The Grand Secretary has no heir? His concubine gives birth to triplets.

"Manager Zhao."

Manager Zhao, who was waiting outside the study, came in as instructed.

Pei Yan handed over the sealed letter: "Deliver it to the Xue residence and give it to Lord Xue."

Manager Zhao accepted the gift with both hands, put it in his pocket, bowed, and left.

The night was thick.

The shops on both sides of the long street had long since closed their doors, leaving only the night watchman striking his clapper, making a "tap tap tap" sound.

Manager Zhao took a shortcut and had just turned into the narrow alley behind the Drum Tower when he was suddenly struck on the back of the head with a blunt object.

He didn't know how much time had passed before he slowly woke up, and his first reaction was to reach into his clothes.

The letter is still there.

The silver and waist tokens at his waist were also intact.

Manager Zhao was completely bewildered. He leaned against the wall and climbed up. The alley was empty; there wasn't a soul in sight.

Robbery? Doesn't seem like it.

Seeking revenge? He wouldn't even be alive then.

Could it be that some drunkard mistook someone for someone else?

Without thinking it through, he clutched the back of his head and rushed to the Xue residence.

Lord Xue received the letter in the middle of the night, and his heart tightened.

He immediately tore it open, and by the candlelight, he had only managed to scan two rows before his face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

"Someone! Bring the lady here to me!"

Madam Xue, Zhao, was removing her makeup in her room. Before the powder in front of the bronze mirror was completely wiped off, she was urged to go to the study.

The moment I stepped across the threshold, a letter came crashing down on me.

With a loud smack, it hit her right on the forehead.

Lord Xue was so angry his beard trembled. "Look at the mess you've made!!"

Zhao picked up the letter, her face growing paler with each reading.

"Master, I...I didn't know Qiuyue would..."

"You didn't know?" Lord Xue laughed angrily. "Whose person is Qiuyue? The cosmetics she carries are laced with that kind of despicable stuff, and you dare say you didn't know?"

Zhao's lips trembled, her eyes reddened, and she knelt down with a thud.

"My lord, I am innocent!"

"I only wanted... for Qiuyue to serve Prime Minister Pei well and please him... who knew that that wretched woman would secretly do something shady..."

"fart!"

Lord Xue slammed his hand on the table, causing the teacup to bounce and spill tea all over the table.

"No matter what, Lingyi is the eldest daughter of the Xue family! Do you really think Prime Minister Pei can't see through your treatment of her?!"

"That's a decisive and ruthless prime minister!"

"He can read the minds of all the officials in the court; he can see right through your little schemes!"

Zhao lay on the ground, her fingernails scratching her palms until they bled, her heart filled with hatred.

Qiuyue was trained by her; she was outstanding in appearance and skilled in bed.

As long as Qiuyue captivates Pei Yan, Xue Lingyi will suffer endless grievances once she marries him!

Who does Xue Lingyi think she is?

How dare someone who killed his mother and grandmother climb the social ladder to marry into the Prime Minister's household!

Her biological daughter, Meiniang, is far superior to that jinx in both looks and talent.

Unfortunately, her husband was biased and betrothed her to a poor, newly appointed top scholar from a humble background!

Both were daughters of the Xue family, but one married the current Grand Secretary, while the other married a poor man named Cuoda.

Why should I?!

But despite all her calculations, she hadn't anticipated that Pei Yan hadn't touched Qiu Yue at all.

Not only did they not touch it, but they also discovered that it contained aphrodisiacs.

This is truly a case of lifting a stone only to drop it on one's own foot.

Lord Xue paced back and forth in his study, feeling a heart attack just looking at this foolish woman.

"Tomorrow morning, send Lüyi, who serves Lingyi, to the Pei residence, and prepare a generous gift as an apology!"

"You're Lingyi's aunt, after all. Stop having such low-class and filthy thoughts!"

"If Pei Xiangruo breaks off the engagement because of this, I will divorce you!"

Zhao trembled violently, biting her lower lip until it bled, before she could barely squeeze out a single word.

"……yes."

Meanwhile, at Kunning Palace.

Xiao Yuzhen reclined on the chaise longue, filigree nail guards in her hand.

The trusted nanny, Zhang, brought in a bowl of bird's nest and placed it on the small table.

"Your Majesty, please take a sip, even if it's just a little bit. Be careful of your health."

Xiao Yuzhen rested her head on her hand, her brows furrowed deeply.

Her migraine flared up again, and it felt like a million knives were churning inside her head.

"Take it down, it's disgusting to look at."

Granny Zhang dismissed the others and whispered in her ear, "Are you troubled by Prime Minister Pei's matter?"

Xiao Yuzhen remained silent, but her hands slowly tightened around the brocade quilt beneath her.

Every word the guard reported back swirled in her mind.

One was killed, and another one popped up.

He not only favored that concubine, but also favored her for the entire night!

He was dissatisfied with the maidservant who was supposed to be his wife in the Xue family, and he even went to great lengths to write a letter to Lord Xue, demanding that he replace her!

Xiao Yuzhen turned over and buried her face in the pillow.

"Granny, you said my cousin..." Her voice trembled.

"He's always been such a clean person since he was little, he'd feel like he'd wash his skin off if someone even touched him, how come he's suddenly become so indiscriminate about cleanliness now?"

Granny Zhang sighed, carefully choosing her words.

"Your Majesty, please forgive this old servant for speaking frankly, but Prime Minister Pei's ability to be close to women... is actually a great thing."

"He is the only son left in the Pei family's eldest branch, and the task of continuing the family line is of paramount importance."

"Your Majesty and the Prime Minister are childhood sweethearts and have the deepest affection for each other. Your Majesty should be happy for him."

Xiao Yuzhen slowly sat up.

"Yes, he's better now, I should be happy."

Zhang Mama breathed a sigh of relief and was about to say, "It's good that Your Highness has come to her senses," when Xiao Yuzhen's voice suddenly turned cold, carrying a chilling madness.

"He even dared to touch those two lowly concubines..."

"Then he can touch me too."

The old woman's face stiffened abruptly, and she was so frightened that she knelt down on the ground.

"Your Majesty! This, this is absolutely unacceptable! You are the Empress, and Prime Minister Pei is merely a subject—"

"I know I am the Empress." Xiao Yuzhen looked in the bronze mirror and ripped off the phoenix hairpin from her hair. "But so what?!"

The emperor was over fifty years old, his health was failing, and he was already a useless person on his bed.

For the past four years, she has been alone in her room every night, feeling unbearably lonely.

That hateful Crown Prince! He's ignorant and incompetent, indulging in wine and women all day long, and he even dares to plot against his mother!

Last month in the Imperial Garden, while the emperor was admiring the flowers, that beast grabbed her waist and tried to drag her into the artificial hill.

The surrounding palace maids and eunuchs were all terrified, and not one of them dared to utter a sound!

If she hadn't been ruthless enough to deliberately fall down the steps and twist her ankle, who knows what would have happened.

And what about the emperor?

Her old eyesight was failing, and she didn't notice anything. She even smiled and praised the Crown Prince for being filial and knowing to help his mother.

Xiao Yuzhen is utterly disgusting.

"Every person, every brick, every breath in this palace disgusts me!"

"My cousin is the only reason I want to live."

"Granny," she suddenly lowered her voice, "I want to see him."

Granny Zhang wept uncontrollably and kowtowed repeatedly.

"Your Majesty! This old servant begs you not to make a mistake! Having an affair with a foreign official is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family!"

Xiao Yuzhen looked down at her, the fire in her eyes not extinguished, but burned even brighter.

"I just want to see him once and say a few words."

"Granny, your entire family's indentures are with the Xiao family, and you're most loyal to me, aren't you?"

Granny Zhang shuddered, breaking out in a cold sweat.

"This old servant... when does Your Majesty intend to...?"

Xiao Yuzhen curled her red lips into a beautiful smile.

"Every afternoon, the cabinet has a one-hour break, and my cousin usually takes a nap in the side hall."

"Tomorrow, call Xiaozhuzi over and have him keep an eye on things outside for me."