Transmigration: Reverse Exploitation, the System Works for Me

Chapter 286 Revelation

Xiao Xiazi tugged at the purse in his sleeve: "Hey, I thought it was something big. You wait here, I'll go tell my master right now."

Xiao Lianzi wiped the sweat from his brow: "Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir. I was in a hurry today, but I will definitely repay you handsomely later."

Having received the money and the promise, Xiao Xiazi acted swiftly, and Xiao Lianzi soon met with Su Peisheng.

As the imperial procession was about to arrive at the Fourth Prince's mourning hall, Xiao Lianzi dared not delay and told Su Peisheng everything in a rush, adding at the end: "Eunuch Su, Aunt Fangruo is, after all, someone from the Imperial Household Department, and my wife will have a hard time dealing with her."

He didn't know why he had to hand this matter over to Su Peisheng, so he had no choice but to raise this banner!

Su Peisheng frowned deeply. It turned out that Consort Wan had personally asked the Emperor to come and keep vigil for the Fourth Prince on her behalf.

It's quite strange that Fangruo was sent by the Empress Dowager to Suiyuxuan to teach Consort Wan the palace rules, but no sooner had Fangruo arrived than Consort Wan fell ill.

Three days later, this afternoon, Consort Wan, who had only been ill for three days, suddenly passed away, and her appearance after death was quite horrifying.

For some unknown reason, the Empress Dowager suddenly sent someone to the Emperor's presence to say that she wanted to see the Fourth Prince off on his final journey.

"I understand. Go back and serve the Fujin (principal wife) quickly, and don't let her be disturbed again."

This is too strange; we need to investigate it thoroughly!

Before the Fourth Prince's mourning hall, the Emperor and Empress Dowager had already alighted from their sedan chairs. The two most honored mother and son in the land stepped into the mourning hall together with sorrowful faces.

The palace servants guarding the mourning hall panicked for a moment when they saw that the emperor had arrived but Fang Ruo had not yet returned.

But as the emperor drew closer, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and pull out three special incense sticks from a hidden compartment at the bottom of the incense box.

Inside the mourning hall, the Empress Dowager stopped in her tracks. Seeing that she hadn't followed, the Emperor also stopped and turned around, only to see the Empress Dowager looking at the prayer flags in the mourning hall with tears in her eyes.

The Empress Dowager withdrew her gaze and said sorrowfully, "Although your sixth brother died young, your father still ordered a mourning hall to be set up here. I..."

As she spoke, tears streamed down her face. The emperor, having lost his son in middle age, was deeply grieving and could empathize with the empress dowager.

"Your Majesty, please take care of yourself and don't be too sad. I have ordered a room to be prepared for you to rest. Your Majesty, why don't you go and rest first?"

Perhaps because of the empathy at this moment, or perhaps because the Empress Dowager took the initiative to come and see Hongli one last time, the Emperor's attitude toward the Empress Dowager softened for once.

The Empress Dowager shook her head: "I came here to see Hongli off on his final journey, so I must at least offer him some incense."

As she spoke, she walked past the emperor to the altar, and Chunmao took a lit incense stick from a maid and handed it to her.

The Empress Dowager lowered her eyes to look at it, held her breath as she took it, quickly inserted it into the incense burner, and immediately turned to look at the Emperor.

She sighed, "Over the years, I have always regretted not being able to properly see Yinzhu off on his final journey. Your Majesty, please do not suffer the same fate as I have."

The Emperor looked at the memorial tablet of the Fourth Prince and said, "My mother-in-law is right, which is why I come to offer incense to Hongli every day."

The Empress Dowager nodded in satisfaction: "Spend some more time with Hongli. I feel a tightness in my chest and need to go outside for some fresh air."

The emperor had no suspicions and simply instructed Chunmao to take good care of the Empress Dowager.

When Su Peisheng entered, the emperor was the only person in the mourning hall.

He bowed and stepped forward, glanced at the memorial tablet of the Fourth Prince, apologized to him in his heart, and then pulled out and extinguished all the burning incense in the incense burner.

Although the incense Fangruo prepared only works when mixed with another medicine, who knows if this incense might cause any other harm to the Emperor's health?

The emperor's pupils dilated when he saw this action.

Without the emperor asking, Su Peisheng whispered, "Your Majesty, something happened at Ji'an Palace just now, and it's related to the Empress Dowager."

Queen Mother!

The emperor closed his eyes tightly; it had finally come!

My dear Empress Mother...

Su Peisheng couldn't care less about whether it was respectful to say such things in the mourning hall. He approached the emperor and whispered what he knew and what he had found out.

Upon hearing this, the emperor was so angry that he staggered.

On the other side, palace servants led the Empress Dowager to a side room prepared by the Emperor.

This side room was located in the small courtyard where the emperor had rested for the past two days; in other words, it was not far from the room that should have belonged to Xi Qiao.

After she sat down, she picked up her teacup, took a sip, and looked expectantly at the door. But she waited and waited, until the tea in her hand had completely cooled down, and there was still no movement outside.

A bad premonition gradually spread through the Empress Dowager's heart. She frowned and ordered Chunmao, "Have someone go and summon Fangruo."

Chunmao accepted the order and went out. As soon as she lifted the thick cotton curtain, she saw an unfamiliar palace maid timidly approaching: "Your Excellency, the matter has been completed."

She stood on the veranda with her face down, her body trembling slightly, just like many other low-ranking palace maids, unable to withstand the cold outside.

But if you get close, you can smell fresh blood next to this palace maid.

Chunmao's eyelids twitched; the Empress Dowager had indeed come here with ulterior motives!

Following closely behind was an extreme unease, perhaps due to the Empress Dowager's incomplete trust, or perhaps because something bad had happened in the shadows.

She glanced at the palace maid with a stern expression: "Wait here for now."

After saying this, he returned indoors and reported to the Empress Dowager.

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager smiled, a smile she hadn't shown in a long time. "Reward her. You don't need to come with me. I'm going out for some fresh air."

Looking at the smile on her face, Chunmao felt increasingly uneasy, as if her heart was being squeezed, and she had an indescribable feeling of suffocation.

"Yes, the servant knows."

Under Chunmao's complex gaze, the Empress Dowager strolled away from the small courtyard and headed straight for the adjacent courtyard with a clear purpose.

The smile on her face turned to shock and anger when she saw Su Peisheng standing guard outside the door.

When Su Peisheng saw the Empress Dowager appear at the courtyard gate, the look of panic on his face was genuine.

"This servant greets Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."

Su Peisheng looked at the Empress Dowager with a complicated expression: "Your Majesty, why are you here?"

The Empress Dowager stared at the tightly closed door; even from a distance, she could hear soft sobbing coming from inside.

A dark glint flashed in her eyes. Ignoring the ever-polite Su Peisheng, she stepped past him, stood outside the door, and pushed it open forcefully.

Inside the room, the emperor sat expressionlessly on a stool facing the door, with Fang Ruo, who had been tortured, kneeling at his feet.

The Empress Dowager's pupils contracted sharply, and her hands, which were still in the action of pushing the door open, trembled visibly.

The Emperor looked at the Empress Dowager standing at the door: "Imperial Mother, are you surprised to see me sitting here dressed in such fine clothes?"