When Qi Zhen woke up, it was midnight, and the study was filled with silence.

He woke up from his dream in a cold sweat.

The strong and passionate emotion for Shen Linglong in the dream, and the pain when he was shocked to hear that Jinling was lost, alternately circulated in his heart.

That strong emotion kept surging in Qi Zhen's heart after he woke up from the dream, and Qi Zhen couldn't tell why it came about.

His eyes had regained clarity and he could clearly see all the furnishings in the study.

Looking at the furnishings in the study, Qi Zhen came back to his senses and distinguished between dreams and reality.

He lowered his eyes slightly, and when he lowered his eyes, his eyes fell on the dagger sheath that was left on the ground before Linglong left.

The gem inlaid on the scabbard still shone brightly in Qi Zhen's eyes. Qi Zhen recognized that it was the object he had given to Linglong for self-defense in the past. He also suddenly recalled how she ruthlessly used what he had given her when she left.

The dagger stabbed his hand three times.

Qi Zhen lowered his eyes and said nothing, with complicated emotions in his heart.

After the secret guard noticed that he had woken up, he was worried that something might happen to him and hurriedly went inside to check. Qi Zhen only recovered from the complicated emotions when he heard the sound of footsteps.

Seeing the secret guard approaching, he held his forehead, his brows filled with tiredness and worry. Thinking of the last words he heard in his dream, he ordered in a low voice: "I ordered people to keep an eye on the Third Prince's Mansion for any unusual movements."

Report in time."

The dream this time was too bizarre and too absurd.

The emotion in the dream that he couldn't understand at this time can be put aside for the time being, but he had to pay attention to Qi Lian's treason.

Located on the border of Yangzhou, some distance from the imperial capital of Jinling, the emperor, who was out enjoying himself with his concubine, was assassinated today.

Unlike Qi Zhen who used the assassination as an excuse to seal off the city and search for people, the emperor was really assassinated.

Today, the emperor and his concubine were playing together on the Yangzhou Lake. While boating on the lake, several hidden arrows were shot into the boat from a distance in the mountains outside the lake.

The emperor didn't like having guards around him, so he personally shook the oar when he and his concubine were on the lake. He only asked the guards to wait on the shore, and he only had an eunuch at his side.

When the hidden arrows were fired one after another, there were no close guards around the emperor. The eunuch in the inner chamber was waiting at the other end of the boat. When he was rushing towards the emperor, the emperor was injured by an arrow. The injury from the arrow was serious. He

He fainted on the spot.

The palace guards rushed to the rescue and took the emperor and the imperial concubine back to the palace.

Since the imperial concubine was accompanying the emperor, when the emperor was seriously injured and fell into a coma, the person in charge would naturally become the imperial concubine.

On the dragon bed in the palace, the emperor was seriously injured and unconscious. The imperial concubine looked at him unconscious and clutched the brocade handkerchief in her hand. She asked with worried eyes: "How is your majesty's arrow wound? Can he still wake up?"

"

The imperial doctor who was summoned hurriedly was treating the emperor's injury. He thought that the imperial concubine was worried about his majesty's injury, so he hurriedly spoke to comfort him: "Although the injury is serious, it can be treated well. I think he will be able to wake up after a while."

The imperial doctor's original intention was to comfort the imperial concubine and ask her not to worry too much about His Majesty's injury.

Unexpectedly, after he finished speaking, the worry in the imperial concubine's expression not only remained the same, but also became more intense.

The palace guards were all on the shore of the lake when the hidden arrows were fired. The only people accompanying the emperor on the boat were the imperial concubines and the emperor's personal eunuchs. The guards had no idea what was happening in the boat when the hidden arrows were fired.

Thanks to those guards who didn't know the inside story, they could now allow the imperial concubine to take charge here.

The imperial concubine twisted her brocade handkerchief with her fingers, remembering the surprise and shock in the emperor's eyes after she subconsciously pulled the emperor to block the arrow that was about to hit her when arrows were shot one after another in the boat.

Between life and death, she was focused on saving her life and didn't care about anything else. She casually pulled the nearest emperor to block her in front of her.

The arrow in the emperor's body was injured when she pulled him in front of him to block the arrow.

When life and death were in danger, I only cared about protecting myself and didn't think about that much. But now that the danger is over, the more I think about it, the more I regret it.

She and the emperor were in danger together. Not only did she not protect him with her own body, but she pulled the emperor to support her. When the emperor woke up from his coma, there would be no good things for her to eat.

The imperial doctor looked at the imperial concubine's expression and wondered why she was still so anxious.

The imperial concubine was preoccupied with thinking about how to get over this matter. With an anxious look on her face, she waved her hand and ordered the imperial doctor to stop boiling the medicine.

The imperial doctor withdrew, and apart from the imperial concubine and the emperor, the only ones left in the palace were the imperial concubine's confidant maid and the eunuch who had witnessed the imperial concubine pull the emperor's arrow away.

The imperial concubine looked at the emperor's state of unconsciousness, and the repressed thoughts in her heart became more and more noisy.

She really resented the emperor.

The world always thinks that His Majesty spoils his concubines and kills his wives without distinguishing between his concubine and his concubine. Even the queen and the prince may think so.

Over the years, the imperial concubines in the palace were favored by the emperor, and when they were at their peak, the empress was imprisoned in the middle palace. More than once, Yan Guan wrote a letter accusing the emperor of favoring the imperial concubine for his improper conduct and ignoring the honor of the empress of the middle palace.

But the imperial concubine inside knew that deep down in her heart, this man probably never really cared about her.

He loves himself the most. The queen was his first wife back then and she was his only favorite for several years. However, he ignored the queen for more than ten years because she lost face and hurt his self-esteem. If he wakes up and thinks of himself

When she pulled him to block the arrow, she might have the desire to kill herself. Even if she didn't kill her biological mother for the sake of the third prince, she might have to spend the rest of her life in deep palace confinement.

What's more, the emperor's treatment of himself is probably far less than that of the queen back then.

Over the years, the emperor, no matter how much he showed favoritism to the third prince, still made his eldest son Qi Zhen the crown prince according to the wishes of the courtiers, and even restored the throne for him after Qi Zhen reversed his verdict.

There is no need to worry about the power of the Duke of Zheng after Qi Zhen's death. If it is really just for the power of the Duke of Zheng, it has to be established. So what if it is established, it can always be abolished.

But he tried so hard to get Qi Zhen involved in the treason case, which led him to seriously abolish Qi Zhen's throne, but in the end he still restored Qi Zhen as the crown prince.

The emperor of the previous dynasty was able to send his rebellious son to death, but this His Majesty, even in that unjust case that year, even if the evidence he forged of Qi Zhen's rebellion was so conclusive, he could only imprison him.

After the incident, guards were even sent to protect Nanyuan.

No matter how much he loves her and humiliates the queen, when it comes to his own interests, he still favors his legitimate son.

It wasn't until Qi Zhen was restored to the throne that he finally saw through the emperor and shattered the illusion.

The imperial concubine wants her son to be the emperor, so how can she not blame the emperor?

Back then, the empress offended the emperor by wearing a jade bracelet that protected her son. She took advantage of the emotional rift between the emperor and empress and jumped from being a female official in the royal study to becoming the emperor's favorite concubine.

But this so-called beloved concubine, no matter how much she is loved in the eyes of others, it is just using her to humiliate the queen. Even if there is some affection, what does it mean?

In the end, he still refused to let his son become the prince.

The imperial concubine looked at the emperor's closed eyes, and the evil thoughts in her heart became more and more noisy.

She couldn't let the emperor wake up. Once the emperor woke up and remembered that she blocked him from the arrow when it was shot from behind, she would definitely be held accountable.

It will be difficult to maintain it, and the son will suffer as a result.

With this thought in mind, the imperial concubine stretched out her hands to the emperor's neck.

She was tempted to kill the king.

Just as she was squeezing the emperor's throat on the sick bed with her fingertips, the eunuch who had been waiting aside spoke hurriedly.

"Your Majesty, think twice! Once this is done, there is no turning back!" The eunuch looked at the imperial concubine's hand tightly clasping the emperor's throat and hurriedly stopped her.

When the imperial concubine pulled the emperor to block an arrow, the emperor's personal eunuch witnessed it with his own eyes from the boat.

At that moment, the imperial concubine was at the emperor's side. She moved so quickly that the eunuch was far away and could not even stop her.

Over the years, the imperial concubine has been favored, and she has given the eunuch many gold, silver and jewelry, both overt and covert. The eunuch accepted them one by one. In the eyes of the imperial concubine, the emperor's personal eunuch has long been hers.

After hearing what he said, the imperial concubine raised her eyes to look at him and said: "If you don't take action now, it will be too late when Your Majesty wakes up."

Hearing this, the eunuch hurriedly suggested: "Just leave your Majesty unconscious. Why should I get involved? Once the regicide comes out, there must be a thorough investigation inside and outside the court. How are you going to get out?"

This is correct. If the imperial concubine strangled the emperor to death, it would be difficult to clear her name.

When the eunuch said this, he saw that the imperial concubine's expression changed slightly. Knowing that she had listened, he hurriedly wiped his sweat and continued: "It is not difficult to find the medicine that makes people unconscious. I can prepare it for the empress. I will feed her every day."

Your Majesty, please take it."

The imperial concubine's eyes were blank, thinking about the eunuch's words, and after a few moments, she released her grip on the emperor's neck.

"Okay, please go back and prepare the medicine."

After the eunuch retreated, the imperial concubine raised her hand to signal her maid to come closer, and whispered in her ear: "Send a message to the third prince about your majesty's situation, and remind him to make preparations in advance in the capital."

That night, two carrier pigeons flew from Yangzhou Palace to Jinling.

One was a secret letter from the imperial concubine's confidant maid, which was sent to the third prince's palace in the capital; the other was the emperor's personal eunuch who secretly sent a sealed letter to the capital in the darkness of the other palace.

The two secret letters arrived at their destination almost at the same time.

When the carrier pigeon sent by the eunuch beside the emperor flew into the study room of the East Palace, Qi Zhen had just ordered someone to keep an eye on the Third Prince's Mansion.

The carrier pigeon flew into the study. After receiving it, the secret guard untied the mailbox from the pigeon's leg and took out the secret message in the middle.

After seeing the content, he looked horrified.

"Your Highness, something happened to your Majesty!" The secret guard was behind the words and truthfully reported the contents of the letter written by the eunuch beside the emperor.

The eunuch was a confidant of the emperor, and he had reported to the emperor everything about the gold and silver he had received from the imperial concubine. If he had not been too far away on the boat today and was not moving slowly due to his age, he would have been escorted by her.

.

The imperial concubine thought she had bought the people around the emperor, but in fact it was just the emperor's indulgence.

After all, she is a palace woman, and she depends on the emperor's favor for her life. No matter how scheming she is, she can't play with the emperor.

Qi Zhen was shocked at first when he heard the contents of An Wei Nian's secret letter, and then his eyes changed.
Chapter completed!