I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 484 Two Major Events
The Empress excused herself from paying respects to the concubines under the pretext of recuperating from her injuries. The gates of Changchun Palace were tightly closed, and for a time, the palace was deserted and quiet, as if it had blended into the snowy landscape.

The palace was in turmoil, and the court was also thrown into turmoil.

As the year draws to a close, two major events have occurred in Beijing.

Firstly, the capital received news of a victory: the pirates on Wangyue Island had been completely wiped out, and a considerable amount of valuables had been seized.

The pirate leader cursed a bastard named Yi Zhen, wishing he could tear him to pieces.

Investigations reveal that Yi Zhen possesses some supernatural abilities and is capable of divination. He secretly played a significant role in the successful capture of Wangyue Island. Although he is in the enemy camp, his heart is with the imperial court, and he may be of use.

The victory report included a portrait of Yi Zhen.

The moment Xiao Jingfan saw the portrait, he recognized the man as the scholar who had slipped him the note in front of the restaurant. He immediately ordered local officials to post missing person notices and thoroughly check checkpoints. He was determined to find this man and deliver him to the capital unharmed.

Chu Liuzheng turned his head to look at the portrait and saw a handsome, fair-skinned scholar whom he did not recall seeing before.

She turned her gaze away and continued to open Jiang Yao's reply.

The letter was short; I finished reading it in just a few glances.

In her letter, Jiang Yao said she would take her husband to Western Xia to see if they could capture Pingxuan. If they couldn't, they would kill him. She also sent a message to Feng Jing to let him know that she was safe.

Tang Ge'er's health is temporarily fine, and Feng Jing has already taken Tang Ge'er to Yinsha Island to spend the New Year there.

All the news was good, but to avoid the emperor seeing it, Chu Liuzheng burned the letter after reading it. She couldn't explain to the emperor how she knew Pingxuan was in Xixia.

Watching the flames burn the letter to ashes, Chu Liuzheng realized, a beat late, that something seemed off.

[Lord Jiang specifically mentioned in her letter that she was going with her husband. Is she showing off her affection for me? This isn't like Lord Jiang at all!]

This is definitely not Jiang Yao's style; it was a young master who begged and pleaded with his wife for days.

Not for any other reason than to tell all of Jiang Yao's friends that he, Cang Yi, finally, finally, finally has a legitimate status!
Although Chu Liuzheng already knew, he even selected gifts to send to Yuecheng along with the emperor's rewards to congratulate Lord Jiang on his marriage.

Thinking of their completely different personalities, she shook her head. She was about to continue reviewing the suddenly increased number of memorials of greeting when she noticed the emperor beside her staring at the memorials in front of him with a very gloomy expression.

Chu Liuzheng peeked out and saw that it was a memorial pleading for the Duke of Zhong's family.

As for why we pleaded for the Duke of Zhong's family, we have to mention the second important matter.

Someone went to Shuntian Prefecture to file a complaint against the Duke of Zhong's mansion, accusing it of damaging the West Ring River embankment two years ago out of personal greed, causing the flood to change course and inundating thousands of acres of fertile farmland downstream. Thousands of people living along the river were swept away and drowned because they did not have time to evacuate.

All witnesses are available.

After verifying that the evidence was not fabricated, Dong Yi, the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, decisively took the petition to the palace to meet the Emperor.

The emperor was furious and ordered the three judicial departments to conduct a joint trial, investigate the case within ten days, and give an explanation to the innocent people who had died tragically!
With such conclusive evidence, in an ordinary family, the verdict would already be final. But facing a noble family like the Duke of Zhong's mansion, the Three Departments had to be extremely cautious.

The cautious conclusion was that this did indeed happen.

The perpetrator was the second son of the Duke of Zhong's mansion. The Duke of Zhong not only knew about it but also chose to protect him and executed all the people in the mansion who knew about it. He also gained a reputation as a bodhisattva by providing relief to disaster victims along the Xihuan River. Some people even built temples and statues of him and enshrined longevity tablets in their homes.

Little did they know that the source of their suffering was the Duke of Zhong's mansion.

By profiting from the suffering of others, the Zhong family not only preserved their fertile land but also pleased the emperor, receiving numerous rewards and further solidifying their position in the court.

Now that this tragedy has been unearthed, the entire court is in shock.

In a fit of rage, the emperor stripped the Duke's title and imperial decree from the Zhong family, imprisoned the entire household, and after the crimes were investigated, the mastermind and accomplices were beheaded, while the rest were exiled to a harsh and desolate place, never to return to the capital.

The noble family was ruined overnight. The empress, who had been confined to her palace, knelt before the Hall of Mental Cultivation all night, but instead of obtaining the emperor's mercy, she received a list of charges against her.

Every single detail is crystal clear.

Empress Zhong understood everything in an instant.

From then on, Changchun Palace was never opened again, and it became like a cold palace.

Zhaoyang Palace was bustling with people coming and going, and Consort Shu, who was acting as the Empress's successor, seemed to be the best candidate to succeed her.

For a time, even the maternal relatives of Consort Shu, the Duke of Yingguo's mansion, were constantly visited by a steady stream of people.

The warm pavilion in Wanshou Palace was as cozy as spring. The Empress Dowager was teasing the little prince with a cloth tiger, saying, "Yan'er, come here to your grandmother."

The little prince crawled over on his hands and feet, stretched out his arms to grab the cloth tiger, and made babbling sounds.

Granny Zhao tiptoed in and whispered, "Empress Dowager, His Majesty just sent word that he is busy with affairs of state and will not be coming for dinner tonight."

The Empress Dowager was stunned for a moment. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the little prince grabbed the constantly shaking cloth tiger into his arms, held its tail in his mouth, and crawled away before starting to play with it, so that it wouldn't be snatched away by the wicked adults again.

Seeing him like this, the Empress Dowager smiled and said, "This little rascal will definitely be clever when he grows up."

Granny Zhao chimed in from the side.

After watching the little prince play with the cloth tiger for a while, the Empress Dowager instructed the wet nurse to take good care of him, and then, supported by Granny Zhao, she went to the outer room.

"Quickly rub my arm, it's sore." She stretched out her arm, and Granny Zhao smiled helplessly, "You've been so busy holding your grandson that you've forgotten about yourself. Should we call Imperial Physician Wu to give you a couple of acupuncture treatments?"

"Just rub it a little." The Empress Dowager moved her fingers and suddenly sighed, "My son has really angered his mother."

"Look at what you're saying, how can a mother and son hold a grudge overnight?" Granny Zhao comforted him gently. "The end of the year is busy, and the Zhong family incident just happened in the previous dynasty. His Majesty must be troubled. I heard that the lights in Wenhua Hall were on for half the night yesterday. Please be understanding and don't really anger His Majesty."

Hearing this, the Empress Dowager felt a little better.

She was angry that day and said some harsh words, which she later regretted.

The bonds between people cannot withstand the test of time.

She wanted to make amends, but the emperor was very busy. He only came to pay his respects twice and left without even eating, which seemed quite different from his usual behavior.

But Granny Zhao said that the emperor had always been like this, but she noticed the difference because she had something on her mind, and that she was just overthinking it.

She thought that when the emperor had some free time, the mother and daughter could sit down and have a good chat.

But the emperor's next series of actions left her completely bewildered.

First, under the pretext of recuperating, she seized the Empress's Phoenix Seal and handed it over to Consort Shu to manage. Then, she sent the young prince to her. Just as she was beginning to understand what was going on, the Duke of Zhong's mansion suddenly collapsed. Besides the incident of destroying the dam, many other things were gradually revealed, even involving old matters related to the Empress.

In the blink of an eye, the Empress, who had been firmly seated on the throne, was now effectively deposed.

The Empress Dowager felt no pity for the Empress, but was alarmed by the Emperor's actions.

The Zhong family, a noble family that had served two dynasties, was swiftly and decisively purged. Which family will be next? The Duke of Ying's family? Or the Xie family?

Such worries lingered, and the Empress Dowager couldn't sleep soundly at night. She sent countless letters to her family, urging her brother to behave himself and keep a low profile, lest he jump up and run into the Emperor's guillotine at this time.

(End of this chapter)