The legitimate daughter brings disaster to the concubine! Seize the imperial power and the throne

Prince Shen's Mansion

Prince Shen stared blankly at Helian, who was wearing the imperial robes, lying on the couch with a pale face and no breathing.

"Prince, you must give an explanation for what happened today." Seeing her daughter gone, Madam Helian was furious: "She was just a princess, but she dared to beat the princess to death. Is there any law?"

"It was the emperor who ordered the beating." Prince Shen explained in a low voice: "Lu Jingning was just following orders. Going to the palace to seek justice is just humiliating himself."

So Prince Shen decided not to enter the palace.

Upon hearing this, Madam Helian stomped her cane hard and walked towards Prince Shen tremblingly. Although her temples were already gray, she was still full of vigor and vitality.

"Are you going to give up a life like this? She was married to you for more than 20 years, gave birth to children, and took care of the household chores, and now she died inexplicably, and you won't even help her get justice?"

Prince Shen bowed his waist and apologized; "Mother-in-law, calm down, this is not what I meant. Now that the prince is missing, the emperor has sympathy for the East Palace. Now is not the best time to touch Lu Jingning. For the death of the princess, I will make Lu Jingning pay with blood!"

After hearing what he said, Madam Helian's expression finally eased. She sat on a chair beside her and said thoughtfully, "This girl keeps doing bad things. We can't tolerate her anymore. We have to think of a way."

Prince Shen thought the same thing in his heart.

"She is in the palace and in charge of the harem, so it is Concubine Tong who is most convenient to act." Madam Helian looked at Prince Shen meaningfully: "I heard that it was Concubine Tong who summoned the Princess today, and it was the Princess who took the brunt of everything. Otherwise, it would not be just the Princess who would be punished today."

How could Prince Shen not understand such an obvious hint? He assured calmly, "Mother-in-law, within a month, I will make Lu Jingning pay for the Princess's life!"

With the assurance from Prince Shen, Old Lady Helian nodded in satisfaction and said no more. She wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief and felt sorry for her daughter.

"The Princess Consort is dead?" Concubine Tong was awakened by a palace maid just as she dozed off.

The maid relayed the words of Prince Shen: "The Prince said that the Princess is dead, and the Helian family is very angry. We must appease the Helian family as soon as possible."

Concubine Tong pursed her lips. Now that the crown prince was dead, it was obvious that the heir to the throne would be in the hands of Prince Shen, but this could not be achieved without the help of the Helian family.

She rubbed her eyebrows and fell into deep thought.

"My queen, I have a plan." The maid Lianxiang whispered in Concubine Tong's ear, "Now the princess is in charge of the six palaces. If the queen makes any mistakes under the princess's control, she will be charged with poisoning the mother of a country. Not to mention the princess, even if the prince is alive today, he can't save her."

Concubine Tong's eyes lit up.

Lu Jingning rested for two days. Empress Fang sent people to visit Lu Jingning every day. On the third day, Lu Jingning went to pay his respects to Empress Fang in person.

"I am relieved to see that you look much better." Queen Fang took Lu Jingning's hand affectionately and patted it gently: "Aning, the Japanese palace told you that your father is in danger, so you should make preparations early."

Lu Jingning lowered his eyes and said firmly: "Father will come back."

"Alas, you child..." Queen Fang shook her head helplessly. By chance, a palace maid came with freshly baked snacks and tea, and also brought a whole book: "This is the palace's account book for the past three months. You should calm down and take a look."

"Yes."

Lu Jingning took the account book to the side hall. As soon as he sat down and turned a page, Xue Yuan sniffed it gently and her face changed slightly: "Princess, there is something wrong with this book."

Lu Jingning ignored it and continued reading.

"Princess, this booklet is poisonous."

"I know."

Xue Yuan became even more confused.

The poison in this booklet is not fatal, but it is fatal to Queen Fang who has been taking medicine for many years. Lu Jingning smiled and said, "The Queen has been ill for many years. She has only taken over the six palaces in the past three months. It is also because Concubine Tong was demoted and confined to her house. The affairs of the six palaces cannot be left unattended, so the Queen took over."

Concubine Tong was so stupid that she was easily instigated and poisoned by the palace maids.

She calculated the date and found that today was the fifteenth. Every fifteenth day of the month, Emperor Nanliang would come to Fengqi Palace to have meals with Queen Fang without fail.

After she finished reading the account book at a leisurely pace, she stood up to report to Queen Fang. What she said was neither good nor bad. After Queen Fang gave some pointers, Lu Jingning suddenly realized.

The nanny beside Empress Fang whispered a few words of warning: "Empress, it's getting late. The Emperor will be here soon."

Queen Fang waved her hand disapprovingly and continued chatting with Lu Jingning.

After a while, greetings were heard from outside.

Emperor Nanliang arrived and looked at Lu Jingning in surprise: "Aning is here too."

"Greetings to the Emperor." Lu Jingning bowed obediently.

"Your Majesty, I was late because I had nothing to do and asked Aning to accompany me more."

Empress Fang came to the rescue, and Emperor Nanliang said, "In that case, Aning should stay for dinner."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Lu Jingning agreed without hesitation.

The three of them sat at a table, and no one spoke. The Emperor of Nan Liang didn't have a good appetite, so he put down his chopsticks after eating a little.

Upon seeing this, Queen Fang quickly put down her chopsticks, and so did Lu Jingning.

"Your Majesty, is it that the food in the kitchen today is not to your taste?"

Emperor Nanliang shook his head, covered his chest with his hands, and said, "I suddenly remembered that I have not finished reviewing the memorials, so I will leave first."

The Southern Liang Emperor left in a hurry.

Lu Jingning chatted with Queen Fang for a while, and was allowed to leave only when it got dark. Her palms were full of sweat from nervousness.

After returning to the East Palace, Lu Jingning instructed: "Keep an eye on the East Palace. Report any disturbances. If there are any suspicious people, be sure not to alert them."

"Yes."

That night, Lu Jingning was awakened several times.

Before dawn, she tossed and turned on the couch, so she simply stood up. Xue Yuan came forward and said, "Princess, just now, Eunuch Changxi sent someone to tell me that the emperor had a seizure last night, and they are privately investigating the source."

Lu Jingning's eyes moved slightly, and he whispered, "I know."

Queen Fang wasn't the only one who had to take medicine all year round; the Emperor of Southern Liang was also involved.

This time, she wants to teach Concubine Tong and Prince Shen’s Mansion a lesson!

After daybreak, the maid of Fengqi Palace came to pass on the message: "Princess, the Queen is not feeling well, you don't have to go to Fengqi Palace today."

"Is the Queen in any condition?"

"It's an old problem."

Lu Jingning pulled up a faint smile and watched the palace maid leave.

She waited nervously all morning.

Finally, news came from the East Palace.

Concubine Tong personally brought people to accuse Lu Jingning of poisoning Queen Fang. Concubine Tong stood in the yard and pointed at Lu Jingning angrily: "If I hadn't gone to pay my respects to the Queen today and discovered the clues, the Queen would have almost died. Lu Jingning, you are so bold that you actually dared to poison the Queen."

Lu Jingning looked at Concubine Tong's smug expression and shook his head, "There is no reason between the Queen and me, why did you poison me?"

"You saw that the Queen was getting better day by day, and you were worried that the Queen would take back your power over the six palaces, so you poisoned the Queen. You thought the poison was very light, but you didn't know that the poison you used happened to counteract the medicine the Queen took, causing the Queen to be unconscious now. Lu Jingning, you are in trouble!"

Concubine Tong did not give Lu Jingning a chance to explain, and said to the maid beside her: "Catch him for me!"

Lu Jingning sneered, and a dozen guards surrounded her and blocked her behind them.

"Lu Jingning!"

She rubbed her ears and smiled calmly, "Princess Tong, there is no need to rush to convict me, and I cannot be made a criminal based on your words alone."

"The queen is already unconscious, how dare you quibble?" Concubine Tong sneered.

Lu Jingning glanced at Changxi who was hurrying towards her from behind, and the smile on her face grew.

The fun is about to begin!

"Empress Tong, the emperor asks you to go to the Council Hall immediately."

Concubine Tong said, "Changxi, wait for me to capture Lu Jingning first, and then I will go to pay my respects to the emperor later."

Changxi cleared his throat and reminded again: "Empress Tong, the emperor asks you to go to the Council Hall immediately."

Upon hearing this, Concubine Tong frowned, glared at Lu Jingning fiercely, and had to follow Changxi away.

Before leaving, Chang Xi nodded slightly at Lu Jingning.