Chapter 264 Luring the Enemy Deep
As the light snow fell, the stone path in the courtyard was covered with a thin layer of mist.
Consort Shu knelt on the ground, meeting Li Jin's gaze without showing the slightest panic.
Consort Shu, who had just turned 44, was vastly different from Consort Xiao, who had lived in the Cold Palace for six years, in terms of both complexion and spirit.
Although Consort Shu lacked the youthful purity of her prime, she possessed a captivating charm.
The clothes and accessories he wore were all of superior quality and extremely luxurious.
There was a long silence between the two. Consort Shu still acted as if it was none of her business, but her tone was noticeably less assertive than before.
"Prince Jing is joking." She glanced at the eunuch at the door, and seeing that he understood the meaning in her eyes and quietly ran away, she slowly continued, "What does Prince Jing think this place is?"
She poked Li Jin's cheek directly: "This is the palace of the Great Wei!"
"What kind of poisonous substance is Gelsemium elegans? Even the Imperial Hospital couldn't find a single one. Does Prince Jing think he can pin this on me with just a porcelain bottle in his hand?" she sneered. "There is no poison in the palace!"
The implication was that the small porcelain bottle in Li Jin's hand was merely a tool to trick her.
After all, since Yan Zhao's death, the intensity of palace gate inspections has been different from before. How could Prince Jing, who has not made any arrangements in the palace for many years, easily manage to get into the inner palace through layers of inspections?
Inside the palace, her people are everywhere!
Li Jin wasn't in a hurry. He smiled slightly and said, "If arsenic can penetrate, why can't lice?"
Before she could finish speaking, cold sweat broke out on Consort Shu's back.
“If Consort Shu can use the same channels, so can I.” He spoke with a hidden meaning, his smile deepening.
Consort Shu's heart skipped a beat, and she glanced warily at Li Jin's face.
Xu, the legitimate daughter of the Xu family, has lived in the imperial harem for nearly thirty years. From birth, she has been immersed in a vast ocean of power struggles.
Having survived so many years of ups and downs in the palace, she must have had her own set of skills to maintain a firm foothold.
She tried hard to observe Li Jin's expression, attempting to find a flaw in his calm and composed demeanor.
She couldn't believe that Li Jin could tear open a hole in the network she had painstakingly built over thirty years in such a short time.
However, even though she was in the inner palace, she was still fully aware of everything Li Jin had done over the past six months.
She remained silent, stalling for time, neither admitting nor objecting.
After a while, the eunuch who had just disappeared stood outside the door with an extremely flustered expression, gesturing cautiously behind Li Jin.
"Father is not here." Knowing what she was peeking out for, Li Jin smiled and leaned down. "Consort Shu, think about it. Today is New Year's Eve, and there is a banquet for all the officials. Why did Father leave the palace on such an important day?"
He narrowed his eyes slightly, pouring a bucket of cold water on Consort Shu's heart.
The reason she was fearless was because she had the two most prestigious men in the dynasty backing her up.
After Li Jing became the crown prince and Consort Xiao was sent to the cold palace, Li Yi would occasionally come to her Zijing Palace to chat and listen to music.
Although she knew that Li Yi's true purpose was to protect Consort Xiao, she still enjoyed this false favor and was unwilling to let go easily.
Now, at the New Year's Eve palace banquet, Li Jin launched an attack in her Zijing Palace, but the emperor avoided seeing her.
Only then did she realize that what Li Jin had said earlier was true.
The entire Xu family, including the Crown Prince, is likely facing imminent disaster today.
After a long silence, Consort Shu pursed her lips and said indifferently, "The Crown Prince's rebellion is his fault. If Prince Jing wants to arrest someone, he should arrest the Crown Prince."
Li Jin chuckled upon hearing this.
"The Xu family's involvement is their fault. If Prince Jing wants to arrest someone, he should go to the Xu family."
Having survived in the imperial harem for thirty years, experience truly proves that experience matters.
"As for what Su Wanying did, she should naturally bear the consequences herself. It is inappropriate for His Highness Prince Jing to come here to question me."
She glanced at Li Jin's smiling lips, her hatred and disgust for him suppressed behind his calm and composed face.
She had never suffered such humiliation. Even Consort Xiao, who was at the height of her power and the most favored concubine in the palace, did not dare to give her such a look.
Consort Shu suppressed her anger and said calmly, "Just like six years ago, whoever caused the trouble should bear the responsibility." She narrowed her eyes slightly, "Six years ago, Prince Jing was not involved. Why does Prince Jing want to drag me into this mess six years later?"
She remained composed and dignified: "From the moment I entered the palace, I was no longer the legitimate daughter of the Xu family, but the dignified imperial concubine of the Great Wei!"
Inside the Forbidden City, all was silent.
Everyone realized that Consort Shu was angry, and they all kowtowed to the ground, saying in fear, "Your Majesty, please calm down."
Only Li Jin and Jin Shu disagreed.
He anticipated that Consort Shu would realize things were not going well and, based on her status, first distance herself from the outside world.
Looking at the people kneeling in the courtyard, Li Jin deliberately smiled and sighed, "I should thank Consort Shu. Thank you for referring to... a concubine of the Great Wei, not my elder."
His smile remained. He lifted the hem of his robe, squatted down, and faced Consort Shu directly. His voice softened slightly as he said, "As you can see, I am all alone today, without a sword or knife. I brought a girl who is completely helpless with me. From the very beginning, I never intended to make things difficult for Consort Shu."
The woman in front of him remained expressionless, waiting for Li Jin's next words.
"In the end, you are also my father's concubine, and a daughter-in-law of the Li family." Li Jin's voice softened considerably. "If you were imprisoned along with him, it wouldn't look good for the royal family."
At this point, Consort Shu's eyes narrowed slightly: "Then what does His Highness Prince Jing mean?"
Li Jin smiled, her eyes like crescent moons: "Consort Shu knows what she's doing."
After saying this, he stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, gave a meaningful smile, and prepared to leave with Jin Shu.
At this moment, Consort Shu stood up and stood behind him, her voice much louder: "Prince Jing's peculiarities are truly eye-opening!"
Li Jin stopped in her tracks, turned her back, and did not look back.
Consort Shu sneered: "Why would you abandon a perfectly good girl and insist on protecting a used woman!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Jin turned around coldly, his murderous aura fully revealed.
At this moment, inside the Six Doors, in the courtyard of the sect leader, beside the chessboard, the tea has gone slightly cold.
Black and white pieces gradually divided up the territory on the board, and the layout of the game was beginning to take shape.
"Consort Shu will definitely use the dignity of the royal family as leverage to persuade Li Jin to spare her life."
The more pieces Song Zhen placed, the more cautious he became. What used to be a move that could be made in an instant now required half an hour of planning.
He gently twirled the white piece in his hand, keeping it close to his fingertips and slowly rotating it.
“But that’s just the surface.” He said expressionlessly. “She just wanted to catch her breath, so she risked angering Prince Jing and dragging him along. Then, she immediately sent someone to the East Palace to summon the Crown Prince to discuss the matter.”
“But the Crown Prince will not go, nor can he go.” He smiled faintly and glanced at Li Yi. “Because the Crown Prince, like you, is not in the palace.”
After Song Zhen finished speaking, she gripped the hem of her sleeve with one hand and placed her hand on the board: "In order to restrain Prince Jing, the Crown Prince is digging three feet into the ground to find the boy that he brought back from Jiangnan half a year ago."
With a click, the piece settled, enclosing the central area of the chessboard.
“Not only that.” Song Zhen smiled slightly. “The Crown Prince will not go to see someone who is about to be silenced by him.”
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