Chapter 152: Empress Sister-in-law, What a Good Person

Three people went to the Princess Mansion, but only two came out.

Cen An said, "...Did you really just leave Ziyue at the Princess Mansion?"

Song Junzhan replied, "The Princess is fond of Ziyue. She pampers him like a child."

The infamous Princess Xuanyang, known for her vicious and cruel reputation, was actually a very intelligent and kind person. Yes, kind—a quality that seemed completely at odds with her, yet one she genuinely possessed.

When he first met her, he hadn’t known she was a princess. And it was precisely because he was unaware of her status that he could ignore all the rumors and get to truly know her as a person.

She treated everyone with a polite distance. It wasn’t coldness, but even when she was smiling and speaking with you, if you looked directly into her eyes, you would find them as calm as still water, without a single ripple.

It was as if nothing truly registered with her, as if nothing could stir her emotions.

But she was different with Ziyue. She would listen to his nonsensical boasts, watch his animated storytelling, and see his eyes light up for gold. In those moments, the smile that surfaced in her eyes was joyful and genuine.

It was the longing and protectiveness of a person on the verge of being swallowed by an abyss for something sincere and pure.

Others might not understand, but he, who was just as indulgent toward Ziyue, understood perfectly.

The most precious thing about Ziyue was his pure and innocent heart, one that had never been tainted by hatred or the ways of the world.

"That damn brat! The second he heard he could stay, his whole attitude changed. It was infuriating to see!"

"What’s so great about that Princess that he’s so eager to get close to her?"

"He’ll learn to behave once they lock him in a dark room, string him up, and give him a beating..."

While Cen An was still muttering curses, Song Junzhan was already thinking about his next steps. He could not disappoint the Princess. This task had to be accomplished.

And if he wanted to satisfy the Princess, he couldn’t use his usual method of slowly boiling a frog.

Carefully analyzing the Princess’s past methods, he knew she preferred a direct, decisive approach—one where every strike drew blood.

’I’m not quite ready to take on the Wang Family. In that case... I’ll start with that scumbag.’

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Xiao Li was a little bit troubled. Just a teensy bit.

Because of this teensy bit of trouble, she ate half a bowl less rice than usual.

Just then, a voice announced, "Princess, the Empress has sent the reward she promised, along with a letter."

The reward, sent by the Empress on behalf of the Wang family, consisted of magnificent jewelry and ornaments of gold, silver, and jade. The quantity and quality were both beyond reproach.

Xiao Li gave the items a cursory glance before having them put away. It was the letter that caught her interest—a single sheet of paper, on which four short words instantly brightened her mood.

Consort Jing’s pregnancy is fake.

Huh?

So after all this time, Chen Pingting’s whole act had been fake.

She had agonized over it for nothing.

Xiao Li was capable of killing, and her methods were ruthless, but her core principles made it impossible for her to lay a hand on a pregnant woman.

However ruthless she might be, that ruthlessness was reserved for her rivals; she was not some bloodthirsty beast who killed indiscriminately.

She had been agonizing over how to teach Chen Pingting a lesson without harming the baby, but since the pregnancy was fake, she no longer had any reservations.

’Chen Pingting failed to drug me, and now she wants to use the Empress Dowager to teach me a lesson? Perfect. It’s time to settle all our scores, new and old!’

She smiled as she tossed the letter into the fire. ’Empress Dowager, you’re a true saint!’

On the twentieth day of the first month, another major incident occurred in the palace.

While Consort Jing and the Empress Dowager were out for a stroll in the Imperial Garden, Consort Jing lost her footing and fell, colliding with the Empress Dowager.

As the Empress Dowager went down, she reflexively grabbed onto her, and both women plunged into the lake, which was still covered in a thin layer of ice.

By the time the eunuchs pulled them out, the Empress Dowager had passed out from the cold. It took a great deal of frantic effort to revive her.

Consort Jing also came down with a high fever and fell unconscious. The Imperial Physician diagnosed her and was about to write a prescription when he discovered a problem: Consort Jing... was not pregnant!

Before Chen Pingting had even woken from her fever, news of her fake pregnancy had already spread throughout the palace.

The Emperor, his face dark, made his own inquiries. Upon confirming that Chen Pingting had never been pregnant, he immediately demoted her to the rank of concubine.

When the Empress Dowager awoke and learned the news, she was so stunned that she didn’t say a single word.

She knew Chen Pingting had only knocked her over because she had slipped, but she could not forgive her.

She doted on her niece, Chen Pingting, and she didn’t care how her niece treated Xuanyang.

But now that the blade had fallen on her, she knew the pain firsthand. On top of that, Chen Pingting had deceived her with a fake pregnancy.

The Empress Dowager had lived a life of pampered luxury and had never endured such hardship. Her body couldn’t withstand it, to say nothing of the emotional shock.

Just when she seemed to be improving slightly, her fever spiked again half a day later.

Later, she began vomiting and suffering from diarrhea, and the fever caused a rash to break out all over her body. The Imperial Physicians knelt at the entrance of Changchun Palace, desperately trying every remedy imaginable before they finally stabilized her condition.

The entire palace was on edge. The Emperor was frantic with worry, and the Empress personally attended to the invalid.

Even the officials at court and the public beyond were sweating. The Empress Dowager’s illness was terrifyingly severe. Could she really pass away just like this?

Every time the Emperor went to see the Empress Dowager, his hatred for Chen Pingting grew. ’It’s all that scourge’s fault!’

Everyone knew that Chen Pingting had pushed the Empress Dowager into the water, and now it looked as though the Empress Dowager was on the verge of death.

If the Empress Dowager truly died, Chen Pingting would surely be forced to accompany her in death.

The Palace Attendants assigned to Chen Pingting all tried to slip away, using every means possible to get transferred. They would rather suffer hardship in another palace than stay here and be forced to accompany her in death.

In the end, only the personal maid Chen Pingting had brought from her family home was left, with nowhere to run, forced to remain by her side.

All the Imperial Physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau were attending to the Empress Dowager. No one remembered that Chen Pingting was also sick. Only the initial physician had prescribed her medicine once, and its effect was clearly insufficient. She wasn’t getting any better, but being young, her condition wasn’t as critical as the Empress Dowager’s.

"Water... give me water..."

Chen Pingting was too weak to even get out of bed. Her throat felt as if it were on fire, and her voice was a pained, raspy whisper. Speaking felt like being cut with a knife.

Her personal maid was outside washing the clothes Chen Pingting had soiled after vomiting up her medicine, and couldn’t hear her calls at all.

The maid wept as she washed, crying over her own bitter fate.

’I heard the Empress Dowager fainted again today,’ she thought. ’His Majesty had the Imperial Physicians dragged out for a caning. Everyone thinks the Empress Dowager is going to die, and they’re ready to start the official mourning at any moment.’

’If the Empress Dowager dies, my mistress certainly won’t live either. Causing the death of the Empress Dowager... that’s a crime punishable by the execution of one’s entire clan.’

’If my mistress dies, can a lowly servant like me survive?’

SOB... The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. ’My mistress is going to drag me down to death with her! Why should I have to suffer here, washing clothes in ice water!’

"AHH!"

In a fit of rage, she kicked over the wooden basin, hurled the clothes to the ground, and stomped on them viciously, but even that wasn’t enough to vent her frustration.

However, after her fit of temper passed, she calmed down and had no choice but to pick the clothes back up and continue washing.

Immersed in her own misery and frustration, she completely failed to notice a figure silently pushing open the door to Chen Pingting’s bedroom.

"Water... Someone... I need water..."

"Is anyone there...? Water..."

Sensing someone had entered, Chen Pingting immediately began to slap the edge of her bed and call out.

She heard the visitor walk to the table, heard the sound of water being poured, and felt them approach. Then, the bed curtain was drawn back. The moment the person’s face was revealed, her eyes flew wide with terror.

"You... you..."