"Since I was able to depose him once, I have the ability to make sure he can never 'stand up' again!" Empress Shen said, determined not to dwell on past failures.
Moreover, the deposed crown prince is currently unconscious and his grievances have not been cleared. He is still some distance away from being reinstated as crown prince, so it cannot be considered a victory.
As things stand, she is still the winner!
However, someone has to take responsibility for what happened last night.
As Shen Jiefeng was her nephew, she was the one who recommended him. She valued this nephew highly, and the emperor knew this. However, Shen Jiefeng's behavior last night was too obvious.
She had two urgent tasks to do: first, to assassinate the deposed crown prince while he was unconscious; and second, to completely absolve herself of the events of the previous night.
Hiring someone to assassinate the deposed crown prince is easy; she has no shortage of manpower. But how can she absolve herself of responsibility while still gaining the trust of others?
This is quite a headache.
“Your Majesty, the chariot is important, but sometimes we have to abandon it to protect the general,” Wanxin said in a low voice.
Empress Shen looked at her: "Who do you think is the pawn that I can use to protect the king right now? Shen Jiefeng is dead, so we can let him take the blame. After all, the dead can't defend themselves. But it's not enough for Shen Jiefeng to take the blame alone... His status and weight are not enough."
Wanxin whispered in her ear, "This servant has someone in mind. Your Highness and the Prince have promoted him for many years and spared him much grievance. It's time for him to repay them. Your Highness, could you do this, and then that..."
In previous years, Empress Shen would spend almost half a month away from home searching for medicine for the emperor, but this year she returned to the palace after only two days away.
Upon returning to the palace, she did not immediately go to Fengwu Palace, but went directly to the Imperial Study, where she knelt outside, looking sick and haggard.
Much later, the palace servants learned that the reason Empress Shen was kneeling outside the imperial study was to plead guilty to the emperor.
"My nephew, Shen Jiefeng, is wholeheartedly devoted to serving the Emperor and bringing the deposed Crown Prince to justice as soon as possible, so that the people of the Great Zhou may have been wronged by treacherous officials... and was not truly vicious and cruel!"
"Shen Jiefeng actually brought countless secret guards without permission, intending to kill the deposed crown prince! It is because I failed to properly educate my nephew that he committed such a grave mistake and ended up losing his own life!"
"Shen Jiefeng is guilty, and so am I! Please punish me, Your Majesty!" Empress Shen knelt outside the Imperial Study for a long time, refusing to rise.
Upon hearing this, everyone was amazed by Empress Shen's kindness and believed that Shen Jiefeng's crime had nothing to do with her. Moreover, it was the Emperor, not Empress Shen, who ordered the arrest of the deposed crown prince.
It was because Shen Jiefeng was too eager to make a name for himself that he wanted to put the deposed crown prince to death. However, he also lost his own life, which proved that the deposed crown prince was probably innocent.
However, some clever people immediately realized that the little palace maid by Consort Li's side was hiding in the Bamboo Sea Stream, but Shen Jiefeng died in the Bamboo Sea Stream. It was very likely that he killed the little palace maid to prevent the deposed crown prince from being exonerated.
Moreover, Shen Jiefeng went there privately with his secret guards, not with the emperor's guards. It is said that there were several assassins among them, which means that someone ordered him to do so on his own.
Who could it be?
That's the crux of the problem!
These intelligent people began searching for the answer to this question.
At that moment, someone quietly entered the East Palace.
Although the emperor ordered the reconstruction of the Eastern Palace, some of its halls were still habitable. After Yun Zhuo was brought into the palace, he was sent to the Eastern Palace to be treated by the imperial physician.
Although his injuries have been treated, he has taken medicine, and someone is watching over him, he has not yet woken up.
Zhuang Xin and the others had been working day and night, and were seriously injured. They could no longer hold on and were resting in a side hall.
It is a state of being half asleep and half unconscious.
Currently, the servants in Yunzhuo Palace are nannies, eunuchs, and palace maids.
The man who had just entered was one of the eunuchs assigned to serve in the East Palace. As before, he went to check on Yun Zhuo's condition after entering the hall.
"If His Highness the Crown Prince wakes up, we can inform the Emperor in time," the young eunuch said.
As soon as he got close to Yun Zhuo's bedside, a cold glint flashed from his sleeve, and a dagger appeared, aimed straight at Yun Zhuo's throat.
The eunuchs and palace maids standing to the side were stung by that cold glint and had no time to react...
The dagger pierced the throat, and blood spurted out, turning into a crimson rainbow when illuminated by the sunlight streaming into the room.
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