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

Silver Crane led Fang Xiaoran to the secret chamber of Star-Picking Tower, where Fang Xiaoran saw the poisoner who had disappeared earlier.

At that time, she suspected that so many poisoners had disappeared into thin air, but she never expected that they would all be taken in here.

The imperial palace is extremely far from here. Could it be that a secret passage connects to the imperial palace?

Aside from that, Fang Xiaoran really didn't understand how the poisoned people were transported here.

Moreover, it seems that it is only temporarily placed here for future use.

Although the poison on the poisonous people had been removed, it was obvious that they were now being controlled by poisonous insects. They stood there like puppets, with no signs of life on their bodies.

The poisoned people from before should still be alive, but they were controlled by the poison. Now, however, these people are truly dead.

There were at least several thousand poisoners, and the fact that so many of them were killed shows just how ruthless Millennium Building was.

"I discovered this by accident. It took me three whole days to break the mechanism on this door. With the recent turmoil in the court and Emperor Zhao's serious illness, I suppose Qianxi Tower has no time to attend to this place. Perhaps this is an opportunity," Yinhe said.

Fang Xiaoran understood what he meant and frowned. "You want me to control these poisoners to attack Millennium Tower and disrupt it, so that we can get close to its leader and kill him. As far as I know, the person in charge of Millennium Tower should be Shang Lingzhu. The internal chaos you mentioned, is it because there is something wrong with them?"

"I don't know, but I suppose it's because the more chaotic their internal situation is, the better for us," Silver Crane said calmly, clearly having made up his mind.

After all, the opportunity was right in front of them, and the same was true for Fang Xiaoran.

"So, according to you, now is the best time to take action?" Fang Xiaoran couldn't help but ask.

"So it's up to you now."

Controlling thousands of poisoners is not easy. Outsiders are unaware that the Gu Spirit Technique consumes lifespan, but without doing so, it will be difficult to take revenge.

Fang Xiaoran hadn't left herself enough options, so she might as well take a gamble.

"We don't have much time left. We'd better act now. There's going to be a lot of chaos in the palace, and I doubt the Millennium Tower will be able to escape unscathed."

"I will control them first. As they are all Gu, the Gu worms on their bodies will be devoured, and the person who planted the Gu will definitely notice. I need to pull them out little by little, which will take at least one day and at most two days."

As she spoke, Fang Xiaoran sat down cross-legged on the spot, her body radiating a silvery-white light. Upon seeing this, Yinhe withdrew from the dark pavilion.

Meanwhile, news of Consort Hui's death spread throughout the palace, and the murderer was identified as the eldest prince. The Empress Dowager was furious and ordered the eldest prince to be brought to the palace.

Upon witnessing this scene, the eldest prince tried his best to explain, but was met with numerous accusations. He immediately erupted and placed the Empress Dowager under house arrest.

"Consort Hui murdered my mother and deserved to die. I spared her life only because of my father. Since someone has done this for me, I will proclaim to the world that such a wicked woman deserves to die and is not worthy of being the mother of the nation!"

"Your father is still alive, yet you dare to speak such arrogant words. Do you even intend to usurp his throne?" The Empress Dowager was furious and immediately pointed at the eldest prince's nose, angrily scolding him.

Upon hearing this, the eldest prince's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and he abruptly flicked his sleeve, causing all the candles in the hall to go out.

“Great-grandmother is old and senile, I don’t blame you.” His voice was low, but every word was like a knife. “But if anyone slanders me again for murdering my mother…”

Before the words were finished, the sound of armor clashing suddenly came from outside the hall, and a dark mass of imperial guards surged in like a tide, the cold glint of unsheathed blades casting a chilling light throughout the hall.

The Empress Dowager's expression changed drastically, and she slammed her phoenix cane heavily on the ground: "Rebellion! Do you really intend to murder your own family and usurp the throne?!"

"I am the Crown Prince personally appointed by my father, and I am the heir apparent. How can this be considered usurpation? My father is seriously ill, and the Shang Dynasty is beset by internal and external troubles. It is time for you and my grandmother to relinquish power. If you continue to overstep your bounds, do not blame your grandson for being ruthless!"

"You!" The Empress Dowager was furious, pointing at him but unable to utter a word for a long time.

The eldest prince stepped forward slowly and personally adjusted the brocade fur coat on the Empress Dowager's shoulders. His voice was so gentle it sent chills down one's spine. "Great-grandmother is getting on in years and should enjoy her remaining years in peace... Guards, escort the Empress Dowager back to the palace to recuperate."

The Empress Dowager was sent out of Zhongcui Palace, and even her people were stopped. Zhongcui Palace was sealed off, and no one was allowed to enter. No one knew whether Consort Hui was alive or dead.

After the Empress Dowager left Zhongcui Palace, a slight smile appeared on her originally cold face. "In the end, she was too young."

Since that day, rumors of the eldest prince murdering his mother have spread like wildfire.

To protect his reputation, he began to kill to silence people. Anyone who discussed the matter was to be killed without mercy. The Shang Kingdom was already beset by internal and external troubles, and his actions undoubtedly shook the hearts of the people, resulting in constant criticism and even prompting many court officials to offer their advice.

In the hall, the Imperial Censor remonstrated with his life, his blood splattering on the jade steps, shouting: "If Your Highness continues to be so stubborn, the Shang Kingdom will surely perish!"

The eldest prince was furious and immediately ordered his men to drag him out and behead him, but this action thoroughly enraged the civil and military officials.

Within just a few days, the entire Shang Kingdom was in turmoil.

All of this was within the Empress Dowager's expectations.

What she wanted was for the eldest prince to make mistakes, and to keep making mistakes, until the court officials and the people could no longer tolerate him. He would then lose the support of the people and bring about his own destruction.

Of course, what the Empress Dowager wanted was to support Prince Yong to ascend the throne, but the presence of the eldest prince was ultimately a hidden danger.

The recent events have been making headlines, and there has been constant turmoil in the palace. The Empress Dowager, who rarely appears in public, has suddenly emerged, and the Empress Dowager naturally saw through her intentions.

Compared to allowing these princes to ascend the throne, Prince Yong was the greatest threat to the Empress Dowager.

Now that Prince Duan is gone, how could she possibly hand over the throne to someone else? Therefore, she secretly allied with Zhao Jin, but every time she sent someone out, Zhao Jin blocked them all, and no one could even get within three feet of him.

The Empress Dowager's knuckles turned white from gripping the teacup so tightly that fine cracks appeared in her palm.

"What exactly does this child mean? Does he feel that the political situation is unstable and is unwilling to step forward? This is a great opportunity for him, how can he sit still?"

Seeing that the Empress Dowager was sulking, the palace maids quickly stepped forward to gently soothe her and comforted her, saying, "Perhaps the Third Prince has no intention of seizing the throne. In the past, Consort Ning also favored the Seventh Prince. Although the court is unstable now, the First Prince is still the Crown Prince personally appointed by His Majesty. If he were to step forward at this time, he would have no legitimate reason to do so."

"The world is about to descend into chaos, so how can there be any 'no justification' for a war? In my opinion, he is not without ambition to seize the throne, and he does not trust me. Whether it is him or Consort Ning, they are the same. The people of the Shang family are the most cunning, and I do not believe that he would willingly remain subordinate to others."

"That……"

"Hmph, I am still the Empress Dowager. If he doesn't need my support, then let him be. I don't believe that I can let that old woman succeed."

"I've heard that some court officials have recently come to support Prince Yong. It's clear that this is a deliberate move by the Empress Dowager's side. Of course, there are also quite a few people who support the Third Prince. There's already a trend of a divided protest. It remains to be seen who the First Prince will target first."

The Empress Dowager, her face cold, picked up her teacup and took a sip. Her eyes softened, and she chuckled, "I'd like to see who will have the last laugh."