Pampered Consort of the Fragrant Orchard

“Su Suxin! You only have Su Suxin in your eyes and heart, you only see her children! Hahahahaha, since you care so much about them, I will destroy them all!” Zhong Meiqing laughed loudly, “As for your son, you should really be glad that he escaped, or else I would have dealt with him immediately, right now! But even if his whereabouts are currently unknown, he has to be somewhere in this Feng Ming City. I will slowly find him out and bring him to you, so that you can watch with your own eyes as your son slowly dies in my hands!”

“How dare you!” Du Yunhan twisted his head to glare at Zhong Meiqing.

“How dare I?” Zhong Meiqing laughed coldly, “As for your most precious daughter, I've heard that some higher up has already sent people to kill her– you'll never be able to see her again! Hahahahahaha!”

Zhong Meiqing laughed loudly as she went out, leaving a command to clean up the inside as she left his courtyard.

Two guards came in and cleaned up the unsightly mess on the floor, then locked the door. As soon as he heard the sound of the lock click, Du Yunhan sat up from the bed, looking completely unlike someone who had been poisoned.

“Master.” A silhouette suddenly appeared in the room.

“How are things?” Du Yunhan asked.

“Prince Ding said it will take three more days.”

“Three days? Then have someone delay for another three days,” Du Yunhan said.

“Yes,” the man in black responded.

“Also, send more people to protect the Young Master.”

“Yes.” The man in black acknowledged his order.

“Also, send someone to find the Young Miss and tell her not to return to the capital for the time being.”

“Yes.”

“You can go.” Du Yunhan waved his hand and waited for the man in black to disappear before lying down again, as if nothing had happened at all.

In the palace, the Empress Dowager and Nanny Xi leisurely strolled around the palace. The sunlight today was very good, leaving a warm sensation on their bodies.

“Has the Jade Seal been found?” The Empress Dowager asked.

“Responding to Mistress, not yet.” Nanny Xi supported the Empress Dowager as they walked, her expression worried.

“Why hasn't it been found yet? It's been so many days, why are those people so useless?” The Empress Dowager frowned. Supported by Nanny Xi, she made her way over to the chair prepared for the Noble Consort to lie down and sunbathe.

“Our people searched the palace inside and out, but just couldn't find it. So this servant is guessing, could they have hidden the Jade Seal outside?” Nanny Xi speculated.

The Empress Dowager thought about it, “No.”

“How does Mistress know?”

“The day before the palace rebellion occurred, I also saw the Emperor use it with my own eyes. After the palace rebellion, the palace has been completely under our control. People entering and exiting the palace are all under scrutiny, so if they really were to bring anything out, it wouldn’t go unnoticed.” The Empress Dowager said, “So this object is definitely still in the palace.”

“Could it be over with the Grand Empress Dowager?” Nanny Xi said.

“That old thing? No one has gone in before or after the changes in the palace.” The Dowager Empress said.

“Without the Jade Seal, His Highness Prince Ren cannot ascend to the throne. Since the Jade Seal is still in the palace, this old servant will tell them to search again.” Nanny Xi said.

“Go on.” The Empress Dowager waved her hand, then closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.

A palace maid walked over, curtsied, and said, “Empress Dowager, Ex-Prime Minister Zhong is here.”

“Father? Why is he here?” The Empress Dowager opened her eyes and said, “Bring him in.”

The palace maid left, then returned shortly, leading in a man in his sixties to seventies.

The Empress Dowager got up from her noble consort chair and said to Ex-Prime Minister Zhong, “Father, you've been living in deep seclusion for so many years, why did you come into the palace today?”

Ever since Du Yunhan had become Prime Minister, Ex-Prime Minister Zhong Bolin had touted the excuse that he was too unwell to go to the morning court, releasing all of his power and simply occupying the position of Prime Minister from retirement at home. Ever since then, he hadn't gone out much, not even for palace banquets and the like. Over the years, outsiders had seen him very few times.

Ex-Prime Minister Zhong sat down on a chair brought by a palace maid, “It's been a long time since I've seen you sisters; I've come to take a look at you.”

The Empress Dowager waved her hand at the palace maids guarding the courtyard and said, “This Empress Dowager wants to talk a bit with Father, you all can leave.”

“Yes.”

Very quickly, the maids, eunuchs, and guards in the courtyard all retreated, leaving behind her and Ex-Prime Minister Zhong.

“Father, are you here for something?” Empress Dowager asked.

“I've come to see why you haven't succeeded after so many days. Minghong hasn't become Emperor yet, and Han Mingze is still alive.” Ex-Prime Minister Zhong had a bad tone; it was evident he was unhappy with their actions.

“Father, the Jade Seal is missing. Without it, Minghong can't ascend to the throne. Until the Jade Seal is found, Han Mingze can't be killed yet,” the Empress Dowager said.

“The Jade Seal is missing?” Ex-Prime Minister Zhong's face sank as he said, “So many days have passed since the changes in the palace. Even if the Jade Seal was missing, it should have been found by now!”

“I have sent people to search the entire palace, but none of them have found the whereabouts of the Jade Seal,” the Empress Dowager said.

“What about the concubines' palaces?” Zhong Bolin asked.

“They have all been searched.” The Empress Dowager answered, “I locked up all those concubines in the Cold Palace, then had people search every palace, but no Jade Seal was found.”

“Han Mingze is very close to that Noble Consort Yi, so send more people to search her palace.” Zhong Bolin said, “Their side is in a state of urgency now, so you guys need to get your hands on it quickly. Even if you dig three feet underground, you must find the Jade Seal.”

“Father, there's something this daughter doesn't understand.”

“What is it?”

“Father, with Minghong ascending to the throne, we are already the highest power in Feng Ming. Why should we give away the power in our hands? Why don't we break off from over there, and over here...”

“Imbecile!” When Zhong Bolin heard the Empress Dowager's words, he was so furious that he stabbed the ground with his cane, looking at the Empress Dowager with a gaze full of treachery, “What was the purpose of us coming here in the first place? How can we betray the higher ups! We did all of this for our Master, for our roots! You should never think like this in the future!”

MoonWhisperer, skyrise's Thoughts

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