After being sentenced to death, she came to her senses.

With the recent turmoil in the court, Consort Ning and the Seventh Prince have begun to lie low, while the Second Prince, Zhao Xi, is gradually emerging.

He already had the Empress's support behind him, and she mobilized almost all her connections to pave the way for his succession.

Zhao Xi indeed lived up to expectations. With his outstanding talent and extraordinary strategies, he shone brightly in the court. He repeatedly put forward ingenious policies for governing the country and had profound insights into the benefits and drawbacks of people's livelihoods and important military and political affairs, which attracted the attention of many senior officials in the court and earned their secret praise.

Zhao Xi is currently enjoying great popularity, overshadowing all the princes. Officials from all sides, seeing his unparalleled fame, are eager to curry favor with him.

For a time, Zhao Xi's residence was bustling with activity, with a constant stream of people coming to offer gifts and seek connections.

Although the Empress was happy for him, she couldn't help but worry as she watched.

"Your Majesty, this is good news! Why are you worried? Recently, everyone in the court has been saying that His Majesty intends to make our Second Prince the Crown Prince. You will finally no longer have to suffer the Consort's temper." Xue Rou was genuinely happy for the Empress.

But these words were particularly jarring to the Empress, especially given the recent series of events concerning the Second Prince. She felt that everything was going too smoothly, as if an invisible net had been cast and they were already deeply entangled in it.

"Do you think Shang Linglan is the kind of person who would give up so easily? Even if the Seventh Prince is injured, there's still the Third Prince. She hasn't made any move yet, which makes me uneasy." The Empress shook her head helplessly. Having fought with Consort Ning for most of her life, how could she not know this person well?

An extreme and mad person would never put themselves in danger. Her inaction this time makes people think that she is playing a big game. Perhaps they have unwittingly fallen into her trap.

Of course, this is also one of the most optimistic possibilities.

Upon hearing this, Xue Rou frowned slightly. "Perhaps it's because Consort Ning is willing but unable to help? I heard that she has been seriously ill recently and has sought out many folk doctors to come to the palace for treatment, but none of them have been very effective. Maybe she is just worrying too much and overthinking things."

"No, she must have a health problem. However, there are only a few people with superb medical skills. I am not worried that Fang Xiaoran can cure her. Perhaps this is indeed an opportunity for us. Send someone to continue to keep an eye on Chengqian Palace. Inform me as soon as there is any movement. Also, convey my oral decree that Xi'er should act discreetly and not be too ostentatious."

The Empress knew very well that Emperor Zhao was extremely suspicious, and that she could not afford to do anything wrong at this critical juncture; she must not fall into someone else's trap.

Xue Rou nodded and said, "Yes, this servant will take care of it right away. However, Chengqian Palace cleared out a large number of spies a few days ago, so it may not be easy to plant them now. We can only try to get them in from the sidelines."

"It's alright. I still have her secrets. If she dares to harm my son, I will fight her to the death. The only reason I haven't taken action yet is because I feel His Majesty is being lenient with her. Moreover, this matter has far-reaching implications and requires careful consideration. Otherwise, I will make sure she dies a horrible death!"

The Empress harbored intense hatred for Consort Ning, after all, she was the rightful mistress of the six palaces, but Consort Ning had interfered, not only ruling over the three palaces but also seizing half of the power of the Phoenix Seal.

The key is that she has merchants backing her up, making it difficult to touch her; otherwise, why would the Empress have to swallow her anger?

Especially after the last clash, which resulted in a complete defeat, the Empress realized that she could never confront Consort Ning head-on; she had to suppress her completely and not give her any chance to resist.

After some time, rumors spread like wildfire about the Second Prince being chosen as the heir apparent. Some even claimed that the Second Prince's position as heir apparent was a sure thing, and some outrageous rumors even circulated that His Majesty had already secretly prepared an edict and was just waiting for the right moment to announce it to the world and pass the throne to Zhao Xi.

This matter could be a big deal or a small deal, but if it continues to be incited, it will be extremely detrimental to Zhao Xi.

But now, Zhao Xi has been blinded by vanity and has become arrogant and conceited, behaving in an increasingly flamboyant manner, completely different from before.

A person can change completely once they have power, and this is perfectly demonstrated in Zhao Xi.

"Someone is stirring things up, sending the Second Prince into the eye of the storm." Fang Xiaoran frowned. She keenly sensed the danger of the situation and knew that once the Empress lost power, Consort Ning would be the one to have the last laugh, and she herself would be doomed.

So she secretly tried to give Zhao Xi and the Empress some pointers, informing them of the severity of the current situation and the hidden dangers.

However, Zhao Xi not only did not restrain himself in the slightest, but instead intensified his actions. This trend was extremely dangerous, which made Fang Xiaoran feel that something was wrong.

If this continues, Zhao Xi will become nothing more than a useless pawn. If he can't even resist this little temptation, it will indeed be difficult for him to ascend the throne.

Since Zheng Mama passed away, Gu Yuqing had been quiet for a few days. However, despite his apparent quietness, he always carried a strong smell of blood whenever he appeared.

Although he had used expensive incense to cover it up, Fang Xiaoran still noticed.

She is very sensitive to the smell of blood; she can smell even the slightest trace of it.

Curious, she couldn't help but ask, "Where did you go?"

Gu Yuqing smiled indifferently and said nonchalantly, "What can an idle person do?"

Judging from his tone that he wasn't going to tell the truth, Fang Xiaoran stopped asking.

Recently, several strange cases have occurred in Yancheng. It is said that many secret organizations have been uprooted, and corpses have been left everywhere, which is extremely bizarre. However, strangely, the news has not spread. Overnight, all traces have been erased, and no one has even mentioned it.

These were things I discovered through my proximity to the source, and I informed her of them.

“Those organizations must be spies from other countries or the previous dynasty. We’ve been keeping an eye on a few of them, but we never expected them to be wiped out so suddenly, without even leaving a trace.” Asagao’s expression was grave.

Besides gathering useful intelligence, those who are close to the source also sell it, exchanging intelligence for intelligence or earning a fee for it—all at Fang Xiaoran's behest.

She knew very well that she needed to expand her proximity to the source in order to obtain more of the information she wanted.

However, she also found this recent event strange. Although it didn't affect her, she felt that the timing of its occurrence was too coincidental.

"It seems that all the factors are detrimental to the Shang Kingdom. Such a decisive action is not the work of an ordinary person. Moreover, the fact that this matter has been suppressed so quietly clearly indicates that the imperial court has taken action. We should pay attention to this matter first and not waste too much time on it."

After careful consideration, Fang Xiaoran reached a conclusion.

Asagao nodded slightly. "Yes, there is one more thing. I'm afraid the Second Prince has already been drawn into the conflict."

"Let them go. If we push the Empress too far, she might choose to fight Shang Linglan to the death, which would be more advantageous for me."

Let them handle the affairs of the palace themselves. In any case, she has already handed everything over to the Empress, and how she does it is entirely up to her.

"You asked us to investigate the matter of Young Master Gu, but so far we have found nothing."

"Nothing at all?" Fang Xiaoran frowned.

There are usually only two possibilities in this situation: either Gu Yuqing is as he appears to be, without any problems; or he is unfathomable, and even her subordinates cannot find any clues about him.

But if it's the latter, then it's quite terrifying.