After giving her contraceptives, she went mad, criticizing the prince for turning white-haired overn

Xie Linyuan frowned.

Just as Empress Jiang suddenly lunged at him, he moved nimbly, turning sideways and walking forward.

Empress Jiang collapsed to the ground, and as he was about to leave, she reached out and tightly grabbed his sleeve.

Her eyes were slightly red, and she bit her thin lips as she looked up at him.

"Brother Lin Yuan."

That address of "Brother Lin Yuan" made Xie Lin Yuan feel extremely disgusted.

That was the name she used to call him on the black market back then.

At that time, he saw that she was also from Yanjing, so he took her back to Yanjing.

He had absolutely no feelings for her.

It was purely because of a single sentence from the late emperor.

Together they evaded the pursuers, enduring a life of hardship and displacement.

I've slept on street corners, dressed up as a beggar, and shared leftovers thrown away by others.

After a full two weeks on the run, the two finally returned to Yanjing City.

But now, she has gone from being the legitimate daughter of the Jiang family to becoming the current empress.

He transformed from a prince who was bullied and unfavored by everyone into a powerful regent.

The two had long been of different social standing.

At this moment, Empress Jiang only hoped that he would glance at her.

Xie Linyuan remained expressionless, and with a wave of his hand, coldly pulled his sleeve back from between her fingers.

"Sister-in-law, please have some self-respect."

Empress Jiang pursed her lips, her gaze falling on his cold, handsome profile.

Are you still holding a grudge about what happened back then?

"I was young then and didn't understand anything."

Xie Linyuan didn't even glance at her, only coldly surveying the old woman beside her.

"What's the point of keeping a servant who can't even support his own master?"

"What, you want me to help you up?"

The man's voice was icy, and his imposing aura terrified Granny Wang, causing her face to change drastically.

She quickly stepped forward and helped Empress Jiang up from the ground.

Empress Jiang steadied herself, bit her lip slightly, and stared intently at Xie Linyuan.

But Xie Linyuan's gaze never fell on her from beginning to end.

"I forgot to tell my sister-in-law not to shoot herself in the foot."

"I am not acquainted with you."

The man finished speaking coldly, then turned and left indifferently.

Empress Jiang stood there, staring blankly at Xie Linyuan's departing figure, feeling a deep emptiness in her heart.

The old woman beside her urged in a low voice, "Your Highness, let's go back."

"It seems that the Regent Prince does not like the Empress now."

"Furthermore, given Her Majesty's current special status, the two of you should avoid any appearance of impropriety."

"If other palace servants see this, and it gets back to His Majesty's ears, I'm afraid..."

The Empress bit her thin lips, unwilling to accept it.

"His Majesty is old and frail, and his health is deteriorating day by day."

"Over the years, the older concubines have had many children, but now that His Majesty is old, I alone have no offspring."

"If she can't conceive a prince again, I'm afraid I won't be able to explain it to the Empress Dowager."

"How will I secure my position as Empress then?"

As she spoke, her eyes reddened again.

The reason she was able to sit on the throne as empress was not only because she could please the emperor, but also because of the Jiang family.

She is the daughter of the current prime minister.

In addition, since the late empress had just passed away and the position of empress was vacant, she was brought into the palace to become empress.

But now, three whole years have passed, and there's still no sign of pregnancy.

The princes and princesses born to the other concubines are now all adults.

She had only one sickly adopted son, the Ninth Prince.

"Your Majesty, let's return to the Phoenix Palace first."

"We can find another way to have offspring later."

Empress Jiang nodded slowly, her gaze falling on Xie Linyuan's tall and straight back, a faint sense of resentment rising in her heart.

"The Regent has now come of age, does he truly not even have a single concubine in his household?"

The old woman answered in a low voice, "Indeed, no."

The Empress murmured, "Who do you think he's been thinking about all these years?"

"He's a man, doesn't he have any thoughts about love and romance between men and women?"

The old woman shook her head: "This old servant does not know."

The Empress then asked, "Who arranged for the singing girls sent to his room on the day of the spring hunt?"

The old woman lowered her voice and said, "I heard it's Prince Chen."

"On that day, Prince Chen and the young marquis of the Su family jointly proposed to marry the second daughter of the Shen family."

"What's strange is that the woman sent to the Regent's room looks somewhat like Miss Shen."

The Empress's eyes darkened as she recalled Shen Ning's archery skills at the spring hunting test.

She had only seen that kind of archery once, many years ago.

She had witnessed Xie Linyuan using it when she escaped from the black market.

Xie Linyuan was sent to the black market by the fifth princess of Qin for three years.

During those three years, the people in the Colosseum fed him poison, taught him archery, and taught him how to kill.

All they wanted was to raise him into a monster who could fight wild beasts, so they could use him to make money.

But they never expected that this monster would one day turn on them, slaughtering everyone in the arena and escaping from the black market.

Could it be that Xie Linyuan and Shen Ning are really connected in some way?

However, Shen Ning was indeed too eye-catching.

She was even more beautiful than Ye, the most beautiful woman in Yanjing back then.

On the day of the spring hunt, she noticed that Emperor Wuzong looked at Shen Ning differently than he did at others.

When Ye was young, both Emperor Wuzong and Prince Ming were infatuated with her.

Unfortunately, she did not want to marry into the royal family and chose General Shen Li, who was in charge of protecting the country.

Shen Ning is now very much like Ye Shi, and is a threat.

Thinking of this, Empress Jiang said softly:

"It seems that I should meet this second young lady of the Shen family."

"She's no ordinary woman; she can get two men to propose to her at the same time during the spring hunt."

Granny Wang's expression changed slightly, and she said, "Your Highness, there is something I'm not sure if I should say."

Empress Jiang: "You speak."

"I heard that yesterday, the Ming Prince's Mansion sent someone to the Shen family to deliver a piece of personal clothing."

"Could it be that the Ming King has his eye on the Ye family's two daughters?"

The old woman lowered her voice again.

"Back then, King Ming coveted Lady Ye's beauty and almost got drunk and defiled her."

"The Ye family escaped at the time, which is why we didn't succeed."

"The Empress Dowager ordered this matter to be suppressed, and no one has dared to mention it to this day."

"Could it be that the Bright King...?"

The old woman's words stopped abruptly on her lips.

Empress Jiang's lips curved into a smile.

"The two daughters of the Shen family are indeed too eye-catching, and they almost caught His Majesty's eye."

She turned to look at the old woman and said, "Tomorrow, summon the second young lady of the Shen family to the palace."

"I do wish for this to happen."

The old woman bowed and said, "Yes, Your Highness."

-

Shen family.

As dusk approached, the mansion was in a state of hustle and bustle.

Madam Shen was so angry with Shen Ning during the day that she felt short of breath and had chest tightness, so she stayed in the courtyard.

It is said that Madam Shen has become suspicious of Yu Pingsheng and Yu Jingshu's identities and has sent someone to Yongzhou to investigate secretly.

After being punished by family rules, Madam Yu was cared for by Shen Yue and Yu Jingshu.

Yu Pingsheng, fearing gossip, did not go to visit him.

It wasn't until nightfall that a maid from the Yu family's courtyard secretly delivered a letter.

The letter was written in unfamiliar handwriting.

"Brother Zhou, get the operation underway tonight."

Yu Pingsheng's eyes darkened, and he knew what the implication was.

Then, he burned the letter.

Meanwhile, in the Shen family's Buddhist hall, the candlelight flickered slightly.

Shen Rou knelt before the Buddha and began copying the Buddhist scriptures word by word.

On the surface, it was to pray for Shen Wan's well-being, but in reality, it was for the sake of the Yu family.

She knelt there from noon until late at night, without eating or drinking a drop of water.

As the hour of Hai approached, Shen Yan remembered what Shen Ning had said earlier, and got up to go to the Buddhist hall.

However, he did not enter the Buddhist hall, but instead went around to the window on the west side of the hall to observe what was happening inside.

In the Buddhist hall, Shen Rou, dressed in a pink satin cloak, knelt on a prayer mat, copying Buddhist scriptures.

A cold wind blew in through the window, and she coughed lightly twice, shivering, before continuing to write.

Seeing Shen Rou doing this for Shen Wan, Shen Yan felt extremely sorry for her.

Just as he was about to go in and persuade Shen Rou to go back to her room, he saw Xiang Ling take a cloak and drape it over Shen Rou.

"Miss, you are so devoted to the Second Madam; the Second Madam will surely understand your intentions."

Shen Yan paused, stunned, and stopped in his tracks.

Shen Rou said gently, "Today, I have been copying Buddhist scriptures here for four hours, hoping only for my second aunt's safety."

"I will set off early tomorrow morning to ask Master Miaoren to request a nine-section lingzhi mushroom for my second aunt."

"I only wish that Second Aunt can recover soon and take over the Shen family again."

Shen Yan could hardly believe her ears.

Shen Rou is his eldest sister, the legitimate daughter of the first wife. Why would she care so much about his second aunt?

Wasn't she only coming to the Buddhist temple to pray for blessings and going to Yunlai Mountain to seek medicine for Wan'er?