Favored concubine deposed empress? I'll seize your throne and marry you to a powerful minister.

"Too fast!" Wei Rong murmured in pain, "Slow down!"

Despite the jolt, Ling Xianru's voice remained calm above him: "It won't slow down."

With her vision obstructed and only the clatter of hooves echoing forward, Wei Rong felt nauseous from the jolting.

Moreover, I haven't ridden a horse for so long that my inner thighs are chafed and sore.

She had no idea that Ling Xianru was such a good rider. With one hand around her waist and the other on the reins, the horse was fast yet very steady.

The fast horse traversed Sishui Street and bypassed Donglong Lane, returning to the back gate of the Wei Mansion via a very quick but skillful route.

The horse did not approach the gate; it stopped some distance away.

Ling Xianru dismounted first, then carried Wei Rong down and removed the light veil that had been covering her face to avoid attracting attention.

"How dare you!" Wei Rong, still breathless, said angrily, "I feel like throwing up."

The horse was indeed going too fast. Ling Xianru helped her stand up with one hand and patted her back with the other: "The imperial carriage has arrived at the main street. You still need to go back and change your clothes. If you don't hurry, you won't make it in time."

Xiao Heng has arrived.

How could the busy emperor have time to pick her up? He must have come with an ulterior motive.

Wei Rong had finally managed to relax for a few hours, but upon hearing this, her shoulders tensed up again.

Ling Xianru seemed to sense it, and like Yun Sheng, he patted the top of her head: "Didn't you want the two concubines to put pressure on him and severely punish Shen Mingxiu? What are you afraid of?"

It was hard to explain to him that she wasn't afraid, but the thought of having to be calculating every day when facing Xiao Heng was exhausting.

Wei Rong brushed his hand away and stood up straight: "Even so, sir, you should still have some self-respect. Today you have gone too far."

Many things were left unsaid, and Wei Rong's mind was in a complete mess.

Not wanting to push her too far, Ling Xianru looked at her pale face and, unusually, conceded, "Let's go in."

The back door had been arranged in advance; Wei Jin had people guarding it, so no one would know that Wei Rong had secretly left.

She took two steps forward, then, remembering something, turned back to confirm: "Two lives lost. I won't go easy on Shen Mingxiu. You really don't care?"

"When did I say I cared?" Ling Xianru asked with a half-smile. "Has Your Majesty ever heard anything from me about anything related to her?"

Looking back on that day, Shen Mingxiu looked pitiful and ashamed of having wronged Ling Xianru. And everything that happened afterward made people feel that she loved Ling Xianru terribly.

However, Ling Xianru never said anything.

The grass butterfly can't be given away; it wasn't said who it was intended for.

The person I love has already married, but I haven't said who she married.

Even so, Wei Rong thought to herself, how could Shen Mingxiu act as if she had secretly pledged her life to you?

There must have been other things that happened during this time.

"Even if you want to kill her, I won't stop you." Seeing that she clearly didn't believe him, Ling Xianru added.

Wei Rong didn't know what to say.

"Oh, right," Ling Xianru suddenly called out to her again, taking something out of his sleeve. He took Wei Rong's hand and placed the item in her palm: "Yiling produces fine jade; this is a gift."

In the palm of his hand lay a piece of warm, translucent jade, without a single impurity.

Yiling produces fine jade, but it's too good.

Wei Rong wanted to return it, but Wei Jin opened the back door and told her to hurry up.

Her thoughts were in turmoil, and she quickened her pace back to her residence.

While changing clothes and getting ready, Qiaoyu was still in shock, as she had been brought back to the mansion by Moyu in the same way.

"Your Majesty, what exactly does the Prime Minister mean?"

Wei Rong had no idea, but the man's actions and expression were ambiguous, making it easy to guess—

He had forgotten about his sweetheart who was already married, and he had inadvertently become the unlucky one, as if the other woman had taken a liking to him.

Who would covet the emperor's woman, especially the empress? Is this person out of their mind or just too confident?

"This is insane." Wei Rong gripped the jade tightly; although the temperature was just right, it felt like it was burning her hand.

Outside the door, her second uncle urged, "Your Majesty, the imperial procession has arrived. Please proceed to the main gate."

In fact, when the emperor arrived, they were all trembling with fear, afraid that if they didn't serve him well enough, he would be displeased.

But since we're already here, we have no choice but to bite the bullet and face it head-on.

To everyone's surprise, Xiao Heng didn't even disembark from the imperial carriage. Under the yellow silk, only her blurry face was visible: "Empress, come up."

He seemed oblivious to the people kneeling around him, bowing in greeting, but from their tone, it was clear they were suppressing their anger.

Wei Rong thought that his departure from the palace this time was definitely not out of kindness to pick her up, but probably because he had heard the rumors about the two concubines and came out of the palace to confirm them.

Wei Rong lifted the hem of her skirt and was helped into the car by Zhu Er.

Before he could even stand up straight, a teacup came crashing down on him.

"boom--"

The teacup fell to the ground with a crash, shattering into pieces right at Wei Rong's feet.

Zhu Er trembled and quickly knelt down.

The commotion could be clearly heard outside, and the entire Wei family knelt on the ground, trembling like Zhu Yi.

—The Emperor's wrath!

No one understood what had happened, but they couldn't even look at each other in confusion; they could only focus intently on their own small plot of land.

Look at your nose, and your heart will follow.

Then came another sound—"Thump!"

This time it shouldn't be a teacup, but some unbreakable ornament. The dull thud seemed to strike everyone's hearts, making their heartbeats quicken.

Xiao Heng remained silent, focusing solely on sipping her food.

From tea sets to decorations, to the extremely valuable inkstone on the small official desk, everything fell at Wei Rong's feet.

He did it on purpose.

Wei Rong coldly looked at the 'corpse' at her feet. The imperial carriage was quite spacious, but the scene before her was a mess.

Xiao Heng was merely trying to establish his authority. He made a special trip out of the palace and, in front of her family, threw down a series of things to intimidate her.

It seems they listened to "The Tale of Two Concubines" on their way here.

"clang--!"

Xiao Heng grabbed the bronze mirror and threw it at Wei Rong.

He threw a huge tantrum, but Wei Rong remained completely unmoved. Damn it, she really deserves to die!

He had long known that Wei Rong was an unruly eagle. If she were a wild horse, she could be tamed with reins, but if she were an eagle, her wings would have to be broken!

But she was as stubborn as iron!

Wei Rong turned to the side, dodging the heavy bronze mirror that was coming towards her, and watched helplessly as the mirror smashed a hole in the wooden floor.

"You dare to hide!" Xiao Heng roared, "Is there no law in your land?!"

"Your Majesty," Wei Rong said with a faint sneer, "that's enough."

She's not stupid, nor is she a pushover; there's no reason for her to just stand there and let him vent his anger.

They used the entire Wei family to establish their authority, but in the Wei family's courtyard, there still stands an imperial stone pillar that was bestowed upon them to protect the country.

Moreover, she had just begun to have doubts about the cause of her father's death, so she didn't have much patience for Xiao Heng.

What kind of attitude is that?!

Xiao Heng thought angrily, "Is Wei Rong so confident that she can use the pressure of public opinion to make him punish Shen Mingxiu, and therefore she is so fearless?"

"Well done," Xiao Heng pointed at Wei Rong, her smile somewhat sinister, "Everyone raised by your Wei family is excellent!"

"Your Majesty, this is in front of my Wei residence. Today is the anniversary of my mother's death. Is this how you set an example by showing such disrespect to the Wei family?"