Help! The cunning and treacherous minister and I were reborn together!

After leaving the Feng residence, Su Zhi went to the Imperial Observatory.

She always felt that the former Imperial Censor had no reason to commit suicide with the former Crown Prince, and there might be other reasons behind it.

Persistence pays off, and they actually found a letter in a hidden compartment in the former supervisor's room.

The letter stated that he had long ago deduced the celestial trajectories and reported this to His Majesty. His Majesty was only shocked for a moment upon hearing this, and after a long while, said that it was not the right time yet.

At first, he thought His Majesty did not believe in his divination skills. But when the stars appeared, he entered the palace again, and His Majesty excitedly said: The time has come.

After that, reports of defeats at the front were sent to the palace one after another, and the disasters reported from the north and south became more and more serious. The Great Qi territory was filled with lamentations and suffering, but the king remained calm and composed, as if he had everything under control.

He watched as the ministers argued fiercely over disaster relief, he watched as the officials of the Eastern Palace ran back and forth, and he watched as the Crown Prince, known for his virtue, walked step by step toward death.

At that moment, he suddenly realized the meaning of His Majesty's words, "The time has come."

The emperor, following the will of Heaven, orchestrated such a grand scheme, only to kill his own son.

How ridiculous!

What's even more ridiculous is that he personally handed the sword that beheaded the crown prince to His Majesty.

Therefore, his accompanying the crown prince to his death was not out of mutual respect among heroes, nor out of a sense of righteousness, nor out of loyalty to his lord even unto death.

Everything was for the sake of atonement.

This letter would bring about her death, so Su Zhi didn't let Duan Sheng see it. She only said that she hadn't found it and secretly tucked it into her sleeve to take it out.

Now that Prince Yong is seriously injured and will not live for more than five years, even if Xing'er refused to admit that she was instructed by the Empress before she died, how could His Majesty not have doubts?

However, given the current situation, the Empress probably doesn't care what His Majesty thinks. After all, the only remaining heirs that the Emperor can choose are the disgraced Prince Jin and his disliked eldest grandson.

As long as Grand Tutor Mu is alive, the Prince of Jin can never enter the Eastern Palace; that position can only belong to her grandson.

Su Zhi had no objection to this matter, but Zhao Shuo had repeatedly driven them to the brink of despair, making it impossible for her to stay.

"Uu——"

The carriage came to an abrupt stop, and Su Zhi lunged forward, bracing herself against the side of the carriage with one hand and clutching her abdomen with the other, barely managing to steady her out-of-control body.

Cold sweat instantly soaked her clothes, stray hairs fell onto her eyelashes, and she trembled uncomfortably, overwhelmed by the joy of surviving the ordeal and the lingering fear.

After catching her breath, she took a deep breath and calmed herself down.

"what happened?"

The coachman replied, "Madam, someone is blocking the road."

Su Zhi lifted the carriage curtain and saw a woman who looked like a female official bowing respectfully.

"Madam Xiao, the Empress requests your presence."

The bricks made from lotus clay are dense and solid. When a wheel rolls over them, all you hear is the creaking of the wood, nothing else.

Su Zhi felt as if she were riding a divine chariot, rushing towards the sun, but her heart was teetering on the brink of collapse as she soared into the sky.

"Madam, it's time to get off the carriage."

After divorcing Xiao Zong, her imperial title was revoked. Even though the two reconciled, she still couldn't get back what she had lost.

The rest of the journey was entirely supported by her two legs, leaving Su Zhi dizzy and weak all over.

The Empress did it on purpose.

The demonstrations serve as a warning, demonstrating the consequences of opposing God.

His vision grew increasingly dark, and his gasps for breath sounded like death knells, one after another. Just before he collapsed, a gentle yet firm voice pierced the air.

"I will lend my palanquin to Lady Xiao."

The female official stepped forward, her expression humble, but her tone excessively arrogant.

“Your Highness, Madam Xiao is neither a concubine nor of any rank. It would be inappropriate for her to ride in your palanquin.”

Consort Liang sneered: "I am here by order of His Majesty to assist in the management of the six palaces. How I conduct myself is none of your business, how a servant like you can interfere? It seems that the Empress has neglected her duties for many years, allowing the servants in the palace to run rampant. Today, I will discipline her and teach them the difference between superior and inferior so that they will know how to serve their master."

The female official immediately panicked: "Your Majesty..."

Consort Liang gave the head palace maid a wink, and the maid strode forward and slapped her several times across the face.

The female official covered her swollen face, daring not to speak her anger, and watched with tearful eyes as Su Zhi boarded the palanquin.

Su Zhi forced herself to stay calm and looked up at Consort Liang: "Thank you, Your Highness, for helping me out of this predicament."

"You can save her for a while, but not forever. Madam, please take care of yourself."

After saying that, he walked away with a large group of palace maids and servants.

Upon arriving at Kunning Palace, the female official tearfully explained the situation to the head maid, who raised her thick eyebrows and waved her away.

Su Zhi followed the head maid into the inner hall. The Empress, dressed in white robes, was kneeling and chanting sutras in front of the Guanyin statue. Her expression was devout and her face was kind and benevolent, just like the deity above.

However, only Su Zhi knew how much blood was stained on those hands that were twisting the prayer beads.

After an incense stick had burned, the Empress stood up, supporting herself on her knees. Turning around, she saw Su Zhi and uttered a single sentence that sent chills down Su Zhi's spine.

"She is still as beautiful as she was in her previous life."

Su Zhi's breath hitched.

Even though she had guessed that the Empress was also a reincarnated person, and even though she repeatedly told herself to stay calm, she was still shocked and at a loss when she heard the other party admit it to herself.

After a moment of stunned silence, she regained her senses and clenched her fists.

"Your Majesty the Empress's strategic planning is truly admirable."

“I don’t understand what Madam Xiao is saying.”

"Why pretend to be confused, Your Majesty? When Xiao Zong proposed marriage to the Shangyuan family, Your Majesty guessed that he had also been reborn. You should devise a plan, have the Grand Tutor submit a memorial, and that's why His Majesty, contrary to his usual behavior, summoned Xiao Zong to the palace on his wedding night and ordered him to investigate the case of the Imperial Uncle. By using Xiao Zong to eliminate this threat of the Imperial Uncle, the future Emperor's eldest grandson will ascend the throne, and there will be a peaceful world."

Of course, this is far from enough.

With the Kings of Wu, Chu, Jin, and Yong around, His Majesty will never appoint the eldest grandson. Just when you were at your wits' end, I happened to stumble upon you. Because of my past grudge against Consort Dunsu, I hate this mother and son to the core, and because of this, I have revealed my identity to you.

"You used me and Xiao Zong to get rid of several princes who were blocking your way. Fearing that we would find out and retaliate, you used Xing'er, an inside agent, to fabricate a story about an affair between my husband and Consort Zheng. However, Xiao Zong is an upright man, so you couldn't do it yourself. You could only give Consort Zheng a lover. Once she was pregnant, you killed the lover. With Xing'er's testimony, you could still falsely accuse the child of being Xiao Zong's."

Zhao Shuo's smile remained unchanged, but a hint of appreciation appeared in her eyes.

"Any further insights? Please continue."

"The Ninth Prince, having received great favor from the late Crown Prince, devoted the entire Eastern Depot to serving him. His eunuchs intercepted the fertility-enhancing pills that Lady Wei was giving to her niece, and put them into a box containing abortifacient powder. This box was then presented to Wei Xueyao by Yuan Liu, a female physician from the Department of Pharmacy. At that time, Jiang Rou was still a member of the Yuan family. Such a valuable item, instead of being kept by Yuan Liu to help her family gain favor, was given to an outsider. Anyone would be suspicious of this."

So, Wei Xueyao sought Pu Hong's help to identify the child. With just a hint from your ally, the other party immediately fell into your trap. Wei Xueyao, who loved Xiao Zong but couldn't have him, mistakenly believed that Consort Zheng was carrying Xiao Zong's child. Driven by hatred, she added poison to Consort Zheng's ginseng soup on the night of her delivery, intending to kill both Consort Zheng and her unborn child. However, in the end, only Consort Zheng died. I suspect it must have been the Empress who did this.

After Su Zhi finished speaking, she stared intently at the woman in plain clothes in front of her.

"That's right! That child is still useful to me. As for Consort Zheng, she's just a fool and deserves to die!"

Zhao Shuo smoothed her hair and said softly, "When Consort Wei's people can enter Luanxiang Palace, when they can put medicine in the soup, and when the soup and medicine will be served to Consort Zheng, it is all within my plan, without the slightest error."