Every time the prince opens his eyes, he sees

But Lu Yaoyao no longer had the mood to wander around.

She walked towards her palace, with Xie Qingchen following behind her.

However, Lu Yaoyao did not invite him in, and slammed the door after he entered.

Xie Qingchen stood outside the door, looking at the closed palace gate, his heart aching.

However, he did not force Lu Yaoyao to go in, but returned to the bedroom.

Xie Qingchen sat alone in front of the desk with an unfinished painting on it. The woman in the painting was Lu Yaoyao.

He picked up the pen and wanted to continue describing her face, but he found that his hands were shaking and his heart was filled with bitterness.

"Why are you always so cruel to me?" He whispered softly, as if he was talking to the woman in the painting, or as if he was talking to himself.

The concubine returned to her palace and flew into a rage, throwing everything she could see.

"Damn it! I've never seen the Emperor treat anyone so kindly. That bastard stole the Emperor's heart. The Emperor was already indifferent to the harem. Where will I stand in the future?"

"No, I can't let that vixen live."

She bribed a maid to poison Lu Yaoyao, pretending that it was an accident. Even if the emperor was furious, he would only sentence the maid to death.

Her family can enjoy wealth and prosperity forever because of her.

It was just that the poisonous ginseng soup was sent to Lu Yaoyao. Before Lu Yaoyao even tasted it, she could already smell something wrong.

She didn't give in either, and cast a sharp glance at the maid, "Which palace are you from? Why haven't I seen you before?"

The maid trembled at Lu Yaoyao's sharp gaze, and the tray in her hand almost dropped. However, she quickly calmed down and replied calmly, "I am a new servant in the imperial kitchen. I am responsible for delivering soup to the masters. Please enjoy it, Your Majesty."

Lu Yaoyao sneered, already having a plan in mind.

She slowly stood up, walked to the palace maid, took the tray, gently sniffed the bowl of ginseng soup, and a playful smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. "This soup smells quite fragrant, but I'm afraid I won't be able to enjoy it."

The maid's expression changed, and she pretended to be calm and said, "What do you mean, Madam? Do you suspect that this servant will harm you?"

"Oh? Since you ask, then try it yourself first." Lu Yaoyao handed the tray back to the palace maid, with unquestionable majesty in her tone.

The palace maid's face turned pale, her legs went weak, and she almost fell to the ground.

She knew that once she tasted this soup, there would be no turning back.

But she knew better than ever that if she didn't obey, her life would be in danger immediately.

Just as she was hesitating, a cold voice came from outside the door, "How dare you! Who dares to do such a dirty thing under my nose!"

Xie Qingchen strode into the room, scanning everyone with his sharp eyes, finally fixing his gaze on the palace maid.

His eyes were filled with anger and disappointment, as if he had seen through everything.

The palace maid trembled with fear, and the tray in her hand fell to the ground with a clang, splashing the ginseng soup everywhere.

She fell to her knees, kowtowed repeatedly and begged for mercy: "Your Majesty, please spare my life, Your Majesty, please spare my life! This servant was ordered around by someone!"

Xie Qingchen ignored her cries and walked to Lu Yaoyao, asking with concern: "Yaoyao, are you okay?"

Lu Yaoyao shook her head slightly, and when she saw his nervous expression, a hint of dark emotion flashed in her eyes. "I'm fine, thanks to the emperor for coming in time."

After Xie Qingchen heard this, the heavy stone in his heart finally fell to the ground.

He turned to look at the palace maid, his tone cold, "Tell me, who ordered you to do this?"

The maid trembled and cried, "Yes, it was Concubine Chen. She asked me to deliver poisoned ginseng soup to Master Lu, saying that if it succeeded, she would guarantee my family prosperity and wealth."

"Well, since when did a mere concubine have the power to decide life and death at will?" Xie Qingchen was furious, especially since the person she wanted to hurt was the one she loved the most.

He took a deep breath and ordered the guards around him:

"Take this palace maid away and beat her to death!"

"Concubine Chen will be stripped of her imperial concubine's attire, demoted to a commoner, and then imprisoned."

The guards took orders and left, and the cries of the palace maid as she was dragged away gradually faded away.

Lu Yaoyao looked at Xie Qingchen with mixed feelings.

She didn't expect that Xie Qingchen would deal with people so swiftly and decisively for her.

But she didn't want to thank him. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't have attracted the jealousy of other women and gotten into trouble.

"Your Majesty, don't you have things to attend to? Why don't you go back first?"

"Okay, I'll come see you next time."

Xie Qingchen was filled with pent-up anger and had no place to vent it, but Chen Mianshu ended up walking into the muzzle of his gun.

When Concubine Chen learned that the palace maid she sent was captured on the spot, her heart suddenly felt as if she had sunk into an ice cellar.

She originally thought that her plan was flawless, but she didn't expect Lu Yaoyao to be so smart, and she didn't expect the emperor to intervene so quickly.

At this moment, she was sitting alone in front of the bronze mirror, her face as pale as paper, and her eyes flashing with unwillingness and fear.

At this moment, hurried footsteps were heard outside the palace, and several eunuchs hurried over. The first sentence of the leading eunuch was, "Capture Concubine Chen."

Upon hearing this, Concubine Chen dropped the jade comb in her hand to the ground with a "clack". Although her expression could no longer remain calm, she still shouted, "How dare you! Who gave you the courage to trespass into my bedroom and treat me like this?"

However, the situation was worse than she had imagined.

The eunuchs ignored her arrogant attitude and took her down roughly.

Soon, Xie Qingchen stepped into Concubine Chen's bedroom. His eyes were cold, as if they could penetrate people's hearts.

When Concubine Chen saw him, her face was filled with horror.

"Let her go."

Xie Qingchen waved his hand.

Concubine Chen immediately knelt down and begged for mercy, "Your Majesty, I was bewitched by the devil. I was so angry that I thought of dealing with Lu Yaoyao. Please be lenient and forgive me this time, okay?"

Xie Qingchen pinched her chin, his eyes cold and cruel, "Why did you have to touch her when you can touch anyone else?"

Does this mean you don't intend to forgive her?

Not only was Concubine Chen's face pale, but her eyes also revealed extreme fear.

"Your Majesty, my mother's family is serving on the battlefield. You cannot kill me!"

"Can't? Do you think you're that important? Without you, the Chen family will send a second or third daughter. Anyone can replace you, but no one can replace Yaoyao. Even if you are favored by the Chen family, if you die, the Chen family will not give up. Do you think I'm afraid?"

Concubine Chen was completely dumbfounded. She was filled with fear and disbelief and asked, "Your Majesty, do you want to eliminate the Chen family as well? Aren't you afraid of being ridiculed and despised by the world?"

"so what?"

His cold eyes signaled the eunuch to take action.

"She dared to hurt Yaoyao. I will watch her die with my own eyes. I will also kill her as a warning to the rest and intimidate the people in the harem."

The news that Concubine Chen was sentenced to death spread quickly in the harem, causing everyone to be in a state of panic.

Also shocked.

"Concubine Chen's mother's family was powerful. The Emperor was furious because she had someone poison that undetermined woman, and the attempt failed. He killed her directly, without any regard for whether it would anger the Chen family."

"Empress, has the Emperor gone mad? How can he be so rude because of a woman? Would you like to try to persuade him?"