Chu Nian: "I have already ordered people to bring my sister and nephew into the palace. As long as my sister signs the divorce agreement with the Earl and leaves him with her nephew, it will not be the Earl's fault if he remarries."
"Wh...what?" Zhang Lie asked in surprise, somewhat unable to believe that the Empress Dowager, who had always been submissive and foolish towards him, would actually come up with such a scheme today.
Chu Nian said, "I have already sent someone to deliver the divorce papers to my sister. I believe that my sister will be willing to sacrifice herself to help the Lord's great cause."
Zhang Lie was furious, but for the sake of his great cause, he could only suppress his anger and said, "Why didn't the Empress Dowager discuss this decision with me beforehand?"
Chu Nian said, "Isn't that why I summoned you, Lord, to the palace to discuss this matter? What do you think of my idea, Lord?"
Zhang Lie was speechless: he didn't know how to answer.
After a moment of silence in the hall, Chu Nian broke the silence with a trembling voice that made her sound particularly sad and resentful. She said, "Lord, could it be that you and my sister have been so deeply in love all these years that you don't want to divorce her at all?"
Zhang Lie hurriedly said, "How could that be? Your Majesty, please don't misunderstand. I... I truly love only Your Majesty!"
Chu Nian: "That's good. I believe that my sister is also willing to support your career, Lord, and the deep affection between us."
The voice, filled with sweet joy, sounded so genuine: Unbeknownst to Chu Nian, in a secluded room, someone was clearly witnessing this scene in the main hall of the Cining Palace through an antique bronze mirror. Her masterful performance had been observed by this person.
Zhang Lie was once again at a loss for words after Chu Nian's words, and the hall fell silent again for a while. Then Chu Nian broke the silence, saying, "This matter is settled. Lord, you should go back and wait for news. Once my sister signs the divorce papers, she can take my nephew Qi'er and leave the capital, and even leave the Ziwei Kingdom..."
"What, you want them to leave Ziwei Kingdom and go to a distant land?" Zhang Lie was surprised and annoyed, and couldn't help but interrupt Chu Nian.
Chu Nian: "They will leave of their own accord. If they don't leave, what's the point of calling it a divorce?"
"Baili Nian!" Zhang Lie called out through gritted teeth.
Chu Nian said, "Lord, you can't bear to part with them after all!" Then she started crying again.
Zhang Lie almost couldn't control himself and went up and chop this so-called Empress Dowager to pieces. She's always crying and whining, isn't she annoying?
For the sake of his life's great cause, Zhang Lie suppressed his anger and annoyance and said, "Your Majesty, I still feel guilty towards Baili Xi. How about raising her and her son on a manor in the suburbs of the capital after the divorce? To drive them out of Ziwei Kingdom is too... Alas, I am not the kind of heartless person who can do such a cruel thing."
Chu Nian sighed and said gently, "Very well, Lord Marquis has always been so loyal and righteous, I don't want to put you in a difficult position..."
Hearing this, Zhang Lie assumed she had given up on driving Baili Xi and her son away from Ziwei Kingdom, and felt relieved.
Unexpectedly, Chu Nian said again, "I will reluctantly play the villain and go to talk to my sister myself!"
Zhang Lie asked in alarm, "What does the Empress Dowager want to say to her?"
Chu Nian: "Of course, we should have her sign the divorce papers and then leave Ziwei Kingdom with Qi'er." As she spoke, she stood up and walked out from behind the white gauze curtain in a generous manner.
"Empress Dowager!" Zhang Lie stepped forward to stop her as soon as he saw her come out, and knelt down with a thud. "Empress Dowager, please, for the sake of our many years of friendship, allow them, mother and son, to stay in Ziwei Kingdom!"
Chu Nian: "How can this be? Does my sister have to stay so that she can become your concubine? With her pride and arrogance, how will she ever face anyone again? It would be better to let them go far away and start a new life in a place where no one knows them."
"By then, perhaps my sister can find someone who truly understands her and spend the rest of her life happily together. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
It's as if you're acting out of kindness for those two women. Zhang Lie was practically grinding his teeth to powder, but at this moment, with his great cause unfinished, he couldn't afford to break off relations. So he could only say, "Then, shall I go and meet with them first?"
He would then escape the palace with his wife and children and start a rebellion. Even if his grand plan failed, with the military force he currently controlled, he could still carve out half of the Ziwei Kingdom and establish himself as emperor.
Chu Nian reached out and helped him up, but secretly injected a barely perceptible amount of spiritual energy into his body. Given the original owner's frail physique, this was all she could do at the moment.
She said with deep affection, "My lord, there is no one in the hall at the moment. You and I do not need to observe these formalities."
"Empress Dowager..." Zhang Lie said, trying to grasp Chu Nian's hands, imagining using his handsome looks to win her over, just like he had done to the original owner of this body.
Just then, the young emperor's voice rang out from outside: "What are you bunch of servants doing standing outside instead of serving inside the palace? What is the Empress Dowager doing?"
Wen Wan was startled, never expecting the young emperor to come. She quickly made an excuse, saying, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager... she felt quite tired after returning from the tomb worship ceremony and has already rested."
"Resting?" The young emperor immediately snorted. His mother had said during the day that she would summon the Marquis of Weiwu tonight, so she was probably doing something with him in the palace right now.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Even if he wasn't the Empress Dowager's biological son, she should still consider the face of the royal family. So, he angrily kicked the door open.
Fortunately, Chu Nian and Zhang Lie had heard him speaking outside, and they had both returned to their places while he was speaking.
Zhang Lie sat upright in his previous seat. Chu Nian also returned to her seat behind the curtain, sitting properly as if she hadn't moved an inch.
To be honest, when Chu Nian mentioned in the carriage during the day that he would summon Zhang Lie that evening, he had already guessed that the young emperor would come to Cining Palace that night. He hated it most when his mother and the Marquis of Weiwu got close; it would be strange if he didn't come.
However, upon hearing the young emperor's voice outside, Chu Nian felt a sudden pang of pain in her heart, though she didn't know if it was because of his unpleasant, hoarse voice.
She remembered that when she traveled back to the Republican era, Lou Qianzong, as a zombie, always caused her angina. Now, that angina seemed to have returned.
When Zhang Lie saw the young emperor enter, he respectfully knelt down and saluted, shouting "Long live the Emperor!" three times. However, before the young emperor could tell him to get up, he stood up on his own and sat back down in his previous chair.
The young emperor was furious because he felt that the two people in the palace had done something improper, and he didn't have much mind to dwell on Zhang Lie's arrogant and rude behavior.
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