Tranquil Longevity Palace.
Behind the Empress Dowager, Princess Changle stood with her head lowered, eyes dark and brooding.
"How could this happen?"
Since yesterday, unease had been building inside her.
In all her glimpses of the future, there had never been anything like the Dark Bird Descends from Heaven.
Because of that, the entire trap she set using the Sui River breach and the solar eclipse—meant to crush the Crown Prince—had collapsed in an instant.
By her calculations, the Crown Prince should have already become a cripple.
But now, not only had he not fallen, he was shining brighter than ever.
It felt to Princess Changle that things had spiraled beyond her control.
As the heir of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, this kind of unpredictability deeply unsettled her.
"I need to leave the palace as soon as possible."
She had actually planned to leave today.
But then came the incident with Caiwei trying to assassinate Eunuch Li.
Because she was currently in Tranquil Longevity Palace, and favored by the Empress Dowager, she had no choice but to pause her plans for now.
Once this was over, she'd leave immediately.
"Your Grace, do you really want me dead that badly?" Eunuch Li's gaze burned with hatred. "Your Majesty, I will speak the entire truth."
"It was Her Grace who ordered me to go to Embracing Moon Restaurant and deliver a message to the Zhuang family. She instructed them to place a stone stele about His Highness's prophecy in the Sui River at Nanying City, Qingzhou."
As soon as he said that, the expressions around the hall changed.
If this was true, it was enough to shake the heavens.
"Outrageous! You treacherous dog! Who gave you the guts to slander me like this?" Noble Consort Zhuang snapped. "I'll have your skin peeled and your whole clan destroyed!"
"Hahaha…" Eunuch Li laughed miserably. "After all I've done for you, not only did you show no gratitude, but you even want me dead?"
"Guards!" she roared, "Cut out this dog's tongue and crush his bones!"
"Silence!"
The Empress Dowager's eyes flashed coldly. "Zhuang Wanrong, I'm not dead yet. You don't get to run Tranquil Longevity Palace."
Zhuang Wanrong froze. Her face instantly went pale.
"Xiao Li, continue," the Empress Dowager said.
Eunuch Li went completely unhinged. He held back nothing now.
He laid out everything—how Noble Consort Zhuang used the Sui River stele and the solar eclipse to discredit the Crown Prince.
Even some of her past misdeeds were exposed.
The room erupted into chaos.
No one had expected the scandal around the Crown Prince's supposed bad omen was entirely orchestrated by Noble Consort Zhuang.
Yun Liyue's eyes turned icy as blades, locked firmly on Zhuang Wanrong.
"How did Noble Consort Zhuang know in advance about the Sui River breach and the solar eclipse?" the Empress Dowager asked.
"Your Majesty, I do not know that part," Eunuch Li replied. He slumped weakly to the floor, utterly exhausted.
Though Noble Consort Zhuang had trusted him, she hadn't told him everything.
The only reason he knew as much as he did was because she had tasked him with those dirty jobs.
"Zhuang Wanrong, what do you have to say for yourself?" the Empress Dowager asked coldly.
By now, Zhuang Wanrong had calmed down.
"Mother, I never did any of this. That slave has no proof. He's throwing wild accusations—absolutely deranged."
"Who says I have no proof?" Eunuch Li snapped. "That letter you gave me? I kept the original. What the Zhuang family received was only a copy."
Zhuang Wanrong's eyes contracted sharply. She glared at Eunuch Li. "I treated you well, and this is how you repay me? You scheming, backstabbing cur."
Eunuch Li sneered. "Everything I did was just to stay alive."
"Xiao Li, give me the letter," said the Empress Dowager.
"Yes, Your Majesty. The letter was too important. I didn't dare hide it anywhere, so I kept it on me this whole time."
He pulled a letter from his robes.
The Empress Dowager had Gui Mama take it and open it.
After reading it, she gave Zhuang Wanrong a sharp look but said nothing. Instead, she folded the letter and put it away.
"Guards. Eunuch Li has slandered his mistress with impudence and treachery. Drag him out and beat him to death."
Her voice was cold and emotionless.
Eunuch Li stared at her in disbelief.
Soon after, palace guards hauled him outside. He was already seriously injured—after fewer than ten strikes, he was dead.
The Empress Dowager now turned to Caiwei. "You think just because you kept quiet, I wouldn't know who you're working for?"
Caiwei panicked. "Your Majesty! It was Her Grace who gave the order!"
"Bullshit!" Noble Consort Zhuang snapped, unable to hold back her fury.
The Empress Dowager's face remained blank. "Caiwei, if I remember correctly, your father served under the Marquis Loyal and Brave."
"When the Marquis sent you into the palace, he told me repeatedly that your father was utterly loyal, and that you had inherited his nature—that I could trust you."
Caiwei collapsed to the ground, as if the Empress Dowager had seen straight through her.
Suddenly, Princess Changle felt a wave of dread.
She'd been watching like a bystander… so how had things ended up pointing at her?
She truly hadn't known Caiwei had been sent in by her own father.
Neither Caiwei nor the Empress Dowager had ever mentioned this.
Usually, Caiwei took care of her often in Tranquil Longevity Palace, but she'd always thought it was because of the Empress Dowager's orders.
What Caiwei said next hit her like a bolt of lightning from a clear sky.
Caiwei kowtowed hard. "Your Majesty, I acted entirely on my own. This has nothing to do with Her Highness the Princess. She has a pure heart, spotless and innocent. It's me who's filthy. I deserve to die."
Princess Changle could no longer hold it in. Shocked and furious, she shouted, "Caiwei! What deep grudge do you have against me that you'd falsely accuse me like this?"
At that moment, Caiwei seemed to realize something. Her face flashed with regret, then she quickly changed her story. "Your Majesty, it was the Princess who ordered me."
Princess Changle clutched her chest and staggered back.
It would've been better if Caiwei hadn't changed her story—people might've doubted her claim.
But now that she reversed herself, everyone would think she was just blindly loyal.
Caiwei quickly knelt again. "Your Majesty, this servant acted alone. It really has nothing to do with Princess Changle. She doesn't even know me. Please see the truth, Your Majesty."
The Empress Dowager gave her a deep look. "Let's put that aside for now. Tell me—six days ago, why did you go to Radiant Sunlight Hall?"
Princess Changle's face turned pale.
Six days ago, she had indeed taken a risk going to Radiant Sunlight Hall.
But the matter was too sensitive to trust to anyone else—she had to meet Noble Consort Zhuang in person.
If everything had gone to plan and the Crown Prince had been deposed, she would've been fine.
All the fallout would've been buried under the scandal of the Crown Prince's removal.
But her plan failed.
Now came the backlash.
"Mother…" At that moment, Emperor Qian Yuan appeared outside the hall.
"Emperor, come with me," the Empress Dowager said, rising and taking him alone into the back corridor of the hall.
"You must already know everything that's happened. What do you plan to do?" she asked.
Emperor Qian Yuan's expression was dark. "If there's no mistake, it should be Zhuang Wanrong and Princess Changle. Those two dared to scheme together against the Crown Prince. Then, afraid the truth would come out, Princess Changle sent Caiwei to kill Eunuch Li. But Caiwei didn't expect to run into a patrol or fail to kill him. That's how the truth spilled out."
"Eunuch Li claimed it was Noble Consort Zhuang who ordered Caiwei to kill him," the Empress Dowager said.
"That must've been a misunderstanding," the emperor replied. "Who would've thought that the Marquis Loyal and Brave, such a loyal subject, could have such a vicious daughter? Still, even if Caiwei didn't act on Noble Consort Zhuang's orders, she was clearly the mastermind behind the plot against the Crown Prince."
"Princess Changle can't be killed. And neither can Noble Consort Zhuang," the Empress Dowager said. "Princess Changle's father is the Marquis Loyal and Brave. If she's executed, what will the border troops think? Besides, the daughter of a loyal general trying to take down the Crown Prince—what does that say about our court and the Crown Prince's reputation?"
"And Noble Consort Zhuang has the Zhuang family behind her. The Sixth Prince is outstanding too. She definitely can't die."
Emperor Qian Yuan frowned. "So Yun Liyue and Cheng'er are just supposed to suffer this in silence?"
"Princess Changle can be sent out of the palace and left to her own fate," the Empress Dowager suggested. "As for Noble Consort Zhuang, make her compensate the Crown Prince. If the Empress isn't satisfied, she won't get off so easily."
"That's the only way to deal with Noble Consort Zhuang," the emperor agreed, his eyes turning cold. "But Princess Changle must die. How could someone like her think she could toy with my son, the Crown Prince of Great Zhou?"
"Send her to Jiangnan on paper. Along the way, arrange for bandits to kill her."
The Empress Dowager let out a soft sigh. "Since you've decided, do as you will."
They returned to the main hall.
The Empress Dowager moved quickly, publicly ordering Caiwei executed for falsely accusing her master. The eunuchs dragged her away to be beaten to death.
But that was just on the surface.
In secret, after dismissing the other palace attendants, the Empress Dowager kept only Noble Consort Zhuang and the Empress behind.
Emperor Qian Yuan stood beside the Empress Dowager.
Princess Changle wasn't included—because in their minds, she was already a dead woman.
Yang Cheng's dark eyes looked innocent and clueless, as if he didn't understand what was happening.
In truth, he was reading the system prompts.
[The host, using unknown methods and in cooperation with the former emperor and the revived Empress Dowager Meng, has driven the Divine Maiden Changle out of the palace.]
[This move eliminated the immediate threat to the host and deeply humiliated the Changle Goddess.]
[Task Rating: Excellent. Reward: Observe the Chaos God-Demon Diagram for fifty breaths.]
[Does the host wish to claim the reward, or continue with the task?]
Princess Changle had already been driven out of the palace by the emperor and the Empress Dowager?
Father and grandmother really worked fast.
But Yang Cheng didn't believe it would end there.
His father likely had more moves to play.
And even if not, Yang Cheng would ask his mother to take action.
Now that Princess Changle was in trouble, there was no way he'd let the opportunity slip.
Best to have her killed.
And if not, at least make her suffer. Strip her of everything.