The Empress Dowager never could have imagined that at this moment, the Empress would be the first person to stand up and defend Qin Yining.

This Empress usually kept a low profile and didn’t make herself conspicuous, yet now she was so eloquent with her words, each sentence holding firm to reason. As her mother-in-law and the Empress Dowager, to be outmaneuvered by her own daughter-in-law—how could she maintain her standing in the palace in the future?

The Empress Dowager said coldly, “Empress, are you being obstinate? Do you truly not care about your own imperial son? Could it be that you’ve colluded with the Qin family, plotting to harm the imperial heir?”

The Empress’s face changed drastically!

“Empress Dowager, what reason is there to randomly assign guilt like this! Though this subject is a junior, since His Majesty has entrusted Feng Yin to this subject, this subject must handle affairs impartially. The Qin family can at most only be considered suspicious now, yet Empress Dowager has directly determined that the Qin family is guilty.

“Your actions like this could very likely allow the real culprit to escape justice. In this way, one innocent person would be wronged while the person who truly wants to harm the imperial heir lives freely, and might even harm the prince again in the future. This subject is the birth mother of the First Prince—how could this subject allow such a situation to occur?”

The Empress Dowager was once again rendered speechless by the Empress.

Seeing this, Li Helan sneered coldly, “Sister-in-law Empress, what great authority you have, daring to shout at Mother Empress like this. For the sake of a criminal who plotted to harm the First Prince, you speak so harshly and severely—could it be that Sister-in-law Empress has received some benefits from your in-laws?”

The Empress was so angered by Li Helan that she nearly fainted, “Princess Imperial, watch your words!”

“I think Sister-in-law Empress should watch her words! Mother Empress is your mother-in-law. When your mother-in-law gives orders, you don’t obey, and you even contradict her like this, wholeheartedly siding with outsiders, being unfilial to Mother Empress and not protecting your own son. Is Sister-in-law Empress qualified as the mother of the nation?”

“Whether qualified or not cannot be determined by Princess Imperial’s single statement!”

The Empress and Li Helan began arguing. The Empress Dowager simply waved her hand at the palace attendants, “The Empress has been bewitched by others. Please escort the Empress aside and detain the Qin family!”

“Yes.”

The palace attendants from Cian Palace immediately stepped forward, flanking the Empress on left and right to take her aside.

The guards then grabbed Qin Yining and began dragging her outside.

Qin Yining had injuries on her legs and simply couldn’t keep up with the guards’ pace. Moreover, the height at which the guards carried her prevented her feet from touching the ground. Within a few steps, both shoes had fallen off, and soon her feet were scraped raw by sharp stones, her white socks stained with spots of blood.

The Empress struggled anxiously, saying sternly, “The Empress Dowager’s way of handling this is too unjust and will only invite ridicule!”

“Audacious! This dowager sees that you’ve had enough of being Empress! Be careful that this dowager has the Emperor divorce you!”

The Empress’s eyes turned red with anger. She forcefully shook off the hands of the two palace attendants grabbing her, turned around, and walked away.

“Stop! You stop right there for this dowager!”

But the Empress acted as if she hadn’t heard, continuing to walk quickly without looking back, infuriating the Empress Dowager until her face turned the color of pig liver, constantly muttering, “How outrageous, how outrageous!”

“Mother Empress, don’t be angry. Sister-in-law Empress has been bewitched. You can teach her slowly in the future. How do you plan to deal with the Qin family?”

The Empress Dowager said irritably, “Don’t concern yourself with this matter. In any case, this dowager is here. Wanting to harm this dowager’s grandson—she’s seeking death!”

After dropping this statement, the Empress Dowager strode outside.

Consort Yun and Princess Tana both rose and bowed, “Respectfully seeing off the Empress Dowager.”

Li Helan had been snubbed in front of the consorts and had seen enough of the spectacle, so she didn’t linger any longer and left the palace first.

Consort Yun and Princess Tana already couldn’t stand each other, so they also dispersed separately.

Princess Tana was especially delighted today seeing Qin Yining’s misfortune. The task Su had assigned her that day was finally completed, and she had finally vented some anger for A’na Ri Khan. Thus, Princess Tana was in an excellent mood the entire way.

However, upon returning to Chuxiu Palace and glancing at the side hall where Qin Yining resided, she remembered something.

“That’s not right. Doesn’t the Qin family have two maidservants by her side? Just now the guards only arrested the Qin family member—where are those two maidservants?”

Princess Tana found this matter quite suspicious. With the intention of pleasing the Empress Dowager after discovering such a clue, she immediately took people to Cian Palace.

At this time, in the inner hall of Cian Palace, the Empress Dowager and Consort Yun were sitting and talking.

The handkerchief in Consort Yun’s hands had been twisted into a knot. She nervously whispered, “Cousin aunt, this matter is too suspicious. How did Consort Yu suddenly appear in the middle? Will there be any changes to our plans?”

“What are you afraid of?”

The Empress Dowager smiled faintly, picked up her tea bowl, and took a sip. “As long as you do everything according to what this dowager told you, there won’t be any problems.”

Consort Yun’s eyes flickered slightly, and she hurriedly showed her loyalty, “This subject did everything according to what you said, using the arsenic you gave me, and the person was also…”

“Shh! Are you seeking death!”

Consort Yun quickly covered her mouth and didn’t dare say another word.

The Empress Dowager said in a deep voice, “Originally our plan was that the bird’s nest would definitely be tested for poison before being given to the First Prince to eat. As long as poison was detected, the people from Kunning Palace would immediately arrest the Qin family. This way, the conflict would be entirely between the Empress and the Qin family.

“However, today Consort Yu suddenly appeared, which disrupted our plan, but the objective was still achieved the same way, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Yes.” Consort Yun bowed respectfully, with unconcealed disappointment in her eyes.

The Empress Dowager glanced sideways at Consort Yun, “What, do you have something else you’re dissatisfied with?”

“No, no.” Consort Yun hurriedly waved her hands. “This subject just saw that things were different from what was expected, so I became a bit flustered. I don’t have any other thoughts.”

Hearing this, the Empress Dowager gave a cold laugh and said, “I trust you don’t have that kind of courage. Well, this dowager is also tired. You may go.”

“Yes.” Consort Yun stood up, curtsied, and respectfully withdrew.

The Empress Dowager leisurely played with her tea bowl, looking at the lifelike carp playing among lotuses pattern on the bowl, and suddenly chuckled softly.

Did she think the Empress Dowager couldn’t see what Consort Yun was disappointed about?

Could Consort Yun really have hoped that the First Prince would actually eat that bird’s nest laced with arsenic?

If she hadn’t arranged in advance for Consort Yu to bring a dead dog that had eaten arsenic to knock over that bowl of bird’s nest, what if her precious grandson had really eaten it? Wouldn’t the Emperor turn against her?

The Empress Dowager leaned back leisurely and contentedly hummed a little tune.

A nanny came from outside to report, “Empress Dowager, Consort Shun requests an audience.”

The Empress Dowager frowned, “Tell her this dowager has gone to sleep. I won’t see her.”

Hearing this, the nanny responded and went out to see Princess Tana.

“Replying to Consort Shun, the Empress Dowager was extremely shocked and angered today, utterly exhausted, and has now gone to sleep. If you have any instructions, please tell this servant, and this servant will relay them for you.”

Princess Tana was so angry she nearly cursed. She had just seen Consort Yun coming out of Cian Palace—how could the Empress Dowager fall asleep in the blink of an eye?

If she didn’t want to see her, then so be it. What was so great about that? It made it seem like she was chasing after favors.

Princess Tana forcibly suppressed her anger and said, “It’s like this: this palace discovered that the two maidservants by the Qin family’s side are missing. The guards didn’t see them during the arrest either. I specially came to inform the Empress Dowager. Since the Empress Dowager has already retired, this palace will take my leave.”

After a perfunctory bow, without looking at the nanny’s expression, Princess Tana quickly returned to Chuxiu Palace.

But the nanny’s face changed dramatically, and she hurriedly went back to tell the Empress Dowager.

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager immediately sat up, “A bunch of idiots! They even let two young women slip away? Tell them to go find them immediately!”

“Yes!” The nanny quickly went to instruct the guards to capture Ji Yun and Bingtang.

On Qin Yining’s side, she had already been shackled with an iron chain around her ankle, the other end locked to a wall pillar in the dark room.

All the windows of this dark room had been nailed shut with wooden boards, with only weak light seeping through the gaps between the boards, casting floating dust in the empty room.

The room was clean on all four sides, without any tables, chairs, benches, or furniture. There was a large kang by the window, which obviously would never be heated, and a chamber pot placed in the corner. There was nothing else.

She never imagined there would be such a place behind the Empress Dowager’s Cian Palace.

Qin Yining dragged the heavy chain and walked a few steps. The room was dark and moldy, with a faint smell of blood—who knows how many palace servants who had made mistakes the Empress Dowager had executed in this room.

Originally, she had thought that someone of the Empress Dowager’s status wouldn’t bloody her own hands, but now it seemed she had overestimated her.

Qin Yining walked through all the places the chain’s length would allow, trying to sit on the kang, but discovered that because it was near the window, with drafts from all directions, it was actually colder than the ground, so she returned to the red lacquered pillar, wrapped her arms around herself, sat down hugging her knees, and curled herself into a ball.

“It’s okay,” Qin Yining said to herself.

An echo could be heard in the empty hall.

“It’s okay, nothing will happen. Just hold on a little longer.”

The hall still echoed with her own voice.

Qin Yining pressed her swollen cheek against her sleeve. A drop of hot tear spilled from the corner of her eye and was quickly absorbed by her sleeve.

She couldn’t be weak, couldn’t be afraid. Because Qin Yining understood that this was still only the beginning.

Being confined in Cian Palace was more terrifying than being locked in the Ministry of Justice prison. Here, the Empress Dowager could torture her whenever she felt like it, and the methods of those old nannies around the Empress Dowager would surely be very formidable.

Qin Yining closed her eyes and forced herself to conserve her energy. Things had come to this point—she had to be strong. She still had two children, still had Pang Xiao, still had her parents. She had to persevere.

Qin Yining judged sunrise and sunset by the light seeping through the window gaps. In the blink of an eye, a full day and night had passed.

She had been sitting in the same position the entire time, hugging her knees and curled up for warmth. Her empty stomach cramped in waves, her lips were cracked from thirst, the bruised areas on her knees had swollen up and hurt piercingly, and when she touched her face, it seemed even more swollen than before.

Qin Yining silently drew the first stroke of the character “正” on the wall corner, smiled self-mockingly, and wondered how long this “savage” of hers could hold out.

Such a major incident had occurred in the palace. Although Li Qitian hadn’t deliberately spread the news, he hadn’t suppressed it either. Soon, the court officials and nobles learned about Prince Consort Zhongshun’s wife’s attempt to harm the imperial heir.

At Princess Imperial’s mansion, Li Helan had just changed into a brand-new bright red spring outfit when a maidservant came excitedly to report, “Princess Imperial, Princess Imperial! The Prince Consort has come!”

Hearing this, Li Helan’s face lit up with joy. She quickly looked in the mirror at the hairpins and ornaments on her head, confirming that her appearance was flawless, then stood up with a smile.

Ji Zeyu wore a black crossed-collar arrow-sleeve shirt, his ink-black hair bound high behind his head and hanging down his straight back. His jade-like face showed no expression whatsoever, his handsome features cold as frost.

Seeing Ji Zeyu like this, Li Helan felt a flutter in her heart, “Why has the Prince Consort come? Could it be that you missed this palace?”