Chapter 640   Protect the Emperor, Quick, Protect the Emperor!

Some said the Emperor found a lady that resembled Second Young Lady Hua to frame Prince Yi.

Some said Honored Consort Xia was only a mysterious figure because the Emperor had wronged his younger brother.

Some said Honored Consort Xia colluded with the Emperor to frame Prince Yi all those years ago and steal the throne that was supposedly his...

Regardless, it became an undeniable fact that Honored Consort Xia was once Second Young Lady Hua.

The rumor emerged from Lord Guardian’s Manor, traveled throughout the capital, and then made its way out toward Annan...

The Emperor was furious! Outraged!

He had consumed a small amount of medicinal powder, enough to fake his poisoning. His body wasn’t all that healthy lately, so he wouldn’t dare to take too much poison. Little did he expect there would be such a change in the situation.

He was lying in his residence when it happened, looking like he had been poisoned, with a handful of imperial physicians serving him and prescribing medicine. With so many witnesses at Lord Guardian’s Manor and Honored Consort Ya’s discovery, Ao Chenyi would have no room to argue his innocence. Moreover, he knew his brother’s temper well. Ao Chenyi wouldn’t bother explaining himself to a bunch of women.

By the time the poison in his body kicked in, Ao Chenyi would no longer be able to explain even if he wanted to.

This was the best time to remove Ao Chenyi that he could think of. Annan was in chaos and yet, most of the military power was in Ao Chenyi’s hands. It was insufficient to deal with Annan with his strength alone, but he was afraid to send Ao Chenyi for fear of increasing the latter’s power.

Moreover, the older he grew, the more he felt weak and helpless. He felt as if his strength couldn’t keep up with his will. Back then, he had fought many battles alongside the late Emperor and received many injuries. It didn’t feel like much when he was young but he was increasingly aware of his powerlessness. Therefore, he must remove Ao Chenyi no matter what.

Even though his three sons were capable, they weren’t as experienced as Ao Chenyi.

Thus, he decided to remove Ao Chenyi while he was still alive. He must pass the throne to one of his sons. Back then, he had worked with the Empress Dowager, Lord Peace’s Manor, and Grand Tutor Ya’s Manor and spared no effort in murdering the three women from Annan and framing Ao Chenyi. It was all for the sake of the throne.

He would never allow the throne to return to Ao Chenyi again.

Hua Yueying had come to him on her own accord back then. It went without saying that he savored her without much consideration. He was just fooling around with her, after all. Once Ao Chenyi was dead and he was sick of her, the only thing that awaited her was death. He would never let anyone find out that Hua Yueying had abandoned Ao Chenyi to serve him.

Who would have thought that Ao Chenyi would be so lucky to stay alive!

Not only did Ao Chenyi survive, but the late Emperor even named him the Crown Prince before the former died. He couldn’t accept this, so he kept Hua Yueying as his hidden trump card. He knew he could use her to deal with Ao Chenyi one day.

Thus, Hua Yueying was given the title of Honored Consort Xia and became the most mysterious and favored consort in the palace. Of course, this was for the sake of pushing her out at the most critical moment.

It went without saying that he wouldn’t allow her to bear children. She was just a chess piece. She could receive his favor, but never his children.

Like the Empress, she was allowed to stay at the top of the palace harem and become his Empress. But he would never allow her family to get strong enough to threaten his heir. Moreover, she was also a relative of the Lord Peace’s Manor. The powerful and tricky Empress Dowager was as good as his nightmare. That woman was hell-bent on monopolizing power and pushed the Lord Peace’s Manor so high up that it was more powerful than the imperial family. It was unbearable.

Therefore, he plotted her death. So what if the Empress Dowager had once wholeheartedly helped him ascend to the throne? He had never wanted to become a puppet emperor.

His target used to be Empress Dowager, but he was concentrating all of his efforts on removing Ao Chenyi at the moment. His opportunity had finally come. Honored Consort Xia was getting restless. He had always known the type of person she was. She was a fence-sitter who would support whichever side that could give her honor and wealth.

Ao Chenyi was rising in power at the moment. Becoming Princess Yi was, of course, a better prospect than remaining a little-known Honored Consort Xia. Hua Yueying would surely take action.

Thus, he arranged for those stolen private letters as well as mysterious poison powder to be put inside Honored Consort Xia’s package. He used her to push the blame onto Ao Chenyi. It was a clever, seamless plan. As for Honored Consort Xia, well, he would deal with her once she returned to the palace. Nobody would discover her true identity.

Once he removed Ao Chenyi, he would be able to focus on dealing with Annan and declaring war against them. Once war broke out, who would care if Ao Chenyi was dead or alive? The whole nation would be in his hands once the war was over and he would be able to pass the throne to anyone he liked. Nobody would be able to say a word in protest.

That was what he thought until he saw Honored Consort Xia entering the palace without being gagged and Honored Consort Ya walking in stiffly, looking like she had lost her soul. Behind them was a bunch of old ministers and their wives. By the time they were all inside the palace, he could only stare in shock.

“What... What’s the matter with you all?” he asked, raising a trembling hand. He didn’t just look weak lying on his sickbed; he looked like he was on the verge of death.

“Your Majesty, Honored Consort Xia is my former fiancee, Second Young Lady Hua. You have met her before. Can you tell me how she became your Honored Consort Xia?”

Ao Chenyi and Ning Xueyan were the last to enter the palace. After a simple salute to the Emperor, he questioned the former with a neutral expression.

“Your Majesty, you forced me to follow you back then, you forced me to leave Prince Yi, and yet... I’m still Prince Yi’s fiancee. For so many years I’ve been in the palace, he’s still the only one that I long for. Prince Yi and I were forcefully broken up!” Honored Consort Xia knelt on the ground and wailed at the perfect timing.

On her way here, she came to understand that she had likely fallen for the Emperor’s trap. It went without saying that she would push all the blame on him if only to survive and vent her anger. She also explained why she would secretly meet Ao Chenyi. She couldn’t give up on him because they were forcefully separated.

Under such circumstances, she might not end up dying. She was just a weak woman, after all. How could she have defied the most powerful prince at that time?

However, if she was charged with murder, she and the entire Hua Manor would perish without a doubt. She understood this, so she became determined. She turned all of her fear of the Emperor into agitation and revealed the truth in front of everyone.

If she failed to tell the truth in front of everyone, she would still die in the end.

The Emperor didn’t expect to see such a big change in the situation. Even Honored Consort Xia was brave enough to target him in front of everyone. In a hoarse voice, he rebuked angrily, “Non... Nonsense...”

His body was frail in the first place. He consumed very little poison, but the effects were still kicking in. In other words, part of the poison had entered his bloodstream. It wasn’t a strong poison, so he would only need to recuperate for a few days. However, with so much anger building up in him, he could feel his vision darkening.

“You dare to murder me. Servants, take this wench away...”

He scolded while struggling to breathe.

“Your Majesty, are you trying to shut me up by killing me? How would I dare to murder you? What can I murder you with? With this?” Seeing that the Emperor was trying to silence her with death, Honored Consort Xia found an inexplicable strength to push Honored Consort Ya, who was standing in front of her, aside. She then tossed all the powder in the paper packet in her hands onto the Emperor.

After everyone learned that the powder was just ordinary face powder earlier, they ignored the paper packet on the ground. Nobody knew when Honored Consort Xia grabbed the packet. She was so agitated that she threw all the face powder on the Emperor, mindlessly covering his head with it.

In her opinion, her current situation was all the Emperor’s fault. It was his fault that she couldn’t become Princess Yi, she couldn’t bear children, and she was forced into this state. He was also the one who laid out a trap for her without caring for their years of relationship and sent her to a dead end.

Hua Yueying was like a madwoman at this time. Nobody expected her to go berserk. She was still weeping moments ago, but her expression was fierce now. Like a lunatic, she threw herself in front of the Emperor’s bed. She grabbed him with one hand and sprinkled all the powder on his body with the other.

Everyone was too shocked to react.

Ning Xueyan reached out to pull Ao Chenyi’s hand. Like him, she was pretending that she didn’t know anything. There was, however, a hint of mirth in her eyes. She was more than happy to see this wonderful show. The Emperor had always schemed against the people around him. He must have never imagined that one of his chess pieces would one day retaliate against him.

Sensing Ning Xueyan tugging at his hand, Ao Chenyi’s thin lips curved into a smile. He looked at the Emperor coldly, looking composed.

These powders were just ordinary powder to all those watching. They were, at most, face powder for women and posed no danger whatsoever. However, that wasn’t the case for the Emperor. Thinking about how this life-threatening poison powder was inexplicably falling on his head, and he could even taste some of them in his mouth, he began to shout.

“Poison! It’s poison! Servants, protect your Emperor! Quick! Protect your Emperor!”

He didn’t even dare to open his eyes. His eyelids were tightly shut, his hair was in disarray, and his face, hair, and body were covered in white powder. He was trembling in bed, screaming in a shrill voice. His voice shocked everyone awake. At this moment, he didn’t look like an emperor at all. His fear of death and panic was unlike his usual grand, magnanimous demeanor in front of everyone.

Seeing the panic in the Emperor’s face, Honored Consort Ya said weakly, “Your Majesty, those are just ordinary women’s face powder! They’re not poisonous!”

“No, it’s poison, it’s definitely poison. Hurry up and remove the poison from my body!” The Emperor was so panicked that he was an unsightly mess. He remembered the imperial physician telling him that consuming more of this poison would kill him, and this made him even more desperate. The astringent taste in his mouth meant that he had swallowed some of it. How could he not panic? How could he not dread?

Several eunuchs had recovered their senses by then. They immediately pushed Honored Consort Xia aside, too occupied to deal with her, and removed the powder from the Emperor’s face, head, and body.

Ning Xueyan watched this scene in secret mockery. The Emperor who had been hell-bent on hurting Ao Chenyi was just a cowardly and useless man. Even then, he still schemed against Ao Chenyi at every turn. It was no wonder the late Emperor wanted to pass the throne to Ao Chenyi. This man was unworthy of the throne!

If it wasn’t for the Empress Dowager and the Lord Peace’s Manor, this man wouldn’t be able to become the Emperor at all. Similarly, if it weren’t for Ao Chenyi’s influence warding off enemies, the nation under his rule wouldn’t be so peaceful...