"It's Su Wanwan, it must be her!"
Zhou Wanxiu slumped to the ground, like a lump of soft mud, at the mercy of Empress Zhang, and hurriedly made up a story.
"She was always jealous of Princess Xiuyi; she must have killed the princess!"
Fearing that Empress Dowager Zhang wouldn't believe her, she quickly added, "Once I heard her talking in her sleep, saying, 'Don't blame me, Princess, don't blame me, Princess!'"
Empress Dowager Zhang collapsed to the ground in disbelief, her face covered in tears, her eyes bloodshot, and she went into a frenzy, laughing wildly with her head thrown back.
"retribution."
"It's all retribution."
"God, if you're going to punish me, why did you have to kill my Xiuyi?"
Empress Dowager Zhang prostrated herself on the ground, weeping hysterically: "Heavens above, give me back my Xiuyi..."
Her Xiuyi was only eight years old, small and cute, and often snuggled in her arms, sweetly calling her "Mother."
She placed her little hand on her pregnant belly and asked expectantly, "When my little brother is born, will Father make him the Crown Prince?"
She laughed and denied it: "Don't talk nonsense."
Xiuyi, however, disagreed, tilting her head and acting cute: "I'm sure I'll have a little prince brother!"
This is practically an open secret in Kunning Palace.
The emperor dislikes the crown prince, and once another prince is born, it will only be a matter of time before the crown prince is deposed.
If Xiuyi hadn't died, she wouldn't have suffered a miscarriage due to excessive grief.
Now, the one sitting firmly on the throne will be her own son.
Instead of Lu Xingjian, that ungrateful wretch.
Why should she be left so alone and vulnerable to bullying?
Su Wanwan, how could it be you?
How could someone so young be so cruel as to kill their own cousin?!
...
When Su Wanwan woke up, it was already morning.
Lu Xingjian has disappeared without a trace.
Su Wanwan asked, "Where is the Emperor?"
He Ying shook his head: "Just now Meng Yue said that Zhang Daban had something to discuss with the Emperor, so the Emperor went out."
Su Wanwan didn't say anything more.
He Ying's eyes flickered: "Last night, His Majesty personally took care of you all night, bringing you water and feeding you medicine. He was afraid that your condition would worsen, so he barely slept a wink."
She hoped that the Empress and the Emperor would have a harmonious relationship and stop arguing in the future.
Su Wanwan was more concerned about the current situation in the palace.
"The palace is now under heavy security, and the gates of all palaces and halls are tightly closed, so no one may enter or leave at will."
He Ying paused for a moment, then said, "The Empress Dowager has also fallen ill."
Su Wanwan breathed a sigh of relief.
She sensed something was wrong when Sun Qingyu started to distance herself from her.
I feel that Wang will take action against her again sooner or later.
How could Wang Shi, who had remained in the harem for decades without favor or love and whose entire family had enjoyed glory, possibly be a kind person?
Rather than passively waiting for the Wang family to make a move, it's better to turn the tables and escalate the situation.
To make oneself a complete victim.
Unlike the previous poisoning incident at the laundry department, she is now the Empress, the face of the Great Liang Dynasty.
She was poisoned in public at her birthday banquet, which would be a humiliation to everyone.
Lu Xingjian had ample reason to conduct a thorough investigation and rectification of the palace.
Even if Lady Wang doesn't take action, she will still orchestrate this whole charade to give Lu Xingjian a legitimate reason to clean up the harem.
I just didn't expect that Wang would actually take action, and that the medicine she used would be so toxic.
If she hadn't taken a decoction to cure all poisons beforehand, she probably wouldn't have survived this ordeal.
...
Cikang Palace.
Empress Dowager Zhang was stroking Princess Xiuyi's portrait in a daze, muttering to herself:
"Xiuyi, your mother will avenge you."
"Those who killed you, your mother will get rid of them one by one."
A palace maid reported tremblingly, "His Majesty has arrived!"
Empress Dowager Zhang finally shifted her dazed gaze from the portrait to the figure in the dark dragon robe.
Her eyes instantly turned sharp.
"Your Majesty, you know who killed Xiuyi, don't you?"
Lu Xingjian stared at her expressionlessly, without saying a word.
Empress Dowager Zhang waited for a long time but received no response from him, so she asked again:
"It was Su Wanwan who killed her, wasn't it?!"
Tears streamed down Empress Zhang's face: "You knew about this all along, didn't you?!"
The voice also became hysterical.
"Xiuyi is your own sister, she calls you brother, how could you marry Su Wanwan, a murderer?!"
“It’s not her,” Lu Xingjian said briefly.
"It is I."
The two soft words fell softly in the spacious hall, yet they struck like a thunderclap.
Empress Dowager Zhang felt as if she had been struck by lightning, and murmured, "Why?"
"Why?!"
She raised her voice, demanding an answer.
He simply couldn't believe it and stared intently at Lu Xingjian.
However, she could see no emotion in his eyes, only complete darkness.
She couldn't understand why Lu Xingjian would kill Xiuyi, who was only eight years old.
He was only twelve years old then!
Similarly, she couldn't understand why Su Wanwan would do that.
Her Xiuyi was so lovely and innocent.
The little girl is only eight years old and hasn't offended anyone.
She was just a princess; although she was favored, she posed no threat to others.
"If you want revenge, come at me. It has nothing to do with Wanwan."
Lu Xingjian ignored her and simply said something calmly.
Empress Dowager Zhang's lips curled into a cold smile, her sinister gaze seemingly glued to Lu Xingjian.
He believed that with his current power, she was completely powerless against him.
So, you don't even bother to offer an explanation or a word of remorse?
Lu Xingjian showed no remorse whatsoever.
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