Gan Yongfu hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, the men we sent reported that it’s difficult to infiltrate the Wei mansion. Either Wei Yunzhao or Jiang Lin is always at home. They fear that if they fail, it will alert the enemy and make future attempts even harder."
Emperor Changde was deeply dissatisfied with this answer. "What? Are these specially trained assassins, who can’t even defeat Wei Yunzhao, now afraid of a mere Jiang Lin? Are all the people I have raised nothing but useless trash?"
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger," Gan Yongfu quickly explained. "Your Majesty, Jiang Lin was underestimated before, but it’s now clear that he’s deeply skilled. No one who has faced him in combat has been able to defeat him."
Emperor Changde laughed in frustration. "What clever tactics! Anyang Bo's family truly has good methods. It turns out they’ve been colluding with the Wei family all along. They even dared to use the Crown Prince to tell me that a man’s strong yang energy would make the wedding more effective. And indeed, it has been effective. I underestimated Anyang Bo's family."
Gan Yongfu defended Anyang Bo's family, "Anyang Bo's family didn’t know either. Anyang Bo's second wife, who married later, didn’t get along with Jiang Lin. Initially, they wanted to have Yuenu (Jiang Jinyue) marry the Crown Prince, which is why they switched the wedding candidate. In my opinion, Jiang Lin has been hiding his true abilities all along. I suspect there’s someone behind him."
Who else could it be? Emperor Changde couldn’t think of anyone. He believed he had eliminated all threats to himself.
But Jiang Lin was indeed suspicious. Emperor Changde said, "Have someone keep an eye on him. Find out whether he’s been hiding his abilities or if there’s someone behind him. Also, the matter with the child can’t be delayed any longer. I don’t care what methods you use, I just want that child dead."
These words sent a shiver through Gan Yongfu’s body. He understood that if the child from the Wei family didn’t die, it would be the people handling this matter who would die instead.
Gan Yongfu quickly agreed and left, his expression grave. The matter could no longer be delayed.
...
Emperor Changde issued an imperial decree, dismissing all the imperial guards who had harassed and harmed the common people and ordering each of them to receive fifty military lashes. He also warned everyone that such acts of harassment wouldn't be tolerated in the future, and those who violated this order would be severely punished.
As soon as the decree was announced, the common people cheered, praising Emperor Changde as a good emperor who cared for his subjects. This further solidified their belief that the Empress was unworthy of such a good emperor.
It was unclear who started it, but some people even initiated a wave of petitions calling for the Empress to be deposed.
When the Empress received this news, her face turned pale, and she staggered back several steps before collapsing onto a soft couch. "Impossible, this can’t be. The Emperor will never depose me…"
The Empress suddenly stood up, her eyes sharp and fierce. "It’s Jiang Lin. It’s Jiang Lin and Wei Yunzhao, those two vile creatures. They must be behind this."
The Empress began analyzing the situation on her own, convinced that the trap had been set from the moment Wei Yunzhao remotely discussed battle tactics with the eldest prince.
They must have known early on that she intended for the Crown Prince to marry a woman from the Yin family. Since the eldest prince was in his twenties and still unmarried, the Emperor would naturally not forget to arrange a marriage for him. Wei Yunzhao must have used some method to have Wei Yunji betrothed to the eldest prince. This made her and the Crown Prince believe that the Emperor intended to bring the eldest prince back to compete for power, allowing them to eliminate both the eldest prince and the Wei family. They also knew about her past grievances with the Wei family, luring her into killing Old Lady Zhou.
After Old Lady Zhou’s death, the two of them conspired with Yin Ji to thoroughly investigate the cause of her death, even bringing up the old matter of her near-engagement to Wei Su. She had warned Yin Ji, but when that plan failed, Wei Yunzhao and Jiang Lin deliberately brought up the matter of Su Yuan’s daughter, using her to stir up trouble. They wrote a play to publicize her past, drawing her into their scheme, and ultimately ruining her reputation.
Now, they were even inciting the common people and manipulating the Emperor to depose her.
The Empress’s face was filled with malice. "What cunning schemes and calculations. These two are truly vicious, aiming to destroy me."
Seeing the Empress in this state, Qiuxi quickly called out to her, "Your Majesty, are you alright?"
The Empress looked at Qiuxi and smiled. "I’m fine, Qiuxi. How many years have you been by my side?"
Qiuxi replied, "I’ve been by Your Majesty’s side since you entered the palace. It’s been twenty years."
"Twenty years," the Empress sighed deeply. "I thought I would be Empress for half my life and Empress Dowager for the other half. But now, it seems that was just a dream."
"Your Majesty, it’s just some ignorant common people being stirred up and saying foolish things. It’s not to be taken seriously. The Emperor and Your Majesty share a deep bond. The Emperor would never depose you. Please don’t overthink it."
The Empress turned around, her gaze falling outside the Changning Palace. "Qiuxi, have you counted how long it’s been since the Emperor last visited my Changning Palace?"
Qiuxi hesitated. Before the Empress mentioned it, she hadn’t realized, but upon calculating, it had been almost a year. Since the Empress was placed under house arrest last year, the Emperor had not visited the Changning Palace nor summoned her.
"But Your Majesty, the Emperor isn’t…" Qiuxi didn’t dare to say outright that the Emperor was impotent, like an eunuch, so she could only hint. "Moreover, while the Emperor hasn’t visited the Changning Palace, he hasn’t gone anywhere else either. When the second prince rebelled, Your Majesty protected the Emperor and rendered great service. The Emperor has always remembered that."
The Empress had received many rewards that time, but only that time.
"Yes, protecting the Emperor. That was last year’s matter. It’s been over half a year since I last saw the Emperor."
"It’s quite ironic. This time, I might actually benefit from this misfortune and get to see the Emperor again." The Empress’s tone was sorrowful, mixed with a hint of longing, leaving Qiuxi at a loss for words to comfort her.
Emperor Changde summoned the Empress the next day, after Yin Ji stated in court that the two generals, Wei Su and Su Yuan, had not died in battle but had been murdered. He summoned her then.
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