If their guess was correct, it meant that in this huge capital city, Concubine Xian secretly had a force working for her.

Think about the rumors that had been circulating in the palace before. It was said that the reason why the emperor agreed to lead the expedition to the northern border in person was because Concubine Xian used the power of southern border to force the emperor to do so.

If the rumors are true, the power behind this virtuous concubine cannot be underestimated.

[In that case, don't blame me for being rude. ]

Lu Yanluo muttered to herself, with a strange smile on her face, which made Chu Xuan feel creepy.

"What are you going to do?" Chu Xuan asked.

Lu Yanluo snorted, poured herself a cup of tea, and drank it all in one gulp: "What should I do? Give her a taste of her own medicine. Doesn't she love to falsely accuse others of having an affair? This time I'm going to let her have a taste of what it feels like to be falsely accused!"

Soon, a rumor spread in the capital that the virtuous concubine in the palace often sneaked out of the palace and had secret affairs with Nan Guanglu, the leader of the Black Shark Gang. The two had been in love for a long time and had been cheating on the emperor.

For a time, people in Beijing were all talking about what the Black Shark Gang was. It was one of the largest gangs in Beijing, and its leader, Nan Guanglu, was not someone to be trifled with. No one expected that this virtuous concubine was so capable even though she was in the inner palace.

Fenghua Palace.

Concubine Xian had just been released from house arrest and was waiting with great interest to see when Lu Yanluo would be kicked out of Prince Ye's Palace.

Unexpectedly, instead of receiving any news from Lu Yanluo, she heard a bunch of dirty words about herself, which made her so angry that she wanted to vomit blood.

Early in the morning, there were bursts of sounds of porcelain breaking in Fenghua Palace, accompanied from time to time by a woman's sharp screams.

The palace maids and eunuchs in the palace lowered their heads and carefully avoided Concubine Xian, for fear of being accidentally used as a punching bag.

After venting her anger, Concubine Xian felt a little exhausted. She fell on the couch and gasped. Her mind, which had been overwhelmed by anger, became clearer.

She began to realize that something was wrong. This time the rumor was obviously directed straight at the Black Shark Gang. What was the person behind the scenes trying to do? Could it be that he knew about her secret relationship with the Black Shark Gang and was deliberately attracting everyone's attention?

Just as Concubine Xian was speculating about the mastermind behind the rumors, someone had already secretly passed the news to the emperor's ears.

The emperor was indeed furious when he found out about this. After all, no matter whether the woman was someone he liked or not, if she had an affair with someone under his name, it would be a great insult to him and something he could never tolerate.

"Go check. I want to know if Concubine Xian is really involved with the Black Shark Gang!"

No one was walking around in the hall, and the eunuchs all kept their heads down, but some of them had already obeyed orders and left.

The secret guards quickly brought back the news. Although there was no evidence to prove that Concubine Xian had an affair with Nan Guanglu, they did find many handwritten letters from Concubine Xian in the Black Shark Gang. The contents covered various aspects, and most of them were Concubine Xian ordering people to help her deal with troubles.

One of the letters shocked the emperor the most. It said: "If the emperor does not agree to lead the army in person, you can send a letter back to southern Xinjiang and lead the troops to attack."

Attack? Attack what? Thinking of the time when Concubine Xian threatened him to go to the northern border, the emperor felt a chill down his spine.

It turned out that she was secretly involved with Southern Xinjiang. Not only that, there were people in Beijing working for her.

"Nanjiang! The virtuous concubine! You are really great!" The emperor was furious and overturned the inkstone in front of him. The black ink stained the bright yellow sleeves, and it was so glaring that it seemed to be branded in the emperor's heart.

The palace was completely silent. After a long while, everyone heard the emperor's cold words: "Go and eliminate the Black Shark Gang. Don't leave any of them alive. Send someone to summon Concubine Xian. I want to see her."

The eunuchs were already used to it and walked quickly towards Fenghua Palace. As for the Black Shark Gang, someone would take care of them.

When the eunuchs from Taiji Hall arrived, Concubine Xian was sitting on the couch in deep thought. She had a premonition that this matter might not end well.

The palace maid came to report that when His Majesty summoned her, she actually had a sense of fate. Although she was unwilling, for the sake of the Sixth Prince and her future, she had to go and apologize to the Emperor.

Although she had anticipated this, she was still terrified and her face turned pale when she actually faced the emperor's wrath.

A stack of letters was thrown at the feet of the virtuous concubine, and the emperor asked with a cold face: "Tell me, my good concubine, I didn't know that my concubine was so resourceful. Not only did she bully others in the palace, but she also had influence outside the palace to help you eliminate dissidents and fulfill your wishes!"

"Your Majesty..." Concubine Xian was in a panic. How could the emperor have these letters?

"Shocked?" The emperor sneered, "If you don't want others to know, then don't do it. You have asked Nan Guanglu to do things for you time and again. Have you ever thought that one day you will be caught by someone? I ask myself that I have taken good care of you and your son. Why did you plot against me in secret?"

At this point, Concubine Xian had nothing to hide. She looked at the emperor frankly and said, "Because your majesty's kindness is limited, I and Han'er were bullied in the harem before. If Concubine Lin had not fallen from power, your majesty would have urgently needed someone to balance the power of the former dynasty and the harem. How could your majesty have seen us, mother and son?"

"I was made a noble concubine by His Majesty, and I enjoyed unlimited honor and favor for a while, but I know that one day, His Majesty will choose another person to check and balance me. This is the mind of the emperor."

Concubine Xian laughed at herself and said, "Sure enough, the palace soon had a seventh prince and a royal concubine who was superior to me. This is how women in the harem are. I spent the first half of my life to understand one truth. In this palace of cannibalism, if you don't fight, you will be trampled underfoot forever, so I have to fight!"

The emperor was impatient. He had no interest in listening to Concubine Xian telling him how to survive in the harem. Life was difficult for the women in the harem, so most of the time he chose to turn a blind eye and let them make trouble. But this did not mean that he could tolerate someone secretly cultivating power and plotting against him.

"What's the matter with the Black Shark Gang? As I recall, the surname Nan is from Southern Xinjiang, and Nan Guanglu is from Southern Xinjiang?"

Concubine Xian did not intend to hide it: "Yes, he was a gift from my father when I came to the capital. Unexpectedly, I have been living in seclusion for many years and have lost contact with him. Later, your majesty was seriously ill and needed a doctor to see your majesty. I took the initiative to contact Nan Guanglu, and I have been in contact with him since then."

The emperor snorted coldly: "At this time, you are honest. There are rumors in the capital that your relationship with Nan Guanglu is unclear. What do you have to say?"

Concubine Xian knelt on the ground and kowtowed to the emperor: "Someone did this on purpose."