Chapter 432: Unable To Be Ignored

Since they now know the direction of the other party’s scheme, then tracing back, there will certainly be clues.

“Has it been investigated clearly?” Li Hong Yuan continued asking.

“Replying to wangye, there’s a portion that still hasn’t been investigated clearly. What is certain is that her Highness Shu Consort was injured by accident. She wasn’t the culprit’s target. The original target should be her Highness Noble Consort. That poisoned chicken also entered the imperial kitchen by accident. That chicken originally should’ve entered the inner palace. As for whether it’s to her Highness Noble Consort’s palace, or the palace of the person behind the scenes, still pending discussion. According to the deduction in various aspects, the person behind the scenes should be the Empress. Just, regarding the revive, there still isn’t any clues.”

Then again, if the mastermind behind all of this really was the Empress, then she herself overdosing on the revive indeed was a bit unexplainable. For a woman that is trying to take control of the entire Qi Yuan, it doesn’t make sense for her to not care about her own longevity. Then, it was obvious that she, this mastermind, most likely got schemed against by someone.

What was going with this? And who was this mastermind behind the mastermind, what is their goal, exactly are they friend or foe?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

However, for the sickly Empress to still have the energy to scheme this and that, as expected, this kind of woman, probably only when thoroughly dead, would they finally settle down.

Speaking of which, scheming against Noble Consort Su wasn’t without reason either. Firstly, although the one temporarily presiding over the inner palace was Shu Consort Qin, but Shu Consort Qin was secretly ‘on her side’. Secondly, the one that was truly contending against her was Noble Consort Su. With her collapsing, Noble Consort Su appears to not have any movement, and Rui Qinwang also didn’t expand his powers, but in reality, she was very clear, this really wasn’t the case. Considering these various aspects, she completely had reason to let Noble Consort Su collapse together with her.

(T/N: This goes back to Shu Consort Qin’s older brother Qin Tian Ming being a triple agent between Gong Qinwang, Kang Qinwang, and Rui Qinwang. Because he’d ‘pledged his loyalties’ to Kang Qinwang in secret, the Empress views Shu Consort Qin as her own.)

Just, she never thought that there would be a leak in her meticulous plan, having a problem occur on that carefully raised poisoned chicken. The person that should be schemed against didn’t get schemed against, injuring one’s own ally. If found out, perhaps this secret alliance will all crack. Speaking from this bit, the Empress perhaps was that tiny bit glad that her ‘illness worsened’. However, once she wakes up, learning everything that happened, she will probably vomit blood.

That’s right, even now, the Empress still hasn’t woken up.

“On the Luo family’s side, has everything been taken care of?” This was what Li Hong Yuan cared about the most.

Shu Consort Qin although got harmed by accident, but he’d unexpectedly met with his birth mother, so towards this bit, Li Hong Yuan more or less was still a bit happy. However, Shu Consort Qin getting poisoned might have also injured the Imperial Noble Consort, so that bit of joy naturally just plummeted into the abyss. And the Empress having the source of disaster drawn eastward, wanting to frame it on Luo Pei Shan, naturally was also targeting against Jing Wan. Don’t forget the reason why Li Hong Yuan wanted to make Empress Sun collapse[1]. That’s why, the Empress was preparing to shoot many birds with one arrow. In a certain sense, she once again angered Li Hong Yuan. Even though, because of him tightly guarding against, no problems occurred, and the Empress even unexpectedly had herself thrown in, it didn’t mean that he can just erase everything she has done.

Jing Wan silently listened to the side. Once they were more or less done talking, she finally opened her mouth, “The Empress has ambition and has patience, so should be even more cautious. Even if someone of the Imperial Physicians Court changes her medicine, and even if that imperial physician is someone worthy of her trust, the Empress probably won’t just easily accept either, right? Then, what reason convinced her, or perhaps, in this matter, aside from that imperial physician that committed suicide, there’s someone else that the Empress absolutely trusts?”

Li Hong Yuan contemplated. Based on his two lifetimes’ understanding towards the Empress, that person indeed was very cautious. Even if it’s a trusted aide by her side, probably all won’t obtain her absolute trust. Thinking back and forth, there was probably just one person that was able to be absolutely trusted by her. Li Hong Yuan suddenly sat upright, “An Yi, go investigate Ding Duke Manor’s Sun Old Madam’s recent movements. Towards the people by her side, also investigate in detail.”

Jing Wan slightly blanked, “Ah Yuan, this is suspecting Sun Old Madam? But, is this possible? Even if Sun Old Madam isn’t considered close with the Empress, but they’re still mother and daughter after all. Just like you said, even if it’s like this, among the people the Empress trusts the most, she would all rank number one. Or could it be that Sun Old Madam actually got used by someone?”

Li Hong Yuan turned to look at her, “Wan Wan, calm down. Sun Old Madam, this person, actually is a bit difficult to grasp.” For Li Hong Yuan to say this, it wasn’t without reason. Just take that death pardoning gold plaque[2] currently in Jing Wan’s hands. It was originally in the Ding Duke Manor. In his past life, no one from the Ding Duke Manor had brought it out, and even if Sun Old Madam knew where it was, she similarly didn’t bring it out. When the Ding Duke Manor perished, she also just peacefully accepted death. No matter how one looked at it, it all penetrated with irrationality.

“What she’s thinking, everyone all may not necessarily be clear. Moreover, the Empress was singlehandedly raised by Sun Old Madam. With the Empress being that impressive, you think, Sun Old Madam would not have any abilities?”

That’s right, the women at present, their upbringing, to a very large degree, was related to their mother. Moreover, the Ding Duke Manor in the earlier years was also a mess. For Sun old Madam to be able to laugh until the end, was it possible for her to just be a compassionate and gentle old lady? One can’t because of her now shutting herself indoors, not even caring about her descendants anymore, just assume that she was no longer a threat.

“Sun Old Madam and the Empress, between the them, what was the reason?” Jing Wan asked.

Although vague, Li Hong Yuan still understood what she was referring to, “Their views not matching. The Empress is someone that extremely cares about power and wants powers. And Sun Old Madam, perhaps because the Ding Duke Manor’s internal power struggle in the early years was too intense, has become indifferent to everything, so just happened to be the opposite of the Empress. According to my knowledge, at the time, when the former Ding Duke wanted to have the Empress married into the imperial family, Sun Old Madam greatly opposed. The couple didn’t get along to begin with, even facing an even worse situation. In the end, it was still Sun Old Madam that yielded, not yielding to the former Ding Duke, but rather because the Empress made the decision herself. From then on, Sun Old Madam who originally extremely cared about her eldest daughter, instantly just became a different person.

In reality, if Sun Old Madam had supported the Empress from beginning to end, then it was very possible that Noble Consort Su and them completely won’t be the Empress faction’s opponent. Just, Sun Old Madam truly shut herself off to retire a little too early. Ordinarily, upper class noble madams like her that have made it through the hardships, very few would make this kind of decision. After all, to finally turn over with great difficulty after having someone pressed above one’s head all one’s life, why would one not enjoy the power of absolute authority, and just unhesitantly let go of the power.”

That’s why, towards Sun Old Madam doing something that ordinary people won’t do, one further shouldn’t judge with common sense.

Just, if this matter really was done by Sun Old Madam, then what was her goal? It can’t be that because the Empress’s ambitions were too big, and might bring disaster to the Ding Duke Manor as well as the Sun clan, she just decided to kill the Empress, this biological daughter of hers? Truthfully speaking, based on Sun Old Madam’s attitude, one really wasn’t able to tell just how much she cared about the Ding Duke Manor. To say that even if the Ding Duke Manor were to just perish from here on, she all won’t bat an eye, it was instead more believable. After all, based on her relationship with Le Cheng Emperor, even if the Sun clan gets extinguished, she probably would all be able to sleep peacefully.

[1] Referring to the incident where Jing Wan stirred up a storm in Kang Qinwang Manor.

[2] See chapter 177

T/N: It has never been specified what exactly is her relationship beyond being Le Cheng Emperor’s mother-in-law. However, Le Cheng Emperor addresses her as maternal aunt, instead of mother-in-law, and has a relatively close relationship with her. The most likely answer is that she was close friends with the previous Empress, aka Le Cheng Emperor’s mother. There was also a line from her about how she even had Le Cheng Emperor pressed on the ground and beaten before when he was younger.

I also really enjoy the flow of events and how they chain together through somewhat of a ripple effect, starting from Jing Wan storming Kang Qinwang Manor because he sent beauties to Jin Qinwang, causing the imperial grandson to be injured, leading to LHY ordering Shu Consort Qin to make the Empress fall ill so she won’t retaliate against Jing Wan, which leads to the Empress needing the revive and trying to make Noble Consort Su collapse with her, which ended up with Shu Consort Qin accidentally getting poisoned, to LHY meeting his birth mother as a result. The start of the chain and the final outcome seemed to have nothing to do with each other, but it falls in place so logically. Like on paper, it’s literally because Kang Qinwang sent beauties thus LHY got to meet his dead mother, who would’ve thought lol.