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

Before Xiao Heng could react, she had already reached out to take the person.

She didn't even notice that a dark blue sleeve beside her swayed slightly, only to be overtaken by his movement.

Xiao Heng felt that the body under her palm was too thin and felt weightless when she held it in her arms.

My whole body was almost cold, with hardly any warmth.

A hint of confusion crossed his brow.

Wei Rong came from a military family, and Wei Beimu had taught her some self-defense techniques, so she was always in good health.

The number of times he consulted the imperial physician was extremely small.

I don't know when, but she has become so thin.

But Xiao Heng never saw her beg for mercy or give in.

He only ever used Wei Rong from the beginning; he only used her.

He always reminded himself that one day he and Wei Rong would completely break off their relationship.

It's only a matter of time.

Therefore, he was annoyed that he had acted too quickly.

"Send the Empress back to Phoenix Palace and have a royal physician examine her."

Xiao Heng, with a cold face, escorted Wei Rong back to the car.

After this commotion, it got much brighter.

The court officials had already entered the palace, and a few onlookers had gathered nearby.

The news that the Empress spent the night at the palace gate and collapsed at Wenchang Gate is unlikely to be concealed anytime soon.

Xiao Heng glanced at Shen Minglan.

When he came out earlier, Shen Mingxiu cried with him, implying that he would be treated leniently. Shen Minglan would never dare to falsely convey the imperial decree. He just felt sorry for his cousin and said that she would personally apologize to Wei Rong in the future.

A beautiful woman's tears soften one's heart.

It wasn't a huge deal; he planned to punish him with three months' salary to cover it up.

Before he could even open his mouth, someone else spoke first.

"I have a general idea of ​​what has happened," Ling Xianru said, turning his gaze away from the imperial carriage. "The people below are trying to figure out Your Majesty's thoughts, which is why it hasn't caused any major problems. If the punishment isn't severe this time, some people with ulterior motives will try to test Your Majesty's bottom line again and again."

He actually demanded that the emperor punish him severely!

Shen Minglan was shocked.

Even Xiao Heng didn't expect Ling Xianru to speak up.

However, he has always trusted the other party, and since ascending the throne, most decisions and political figures have relied on the advice given by Ling Xianru.

He makes a good point.

Otherwise, if everyone uses their status as imperial relatives to make decisions for him, he will have endless family troubles to deal with.

As for Shen Mingxiu, he'll just give her a separate reward to appease her.

Thinking of this, Xiao Heng's face turned stern: "Chief Guard Shen has deceived his superiors and subordinates; this time he will be demoted to a third-class guard as a warning to others!"

After saying that, he turned around and went to Changhua Palace without looking back.

Ling Xianru lagged behind, staring at Shen Minglan's pale face. The coral on his official hat made him look extremely alluring.

"Behave yourself. You're still too green to meddle with my affairs."

Shen Minglan's legs went weak.

-

Wei Rong fell ill after returning to Fengluan Palace.

Illness strikes like a landslide, and I haven't been able to get out of bed for several days.

This is understandable; even the most delicate body cannot withstand such torment, especially since her mental illness and chronic ailment erupted at the same time.

Unfortunately, the Imperial Hospital was also a snob.

Qiaoyu made several trips, but the imperial physicians sent to her were all young and inexperienced. After a few doses of medicine, her condition worsened instead of improving.

Qiaoyu cursed the Imperial Hospital, then the Emperor, and finally Shen Mingxiu.

The head of the Imperial Medical Academy said that Consort Xian was also unwell, and the emperor had summoned several senior imperial physicians to Jinxiu Palace to look after her, so there was nothing he could do.

"Her life is her life!" Qiaoyu wiped away her tears. "Being an empress is so stifling, who wants to be it anyway!"

She carried a bowl of congee and helped Wei Rong up.

The bed curtains were drawn, making Wei Rong, who was already sickly, appear even more frail. Her wrists, covered by her undergarments, were so thin and white they were almost blinding.

She's finally feeling a bit better today and is willing to eat some congee.

For the past two days, medicine has been simmering in the Phoenix Palace all day, making everyone who's been drinking it feel bitter.

"Fortunately, the prescription given by Physician Qian worked," Qiaoyu fed her a spoonful of porridge. "You've suffered so much."

Strange to say.

In the past two days, only some junior doctors came to see her, and the medicine they prescribed only treated the symptoms and not the root cause. Wei Rong's cough worsened after taking the medicine.

Yesterday, a new patient came. He said he had just returned from studying outside the palace. He came to take a look, prescribed some medicine, and saw the effects today.

"It's alright," Wei Rong patted her hand, "I'm not that easy to die."

"Pah! Pah! Pah!" Qiaoyu glared angrily. "Spit three times!"

Wei Rong knew she was nervous and also knew the current situation. Qiaoyu was walking on thin ice by her side, but what she said was true.

A woman who loses her value will only face death in the deep palace.

If she dies and receives a posthumous title, leaving the empress's position vacant, Xiao Heng might be able to officially recognize Shen Mingxiu as empress three months later.

The Wei family will be punished, dismembered, and devoured in the future; the dead will be left unattended.

She didn't care about life or death, but the thought that she had trusted the wrong person and that what she thought was a way out had turned into a dead end was all she could do.

She will never be able to close her eyes until she dies.

Qiaoyu was afraid that she might really do something rash, so she finally managed to find something happy to say. She hadn't had a chance to talk about it in the past few days because she was focused on Wei Rong's illness, but now she was finally bringing it up:

"Shen Minglan brought this upon himself, being demoted to a third-class guard. His Majesty has finally shown some leniency!"

Unexpectedly, Wei Rong was not surprised at all.

She swallowed the porridge, pushed Qiaoyu's hand away, and ate only a few bites in total.

"Your Majesty, aren't you surprised? I thought His Majesty wouldn't touch Shen Minglan!"

It was still snowing outside, but the house was warm and cozy with charcoal burning inside. This year was a rare cold year, and the snow had hardly stopped.

Wei Rong calmly said, "His Majesty's decision to punish Shen Minglan may not have been his intention. He made no move to punish him at the time. I guess it was because of Ling Xianru."

"The Prime Minister?!" Qiaoyu exclaimed incredulously, "How is that possible?!"

With no one else in the main hall, the master and servant could speak without much restraint.

Wei Rong said, "Because on that day, Shen Minglan thought Ling Xianru was one of his own, and repeatedly stirred up trouble, wanting Ling Xianru to target me in the aftermath."

Qiaoyu recalled that it was indeed the case at that time.

But Ling Xianru shouldn't have helped them!

"He's young, yet holds a high position. He's incredibly shrewd and often extremely arrogant. Shen Minglan might try to instigate things, but how could Ling Xianru be swayed by him?"

Qiaoyu suddenly realized: "I thought he was trying to help us."

That's even more impossible.

Wei Rong smiled bitterly: "Although he is a civil official, his ambition in getting to his current position is obvious. With my father's passing, the new general in the northern desert is a hot commodity. Do you think he wants one of his own to take the position?"

The military generals of the Great Jing Dynasty were either old or dead, and there was a lack of capable successors.

The younger generation, if they want to rise to power, cannot escape Xiao Heng's favor.

Regardless of whether Ling Xianru intended to cultivate his own people, he and Xiao Heng were on the same side.

Why would I help her?

"This servant feels that this Prime Minister looks—" Qiaoyu agreed, "Everyone says that people can be both righteous and wicked, but this one only has an aura of wickedness about him."

Perhaps it was because his appearance was too otherworldly that Xiao Heng seemed so upright.

The face flashed through Wei Rong's mind. She didn't think Ling Xianru was evil, but this person must be extremely cunning.

A gentle knock opened the palace door, and a young palace maid rushed in: "Your Highness, Consort Xian has arrived!"