The chrysanthemum-viewing banquet continued.

The Empress Dowager should have also appeared at the flower banquet.

Someone came to report that something had happened at the Empress Dowager’s Kanning Palace, and she temporarily couldn’t come.

The Empress’s brows furrowed. Detecting an unusual atmosphere, she felt somewhat uneasy. She told everyone to continue admiring the flowers while she rose and had someone investigate what had happened.

After the Empress left, the people at the flower-viewing event no longer felt constrained and became even more at ease.

Consort Yin pulled Chu Hongyu to sit beside her and said with displeasure, “When did Consort Yuan offend you? You deliberately went over and knocked Consort Yuan down?”

Chu Hongyu stuck out his tongue. “Imperial Grandmother, you saw wrong. I didn’t do it on purpose.”

Consort Yin had also been displeased with Consort Yuan for a long time, so she didn’t dwell on this matter and had someone bring food for the two children.

Chu Hongyu fed himself, while Consort Yin very patiently fed Changsheng slowly.

Before long, the nanny at her side approached and said softly, “Your Highness, earlier Little Li went to the prince’s manor to deliver something and heard a few things.”

Consort Yin’s hand paused. For the nanny to come report regardless of the occasion, it must not be an ordinary matter.

After she finished feeding the pastry in her hand, she smiled and said, “You two have been here long enough and must be tired. You should go back and rest. Come, Imperial Grandmother will take you back to the palace.”

Chu Hongyu was somewhat reluctant to return.

He secretly glanced in Yun Chu’s direction.

Various ladies and young misses kept coming over to talk with Mother—how annoying.

It seemed he wouldn’t find an opportunity to be alone with Mother.

Forget it. It was only a matter of these few days anyway.

The siblings secretly waved at Yun Chu and obediently followed Consort Yin back.

On the road, the nanny quietly related what she had heard. “…Little Li said that a few nights ago, after midnight, the prince brought a woman back from outside and hid her in the prince’s manor, forbidding anyone to see her…”

“What?!” Consort Yin was completely shocked. “Third Son could do such a thing?”

Her son had absolutely no interest in women whatsoever. If it weren’t for the two children needing maidservants to attend them, there probably wouldn’t be a single young woman visible in the prince’s manor.

She truly found it hard to imagine that Yi’er would bring a woman back to the manor in the middle of the night.

“Little Li deliberately stayed at the prince’s manor a bit longer and probed indirectly for quite a while before learning that the woman was actually living in Yanhui Courtyard.” The nanny spoke. “Yanhui Courtyard—that’s the courtyard where the prince lives. Letting that woman move in there, does it mean he wants to make that woman his princess consort? Your Highness, could the prince’s defiance of the imperial decree to refuse marriage be related to that woman?”

Deep wrinkles appeared between Consort Yin’s brows. “It might really be exactly that. Have Little Li make a few more trips. Find out clearly what that woman’s surname is, what she’s called, who she is, what her relationship with Third Son actually is, and what Third Son’s attitude toward her is.”

The nanny received her orders and went to handle it.

Kanning Palace was in complete chaos.

The old nanny whose arms had been severed knelt before the Empress Dowager, crying bitterly. “…Prince Pingxi deliberately did this to show the Empress Dowager. This is slapping Your Highness in the face…”

“Crash, crash, crash!”

The Empress Dowager smashed all the teacups on the table to the floor.

The eight people specially meant to harvest heart’s blood for Rui’er were her trusted confidants. Seven had died, and the only remaining one had both hands severed and had become a useless person.

Not a single useful person remained at her side just like that.

“Chu Yi!” The Empress Dowager roared angrily. “This dowager asks herself, she has never wronged him. How dare he act against this dowager!”

The old nanny endured the pain and said, “This old servant suspects that Prince Pingxi and that eldest daughter of the Yun Family must have an illicit relationship…”

“Oh, is that so?” A cold smile floated on the Empress Dowager’s lips. “A widow and a cast-off wife—Chu Yi actually dares to get involved with her, and even ruined this dowager’s plans for this woman. Very good, very good. This being the case, this dowager has come up with another scheme…”

“Empress Dowager! Empress Dowager!” A palace maid outside rushed in hurriedly. “Something terrible has happened!”

The Empress Dowager’s expression was cold. “Don’t look so flustered and rash. Speak!”

The palace maid said hastily, “Young Master Feng, Young Master Feng fell from his horse!”

The Feng family was the Empress Dowager’s maternal family. The Feng family had two sons, both the Empress Dowager’s nephews—one was the Chariot-and-Cavalry General guarding the southern border, and the other was Minister Feng, a third-rank official in the court.

The Empress Dowager relied heavily on her maternal family. Hearing this, she immediately stood up from her chair. “How badly was he hurt?”

“He’s, he’s dead…” The palace maid was terrified and fell to the ground with a thud. “Also, also, Prince Pingxi just had someone send over a jade pendant.”

The jade pendant was presented, causing the Empress Dowager’s vision to go dark. This was the Feng family’s jade pendant.

In other words, Young Master Feng’s death was caused by Prince Pingxi’s own hand, and he was directly and bluntly telling her—this was a provocation and also a warning!

The old nanny at the side carefully asked, “Empress Dowager, Prince Pingxi acts so recklessly. Should we still retaliate?”

The Empress Dowager closed her eyes and collapsed into her chair. “We can only ask the Emperor to step in. Even if the Emperor only administers twenty strokes of the rod, it would at least vent some anger.”

As soon as she finished speaking, another young eunuch hurried in.

This young eunuch was someone who served at Prince Zhuang’s side. The Empress Dowager’s mind couldn’t help but tense. “Did Rui’er have an episode?”

“Empress Dowager, just now, just now the prince went to the Imperial Study!” The young eunuch knelt on the ground to report.

The Empress Dowager breathed a sigh of relief. If he could still go see the Emperor, his health must be acceptable. It seemed he went to seek justice for his deceased cousin from the Feng family.

“The prince, the prince went to request that the Emperor revoke Prince Zhuang’s title and fief!” The young eunuch wailed. “On this servant’s way to Kanning Palace, the prince had already left the capital by carriage!”

“What?!”

The Empress Dowager’s vital energy surged turbulently. Unable to suppress her emotions any longer, her eyes rolled back and she collapsed directly to the floor.

The matters involving Prince Zhuang and the Feng family caused an uproar.

Young Master Feng of the Feng family died falling from his horse. It was said that he often abused that horse, driving it to a frenzied gallop, and so fell off and died.

And Prince Zhuang suddenly requesting that the Emperor revoke his title and fief made many ministers in the court detect a trace of something unusual.

“This cousin of mine actually truly gave up all of this.” Chu Yi’s expression was very somber. “Leaving the Empress Dowager, leaving the capital, without the title and fief of a prince—it seems he won’t live much longer.”

Indeed, he shouldn’t continue living.

Hundreds of palace maids had died just to extend his life until now. Causing so many innocent people to die in the depths of the palace—he truly deserved death ten thousand times over.

But he also understood clearly that these matters were not what Chu Rui wished. It was all orchestrated by the Empress Dowager.

Chengxu stepped forward and said in a low voice, “Consort Yin has sent Little Li again.”

Chu Yi curved his lips. “Arrange for a few people to receive Little Li and deliberately let slip all the information about that woman carelessly.”

Chengxu scratched his hair. “If this matter gets transmitted to the Yun family, I’m afraid…”

“So I’ll go tell her first.” Chu Yi stood up. “Has the green crystal I brought back earlier been packaged?”

This was something good he’d begged from Father Emperor with a thick face. When he gave it to Yun Chu later, it would surely win her smile.

However, before he could even walk out the manor gates, Eunuch Gao from the palace arrived. “Your Highness, the Emperor asks that you hurry over. The Empress Dowager fainted from crying in the Imperial Study. Your Highness must be careful.”

Chu Yi rolled up his sleeve. “Please look, Eunuch Gao. I was injured in the palace. Right now I need to have my pulse taken. I’ll enter the palace later to plead guilty.”

To express his apology, he stuffed a money pouch into Eunuch Gao’s hands, then led his horse away.

Eunuch Gao was simply dumbstruck.

Prince Pingxi had killed seven or eight people from the Empress Dowager’s palace, and the Empress Dowager also said Young Master Feng’s death was related to Prince Pingxi. She was tearfully accusing him before the Emperor.

And Prince Pingxi still had the mind to go do other things?