Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
At the mention of King Li of Zhou, Concubine Lan couldnât help but hold her breath. She thought of Yue Fei, the King of the North, and a deep sense of fear flashed across her eyes.
Empress Ning sneered. âThe emperor hates the Xu Residence deeply. Naturally, if a huge problem in his heart can be eliminated, and there is a proper explanation for the personal expedition to the North back then, if the emperor is satisfied, itâs inevitable that Ning Yuanbo, who has been imprisoned, will be able to make up for his mistakes. When heâs released from the prison, with the help of the ministers, itâs only logical for the emperor to appoint the Second Prince as the heir.â
Although her father and brother had taken all the faults of the crushing defeat in the North, the many details of the crushing defeat in the North were shrouded in fog and had become a taboo in the court.
The court officials did not dare to mention it much, even in private. This matter was left unsettled.
If the culprit was Duke Xu, all of this would be accountable.
Concubine Lan had catered to the emperorâs thoughts and sought favor with the emperor. The emperor would definitely express something. With the persuasion of the ministers, the Second Prince would naturally be appointed. Concubine Lanâs face turned slightly pale, and she subconsciously clenched her fists.
Empress Ning sighed. âAfter Ning Yuanboâs residence was locked up, you had no intention of exonerating him at all. You acted as if you were completely at the mercy of the emperor and even claimed that you were guilty. You invited yourself into the cold palace and further gained the emperorâs trust. You paved the way for the Second Prince in the court and paved the way for you to come
out of the cold palace in the future.â
Not long after Concubine Lan entered the cold palace, the Second Prince openly entered and left the Imperial Study, the Hall of Diligent Governance, and other important locations when the emperor dealt with government affairs.
The emperorâs attitude made many ministers in the court treat the Second Prince well, like cats that had smelled fish.
It laid the foundation for the Second Princeâs status in the court.
âBut in fact, because of King Li of Zhouâs case, Ning Yuanboâs residence has gradually lost the emperorâs trust. The case of the imperial examination fraud has completely angered the emperor. At that time, Ning Yuanboâs power in the court was also crazily suppressed by the cabinet. Ning Yuanbo barely stayed in the court and was also surrounded by enemies. If he was not careful, he would have been doomed.â
The cabinet, led by Xia Yansheng, used the case of King Li of Zhou to eliminate many of Ning Yuanboâs henchmen in the court.
At that time, Concubine Lanâs faction was already weak.
However, when Ning Yuanboâs residence was locked up and Concubine Lan invited herself into the cold palace, not only did it stabilize the Second Princeâs precarious status, but it also boosted his reputation.
It was obvious how powerful Concubine Lanâs methods were.
âYou were the one who arranged for Ning Yuanboâs residence to be imprisoned. It was to seek benefits and avoid harm. You secretly held evidence that the Xu family had presumably âcolluded with the enemy to betray the countryâ back then and framed loyal people. You were confident that as long as you produced this evidence, not only would Ning Yuanboâs residence be cleared of all crimes, but they would also be able to offset their mistakes and return to the royal court to be valued by the emperor again.â
The emperor was afraid of the Xu Residence and hated it deeply. However, because of the old matters of the Ning Residence back then, he had no choice but to tolerate the Xu Residence.
Ning Yuanboâs residence had proved with its actions that it was still the emperorâs sharpest knife. There was no reason for the emperor to give up on Ning Yuanboâs residence.
After all, the emperor had single-handedly promoted Ning Yuanboâs residence until now.
It was indeed a little difficult to give up on Ning Yuanboâs residence, which he had nurtured for many years. Otherwise, why hadnât the emperor mentioned a trial after Ning Yuanboâs residence was locked up?!
Now that Ning Yuanbo had proven his value again, he should be placed in an important position again.
Concubine Lan had seen through the emperorâs thoughts.
Previously, she had worked hard to plan for Yu Shuangbaiâs natural phoenix fate and the Fourth Princeâs patrol to the North.
However, the old ministerâs advice caused the emperor to come to court. She was caught off guard and the matter of the patrol to the North was left unsettled.
If it werenât for the fact that âthat personâ had sent a message to remind her that she could use the reopening of Ning Yuanboâs case to counterattack and catch the other party off guard, Concubine Lan might really have achieved her goal.
UnfortunatelyâŠ
Concubine Lan had offended someone she shouldnât have.
However, Empress Ning did not guess that the real goal of reopening Ning Yuanboâs case was to force the King of Liang to panic and mobilize his troops to rebel.
Concubine Lanâs body went limp, as if she had lost the last thing she could rely on. She was so cold that she was trembling.
After entering the cold palace, she had been thinking of a way to contact her fatherâs old subordinates and get them to expose the fact that the Xu family had framed loyal people.
She did not believe that Empress Ning did not want to overturn the case concerning her father and brother!
She didnât want to clear her fatherâs and brotherâs names?!
Didnât she want to clear Duke Ningâs name?!
Before the injustice of the Ning Residence was redressed, Empress Ning would definitely not touch her easily. Empress Ning would even protect her.
Empress Ning was deeply involved in her father and brotherâs justice, so she couldnât care less about her.
She still had a chance.
However, her last reliance was gone.
Since Empress Ning could reveal her scheme, she must have control over the evidence of the case concerning her father and brother.
Empress Ning smiled faintly. âNing Yuanboâs Residence exposed the Xu
Residence in the name of resolving the rebellion for the Ning Residence. Publicly, other than Imperial Concubine Xuâs side, the Third Prince will definitely be implicated. As for me, Iâve lost my position because of the harem engaged in politics. The Fourth Princeâs background is lowly, so heâs under your control. The Second Prince is no longer a threat in the court. Itâs really killing two birds with one stone.â
âHaha, releasing a tiger back to the mountain and letting a dragon return to the sea will cause endless trouble in the future.â Concubine Lan laughed a little sadly. âIâve planned everything flawlessly, but Iâm not a match for the Empress. Iâve planned and won invisibly.â
The old ministerâs advice was an opportunity for her to join forces with the ministers to expose the Xu Residence and let the emperor appoint the Second Prince as the heir. However, she never expected that she would be caught off guard by the court bringing up Ning Yuanboâs case again. However, she did not panic. She might as well carry it through and use this opportunity to expose the old case of the Ning Residence.
However, before everything could be implemented, the Empress Dowager had passed away. As she was deeply involved in Ning Yuanboâs case, she had lost
the initiative and missed the opportunity to hold the state funeral.
Immediately after, the news of the heirâs tragic death spread to the royal court.
Yu Zongshen returned to the court.
The King of Liang had mobilized his troops!
One disaster after another had completely thrown Ning Yuanboâs residence into eternal damnation, causing her to miss the opportunity to expose the Xu family again and again.
In the end, she was sent to the cold palace.
âRelease a tiger to the mountain, and let a dragon return to the sea.â Empress Ning seemed to have heard a huge joke and almost laughed until tears streamed down her face. âYou shouldnât have said this to me.
Concubine Lan had a bad feeling. âWhat do you mean?â
âIf I had such ability, I wouldnât have been played by you.â Empress Ning looked like she was crying, yet she also looked like she was laughing. âSomeone has already arranged for the end of the Ning Yuanbo Residence.â
âWho?â Concubine Lanâs eyes suddenly widened. âWho is it?â
âRelease a tiger to the mountain, let a dragon return to the sea.â Empress Ning laughed silently. She laughed happily.. âWhat happened to the Marquis of
Changxing, Elder Tian, the Minister of War, and those nobles in the North? How could you be so naive as to think that he would let you off? As the culprit, HahahaâŠâ
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