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

"I've found it." Zhao Yan presented a confidential report.

"Qin Zhenxiong's power was entrenched in the Northwest. He had previously embezzled military funds allocated by the imperial court, allowed his subordinates to seize farmland, torture and kill surrendered soldiers, and even used civilians as targets for military merit..."

Zhuge Liang borrowed arrows with straw boats, while Qin Zhenxiong borrowed arrows by using living people, using the corpses of innocent civilians as traps.

His heinous acts are countless, each and every one of which is enough to nail him to the pillar of shame.

Xie Jingyu put on his undergarments and took them to examine them carefully.

"Qin Zhenxiong has accumulated a lot of resentment among the people, and my investigation has been exceptionally smooth. But Your Highness, why do you insist on investigating this matter so thoroughly?"

"You previously agreed with..." Zhao Yan coughed lightly, "...that if you successfully conceived your child, wouldn't it be perfect to join forces with the Qin family to force them to abdicate?"

By that logic, the Qin family is actually on the same side as them.

If they help convict Qin Zhenxiong, wouldn't that be a perfect way to eliminate this major threat to the emperor?

Xie Jingyu said calmly, "Qin Zhenxiong is a ruthless and ambitious man. If Xie Ling can't control him, I might not be able to either."

Besides, Qin Lianyue is Xie Ling's woman. Even if she gets pregnant, who can guarantee that it will be his child? He has no interest in raising someone else's son.

"Our relationship with him can only be one of mutual exploitation. Only by grasping the enemy's weaknesses can we remain invincible."

Zhao Yan cupped his hands in greeting, "Your subordinate understands."

Xie Jingyu resealed the secret report and handed it to him, saying, "Keep this safe for now; it will be of great use to me when necessary."

"Yes." Zhao Yan turned to leave, but then seemed to remember something and turned back. "Your Highness, all the things you sent to the Qi family were returned. They said that Miss Ning caught a cold and looked haggard, so it was inconvenient for her to see any men, and it was also inappropriate for her to accept Your Highness's gifts."

"Heh." Xie Jingyu hadn't taken Ning Nishang seriously at first.

It was only because her features resembled Qi Yitang's that he couldn't have her, so he found a substitute as a pastime when he was bored.

But after several encounters, he found Ning Nishang to be more sensible and understanding than Qi Yitang.

Unexpectedly, he was also someone who couldn't see the situation clearly.

"It's alright. Once she recovers, I will personally go to the Grand Tutor's residence—" Xie Jingyu smiled, "to propose marriage."

The concubine was just a concubine, so he didn't need to visit her personally at all. But Ning Nishang suited his taste.

He personally visited her, showing her great respect, and even helped her find her younger brother; he figured she wouldn't refuse.

But Xie Jingyu hadn't finished his plan when a eunuch's voice suddenly came from outside, "The imperial edict has arrived—"

Zhao Yan paused as he was about to leave, and Xie Jingyu frowned as well.

What imperial edict?

But the imperial eunuch had already arrived at the door, so the two of them had no choice but to walk into the courtyard and kneel down to receive the decree.

It was Li Degui himself who came. "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Liu Ruyan, the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Anyang, is gentle, virtuous, and understanding of the bigger picture. She is hereby bestowed upon Prince Gong as his principal wife. Furthermore, Lin Qianqian, daughter of Lin Huai'an, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, and Zhu Xirou, daughter of Zhu Mingyuan, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, are of upright character and are hereby bestowed as concubines. They will enter the Marquis of Anyang's residence on the same day as the eldest daughter and will be married on the third day of the ninth month. This is the imperial decree—"

Xie Jingyu's face turned ashen. "What did you say?"

Lin Qianqian and Zhu Xirou were the "extraordinary women" carefully selected by Qi Yitang.

The former was destined to bring misfortune to her husband and is now a widow; the latter crippled her husband who frequented brothels and was subsequently divorced by his family.

These past two days, Qin Lianyue has been busy "serving the emperor in bed," while Qi Yitang has been busy with these matters.

Following the list provided by Xie Ling, she summoned the women to the palace and explained her intentions.

Although these women were all "unconventional" and extraordinary, women were always treated much harsher than men, regardless of the dynasty or era, and their situation was not good.

Lin Qianqian is said to have caused the deaths of four husbands, and is considered by the public to be a cursed lone star.

Actually, she was also unlucky. Of her first two fiancés, one drowned in an accident and the other choked to death while eating dates at home.

The third one was fine at first. Lin Qianqian married him and the couple lived harmoniously for a while. But one day, her husband suddenly started coughing up blood and never recovered. He died from coughing.

As for the fourth one, he was also an unlucky fellow. After getting married, he went on a business trip and fell off a cliff with his carriage. His remains were never found.

Although the deaths of these four people were not directly related to Lin Qianqian, rumors still circulated that she was cursed with bad luck and brought misfortune to her husbands.

Rumors were rampant, and coupled with the fact that Lin Qianqian had no children, she was sent back to her mother's home by her fourth husband's family.

Lin Qianqian's parents still planned to marry their daughter off to avoid affecting the marriage prospects of their other daughters, but unfortunately, no one in the capital dared to marry her.

Zhu Xirou had very good parents, but her ex-husband kept a mistress, schemed to take her dowry, and even wanted to raise the mistress's child under her name. She also had a violent temper, and one time when her husband went to a brothel, she lost control and beat him so badly that he was unable to have sex for the rest of his life.

For a man, being impotent is worse than being dead.

Her husband's family wanted her to pay with her life, but it was only after her father personally intervened that they obtained a letter of divorce and were able to bring his daughter home.

Even so, Zhu Xirou's former father-in-law repeatedly made things difficult for her father.

Upon hearing that they could marry Prince Gong, while others might not have reacted much, the two of them felt as if a huge windfall had fallen from the sky.

It smells so good!

It should be known that Prince Gong was not only His Majesty's elder brother, but also as handsome as Pan An and as gentle and refined as jade, attracting countless noble ladies to his side.

To put it bluntly, they don't even get a chance to pick up bargains.

Qi Yitang originally only wanted to choose one person because she only wanted to annoy Xie Jingyu and did not want to implicate innocent people. However, the two of them were very eager and did not care even if they were concubines.

She promised that no matter what the future held, she would help them obtain official titles and ensure they would be well-fed and clothed for the rest of their lives.

The two were even more grateful, and Qi Yitang went along with it, preparing to ask the emperor for a decree to grant them marriage.

Unexpectedly, at this critical moment, an uninvited guest entered the palace, insisting on seeing Qi Yitang.

She was none other than Liu Ruyan, the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Anyang.

Speaking of Liu Ruyan, she was an absolutely wonderful person.

During the Qixi Festival that year, she was almost harassed by hooligans, but Xie Jingyu came to her rescue, helped her escape, and even took her home safely.

In Liu Ruyan's memory, it was like a god descending to earth.

From then on, she fell in love with Xie Jingyu and couldn't extricate herself from it.

After being rejected when she sent a sachet to express her feelings, Liu Ruyan was struck dumb. She was not bad-looking and had no desire for the position of princess. Why couldn't she even be a concubine or a maid?

Liu Ruyan simply couldn't accept this fact; her grief was beyond words.

He went back and hanged himself.