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Empress Zhu, like a victorious rooster, stood proud and arrogant, her expression seeming to say, "Concubine Zhen, caught you red-handed, didn\'t I? This time you\'re done for."

Jiang Xinyue\'s body trembled slightly, as if startled, which made the emperor even more displeased.

Those loving peach blossom eyes were now filled with frost as he raised his gaze to Empress Zhu: "Empress, are you not being too impertinent in my presence? Who taught you to dare throw things in front of me?"

Empress Zhu immediately apologized: "I was too flustered and it slipped from my hand, Your Majesty. Please forgive me."

In her heart, however, she thought, it\'s only natural for the emperor to hate her for a short while, since she had found a reason to execute Concubine Zhen when the emperor favored her most.

Whether she gained favor or not, what did it matter if she was brazen just this once?

With time, even the deepest feelings would fade, and the most intense hatred would dissipate. She would still be his empress.

"What is this?"

"What is it? Your Majesty, why don\'t you open it and see for yourself?"

Empress Zhu gave Yang\'er a knowing look, and Yang\'er immediately knelt before the emperor: "In response to Your Majesty, this slave is Yang\'er, a menial maid from Hexi Palace. It was I... I who reported Concubine Zhen to the Empress. This slave accidentally saw Xi Que, who serves Concubine Zhen, carrying this box. Out of curiosity, I secretly looked inside and saw voodoo dolls of Your Majesty and the Empress, pierced with steel needles. Concubine Zhen was cursing Your Majesty and the Empress. I was scared, fearing that Your Majesty and the Empress might really be cursed, so... so I mustered the courage to report to the Empress."

"Please forgive this slave, Your Majesty. I truly didn\'t mean to betray Concubine Zhen. I just didn\'t want to see Concubine Zhen continue to make mistakes."

"What are you talking about?" Xi Que glared at her. "You... how dare you speak such nonsense? When have I ever carried voodoo dolls? I\'ve never even seen this box before. Who bribed you? How much silver did they give you to frame Concubine Zhen?"

"This slave did not!" Yang\'er cried out loudly. "Every word this slave says is true. If Your Majesty doesn\'t believe me, feel free to open the box and see. Then you\'ll know whether this slave is lying or not."

That medium-sized wooden box seemed to contain something extraordinary. Yes, it held Concubine Zhen\'s fate and life.

The Xuanwu Emperor\'s fingers turned white from gripping so tightly. He wanted to look but dared not.

It wasn\'t for any other reason...

He feared it might indeed be something she had made in anger during their recent argument.

If it truly was her doing, he couldn\'t open this box.

The Empress and Consort Liang were watching like hawks. If they found out, the entire court and harem would know. Even if he wanted to protect Jiang Xinyue, he would be drowned by their accusations.

He knew he had already lost his head over this woman, but his first reaction wasn\'t how to punish Jiang Xinyue, but how to refuse opening this box, then send away the Empress and Consort Liang so he could find a way to burn it and deny everything.

How could Concubine Zhen have any ill intentions?

She surely didn\'t mean it.

Things done in anger shouldn\'t be held against someone.

"Your Majesty, you\'re not thinking of how to exonerate Concubine Zhen, are you?"

This is why they say Empress Zhu was the Xuanwu Emperor\'s wife from the beginning.

She understood the emperor better than anyone.

The emperor remained silent with a grim face. Empress Zhu pressed on aggressively: "Your Majesty, please don\'t entertain such unrealistic thoughts. Before I came, I had already notified all the consorts in the harem to wait at Hexi Palace. By now, there should be a crowd outside waiting for you to deal with Concubine Zhen!"

Jiang Xinyue\'s chambers were already crowded with harem consorts. They listened to the arguments coming from the inner room, not daring to make a sound.

Heaven knows, they didn\'t come to watch these celestial beings – the Emperor, Empress, Consort Liang, and Concubine Zhen – fight. Someone had gone to their palaces saying Concubine Zhen was practicing witchcraft in the palace, and the Emperor wanted to punish her. All the harem members were summoned to witness it as a warning not to make mistakes.

The Emperor truly favored Concubine Zhen, to the point of tolerating witchcraft and even trying to clear her name, pretending nothing had happened.

"Pfft!"

A light laugh sounded strangely inappropriate in the tense atmosphere, but surprisingly, it came from Concubine Zhen herself?

Shouldn\'t she be crying and begging for mercy?

"What are you laughing at?" Consort Liang covered her injured face. "What are you laughing at?"

"This concubine is laughing at Empress and sister Consort Liang!" Jiang Xinyue\'s eyes crinkled with laughter. "Before this concubine entered the palace, my mother warned me that the women in the palace were deeply scheming, and told me to be careful and not easily call others \'sister.\' At first, I didn\'t believe it. Since entering the palace, Empress, sister Consort Liang, and sister Consort De have all been very kind to me, and I\'ve kept to my place, never conflicting with any of you. Later, when I gained His Majesty\'s favor, you, Consort Liang, suddenly turned on me, making things difficult at every turn. And now the Empress rushes to condemn me without even opening the box. It truly breaks this concubine\'s heart!"

Empress Zhu frowned, her eyes twitching uncontrollably as an ominous feeling washed over her. She reached out to take the box from the table, but the Xuanwu Emperor pushed her away, grasping the box himself. He finally lifted its mysterious "veil."

"Hiss—"

The sight inside the box made the Xuanwu Emperor draw in a sharp breath.

He stared wide-eyed at the dolls inside, then at Jiang Xinyue who was fighting back tears. A tremendous surge of anger erupted in his heart like a tsunami.

Empress Zhu stammered: "Your Majesty, inside..."

"Slap!"

"Ah!"

A forceful slap, loaded with all his pent-up rage, struck Empress Zhu\'s face, sending her flying backward.

That elegant and delicate face swelled up at an alarming rate, with blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

Her mind was buzzing, and the ear on the side that was struck seemed to have gone deaf.

After a while, she managed to stand up with the help of others and looked at the two voodoo dolls the emperor had thrown on the ground. "How... how can this be?"

One of the dolls was indeed the emperor, riddled with large steel needles and small silver needles. The silver needles pierced the cloth doll from head to toe, presenting a chilling sight.

But the other doll was clearly not the empress. The birth date... the birth date was Jiang Xinyue\'s!

That doll\'s face was smeared with black dog blood, emitting a foul odor. Its hair was a tangled mess, and two large steel needles pierced its protruding belly, aimed at Concubine Zhen\'s womb.

Consort Liang was also terrified. She abruptly turned to look at Yang\'er.

The little palace maid called Yang\'er was so frightened she was nearly unconscious. Jiang Xinyue thought the girl\'s kneeling body was shaking as if she had Parkinson\'s disease.