Favoring a concubine and destroying the wife? I'll abandon my husband and children and wipe out

Cheng Nanzhi, knowing all this, had two purposes in previously suggesting to the Zhao family that they invite Abbess Fang to teach Zhao Huaiyu.

One reason was to make Emperor Qi feel resentful and wary of the Zhao family.

In the dream, the Third Prince learned about Abbess Fang and indeed told his subordinates to find a way for him to win over Emperor Qi through Abbess Fang.

Fearing that Emperor Qi would think he was doing it on purpose and thus lose the emperor's favor, the Third Prince wanted to fabricate an accident to "meet" Abbess Fang Xi in front of Emperor Qi, and then naturally get closer to Abbess Fang Xi, so as to gain further favor from Emperor Qi.

Before the plan could even begin, Emperor Qi discovered that someone had inadvertently come into contact with Abbess Fang, and in a fit of rage, he executed everyone who had come into contact with Abbess Fang!

Although Emperor Qi acted very discreetly and discreetly, the Third Prince had been keeping a close eye on things, so how could he not have discovered it?

Seeing that Emperor Qi's attitude towards Abbess Fang was completely different from what he had expected, the Third Prince immediately dared not step forward to admit or show any further involvement. However, Emperor Qi still almost traced the matter back to the Third Prince. Even without evidence proving that the Third Prince was responsible, Emperor Qi still kept him out of the public eye for a period of time.

This made the Third Prince even less likely to make a move on Abbess Fang.

That's why the Third Prince agreed when the Empress mentioned Abbess Fang in his dream to buy time. He also wanted to know why.

Although the Third Prince now knows of Abbess Fang's existence, he is unaware of the consequences of contacting her.

If she were to bring this matter to the forefront now, it would pose a fatal threat to the Zhao family!

Given Emperor Qi's modus operandi, he would certainly be suspicious of the Zhao family, and might even secretly order someone to investigate how Zhao Ye knew that Fang was a nun.

It's alright to investigate her. She has been living in a manor outside the capital for a long time and has only recently returned to the capital. During this time, she has not had any contact with the Cheng family and has no way of finding out about Abbess Fang.

Emperor Qi will only suspect Zhao Ye!

As long as Emperor Qi pays some attention to and is wary of Zhao Ye, no matter what Zhao Ye and the Third Prince do in the future, they will have already lost some of their advantage!

Of course, it would be even better if Emperor Qi could trace the investigation back to the Third Prince and discover that Zhao Ye and the Third Prince were in cahoots. In that case, the Third Prince's chances of successfully seizing the throne would be significantly reduced!

Besides that, the second purpose was to find Zhao Huaiyu's teacher.

If she intends to ruin Zhao Huaiyu, she is destined not to find him a very capable tutor. However, if she doesn't find someone with a decent reputation and talent to teach him, the Zhao family will never agree.

Instead of racking her brains about how to get the Zhao family to agree, she should make sure the Zhao family has no choice but to agree!

So she set her sights on Huo Jintang.

Hearing about Master Fang's reputation by chance and wanting to become her disciple is understandable and wouldn't arouse too much suspicion. But what if Huo Jintang—Master Fang's biological daughter—is involved?

This leaves no room for people not to overthink it.

The Left Prime Minister and his wife both knew about Huo Jintang's background. If we were to ask them about it, they would surely think twice and report it to the Empress.

The Empress and Emperor Qi are both suspicious people. They will most likely appoint a tutor for Zhao Huaiyu to see if the Zhao family's choice of Abbess Fang is truly for Zhao Huaiyu's education or if they have other motives.

Cheng Nanzhi didn't expect to achieve both goals; as long as one of them succeeded, she wouldn't lose out!

This is quite an unexpected surprise.

Thinking of this, Cheng Nanzhi explained to the three of them simply: "Master Fang has a special identity and is involved in royal secrets, so you can't just become her disciple casually, otherwise you will bring about your death."

Qingdai slapped her forehead: "So, Miss, you deliberately sought out Abbess Fang to ruin the Zhao family, right? What a pity, the Zhao family managed to escape unscathed. If something had really happened, the master could have pleaded with them, and the imperial family might have been able to grant you a divorce out of respect for the Cheng family."

"Even if we can't get a divorce, we can still let you go. Although you'll be branded a widow, the Zhao family will all be yours by then, so it won't be a loss."

Upon hearing her words, Jianlan and Lianruo immediately looked regretful and disappointed.

Cheng Nanzhi was both amused and exasperated: "It's not as serious as you think. The imperial family has no evidence to prove that the Zhao family really knows the secrets of the royal family, so why would they take action against the Zhao family? However, from now on, the Zhao family's career may be over, and His Majesty will pay more attention to the Zhao family."

"That's enough!"

The three of them had a bright look in their eyes.

Seeing that Lando was a little puzzled, she asked, "But Miss, how did you learn about this royal secret?"

“Zhao Ye knows; I overheard him let it slip before.”

Cheng Nanzhi found a vague excuse and instructed them: "You must keep this a secret and not let it slip out."

The three understood the implications and quickly nodded.

Cheng Nanzhi took a sip of tea to moisten her throat and said, "Actually, Zhao Ye and the others could have refused the Empress's decree today."

The three exclaimed, "But this is Her Majesty the Empress's decree, how can we resolve this?"

Cheng Nanzhi twitched the corner of her mouth.

"Although refusing the imperial decree is somewhat dangerous, it is, in essence, out of love for their children and a desire to find a better teacher for their daughter, which is not a big mistake. However, knowing the quality of the two teachers at the Hall of Virtuous Women, they still accepted the decree, which will arouse suspicion from the imperial family. They may wonder if they really know something and are afraid that the decree is a warning from the imperial family, which is why they dare not refuse."

In this way, the outcome of the Zhao family being suspected was truly decided.

The three of them gasped.

"This is a real dilemma; the imperial family's thoughts are far too complicated."

No sooner had she finished speaking than a servant outside reported that Zhang Mama, who served the old lady, had arrived and asked Cheng Nanzhi to open the storeroom and fetch some things, saying that the old lady remembered that Cheng Nanzhi had some items that were suitable as gifts.

One side argued for Zhao Huaiyu's words, making it difficult to refuse.

Cheng Nanzhi sneered. Trying to get anything from her? No way!

“Go out and tell Granny Zhang that I have already rested, and I feel very uncomfortable with a headache and fever. Since you don’t dare to open the storeroom on your own, why not wake me up? Even if I don’t get enough rest and become seriously ill and bedridden, it’s all for Yu’er’s sake, so it’s alright.”

Cheng Nanzhi said slowly and deliberately.

Qingdai laughed and cheerfully agreed to go out.

Lianruo and Jianlan opened the table, and the conversation between Qingdai and Zhang Mama could be clearly heard from outside.

Qingdai spoke as Cheng Nanzhi had instructed, and even pretended to be worried about Cheng Nanzhi's poor health, noticing that Zhang Mama's face turned pale and then red.

Qingdai quickly called back to call Cheng Nanzhi.

Granny Zhang quickly stopped her, saying that she wouldn't trouble Cheng Nanzhi any further, and then went back to report to Old Madam Zhao.

If something really happens to Cheng Nanzhi, how could the Zhao family possibly bear it now!

It's really not worth it to go to such lengths for some warehouse stuff!

“She’s not coming back. Remove my makeup, I need to rest.” Cheng Nanzhi got up, but stopped after a few steps and instructed meaningfully, “Find someone to go to Yu Yinju and tell Zhao Huaiyu what her future teacher is like and what benefits he will bring her.”

In her dream, Cheng Nanzhi did not see what happened to the two women from the Hall of Heroes, but she knew something about it.

The two were not truly as talented and virtuous as Qiongzhi claimed; in fact, they were quite assertive and shrewish.

With the Empress's support, it goes without saying whether the two of them will teach Zhao Huaiyu well!

No matter how she looked at it, she felt that the two people the Empress had chosen were exactly what she wanted!

The three understood each other and smiled in agreement.

Inside the Jade Hermitage, Zhao Huaiyu had already changed his clothes, and his face was covered with hot eggs and ointment, so the redness and swelling were no longer visible.

She was still reluctant and dawdled for a while before finally going to Shou'an Hall under the anxious urging of Granny Yu and Zhuyu.

Just then, she overheard the chatter of the maids in the outer courtyard.

This refers to her being raised by two widows.

"If our young lady gets associated with a widow, how can she possibly have a good reputation?"

"I also heard that those two aren't exactly talented people!"

Zhao Huaiyu's mind went blank for a moment, and she rushed over to confront them, demanding an explanation.

After understanding the consequences of following those two in the future, Zhao Huaiyu could no longer hold back her anger and burst into tears. She turned around and returned to Yu Yinju, refusing to go to the Hall of Virtuous Women with Old Madam Zhao no matter what.

Inside Shou'an Hall, Old Madam Zhao was angry because she hadn't received anything from Cheng Nanzhi.

"Day after day, how could she be really that sick? She's clearly just making excuses!!"

"It's a misfortune for my Zhao family to have such a daughter-in-law!"

Then she heard about Zhao Huaiyu's tantrum, and Old Madam Zhao was so angry that she almost fainted.