As expected, after hearing what had happened in the palace, the two princes of the Southern Neighboring State also rushed to the Qianqing Palace.
Today was supposed to be the day for them to leave the Dongsheng State.
"I wonder what the Emperor of Dongsheng means by this?" Shun said, tilting his eyes in a disdainful manner as if looking down on the world.
He dared to be so presumptuous because he knew he was in the right this time, so he had nothing to fear.
Ye beside him also looked displeased, as if he was very dissatisfied with what had happened.
Sitting at the highest seat, Helian Qi watched them insisting on an explanation in front of him. A sneer welled up in his heart, and then he said to them, "This incident doesn't prove anything!"
But Shun, sitting below, snorted coldly and continued in an unhappy tone, "We haven't left yet, and you've already lost the tribute. Isn't this looking down on our Southern Neighboring State?"
Ye beside him also bowed and echoed, "Although my elder brother's words may be inappropriate, Your Majesty really needs to give us an explanation for this matter."
Helian Qi stared at them intently, listening to them one after another forcing him into a corner where he had to follow their lead.
But since he already knew the whole truth of the matter, he remained clear - headed in the face of their aggressiveness.
It was time to execute their plan.
Thinking of this, he pretended to look worried for them and said, "Alas, I feel deeply guilty, but it all started with the Empress!"
His words made Ye suspicious. He didn't expect the emperor to shift all the blame onto that woman in an instant.
But his suspicion didn't last long. After all, emperors throughout history had been heartless.
No matter how special the empress was, she was just a woman.
For the Emperor of Dongsheng, sacrificing a pawn to save the general was the best strategy at this moment.
What a heartless emperor, Ye thought to himself. But then the corner of his mouth curled up in a smile. So, he could have that woman for himself.
Thinking of this, he asked the man sitting at the highest seat, "I wonder if Your Majesty can find the night - pearl? If there's anything we brothers can do, we will do our best."
But Helian Qi just laughed a few times and then said in an arrogant tone, "As long as the diplomatic relations between our two states are not damaged, it's just a mere empress!"
Dong Fangyi's original plan was to have him shift all the blame onto her, so as to lower the vigilance of all those behind the scenes.
Sure enough, the elder prince of the Southern Neighboring State showed a pleased look on his face.
He felt more confident, thinking that the Emperor of Dongsheng was just a coward who abandoned his own empress for fear of delaying the diplomatic relations.
But Ye's eyes were full of suspicion. Everything was going too smoothly. He felt that there must be some other conspiracy behind it.
But he was too conceited. He never believed that there would be any flaws in his plan, nor did he think that the reason everything was going so smoothly was that Helian Qi had seen through it all.
Beneath the seemingly calm surface now was actually a huge plan.
After they finished talking, Ye and Shun left the Qianqing Palace.
Shun saw his younger brother lost in thought and couldn't help asking, "What are you thinking about?!"
"I'm thinking if there's any leak in our plan," he replied.
"How could there be! I think the Emperor of Dongsheng is just a good - for - nothing. How could he possibly see through our plan?" Shun said indifferently, waving his hand to indicate it was impossible.
But Ye squinted his eyes, thinking about all the details.
This was not a simple matter, so they must be vigilant. Because once there was the slightest flaw, it would mean their doom.
After saying that, the two rushed towards Yaoji's palace. After all, Yaoji was the most important part of this plan, and if there were no accidents, the night - pearl should be in her palace now.
On the other hand, in the Empress's palace.
Dong Fangyi hadn't left the palace gate for more than a day, but she could still hear from the palace servants in her own palace how the rumors had spread.
Most of them said that the empress had let down the emperor by losing the precious pearl he had bestowed on her for no reason. Some even said that she might have colluded with Concubine Shu to seek huge profits.
On the other hand, it was said that the emperor didn't care about his feelings for the empress at all. In order to give an explanation to the Southern Neighboring State, he shifted all the blame onto her.
Some palace servants somehow got the news that Yaoji had suddenly received great favor from the emperor, and it was believed that she would soon enter the harem and become one of the emperor's concubines.
Dong Fangyi sneered after hearing this. She thought that the rumors in the palace were really like a flood of beasts. If it weren't for her strong mental quality and having seen many storms, she might really have been disturbed by these rumors.
But the most important thing was that she now believed that Helian Qi was on her side, so everything she was doing now was worth it.
Thinking of this, a smile appeared on her face involuntarily, and a warm feeling welled up in her chest.
She stared out of the window intently. Winter was coming soon, and the weather was getting colder. Even the leaves on the trees had fallen one after another.
Presumably, this year would also be a cold winter.
While she was thinking, Xiao Qian rushed in from outside the palace in a hurry, followed by Cuiping with an equally anxious look on her face.
As soon as Dong Fangyi saw Cuiping, she knew something was wrong. Something must have happened.
Sure enough, it was as she expected.
Cuiping knelt on the ground with red eyes and cried to her, "Your Majesty, please save my mistress!"
"What's wrong with Concubine Shu?!" she asked, frowning tightly and her eyes filled with confusion.
"Early this morning, my mistress was invited by the Empress Dowager. But unexpectedly, the Empress Dowager wanted to kill her. Now she's in critical condition. I risked my life to escape and come to beg Your Majesty for help," Cuiping continued, her eyes full of worry.
After hearing this, Dong Fangyi frowned even tighter. She knew that the Empress Dowager would take action, but she didn't expect it to be so soon, and that she would start with Concubine Shu first.
After thinking for a while, she said to Donghua beside her, "Let's go! We'll go to the Cining Palace to visit the Empress Dowager!"
After all, this whole thing was caused by her. The Empress Dowager's first move against Concubine Shu must be because she expected her to go and rescue her. Otherwise, Cuiping wouldn't have been able to come here so easily.
Since the Empress Dowager had set a trap for her, of course she would follow her wishes to see what she really wanted to do.
In no time, the honor guard stopped in front of the palace gate. Supported by Donghua, she got on the sedan chair and started heading towards the Cining Palace.