Chapter 1593: Sensing a vague malice

Heavenly Prison!

The side room door opened from the inside.

Imperial Consort Xiao covered half her face with a handkerchief, leaving with tear stains and looking heartbroken. She cried uncontrollably, and it was only with the support of eunuchs and palace maids that she could barely board the carriage.

Prince Ning followed closely behind, his expression also very heavy.

He greeted the Ministry of Justice officials, thanked them, and boarded the carriage.

The carriage started, and the mother and son left the Heavenly Prison.

The Ministry of Justice officials also left one after another.

Chen Guanlou walked into the side room. Xiao Changsheng was sitting in his seat, looking exhausted, and hadn't moved.

He sensed an object on the other man—an external object—but he didn't make a scene.

"Official Xiao, the visit is over; it's time to return to the cell."

Xiao Changsheng gave a grunt of acknowledgment, stood up, his expression as usual. "Please lead the way!"

"How much longer can I live?" Xiao Changsheng asked first after returning to the cell.

"That depends on you, not me." Chen Guanlou said solemnly: "The Ministry of Justice gave a strict order not to let you die. As the Jiang Jiang Yucheng of the Heavenly Prison, I naturally have to follow the instructions from above."

"In other words, I will remain ill, but I won't die."

"You're not wrong to understand it that way." Chen Guanlou admitted generously.

"Are you that eager for me to die?"

He couldn't figure it out.

"It's not that I'm eager for you to die; it's that everyone outside is eager for you to die. Only the one in the palace is eager for you to live—to live a life worse than death. Official Xiao, don't go astray and confuse right from wrong."

"Many thanks for the reminder, Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen; I will keep it in mind."

Xiao Changsheng lay back on the bed board.

Being ill and physically weak, he didn't have the extra energy to argue.

Chen Guanlou instructed the prison guards to take good care of him, then turned and left the Jia-grade prison.

On the surface, Emperor Taixing's patience was getting better and better. Only those familiar with him knew that the anger pent up in his heart was about to explode.

The great eunuch Liu Shun stepped forward to report the information submitted by the Brocade Uniform Guard.

Emperor Taixing made full use of the resources in his hands, using the Brocade Uniform Guard as his eyes and ears, reporting every day what the important officials of the imperial court were doing, who they were meeting, and what specific words they were saying.

If they couldn't find out the specific content of the conversation, they had to record their behavior and actions in the file.

Emperor Taixing looked at the report and furrowed his brows. "Xie Changling met with the Imperial Father-in-law and chatted about the weather for two sentences?"

"That is how the Brocade Uniform Guard recorded it." Liu Shun said cautiously.

Emperor Taixing didn't believe it. "They just chatted about the weather and nothing else? What about the rest? Why isn't it recorded?"

"There is more. Please look, Majesty; there is nothing abnormal written."

"A bunch of trash! Xie Changling and Chen Guanfu—when these two people meet, how could they just chat about the weather? The content of the chat must contain other meanings."

Liu Shun wondered if the Emperor was overthinking it.

But he didn't dare to say it.

He was afraid of touching the Emperor's reverse scale and becoming cannon fodder.

"I will urge the Brocade Uniform Guard to continue investigating."

"Wait!" Emperor Taixing rubbed his brows, his mood visibly unpleasant.

"Has the Empress seen any Chen family members recently?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, no. Since the Empress entered the palace, she has summoned the Marquis's mansion's heir's wife, summoned Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen Guanlou of the Heavenly Prison, and summoned several noble ladies. No abnormalities were found."

"Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen Guanlou of the Heavenly Prison?" Emperor Taixing furrowed his brows. "The only man?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the Empress summoned Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen Guanlou of the Heavenly Prison during the few days after Your Majesty ascended the throne; he is indeed the only man among the many people the Empress has met."

"What is the story with this Chen Guanlou?"

"Does Your Majesty remember that on the night the late Emperor passed away, he summoned the Heavenly Prison medical official into the palace? The person who accompanied the medical official into the palace at that time was this Chen Guanlou. He is a clansman of the Marquis's mansion who has gone beyond the five degrees of mourning, a Ninth-Rank warrior, and has been working in the Heavenly Prison since he was eighteen. It is said that this person acts in an unconventional way, does not respect the rules, and does things entirely according to his own preferences. The Marquis's mansion has tried to seek an official position for him several times, but he has refused. In short, he is a person with a somewhat eccentric temperament."

"Anything else?"

"I will arrange for people to investigate in detail later." Liu Shun lowered his head to admit his mistake; not investigating the people close to the Empress deeply enough was a huge mistake.

"A person who can make the Empress anxious to summon him as soon as she enters the palace is definitely not as ordinary as you say. The Empress doesn't see the Imperial Father-in-law, but insists on seeing a clansman uncle beyond the five degrees of mourning; there must be some reason for this. Investigate carefully."

"Yes!" Liu Shun silently raised Chen Guanlou's status by several levels in his heart. He had ignored him before, but he wouldn't make a similar mistake in the future.

Perhaps he could ask the old people in the palace.

Wang Defa was living in retirement in the capital; he would meet this person tomorrow.

"Does the Brocade Uniform Guard need a hint?" Liu Shun asked cautiously.

Emperor Taixing snorted coldly. "Tell Yang De-guang to make sure he finds out what Xie Changling and Chen Guanfu are doing. These two people couldn't have met to chat about the weather for no reason. I would rather believe they met to target each other than believe they could calmly chat about the weather."

It had to be said that Emperor Taixing was very sharp.

Although he was a trapped beast, a trapped beast also had edges. The sharpness of an Emperor made his subconscious conclude that the meeting between the two wasn't simple and that they were definitely plotting something.

This feeling of knowing the other party was plotting and calculating, but not knowing what exactly they were plotting, was truly terrible.

The anger in his heart accumulated like a mountain and would explode one day, blowing everyone away.

"Is Your Majesty tired? Should I summon a concubine to serve you?" Liu Shun suggested.

Emperor Taixing pondered for a while. "No need. I want to go to the harem!"

Thank heavens!

Liu Shun beamed with joy.

The Emperor hadn't set foot in the harem for several days; today, the Emperor finally thought it through.

Liu Shun waved his hand, and his god-sons hurried down to make preparations.

Originally, he wanted to take a look at Empress Chen in the Fengzao Palace, but halfway there, he was intercepted by a certain charming concubine. Emperor Taixing decisively threw Empress Chen to the back of his mind and went to the concubine's palace to rest.

Empress Chen learned the news immediately, sneered, and said nothing.

She was now more concerned about the bellies of the concubines in the harem.

The concubines in the harem had been getting pregnant one after another; in the first two months, they had already given birth to one boy and one girl. In the next few months, three more children were about to be born.

By next year, she believed there would be even more children born.

After these concubines became pregnant, they were safe and sound, and all could successfully give birth to children. Empress Dowager Sun was exceptionally satisfied with this, repeatedly saying that Empress Chen was very competent, not jealous, did not act ruthlessly to get rid of the children in the concubines' bellies, and could also protect the pregnant concubines well, not allowing others to make a move.

She could be called a model Empress.

Empress Dowager Sun told Empress Chen, "As an Empress, you must be magnanimous and tolerant. Think for the Emperor. Let the Emperor spread his branches and leaves as early as possible! You don't have to worry about those children surpassing the eldest prince. Your child will always be the legitimate eldest son; no one is as noble as him! Not to mention there is the Marquis's mansion to help. Tell me, which concubine's maternal clan in the harem can surpass the Marquis's mansion?"

Empress Chen was humble for a few sentences.

She couldn't talk to Empress Dowager Sun.

Empress Dowager Sun had been stifled for too long, from the Eastern Palace all the way to the harem, and her temperament had long since changed. She had become mean, calculating, sinister, and vicious...

Empress Chen could even sense a vague malice from Empress Dowager Sun's actions at certain moments.

It was definitely not an illusion!

She could be certain that Empress Dowager Sun didn't like her!

With the concubines in the harem getting pregnant and giving birth one after another, Empress Dowager Sun was watching her joke. ===== CHAPTER 1594 =====