On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

Zhao Shuyu's words made the other concubines realize the direction of the political winds.

It's obvious that the Empress is taking her anger out on Yang Siyu.

To survive in the imperial harem, the most important thing is to know how to read people and treat them accordingly.

Now that the boss has singled out Yang Siyu, everyone naturally wants to join in and try to curry favor with her.

The concubines all glared at Yang Siyu with hostility, especially Consort Hui, who was delighted to see the Empress leading the charge against him.

Because the fourth prince, Nangong Jin, was originally the most powerful contender for the throne, Lin Yi released a big black dog, which rendered him useless.

When Consort Hui heard the news, she fainted on the spot.

After waking up, he cursed Lin Yi every day in the palace, wishing he could eat Lin Yi's flesh and drink Lin Yi's blood.

Now that Consort Hui sees Lin Yi's mother-in-law, Yang Siyu, being mistreated here, how could she possibly let go of this opportunity to kick her while she's down?

"Your Majesty is absolutely right! Yang Siyu, you're an ungrateful wretch! Your daughter is living the high life in the Regent's Palace, and you're still pretending to be so high and mighty here?"

Yang Siyu was also extremely aggrieved, wiping away her tears as she said, "Sister Huifei, what makes you say that? I really don't know how Min'er is doing in the Prince's mansion. I'm just like you, locked up in the palace."

"Stop pretending!" Consort Hui interrupted her, saying, "Everyone knows Lin Yi robbed the Luo family of a million taels of betrothal gifts and confiscated the property of so many officials! He's rolling in money now! Since your daughter is his principal wife, hasn't she secretly sent you some money?"

She became increasingly agitated as she spoke, spitting as she spoke: "My son and the Empress's son were harmed so terribly by Lin Yi, so why should your daughter be allowed to marry into that family and enjoy a life of luxury? Why is your son still able to stay safely outside the palace?"

Consort Hui's words struck a nerve with everyone.

No one can guarantee that they will not have children in the future. If they do, wouldn't they also be threatened by Lin Yi?

"That's right, Your Highness, stop hiding it and hurry up and hand over the money the Regent has given you."

"We're all suffering, and you're the only one enjoying the good life. That's not fair."

"Maybe they've already conspired with the Regent and are just waiting to see us make a fool of ourselves."

The concubines, one after another, hurled all sorts of nasty remarks at Yang Siyu.

When the wall falls, everyone pushes it, and when the drum breaks, everyone beats it.

In the imperial harem, kicking someone when they're down is the trick everyone is best at.

Surrounded by the women, Yang Siyu was isolated and helpless, unable to defend himself. He could only shake his head repeatedly, "I didn't... I really didn't... Min'er never sent me anything. Jie'er was also worried sick outside, how could he possibly collude with Lin Yi!"

No matter how she explained, no one believed her, or rather, no one took the matter to heart.

People probably just need an outlet, after all, Lin Yi is too terrifying.

Since they couldn't afford to offend Lin Yi, they could only vent their anger on Lin Yi's mother-in-law.

Zhao Shuyu sat on the phoenix chair, watching the chaos below, and gave a cold smile.

That's right.

As long as these vile women target Yang Siyu, no one will notice her, the deposed empress who was the eldest prince.

Seeing that the time was right, she finally spoke: "Alright, everyone be quiet."

The hall fell silent again, but everyone's gaze toward Yang Siyu remained hostile.

Even Zhao Shuyu looked at her again and said slowly, "Noble Consort, since everyone says so, if you can't produce something decent today, it will be hard to convince them. I'm doing this for your own good, so that people won't say you're in cahoots with Lin Yi."

That hat is way too big.

If someone were accused of being in cahoots with Lin Yi, they would definitely face certain death in the palace.

Yang Siyu trembled with fear, knowing she couldn't escape today. If she didn't hand over the money, these women would definitely not let her go.

To protect herself and to avoid causing trouble for Nangong Jie, she had no choice but to endure it.

"Your Majesty is right. Although I do not have the support of the Regent, I am still willing to do my part for Your Majesty." After saying this, she turned to her personal maid and said, "Go and bring that mahogany box from my palace."

The palace maid hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "Your Highness, those are your last remaining possessions. If you donate them all, how will you live in the future?"

Yang Siyu gave a wry smile upon hearing this.

"Sigh, go ahead. You're about to lose your life, what's the point of all that stuff?"

"This...is..." The palace maid glared fiercely at the people around her, wiped away her tears, and ran out.

Soon, she came in carrying a mahogany box.

The box wasn't big, and it looked quite old.

Yang Siyu took it, got up and placed it on the table in front of Zhao Shuyu, then opened the lid.

There were no glittering gold ingots inside, nor any priceless luminous pearls.

There were only a few pieces of jewelry of average quality, two gold hairpins, and a pair of jade bracelets.

These were all part of Yang Siyu's dowry given to her by her family before she entered the palace.

For so many years, she has been reluctant to wear it, keeping it like a precious treasure.

However, Zhao Shuyu glanced at the contents of the box and frowned in disgust: "Is this all the junk? Consort, are you trying to fool me or His Majesty?"

Yang Siyu lowered her head and replied, "Your Majesty, please understand, this is truly all I have. My family is not as prominent as Your Majesty's, and I didn't bring much with me when I entered the palace. Over the years, I've spent almost all of it on bribing officials and servants throughout the palace. This is all I have left."

Consort Hui sneered from the side, "Oh, you're really good at pretending. Everyone knows your son spends a lot of money outside the palace. Maybe you've been secretly sending all the good stuff out of the palace to Nangong Jie?"

Yang Siyu bit her lip.

"Your Majesty, I have uttered not a single falsehood. If you do not believe me, you may send people to search my palace. If you find even the slightest thing of value, I will leave it to Your Majesty to deal with as you see fit."

Seeing her resolute and fearless demeanor, Zhao Shuyu guessed that she was probably truly broke.

Lin Yi sealed off the palace, and everyone's life became difficult. Almost everything that could be pawned was pawned.

Fine, if we push her any further, what if this wretched woman crashes into Jingren Palace and dies? It would be difficult to explain to Nangong Xiong.

So she waved her hand, signaling the eunuch to take the box away: "Never mind, never mind, I'll let it go for your sake, considering your filial piety."

Next, the other concubines also handed over the items brought by the palace maids.

Some handed over dozens of taels of silver, while others handed over several bolts of fine silk.

Although there weren't many of them, they still filled an entire table when put together.

Zhao Shuyu did a quick calculation and found that these items were worth at least several thousand taels of silver.

Although it was a drop in the ocean compared to the military expenditure of 200,000 troops, it was still a gesture, so they decided to send someone to deliver these things to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Seeing the support from his harem, Nangong Xiong will surely be overjoyed.

At that time, although the eldest prince will be deposed, her position as empress will remain secure.

"Someone, pack all these things up and send them all to His Majesty."

However, just as the eunuchs were about to start cleaning up, the gate of Jingren Palace was suddenly pushed open from the outside.