do something for her mistress.
The woman couldn't help but retreat to the corner of the wall, but Xiao Cui grabbed her shoulder and stuffed the pastry into her mouth. The pastry melted in her mouth, and the woman couldn't dodge it in time and swallowed it all.
Xiao Cui waited until the drug took effect before whispering in her ear, "Want the antidote? Kill the woman beside the emperor."
Woman: "What nonsense are you spouting? I'm in the Cold Palace, how could I possibly approach the Emperor's bedchamber!"
Xiao Cui: "The same way you broke through the guards' defenses and killed the mistress and young master, is how you killed that woman."
After Xiao Cui finished speaking, she left behind an antidote. The medicine she gave the Third Miss was to control the secret guards. If they didn't take the medicine for a month, they would die suddenly. Before entering the palace, the master left a three-month supply of the medicine, so if the secret guards outside the palace didn't have the antidote, they would die next month.
Xiao Cui left leisurely, leaving behind the words: "You have one month. If you don't complete the task, you might as well die."
What she didn't see was that after the woman took the medicine, her eyes were filled with resentment and venom as she stared at Xiao Cui's back. It was a venomous gaze that sent chills down one's spine.
Unfortunately, what Xiao Cui didn't know was that the Third Miss, an unfavored concubine's daughter, killed the protected mistress with the help of the system. However, this system had been destroyed by Bai Lingxi, making her a useless person and even less likely to assassinate the emperor's new favorite.
Unbeknownst to either of them, a dark figure vanished in an instant, reporting their conversation verbatim to the emperor. Indeed, how could Zhou Changling allow that madwoman Zhao Xueqi to go out? Naturally, he had made thorough preparations.
——————
Ganling Palace.
Dim candlelight flickered in the side hall of Ganling Palace. Zhou Changling sat at the main table, listening to the report from the secret guards. His fingers tapped the table incessantly, making a "thump-thump" sound. The secret guards lowered their heads even further, not daring to look directly at the emperor.
After a long pause, Zhou Changling finally spoke: "In that case, let's do that favor by revealing the news about Zhaohua Palace to the one in the Cold Palace, and let them fight like dogs."
The guard thought to himself, "This is truly the master's tactic—using someone else to do his dirty work. In this way, Consort Zhaohua has only brought trouble upon herself, and the court officials have nothing to say."
Zhou Changling: "I'll give you more men. Remember, don't let anything go wrong!"
Bodyguard: "Yes."
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