Chapter 537: Chapter 28: The Secret Edict Delivered

"Good news, good news, there’s no problem with having the baby right here in the traveling palace. With me here, I will surely raise Xiruo and the child to be healthy and plump."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiruo felt quite aggrieved.

"Will Brother Chuang not recognize his granddaughter the next time he sees her?"

This one sentence made everyone laugh.

"Let’s go, dinner has been prepared long ago, just waiting for you. Since Xiruo is pregnant, she needs to eat more."

Lin Xiruo, knowing how to appear obedient in front of elders, naturally took a few steps forward and, with Nanny Wen and the Empress Dowager on either side, headed to the dining area.

In the traveling palace, everything was prepared ahead of time.

After having a reunion dinner, everyone returned to their rooms to rest.

After all, everyone was somewhat tired from the journey.

As for Lin Xiruo’s room, the Empress Dowager specifically arranged it close to hers.

This was so she could have more care.

She didn’t have anything major going on now, so having such a lively-natured granddaughter accompanying her was something she particularly looked forward to.

Inside the room, all the furnishings were arranged according to their individual preferences, so Lin Xiruo wasn’t uncomfortable with anything.

Lin Wanyi came over specifically, intending to stay with her.

But she was shooed away by Lin Xiruo.

"If Mother Consort stays, I’m afraid Father Emperor won’t rest well. If Father Emperor can’t rest well, then I wouldn’t sleep well either. Since we’re already in the traveling palace, I’ll take good care of myself, don’t worry."

She spoke with great confidence, and seeing this, Lin Wanyi didn’t insist.

But she still stayed and talked with her for a while.

Elsewhere, in the Empress Dowager’s chamber, the Emperor told everything about how Prince Ling of Cezhou and the Vice Marshal Zhang of the Zhang Family Army planned to rebel.

At this moment, the Empress Dowager showed none of the kindness from when they had just met.

The sharpness in her eyes seemed to return to the time when she was strategizing in the court years ago.

After being silent for a little while, the Empress Dowager slowly said,

"At my age, I won’t be long before I meet the late Emperor. If I can clear out the wolves from the family before I go, it’ll pave the way for the Crown Prince and future Qing Government. Emperor, you don’t have to worry about them being from my maternal family, kill who needs to be killed."

The tone was calm as if those people weren’t related to her by blood.

The Emperor took a deep breath and also said to the Empress Dowager.

"Mother’s words are very true. Consort Qian and Spirit King can’t be left alive, as for their bloodline, I will have someone take good care of them."

"Yes, indecision in time will bring self-inflicted disaster."

Both mother and son shared the same sentiment.

Since they sat on this throne, some prices had to be paid.

Even if history remembered them with infamy, they were not afraid.

The power of the Royal Family cannot be disrupted by others.

As night fell, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager discussed thoroughly, and the message was urgently and secretly sent to the Fourth Prince and Prince Xiao.

Meanwhile, the Ling Prince Mansion was as quiet as an ice cellar.

Even though the spring spirit had started to spread, it seemed only here there was still a sense of decay.

With a creak, the door to Consort Qian’s room was pushed open.

Over the years, she had developed a habit of never sleeping deeply, so any slight noise would wake her.

"Who!"

She immediately asked warily.

And her hand clutched the dagger taken from under her pillow, which was still glistening with an eerie green glow.

In the dim night, a young figure emerged.

He stopped about seven or eight steps away from Consort Qian and then took out a fire starter to light a lamp in the room.

With the abrupt transition from dark to light, there was a brief moment of discomfort for Consort Qian’s eyes.

But upon seeing who it was, her face flashed with a trace of panic, then turned into a desperate, death-or-glory resolve.

"Prince Xiao? How could it be you!"

Though she was driven by obsession, her mind wasn’t lost.

Originally, she suspected the Emperor knew about their plan, but he hadn’t acted for some reason.

So, they continued planning while harboring a sliver of hope.

But when Prince Xiao actually appeared before her, she felt nervous all over.

Thus, she spoke out like this.

Prince Xiao was not polite either, directly addressing her.

"Consort Qian connived with Spirit King, sought rebellion, and showed treasonous intentions. The evidence is conclusive. By the secret decree of Father Emperor, I am to execute you two immediately."

"Execution? Hahaha, it’s absurd. You came alone into the Ling Prince Mansion, and you want to execute me and Spirit King. Do you truly believe you have a Heavenly God protecting you, to have such confidence? Guards!"

She said this entirely to boost her own morale.

At the same time, she sought to cry out loudly for the guards in the courtyard to protect her.

But as it turned out, long after her words fell, it was still quiet outside.

Only Prince Xiao looked at her with disdain and mockery in his eyes.

"Consort Qian, you might as well not struggle. Poison or dagger, you choose."

Since he dared to come, he certainly wouldn’t leave empty-handed.

The open and hidden guards throughout the Ling Prince Mansion had long been dealt with thoroughly.

Never mind people, not even a mosquito could fly in at this time.

Upon hearing this, the fear in Consort Qian’s heart was finally released.

Her voice trembled in disbelief.

"People?"

"Don’t worry, any who should die won’t be left alive."

As Prince Xiao spoke, his whole demeanor exuded coldness and indifference.

This made Consort Qian, who prided herself on subtlety and intelligence, somewhat flustered, and she stared at him fiercely before asking.

"Spirit King?"

"On his way to meet you!"

"You killed him? He is your brother!"

"He’s not only my brother but also a treasonous traitor, isn’t he?"

Upon hearing this, the breath Consort Qian had been holding was instantly let out.

She had plotted for so long, just one step away from victory, how could this be? How could this be!

Seeing the disbelief in her eyes, Prince Xiao let out a cold snort.

"Sometimes even I don’t quite understand, all those treason records laid right before your eyes, but you’re still unrepentant. Moreover, if even the Liu Family back then, with their glorious power, couldn’t succeed, where did you and Spirit King get the confidence that a vice marshal of the Zhang Family Army and merely a hundred thousand men could overthrow Da Wei and bring down the Emperor and Crown Prince?"

"Could it be a case of lunacy? That’s a disease, needs proper treatment!"

Prince Xiao spoke quickly and sharply, like a piercing provocation to Consort Qian.

Upon learning of Spirit King’s death, she was somewhat deranged, and hearing Prince Xiao’s words only caused her blood to surge intensely.

With bloodshot eyes, she glared at Prince Xiao and shouted.

"I demand you pay for my son’s life with yours!"

With that, she lunged at Prince Xiao with the dagger, using all her strength, a move filled with a reckless determination to disregard her own life.