Favored concubine deposed empress? I'll seize your throne and marry you to a powerful minister.

The water boiled, bubbling on the stove, and the steam shrouded the group of people in the distance in a misty haze.

Wei Rong sat upright and deftly washed the tea leaves and cleaned the teacup.

Kung Fu tea is time-consuming, and she didn't have the patience for it before. But after entering the palace, the days became repetitive, and she seemed to have developed the habit of finding amusement in such tedious activities.

The brewed tea was emerald green, and the air was filled with its aroma. Wei Rong took a sip and said, "Then we'll meet them head-on."

Shen Mingxiu smiled innocently from a distance.

These days, Xiao Heng has been taking good care of her, and she has recovered well, with a bright smile on her face.

Suddenly, her gaze fixed on a spot by the lake, and fear filled her eyes.

The person beneath her palm froze. Xiao Heng noticed something was wrong: "My beloved concubine, what's wrong?"

Following Shen Mingxiu's gaze, the aquatic plants by the lake were growing wildly, a vibrant green, but within that green there was a striking patch of bright color.

As the wind blew and the waves rose, the color swayed.

If you look closely, you'll find it's in human form.

One of the palace concubines was the first to cry out, "Ah! It's...it's a person! There's someone in the lake!"

There are people in the lake.

The five words caused a huge uproar, and the guards rushed over immediately.

Xiao Heng's face had turned ashen: "What exactly happened?!"

"Let's go, let's go take a look." Wei Rong put down her teacup, a knowing glint in her eyes.

By the time she got closer, the person in the lake had already been pulled out.

— She was dressed as a palace maid, her upper body tightly bound with a piece of crimson cloth, and she was already dead.

This familiar way of dying was something Wei Rong had just experienced more than half a month ago, except that Cai Yue had been soaking in the water for too long and was unrecognizable.

The palace maid in front of me has been dead for no more than a day.

"As you wish—"

Shen Mingxiu trembled as she uttered the name, then her legs gave way and she collapsed to the ground.

Xiao Heng reacted quickly, pulling her close and steadying her, then growled, "Summon the imperial physician!"

"Your Majesty!" Shen Mingxiu's personal maidservant knelt down with a thud, holding the painting, her eyes filled with terror. "Your Majesty, please investigate! This is Ruyi, our palace maid from Chuxiu Palace!"

The person who died was from Chuxiu Palace, and the manner of death was exactly the same as that of Caiyue from Weirong Palace.

Although the other concubines were also startled, like Xiao Heng, they looked at Wei Rong with suspicion and uncertainty in their eyes.

Wei Rong merely stared coldly at Shen Mingxiu. To her surprise, after killing one person, Shen Mingxiu dared to kill another.

Just to frame her.

"Wei Rong!" Xiao Heng even abandoned the title of Empress this time, addressing her by her given name directly: "What do you have to explain!"

"I did nothing."

It is a great disrespect to have a corpse in front of the emperor, so the guards have brought a white cloth to cover Ruyi's body.

Shen Minglan happens to be on duty today.

He was demoted because of the incident at the palace last time and is still only a third-class guard. Therefore, he hates Wei Rong to the point of bleeding whenever he sees her.

Shen Minglan stepped forward to examine Ruyi, and then reported to Xiao Heng: "Your Majesty, Ruyi did indeed drown. What bound her was a piece of silk, and judging from the material, it was extremely precious and not something that could be found in ordinary palaces."

"Naturally precious," Xiao Heng forced a sinister smile, staring intently at Wei Rong: "This fabric comes from the Western Regions. I personally bestowed it upon Xiuxiu. After the Caiyue incident, she asked me to give it to the Empress to comfort her for losing her maid."

A smile flickered in Shen Minglan's eyes, but her face showed surprise: "I heard that Her Majesty the Empress suspects that the Noble Consort was responsible for Caiyue's death. Could it be that Her Majesty holds a grudge? This—"

At this moment, Physician An rushed over.

Xiao Heng settled Shen Mingxiu under the pavilion, allowing Imperial Physician An to take her pulse.

Physician An took Shen Mingxiu's pulse, and after only a moment, he hurriedly pulled out a quick-acting heart-saving pill from his medicine box and fed it to her.

Then, with a look of terror on his face, he knelt down and kowtowed: "Your Highness, the Imperial Concubine has just recovered from a serious illness, but has suddenly been frightened. Her pulse is very irregular. Your Majesty, please settle Her Highness in her palace first and summon the imperial physicians for a joint diagnosis. I...I fear I may have misdiagnosed her!"

"What misdiagnosis?! What exactly happened to the Imperial Concubine?"

Imperial Physician An kowtowed, trembling as he said, "I...I fear it is a heart ailment. The Imperial Concubine has been frequently frightened these past few months, and heart ailments are inherently complex. If something truly worsens, I cannot bear the responsibility!"

He killed someone, and the killing even gave him a heart condition.

Wei Rong looked coldly at Physician An: "Given Physician An's reputation, if you say it's a heart ailment, how dare the other physicians say anything else? After all, there's no other evidence to support this diagnosis."

Shen Mingxiu was also very capable; she managed to win over Physician An, and half of the Imperial Hospital staff had to work for her.

It must be a heart disease, even if it's not one.

"Your Majesty, are you implying that the Imperial Concubine did this on purpose?!" Shen Minglan exclaimed emotionally, "This is a complete frame-up!"

"Framed? How did Ruyi die? Can the Imperial Concubine withstand a confrontation?"

"Smack!"

A loud slap.

Xiao Heng clenched her fist, glaring angrily at Wei Rong's face, which she had turned to the side after slapping: "I've spoiled you too much!"

This slap was different from the one he delivered when he broke into the Phoenix Palace that night.

In front of the imperial concubines and guards, with dozens of eyes watching, the slap was delivered without hesitation and with great force, so much so that Wei Rong was stunned for several moments until she tasted her own blood.

"Your Majesty!" Qiaoyu realized what was happening and cried out in alarm.

Unbelievable, no matter who it is.

But realizing what was happening, Shen Minglan felt a smug glint in his eyes, though he forced a smile.

Everyone was lost in thought, waiting to see Wei Rong's reaction.

She stood there motionless for a long time, seemingly surprised that the emperor would slap her so hard in public.

Even a trace of blood slowly seeped from the corner of her mouth.

After a long while, the slight numbness in his palm reminded Xiao Heng that he had used eight-tenths of his strength in that slap. Eight-tenths of a man's strength was enough to leave four clear finger marks on Wei Rong's fair face.

He saw Wei Rong slowly turn her head, her tongue seemingly touching the corner of her lips, and something vanish from her eyes...

Wei Rong tasted the blood; a smear of blood appeared on her fingertip.

"Heh—" she sneered.

Without even glancing at Xiao Heng, he said to Qiaoyu, "Qiaoyu, go and borrow something from the Empress Dowager."

"But Your Majesty—" Qiaoyu was terrified, shaking her head with tears streaming down her face, "This servant will stay with you."

"Don't be afraid, go ahead. His Majesty can't sentence me to death just because of a piece of cloth." She patted Qiaoyu's shoulder reassuringly.

Even at a time like this, she still had time to comfort others.

Xiao Heng stared at her gradually swollen half of her face, a trace of regret welling up in her heart, but she simply clasped her hands together and put them behind her back.

It's all Wei Rong's fault, otherwise Xiu Xiu wouldn't have contracted a heart condition.

He shouldn't have indulged Wei Rong so much in the first place; she was vindictive and vengeful, and Ruyi was probably killed because of her.

If he doesn't step in to rectify the situation, the palace will become a chaotic mess, and there will be no rules left.

He won't be soft-hearted.

Even though the finger mark on Wei Rong's lips was particularly glaring.

Qiaoyu knew what she was going to do, wiped away her tears and ran towards Cixi Palace.

"Fetch me a damp handkerchief," Wei Rong glanced at Shen Minglan, "Is she still capable of ordering you around?"