She accidentally flirted with the villain and was fiercely criticized as the regent for forcibly mar

Shao Yunting didn't believe it.

Jiang Ruining strode around him and walked straight into the tent: "Even if I really did plant spies among you, do you think I'd tell you? What a dream!"

"I'll wait and see what happens to you!"

……

The Empress Dowager's tent, embroidered with phoenixes in gold thread, was luxuriously furnished, almost identical to that in the palace.

The bed was made of sandalwood, the dressing table was inlaid with hundreds of precious gems, the handkerchiefs were made of brocade and were to be thrown away after wiping, and the floor was covered with a tribute velvet carpet that was light and soft to walk on. The sixteen-panel ebony screen that separated the two rooms was calm and dignified.

Beneath the screen was a long, upturned table with a vase on it. Every day, palace gardeners would select a budding flower and send it by fast horse. By the time it arrived, it would be in full bloom, cut off, and placed in a vase for the Empress Dowager.

On one side of the vase is a three-tiered, five-legged silver incense burner with wisps of smoke rising from the openwork, which should have been ambergris used exclusively by emperors.

The Empress Dowager slowly sipped a delicate jade cup, worth ten thousand taels of gold: "Have you noticed anything new these past few days?"

Grand Tutor Cui remained calm, showing no sign of the displeasure he felt at almost being outmaneuvered today: "A few young men have grown too big for their britches and want to replace the old ministers in the court!"

"That Xie family lad is indeed quite shrewd. If we hadn't run into Princess Fu Ning today, we would have really been outmaneuvered by him."

The Empress Dowager asked with some curiosity, "I wonder if she knew that ligers couldn't reproduce, or if everything was under the Regent's surveillance?"

Grand Tutor Cui said, "Judging from the Regent's reaction, she probably already knew."

The Empress Dowager smiled, her eyes deep and unfathomable: "This Princess of Funing is truly a remarkable person. She speaks arrogantly, yet her words are full of traps. I've heard that many people have been embarrassed by her."

Grand Tutor Cui was cautious and wouldn't easily take action against someone he couldn't understand: "She's formidable; let's not touch her for now, lest she turn around and bite us."

The Empress Dowager nodded. She indeed did not intend to touch her in the short term. She was a very interesting girl, and she wanted to see how many tricks this girl could pull off and how many people she could make lose their composure!

Changing the subject, she smiled and asked him, "Guess who that young man who tried to use Baihui to scheme against you is working for?"

Grand Tutor Cui dismissed it, saying, "Perhaps it is the Prince of Yan! If it weren't for the wicked concubine Shen suddenly adopting Xiao Che, he would be the Crown Prince!"

The Empress Dowager shook her head: "No."

Grand Tutor Cui paused slightly, a sinister glint slowly spreading across his refined face before quickly dissipating. A barely perceptible killing intent lurked in his soft laughter: "It seems our emperor has grown up, become ambitious, and now wants to murder his mother and brothers to seize power!"

The Empress Dowager remained calm: "Whether the Regent knew before or not, he should know now. Let's see if he takes any action!"

If he takes action, it will save her the trouble.

However, her well-behaved and sensible son still needs to be disciplined!

Otherwise, if word got out, wouldn't people say that she, as a mother, hadn't raised her son well? That she had raised a monster who wanted to kill his mother and brother!

"Be careful, the emperor definitely has more than just Xie Lanheng on his hands."

Grand Tutor Cui nodded: "Your Majesty, please rest assured."

The Empress Dowager sighed, "We must cut off the Regent's tentacles reaching into the provinces as soon as possible! Otherwise, the Great Zhou Dynasty might change hands!"

Grand Tutor Cui scoffed, "He's only temporarily gained the upper hand. We've built our foundation over so many years; how could he so easily shake it!"

……

If the emperor does not return to his palace, his subjects must not move, otherwise it would be considered disrespectful to the emperor.

The Xie family had no choice but to endure their ordeal in the camp.

Vice Minister Xie went to plead with the Empress Dowager and Grand Tutor Cui, but they wouldn't give him a chance to speak.

He knew that they were deliberately keeping the Xie family out of the loop, both to teach them a lesson and to tame them, waiting for the Xie family to submit to them like obedient dogs, serving them and fighting for them.

He went to plead with the Regent, but the Regent refused to see him, showing no intention whatsoever of taking the opportunity to win over the Xie family!

Unfortunately, a voice emerged in the camp targeting the Xie family, saying that Xie Lanheng's murder was a capital offense, and even if Xie Lanheng were pardoned, he would never be able to enter officialdom again because he had killed someone.

Moreover, their family backgrounds were not a good match to begin with, but the Xie family insisted on not taking the initiative to break off the engagement. They wanted to drag Zheng Lingyi into the quagmire, because they were jealous of her good family background and wanted to harm her, putting the blame for their son's trouble on her head!

Hearing such discussions, the Xie family was filled with even more gloom and despair.

Xie Qinghe sobbed and cursed in the tent, blisters forming at the corners of her mouth. She was furious: "Since Zheng Lingyi has already accepted my brother's betrothal gifts, she'll die a ghost of the Xie family! What right does she have to stand aside!"

"What right do those gossips have to talk about us like that! What does the Regent mean by this! Does he look down on the Xie family?"

Vice Minister Xie stared at the unapproved and rejected memorials on the table, his eyes weary: "Now the Regent Prince holds most of the power in the Great Zhou. Among the Three Dukes, the Grand Tutor and the Grand Protector support him. The Cabinet used to be controlled by Grand Tutor Cui, but now that the slippery and difficult Jiang Huai has entered, it has become a hindrance between the two factions."

"He controls two of the four major military passes, holds the power of 200,000 troops in the capital region, and four of the ten regional governors were personally promoted by him. Four of the ministers in the six ministries are his people. As for the Xie family... in his eyes, the Xie family are nothing more than lowly officers who can only stand in the ranks!"

Xie Qinghe's eyelids twitched wildly as her father recounted the Regent's power.

How could a man with such power possibly look down on a mere Xie family?

"Is Second Brother really beyond saving?"

Madam Xie's brow furrowed deeply in just a few days: "Perhaps the Regent is trying to temper Jiang Ruining's arrogance, to let her know that even if he pampers and adores her, she still has to be obedient in front of him!"

However, after Jiang Ruining agreed to help them, she took the initiative to go to the Regent. No one knows how she begged him, but four or five days have passed and the Regent still shows no intention of helping.

Even though the Zheng family went to see Jiang Ruining every day, she never made a move again!

She refused to be tamed and argued with the regent again!

In her extreme anxiety, Xie Qinghe became extremely rude and jealous!

She's clearly just a shrew who only knows how to bully others, so why does she deserve special treatment from such an outstanding man as the Regent? Why does she think the Regent would willingly bow down for her?

Does she deserve it?

"What does Jiang Ruining mean? Does she expect us to kneel before her and beg her before she'll go to the Regent again?"

Madam Xie pinched her brow hard, suppressing her anger and irritation: "Given her current status and position, that's how she thinks. What can the Xie family do to her? Perhaps she's waiting for the Regent to give up on taming her and take the initiative to find her and coax her."

In short, the leaders were all incredibly composed, while the Xie family suffered daily from anxiety and gossip!

Xie Qinghe sneered through gritted teeth, "She's the one who needs the Regent's help, yet she expects him to go out of his way to appease her? Is she using the Xie family's situation as a pawn to curry favor? That despicable woman..."

"Shut up!" Madam Xie knew what her daughter was going to say as soon as she heard the jealousy in her tone, and angrily scolded, "The Xie family needs her help now, and you still act like this. If word gets to her, Grand Secretary Jiang, or the Regent, do you think they'll let you off the hook?"

"You implicated your brother in committing murder, and now you want to kill him too?"