Sima Lie, who was standing right next to her, was completely bewildered.
He gritted his teeth, his heart filled with hatred!
damn it!
Didn't Wang Zhen, that eunuch, keep a close watch on the Empress day and night, saying that her days were numbered?
Didn't they say that half of the Empress's body was buried in the ground?
Wasn't she supposed to be passing away soon?
How come she looks so radiant now, living better than anyone else!
"Your Majesty, please rise!"
The two actors' performances were incredibly convincing. Qin Yu feigned great surprise, hurriedly getting off the dragon throne and gently helping Zhao Yan up, his affection for her evident.
"Your Majesty, you have just recovered from a serious illness. Why are you here instead of resting properly?"
Zhao Yan leaned against Qin Yu, her phoenix eyes sparkling, feigning extreme grievance.
"I heard that there are treacherous officials in the court who want to depose me from my position as Empress, so I rushed here!"
As she spoke, she looked at Wang Ziru and Sima Lie, who had just spoken.
It's easy to see who the treacherous official Zhao Yan is referring to is.
Sima Lie trembled with anger at the woman's affected manner and demeanor. Meeting her sharp gaze, he felt even more that Zhao Hu's daughter was no ordinary person!
The prime minister was naturally fearless, and even if he was intimidated by the empress, he would not actually be punished.
But Wang Ziru was different; he was now hiding behind Sima Lie, drenched in sweat.
My heart was filled with extreme fear, and I trembled as if afraid of attracting attention.
How could Qin Yu let him off the hook? She glared at him coldly and shouted angrily.
"Guards! Drag that treacherous Wang Ziru out before me!"
The guards stepped forward and pulled Wang Ziru away from the crowd, causing him to fall to the ground.
"Wang Ziru! Didn't you say that my Empress is critically ill and doesn't have much time left? She's perfectly fine, yet you dare to spout such nonsense, cursing my Great Xia Empress to die?"
"Your humble servant would not dare! Your humble servant would never have such an intention!"
Zhao Yan, nestled in Qin Yu's arms, appeared even more charming and aggrieved.
"I've always felt uneasy; it turns out someone is hoping I'll die!"
"Damn it!" Qin Yu pointed at Wang Ziru's nose and cursed again, "You treacherous minister! You villain! I will kill you to atone for the Empress's grievances!"
"Your humble servant's words were only for the sake of our Great Xia, and I had absolutely no such intention!"
Seeing that Wang Ziru was almost scared to death and didn't say anything, Sima Lie was really afraid that the tyrannical emperor would be furious and actually kill him.
Staring at Zhao Yan, he asked through gritted teeth.
"Your Majesty, it's not Wang Ziru's fault. There were indeed rumors that the Empress was unwell. What exactly happened?"
He was curious and confused.
The poison is clearly incurable and difficult to detect.
Judging by the timeline, this empress should have kicked the bucket long ago, so why is she still alive and kicking?
Qin Yu feigned extreme excitement before explaining.
"It was Abbess Liu! She broke the curse cast by the villains and prescribed some medicine, and the Empress recovered!"
"Liu Caiqing?" Sima Lie was startled at first, then gritted his teeth in hatred.
"Yes! Abbess Liu has done a great service, serving me diligently these past two days. I have decided to reward her handsomely! I will grant her the power to establish her own sect and bring all the beautiful women in the land under her wing to study Taoism in the palace!"
Qin Yu spoke with utmost seriousness, but Sima Lie and all the officials looked on with disdain.
To enter the palace to study Taoism?
I wonder what kind of philosophy they're learning?
Is this supposed to be a reward for the Taoist nun Liu? This tyrant is clearly rewarding himself!
Qingyun Temple had long since become his paradise for debauchery and pleasure!
"What? That Nightmare Suppression spell is quite difficult to break. Abbot Liu has done his best, yet he doesn't deserve such a generous reward?"
The officials looked at each other, and before they could answer, Zhao Yan took over the conversation and joined in again.
“Abbot Liu will naturally reward me, but she told me before that I will sense something whenever I get close to someone who uses magic.”
"Oh? Then I wonder who the Empress discovered this spell was? Is he in this hall?"
Everyone was startled and cried out in despair.
This is going to destroy them!
Zhao Yan stared intently at Wang Ziru.
"It's him! I felt uneasy and anxious whenever I was near him. I believe it was him who did it!"
The latter knelt on the ground, kowtowing so hard that his head bled.
"Injustice! Your Majesty, I am innocent! Please investigate!"
Sima Lie, who was standing nearby, also chimed in to dissuade them.
"Your Majesty! This is, after all, a matter of magic and metaphysics. To rashly accuse your subjects of such unfounded crimes would likely be difficult to convince the people!"
Qin Yu stroked his smooth chin, secretly delighted, feeling that the old man had just given him a further explanation.
"Yes! What the Prime Minister says is true! I am the wise ruler of the Great Xia Dynasty, how can I blindly believe in ghosts and gods?"
He abruptly changed the subject and gave a direct order.
"Where are the Imperial Guards? Bleed them! If the blood in the magical artifact doesn't change color, it means he wasn't the one who cast the spell!"
Zhu Fei stepped forward with a smile, took the small knife handed to him by the eunuch, and walked in.
"Don't worry! I know what I'm doing. You can't take too much suffering!"
Wang Ziru felt that this person was one of his own and expressed his gratitude repeatedly.
Zhu Fei was very accommodating, only lightly gliding the blood across the surface with a small knife; the blood that had been donated remained bright red.
"Your Majesty! There is nothing amiss!"
As he said this, he deliberately raised the small knife in his hand and exchanged a glance with Qin Yu.
Wang Ziru felt he had escaped a calamity and breathed a sigh of relief, unaware that Zhu Fei's knife was problematic; it had been smeared with rust by Qin Yu, making the blade so it could cause tetanus.
Wang Ziru let out a long sigh, as if a wrongful conviction had been redressed.
"Your Majesty, as you can see, I have already said that I have no disloyal intentions."
"Hmm..." Qin Yu nodded, feigning satisfaction. "I misunderstood you, my dear minister!"
Looking around, he asked another question.
"There should be nothing more to discuss, right? Then the court is adjourned!"
He immediately broke into a lewd grin and hastily grabbed the fake empress and left!
The officials were in an uproar, exchanging bewildered glances.
Upon hearing that the court session had ended, Wang Zhen arrived with his men.
With a fawning smile, he bowed to Sima Lie, seeking credit.
"Prime Minister, these memorials were all intercepted by this old servant, and many of the words in them were detrimental to you."
Sima Lie suppressed his anger and asked with a cold laugh.
"Yeah?"
Wang Zhen was so focused on taking credit that he didn't notice the strange atmosphere in the room.
"Prime Minister, please rest assured! Within the palace, only this old servant can obtain the most reliable and complete intelligence. With this old servant here, Prime Minister, you have nothing to worry about!"
"Worry-free my ass!"
Sima Lie could no longer contain his anger. He raised his hand and slapped the amusing Wang Zhen to the ground.
"Didn't you say that bitch was dead? Is this your Eastern Depot's intelligence?"
"That's right!" Wang Zhen covered half of his face, feeling extremely aggrieved, completely stunned by the beating.
Following Sima Lie's furious gaze, he was completely shocked!
The emperor and empress hadn't gone far when it was clear from a distance that he was brazenly groping each other as they walked towards the inner palace!
Judging from their laughter, they looked exactly like a loving couple.
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