The princess regretted it.

Jin An couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when she heard this, thinking to herself, "Wow! Concubine Zhang, you're really awesome!" She quietly glanced up at her father, who had been walking quickly but had suddenly stopped. She saw that her father's expression, which had just been worried, had suddenly turned extremely dark, like the sky before a storm, covered with dark clouds.

The Second Prince, listening to Concubine Zhang's words, felt a little anxious. He knew that if his father heard everything, the consequences would be disastrous. Just as he was about to make a noise to remind his father, Changsun Hongze glanced at him coldly. The chill in his eyes silenced the Second Prince instantly. He had no choice but to close his eyes and lower his head, not daring to move.

As for the Third Prince, a smile appeared in his eyes. He thought that Concubine Zhang was really stupid, but he looked shocked and pretended to be serious, as if he was really shocked by what Concubine Zhang said.

Eunuch Fuquan was much smarter. He lowered his head early and said nothing, hoping that this matter would not involve him. The kneeling palace servants in the room, hearing Concubine Zhang's malicious words being overheard by the emperor, began to tremble involuntarily, as if they were in an ice cellar, and the chill ran from the soles of their feet straight up into their hearts.

The people inside were unaware of the situation outside, so they could only hear the conversation continuing. "Mother is right. She must have discovered I was following her, so she deliberately did this to scare me. I was careless for a moment, so I fell into that bitch's trap. I didn't expect that idiot to become so clever now." Another hoarse voice rang out. Needless to say, it was the "critically ill" Jiaoyu speaking. Her words were also filled with resentment towards Jin'an, as if she believed that Jin'an had deliberately caused her illness.

"If I had known, I shouldn't have kept her. Now she's only causing more trouble." Concubine Zhang continued to speak with hatred, her teeth gnashing as if Jin An and she held an irreconcilable hatred. "But if they weren't going to the Buddhist temple, where were they going?" She frowned, as if a new suspicion had occurred to her.

"My daughter doesn't know either. It's so remote over there. Does anyone in the palace live there?" Jiaoyu responded with a hint of weakness in her voice, but the resentment in her heart remained unchanged.

The room fell silent. Outside, the Emperor's grandson, Hongze, felt a chill growing ever stronger. His eyes were like a deep, cold pond, seething with dark waves. The rage within them seemed poised to burst forth in a surging tide at any moment. His teeth were clenched tightly, his cheek muscles bulging slightly with the strain. He looked like a volcano about to erupt, suppressing an endless stream of rage.

Jin An stood aside, her brows slightly furrowed. She had heard something in Concubine Zhang's words. It seemed as if Concubine Zhang had once intended to kill her, which made her heart tremble. Thinking carefully, her brother's unexplained death and her mother's sudden and serious illness, and then her death, could Concubine Zhang really have been involved? At this thought, Jin An's eyes flashed with a fierceness, and her hands unconsciously clenched the hem of her skirt. She secretly vowed that if she could find out that Concubine Zhang was involved in this, she would not let her off easily.

The Third Prince was already laughing heartily. Concubine Zhang and her daughter had said such foolish things, angering their father so much. He couldn't help but secretly rejoice in his heart: Is this the end of Concubine Zhang? This really is God's will.

The Second Prince's heart was already icy. He knew his father all too well. His mother and sister were probing his father's weak spots. Hearing their words from within the room, he could clearly picture their impending fate. Desperate, he sank heavily to his knees with a thud. The sound of his knees hitting the ground was particularly abrupt in the silence. He lowered his head, not daring to meet his father's blazing eyes.

The sound of his kneeling also alarmed the people in the house. The door curtain was lifted up forcefully by a delicate hand. Before the person came out, a voice came out first, "Who is the ignorant person making noise outside? He disturbed the princess while she was recuperating. What should he be punished for?" Concubine Zhang's sharp voice was full of anger, and her words revealed unquestionable majesty.

Following the voice, Concubine Zhang emerged from the room. She was dressed in a magnificent imperial concubine's attire, its gold embroidery gleaming dazzlingly in the candlelight. Though her face was meticulously made-up, she hadn't slept well the previous night, and fatigue was evident. Her brow was furrowed, and the anger in her eyes was palpable, undermining her otherwise dignified demeanor.

As soon as she came out, her eyes fell on the second prince kneeling on the ground. A hint of doubt flashed in her eyes, but before she could ask, she turned her gaze and saw the emperor with a gloomy face.

In an instant, Concubine Zhang's strength seemed to be drained away. Her body swayed slightly, and the expression on her face froze instantly. The majestic aura she had prepared disappeared without a trace. She knew in her heart that the emperor's appearance here at this time must have heard what she and Jiaoyu had just said in the room.

But she still forced herself to go forward, forcing a smile and saying in a dry voice, "Your Majesty, you are here..." These few simple words seemed extremely difficult in this tense atmosphere.

"Mother, which bitch broke something? Just drag her out and beat her to death, and throw her into the lake with Cuiguo to feed the fish." Jiaoyu's voice, which was both arrogant and fierce, came from the room. Her words were full of indifference to other people's lives, as if deciding a person's life or death at will was as easy as crushing an ant to her.