C197

Gradually, the crown prince became more and more popular. The eldest prince, who was born from Consort De, had accumulated a lot of reputation during this period.

The empress had always treaded on thin ice in the harem, so she didn't know how to deal with the current situation.

Prime Minister Qin seemed to be able to keep his composure. After entering the palace a few times, he only lightly comforted her, "Elder sister, don't worry. The empress is yours. Naturally, the crown prince's position won't be anyone else's."

After all, it wasn't that easy to cripple the crown prince. After all, it was just a stalemate after a while. The emperor's health wasn't good, so it wouldn't be a good time to cripple the crown prince.

Consort De who heard the idea from the palace became impatient. After all, when the emperor suddenly passed away, the crown prince would ascend to the throne without a hitch. If the first prince were to rebel, then … Difficult to say.

Consort De decided to poison the empress and crown prince to death.

On a whim, Consort De made some pastries with tea and sent to the empress dowager's palace by one of Consort De's most trusted palace maids, Xiao Lian.

The empress knew that Consort De did not have such good intentions so she was naturally unwilling to eat them. Coincidentally, Sun-Chenfei had brought the Prince Zhang to the empress palace to relieve her boredom.

"Big sister, don't spoil Consort De's kindness." With that, she took a piece of pastry and put it in her mouth. Consort De's personal palace maid, Xiao Lian, looked at her meaningfully.

Chen Fei seemed to understand as she smiled and called out to the Prince Zhang who was still playing by the side. "Han'er, don't just go and play. Eat something."

"Empress, you can't." The face of the palace maid, Xiao Lian, was filled with fear as she stepped forward to stop her. "Empress, is there a need …" Sacrifice the Prince Zhang. " The palace maid, Xiao Lian, had already rushed forward and said something in a voice that only the two of them could hear.

However, it was too late. Prince Zhang was a little tired from playing, so after hearing Chenfei's call, he ran over to eat a lot of pastries while grinning.

The empress seemed to feel the peculiar relationship between Concubine Chen and the palace maid Xiao Lian. She saw that Consort De's Xiao Lian was so close to Consort Chen …

Had Concubine Chen also been bribed by Consort De?

"What exactly did Consort De give you?" The empress glared at her fiercely, but she didn't say what she was thinking. Perhaps she was too disappointed in her.

Consort De's palace maid Xiao Lian returned to Consort De's room after putting down the pastries. Concubine Chen also led Prince Zhang back to her own room.

Strangely enough, the empress had been tossing and turning all night, unable to fall asleep. She seemed to have something on her mind.

Just when the empress thought that she was about to lose sleep until dawn, the court ladies of the empress dowager's palace rushed in, flustered. They had something to report.

"Bad news, bad news! Esteemed wangfei …" The palace maid was so flustered that she forgot to knock on the door and even forgot about the rules of the empress's palace.

The empress was anxious because of her insomnia, so the palace maid hit the nail on the head, "What is proper and proper, don't you want me as your empress?" The empress said gracefully.

The palace maid quickly explained when she saw the empress's anger, "The empress, empress, esteemed imperial concubine and Prince Zhang were about to die soon. They said that Consort De had poisoned you and the crown prince, but was accidentally eaten by Consort Chen and the Prince Zhang, and that this caused a huge ruckus. The emperor was alarmed, so the emperor interrogated the palace maid Xiao Lian, who admitted that Consort De and the eldest prince conspired to murder the empress and the crown prince, and she was ordered by Consort to deliver poisoned pastries to your palace. Xiao Lian was also a hot-tempered person. After identifying Consort De, she believed that she had betrayed her master and killed herself on the spot. The Emperor was infuriated, immediately investigating the responsibility of the First Prince and the Consort De. He had beaten the First Prince into a cold palace and demoted him to a commoner. "

When the empress heard the palace maid's words, her mind went blank for a moment. How could she … How could this be …

"Then what happened to Chen Fei and Prince Zhang?" The empress's face turned pale as she thought about the thought of the empress's guilt.

"Esteemed Empress, quickly go take a look. The imperial concubine and Prince Zhang are almost at their limits."

Hearing this, the empress collapsed onto the ground, struggling to get up. "Help me up …" "Take a look …"

The empress forced herself to leave the palace with the support of the two palace maids on her right and left. Along the way, the empress kept thinking, no wonder Prime Minister Qin was never worried about the crown prince being crippled.

It was no wonder that Prime Minister Qin had only come to the palace to visit her. Was he trying to convince her to sacrifice herself for him?

No wonder when the Concubine Chen wanted to eat the pastries that the Consort De sent over, Little Lian gave her a meaningful look. That Concubine Chen only understood that she saw through life and death.

It was no wonder that Little Lian had quietly advised Prince Zhang to eat the pastries … Xiao Lian is the trump card Prime Minister Qin buried by Consort De's side? A trump card that can turn the situation around...

Han-Er, this pitiful child is going to become a stepping stone for her to pave the way for the Crown Prince?

The empress couldn't bear it anymore. She felt guilty, but after seeing her sister's painful expression, her tears fell like rain. "Little sister, I've let you down. I've let you down. I've let you and Han'er down …"

"Empress, there is no need to do this. I entered the palace to help you out. Now that I have succeeded, I can be considered to have retreated." The Concubine Chen had used up all of her vitality as she softly spoke. Her eyes were indeed a bit empty and her face was deathly pale. Only the blood at the corner of her mouth was a bit eye-catching.

The empress couldn't bear to watch Concubine Chen. It had only been a few years, but things had changed. How could she forget how Consort Chen had been sent to the palace and how she had not feared the power of Consort De in this stormy harem?

But the empress suspected that Consort De also had his eyes on her seat, and the crown prince's, so she kept her distance from Concubine Chen. Right, it had all been planned for her sudden visit today.

The empress didn't know what to say, so all she could do was cry, apologizing as she cried.

The smile on Chenfei's face was very faint. It was like a slight ripple on a calm lake. Some were beautiful, some were faint, and there were even some that could not be grasped.

Every day I spent in the palace was painful for me. I only hoped to find some news of him, but a while ago, news came from the border, I was extremely happy, but I didn't expect that it would be the confirmation of his death.

"I'm tired from living for one more day, and it hurts to breathe once more. Empress, don't feel sad for me, and don't blame yourself for it. I'm just relieved."

"Han-Er, I personally want to take him away. I don't want him to live in this complicated imperial household and lose the freedom to live. What's the meaning of living, so I'll give him his freedom."

The empress didn't know what to say, or perhaps she was feeling too guilty that she kept bowing her head and crying.

"Elder sister, count it as my last wish." She had said a lot of things. Now that she had mastered the art of speaking, every word was going to be difficult.

"Quick, quickly tell me. What wish do you have?" The empress stopped crying at once, holding on to the empress's hand tightly, looking at the empress's anxious voice.

"I... After I die... The one who buried me in my hometown... Back Mountain... Back Hill... That's us... "The place where we first met."

"Good, good, good." The empress saw that it took all of her strength to say every single word, so she quickly helped to comfort her.

Unexpectedly, when she heard the word 'good' from the empress, she immediately smiled with satisfaction and slowly closed her eyes …

The empress's hand that was holding onto the empress dowager sank as well. She cried out in pain, "Sis! Sis!"

That night, news spread from the imperial harem that Consort De and the First Prince had hanged themselves in humiliation.

The empress guarded beside the little Prince Zhan's bed. Since Chenfei was already dead, the Prince Zhan must be saved.

Chen Fei, the man Chen Fei loved, Little Lian, had all died because of her. What did she count as? It was just to keep the position of empress, and to keep the position of crown prince.

She owed Concubine Chen too much. In order to make up for the regrets in her heart, she had owed everything she owed Concubine Chen to Qin Ruxue all these years, but she didn't know what she was thinking. Guilt would accumulate in her heart for a long time, so she needed to say something.