The beloved is reborn as a substitute, and the tyrant begs for forgiveness every night.

Xu Leyao let out a quick, mocking laugh.

"You also know about this 'femme fatale'?"

Pearl opened her eyes wide:

"Who in the world doesn't know about the Demon Queen? She is cruel, arrogant, and licentious by nature. After she gave birth to the Fifth Prince, she forbade anyone else to bear the imperial heir. Any concubine in the harem who became pregnant was stabbed through the stomach by her with a sharp halberd. The three princes in front of her were also frightened and sent to their fiefdoms at a young age."

Xu Leyao's lips curled up.

Her smile was devoid of warmth: "You know quite a lot."

Zhu'er sighed: "Alas, she is so wicked. So many people have called for the Emperor to depose her, but the Emperor has refused. She doesn't cherish such a good husband and even had an affair with Prince Li, trying to force the Emperor to abdicate and murder him. Fortunately, His Majesty is a true dragon emperor and brought these two to justice."

As she spoke, she lowered her voice mysteriously: "It is said that the deceased fifth prince was her illegitimate son with Prince Li!"

Xu Leyao paused in her steps.

With her back to Pearl, her tone suddenly turned icy: "Where did you hear all this from?"

The naive Zhu'er, completely unaware of the situation, blinked her eyes and said, "The Jiang family, I heard it from the servants of the Jiang family when I was sewing shoe soles one day. No wonder they are the family of the Imperial Concubine; they know such secrets."

Sure enough it was her.

Jiang Yunxue.

It's fortunate that this old friend still cares about her.

Not only did the eighteen soul-nailing talismans suppress her and prevent her from passing away, but even after she had been dead for six years, they still spared no effort in spreading these things on her behalf.

Pearl asked in confusion, "How do you know her, young lady?"

"Nonsense, you actually believe that?"

Xu Leyao said calmly, "How could I possibly know her?"

Jiang Yunxue would never have imagined this.

Her childhood friend and former nemesis, after being murdered by them, miraculously returned to life through the body of her adopted niece.

Just thinking about her expression when she finds out the truth makes Xu Leyao's blood boil uncontrollably.

"You lowly wench, how dare you!"

A sharp female voice suddenly rang out, followed by a fat figure rushing over and slapping Pearl across the face without saying a word.

"How did you serve Miss? You actually let her run off alone! If something had happened to her, could you have taken responsibility? You should know your place! Your masters didn't send you here to enjoy a life of leisure!"

He was clearly scolding Zhu'er.

In reality, he was criticizing Xu Leyao.

Everyone in the village knows that the legitimate bloodline of the Jiang family is not valued by the Jiang family at all. On the contrary, the adopted young lady who was mistakenly raised for thirteen years has a higher status and may become the third prince's wife in the future.

Why wouldn't they rush to curry favor with them?

After hitting Zhu'er, the old woman said with a forced smile, "Miss, it's best not to run around like that in the future, otherwise next time..."

"Snapped!"

Xu Leyao didn't waste any words with her.

He raised his hand and slapped her across the face, which was full of fat.

The old woman was completely stunned by the beating.

It took him a while to realize what was happening, and he covered his face, saying, "You..."

"Snapped!"

Xu Leyao remained expressionless and slapped him again with her backhand.

Her strikes were swift and powerful, without any hesitation.

Two handprints quickly appeared on the old woman's face, and she was completely stunned, staring blankly at Xu Leyao.

Xu Leyao looked at her indifferently.

Her beautiful eyes held a condescending indifference.

"Who do you think you are, daring to lay a hand on my head maid?"

After saying that, he took a step forward.

"Go away!"

She raised her voice and spoke coldly, her aura surging forth like a mountain pressing down. The old woman instinctively stepped aside, clearing the way.

Xu Leyao just walked into the manor so brazenly.

Those watching the commotion, as well as the old woman covering her face, all had only one thought in their minds: Who said this country bumpkin was easy to bully? Her aura is even more frightening than the old lady's!

Unlike these people, they felt uneasy inside.

Pearl was genuinely happy.

She excitedly grabbed Xu Leyao's sleeve: "Girl! You were so incredibly amazing just now! You should have done this a long time ago!"

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been bullied like this.

Xu Leyao didn't take it to heart.

What's so surprising? When she first became empress and paid her respects to the Empress Dowager, one of the Empress Dowager's maids gave her a hard time.

She cut off the old woman's ear right in front of the Empress Dowager.

This is already considered very restrained.

Xu Leyao walked briskly back to her small house with Zhu'er leading her. She ignored the cramped house and the simple environment and sat down directly on the soft couch.

Pearl quickly helped her lie down.

"Miss, please rest for a while. I'll go and ask the steward of the estate to find you a doctor."

After saying that, he turned around and ran off.

Finally able to rest, Xu Leyao was able to relax her tense body, but the pain overwhelmed her.

She closed her eyes and endured it.

I also felt the long-lost feeling of being alive.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhu'er finally returned with the doctor.

Xu Leyao casually lifted her eyelids, letting the doctor take her pulse and write a prescription, then left without giving her any explanation.

He's obviously incompetent.

Xu Leyao propped her head up and asked Zhu'er, "Didn't the manager make things difficult for you?"

Zhu'er shook her head and said happily, "No, the person in charge was very easy to talk to this time. It was you who were really good. Once you established your authority, no one dared to mess with you."

Xu Leyao remained noncommittal.

All I can say is that the person in charge is clever.

He was in charge of the estate, and being far from the emperor's reach, he had no need to go against her or curry favor with others. However, he didn't fawn over her either; he just kept things superficially amicable.

This is for her own good.

It will be much easier to do things from now on.

Xu Leyao lay back down: "You should get ready. We'll go back to the Jiang residence on my birthday."

Zhu'er was taken aback: "Is the Jiang family coming to pick up Miss?"

Xu Leyao: "We'll go back ourselves."

“This…” Pearl hesitated, “Would it be of any use if we went back? What if they send us out again?”

This is still Zhuangzi, after all.

Send again.

But I don't know where it was sent.

Xu Leyao closed her eyes and said calmly and confidently, "When I go back this time, the entire Jiang family will not dare to drive me away again."

Pearl hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

Seeing how determined her young mistress was, she didn't say anything more and just helped her to rest.

……

A few days passed in the blink of an eye.

On the ninth day, Xu Leyao woke up very early in the morning and immediately started to stretch her arms.

It still hurts a little.

But it's much better than before.

At the very least, wielding a whip is no problem.

She changed into a tight-fitting outfit, styled her hair, grabbed the thick horsewhip she had prepared, and rode out of the village in the dew, mounting her horse and heading straight for her own grave.

Zhuangzi was not far from her tomb; it only took about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea to get there.

When Xu Leyao arrived.

A person was already standing in front of the tombstone.

He was dressed in black, with subtle gold threads shimmering in the sunlight, vaguely revealing the shape of a dragon. His tall figure was slender and upright.

He is the current emperor.

Her husband, the one who killed her with his own hands.

Zheng Zhihe.