The wicked imperial concubine is courting death again; the comments section teaches her how to win w

Qi Yitang went by horse-drawn carriage.

Even with thick soft padding inside, the bumpy ride still left me feeling a slight heaviness in my lower back and abdomen.

Fortunately, the children were very well-behaved, curling up quietly inside without kicking or moving around.

To this day, Qi Yitang's hatred for Qin Yuanchao is almost equal to that for Xie Jingyu.

This person is like a fly, or a cockroach, with an outrageously tenacious vitality, buzzing around you, which is incredibly annoying.

The Scorpion Guards surrounded the villa, and before Qi Yitang could even step inside, Xie Changqing stopped her.

"I'll walk in front later, so please be quiet, Your Majesty."

Xie Changqing didn't want anything to go wrong under his nose, otherwise, if his elder brother came to him in a dream to ask, he would probably have to answer on his knees.

Chi Zheng followed closely behind Qi Yitang, half a step away, while Mei Shu, Yuan Shu, and Wu Shuang silently slipped inside to deal with the little fleas.

"Your Majesty the Empress has come from afar; it is my fault for not being a proper host."

As soon as they entered the inner courtyard, a door opened in front of them, and Qin Yuanchao walked out, holding Ning Nishang hostage.

Seeing that besides Qi Yitang, there were also Princess Anping, Xie Changqing, Lu Linbai and a bunch of other people by his side, he twitched the corner of his lips, "But it seems that I only invited Her Majesty the Empress. With so many people coming, I may not be very welcoming."

"Xuan Niang!"

Staring at the gleaming dagger against Ning Nishang's neck, Lu Linbai's forehead veins bulged. "Let go of Xuan Niang! If you have a problem, come at me!"

Qin Yuanchao's expression towards Lu Linbai was extremely unfriendly. He had only arrived a step late, yet this bastard had gotten there first. How despicable!

However... a man with erectile dysfunction doesn't pose much of a threat.

"I will not harm Xuan Niang, but—if Your Highness dares to take another step forward, then things might not be so simple."

"Lin Bai, no..." Ning Nishang shook her head at Lu Lin Bai.

[Don't be scared, Fatty! You're the main character now! Kill this bastard!]

The second male lead is absolutely disgusting. The male and female leads were doing so well, and he just had to interfere.

Seeing that the female lead was unharmed, Qi Yitang breathed a sigh of relief and stopped Lu Linbai, who was about to rush forward.

"Qin Yuanchao, I think you've got something wrong."

"Oh?"

"You know perfectly well how much I loathe Ning Nishang. What makes you think you can threaten me with her life?"

Qin Yuanchao sneered, "Then why did you come?"

Qi Yitang: "Of course I'm here to kill you. You took my husband's life, and today I will make you pay with your life."

Qin Yuanchao seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world and suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, you think you can take me? Xie Ling prides himself on being wise and mighty, yet he couldn't kill me even if he risked his life. What can you do to me?"

Xie Changqing couldn't hold back any longer. "You despicable and shameless wretch! You dare to bring up your underhanded tactics against my brother? If you've got the guts, fight me fair and square!"

Seeing Qin Yuanchao's confidence, Qi Yitang's heart sank.

"What exactly do you want?"

Qin Yuanchao stared straight at Qi Yitang with his single eye, his smile icy.

"Let me tell you, I've already planted gunpowder under this villa. Today, all of you will die here."

gunpowder?

Qi Yitang's pupils shrank suddenly, and everyone was shocked. This madman wanted to drag everyone down with him!

Qin Yuanchao continued, "Furthermore, my men have already taken this opportunity to attack the imperial city. The throne is within our grasp."

The whole scheme he set up today was a ploy to lure the tiger away from the mountain.

Qin Yuanchao knew that Xie Ling treasured Qi Yitang the most, and that she was surrounded by elite experts. Only by transferring her away from the capital could they defeat her one by one.

Princess Anping frowned. "You already know about your origins?"

Qin Yuanchao's smile vanished, replaced by a sinister glint in his eyes. "So you knew all along, my—good imperial sister."

Everyone was stunned. Xie Changqing didn't react either. What right did someone surnamed Qin have to call the emperor "elder sister"?

Qi Yitang's mind went blank. "What about my background?"

[A classic family background plot; I bet the second male lead is the emperor's illegitimate son.]

[666, no one can get past the second level.]

Not many people know this secret; perhaps even Qin Zhenxiong himself doesn't know that he's been cuckolded.

Years ago, at a palace banquet, the late emperor got drunk and had a one-night stand with Yang Lanru, the mother of Qin Yuanchao.

That one time led to the birth of Qin Yuanchao.

Yang Lanru was drunk and confused, and thought it was her husband's. Qin Zhenxiong happened to be in Beijing at the time and did not suspect anything.

Only the late emperor himself knew the truth about this absurd matter.

Princess Anping also learned the truth when she overheard her father instructing his guards to secretly protect Qin Yuanchao, saying that he owed the child a great deal.

"Why? We are both sons of the emperor, yet I can only live as a subject, bowing and scraping, and even being exiled thousands of miles away."

Qin Yuanchao's voice was suppressed and filled with resentment, "In what way am I inferior to Xie Ling? I'm determined to sit on this throne!"

"Have you ever seen an emperor who was blind?" Qi Yitang suddenly asked.

Qin Yuanchao's expression froze for a moment.

Xie Changqing immediately chimed in, "That's right! To ascend the throne, one must at least have regular features and be physically fit. Even if you don't have an elder brother, there are other members of the imperial clan. How could it be your turn?"

Qin Yuanchao had lost patience with their nonsense.

He sneered and waved his hand into the shadows. "Go!"

He then led Ning Nishang back a few steps, waiting for the ambushers to swarm in so he could ignite the gunpowder and escape.

however--

A few breaths passed, and apart from a gust of autumn wind carrying fallen leaves through the courtyard, there was no other sound.

Qin Yuanchao's smile froze. "Where is he?"

He clearly had men lying in ambush beforehand, so why didn't any of them show up?

"Are you looking for them?"

A familiar male voice came from the courtyard gate, and everyone turned around abruptly.

Li Fengyao, Yuan Shu, and others escorted a man in black as he slowly walked over.

He stood tall and straight, like a drawn sword. Half of his face was covered by a silver mask. His brow bone was high and straight, his jaw was sharp, and his eyes were as black as a cold pool, calm and still but with hidden sharpness.

It was none other than the already deceased Emperor Jingyuan, Xie Ling.

[Here he comes! Wago makes his grand entrance, background music should be playing here.]

Sunlight fell on Xie Ling's shoulders, casting a long and steady shadow on him.

"Your...Your Majesty?!" Xie Changqing rubbed his eyes in disbelief. His brother was not dead!

Ning Nishang and Lu Linbai were quite surprised, but Princess Anping remained as calm as ever.

Qin Yuanchao looked as if he had seen a ghost. "You're not dead?!"

Chi Zheng and the guards threw the black-clad corpses they were carrying onto the ground one by one, and soon they piled up into a small mountain of corpses.

"I may disappoint you, but I am perfectly healthy."

Xie Ling ignored the others and walked straight to Qi Yitang's side. He stretched out his arm and firmly wrapped it around her waist, pulling her slightly heavy body into his arms.

"Tangtang, your husband is back."