The husband I snatched halfway through his life is strange.

Chapter 414 I dreamt you were dead, and I was worried.

Golden tiles and vermilion walls, jade steps in a thousand layers, dragon-patterned carved pillars, phoenix dancing on the eaves.

The Imperial Palace, Cining Palace.

Inside the hall, in the cloisonné enamel incense burner with floral and bird patterns, agarwood smoke gently burns, its wisps of smoke rising and swirling like silk threads.

Palace maids, with light, cloud-like steps, served tea.

The Empress Dowager leaned back gracefully, but perhaps she hadn't slept well last night, as her complexion wasn't very good at the moment.

"What made you decide to come here?"

She asked the palace maid behind her to come over and massage her head.

“You usually stay in your palace, never stepping out of the inner gate.”

The woman sitting opposite her was dressed simply, with her hair piled high, and her demeanor was aloof and cold.

“I dreamt you died last night. I was worried, so I came to check on you.”

Empress Dowager: ?! ?
She looked over sharply.

"presumptuous!"

The palace maids and nannies, however, were used to it and continued with their work.

The woman in palace attire remained completely calm as she met the Empress Dowager's gaze.

"Really, Aunt Qu."

She sighed.

"There are only a few people I care about. You have to be okay and nothing else can happen to you."

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager felt a sharp pain in her heart.

“Ah Jin.”

She looked at the woman before her, trapped in the deep palace at the prime of her life, her life ruined. The harem is a place where people can be devoured; what has become of her once flamboyant nature?
Aside from the eldest daughter of the Shen family, who frequently visits, how many other people in this world still care about her?
Lord Shen, the Director of the Imperial Household Department?

But back then, it was Lord Shen who dared not disobey, and for the sake of his career, he gave his own younger sister to the late emperor.

Shen Jin and Jia Shan were about the same age. After entering the palace, she couldn't bear to see Jia Shan suffer and protected her many times. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her "Auntie".

Even so, she was the Empress Dowager, and Shen Jin was the Imperial Concubine Dowager. They had become people of the same generation.

The Empress Dowager fiddled with the prayer beads in her hand: "I'm perfectly fine, you can rest assured."

Seeing that her complexion was rosy, Shen Jin nodded and stood up.

"That's good, I'm leaving now."

Empress Dowager: ? ? ?
"sit down!"

"Since you're already here, why are you in such a hurry to go back to your cold, empty palace?"

She worried, "Come out for a walk whenever you have free time, and show your face at banquets held in the palace on weekdays."

Shen Jin listened attentively and coldly, without responding.

Just then, a well-dressed old woman strode in from outside.

"Miss."

She bowed to the Empress Dowager.

Seeing Shen Jin there, he smiled and bowed again.

"Something has happened outside."

Why are you so happy even after something happened? It seems like it's a good thing.

Before the Empress Dowager could even muster the energy to ask, the nanny relayed the news she had overheard.

"Today, the Second Prince and the Fifth Prince went to the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat's residence."

Upon hearing the name of the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, the Empress Dowager's expression darkened.

Yes, she now hates everyone in the Yang family equally.

The old woman said, "It just so happens that Madam Yang has invited a Taoist priest who knows feng shui to walk around the house with a compass."

"I don't know what happened, but the compass suddenly started spinning like crazy."

Mrs. Yang then felt that there was indeed something dirty in the house.

Without needing a guide, Bao Pu, who was entering the Yang family mansion for the first time but had memorized the route perfectly, carried a tampered compass that he could manipulate at any time. He followed the compass's direction. Madam Yang followed nervously behind him.

"Until we were almost at Lord Yang's study."

"It just so happened that Lord Yang was passing by with two princes, and we ran into each other."

Even the old nanny couldn't believe it when she said it: "The compass stopped spinning and pointed at the Fifth Prince, and the incense in Madam Yang's hand, which hadn't been lit yet, suddenly ignited."

Yes, the incense was also tampered with.

When they were almost there, Baopu sprinkled some powder into the air.

The prince was a noble person and should not be offended. Even though Madam Yang was suspicious and confused, she bowed and left in a hurry with the Taoist priest.

She now has complete faith in Baopu's abilities.

Because when I visited Baopu last time, he told my fortune.

Baopu actually calculated that she had miscarried before.

Of course, you can find out by checking. But she came on a whim without prior notice, so how could Baopu know her?
She deliberately miscarried to frame her sister-in-law; no one knew about it except herself!

Baopu, however, figured it out.

It is said that she once ordered people to be buried alive, and that her sins are too heavy.

Yes, she once buried alive her husband's most beloved concubine.

Baopu then mentioned a few more things that she had almost forgotten.

They say she's not a good person.

Use any means to achieve an end.

So, to keep quiet, she gave him another sum of money.

After the group had gone some distance, Madam Yang, without revealing the prince's identity, asked Baopu what was going on and why his expression seemed off after seeing that nobleman.

The old woman said, "That Taoist priest had just arrived in the capital. How could he have seen such an important person? He looked very serious at the time, stopped performing the ritual, and was about to leave, as if he had encountered a poisonous snake or a ferocious beast."

"Seeing that something was wrong, Madam Yang was not about to let him leave. She insisted on making him explain the situation clearly."

After a long struggle, someone blocked the door and threatened them.

"The Taoist priest had no choice but to speak..."

The Empress Dowager sensed something was wrong and stopped letting the palace maids behind her press her head down; she also sat up straighter.

"Say it!"

The old woman said, "They said they saw a rising dragon aura in that noble person."

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager abruptly stood up.

Not to mention her, even Shen Jin looked up.

Dragon energy is the energy of emperors!
How could Ying Yin have that on him?

What does it mean to rise slowly?

One rises, but the other must fall?

The old woman said, "If the Yang family had kept this a secret, it would have been fine. But as luck would have it, the Second Prince was shrewd enough to notice something was wrong and went to investigate, and he overheard everything."

Who is Ying Zhi?

Can you accept this?

The old woman said, "This has already reached the Emperor's ears."

Minister Yang is a man of Emperor Yingqian. Did the Taoist priest he invited to his residence have ulterior motives in saying those words?

Ying Zhi wasn't stupid; he wouldn't believe it was Emperor Ying Qian's arrangement to intensify the brothers' rivalry. After all, Emperor Ying Qian wouldn't curse himself.

Regardless of whether the so-called dragon energy existed, he simply felt that Minister Yang was trying to curry favor with the Fifth Prince!

It would be a lie to say Ying Yin was unhappy. After all, no one was more suitable for the dragon throne than him.

But her heart was pounding, and she felt that she was being targeted by Emperor Yingqian.

Minister Yang was so frightened that his legs went weak, but he couldn't remove it completely.

How could Emperor Yingqian not be furious?
He suspected Ying Yin, suspected Ying Zhi of deliberately provoking trouble, and suspected that Minister Yang had ulterior motives towards him.

They also suspected that the Taoist priest had connections with some faction.

Rising slowly? Could someone be trying to kill him?
Everyone has their own ulterior motives.

The old woman gestured with her lips: "The Hall of Mental Cultivation is quite lively these days."

The Empress Dowager scoffed upon hearing this.

Just what to say.

Then a palace maid rushed in from outside to pay her respects.

That palace maid was someone who served Shen Jin.

"Miss."

"Our girl has come to see you again."

Shen Jin's eyes then showed some emotion.

It's clear from what the old nanny said earlier that she didn't care at all.

After all, who becomes emperor or who lives or dies is none of her business.

At most, it just means they're a generation older.

She was about to get up.

"By the way, Miss Shen also brought along the young mistress of the Duke of Shun's mansion, saying they would visit you together."

The emotion in Shen Jin's eyes intensified.

But the Empress Dowager on the other side couldn't sit still any longer.

Her headache had even subsided.

"Shen Jin! Why did Yao Yao see you when she entered the palace, and not me!"

Great, Ah Jin isn't calling me that anymore.