The Evil Emperor's Favorite: The Sickly and Poisonous Concubine Goes Crazy

Following Mu Feng's order, the atmosphere in the dense forest suddenly became tense, as if even the wind had stopped breathing, waiting for the storm that was about to rise. The accompanying generals acted quickly, and orders spread through the team like lightning. The iron hooves of the Tongzhou Army sounded again, breaking the silence and galloping towards the direction of the imperial capital.

At the other end of the imperial capital was Emperor Zhou’s Taihe Palace.

The palace was filled with Concubine Xian's people and heavily guarded. Except for Concubine Xian and Prime Minister Liu, no one else could see Emperor Zhou.

Mu Xi once again took advantage of the cover of night to sneak into Emperor Zhou's bedroom.

The bedroom was very quiet, with Shengfu being the only one serving inside.

Emperor Zhou was sleeping on the bed with a slightly pale face. He seemed to be trapped in a dream and unable to wake up. He was only awake for one or two hours a day.

"Your Highness." When Sheng Fu saw that it was Mu Xi, he was surprised at first, then he looked outside anxiously with a worried look on his face.

"Why is your highness here? Don't let anyone see you."

Mu Xi shook her head. The guards outside could not stop her at all. Her eyes, which looked very similar to Emperor Zhou's, were filled with worry. She walked quickly to Emperor Zhou and asked in a low voice:

"Has Father woken up today?"

Sheng Fu shook his head: "The Concubine Xian stayed here all day. After she left, I followed your instructions and cleared the incense in the palace. But your Majesty has been sleeping all the time. I changed hands several times, but I couldn't wake him up."

When mentioning Concubine Xian, Mu Xi's eyes instantly turned cold.

"This is the Breath-Retaining Powder. When the Virtuous Concubine comes again tomorrow, you can mix this with water and rub it under my father's nose. It will dispel the smell of the Virtuous Concubine and the soul-calling incense in the palace."

There is no antidote at the moment, so the only thing we can do is to stop Concubine Xian from manipulating my father.

"Yes." Sheng Fu hurriedly put the medicine away like a treasure.

Mu Xi glanced at Emperor Zhou again, with a hint of anxiety in his eyes.

"Your Highness, someone is coming." Sheng Fu reminded in a low voice, his face full of anxiety.

"Okay, take good care of father. I'll come again tomorrow." Mu Xi looked outside the door vigilantly, quickly stood up, walked to the window, and climbed out quietly.

After she left, the person on the bed moved slightly, and Sheng Fu hurriedly helped him up:

"His Majesty."

Emperor Zhou opened his eyes slightly, his breath was weak, but his eyes were clear.

"Your Majesty, the princess is very worried about you. Why don't you tell her? I have noticed that she has lost a lot of weight in the past few days, and she must have suffered a great injustice." Sheng Fu hesitated for a moment and whispered to Emperor Zhou with reluctance in his eyes.

Emperor Zhou shook his head:

"It's not the right time yet. Although I am trying to take advantage of her, the Crown Prince is a man of deep thoughts. With the help of Prime Minister Liu, he already has prestige in the court. She has to find a way to win over the court officials and deal with the Crown Prince. Otherwise, with me here and her being a woman, those old stubborn people will be respectful to her on the surface, but they will never see her ability and will never submit to her."

"Has Yan'an arrived in Beijing?" He sighed and continued to ask.

"Chi lost the prince and princess after entering the suburbs of Beijing. According to the time, he should have entered the city. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was stopped in Chuyun Town by the princess's men and Master Qi. He should be able to return to Beijing in two days."

Emperor Zhou's eyes were filled with joy:

"Okay, let Chi not follow me."

He waved his hand and ordered Sheng Fu to retreat, then looked at the painting of a woman enjoying the snow hanging in the hall. His eyes, which had always been full of indifference and calculation, now contained a bit more melancholy and pity, and his heart contained a bit more loneliness and sadness.

You'er, what I did this time will probably hurt Xi'er's heart, but it doesn't matter if they blame me and hate me. In this world, even your closest blood relatives can take your life. If the supreme power is not in their hands, they will not be able to hold it or keep it, and they will be like me back then, unable to protect their wife and children, and the people they care about. So while I'm still here, I have to teach them myself.

As the night deepened, the moonlight gently covered the glazed tiles of the Taihe Palace like a fine gauze, adding an unspeakable sense of silence to this deep palace compound.

Mu Xi's figure disappeared into the night, avoiding the palace guards and leaving the palace. With mixed feelings in her heart, her father's condition showed no signs of improvement. She had been running around among the ministers in the court these days, secretly collecting evidence of the prince's instigation of Hua Wen to commit treason and poison her father, but he had buried it too deep, and the evidence she found was far from enough. The more she investigated, the colder she felt in her spine. The prince was much colder than he showed. Behind his benevolence and ability over the years, there were blood debts.

She planned every step, not daring to slack off in the slightest. No matter what, the prince was not fit to be the ruler of a country.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in the darkness and blocked the way.

"Who is it!" Mu Xi shouted sternly.

The person in the dark bowed to her and said, "Your Highness, I am Jiang Hechuan from the Imperial Censorate."

Hearing Jiang Hechuan's name, Mu Xi relaxed his vigilance slightly.

"Why are you here?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. It was the first time she discovered that Jiang Hechuan's Qinggong was so good, but she didn't even notice it.

She remembered that Jiang Hechuan was on good terms with her brother in private, and Mu Xi's eyes lit up slightly when she thought of this.

Could it be that my brother has returned to Beijing?

Jiang Hechuan did not answer, but whispered: "It is not advisable to stay here for long, Your Highness, please follow me first."

After saying that, he turned around and used his Qinggong to leave quickly. Seeing this, Mu Xi followed him.

She followed Jiang Hechuan, turning around in the dark alleys for a long time before entering a yard.

There was a tall man standing in the yard. The moment Mu Xi saw her, there was a hint of vigilance and ruthlessness in her eyes. She recognized him, Lu Zhifan.

The top scholar from Jiangnan at that time was supposed to be a member of the Censorate, but for some reason he offended the Shen family, Shen Feng, and was framed and sent to the Ministry of Justice. Later, when his father found out, he transferred him to the Censorate. Because he was decisive, outspoken, capable and skillful, but also knew when to advance and retreat, and had a clean family background, he was appreciated by his father.

Later, the Ministry of Justice was short of people, and Lu Zhifan recommended himself to his father and went to the Ministry of Justice. He was ruthless and had outstanding abilities. In just one year, he jumped several levels and was promoted from the Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of Justice. He was highly valued by the Minister of Justice. No one in the court disrespects him. She did have the idea of ​​winning him over at first, but she later found out that Lu Zhifan had known the prince and worked for him before he entered the Ministry of Justice. A few days ago, Concubine Xian falsely accused her of poisoning her father, and he was the one who started to investigate. He also handled the Hua Wen case of surrendering to the enemy.

Jiang Hechuan noticed her strangeness, smiled at her and whispered something.

"Your Highness, don't worry. We are all family members."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhifan also bowed respectfully to her, but did not rush to argue with her.

The doubt in Mu Xi's eyes was not dispelled, and he still stared at Lu Zhifan closely, with undisguised scrutiny in his eyes.

It wasn't until the other two people walked out of the room that her eyes lit up, she completely let down her guard, and ran towards them.

Mu Xi's eyes were filled with joy, and he also felt relieved to have met someone he could rely on. He hugged Su Jingning tightly:

"It's really you!! How come you are so fast? Didn't the people escorting Hua Wen and the letter of surrender just leave Hancheng?"

She was taller than Su Jingning, and perhaps because she was too happy, Su Jingning had to raise his head slightly to hold her shoulders.

Su Jingning smiled as he gently patted her back. His voice was gentle and cold, which made people feel at ease: "After receiving your letter, A Yan and I came back early."

Mu Xi let her go, then looked at Gu Yan'an cautiously. A few tears of grievance flashed in her eyes, but she quickly hid them. She completely lost the momentum she had just used to examine Lu Zhifan, and asked softly:

"I heard you were injured. Was it serious? How are you now?"

Gu Yanan glanced at her and shook his head:

"It's okay now."

"That's good, that's good." Mu Xi smiled slightly and nodded.

When Lu Zhifan saw the two of them, he leaned over and bowed in the direction of Su Jingning.

"Princess, Prince."

Su Jingning walked towards him with a smile: "Long time no see, Zhifan."

Lu Zhifan smiled at him with a gentle expression.

"Axi, this is my friend, Lu Zhifan. He works in the Ministry of Justice now. You should recognize him." She turned around and introduced him to Mu Xi.

Mu Xi's expression slightly faded, and she nodded with him. If it weren't for him, Concubine Xian would have no way of daring to trap her in Xuyang Palace.

Su Jingning sensed something was wrong and glanced at Lu Zhifan.

Lu Zhifan explained to her in a clear voice, "Because His Majesty was poisoned before, there were some misunderstandings between Her Royal Highness and I. Now, I apologize to Her Royal Highness. It's not that I intend to embarrass the princess, but I was just caught in the situation and had no choice."

After saying this, he bowed to Mu Xi and apologized.

Mu Xi understood the meaning of his words, his expression relaxed, and he completely let down his guard.

"Now that the misunderstanding has been resolved, let's sit down and talk." Su Jingning smiled, sat on the bamboo chair in the yard, and waved to them.

Gu Yan'an walked towards her and sat down beside her.

"What's the situation in the palace?" Gu Yan'an asked Mu Xi in a deep voice.

Seeing Gu Yan'an, Mu Xi no longer tried to hide his feelings, and his face showed a bit of anxiety:

"My father has been poisoned by the soul-calling incense. He is in a deep sleep every day and rarely wakes up. Right now, the virtuous concubine controls the inner palace and does not allow anyone to visit him. She also uses the soul-calling incense to control my father. The decree ordering the crown prince to return to the capital to supervise the country was issued by her to control my father. There are guards inside and outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Only Prime Minister Liu can see him occasionally. The important officials in the court cannot see him even if they want to."

"I asked Jing Mo to go to Tianji Tower to look for the antidote, but before my father was poisoned, someone paid a large sum of money to buy the antidote. I couldn't find the buyer's information, but it should be the prince's people."

"I sent people to intercept the prince, but they couldn't hold him back for a few days. If there is no antidote, my father will never wake up. I'm worried..."

Mu Xi's voice paused slightly, and worry was evident on his face.

Su Jingning gently held her hand and said softly, "I have sent people to find the antidote for the Soul-Falling Induction, don't worry."

Mu Xi nodded, feeling slightly relieved.

Gu Yan'an's eyes darkened slightly as he looked at Jiang Hechuan and said in a low and cold voice, "Have you contacted the people in the court?"

"It has been arranged. Prime Minister Liu allowed his clan members to commit serious crimes repeatedly. Evidence of buying and selling official positions and titles has been given to the officials in the Imperial Censorate. The people on Prime Minister Liu's side have not noticed it yet."

"Well, no rush, wait a moment, it's not the right time for these right now." Gu Yan'an looked calm and tapped the table lightly.

"The Crown Prince is hiding it too well right now. In the hearts of most court officials and the people, he is still a humble and compassionate crown prince. The first step in dealing with the Crown Prince is to tear off his mask of hypocrisy and benevolence."

Mu Xi clenched his hands slightly and said coldly: "I have found out some things about the prince in the past few days, which can tear apart his disguise."

"That year, a shipwreck occurred in a border town in the east. After the shipwreck, an epidemic broke out in the city, which then spread to nearby towns. The report was sent to the imperial court. He volunteered to take doctors to the border town to treat the epidemic. He tried to put himself in the trap and went into the sealed border town alone. It took him two months to contain the epidemic. After returning to the capital, he gained a reputation for benevolence, courage and perseverance. The court officials gradually attached themselves to him, and my father decreed that he be made the crown prince."

"But he killed nearly tens of thousands of people in that plague, because the plague was too severe and could not be controlled at all. He gathered people from all towns and cities in the border town under the pretext of distributing medicine in the border town. The people believed him and flocked in. He locked them up regardless of whether they were infected or not. However, many people were not infected, but he allowed them to die of the disease without providing them with porridge or medicine. Some even starved to death. The plague was not cured by him and his people. The people had already died."