The whole family was brutally murdered? The ruthless heiress's eldest daughter went berserk aft

Murong Xuewei turned around and looked at the woman standing at the palace entrance. The woman was dressed in a light purple brocade dress, with gold and jade hairpins in her hair, and her every move exuded nobility.

"This young lady is..." Murong Xuewei sized up the other party without showing any emotion.

"I am Li Ru, a commoner. My late father was the Minister of Rites of the Taichu Kingdom." The woman bowed. "According to ancestral rules, before being crowned Empress, one must go to Jing'an Temple to pray for blessings, for the peace and prosperity of the nation. To violate this rule would be inauspicious."

The civil and military officials whispered among themselves, discussing the matter animatedly. Some agreed that such a precedent did exist, while others questioned whether the rule should continue.

Murong Xuewei's lips curled slightly: "Miss Li is right. However..." She glanced at the sky outside the hall, "If we head to Jing'an Temple now, I'm afraid we won't be able to return in time to continue the ceremony."

“There’s enough time,” Li Ru said with a smile. “I have already prepared a carriage. If Her Majesty the Empress departs immediately, she will surely return before nightfall.”

Gu Ye's eyes darkened, and he was about to speak when Murong Xuewei said, "Alright, I'll go right away."

“Empress…” Gu Ye looked at Murong Xuewei.

“Your Majesty, rest assured,” Murong Xuewei said firmly. “I will definitely return safely. Besides…” Her gaze swept over the crowd in the hall, “So many people are waiting for me to complete the ceremony; how could I dare to delay?”

Liuli stepped forward: "Your Majesty, may I accompany you?"

Murong Xuewei nodded, then said to Gu Ye, "Please wait a moment, Your Majesty and all the officials. I will be right back."

Watching Murong Xuewei and Liuli leave the main hall with Li Ru, Nangong Yifeng quietly approached Gu Ye: "This girl's background is suspicious, should we...?"

Gu Ye shook his head slightly and said in a low voice, "Have the guards follow." He looked outside the hall, "Xue Wei knows what she's doing."

As the carriage departed the palace, Murong Xuewei gazed through the window at the receding palace walls. She then looked at Li Ru, who sat opposite her, and asked, "Miss Li, may I now reveal your true identity?"

Li Ru still smiled: "Your Majesty the Empress has excellent judgment." She removed the gold hairpin from her hair. "But isn't it a bit too early to say these things now?"

Liuli sensed something was wrong and her hand was already on the dagger at her waist.

“When we get to Jing’an Temple…” Li Ru’s smile suddenly turned cold, “you’ll know then.”

The carriage slowly drove towards Jing'an Temple. Murong Xuewei looked out the window, a faint smile on her lips.

"Since Miss Li is familiar with the ancestral rules, she must also know that the Empress needs to bring incense when praying for blessings," Murong Xuewei suddenly spoke up. "This incense is specially offered by the Imperial Ancestral Temple and is said to ensure the prosperity of the nation."

Li Ru's expression changed slightly: "This..."

"Furthermore," Murong Xuewei continued, "the abbot of Jing'an Temple knew the Empress was coming to pray for blessings, and should have already prepared the incense table and Buddhist implements for her reception. Since Miss Li has arranged everything, these must also be ready?"

Liuli nodded secretly to herself; the Empress was testing the other party.

Li Ruqiang tried to remain calm: "Your Majesty is too kind, these things are naturally..."

"Bang!" The carriage suddenly shook violently.

Liuli immediately shielded Murong Xuewei, warily glancing out the carriage window. However, the anticipated ambush did not materialize. It turned out that the carriage wheel had simply run over a stone.

Seeing Li Ru's panicked state, Murong Xuewei understood. Throughout the journey, the other party had clearly been waiting for some signal, but had never received one.

Soon, the carriage arrived at Jing'an Temple. The temple gate was bustling with incense smoke, and pilgrims came and went in an endless stream.

“Miss Li,” Murong Xuewei said calmly, “it seems your ‘surprise’ encountered some unexpected problems?”

Li Ru's face turned pale: "What did Your Majesty say? I don't understand..."

“No need to pretend,” Murong Xuewei stood up. “Gu Ye already sent men to clear out the ambushes along the way. Your accomplices probably won’t be able to wait for us.”

Li Ru then realized with a start that she had fallen into their trap from the very beginning. Murong Xuewei had agreed to come and pray for blessings precisely to alert them.

"Take him away." Murong Xuewei said to the car window.

The guards who had been lying in ambush immediately stepped forward and subdued Li Ru.

On the way back, Liuli couldn't help but ask, "How did Your Highness notice the problem?"

“Too hasty,” Murong Xuewei said, gazing out the window. “Such an important day as the coronation ceremony, yet they choose this exact moment to propose a prayer. If it were truly to follow ancestral tradition, they wouldn’t have chosen this time.”

The carriage returned safely to the palace, and the ceremony continued. Looking at Murong Xuewei standing in the hall, a hint of admiration flashed in Gu Ye's eyes. His empress always managed to surprise him.

After the ceremony, Murong Xuewei returned to Fengyi Palace, where Liuli was helping her remove her phoenix crown.

"Your Highness, what did you find out about Li Ru during the interrogation?" Liuli asked as she carefully removed the gold hairpin.

Murong Xuewei, with her eyes closed, said, "The interrogation is still ongoing, but..." She slightly opened her eyes, "her appearance at this time must be related to Xiao Wanning."

"Does Xiao Wan Ning really dare to return to the capital?" Liu Li asked, somewhat surprised.

"Why wouldn't she dare?" Murong Xuewei got up and walked to the window. "She's already a trapped beast; that makes her more likely to take risks."

Just then, a eunuch's shrill voice came from outside: "Your Majesty, the Emperor has arrived."

Gu Ye strode into Fengyi Palace and saw Murong Xuewei standing by the window. His gaze softened slightly: "You must be tired today?"

"Isn't His Majesty the same?" Murong Xuewei turned around. "Is there any news from Li Ru?"

Gu Ye gestured for Liu Li to step back before saying, "The interrogation revealed that she is indeed Xiao Wan Ning's person. If you hadn't discovered the clues beforehand, giving me time to make preparations, I might have truly fallen into her trap."

"So, what exactly is Xiao Wan Ning trying to do?" Murong Xue Wei frowned. "Even if she succeeds in ambushing her on the road, she can't possibly do it in front of everyone..."

“Unless,” Gu Ye’s eyes darkened, “her target isn’t you.”

Murong Xuewei was taken aback, then realized: "She wants to..."

“That’s right,” Gu Ye grasped Murong Xuewei’s hand, “What she wants is to create chaos. If the Empress is attacked on the way to the prayer ceremony, the ceremony will be forced to stop, the officials will become suspicious, and with envoys from various countries present…”

"She can then take the opportunity to incite public sentiment," Murong Xuewei continued, "giving those ministers in court who were already dissatisfied with me an excuse."

Gu Ye nodded: "Moreover, if the envoys from various countries see that the Great Qi court is so unstable, it's hard to guarantee that they won't have other ideas."

"So," Murong Xuewei said thoughtfully, "she's trying to kill two birds with one stone. She wants to both undermine my position and damage the image of the Great Qi in the eyes of other nations."

“But she miscalculated,” Gu Ye said with a faint smile. “My Empress is not so easy to deal with.”

Just then, an announcement came from outside: "Your Majesty, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review requests an audience."

Gu Ye and Murong Xuewei exchanged a glance, knowing that Li Ru must have made another new discovery.