Chapter 177 Jumping into the Trap
Inside the Yong'an Palace, the candlelight flickered, and the light and shadows flickered between the carved beams and painted buildings, illuminating Liu Shihan's gloomy face.
"My lady,"
A palace maid reported quietly, "Some time ago, the Prime Minister and the Grand Historian both came to Your Majesty to advise Him regarding the fire in Lingxi Palace on the day of the Emperor and Empress's enthronement ceremony."
"But your majesty was very firm and was determined to protect the emperor and empress, so the matter was eventually dropped."
"You have no other plans, just let the Emperor and Empress develop as they wish?"
Liu Shihan frowned, and a hint of resentment flashed in his eyes.
Three months passed from the time Your Majesty issued the decree to enthrone Shen Yuning until the ceremony was held.
During these three months, the hatred in Liu Shihan's heart grew like weeds. She even thought more than once of poisoning Shen Yuning to prevent future troubles.
At first, she had easily put the safflower powder into Shen Yuning's Yaohua Palace, but times had changed, and now none of the palace servants who had gathered around her for profit were willing to take the blame for murdering the emperor and empress.
Even the few spies she had placed in Yaohua Palace were terrified and dared not move.
After all, no one is stupid. If they plot to murder the emperor and empress, they will die anyway. They will either end their own life or be killed by Concubine Liu to silence them.
What's more, once discovered, the entire family will be implicated, and no one can afford such consequences.
Therefore, Liu Shihan secretly made up his mind to take action against Shen Yuning outside the palace.
Half a month later, Your Majesty will go south with the Emperor, Empress and several imperial concubines to understand the people's sentiments.
There are all kinds of people outside the palace, which is undoubtedly a perfect opportunity to assassinate Shen Yuning.
The maid Furong standing by saw that Liu Zhaoyi seemed indifferent to her words, so she couldn't help but speak again: "Madam, the master is worried at home and misses you."
"Now you only have the eldest prince by your side, but the third prince has been forced to leave by the emperor and empress. What if the third prince does not recognize the Liu family in the future and is supported by the emperor and empress to ascend to the throne, what should we do?"
Furong is a palace maid who was recently sent into the palace by the Liu family to serve Liu Shihan. She is particularly proficient in the art of making and detoxifying poisons, and is a helper specially prepared by the Liu family for Liu Shihan to act in the palace.
Liu Shihan's eyes suddenly became as sharp as a knife.
Gnashing his teeth, he said, "The Third Prince is my own flesh and blood, born after ten months of pregnancy. Could he still have the thought of competing with his brother for the throne?"
Furong lowered her eyes and said softly, "I'm afraid that the Third Prince will be deceived by the Emperor and Empress in the future and won't recognize him as his brother. I heard that the Emperor and Empress are very caring towards the Third Prince, and the entire harem is praising the Emperor and Empress' virtues."
Liu Shihan's face was filled with resentment and unwillingness: "What can I do now? The Empress is in charge of the palace, and is gradually replacing everyone around me with her cronies."
"Even the nanny who has been taking care of the Third Prince since he was born was replaced by the Emperor and Empress on some pretext. I am now walking on thin ice every step I take in this palace. I must be extremely careful!"
Otherwise, with His Majesty's crazy love for Shen Yuning, if anything went wrong, how could she survive?
Your Majesty doesn't care about her life or death at all!
Furong raised her head slightly, a sly look flashing in her eyes: "My lady, I heard from the master that His Majesty's favor for the Empress has caused dissatisfaction among many ministers."
"If you can expose that the Emperor and Empress dote on the Third Prince only for show and actually mistreat him secretly, the court officials will surely impeach the Emperor and Empress for both of these things. Then, you can take advantage of the situation and take the Third Prince back, justified."
Liu Shihan sneered and said disdainfully: "You just said it yourself, the Empress is sincere to the Third Prince, so why would I expose her? Don't be foolish here."
Furong was not discouraged and continued, "My Lady, have you forgotten that the Master sent me to the palace because I know a little bit about poison and can help you when necessary?"
"The Third Prince is only three years old now. Every evening, he is taken out of Yaohua Palace by the palace maids to play. By then, I can find the right opportunity to poison the Third Prince and then put the blame on the Emperor and Empress..."
Furong had just finished speaking.
Liu Shihan's eyebrows were raised, her eyes were wide open, and with a crisp "pa" sound, she slapped Furong hard.
"How dare you! You want me to hurt my own son?!"
Liu Shihan's eyes seemed to be spitting fire.
Furong was so frightened that her face turned pale and she fell heavily to her knees on the ground with a thump.
She kowtowed repeatedly: "I dare not, I really dare not, I am doing all this for the sake of the queen."
Liu Shihan suppressed her anger, frowned, and fell into deep thought.
If she could successfully assassinate Shen Yuning outside the palace, the Third Prince would naturally return to her side, and everything would be solved.
Why hurt the third prince and frame Shen Yuning?
But what if the assassination fails?
Then Shen Yuning will definitely become more aggressive towards her, and her situation in the palace will become increasingly difficult.
And if we adopt the method Furong suggested and frame Shen Yuning by harming the third prince, if we are not careful and Shen Yuning catches us, the consequences will be disastrous.
All kinds of thoughts surged in Liu Shihan's mind, and for a moment, she didn't know how to make a decision.
Suddenly, her eyes narrowed, as if she had made up her mind.
No matter what, if she continues to be indecisive, Shen Yuning's power in the harem will surely snowball. She has no way out and must take the initiative.
Now, she could no longer sneak her safflower powder into Yaohua Palace without anyone noticing.
Moreover, Your Majesty cares deeply for Shen Yuning and often orders the imperial physician to take good care of her health. Perhaps in the near future, Shen Yuning will become pregnant again.
Once the real legitimate son is born, how can her third prince, as an adopted son, compete with him?
As a result, her position as the crown prince is also in jeopardy!
Liu Shihan slowly lowered her eyes, looked coldly at Furong who was kneeling on the ground, and asked word by word: "Are you absolutely sure that no one will find out about me?"
Furong raised her head quickly and said confidently, "Don't worry, Madam. My poison is colorless and odorless, and extremely secret. As long as it passes by the Third Prince, the poison will quietly infect him without anyone noticing."
Liu Shihan nodded with satisfaction, as if she remembered something.
He asked, "What effect will this poison have on the Third Prince?"
Furong's heart tightened, and she said cautiously: "Don't worry, your majesty, this poison will only make the Third Prince's skin red and then ulcerate, and it may...may cause the Third Prince to be disfigured."
Her voice became smaller and smaller, as if she was afraid of angering Liu Shihan.
However, Liu Shihan didn't care about it.
If it was just disfigurement, it would completely eliminate the possibility of the Third Prince becoming the crown prince.
The third prince will surely understand her efforts as a mother in the future.
After all, only if she and the eldest prince are safe can the third prince have someone to rely on.
If Shen Yuning were to get rid of her and the eldest prince, the third prince would be isolated and helpless in the future, and would never be able to make a comeback.
Everything she did was for the good of the children!
Liu Shihan's eyes shot towards Furong like knives, and she said coldly, "This matter must be done perfectly, and no one is allowed to notice it. Otherwise, I will definitely put all the responsibility on you."
"If you dare to betray me, I will not let any of your relatives in the Liu family go. Do you understand?"
Furong shuddered and quickly responded, "Yes, I will make sure everything is done and will never let you down."
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