Disguised as a man, she became the biggest villain in the book.

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened to Miss Wen!" Suddenly, a maid rushed over. Someone recognized her as Wen Yanxi's maid. She ran and shouted, and even tripped and fell.

"What kind of behavior is this, shouting and yelling!" A barely perceptible smile flashed in the Empress Dowager's eyes, but she still pretended to be angry.

"Miss Wen, she, she, this servant doesn't know what to say, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager must do justice for Miss Wen!" The maid knelt down in front of the Empress Dowager with a thud, crying and shouting with snot and tears streaming down her face.

"Don't cry yet. Lead the way and tell me what happened to your young lady!" the Empress Dowager asked anxiously, then led everyone to search for her.

Hearing this conversation, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Those who had guessed what was going on were thinking: Looks like there's going to be a good show to watch today. It's like gods fighting and mortals suffering. We have to watch this show whether we want to or not.

As the maid led the others on their way, they passed a courtyard from which faint, unspoken sounds could be heard.

"How dare you! In broad daylight, who would be so shameless!" The Empress Dowager stormed into the courtyard.

The Empress Dowager led everyone into the courtyard and gestured to the maid beside her to break open the tightly closed door.

"Ah!" Several deafening screams came from inside.

As soon as everyone entered, they saw a disgusting scene: two men were lying naked on the bed, clearly having just done something indescribable.

The Empress Dowager narrowed her eyes slightly, a hint of doubt flashing across her face: it seems she has been tricked today, and it seems someone has interfered in her affairs.

Even if the Empress Dowager has doubts now, she doesn't have time to think about them; dealing with the immediate matters is more important.

"Get up and get dressed! Do I have to personally invite you?" The Empress Dowager could no longer contain her anger and shouted.

The two hurriedly put on their clothes and knelt on the ground.

One of the servants, with a mournful face, knelt on the ground and loudly begged for mercy: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please forgive me! I was wronged! It was Young Master Yang! He was drunk and saw me walking alone, and then he insisted on dragging me over. I dared not resist, so... so... it really wasn't my fault! It was all Young Master Yang who forced me!"

"You dog slave, it was clearly you! You're the one who drugged me! It must have been you! I'll beat you to death!" Yang Sheng roared, and then tried to kick him.

Just as he was about to kick her, he was stopped by a guard, and the nanny beside the Empress Dowager shouted, "The Empress Dowager is still here, it's not your place to be so insolent!"

"Guards! These two dare to commit such obscene acts in broad daylight in the palace! They have no respect for the imperial dignity! Drag them out and beat them to death with sticks!" the Empress Dowager said coldly.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, spare my life! Father, Father, please save me! Save me! I am your son! Please, Your Majesty, please save me!"

Yang Sheng spotted Yang Chang hiding in the crowd and, as if grasping at a lifeline, shouted at Yang Chang at the top of his lungs.

When Yang Chang saw that Yang Sheng had noticed, his eyes turned cold, and he looked at Yang Sheng coldly, as if to say something useless.

Yang Chang stepped out from the crowd and knelt down before the Empress Dowager. His voice was tinged with anger as he said in a deep voice, "Your subject Yang Chang has failed in his duty to educate his son, allowing him to commit such a grave offense. I am ashamed before His Majesty's grace and before Your Majesty. I know I have no face to face His Majesty. My son has committed such a heinous crime, and I will leave him to Your Majesty's judgment without complaint!"

Yang Chang spoke with such loyalty and without complaint that those present were deeply moved. Anyone who didn't know better would truly believe he was a selfless person who valued the greater good and was willing to sacrifice even his own family for the greater good.

After hearing Yang Chang's words, the Empress Dowager sighed and said slowly, "I know that you, Young Master Yang, are a man devoted to the country. I am not an unreasonable person, and I will certainly not implicate you. As for your son, he has gone too far. I will ask the Emperor to give him a proper burial."

Yang Sheng and the eunuch were then taken away. Yang Sheng cried out in despair, "Father, Father, I was wrong! I beg you, I beg you, save me, Father!"

Yang Chang seemed not to hear Yang Sheng's cries and coldly followed the others out of the courtyard.

After walking for a while, the Empress Dowager turned back to the crowd and said, "You don't need to follow me anymore, everyone can disperse."

"Yes!" Everyone bowed and withdrew...

Just as Chen Xianlin was about to leave, Zheng Luoqi called out to her, "Miss Chen, shall we go together?"

Chen Xianlin looked up at Zheng Luoqi, only to see Zheng Luoqi fiddling with the fan in her hand, looking at her with amusement.

Chen Xianlin didn't speak, but nodded in acknowledgment, and the two of them came to a quiet path where there were few people walking around.

"There's hardly anyone here anymore, Young Master Zheng, please say whatever you have to say," Chen Xianlin said coldly.

"Miss Chen, shouldn't you thank me? If it weren't for me today, you would probably be the one inside!" Zheng Luoqi whispered in Chen Xianlin's ear.

Chen Xianlin subtly avoided Zheng Luoqi's approach, saying expressionlessly, "Then this humble woman thanks Young Master Zheng."

Chen Xianlin gave a slight bow, then turned and left.

As Zheng Luoqi watched Chen Xianlin's retreating figure, the smile on her face immediately vanished, and she quickly reverted to her indifferent demeanor.

Boyu suddenly leaned over and said, "Master is truly a prophet; how did you know the Empress Dowager would make a move today?"

"That old hag, the Empress Dowager, wanted to fill the harem with her son as soon as the Emperor ascended the throne. Unfortunately, the Emperor had a temper and didn't comply with her wishes. So she thought of some dirty tricks to force the Emperor to submit!"

"What does that have to do with Miss Chen?" Boyu asked, puzzled.

Zheng Luoqi raised an eyebrow and explained calmly, "Miss Chen was caught in the crossfire, but not exactly. The Empress Dowager originally wanted the Emperor and Miss Wen to have some kind of adventure, so she created an opportunity for them, hoping the Emperor would play the hero and save the beauty. Although the Emperor did save her, he was smart enough to realize that he might have been tricked, so he ran away first!"

"The Empress Dowager didn't expect to be held up by other matters. By the time she arrived, the Emperor had already vanished. What could she possibly see then? Miss Chen discovered someone plotting against Miss Wen on her way to find her. She wanted to help Miss Wen, but she was discovered by the Empress Dowager's people and tricked into coming to the courtyard. Yang Sheng only happened to pass by and overheard Chen Xianlin calling for help. Yet, Yang Sheng was lustful at first sight. Shouldn't he be taught a lesson?" Zheng Luoqi said with a smile.

"Oh, so you sent me to rescue Miss Chen, then taught Yang Sheng a good lesson, and also ruined the Empress Dowager's plans? Why did you ruin the Empress Dowager's plans?"

"Besides my father's faction, there are currently only the Wen family and the Emperor's faction in the court. The Emperor and the Empress Dowager are not related by blood, so they can't be on the same side. The Empress Dowager wants the Empress position to always belong to the Wen family, controlling both the harem and the court. She's really dreaming. The Emperor is wary of the Wen family and the Empress Dowager, and he's also wary of my father. On the surface, he's allied with my father against the Wen family, but in reality, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor are the most likely to be on the same side. Now, it can be said that almost two-thirds of the power in the court is on my father's side. How can this not make people wary? Compared to being wary of the Wen family, the Emperor is more wary of my Zheng family."

"It's a pity that the current emperor hasn't figured out who he should cooperate with. He's surrounded by tigers in front and wolves behind, and he's afraid that he might suddenly be bitten hard. He doesn't have his own power right now, so he doesn't dare to make any moves. If the emperor doesn't have his own power, he can only fill the harem."

"We'll see when the Wen family's daughter is placed in the harem. That's when the Wen family and the emperor will join forces. So what I need to do is stop the Wen family from joining forces with the emperor," Zheng Luoqi said lazily, raising his lips.

"Wow, I see, young master has thought of so much," Boyu suddenly said, looking at Zheng Luoqi with admiration.