AUBTN -Chapter 174 When the Snipe and the Clam Fight, the Fisherman Gains

The night was as dark as ink.

In the study of Yuyuan, candlelight flickered, casting shadows of four figures across the room.

Shen Jue’s long fingers tapped lightly on the desk, producing a rhythmic “tap tap” sound.

“The Empress Dowager is forcing us to pick sides,” he said.

His voice was soft yet cold, carrying an edge of frost.

Lu Yan leaned against the window, holding his embroidered spring knife, his expression unreadable and stern.

“She’s not just forcing us to pick sides—she wants to use us as pawns to go after the Princess,” he added.

Su Hewan sat quietly nearby, holding a cup of hot tea, using it to mask the turbulence in her heart.

Although calm on the surface, her mind was far from settled.

【The current situation is obvious. The Empress Dowager wants to use us to eliminate the Princess, and the Princess, in turn, wants us dead.】

Shen Jue cast a sideways glance at Su Hewan’s delicate face.

Hearing her calm analysis, a faint curve appeared at the corner of his lips.

This girl, it seemed, was even sharper than he had imagined.

Yu Qing, on the other hand, shrank into her chair, sighing heavily, doing her best to minimize her presence.

She glanced at Shen Jue, then at Lu Yan, and in her mind, a little drama had already begun to play out wildly.

【Help! This is a battlefield of demons! When gods fight, the little ones suffer!】

Lu Yan’s hand tightened slightly on the hilt of his knife.

“If the Empress Dowager wants sincerity, then we’ll give her a grand gift.”

Su Hewan put down her tea cup. “Looks like Lord Lu and I are thinking alike?”

The moment Shen Jue heard this, his eyes shot straight to Lu Yan!

Something about that sentence felt… odd.

“What kind of ‘grand gift’?”

Yu Qing leaned closer, blinking her wide eyes curiously.

Su Hewan took a deep breath.

“Have you forgotten we still hold leverage over the Princess?”

Everyone froze, realization dawning.

The death of the Prince Consort!

Lu Yan frowned. “But we have no solid proof. Will the Empress Dowager believe us?”

Shen Jue snorted coldly.

“She will. Even if it were false, the Empress Dowager would find a way to make it true. And this isn’t false.”

Yu Qing chimed in, “Because no one wants to topple this rival’s daughter more than the Empress Dowager!”

Su Hewan smiled faintly. “Finally, Qingqing shows some sense.”

Praised, Yu Qing immediately swelled with pride.

Su Hewan continued, “We don’t need proof. We just need to plant the seed of suspicion in the Empress Dowager’s mind.”

Shen Jue chuckled softly, admiration flashing in his eyes.

Using a borrowed knife to kill—truly to my liking.

“Then it’s settled.”

Lu Yan finally made the decision, his voice cold and resolute.

“Leak the information to the Empress Dowager, let her know someone is investigating the Prince Consort’s death.”

“To cover up the scandal, she’ll inevitably intervene further!”

“Let them fight like dogs, while we sit back and reap the benefits.”

The four exchanged glances, reaching an unspoken agreement.

Yu Qing silently gave Su Hewan a thumbs-up in her heart.

【Wanwan, you’re amazing! This is what they call using magic to defeat magic!】

The news spread quickly.

There was no need for Shen Jue or Lu Yan to intervene personally.

All it took was for a few beggars to casually argue at a street corner about the tragic fate of the Princess’s late husband when the Empress Dowager’s trusted maid was out shopping.

With the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard subtly fanning the flames, rumors spread like they had wings, reaching the gates of Cining Palace in no time.

As the night deepened, the palace was ablaze with light, bright as day.

“What did you say? Say it again!”

Half-reclining on a soft couch draped with bright yellow brocade, the Empress Dowager’s previously lazy eyes snapped open, shooting out a sharp, piercing glare.

Kneeling before her was none other than her most trusted maid, Nanny Zhang.

Trembling all over, she buried her head even lower, her voice quivering with fear: “R… Your Majesty, today, this old servant went out shopping near Desheng Tower and… heard… heard that the Princess’s husband died under suspicious circumstances, and it is said… it was the Princess who killed him… she…”

Nanny Zhang dared not continue. She expected the Empress Dowager to explode in rage over such a rumor that sullied the royal family’s honor.

After all, the Princess was the late emperor’s only legitimate daughter.

She was the elder sister of the current emperor.

But to her surprise, the hall fell into an eerie silence.

After a long while, a soft laugh came from above.

“Hahaha… excellent! Excellent! Truly, heaven favors me!”

The Empress Dowager straightened.

She walked to the window, gazing out into the deep night.

It was as if she saw that woman from years ago who had suffocated her for life—the mother of Li Yunxi—Consort Yu!

That woman, from a prestigious family and stunningly beautiful, had been the late emperor’s greatest love.

And she herself was only a consort the late emperor had taken to balance the power of the previous dynasty.

She had lived half her life in the shadow of that woman. Even when her own son ascended the throne, she still had to endure the arrogance of that woman’s daughter—the Princess Li Yunxi.

Li Yunxi’s pride and beauty, every bit of it, seemed like Consort Yu’s silent mockery directed at her.

She hated it with every fiber of her being.

“I was just worrying that I had no reason to move against her, and yet, as if by fate, someone just handed me the perfect opportunity,” the Empress Dowager said, slowly turning.

“She thinks she acted flawlessly? In this world, nothing is ever flawless!”

Nanny Zhang cautiously lifted her head. “Your Majesty, do you mean…”

“Does it matter if it’s true or false?” The Empress Dowager sneered, a cruel curve forming on her lips.

“I do not care whether the rumor is true or not; I care only whether it can become a knife aimed at Li Yunxi! As long as there’s a seed of doubt, I can turn it into reality!”

Her eyes gleamed sharply as she immediately issued orders: “Nanny Zhang, send my edict at once. Command the secret guards to investigate! I want to see what deeds she has been hiding, even in those faraway lands!”

“Yes, this old servant obeys!” Nanny Zhang scrambled out, nearly tumbling in her haste.

Although the Empress Dowager’s secret order could not be publicized, the covert investigation proceeded with ruthless efficiency.

Naturally, none of this could escape the notice of Princess Li Yunxi.

Inside the Princess’s residence, the atmosphere was as cold and heavy as ice.

“Smash—!”

A fine Ru kiln teacup shattered violently on the floor.

Li Yunxi’s absolutely beautiful face was now pale as death.

“What did you say? The Empress Dowager’s people… are investigating me at the Ning’an Marquis’s mansion in Xizhou?” Her voice was sharp, hoarse, full of disbelief.

Kneeling before her, her trusted female attendant trembled, nearly losing consciousness: “Y… yes, Your Highness. I’ve learned that the officials of the Court of Justice have already departed for Xizhou, claiming to reopen an old case. But their focus is entirely on your whereabouts at the Marquis’s mansion and… the cause of the Prince Consort’s death.”

“Xizhou… the Ning’an Marquis’s mansion…” Li Yunxi muttered to herself.

Those deliberately forgotten memories, the blood, the despair, the madness…

She stumbled forward, clutching the nearby rosewood desk for support, barely steadying herself.

No… this cannot happen! That matter must never be unearthed!