Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Inside the lavishly decorated hall, the Crown Prince and the Third Prince knelt down together and bowed to the woman at the head of the table. Their movements were precise and respectful.

If Jia Lian were here, even with his shrewdness, he would probably be stunned.

The reason was that the woman sitting on the embroidered couch in front of the two princes was the very woman he had previously protected from horseback!

The woman had changed into a gorgeous and bright palace dress. She looked less aloof than before, but more elegant and indifferent to the world.

Faced with the two princes' trembling apologies, she merely glanced at them indifferently.

Seeing this, Zhao Yang, who was standing beside her, knew that the Empress Dowager was angry, so she immediately questioned the Crown Prince: "Elder brother, you made a solemn promise before that you had arranged everything properly and that no one would offend the Empress Dowager. That's why I begged the Empress Dowager to come with me."

Now that this has happened, what do you have to say? And if it weren't for the Empress Dowager's great fortune that she escaped unharmed, how would we explain this to Father Emperor and Grandfather Emperor when we return?"

Princess Zhaoyang's words clearly revealed her lingering fear.

That's absolutely true. Taking the Empress Dowager out of the palace was wrong to begin with. If something were to happen to her, even if they were princes, they would be severely injured, if not killed!

Therefore, even though Princess Zhaoyang questioned them in a reproachful tone, the two princes did not dare to feel dissatisfied. Instead, they both looked up at the woman at the head of the table, who was their legal grandmother according to etiquette!

Although the Empress Dowager still looked young, they dared not underestimate her in the slightest.

Even their father, the Emperor, was extremely respectful and dared not show the slightest disrespect in front of this young Empress Dowager.

"Please forgive me, Your Majesty! I have investigated and found that some villainous and rebellious person has deliberately tampered with the horse that I specially selected for Your Majesty and Zhaoyang."

They added a huge amount of stimulants to the hay they fed the horses. Once the horses ate this hay, they would fall into a frenzied and violent state within half an hour. This is why the thoroughbred horse that the Empress Dowager rode went out of control...

The grandson wanted to find out who was so audacious as to plot against his grandmother, but little did he know that the coachman who poisoned her had committed suicide by taking poison half an hour earlier.

"I have already ordered all those responsible for tending the horses to be detained. Grandmother and Princess, please rest assured, I will investigate this matter thoroughly and find the mastermind behind it!"

Although the Crown Prince seemed to be reporting and defending himself, his suspicious gaze, which was always directed at the Third Prince, clearly showed who in his heart was this audacious and rebellious person.

The Empress Dowager and Zhaoyang naturally followed the Crown Prince's gaze to the Third Prince.

They all understood the Crown Prince's meaning.

If something were to happen to the Empress Dowager today, the Crown Prince, as the host, would naturally be held responsible.

If the Crown Prince loses power, the only possible beneficiary will be the Third Prince, who is not much older than the Crown Prince but has a good reputation in the court and among the people!

The Third Prince's face was gloomy. He said coldly, "What the Crown Prince said is true. Whoever dares to plot against the Empress Dowager deserves to be executed by slow slicing!"

I hope that Your Highness can investigate the matter as soon as possible. If Your Highness is too busy to find out the truth quickly, it would be better to entrust this important task to your younger brother.

Your Majesty, I assure you that I will thoroughly investigate this matter within three days, providing an explanation to the Empress Dowager and clearing the Crown Prince's name!

"you……"

The crown prince was furious upon hearing this.

What a Third Prince! He dared to imply to his face that he was incompetent!

He was unaware that the rumors that "the Crown Prince is only the eldest in age, but his talent and character are inferior to the Third Prince" were fabricated by him in collusion with those scholars and literati.

What a load of rubbish! What a load of rubbish! In horseback riding and archery, how can you compare to me? And you still dare to talk about talent.

Moreover, he even said something about clearing his name?

The implication is that he, the Crown Prince, is now a suspect in the plot to murder the Empress Dowager!

What a vicious and despicable person! Does he think everyone in the world is so stupid that they can't even see through this little trick of framing someone?!

What audacity! To frame him, she even dared to scheme against the Empress Dowager...

The Crown Prince was alarmed by the Third Prince's ruthlessness and unscrupulous methods.

Seeing that the two of them had already reached a tense standoff in just a few words, the Empress Dowager waved her hand and said, "Enough, you two may rise."

"Thank you, Grandmother..."

"I heard that the Crown Prince has already ordered martial law to be declared?"

There's no need for that.

Today, I left the city with Zhaoyang, and apart from a few of you, no one else knows.

Now that you've gone to such great lengths, isn't it suspicious? Withdraw all the extra manpower.

By the way, I heard from Zhaoyang that the Crown Prince prepared a literary gathering in the afternoon?

"It just so happens that I wish to choose a suitable husband for Zhaoyang. You two should keep an eye out for him, preferably a talented young man who is both scholarly and martial, and who has ideals and ambitions. Report his information to me."

Upon hearing the Empress Dowager's instructions, the two princes were filled with trepidation.

Although the Empress Dowager did not express any blame, no one knew what she was really thinking.

At their level, the only people who could decide and influence their fate were a few people within the inner palace.

Clearly, the Empress Dowager was definitely one of them.

Moreover, due to their special relationship, the Empress Dowager's attitude was of paramount importance to them; otherwise, the two of them would not have made a special trip out of the city today to celebrate the birthday of the imperial sister, Zhaoyang.

Putting aside the Empress Dowager's relationship, a mere imperial sister might not be worth their fuss.

Finally, the Crown Prince said awkwardly, "But, Your Majesty, you have been frightened. I have already ordered the cancellation of the afternoon literary gathering and am preparing to escort Your Majesty back to the city..."

Before he could finish speaking, seeing the Empress Dowager's expression darken, he quickly changed his words, saying, "I will go down now to make the preparations."

The Empress Dowager nodded, "Yes, you may all leave. Don't worry about me."

"Yes……"

The Crown Prince and the Third Prince left the Empress Dowager's temporary palace with a feeling no less apprehensive than when they arrived.

After the two men left, Zhao Yang moved closer to the Empress Dowager, looking somewhat dejected.

"What's wrong with you now?"

Zhao Yang shook his head and said, "Grandmother, do you think it was really the eldest brother or the third brother who instigated it?"

Has things really come to this point, to the point where they're willing to disregard even the safety of their grandmother to achieve their goals?

The Empress Dowager smiled faintly: "And what do you think?"

Zhao Yang did not answer, so the Empress Dowager instructed her: "Such things have not been uncommon in the imperial family since ancient times."

"Being born into royalty, you should understand better than others that, often, when caught in the vortex, a single wrong decision can lead to situations where even the closest of relatives turn against each other..."

Seeing the disillusionment in Zhaoyang's eyes after she had seen through it all, he knew that with her intelligence, she wasn't ignorant; she was just unwilling to believe it.

Then, changing his tone, he said, "However, this matter today may not necessarily have been the work of those two."

Zhao Yang immediately pressed further, "Does Grandmother have someone she suspects?"

The Empress Dowager only smiled and did not answer, but instead said, "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's talk about your life's most important matter."

It's a deal, this time I'm going to choose according to the standards you gave me.

If you try to make excuses for me then, I will not let you off the hook.

Upon hearing the Empress Dowager bring up the old topic again, Zhao Yang quickly said in a coquettish tone, "Oh dear, Grandmother, why are you in such a hurry to marry me off? I just want to stay by your side and keep you company..."

"You still want to deceive me? Do you think I don't know? It's just that your standards are too high, and you're determined to find someone who is perfect for you?"

But life is full of disappointments...

The Empress Dowager paused briefly at this point.

Zhao Yang immediately realized that her great-aunt, who had raised her, was also the Empress Dowager, and that there were many things she didn't like about her...

My great-aunt is actually two years younger than my mother.

Although she wasn't very clear about what happened back then, she did know that when her great-aunt entered the palace at the age of fourteen, her grandfather was already over sixty.

Although her grandfather loved her dearly and gave her everything that most women in the world could only dream of.

Honor, status...

But as a woman herself, how could she not know that perhaps this was not what she wanted?

The Empress Dowager, unaware that the girl she had raised was implying something else, continued to say, "It's all my fault for spoiling you since you were little and raising you to be so arrogant."

They only behave a little better in front of me!

I'm really worried that even if I marry you off, your future husband might not be able to tolerate you.

"Look at what you're saying, she's not that bad at all..."

Zhao Yang disagreed a hundred times with the Empress Dowager's criticism of her.

She thought to herself, if I were to find my ideal husband, I would love him with the most extreme love in the world, so that we could be a harmonious couple, with mutual affection.

It's not like what the Empress Dowager said!

As someone with experience, the Empress Dowager could easily see through her thoughts, shook her head, and stopped trying to explain.