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

Jiang Ruining chuckled, "Grand Tutor Cui, don't be in such a hurry! It's not time for you to announce your establishment yet!"

Grand Tutor Cui's first reaction was to scan all the archers in the hall.

The countless arrows are still aimed at the opponent!

"Oh? I'd like to hear what other tricks you regicides and traitors have up your sleeves!"

As he wished, Jiang Ruining gave him a shock: "Actually, if you want to know who poisoned His Majesty, why don't you just ask His Majesty?"

No one reacted to her words at first.

Someone was about to refute her claim that she was talking nonsense, but stopped abruptly halfway through their sentence: "What do you mean?"

Jiang Ruining smiled, raised her hand, and pointed to the door of the sleeping quarters: "There, ask yourself!"

Everyone looked in the direction she pointed.

The next instant, everyone—whether standing, sitting, or leaning—experienced a tremendous shock!

"His Majesty!"

"His Majesty is... is still alive!"

The Empress Dowager stared at Shuang Mou in disbelief, her mind buzzing. She thought she was hallucinating, but the child in her arms cried out in pain as her arms tightened, which startled her back to reality!

"How could this be..." She had confirmed his death with her own hands, he was clearly dead, yet her lips trembled, her usually cautious lips uncontrollably murmuring, "How could he not be dead!"

The young emperor was deathly pale and bluish-white, like a zombie crawling out of a coffin. He was carried forward by two strong eunuchs, and after sitting down, his body slid down like mud, panting heavily.

"I... was murdered by the Empress Dowager and the traitorous Cui clan, a bastard child!" His weak hand pointed to the infant in the Empress Dowager's arms, "I had long ago taken an infertility-inducing drug; this bastard child was forced into my body by the Empress Dowager and the Cui clan!"

"After the successful substitution of the crown prince, the Empress Dowager couldn't wait to poison me, attempting to frame the Regent, support the illegitimate child, and continue ruling the country! To prevent the empire from falling into the hands of treacherous officials, I tried every means to contact the Regent, which led to this situation!"

"The Regent has saved my last breath, exposing the Empress Dowager and Lady Cui's treacherous schemes before all officials and relatives. I earnestly hope that all ministers will not be fooled by this vile woman's dreams!"

His words brought the Zichen Palace to an absolute silence.

A few breaths later, the relatives who supported the Empress Dowager slammed their fists on the table and roared, "How hateful! The Empress Dowager poisoned His Majesty and handed over the Xiao family's empire to the Cui family. She deserves to die! She deserves to die!"

The child's cries were loud.

The Empress Dowager's heart was jolted by the huge waves, but after a moment of panic, she calmed down: "The Emperor is dying, he's delirious, and delirious people only say delirious things, there's nothing to listen to! The one in my arms is the First Prince, it's absolutely true!"

Archers surrounded the palace, both inside and outside. All the generals of the Imperial Guards who had defied the Empress Dowager had been killed during the Regent's wedding procession. Although Xiao Che held the military power in the Western Jiao camp, it would take at least a day for them to receive the news and come over!

As long as she finishes all her business in one day, she'll be in charge of the world!

One day is enough!

Jiang Ruining countered, "So, the Empress Dowager is determined to use a commoner as the heir to the throne?"

The Empress Dowager declared with great authority: "If I say he is, then he is!"

The young emperor's face twitched a few times. Even though he had never held power for a single day, he was still the emperor and a descendant of the Xiao family. How could he tolerate the Holy Mother's rebellion against Heaven?

"Traitor!"

Many of his relatives also launched a tirade.

The Empress Dowager sat upright, looking down at everyone with disdain.

Jiang Ruining raised her hand and dusted off her fingers.

Brush brush!

All the archers, in perfect unison, turned and pointed at the Empress Dowager!

The sound of clashing weapons rang out again outside the hall.

The Empress Dowager's faction rushed out to see what was happening, and after a while, they stumbled back, stammering, "It's a rebellion! The Imperial Guards have stormed in—no, they've all been killed!"

But the Empress Dowager understood what it meant.

Her people were all killed!

All strategic planning was frozen in time.

Cui Taifu's composure was cracked.

The comrades were all dumbfounded.

I also realized one thing completely: their every move had been seen through long ago!

The supposed success in eliminating the rebels within the Imperial Guard, the supposed success in capturing the Regent's Consort... it was all just a performance by them, waiting to expose them all and capture them all in one fell swoop!

"Grand Tutor Cui is anxious, and the Empress Dowager is anxious too. The matter isn't finished yet, what's the rush?" Jiang Ruining sighed softly. "Alright, everyone, keep your voices down! His Majesty has something to say, but you're all making so much noise he can't hear you!"

The Empress Dowager and the Cui faction were naturally unwilling to lose so easily and wanted to make a last-ditch effort.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, he was shot dead by an arrow.

The hall was frozen in the atmosphere of death, making the rebels tremble with fear and struggle to breathe.

The young emperor's time was running out, and seizing the opportunity, he made his voice heard as loudly as possible: "I hereby issue this final imperial edict, decreeing that the Regent Prince Xiao Che shall inherit the throne, and all treacherous officials shall be executed without mercy..."

The last syllable fell to the ground.

The young emperor, filled with resentment and bitterness, breathed his last with his eyes open.

The chief eunuch stepped forward to check his breathing, and after confirming there was no sign of life, announced in a wailing voice, "His Majesty has passed away!"

Lord Zongzheng, the most influential and respected member of the imperial clan, was the first to kneel: "Respectfully bidding farewell to the spirit of the late Emperor, we humbly request the new Emperor to ascend the throne immediately and stabilize the court!"

The Empress Dowager and Cui's people still tried to struggle.

But the archers gave them no chance to speak or resist. In just a short while, more than a dozen corpses lay in the hall, and the air was thick with a nauseating stench of blood that even the biting cold wind could not dispel.

Once one person knelt, another followed... Soon, everyone except the Empress Dowager, Grand Tutor Cui, and the sons and in-laws of the Cui family knelt down.

"Respectfully seeing off the late Emperor."

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

From the moment he considered the throne as his own to his demise, it was only four hours.

The tide is gone.

The light of ambition in the Empress Dowager's eyes was extinguished, and her face was ashen, but her back remained straight. She remained indifferent to her son's death, as if that person had never been a part of her life!

At this moment, Cui Taifu's composed mindset, which he had maintained for most of his life, collapsed. His usually refined and scholarly demeanor now exuded a cold and ruthless arrogance.

The hand held in front of him gently twitched its fingers.

The quietest official among those who supported Xiao Che suddenly stretched out his arm in Xiao Che's direction.

It's a hidden weapon!

Swift and fierce, like a hawk launching a general offensive!

Xiao Che remained as steady as a mountain, without the slightest movement, simply wrapping his wife in the safest position.

Jiang Ruining didn't have much real power and knew very little about Xiao Che's subordinates. So even though she knew he was perceptive and would investigate thoroughly, and even though the arrival of the fabric would inevitably lead to a sudden change, she was still quite nervous when facing a palace coup for the first time.

After the danger passed, the tension turned into excitement. These emotions were like nourishment, taking root in her heart and mind, giving her the composure and confidence to face crises with ease!

She firmly believes that in the near future, she will possess a kingly heart comparable to Xiao Che's!

The anomaly is clear.

Grand Tutor Cui was hit on the temple by a teacup and fainted.

All the other Cui family henchmen who refused to submit were also pinned to the ground, handcuffed in heavy shackles, and imprisoned, including the infant in swaddling clothes.

The palace coup failed!

From then on, the Empress Dowager had nothing left!

Xiao Che watched coldly, as if he were an outsider, showing no interest in the outcome of this game. Even if he obtained the throne, it wouldn't affect his emotions.

He looked down and saw that his wife seemed very excited, so he smiled.

Jiang Ruining nudged the man with the headband: "Don't stand there! Tell everyone to get up."

Xiao Che glanced at the kneeling crowd in the hall: "My lords, rise!"

The Imperial Clan Minister stepped forward, cupped his hands in a respectful bow, and asked, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, how should we deal with the Empress Dowager?"

Perhaps seeing no chance of turning the tide, the Empress Dowager decisively pulled out the gold hairpin from her hair bun and plunged it into the carotid artery in her neck. She then pulled it out with a whoosh, warm blood spurting out. Leaning against the backrest of her armchair, her eyes wide open, her body twitching slightly from the approach of death.

Jiang Ruining stared in disbelief.

So decisive, so decisive, that she wondered if the "Empress Leveling Up" game could restart as long as she died!

But it doesn't matter whether it's true or not.

At least in this game, she lost!

Xiao Che asked her to make a decision.

Jiang Ruining was taken aback: "Me?"

Xiao Che replied matter-of-factly, "You are the Empress, and have the right to punish or reward all the people of Great Zhou."

Is this empowerment?

Jiang Ruining wanted to rub her little hands together again; she was so excited!

Try asking him for some real power later.

What's the point of being an empty shell of an empress? It's only exciting when you're an empress with real power!

But right now, dealing with these traitors is the priority.

Jiang Ruining thought for a moment and then ordered, "Strip him of all his titles and bury him as a commoner."

Although I admire her ambition to compete with men for power, her ambition was built on the deaths of countless innocent people and the suffering of the masses, so she does not deserve to be worshipped after her death.

"Finding a quiet place to die alone, with no soul to use, is perhaps a kind of punishment!"

Zongzheng thought this made a lot of sense: "Her Majesty the Empress is very thoughtful; the people will feel that the imperial family is benevolent. Her Majesty the Empress is wise!"

With him leading the way.

The ministers knelt down and praised him.

"Your Majesty the Empress is wise!"

Jiang Ruining's heart was pounding; she was more nervous and excited than when she was kidnapped and held hostage.

She was just a cannon fodder character to highlight the female lead, yet she managed to support the empress like that?

She began by calling out "Rise!", her voice even cracking slightly as she spoke: "All of you, please rise!"

Xiao Che led Jiang Ruining out of the palace.

The outside has been cleaned up.

After being washed several times with clean water, the ground was covered in water, and under the starlight and moonlight, the entire large courtyard was filled with a dim and cold atmosphere.

The two stood side by side under the starlight and the glow of flowers, calm and composed.

A biting wind swept by, carrying away the unpredictable clouds and waves.

A new era is about to begin!

"Entering the palace is not the end, but a new beginning. Xiao Che, from now on you will be manipulating and restraining officials throughout the court. They will form new factions and have greater ambitions. Are you confident?"

Xiao Che tightened his grip on her hand, turning his head to look at her as she gazed up at the moon: "With you here, I feel confident."

Jiang Ruining tilted her head, raised an eyebrow at him, and smiled: "If you listen to me, I'll stay with you forever! It would be even better if you were willing to give me some power."

Xiao Che released her hand.

The warmth in Jiang Ruining's hands was swept away by the cold wind, and the biting cold seeped into her bones.

Xiao Che took something from his sleeve: "Give me your hand."

Jiang Ruining still reached out her hand, and then, a cold object landed in her palm.

It's a military tally!

She had seen it.

Xiao Che's tone was expectant, just like when he brought her some novelties to make her happy, wanting to see her nod in satisfaction and say she liked them: "Control of the 200,000 troops in the western suburbs is yours. Control of the Six Ministries, which do you want?"

"Once everything is settled, I will have someone bring you the Minister's seal."

Jiang Ruining just wanted to test whether he would be willing to give him power. He didn't expect him to give so much. With such a huge pie came a huge responsibility. Status and pressure go hand in hand!

It felt like he was giving her toys, not power.

He really doesn't seem to take the throne seriously!

"Let me think about it and I'll let you know later."

Xiao Che nodded, agreeing to everything she said: "Okay."

Jiang Ruining was satisfied.

She doesn't know what the future holds, but at least for now, she's happy!