Even the crown prince is getting a marriage of convenience? Why are you in such a hurry to stop bein

The palace servants who had been chased outside by Yuan Ajiao rushed in upon hearing the noise, only to see Consort Xian holding a hairpin and glaring angrily at her.

Furthermore, fresh blood was still spurting from Yuan Ajiao's neck.

"Someone come here! Quickly, fetch the imperial physician!"

"Your Majesty, let's hurry back to the palace."

A maidservant went to help Yuan Ajiao, who wanted to leave the palace of the Virtuous Consort.

Consort Xian shouted angrily, "Stop! No one is allowed to leave!"

"Consort Yuan, I have no grudge against you, why are you framing me like this?" Ever since Consort Yuan gained favor, Consort Xian has ignored her completely.

Later, after the Third Prince committed a crime and was imprisoned in the Imperial Clan Court, Consort Xian fell ill and never recovered.

The emperor also resented her for not disciplining the third prince properly, so he ordered her to reflect on her actions in her own palace.

"Sister Xianfei, what are you saying?" Yuan Ajiao cried with grievance. The maid beside her was pressing hard on the wound on her neck with a handkerchief.

That pristine white handkerchief was stained crimson in the blink of an eye.

"You hurt me, and you won't admit it?"

Yuan Ajiao asked in grief and anger, "Could it be that Consort Xian is saying that I cut myself with the hairpin?"

Consort Xian glared at her with her almond-shaped eyes and angrily questioned, "Isn't that right? The truth is that you cut yourself and then framed me."

"Your little tricks are old news. Do you think the Emperor will easily believe your framing?"

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was watching, Yuan Ajiao gave Consort Xian a provocative look.

Whether the emperor believed her or not, she didn't care.

She did this simply to distract the emperor.

Despite the serious mistake the Third Prince made, the Emperor was still unwilling to give up and wanted to make the Third Prince the Crown Prince.

Even Consort Xian, ostensibly, made her stay at home to reflect on her mistakes, but in reality, it was to allow her to recuperate in peace.

Yuan Ajiao was certain that if something happened to Consort Xian, it would surely attract the Emperor's attention.

As she expected, Consort Xian refused to let her go and ordered her men to stop her.

As for the emperor, Yuan Ajiao sent someone to invite him.

"What's going on here?" The emperor, carried in on his palanquin, angrily rebuked as soon as it hit the ground, "Isn't the palace already in chaos enough?"

"You are both my beloved consorts. At this time, you should be united. How can you hurt each other over such a trivial matter?"

The Emperor's gaze fell tenderly on Yuan Ajiao's neck. "Consort Xian, you are already quite old. Consort Yuan is young; you should be taking care of her."

"She's so old, yet she still plays the jealous and rivalry game."

Consort Xian had done nothing wrong, yet she was misunderstood and accused in this way, which naturally made her unhappy.

She could never fathom the emperor's thoughts and had no idea that he only ever wanted the third prince to be the future crown prince.

All she knew was that she was now being maliciously splashed with dirty water, and the emperor had believed someone else.

"Since Your Majesty thinks this way about me, I have nothing more to say."

"Without the Third Prince by my side, I have lost my support, and everyone in this palace can trample on me."

"If Your Majesty truly believes that I harmed Consort Yuan, then please order my execution!"

The emperor was so angry he could hardly breathe. He pointed at Consort Xian, but couldn't utter a single word of curse.

After a long silence, he said, "You don't need so many people to serve you in this palace. Leave one person behind, and the rest of you get out."

The emperor, in a fit of pique with Consort Xian, foolishly entrusted the entire harem to Yuan Ajiao.

Yuan Ajiao was secretly delighted, never expecting that she would get the opportunity to rule the six palaces by chance.

In this way, she could better serve Xiao Lie in the harem.

I wonder how Xiao Lie is doing on the frontier, and whether he has repelled the enemy.

Xiao Lie, who was being worried about by Yuan Ajiao, was coming down from the city wall.

He was greeted by Princess Yuhua and Shen Qinglan.

He looked behind the two women for a long time, but still couldn't see Yuan Ajiao.

A sudden panic gripped his heart. Could something have gone wrong? Why hadn't he seen her?

"Seventeen, where's Gillian?"

Seventeen hurriedly said, "Your Highness, I wrote a letter and had it delivered by carrier pigeon, but you didn't receive it?"

Xiao Lie did not receive the letter that Seventeen had mentioned.

Seventeen didn't have time to think about where the letter had gone, and quickly explained, "When I led our people to evacuate from the palace, Consort Yuan refused to leave."

"She said she wanted to stay in the palace and deliver messages to the Crown Prince."

"We can't let the Crown Prince be without even a single informant in the capital."

Xiao Lie was very worried about Yuan Ajiao, and he had previously sent people to secretly watch over her.

Now, she is fighting alone.

"No, I have to go back to the capital." In a moment of impulse, Xiao Lie wanted to go back to the capital to bring Yuan Ajiao back.

Shen Qinglan was calmer and more rational than Xiao Lie.

She stopped him. "The emperor has declared war on us. If you return to the capital now, wouldn't you be walking into a trap?"

"Once those people discover you, they won't even need to inform the emperor; they'll immediately find a way to kill you."

"After they capture you, they can ask the emperor for a reward."

Princess Yuhua also stepped forward and tried to dissuade her, saying, "She has her own abilities to become a favored concubine."

"I have people planted in the palace. I will immediately send a message back to them, instructing them to keep a close eye on Consort Yuan."

"If Consort Yuan encounters any trouble, she will lend a helping hand and notify us."

Everyone offered their advice and tried to persuade him for a long time.

Xiao Lie then gave up the idea.

However, he no longer felt the joy he had felt when he received their greetings. Instead, he walked alone to the side of the city wall and stood there blankly.

Princess Yuhua wanted to go forward to comfort him, but Shen Qinglan grabbed her arm.

She turned around in confusion, and Shen Qinglan shook his head at her.

She instantly understood Shen Qinglan's meaning: she wanted Xiao Lie to have some peace and quiet by himself.

Inside the military camp, accommodations had already been prepared for them.

Sixteen busied herself with helping them check into their rooms one by one.

After they finished their work, Xiao Lie returned to his tent as if nothing had happened.

Their men discovered that since the Fifth Prince took control of the capital garrison, some of the border guards he had won over had been making small, unsavory moves.

They banded together, actually hoping to coordinate with the enemy from within.

This is an attempt to wage a pincer attack.

"The Fifth Prince has truly gone mad." Xiao Lie's head was throbbing with pain. "Once he lets a wolf into the house, does he really think he can still become emperor?"

Human greed can truly cloud one's judgment.

If the cavalry of the Southern Barbarians and the Northern Barbarians were to set foot on their territory, they would surely seize the opportunity and march all the way to the imperial city.

After they capture the capital, they will divide the city among themselves.

"We must prevent the Fifth Prince from making any further contact with the enemy before he does anything reckless, or at least prevent him from sending any troops out."

Xiao Lie made a tough decision; he had no choice but to expose the ministers they had in the capital.

Let those ministers lead their private troops to eliminate the capital garrison.

"What if they turn against us at the last minute?" Sixteen and Seventeen exchanged a glance, both seeing deep worry in each other's eyes.