Chapter 267: She Has a Guilty Conscience
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Ninth Imperial Aunt.”
Feng Weizhou stood up slowly and bowed.
Despite the kind smile on Feng Weizhou’s face, Yu Yunxi knew that the despicableness that was engraved in his bones would not disappear no matter what.
At this time, the Empress appeared with a few palace servants.
“Yunxi, you’re here.”
The Empress was dressed in a phoenix robe, and she wore a dangly phoenix hairpin on her head. All in all, she looked very noble, befitting of her glorious status as the mother of the country. Who would have expected that her hands were stained with blood and that her heart was dark and rotten?
The Empress did not notice the coldness in Yu Yunxi’s gaze as she walked over. She took the initiative to hold Yu Yunxi’s hand and said, “You’ve suffered because of the Empress Dowager’s matter. Fortunately, justice prevailed in the end. Gao Shixuan can forget about being released from the Heavenly Prison for the rest of her life. Also, the Empress Dowager really misses you. I visited her in the afternoon, and she spoke a lot about you. She praised the Prince Regent for marrying such a good consort.”
The Empress glanced at Feng Weizhou before she sighed helplessly and continued to say, “In the past when I met your mother and she was pregnant, I even told her that if her child was a girl, she had to let her child marry
Weizhou. If it weren’t for the Imperial Preceptor taking a liking to your birth characters five years ago, perhaps you would already be my daughter-in-law. It’s Wei Zhou and I who are unlucky.
The Empress really seemed as though she was regretful that Yu Yunxi did not marry Feng Weizhou.
However, knowing how hypocritical the Empress was, Yu Yunxi only felt disdain and disgust in her heart. The Empress was clearly a murderer, but the Empress still pretended to be harmless.
Yu Yunxi lowered her head to hide the coldness in her eyes as she said, “I don’t think the Empress summoned me here just to talk about this, right?”
“Indeed there’s another matter. I heard that the Prince Regent’s relationship with the Wei family has been a little cold recently… What happened?” the Empress probed.
Yu Yunxi’s gaze grew even colder. As it turned out, the Empress had not given up and was hoping to pull Feng Yili into their camp through her.
The First Prince was gone, and the Third Prince had no presence in front of the Emperor. As such, the only person who could compete with Feng Weizhou for the throne now was the Fifth Prince.
In the past, Feng Yili helped the Fifth Prince because the Wei family possessed the medicine to calm the poison in his body. However, now that Yu Yunxi had returned, there was naturally no need for Feng Yili to help the Fifth Prince.
Yu Yunxi had to admit that the Empress’ network was really wide. The Empress had found out about the status of the relationship between the Prince Regent and the Wei family so quickly.
Yu Yunxi pulled her hand away in an unobtrusive manner before she replied lightly, “Your Majesty, I’m just a woman so I’m not privy to the Prince Regent’s business. If you have any questions, you should ask the Prince Regent directly.”
Hearing the refusal in Yu Yunxi’s words, the expressions of the Empress and Feng Weizhou were not too good.
The Empress raised her hand and adjusted her phoenix hairpin slightly as she said, “Yunxi, I heard that… Prime Minister Yu died tragically at home today. Madam Chen and Yu Wanrong’s throats were damaged by poison, and they’ve become mute now. Who do you think is the culprit?”
Yu Yunxi’s expression did not change at all as she said, “Your Majesty, how can someone who has been stripped of his official title still be addressed as ‘Prime Minister Yu’?”
“You’re right. Thank you for your reminder. However, Yu Zhongcheng was once a trusted minister of the Emperor after all. Now that he died so tragically for seemingly no reason, the Emperor surely would seek justice for him. I received this news first, but I have yet to report it to the Emperor… Do you think I should report it to the Emperor?” the Empress asked in a nonchalant tone.
‘Is she trying to threaten me?’
“Empress, why bother? Whether you report it or not, the Emperor will eventually find out anyway. How can anyone hide anything from the Emperor? Even old matters will be found out by the Emperor eventually. For example, the matter of Yu Zhongcheng having a ‘good’ relationship with someone close to the Emperor in the past…” Yu Yunxi said unhurriedly.
Although Yu Yunxi spoke nonchalantly, each word was like a stab to the Empress’ heart. Her expression changed drastically, and she did not even bother to keep up the pretenses anymore. She asked snappily, “What do you mean by this?”
Seeing the panic in the Empress’ eyes, Yu Yunxi confirmed that Yu Zhongcheng was not lying. She could tell that the Empress had a guilty conscience.
Yu Yunxi smiled as she slowly said, “Your Majesty, there’s no need to be nervous. I wasn’t talking about you. I just heard that Yu Zhongcheng had colluded with the First Prince in the past. The First Prince could be considered someone who was close to the Emperor, right?”
The Empress’ expression eased a little when she heard Yu Yunxi’s words, but she still felt uneasy. She was really worried that Yu Yunxi really knew about the secret between her and Yu Zhongcheng.
Yu Yunxi continued to say meaningfully, “Yu Zhongcheng had done too many evil things in his life. He really deserves to die. Don’t you think so, Your Majesty?”
The Empress felt uneasy and was no longer in the mood to play games with Yu
Yunxi.
Yu Yunxi also knew when to stop. She looked down slightly and said, “Your
Majesty, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave first. After all, the Prince
Regent is still waiting for me.”
With that, Yu Yunxi turned around and left without waiting for the Empress to nod. Her arrogant and domineering aura was just like that of Feng Yili.
Seeing that his mother was still in a daze after Yu Yunxi left, Feng Weizhou’s heart sank slightly. Then, he called out tentatively, “Mother, Mother…”
With this, the Empress returned to her senses. She frowned slightly and asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong, Weizhou?”
“Yu Yunxi has already left. Why are you in a daze, Mother?” Feng Weizhou asked solemnly.
After all, Feng Weizhou and his mother had agreed to force Yu Yunxi to make a stand today. It was fine if the Prince Regent did not support the Eastern Palace, but the Prince Regent could not support the Fifth Prince. However, for some reason, he felt like his mother seemed to be suppressed by Yu Yunxi today, especially after Yu Yunxi spoke about Yu Zhongcheng. It was then that his mother behaved strangely.
‘Is Mother hiding something from me?’
The Empress pulled Feng Weizhou’s sleeve and said anxiously, “Hurry up and stop Yu Yunxi. If the Imperial Preceptor takes action, then we’ll never have a chance to obtain your Ninth Imperial Uncle’s support!”
Many things had happened during this period of time, and the Empress had seen things through.
The Emperor was suspicious of the Empress and Feng Weizhou, and the Empress was not sure how long Feng Weizhou would be able to remain the master of the Eastern Palace. The Imperial Preceptor was the Emperor’s man so the Imperial Preceptor might not help them. However, Feng Yili was different. He had no interest in the throne, and he even held a large number of troops in his hands. Now that he had fallen out with the Fifth Prince, there was no doubt that he was the perfect ally.
Upon hearing the Empress’ words, Feng Weizhou’s gaze flashed fiercely. He nodded and said, “Mother, don’t worry. I’ll chase after Yu Yunxi now.”
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