From cute to empress

The men in black were all apprehended, but I couldn't relax at all. The contents of this secret letter weighed on my heart like a huge rock, lingering. Who was it? Who was secretly orchestrating all this? I rubbed my aching forehead, my mind racing.

"Your Majesty, are you okay?" Zhen Youcai asked with concern when he saw that I was pale.

I shook my head and forced myself to cheer up. "I'm fine, just a little tired. Go interrogate those men in black first. Make sure you pry open their mouths and find out who's behind this!"

"Your Majesty, rest assured. I will do my best!" Zhen Youcai clasped his fists, accepted the order, and turned to leave.

I sat alone in the Buddhist temple for a long time, until night fell, and then I dragged my heavy feet back to my bedroom. These past few days, I have always felt uneasy, as if something bad is about to happen.

The next day, I used the excuse of relaxing to take a few of my personal maids to the Imperial Garden. The early autumn breeze, slightly chilly, blew a few dry leaves off the branches, swirling through the air before finally falling into the icy water.

I walked aimlessly until I came to a secluded corner deep in the Imperial Garden. It was a place with lush flowers and trees and rugged rockery, and few people came here on weekdays.

"Sister, do you think His Majesty will believe us?" A delicate voice came into my ears. I was startled and quickly hid behind a big tree, holding my breath and listening attentively.

"Don't worry, sister, I have already made arrangements. As long as we insist that it was Niu Mengmeng who instructed us to do it, His Majesty will definitely believe it." Another voice was full of confidence, and I recognized it. It was Concubine Yang!

"But, Your Majesty is so kind to Niu Mengmeng, what if..."

"Hmph, good? That's just superficial. Niu Mengmeng is of humble origin and is not worthy of being the ruler of a country! Once we get rid of her, the position of the head of the harem will be yours!"

My heart was filled with turmoil. Concubine Yang and Concubine Zhao, they were actually trying to murder me?! Why would they do this? Was it just jealousy?

I suppressed my anger and continued listening.

"Sister, what should we do next?" Zhao Bin's voice trembled a little, and it seemed that she had not completely lost her mind.

"Don't worry, I've already contacted a few reliable people who will help us. All we have to do now is wait for the right opportunity..."

Their conversation continued, but I couldn't bear it any longer. I quietly left the Imperial Garden, my heart churning with emotions. Concubine Yang and Concubine Zhao, how dare they betray me! I treated them well, so why would they be so cruel?!

After returning to the bedroom, I immediately summoned my trusted palace maids and ordered them to secretly monitor Concubine Yang and Concubine Zhao's every move and not to miss any clues.

After several days of investigation, I discovered that Concubine Yang and Concubine Zhao had close contacts with some court officials and seemed to be plotting something. What shocked me even more was that they had even extended their hands to the Imperial Household Department and the Imperial Hospital!

I realized that this was no longer a simple harem feud, but a carefully planned conspiracy! I must quickly uncover the truth and bring these traitors to justice!

I decided to start with the Imperial Household Department. Sun, the Imperial Household Supervisor, was a distant relative of Concubine Yang and was very close to her...

I rubbed my brows, took a deep breath, and decided to start with the Imperial Household Department. The Imperial Household Supervisor, Sun, was a distant relative of Concubine Yang and was very close to her. If Concubine Yang really wanted to rebel, he would definitely be involved.

I feigned concern for the palace's expenses and summoned the Imperial Household Steward, Sun, to inquire. He stood respectfully in the center of the imperial study, his body bowed, and his tone flattering, "Your Majesty, all palace expenses are being handled according to your instructions. I wonder if you have any instructions?"

"Steward Sun has always been a competent and efficient administrator, so I'm naturally confident in your work." I casually flipped through the account books. "It's just that the treasury is tight lately, and I'd like to see if I can save a bit on palace expenses."

Beads of sweat formed on Sun, the chamberlain's forehead, but he quickly composed himself and said with a smile, "Your Majesty is right. I will do my utmost to help the state treasury."

I calmly continued to look through the account books, and as expected, I found a problem in the account for purchasing cloth. The account book clearly recorded that the Imperial Household Department had purchased a batch of high-quality brocade from Jiangnan at a high price, but in fact, I had never seen this brocade.

"Manager Sun, why have I never seen this batch of brocade before?" I pointed at the records in the account book with a cold tone.

Sun, the head steward, looked pale and stammered, "Your Majesty, this batch of brocade... is still in the warehouse. We'll take it out when the weather cools down..."

"Oh? Really?" I sneered and ordered, "Come here, go to the warehouse and get that batch of brocade!"

"This..." The housekeeper Sun was suddenly panicked. He fell to his knees with a thud, "Your Majesty, please spare my life. I deserve to die! I was confused for a moment and did something wrong. Please have mercy on me, Your Majesty!"

I sneered in my heart. This old fox had finally revealed his true colors! I pretended to be surprised and asked, "Manager Sun, what do you mean? What did you do wrong?"

Sun, the chamberlain, thought I was still unaware of his crimes, so he confessed every detail of his embezzlement. He tearfully begged for mercy, taking all the blame on himself without mentioning Concubine Yang.

I watched his performance with a cold eye, but in my heart I was plotting my next move. I wanted to see how far Concubine Yang would go to protect herself!

A few days later, I invited the imperial concubines and court officials to a banquet under the pretext of enjoying the flowers. The banquet was held in the imperial garden, with singing and dancing, and the clinking of glasses, creating a lively scene.

I sat in the high seat, my eyes sweeping over the crowd until they landed on Sun, the housekeeper. He stood trembling in the corner, head bowed, not daring to look me in the eye.

I raised my glass and said with a smile, "Today is a beautiful day, everyone, enjoy yourself. Come, bring out all the fine wines I have collected over the years, so that we can all get drunk!"

The maids filed in, filling the tables with fine wine and delicacies. I specifically ordered the "cloud brocade" to be made into tablecloths and spread on the most prominent table.

"This brocade has exquisite patterns and a soft texture. It's truly a rare treasure!"

"Yes, I don't know which skilled craftsman wove this, it's truly an exquisite work!"

The ministers all praised him, but only the chief steward Sun turned pale and sweated profusely.

I pretended not to notice, picked up my wine glass, and toasted Sun, the housekeeper: "Steward Sun, you picked this brocade from Jiangnan specifically for me. Thank you for your hard work. Come, I toast you a glass!"

Housekeeper Sun took the wine glass with trembling hands, but he didn't dare drink it. He fell to his knees with a plop and said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, this..."

Chief Steward Sun fell to his knees with a thud and said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, this... this was all done by me alone, and has nothing to do with anyone else!" He kowtowed desperately, and blood soon seeped from his forehead.

I put down my glass and looked at him coldly: "Oh? So, you admit that you have embezzled money?"

"I deserve to die! I was confused for a moment, please have mercy on me, Your Majesty!" The chief steward Sun cried, but he refused to say Concubine Yang's name.

I sneered in my heart. This old fox really won't cry until he sees the coffin! I was about to question him when I heard a commotion in the crowd.

"What's going on?" I asked with a frown.

A young eunuch hurried over and knelt on the ground: "Your Majesty, Concubine Zhao... Concubine Zhao..."

"What happened to Concubine Zhao?" My heart tightened. Could it be that Concubine Yang had attacked Concubine Zhao?

"Empress Zhao suddenly suffered from unbearable abdominal pain and is now unconscious. Doctor Li is treating her!" The little eunuch's voice was trembling, and he was obviously frightened.

I immediately stood up and said to everyone, "My dear ministers, let's stop here for today. I have to go see Concubine Zhao first."

After saying that, I hurried to Concubine Zhao's bedroom with the palace maids.

Concubine Zhao lay on the bed, pale, her brow furrowed, her breathing rapid. Imperial Physician Li was giving her acupuncture, beads of sweat on his forehead.

"Doctor Li, how is Concubine Zhao?" I asked anxiously.

Imperial Physician Li slowly stood up, his face solemn, "Your Majesty, Concubine Zhao has been poisoned!"

"Poisoned?" I was shocked. "Do you know what kind of poison it is?"

"I am checking it now. Please forgive me, Your Majesty." Doctor Li said in panic.

I suppressed my anger and ordered, "Doctor Li, you must find out who poisoned Concubine Zhao!"

Doctor Li took the order and left, and I sat by the bed, looking at Concubine Zhao worriedly.

At this time, a palace maid came in with a bowl of medicine: "Your Majesty, this is the detoxification soup that Imperial Physician Li prepared for Concubine Zhao."

I took the medicine bowl and was about to feed it to Concubine Zhao when I suddenly noticed something strange at the bottom of the bowl. I took a closer look and my face suddenly changed.

"Someone!" I roared, "Take this bowl of medicine and check what's inside!"

The palace maids were trembling with fear and quickly retreated with the medicine bowls.

I clenched my fists, anger boiling inside me. It was all such a coincidence. First, it was the Chamberlain Sun who was corrupt, then Concubine Zhao was poisoned, and now all the evidence pointed to me.

"Who is it? Who is framing me behind the scenes?" I roared in my heart.

At this time, a palace maid hurried in, knelt on the ground, and said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, in... in Concubine Zhao's bedroom, we found a package... a package..."

"A bag of what?" I felt an ominous premonition in my heart.

"A packet of...arsenic..." The maid's voice became smaller and smaller, almost inaudible.

My vision went dark and I nearly fainted. Arsenic? How could it be arsenic?

"Someone!" I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down. "Pass on my order to seal off the harem. No one is allowed to enter or leave without my order!"

I swept my eyes over everyone present, and said in a cold tone, "I want to see who dares to murder my concubines in my bedroom!"

My gaze finally fell on the glaring packet of arsenic on the ground, and inexplicably, the image of Concubine Yang's charming face surfaced in my mind... "Arsenic..." I muttered to myself, my mind tangled like countless threads, unable to make sense of them. The evidence of Sun, the chamberlain's corruption, the arsenic in Concubine Zhao's chambers—it all seemed like a carefully woven web, and I was the prey at its center, waiting to be slaughtered.

"No, that's not right!" I raised my head suddenly, a gleam in my eyes, "They want me to think that it was Concubine Yang who did it, and they want to turn us against each other so that they can reap the benefits!"

I know Concubine Yang too well. Although she is spoiled and willful, she would never do such a thing. Moreover, with her intelligence, if she really wanted to harm Concubine Zhao, how could she leave such obvious evidence?

"Someone is trying to frame me! They're blaming Concubine Yang and me too!" I clenched my fists tightly, my knuckles turning white from the force.

My eyes swept over the palace maids and eunuchs kneeling on the ground. They all had fear on their faces and were trembling. No one dared to look up at me.

"Go down." I waved my hand and rubbed my temples tiredly.

The palace maids and eunuchs retreated in a hurry as if they had been pardoned, and I was the only one left in the bedroom.

I walked to the window, opened it, looked at the bright moon in the night sky, but my heart was cold.

"Who is it? Who is manipulating all this behind the scenes?" I murmured in a low voice, and Zhen Youcai's resolute face suddenly appeared in my mind.

"Yes, go find Zhen Youcai!" A glimmer of hope flashed in my eyes.

I turned back to the table, picked up a pen, and quickly wrote a note.

"Someone come!" I shouted outside the door.

A guard immediately walked in and knelt on one knee: "What are your orders, Your Majesty?"

"Give this note to Commander Zhen and ask him to come see me overnight!" I handed the note to the guard with an unquestionable tone.

The guard took the note and left.

I sat on the chair, waiting anxiously, praying in my heart that Zhen Youcai would arrive as soon as possible.

Time passed minute by minute, and just when I was about to lose my patience, I suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside the door.

I suddenly raised my head and looked towards the door, only to see Zhen Youcai walking in, dressed in armor and looking exhausted...