"Boom!"
Another brain-rattling flick landed on her forehead, and the Xuanwu Emperor gazed at her with tender affection, "So you took advantage of our mutual affection and dared to intercept a government official, even smashing that stone tablet?"
"I knew, there's nothing that can escape Your Majesty's keen eyes."
"If you wanted to hide it, you would have come up with a better plan. Why go to such lengths, bringing so many people to block the palace path? I know you've always been straightforward and disdainful of those underhanded tricks. But Xinyue, there are always people who can't stand to see you doing better than them. Sometimes, you have to be ruthless."
Otherwise, those people might rise from the ashes, causing future troubles.
"Our Little Tuantuan is still young, without self-protection abilities. By the time he's three or four, able to run and walk, the number of people wanting to harm him will only increase. Let's work together to let him grow up happily and healthily, so he can inherit my throne early. Then, I can travel the mountains and rivers with you."
The way he painted this future made Jiang Xinyue feel almost full.
She hugged the emperor tightly, "Your Majesty thinks of Little Tuantuan so much, I will do whatever you say."
"Whatever I say?"
The emperor's peach blossom eyes sparkled, "Then let's give Little Tuantuan a little sister!"
In the sleeping hall of Chengqian Palace, red candles flickered, filling the room with fragrance.
The death of Noble Lady Liu was like a leaf falling into a pond, causing no ripple.
Since Jiang Xinyue moved into Chengqian Palace, her love with the emperor grew deeper, and rumors of him wanting to make her the empress spread widely.
At the Jiang household—
Lady Zhou lay in a dark, damp little side room, coughing with all her strength, tears streaming down her face, and a pungent smell coming from her lower body.
"Come... cough cough cough... someone... come..."
Outside the door, two matrons were chatting while eating melon seeds, "Now our madam has finally reaped what she sowed. Although those gossipers always call our Second Young Lady a demoness, if they had a daughter who received such favor from the emperor, they wouldn't know how happy they'd be!"
"Exactly, they're just jealous of our Imperial Noble Consort and spread rumors everywhere. A few days ago, some people on the street who called our lady a demoness were arrested, and it was the emperor's order."
"Ah! Madam has a good temperament, unlike the one inside. The daughters she gave birth to didn't end well. The eldest daughter and our lady entered the palace together, but she died within a few months. The third daughter's reputation was ruined, and she couldn't marry the Prince of Ruyang's heir, so she made a scene, causing a city-wide scandal. In the end, the master sent her to a countryside estate, and who knows if she'll ever return!"
"She doesn't deserve pity. Who asked her to be unkind when she was young and mistreat Madam and the Imperial Noble Consort? Now, not retaliating against her is more than enough, and she still dreams of a good life? Dream on!"
"Look at her current state, the Imperial Noble Consort is favored, and the master sent her to this side room. Her family doesn't even dare to utter a word. So, people should accumulate virtue. Otherwise, they'll face retribution, and even after death, no one will collect their corpse."
The last sentence from the matron was particularly loud, as if intentionally saying it for the person inside the room to hear.
"Cough cough cough cough..."
Even more violent coughing came from inside, as if she was going to cough out her internal organs.
Lady Zhou fell from the bed to the ground, crawling to the door and hearing the two matrons' conversation, her face turning red with anger, veins bulging on her neck, and finally, she spat out a mouthful of blood.
Her eyes wide open, she fell to the ground, lifeless, having been literally angered to death.
Concubine Lin heard the silence inside and raised her hand. The two matrons immediately stopped talking, bowed, and retreated, pushing open the broken door.
A foul smell spread, making the two matrons cover their noses, but Concubine Lin remained unfazed, looking at the lifeless Lady Zhou on the ground, and slowly said, "Lady Ruan and I suffered so much under your hands. Now that you've died by my actions, it's not unjust. It's just an eye for an eye."
When Lady Zhou was young, she was jealous of Lady Ruan's beauty and most feared her as a concubine, so she tormented her the most. Even Lady Ruan's children were beaten every three days and punished every five, never having a peaceful day.
Especially Jiang Xinyue, who shared Lady Ruan's beauty, she was the thorn in Lady Zhou's eye, the bane of her existence. Usually, when there were important guests, Jiang Xinyue was locked in her room and not allowed to come out.
She was afraid that Jiang Xinyue would be noticed by noblemen, affecting her own daughter's marriage prospects.
Who would have thought that her husband would let Jiang Xinyue and Jiang Yutong enter the palace together for the selection? Jiang Xinyue, with her beauty, caught the emperor's eye and rose to prominence.
Jiang Yutong was also a fool, unable to build a good relationship with her, and even offending her, no wonder she died an unclear death.
Jiang Yulin...
This fool didn't even need to be mentioned. Stimulated by Concubine Lin with just a few words, she lost her reason and went to make a scene at the Prince of Ruyang's heir's wedding, shamelessly wanting to be his concubine.
Unfortunately, she was such a fool that even if she wanted to be a servant for the heir, he would think she was beneath him and chased her out.
If it weren't for Jiang Xinyue's face, she would have been beaten to death for causing such embarrassment to the prince's mansion.
Lady Ruan didn't want to dirty her hands, so Concubine Lin took the initiative.
Lady Zhou's early death would allow Lady Ruan to become Jiang Yankun's rightful wife, which was what everyone desired.
Let her be the bad person, the new madam wouldn't mistreat her and her daughter.
In this way, it also avenged the male fetus she had lost due to Lady Zhou's actions.
In Chengqian Palace—
Several young eunuchs whispered among themselves, passing the news of Lady Zhou's death to the emperor.
Jiang Xinyue was grinding ink for the emperor when she heard Wang Dequan's words. The inkstone in her hand fell into the ink slab, splashing ink all over her hands.
The Xuanwu Emperor took out a yellow plain handkerchief from his sleeve and carefully wiped the ink spots on her hands, "How old are you, still getting startled by such small things?"
"I wasn't startled."
Jiang Xinyue pouted unhappily, "It's just that the person who always bullied me and my mother is dead, it feels unreal."
She hadn't interacted much with Lady Zhou, mainly through the original owner's memories, where Lady Zhou was always a terrifying figure. So, when Jiang Xinyue heard Lady Zhou's name, it felt like a lifetime ago.
She feared Lady Zhou, but that was a long time ago.
The original owner, burdened by the title of "legitimate mother," had to be cautious in her actions, winning only half the time. The only way to win was by acting weak and pitiful in front of her father.
That was the best way she could think of to protect her mother and siblings.
Now, Lady Zhou was dead, and she didn't know how the original owner would feel if she knew.
For the current Jiang Xinyue, she was quite happy.
Her enemy was dead, and her mother could finally be acknowledged.
The emperor had promised that once Lady Zhou died, he would grant her mother a noble title!
