Chapter 828

Empress Jian shuddered involuntarily at the thunderclap that sounded outside the palace, lifted her head and glanced at her son opposite her; the face of Dakang Crown Prince Long Ting-sheng seemed even paler and uglier than hers. At that moment, Long Ting-sheng happened to be raising his head to look at his mother, pursed his lips and said: 'Mother…'

Empress Jian reached out and grasped her son's large hand; it was icy cold to the touch, and in truth she felt no different—she could not sense any warmth in herself either. She whispered, 'It's all right… nothing will happen…,' as if comforting Long Ting-sheng, though really she was comforting herself.

Long Ting-sheng said, 'Mother, I have a feeling something major has happened in the palace.' They had been under house arrest here for a full seven days; during those seven days all the palace maids and eunuchs of the Palace of Fragrant Peace had been replaced, and they, mother and son, were not allowed to step outside the Palace of Fragrant Peace's bounds even a step. He could no longer act as regent, and Empress Jian naturally could not rule from behind the curtain.

Empress Jian said, 'I am truly foolish to have believed the lies of that traitorous eunuch Ji Feihua; he harbors wolfish ambitions, aiming solely at our Long clan's realm, and we have fallen to this state entirely because of me.'

'Mother, there's no need for self-reproach; today's situation is not something you could change. If it weren't for the child, you wouldn't have allied with him. I only blame the child for not heeding the words of that girl Qiqi; now we have fallen victim to her, and regret comes too late.'

Upon mentioning Qiqi, Empress Jian's anger flared; she gritted her teeth and said, 'That wretched girl is truly vicious—when she went to visit the Retired Emperor, she somehow obtained something from him and then framed you.'

A bitter smile touched Long Ting-sheng's lips; his carelessness toward his sister Qiqi was one reason, another being that he himself harbored ambitions and refused to remain forever a puppet of Ji Feihua; the Imperial Seal mentioned by Qiqi had indeed ignited hope in his heart. Yet he still could not fathom why Qiqi would scheme against him. He whispered, 'My death is of little consequence; I only wish not to implicate Mother.'

Hearing Long Ting-sheng's words, Empress Jian felt a surge of emotion; she patted her son's shoulder and said, 'My son, things have not yet reached the worst point; in my view, Ji Feihua will not yet move against us.'

Long Ting-sheng said, 'What difference is there between living like this and being dead?'

Empress Jian seized his arm and said, 'Ting-sheng, you must never utter such defeatist words. As long as the green hills remain, we need not fear lack of firewood; endure a moment's anger and later there will be a day to raise our brows and breathe freely. That traitorous eunuch dares not lightly act against you, for he wishes to silence the world's murmurs; if we have enough patience, we need not fear a lack of opportunity.' In truth she understood that, given the present circumstances, staging a comeback was nearly impossible—take this Palace of Fragrant Peace: inside and out, all its eunuchs and maids had been replaced with strangers. She could not even name them, and these people never spoke of what happened outside; their sole purpose was to monitor her and her son.

Long Ting-sheng nodded and said, 'Mother, rest assured, I can hold out…'

Suddenly a report came from outside: 'The Yongyang Princess has arrived!'

Empress Jian and Long Ting-sheng both started at the news. Isn't the Yongyang Princess Qiqi? She wasn't already placed under house arrest by Ji Feihua? How could she suddenly appear in the Palace of Fragrant Peace?

Qiqi did not come alone; five eunuchs followed her, their leader being Li Yan, one of Ji Feihua's left and right hands.

Empress Jian's first thought was that Li Yan had escorted her over, perhaps to confront her son. But she immediately noticed that Qiqi's attire was splendid, her expression cold and composed. Li Yan walked beside her yet showed extreme respect, and she instantly felt something was amiss.

Upon entering the inner chambers, Qiqi unfastened her black cloak, and Li Yan respectfully took it from her.

Long Ting-sheng also sensed that the scene before him was extremely strange. He whispered, 'Qiqi… was it… Eunuch Ji who let you out?'

Qiqi ignored him; a eunuch brought a chair and invited her to sit. After she sat down, she took out a handkerchief to wipe the rain from her lovely face, her beautiful eyes fixed on Jian Yue-ning as she said, 'Jian Yue-ning, I have come today with a few questions for you.'

Empress Jian's phoenix eyes widened, her face a mix of fury and shock; Jian Yue-ning was her boudoir name, and in the inner chambers no one but the Emperor dared address her by name directly—this girl was incredibly rude, utterly arrogant.

Empress Jian snapped, 'Impudent! You girl simply have no respect for your elders!'

Qiqi sighed and waved her hand.

Li Yan strode over, raised his hand, and dealt Empress Jian a hard slap across the face; the blows were both forceful and loud, making her cry out and collapse to the ground.

Seeing his mother struck, Long Ting-sheng shouted and lunged at Li Yan, but two eunuchs immediately intercepted him, each grabbing an arm and twisting them behind his back to slam him to the ground. He roared, 'Qiqi, you're mad—you actually had someone beat Mother!'

Qiqi coldly replied, 'She is your mother, but not mine.'

Empress Jian's hair disheveled, she clutched her swollen cheek, gritted her teeth and hissed, 'Wench, you dare strike this palace—insubordinate! You don't want to live…'

Qiqi gave a glance; Li Yan seized Empress Jian's hair and lifted her from the ground, then raised his hand and struck her left and right in succession, delivering six slaps that left her cheeks badly swollen, her lips split and bleeding, her screams unceasing.

Long Ting-sheng's eyes nearly burst from their sockets; strained under the two eunuchs' relentless hold, he bellowed, 'Release my mother, release my mother…'

Qiqi waved her hand, signaling Li Yan to stop, then curled her finger; Li Yan hauled Empress Jian over to stand before her.

Qiqi bent down, her beautiful eyes fixed on Empress Jian's disheveled visage, and softly asked, 'You aren't called Jian Yue-ning, are you?'

Fear flickered in Empress Jian's eyes; she raised her right hand to wipe the blood from her lip corner and trembled, 'What exactly do you want?' She no longer dared to insult Qiqi, even if Qiqi addressed her by name directly, she would not dare to protest in the slightest.

Qiqi said, 'To rise as mistress of the harem and become queen of the phoenixes certainly isn't the act of a fool; if you understand the times, I won't make things difficult for you.' She sat up straight, observing her cold expression and lofty aura—she was no longer the mere teenage girl she had just become.

Empress Jian was utterly shaken by her aura, her voice trembling as she asked, 'What do you wish to ask?'

Qiqi asked, 'Did you put poison in my father emperor's food and drink?'

Empress Jian gasped in horror, her voice shaking, 'No! He is my husband; how could I harm him?'

Qiqi smiled thinly, 'He is not solely your husband. My father emperor had originally intended to appoint my third elder brother, Long Tingzhen, as crown prince of Dakang; you, knowing this would threaten your future status, and desiring that your own biological son inherit the great line, decided to take a risky route and poison my father emperor.' The smile on Qiqi's face vanished instantly, her beautiful eyes flashing a cold, knife‑like light.

Empress Jian shouted, 'You besmirch my purity. I am the Empress of Dakang, yet you have had people strike me, and now you accuse me of plotting to murder the Emperor—is there any heaven‑sent justice? Is there any royal law?'

Qiqi said, 'There is heavenly justice, but it never lies on your side; there is royal law, and according to it you should have been sliced to death by a thousand knives. If there is no evidence, do you think I would have come to see you? Wench! Remember this: from now on you are no longer an empress at all, you need not keep calling yourself this palace, and you can even poison your own husband. What evil deed could you not commit?'

Upon hearing this, Empress Jian froze, stunned, and stammered, 'What are you saying? What are you saying? The Emperor… he…'

Qiqi gave a cold snort, 'People like you won't speak the truth unless beaten; you killed my father emperor and now you deny it?'

Only now did Empress Jian accept the fact that Long Yelin was dead; tears streamed down her face as she whispered, 'The Emperor has passed? The Emperor has passed?' Although she had once personally poisoned Long Yelin, after decades of marriage the news of his demise plunged her into overwhelming grief.

Long Ting-sheng bellowed, 'Qiqi, don't frame my mother—you are the one who killed my father emperor; you must have colluded with Ji Feihua to murder him. I never imagined someone so young could harbor such a vicious heart!'

Qiqi turned her gaze to Long Ting-sheng: 'Ji Feihua is already dead. With whom am I alleged to have colluded? Royal brother, though we are siblings, I cannot forgive you for the crime of patricide.'

Long Ting-sheng gritted his teeth and said, 'Qiqi, from the start this has been your plot; you deliberately designed it to harm me, that wax pellet was yours to give me, and you had long been in league with the Retired Emperor, using the wax pellet to draw Ji Feihua's attention and make him suspicious of us…'

Qiqi smiled, 'At last you've had a flash of insight—not easy at all. Since you've figured all this out, tell me how you conspired with that wretch to murder the father emperor.'

Long Ting-sheng roared, 'You are the one who killed the father emperor!'

Qiqi said, 'Break his left leg!'

Immediately two eunuchs approached, seized Long Ting-sheng's left leg; one pressed his knee against Ting-sheng's knee joint and jerked it sideways, producing a crack—his left leg was snapped cleanly at the knee. Ting-sheng cried out in pain and promptly lost consciousness.

Qiqi's delicate pretty face showed not the slightest flicker of emotion.

Seeing her son subjected to such torment, which caused her even greater anguish than her own injuries, Empress Jian screamed hoarsely, 'Do not hurt Ting-sheng; he is your royal brother, he is your royal brother…'

Qiqi sighed, 'When you harmed my mother, did you ever consider how her daughter would feel?'

Empress Jian shook her head desperately, 'I didn't do it… I didn't do it…'

Qiqi said, 'Whatever happened in the past, I have already investigated it thoroughly; now I ask you not to seek confirmation, but only to hear you admit it yourself—if you refuse, I will make you watch your own biological son suffer endless torment before your eyes.'

Empress Jian, tears streaming down her face, said, 'Qiqi, if you hate me, come at me directly; Ting-sheng is your eldest royal brother, and among your siblings he has always been the one who doted on you most—how could you have forgotten all his kindness toward you?'

Qiqi glanced indifferently at the unconscious Long Ting-sheng lying on the ground and remarked, 'Past events—who would care about them anymore?'

Four more uploaded, I just threw together a **Stonesquid hoping everyone pays more attention; today we've already done four more, there are five hours left until midnight, I don't know if a miracle will happen, can we break three hundred votes, Zhangyu chapter five will definitely be writable! Let's see whether the brothers will fill the votes first or Zhangyu will finish writing first! (To be continued~^~)