Chapter 1 The Next Day

The morning sun shone brightly.

Deep within the palace, inside an elegant bedchamber.

Shu Guifei (Noble Consort Shu), her beautiful face flushed with shame, knelt on the silk quilt, her snow-white skin dotted with red marks, her tender pink lips swollen from being ravaged.

"Your Majesty… ah, it's getting late, um, you should be attending to state affairs…"

Her words were fragmented, and from time to time, soft moans escaped her lips, delicate and alluring.

Jiang Chen was currently in high spirits and had no intention of letting go of this smooth, soft body. He casually coaxed her, "I'll go in a little while, it won't delay important matters… hiss, Yun'er, lean down a little more, be obedient."

The shameful command made Noble Consort Shu's face turn even redder, but not wanting to spoil Jiang Chen's mood, she bit her red lips and lowered herself.

A long time passed.

As the shaking subsided, Jiang Chen walked out of the bedchamber, feeling refreshed.

Jing Yue had been waiting outside for a long time. She stepped forward, "Your Majesty, everything is as you predicted. Last night, Meigui Fei (Consort Mei) indeed showed unusual activity."

"This is the carrier pigeon that flew out of her palace."

The smile on Jiang Chen's face vanished, and he reached out to take it, unfolding it.

"‘Master’ has been caught, suspected of betrayal. The emperor has obtained the list and is planning to ensnare everyone in one fell swoop."

The handwriting on the note was somewhat messy, revealing the owner's panic and unease.

As Jiang Chen read, frost gradually gathered in his eyes.

Sensing the change in the atmosphere, Jing Yue frowned slightly and added, "Your Majesty, last night this subordinate took the liberty of sealing off Hanzhang Palace."

"Several thousand imperial guards are watching, so the Mei woman won't be able to stir up any trouble."

"Very good! Jing Yue, you truly won't disappoint me!" Jiang Chen said, clenching the note tightly in his palm. He sneered, "With this solid evidence in hand, let's see how Mei Ruoying can possibly argue her way out of this!"

As he spoke, Jiang Chen waved his sleeve and headed towards Hanzhang Palace without looking back.

He sneered, "After feigning cordiality with this poisonous woman for so long, I've finally caught her red-handed… I can hardly wait to see her desperate struggles."

Half an hour later, at Hanzhang Palace.

Countless imperial guards patrolled the area, strictly forbidding anyone from approaching.

Even the imperial road leading to Hanzhang Palace was completely barricaded, preventing passage, forcing many palace servants to take long detours to run errands.

This unusual situation made the palace servants tremble with fear, afraid of getting involved in trouble, and they kept their mouths shut.

As the center of the encirclement, Mei Ruoying was naturally aware of the situation outside.

After the news spread last night, she had been paying close attention to the movements within the palace. It could be said that she was the first to notice the unusual activity on the periphery.

But she had no countermeasures and could only pretend to be calm, responding to all changes with constancy.

Opening the gilded jewelry box on her dressing table, Mei Ruoying carefully selected her adornments.

If the emperor came to question her later, at least she would be presentable in the last moments of her life.

Just as she was putting on her makeup in front of the mirror, Jiang Chen arrived.

Looking at the slender, composed figure, displeasure flashed in his eyes, and he sneered, "Remaining unperturbed even as Mount Tai collapses before you, your grace, Consort, is truly awe-inspiring!"

"I wonder, after I turn your entire Mei family into scenery, will you still be so calm?"

Mei Ruoying was not flustered by his words. She slowly rose and gave Jiang Chen a palace courtesy.

She smiled brightly, "What are you saying, Your Majesty? You are a wise ruler, how could you indiscriminately kill loyal subjects?"

"Loyal subjects?" Jiang Chen laughed, his eyes icy cold. He threw the note carried by the carrier pigeon in front of Mei Ruoying.

He said sternly, "Still want to deceive me?! The evidence has been seized by me, and you still won't be honest!"

Mei Ruoying's beautiful eyes flickered. She had thought that Zhao Minghe had betrayed her, and she had even prepared the words to win him back… She had never expected that the carrier pigeon would be intercepted.

"Why aren't you speaking? Did you not anticipate that I would have this move?"

As he spoke, Jiang Chen stepped closer, pressing her, "I deliberately leaked the news to you last night. The so-called trust was just to lower your guard and see if you would reveal any flaws."

"Unexpectedly, a slight trick caused you to lose your composure and gave me a 'big surprise'!"

Mei Ruoying frowned tightly, refusing to confess, "Your Majesty, you have really misunderstood me. I have never seen this note!"

As she spoke, tears welled up in her beautiful eyes, and she said aggrievedly, "I can't even understand the ciphertext on this note, how could I have written it? It must be those assassins who framed me, deliberately writing these things to incriminate me!"

Jiang Chen sneered, pinching Mei Ruoying's fair chin, and said, one word at a time, "I have never said that this ciphertext came from the assassins. How did you know that?"

A look of annoyance flashed across Mei Ruoying's pretty face. She had miscalculated!

Her eyelashes trembled, and crystal tears fell one by one, sadly, "Your Majesty, I was just preemptive."

"A while ago, those assassins lurking in the palace tried to kill me, so I..."

'Bang!'

Jiang Chen flung his hand away fiercely, the enormous force like a tidal wave, knocking Mei Ruoying onto the table beside her.

After dealing with this woman for so long, he had long seen through her nature. She was just a cunning and beautiful viper, and he was too lazy to listen to her sophistry.

"With both human and material evidence, you still want to quibble. Are you taking me for a fool?"

As he spoke, Jiang Chen approached, looking down at Mei Ruoying and said, "If you obediently cooperate and confess everything you know, I can grant you a quick death for the sake of our past relationship."

"But if you resist!" A hint of ferocity flashed in Jiang Chen's eyes, like a demon from the Nine Hells: "Then I will turn you, and your entire Mei family, into human swine, to guard the imperial tomb, and atone for your sins!"

Mei Ruoying hunched over, her jade hand pressing against the wound on her abdomen, the pain unbearable.

The impact just now had reopened the wound that had barely scabbed over, but no matter how painful the wound was, it could not compare to the horror she felt from Jiang Chen's words.

If she were really turned into a human swine, she would rather die! But things had not reached the worst point yet, and she could not admit defeat!

Mei Ruoying took a deep breath, held her wound, and struggled to move to Jiang Chen's side, hugging his calf, sobbing:

"Your Majesty, this matter really has nothing to do with me!"

"This must be a conspiracy of those assassins, wanting to sow discord between you and the Mei family, and cut off your arms."

Jiang Chen laughed upon hearing this, mocking, "Affection? Affection for rebellion?"

"In the entire court, who is more disobedient than your Mei family? Your father, a mere Minister of Revenue, has the audacity to order other ministers to oppose me everywhere."

"And you, rampaging in the harem, bullying other concubines, and even beating my Yun'er..."

Jiang Chen's face grew colder and colder, and in the next second, he directly kicked away Mei Ruoying, who was kneeling at his feet.

"There are three things I hate most in my life, and touching them means death!"

"And the first hate is disloyalty!"

"You father and daughter, no, your entire Mei family, will pay a painful price for your mistakes!"