Chapter 417
Chu Ruoyan met his gaze calmly. "Second Brother, do not listen to the nonsense of others. Father resigned of his own accord."
"He wasn't coerced?"
"No."
"He didn't suspect you?"
"Not at all."
Yun Lang stared intently into her eyes, as if trying to discern the truth of every single word.
Finally, his expression relaxed. "I knew it. Yan Zheng isn't that heartless..."
Just as he finished speaking, the palace servants outside heard the commotion and rushed in hurriedly.
"Your Majesty—ah, why is there a strange man here?!" Yin Li shrieked and was about to call for the guards.
Nanny Zhou quickly held him back. "It's Her Majesty's older brother, do not panic!"
Yin Li's eyes widened, unable to recall for a moment when the Duke of Chu ever had such an old son.
Yun Lang's expression suddenly changed. He slammed his palm onto the table with a loud smack. "Resigned of his own accord? He didn't resign earlier or later, but chose to do so right when rumors of maternal relatives interfering in politics are flying everywhere. What a coincidence!"
Everyone was stunned, and even Chu Ruoyan froze.
Hadn't they just...
She reacted extremely fast. Seeing her brother's feigned anger, she immediately said, "Second Brother! I have already explained it to you! Father resigned out of consideration for the late Emperor's grace. It has absolutely nothing to do with the rumors!"
A flash of relief crossed Yun Lang's eyes before he loudly interrogated her again. "Fine, then let me ask you, what is the deal with those palace maids serving by Yan Zheng's side?"
Chu Ruoyan frowned. "You mean those maids who look like me? Pei Ji sent them into the palace, and they have already been dealt with."
"Is that so? I suppose Third Yan told you that?" Yun Lang sneered, reaching out to tap her forehead with his gold-threaded folding fan. "Miaomiao, oh Miaomiao, weren't you quite clever before? Now that you are pregnant, why do you believe everything he says? Think about it, the Hall of Mental Cultivation is his domain. Without his tacit approval, could Pei Ji have shoved people in? He just made up an excuse to brush you off after you found out, and you actually believed him?"
Chu Ruoyan clutched her chest in anger, panting heavily. Nanny Zhou hurriedly said, "Second Young Master, you have misunderstood our Empress and His Majesty. His Majesty truly has not done such a thing!"
Before she could finish, a tremendous force shoved them away.
Yun Lang flicked his long sleeves and threw down a parting sentence. "If you don't believe me, you will suffer for it eventually! Miaomiao, today he dealt with Chu Huaishan; tomorrow it will be Cao Yang, and then you and me. Now that Yan Zheng is the Emperor, he is no longer the man you once knew. If you don't believe it, just wait and see!"
The bewitching figure in red strode away, and Chu Ruoyan immediately headed to the Imperial Study.
Inside the Imperial Study.
Yan Zheng had been reviewing memorials. Upon hearing Meng Yang recount what had happened in the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, he instantly clenched his fists. "Has water gotten into Yun Lang's brain? Shadow, go find a sack, put it over his head, and help him wake up—"
Before he could finish his sentence, the main doors were pushed open, and Chu Ruoyan walked in, supported by Nanny Zhou's hand.
Thus, the words on the tip of his tongue immediately changed: "It is all my fault! It is because I failed to protect the Empress properly that my second brother-in-law misunderstood. Meng Yang, fetch paper and pen. I shall prick my finger and use my blood as ink to personally explain to my second brother-in-law!"
Meng Yang rolled his eyes and didn't move. Sure enough, the Empress heard this as she entered and hurried forward. "Yan Zheng, don't! If you have something to say, just say it properly. Why must there be blood?"
After saying that, she added, "All of you, step down for now."
"Yes."
The Imperial Study was quickly emptied of everyone else.
Yan Zheng carefully supported her to sit on the edge of the couch and asked, "What's wrong? Did Yun Lang come looking for you?"
Chu Ruoyan nodded. Looping her arms around his neck, she whispered the entire incident to him and asked, "Tell me, why would Second Brother do this?"
Yan Zheng furrowed his brows slightly. Thinking of something, he said slowly, "He probably did this to guard against the spy in your palace. Do you remember that time when they framed Meng Yang?"
"Are you saying that the reason we couldn't find any clues that time was because there is a spy by my side?" Chu Ruoyan realized suddenly. Then, a look of worry surfaced between her brows. "But if that's the case, it will be hard to investigate. Although I don't have many personal attendants, counting the ones serving inside the Palace of Earthly Tranquility and those sweeping outside, there are a full hundred people!"
Yan Zheng nodded. "Indeed. Moreover, Yun Lang controls the Baixiao Pavilion, yet even he couldn't find any clues about this person. It shows they are hiding extremely deep. A-Yan, Yun Zihao comes with ill intentions. Do you want to..."
"No!"
Before he could finish his sentence, Chu Ruoyan cut him off. "Yun Zihao is coming for your throne. At such a critical moment, don't even think about sending me away!"
Seeing her resolute attitude, Yan Zheng didn't bring it up again. He just frowned in thought. "Yun Lang has been back in the capital for so long. For him to suddenly pop up and say these things to you, what do you think his intention is?"
Chu Ruoyan recalled her brother's words at the time, pursed her lips, and analyzed, "When he first returned to the capital and didn't come to see me, I thought he was being controlled by Yun Zihao. But looking at it now, it seems more like he has some unspeakable difficulties. Furthermore, every single word he said then was accusing you of suspecting me. Could it be... he was trying to hint that we should cooperate with him and play along with this act?"
"It's possible. Only if you and I are estranged and the court is unstable will Yun Zihao have an opportunity to strike. That scoundrel spreading rumors earlier was also for this purpose. Yun Lang probably wants to beat them at their own game and lure the snake out of its hole."
As soon as Yan Zheng finished speaking, an eager gleam appeared in Chu Ruoyan's eyes. "We can do that! I've never acted in a play like this before!"
The man choked on his words and hurriedly said, "Don't! A-Yan, you are heavily pregnant. If something happens..."
"Would you let anything happen to me?" the little lady asked in return.
Yan Zheng subconsciously replied, "Of course not!"
"Then isn't that enough?" Chu Ruoyan said. She grabbed his hand and said earnestly, "Yan Zheng, as long as Yun Zihao is not eliminated, he remains a grave threat to us. I am only six months along right now and can still help you. But if we wait until it's time for me to give birth, I will become your biggest burden. If Yun Zihao chooses to make his move then—"
The rest of the words didn't need to be said to be understood.
Yan Zheng held her hand back, worry in his eyes. "But doing this, you inevitably will have to suffer some hardships."
The little lady blinked. "Then it all depends on His Majesty's acting skills..."
Late at night, in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
The palace servants waiting outside were all dozing off when suddenly, there was a loud crash.
It sounded like something had been smashed to pieces inside the hall, accompanied by the Empress's harsh shout.
"Yan Zheng, how could you treat me like this? My second brother misunderstood you, and I defended you at every turn. But what about you? You actually suspect my second brother of plotting treason. You've gone too far!"
Nanny Zhou and Yulu jolted, and everyone instantly woke up.
They only heard a cold sneer coming from inside. "Defend? Do my actions require any defense? Rather, it is the Empress—first you had an adoptive father who is a Duke, then an uncle who is the Chief Minister, and now an older brother from the former imperial family has popped up. To think I even vouched for you in front of the court officials, swearing that your Yun family harbored no rebellious intentions. What, can you no longer wait to show your true colors?"
The palace servants looked horrified, and the hairs on Nanny Zhou's body stood on end.
Only one thought filled her mind: Was the tragic precedent of Emperor Jingwen and Empress Duanshu really going to repeat itself?
She looked up at Meng Yang, only to see that the Emperor's number one guard was also full of shock, completely clueless about the situation.
Clang.
The doors to the hall were pulled open, and the Empress, heavily pregnant and with her hair in disarray, stormed out.
Behind her, the Emperor was in a similarly disheveled state, his neck now bearing two fresh scratch marks...
"Yan Zheng!" The Empress halted her steps, turning back to glare at him. Her voice was cold and sharp as she enunciated every word, "Don't you ever forget, you only sit on that throne because of me!!"
Dear readers, I am taking a leave of absence for the first update.