Transmigrating into a book, seducing him to rise to power

Qianqing Palace.

"Your Majesty, the people I placed around Consort Yan and Consort Xu have brought back quite a bit of information. Do you have time to listen to it now?"

Anshun hunched over, head bowed, feeling somewhat uneasy.

These news reports are not very favorable to the Empress. He is conflicted and doesn't know whether to speak or not.

Jun Zechen didn't even look up, still fiddling with the memorials in his hands, and casually asked, "Is it related to the Empress?" His tone was indifferent.

If he had nothing to do with Yao Yao, he wouldn't really want to listen to the gossip and intrigue between these women.

An Shun frowned, his facial muscles twitching involuntarily. It was related, but...

After hesitating for a long time, he whispered, "About..."

Jun Zechen frowned and raised his head, looking at An Shun with piercing eyes, his gaze conveying authority and questioning.

"Are you planning to scheme against the Empress again?"

"No, they're just talking about the Empress behind her back."

Anshun quickly explained, beads of sweat already forming on his forehead.

"What are you talking about regarding the Empress?"

"Recently, Consort Yan (Yan Xiaofei), Consort Xu (Xu Shiying), Consort Bai (Bai Mengli), Consort Tang (Tang Suxi) and others have been getting very close. They even went to see Consort An (An Jinyan) together. When they were chatting, they talked about Consort Tang's miscarriage in the Eastern Palace."

Anshun's voice grew softer and softer, and his head drooped even lower.

"An Jieyu said that the Empress revealed to her that Consort Tang was sacrificed to save her son, so the disrespect shown by Lady Ling before the late Emperor's spirit was a conspiracy between An Jieyu and Consort Tang."

"besides......"

An Shun felt the increasingly oppressive atmosphere emanating from His Majesty, as if the surrounding air had solidified, and for a moment he didn't know how to continue speaking.

"What else?"

Jun Zechen suppressed his anger, his voice sounding as if squeezed out from between his teeth.

An Shun forced herself to continue, "Consort Tang had not yet announced her pregnancy, but she almost miscarried at your birthday banquet, which made the imperial heir unstable. Consort An said that she also listened to the Empress's hint."

"How dare you!"

Jun Zechen was furious and slammed his fist on the table.

"This Consort An has been scheming and vicious since the time she was born in the Eastern Palace. Now she dares to slander my Empress."

An Shun was so frightened that he knelt down on the ground with a thud. "Yes, Your Majesty, this servant doesn't believe it either. These are all messages sent back by the spies I placed next to Consort Xu. They are not credible."

Anshun's words were perfectly watertight. The information sent back by his spies indicated that these concubines had inadvertently discovered the Empress's past misdeeds while discussing how to scheme against her.

It's not that they made accusations in front of His Majesty; the more unintentional it was, the more believable it became.

but.....

Anshun looked up at His Majesty, still needing to see if His Majesty believed him.

In fact, Anshun believed that the Empress was capable of such a thing, after all, he knew the Empress's true colors much earlier than His Majesty.

Jun Zechen's face was so gloomy it could drip water.

"Go and summon Xu Xiurong." His voice was as cold as ice.

These things happened too long ago, and even if Jun Zechen wanted to investigate what happened in the Eastern Palace back then, it would be too difficult.

But Jun Zechen was afraid; it felt like a heavy stone was pressing down on his heart.

No, these women are truly insidious and vicious. They all want to drive a wedge between him and Yao Yao. When Yao Yao first entered the Eastern Palace, she was even deeply in love with the Ling sisters. How could she possibly do such a thing?

Moreover, Yao Yao said that she loved him, so she extended her love to Ling Shi as well. When he wanted Ling Shi to be the empress, Yao Yao only wanted him to have his way.

These women are talking nonsense. How could Yao Yao possibly scheme against him or them in the Eastern Palace?

Xu Xiurong arrived at Qianqing Palace with an irrepressible sense of excitement in her heart.

His Majesty actually summoned her to the Qianqing Palace today.

This is a rare honor.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects." Consort Xu bowed gracefully.

After she finished speaking, Xu Xiurong waited for a long time but did not hear His Majesty call out. Her heart skipped a beat, and she quietly raised her eyes, preparing to observe His Majesty without making a sound.

But as soon as she raised her eyes, she was caught off guard and met His Majesty's icy gaze.

Her eyes immediately darted away, and she lowered her head again.

Xu Xiurong's brows furrowed involuntarily, her mind in turmoil. She didn't seem to have done anything out of line recently, so why was His Majesty looking at her with such cold eyes?

"Have you been investigating matters concerning the Empress's Eastern Palace lately?"

Jun Zechen spoke calmly, his voice flat and without a ripple, but the chill in his words made Xu Xiurong shiver involuntarily.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty was merely chatting with the former Crown Prince."

A strange light flashed in Xu Xiurong's eyes, and she was secretly alarmed. Sure enough, there were His Majesty's people around her, so His Majesty already knew about their discussion of the Empress plotting to harm the imperial heir and frame the Ling family in the Eastern Palace.

If that's the case, shouldn't His Majesty be angry with the Empress? Why is he seeking her out instead?

Countless questions swirled in her mind, making her increasingly nervous and uneasy.

"The Empress has been frank with me about everything she has done. You should stop making any more pointless schemes."

Jun Zechen's icy voice came, like a biting winter wind, causing Xu Xiurong's heart to ache.

Xu Xiurong looked up in shock, her eyes filled with disbelief.

"Your Majesty, the Empress is plotting to harm the imperial heir. With your favoritism towards her, won't my sons and the other concubines live in constant fear?"

Her voice trembled, filled with despair and resentment.

"If the Empress had murdered your children, these imperial heirs would not have been born."

Jun Zechen's eyes were calm and unwavering, as if he were simply stating a perfectly ordinary fact, yet they contained an aura of authority that commanded respect.

When Consort Xu heard His Majesty's words of trust in the Empress, she felt all her hopes shattered in an instant, and all her carefully planned schemes would come to naught.

Her body slumped to the ground like a lump of mud.

"We are also your concubines, why do you only want the Empress?"

Her voice was trembling and choked with sobs, tears welling up in her eyes.

Jun Zechen did not answer her, but instead delivered another heavy blow to her.

"Did you know that the poison used to poison Consort Chu was brought into the palace by Princess Qingping?"

Xu Xiurong was immediately filled with panic, her heart pounding in her throat, but she forced herself to remain calm and composed.

"Your Majesty, I do not know."

Her gaze darted away, avoiding Jun Zechen's eyes.

"You don't need to know, I do. I have the confessions of both the palace maids you bribed and Princess Qingping. You plotted to harm Consort Chu, framed Consort An, and now you're secretly winning over the other concubines and scheming against the Empress. You're incredibly audacious and unfit to raise the imperial heir."

Jun Zechen's voice was icy cold, each word like a sharp blade piercing straight at Xu Xiurong.

"No, no, no, Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. I will never oppose the Empress again. I beg Your Majesty, I beg Your Majesty not to separate me and my child."

Xu Xiurong kowtowed desperately, her forehead bleeding profusely, tears mingling with the blood, her face a mess, looking utterly wretched.

"In Anshun, Consort Xu was demoted to a commoner and moved to the Cold Palace. The Sixth Prince was entrusted to Consort Ming for upbringing. Consort An was framed and reinstated as Consort Xian. The Third Prince, who was temporarily raised by Consort Ming, will continue to be raised by Consort Xian."

When Xu Xiurong heard His Majesty's cold and heartless words, her mind went blank.

How could this happen? How could this happen?

Her eyes were wide open, empty and lifeless, as if she had lost her soul.

"Take him away."

Jun Zechen waved his hand impatiently.

Suddenly remembering something, Consort Xu cried out frantically, "Your Majesty, do you really trust your Empress that much? She's been scheming ever since she entered the Eastern Palace. This isn't my doing; it's the truth! What did I do wrong?!"

"Your Majesty, there's something else you don't know: your Empress is having an affair with the Imperial Physician!"

Jun Zechen's sharp gaze instantly shot towards her. What was this crazy woman saying?!

"I never knew that Your Majesty the Empress had such a gentle and refined young physician, Physician Jin from the Imperial Hospital."

"Later, by chance, I learned that this imperial physician was by Her Majesty's side when she gave birth to twins, and that he was even very close to Her Majesty in the delivery room during the birth. This was told to me by the midwife!"

Jun Zechen's face was as gloomy as the sky before a storm.

"Anshun, cover her mouth and take her away!"

"Your Majesty, your Empress betrayed you long ago. Perhaps she sensed that I was investigating this Physician Jin, and sent him out of the palace long ago. Isn't that a sign of a guilty conscience?"

"Hahaha, Your Majesty, why don't you investigate your trusted Empress yourself?"

Xu Xiurong screamed hoarsely, her face contorted and ferocious.

An Shun was terrified and quickly covered Xu Xiurong's mouth, dragging her away.

Xu Xiurong looked at the expressionless Emperor sitting on the couch with despair in her eyes, her gaze filled with resentment.

Before she could find out whether the Empress had an affair with Imperial Physician Jin, the Empress sent him away. The Empress's guilty conscience must mean that she had an unusual relationship with that young imperial physician.

Since Your Majesty doesn't care about the Empress's vicious schemes, does he also not care about her ambiguous relationships with other men?

Jun Zechen's mind was in complete turmoil. The Crown Prince's schemes, and the so-called Imperial Physician Jin—how much had she been hiding from him?!

Did this woman ever love him?