On the way here, she had drawn up a detailed plan with Xiaoyu.
The first step of the plan was to find a way to make the first prince and the Empress lose their power. In this way, the situation of the Lieyun Empire, which had not changed for many years, would become chaotic again.
And the more chaotic, the greater Xiaoyu’s chances of winning the final victory.
Coincidentally, she had bumped into the Empress not long after she arrived.
The pot of blood-stained peonies was naturally delivered to the Empress’s palace.
When the Empress fell ill, what would happen afterwards depended on her and Madame Jingrou’s joint arrangement.
“It does not matter whether I’ve had enough of it really. Back then, if it weren’t for the Empress allying with the other clans to coerce, I would not have sent my newly born child to an unknown place. My child was gone, but they still didn’t let up, forcing me to suffer and leaving my child stranded on the streets. It’s just that, Helan, so what if I have had enough? They even forced His Majesty… As his wife, I have no choice but to accept everything.”
Lin Mengya clenched her fists, which were half hidden in her sleeves. She could see that Madame Jingrou’s hands were not quite right.
“Madam, was your hand ever hurt?”
Madame Jingrou’s body was extremely petite and frail, but her hands were swollen, especially her second and third joints.
Moreover, there were many faded wounds on her hands.
Who knew how many years it had taken for the scars to end up looking like that.
The owner of such a pair of hands must have had to suffer immense pain for it to end up like that!
“Yes, my hands were injured, all thanks to them. I’m fine now. But Helan, what you did this time can damage the reputation of the Empress, but it can’t shake her foundation. The Empress is backed by the first aristocratic family of Lieyun, and the first prince is no fool. Your move is far too risky.”
Madame Jingrou casually brushed over the wounds on her hands. At the end of the day, Madame Jingrou still felt that Lin Mengya’s move was too radical.
With a faint smile, Lin Mengya reached out her hand and gently brushed away the creases on Madame Jingrou’s clothes.
“This time, it’s not just the Empress’s reputation that will be damaged. Back when she was oppressing madam, she did it all behind your back, right?”
Madame Jingrou didn’t understand the meaning behind her words, but she still nodded.
After all, she was from the Xin Family, and she had the protection of the Emperor.
Even when the Empress and the other concubines were torturing her in private, they avoided the eyes and ears of the Emperor and his men. After that, they chose to execute the servants who tortured her in order to shut her and the Emperor up.
If not for the fact that the Emperor was also injured at that time, she would not have let up so easily.
“That’s right. Since the Empress had plotted against you and Xiaoyu back then, we’d better give her a taste of her own medicine this time. Madam, things have changed, and it’s no longer the time when you had to endure everything for Xiaoyu’s sake. Look at the Empress, she would come over with her men and threaten you over a pot of flowers. Can’t you sense their impatience?”
As an outsider, Lin Mengya had a better read on certain things.
The Empress came aggressively, but her reasoning was a little far-fetched.
If she could have lured the Emperor or Xiaoyu here, Madame Jingrou might be convicted of overstepping her boundaries.
Unfortunately, neither the Emperor nor Xiaoyu, were fooled. Plus, Lin Mengya had stepped in, and the Empress stopped then. Thinking of this, it seemed like a joke.
Since they were already sworn enemies, she would not let up so easily. With her shrewdness, either she wanted to humiliate madam, or it could only mean that the Empress was eager to get rid of Madame Jingrou.
For that reason, the Empress resorted to unscrupulous means and excuses. She even used a pot of peonies as an excuse to flare up.
Since she was so shortsighted and impatient, why couldn’t they make use of it?
“Your words actually remind me. I’m beginning to recall a lot of things. What you said makes sense, but we can’t rush it. Ningqiu, you and Helan will follow me to the Linqiu Pavilion. We’ll go and see how the Empress is doing.”
“Okay.”
Following Madam Jingrou, they walked towards the Empress’s Linqiu Pavilion.
Along the way, there were all kinds of people hurrying to and fro along this road.
It should be because of the Empress’s illness.
With Madame Jingrou’s deliberate encouragement, the entire palace was head over heels tending to the Empress.
Hence, many other things were delayed.
But the Empress was already on the verge of death. Who would care about other affairs?
The more importance people attached to the Empress’s condition, the more complex the illness seemed. If she recovered all of a sudden, who knew what kind of rumors would spread?
“Madam, let’s go back.”
Not far away, Ningqiu whispered.
Lin Mengya, who was standing behind Madame Jingrou, looked in the direction of the Linqiu Pavilion.
Word leaked out that Madame Jingrou was coming, so many concubines who were close to the Empress all stood at the door, looking at the delicate and feeble Madame Jingrou covetously.
They glared at her as if they were going to tear her apart.
“It doesn’t matter. The Empress’s health is more important.”
She looked nervous and forced a smile, but those concubines seemed more arrogant and disdainful.
They were just a group of crows who stood behind the Empress, chirping. They might look arrogant now, but when the Empress’s day came, they might be the first ones to run.
“Well, if it isn’t Madame Jingrou! What, it’s not enough that the Empress is bedridden sick because of you? Are you here to show off too?”
Before Madam Jingrou could say anything, a nobody jumped out of the crowd.
Lin Mengya glanced at the girl and realized that she was not dressed like a noble, save for a hairpin in her hair, which looked quite opulent.
It seemed that the Empress was good at winning people’s hearts.
“Preposterous! Madam, there’s no need to bicker with Beauty Cheng. She’s just worried for the Empress. So it’s just acting out of anxiety.”
A soft voice sounded, and then a hint of blue appeared before Lin Mengya.
The girl was beautiful. Although she was not as good-looking as Madame Jingrou and also lacking a bit in the temperament department, there were similarities between them.
She was like a poor man’s version of Madame Jingrou.
Ningqiu, who was beside her, suddenly tugged on her sleeve. Lin Mengya turned around, only to see Ningqiu pursing her lips in disdain.
Immediately, Lin Mengya realized that this woman must be Madame Hui, who was brought into the palace by Madame Jingrou and then betrayed her.
As expected of Madame Jingrou’s servants. Her every gesture was somewhat similar to that of the previous master.
It was apparent that the reason she was able to win the Emperor’s favor was because of her similarity to Madame Jingrou.
“It doesn’t matter. I just came to see the Empress. I don’t care about these things.”
From the moment Madame Hui appeared, the expression on Madame Jingrou’s face was complicated.
However, Madame Hui did not hesitate to meet Madame Jingrou’s eyes.
She had no respect for Madame Jingrou at all.
Lin Mengya shook her head in her heart. Madame Jingrou was not as soft and timid as she appeared to be.
The fact that she was willing to make such an enormous sacrifice for her son was sufficient to show how domineering Madame Jingrou was.
No one knew if Madam Jingrou was concealing herself too deeply or if she was worried about something.
That even when she saw the traitor, she would appear feeble and delicate, which made Lin Mengya feel a little helpless.
The more she acted like this, the more people looked down on and despised her.
She believed that Madame Jingrou understood this principle. If she wanted to get rid of her opponents one by one in the palace, it was impossible for her to pretend to be pitiful.
“Of course, your magnanimity is not something we can compare with. The Empress is resting in the bedroom. This way, please, Madam.”
When Madame Hui arrived, everyone quieted down.
It was obvious that her position was lower than Madame Jingrou’s, but everyone seemed to listen to her.
It was apparent that she was the owner of the palace, and that she was here to embarrass Madame Jingrou.
Walking into the Linqiu Pavilion, which was full of richly ornamented beams and painted rafters. It looked extremely luxurious.
However, although this place was magnificent, it lacked the otherworldly atmosphere of the Fengyu Court.
Madame Hui maintained her position as the host and walked side by side with Madame Jingrou.
However, Lin Mengya’s sharp ears could hear their soft whispers accurately.
“Sister, are you satisfied now? In fact, you’ve always been like this, and I’ve known it for a long time. You never let go of anything that belongs to me. In the past, it was the Emperor. Now, you see that I’m on good terms with the Empress, so you just can’t help but mess it up, can you? And you did it so discreetly. I am really in awe.”
These words had revealed a lot of information.
However, Lin Mengya was a little surprised by what she meant.
Was it another drama where the lady from noble stock took advantage of her identity to seize her love?
After thinking about it, she brushed the idea aside. The Emperor seemed to be extremely domineering and determined.
If the miss really had disguised herself, or if she’d used other means to assume the identity of a maid, the Emperor probably wouldn’t have treasured Madame Jingrou so much.
There was clearly affection in his eyes, but he still had to forcibly restrain it.
As an outsider, she naturally did not know what was really going on.
Sure enough, when Madame Jingrou heard these words, her body stiffened.
After glancing at Madame Hui gloomily, she didn’t say anything more.
It seemed that Madam Hui had the upper hand in this confrontation, so she smiled sarcastically and returned to her usual gentle and elegant self.
It seemed that Lin Mengya had to undo the knot in Madame Jingrou’s heart before she would stop enduring everything.
Outside the sleeping chamber of the Linqiu Pavilion, almost all the medical officials in the palace were gathered here.
Lin Mengya casually glanced around, but did not find the Emperor, or the presence of the seemingly first prince.
