As dawn was breaking, the palace gates had quietly opened.

A eunuch exited the palace gates, heading straight for Princess Rongyang’s mansion.

The princess’s mansion was located in an area where many royal and noble families resided, slumbering in the dim early morning light.

Princess Rongyang had long been living separately from Cui Xu, and her temperament had grown increasingly lazy. She often didn’t get up to wash until the sun was high in the sky. As a result, the closer one got to Princess Rongyang’s quarters in the mansion, the quieter it became.

The servants moved about quietly to avoid disturbing the princess’s sleep and incurring her wrath.

However, Princess Rongyang hadn’t slept well that night.

She was truly furious.

She had hoped to vent her anger by using a distant relative of Prince Yan’s wife to tarnish her reputation, but unexpectedly, Prince Yan had easily neutralized the situation.

This wild child raised outside the palace from a young age had taken an unorthodox approach, completely disregarding conventional methods.

Princess Rongyang’s anger refused to subside. She tossed and turned in bed, and just as she was finally drifting off to sleep, she heard a maid call out: “Your Highness, someone from the palace has arrived—”

Princess Rongyang sat up abruptly, clutching her brocade quilt, momentarily confused: “Someone from the palace?”

The maid said softly: “Yes, His Majesty summons you to the palace.”

Princess Rongyang couldn’t help but glance outside.

The window gauze was hazy, the door curtains thick. Even though the maid had just lit a lamp, it couldn’t dispel the darkness in the room.

“What time is it?”

After hearing the palace maid report the time, Princess Rongyang looked surprised: “Entering the palace as soon as the gates open?”

Has Royal Brother gone mad?

Princess Rongyang didn’t say this out loud, only grumbling inwardly.

Regardless, the Emperor’s summons couldn’t be delayed. Princess Rongyang said with a stern face: “Help me wash and dress.”

After getting ready, Princess Rongyang met the eunuch who had delivered the verbal order in the flower hall.

The eunuch hurriedly bowed to Princess Rongyang.

Princess Rongyang asked abruptly: “Why has His Majesty summoned me to the palace?”

The eunuch smiled awkwardly: “This servant doesn’t know, only that His Majesty ordered you to come to the palace as quickly as possible…”

Princess Rongyang frowned: “I understand, let’s go then.”

A small sedan chair was waiting outside the second gate of the princess’s mansion.

Princess Rongyang got into the sedan chair, and four bearers immediately started running with it.

The sedan bearers for the palace were carefully selected. Not only did they carry the chair steadily, but they also moved swiftly.

Princess Rongyang lifted the curtain of the sedan chair and peeked outside. The biting cold wind felt like a knife, painfully cutting her face.

Her drowsiness was completely dispelled, and her mind started working.

She was the most prominent among the princesses, and entering the palace had been a common occurrence for her over the years. However, this was the first time she had entered the palace so early.

Why had Royal Brother summoned her so urgently?

Looking up at the sky turning blue, Princess Rongyang felt an inexplicable gloom settle over her heart.

Such urgency probably didn’t bode well…

The sedan chair stopped amidst Princess Rongyang’s speculations.

As she got out, she immediately noticed a tall young man standing not far away.

The day was about to break, and he stood at the boundary between darkness and light, giving him an unreal quality.

Princess Rongyang was momentarily stunned, and then her expression darkened.

It was Prince Yan!

Yu Jin heard the commotion and turned around, greeting her coolly: “Aunt, you’re here so early?”

“Why are you here?” Princess Rongyang’s tone was even colder.

Yu Jin didn’t respond, but his eyes concealed anxiety.

Asi hadn’t returned all night!

Heaven knows how he had endured this night. As soon as he estimated the palace gates were about to open, he rushed over to seek an audience.

Looking at the imposing palace gates, Yu Jin felt powerless for the first time, a feeling he found extremely unpleasant.

“Your Highness, His Majesty is waiting,” reminded the eunuch who had delivered the verbal order to the princess’s mansion.

Princess Rongyang glanced at Yu Jin and walked past him.

Yu Jin stared at Princess Rongyang’s retreating figure, his lips curling into a cold smile.

He wondered what this stupid woman was so smug about. Nursemaid Duo had been caught last night, and Asi had been summoned into the palace. Knowing Asi’s personality, she definitely wouldn’t miss the opportunity to deal with her.

Another eunuch quickly approached: “Your Highness, His Majesty summons you inside.”

Yu Jin nodded and quickly caught up with Princess Rongyang.

“Royal Brother, you called me here at this hour, may I ask what the matter is?” Princess Rongyang asked as soon as she saw Emperor Jingming.

Emperor Jingming looked at Princess Rongyang expressionlessly, then glanced at Yu Jin.

After paying his respects, Yu Jin quickly scanned the surroundings.

Not seeing Jiang Si, he was immediately greatly disappointed.

Emperor Jingming couldn’t be bothered with his son-in-law’s infatuation and asked Princess Rongyang: “Do you know Nursemaid Duo?”

Princess Rongyang was slightly stunned, then smiled: “Royal Brother, do you mean Nursemaid Duo from Mother Empress’s palace? Of course, I know her.”

“Not just know her, Nursemaid Duo entered the palace because of your connection, right?”

“Royal Brother, what’s the matter?” Princess Rongyang’s smile faded as she sensed something was amiss. “Has Nursemaid Duo committed some error?”

“Rongyang, let me ask you this: what benefit did Nursemaid Duo give you that made you break the rules to send her into the palace?”

Princess Rongyang’s unease was confirmed, but she maintained her composure and said: “What benefit could there be? I thought Nursemaid Duo was a good person, and Cining Palace happened to be short-staffed at the time, so I mentioned her to Mother Empress, who didn’t object…”

“Wasn’t it because Nursemaid Duo gave you a kind of poisonous insect?”

Princess Rongyang’s expression changed dramatically, but she quickly recovered and hurriedly said: “Royal Brother, that’s not true!”

Hearing Princess Rongyang’s denial, Emperor Jingming was quite disappointed.

Even at this point, Rongyang was still trying to quibble.

“Not true? Rongyang, must you refuse to believe until you see the coffin?”

Princess Rongyang wore an expression of indignant humiliation: “Royal Brother, whose instigation have you listened to, that you would believe such a thing? As a princess, I lack for nothing. What use would I have for some poisonous insect?”

Emperor Jingming closed his eyes and sighed: “Rongyang, I hope you can tell the truth. Don’t keep lying to me.”

“Your subject sister is telling the truth!” Princess Rongyang said angrily.

If she panicked at this moment, all would be lost.

Hurried footsteps approached, and soon a eunuch entered: “Your Majesty, this was found in the Princess’s mansion.”

Pan Hai took the jade box from the eunuch’s hands and presented it to Emperor Jingming.

“Open it.”

Pan Hai opened the jade box, nearly dropping it.

Inside the box were two pale red insects, one large and one small, vigorously raising their bodies, making one’s scalp tingle at the sight.

Princess Rongyang’s face changed dramatically.

How could the insects she had her confidant raise possibly be found by the eunuchs? And when had the eunuchs searched her mansion?

Emperor Jingming, his face ashen, pointed at the jade box: “Nursemaid Duo personally admitted that she gave you two poisonous insects years ago. You used one of them to kill Su, the daughter of Marquis Yining, and you’ve been breeding the other insect until now. Were you planning to use these poisonous insects to harm me or the Empress Dowager if we displeased you?”

The more Emperor Jingming thought about it, the angrier he became. He said sternly: “You sent someone like Nursemaid Duo to the Empress Dowager’s side. Were you planning to control the Empress Dowager?”

“I didn’t, how could I possibly harm Mother Empress and Royal Brother—”

But Emperor Jingming didn’t want to hear any more from Princess Rongyang. With a heart full of disappointment, he said: “Princess Rongyang has colluded with foreigners, her intentions are treasonous. From this day forward, her title is stripped, she is demoted to a commoner, and is forever banned from entering the palace!”