♂?，，

  Yu Hui Fei's face showed no trace of guilt or unease, only a triumphant and complacent expression. She seemed to know that she would never have another chance to turn her life around, so she cast aside all her reservations and wholeheartedly wanted to recount this "great achievement" in her life, just to relish the thrill one last time.

  She said with a crooked smile, "I told Yuan Fei that the Emperor had secretly executed Gu Sanlang and his wife, and she believed me; I told her that the Emperor was having a good time with the new Empress every night, only seeing the smiles of the new one and not hearing the cries of the old one, and she also believed me; I told her that the Emperor's men had surrounded Yonghe Palace, waiting for the Gu family to be dealt with before making a move on her, and she still believed me; I gave her an abortion potion disguised as a medicine to stabilize the fetus, and after drinking it, she was in severe abdominal pain, and I said it was because she was thinking too much, which made the fetus unstable, and she didn't even suspect anything, she just believed me."

  Ming Xuan listened, feeling a chill run down her spine. Being betrayed by the person she trusted most was an experience she had never had before, but she could imagine how it felt.

  It doesn't matter if you're hurt by someone who doesn't care, you can retaliate without a second thought. If you don't want to bother, you don't even need to give them a cold laugh, because you don't care, so you won't be bothered. How can people and things that don't care about you hurt you? However, the imperial concubine suffered two kinds of pain. The man she loved sacrificed her and her family for power, and the woman she had always trusted deceived and schemed against her for the same reason. If she finally realized this point before her death, how painful and desperate would it be?

  Yu Hui Fei saw Ming Xuan's painful expression and her smile grew thicker. She said carelessly, "The Emperor knows about the death of Gu's family's three old masters and three madams, but he is also very sad. He made it clear that this matter is not simple, but he only believes in his own judgment and does not want to continue investigating. To put it bluntly, a child born by a palace maid can become an imperial prince, but where can he learn the demeanor of an imperial prince? Even if he becomes the ruler later on, he will never be able to change his cowardice and inferiority complex."

  She paused slightly, and for some reason, a hint of bitterness crept into her smile. "People who are inferior in their hearts, once they taste the flavor of power, can never let go again. Those without confidence can only become strong with power. So even if the Emperor knows, suspects, or fears, he absolutely won't do anything about it because he's afraid that any small change will make him lose what he already has. The first wife's moral integrity and heavenly principles are nothing compared to that solid five-clawed golden dragon throne."

  The more she spoke, the more sinister her expression became, and in the dim light, it looked even more ferocious.

  "Ming Xuan gritted her teeth and asked, 'Is that to say... did the former emperor always know what happened in Yonghe Palace? Did he always know what was done to Empress Yuan?'"

  Yu Hui Fei burst out laughing, "The Emperor is the master of this imperial city. The four seas and the world are all his, if he really wants to know what happened in Yonghe Palace, how could he not know? Because he doesn't want to know, and is also afraid to know, so he just doesn't know. As for me? I've always followed Yu Fei closely, whatever Yu Fei says, I do. I only have unconditional goodness towards Yu Fei. How could I harm her? In the Emperor's eyes, I've always been the most understanding of people."

  She raised her head, with a look of pride and satisfaction. "Doesn't the Princess Anping know that everyone in the entire palace views the Empress as a taboo? The Empress Dowager never mentions her, the Honorable Consort Gu pretends to be unaware, and even the Virtuous Consort Shu, who later imitated the Empress in every way, didn't dare mention the Empress's name openly. Yet I, Yu Huifeng, can bring up the Empress in front of the Emperor, and not only does he not get angry, but he also thinks I'm nostalgic and sentimental, which is why he trusts and favors me even more."

  Ming Xuan remained silent for a long time before speaking again, "Wrong, what was done, the former emperor must have known all along. As you said, the former emperor is the master of the palace, what can be hidden from him? The reason he became more and more indulgent is because he too was one of those who harmed my sister, Empress Yuan. If he were to abandon her, wouldn't that be abandoning himself? If he wants to punish with the law, then he must first put himself on trial."

  She slowly stood up, no longer looking at Yu Huifei, her low and cold voice was like a sharp blade, "You killed my sister and the child in her womb, if I let you continue to live in this world, how can I face her spirit in heaven? But I am different, I will not stain my hands with blood, no matter how guilty you are, because once your hands are stained with blood, it's hard to wash them clean again. I don't want to be tainted by your bloody hands."

  Yu Huifei originally thought she had said everything, but Ming Xuan wouldn't let her off so easily. She had already steeled herself for death, after all, for someone who was powerless to struggle anymore, perhaps death was the best release. But what Ming Xuan said next left her somewhat stunned - that she wouldn't kill her.

  Her eyes were downcast, and a cold sneer played on her lips. "For someone with no way out, the future is bleak and hopeless, without any expectations or prospects. It's like being trapped in a cage, unable to escape or break free, barely clinging to life, only able to be called a walking corpse."

  "There is no daytime, the day will be spent in endless toil, and there is no night, every quiet night, there will be people who have been harmed before, taking turns like a dream, they show their miserable appearance at death, and tell their grievances after death, they swallow life in their dreams, tear apart their bodies, alive, but as if they are in the abyss of hell. Living like that is actually more painful than death. Consort Hui, do you like such a life?"

  She smiled lightly, "Even if you don't like it, you can't avoid it, because that's what the rest of your life is going to be."

  Yu Huifei stood there in a daze, when suddenly she heard the rough voice of a palace maid beside her ear, "Not going back to work yet? Thinking of slacking off?"

  She had just come back to her senses from Ming Huan's extremely seductive words, when she was suddenly and violently lashed on the back with a whip. The wound burned with pain, and the pain made her quickly forget the conversation they had just had. She thought that it was just a weak curse from Princess Anping, a childish curse, and since she could defy even heaven's will, why should she be afraid of this? Even if she really would go to hell, that would be something that happened after death. Who in this world was someone who came back to life after dying? Only Heaven knew whether the Avici Hell actually had the punishment of being boiled in oil with one's tongue cut out!

  However, from that night on, Yu Huifei indeed had nightmares every night. When she was awake, there were white shadows flying in front of her eyes, and the mournful wails of the fierce ghosts echoed in her ears. When she fell into a daze, there were sorrowful whispers. Those who died at her hands really came to her dreams one by one to talk to her. The first was her personal maid Dong Ju, her younger sister Yan Li, the concubine surnamed Li from the Ninth Prince's mansion, the Empress of Yonghe Palace, her stepmother, Shu Fei, and two babies covered in blood...

  When one cannot bear the world, dying with a clear conscience is indeed the lightest punishment. Dragging out a miserable existence in the human purgatory, tormented by heart demons, is far more difficult than death itself.

  Ming Xuan leaned against her heavy body and stepped out of Yongxiang, falling into a warm embrace.

  Pei Jingchen didn't ask anything, nor did he say anything. He simply half-embraced her and got into the palace carriage. The horse's hooves whinnied as they gradually left behind the chaotic dust and smoke.

  Good news has come from the southern border, Gu Yuanjing will soon wipe out the rebel army in Lin Nan Prefecture, and he will bring the twenty members of the royal family to the capital for trial.

  Ming Xuan estimated that the day of Gu Yuanjing and Huang Yi's return to Beijing was in early September, which coincided with her due date. In any case, the grievances and hatred of the three houses of the Gu family had already passed, and those family feuds that entangled the two siblings should be turned over from now on, forgetting the pain and ushering in a new life, from now on they should only live for themselves. And this little life in her belly could also be born into this new atmosphere, which was not necessarily a happiness.

  In the days of waiting for Gu Yuanjing and Huang Yi, she had renovated the new house of Ping'an Village which was delayed due to war.

  During this time, I also heard a lot of news, such as Yu Hui Fei in Yong Xiang being tormented by nightmares and finally becoming mentally disordered. The imperial physician tried his best to treat her, but the disease had already taken hold, she was sometimes clear-headed, sometimes confused, and had long since lost track of where she was.

  The imperial family finally decided to send Yu Huifei's child to the Yongqu Cave in Qingliang Mountain. If the child could survive for seven nights, it would be a sign that he had a connection with the Buddha, and the abbot of Qingliang Temple would take him as his disciple. From then on, the child would spend his life devoted to Buddhism, cutting ties with worldly affairs. However, the child was not destined for greatness and did not survive past the fourth night, ultimately being buried in Qingliang Mountain. The officials at court breathed a sigh of relief, and the imperial family felt a weight lift off their shoulders. This was heaven's will, the Buddha's decree - how could human beings go against heaven's will? This was simply the child's fate.

  Love, hatred, anger, foolishness, and suffering - how many greedy thoughts are there in the world? In the end, they harm others and themselves. Yu Huifei's schemes were all in vain, but she only got a nightmare. If she had known from the beginning that it would end like this, I wonder if she would still be so obstinate. But where in the world can you find so many "what ifs"? It's just a rare mistake of heaven to have someone like Han Xiu get a second chance to restart their life. Most people die in regret, unable to do anything about it.

  In the power struggle of the Zhou Dynasty, with the re-shuffle of the imperial court's situation, some old aristocratic families that once dominated the scene have collapsed one after another. The Pei family is no longer glorious, the Yang family has fallen silently, and the Dingguo Gongfu has disappeared into thin air. The three families of Fuguo Gong, Luguo Gong, and Anguo Gong, perhaps having learned from the lessons of Zhen Guo Gongfu and Dingguo Gongfu, are no longer as ostentatious as before, focusing on educating and cultivating excellent descendants, and various marquisates and earldoms have also become much more low-key, taking a middle-of-the-road approach, no longer recklessly operating in the imperial court for their children's official titles.

  Under the difference between yin and yang, the long-awaited hundred flowers blooming together under the previous emperor was realized in the new dynasty of the young emperor, and talented scholars from humble families also had the opportunity to show their talents in officialdom. The restoration after the disaster brought unprecedented peace and prosperity to the Zhou Dynasty.

  However, the missing Prince of Lin Nan was always a hidden danger, and no one knew where he was, what he was doing, or what he wanted to do...

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