AUBTN -Chapter 277 This Is My Wife

“Now, once the Nine-Leaf Blood Lotus enters Fengyi Palace, it will become the most direct physical evidence proving that the Empress used forbidden drugs to fake a dragon pregnancy!”

Listening to Su Hewan’s analysis, Shen Jue’s eyes shone with undisguised admiration and fascination.

He leaned forward slightly, placing both hands on the table as he moved closer to her.

Their gazes met—so close that they could feel each other’s breath.

Looking into Shen Jue’s deep, abyss-like eyes, Su Hewan’s heartbeat inexplicably skipped a beat.

This demon… he’s already handsome enough, and his mind is this sharp too? That’s just cheating!

The corner of Shen Jue’s lips lifted instantly, his smile widening like spring water breaking through winter ice.

Su Hewan silently grumbled inwardly, but outwardly she quickly averted her gaze and forced herself to stay calm, lightly clearing her throat.

“Duke Shen, you’re too close.”

Her voice was cold, yet it couldn’t fully hide the faint blush creeping up her ears.

Shen Jue let out a low chuckle. He didn’t push further and straightened up with ease, carrying himself with effortless elegance.

“Your subordinate merely feels that my wife, when she is strategizing, is especially captivating.”

On the side, Lu Yan watched the two of them openly flirting as if no one else existed, his brows faintly furrowing.

He turned to look at the still-excited Yu Qing and shook his head helplessly.

“Don’t be happy too soon.”

His cold voice was like a bucket of water, instantly extinguishing Yu Qing’s excitement.

She puffed up her cheeks in dissatisfaction.

“Why can’t I be happy? The evidence is already right in front of us!”

Hands on her hips, she looked around confidently.

“With ironclad proof, we can just smash it in the Empress Dowager’s face tomorrow morning!”

“Let’s see how that old man Zhou Wenhai will still argue!”

Hahaha! Let that old bastard keep being arrogant! I’m even going to buy firecrackers and set them off in front of the Zhou residence!

Lu Yan, hearing her wildly jumping thoughts, couldn’t help but smile indulgently.

This girl really was always this naive.

Yet deep within his cold eyes, a trace of unconscious indulgence flashed by.

“No.”

A clear, cold voice abruptly interrupted Yu Qing’s fantasy.

Su Hewan stepped forward and gently shook her head, her gaze steady and lucid.

“A single herb and a few testimonies are not enough to bring the Zhou family down completely.”

Yu Qing froze, disbelief written all over her face.

“W-Wait, this is already conclusive proof!”

Su Hewan sighed and patiently explained to her naïve friend.

“Qingqing, you’re underestimating Zhou Wenhai. He’s an old fox who has survived in court for thirty years.”

“Do you believe that if we accuse him of sending forbidden medicine tomorrow, he can immediately kneel before the Empress Dowager and cry his eyes out?”

“He can push all responsibility onto the steward Zhou Fu, saying he was deceived by corrupt servants.”

“He can even turn the tables and claim someone forged evidence to frame the Imperial Uncle!”

Her voice was calm, but every word struck heavily into their hearts.

“Sacrificing the pawn to save the king, cutting off the tail to survive—this is what these court officials do best.”

“As long as we don’t catch him in actual treason, this alone will at most cost him a few subordinates. It won’t touch the foundation of the Zhou family.”

Shen Jue’s eyes deepened at her words.

His folding fan tapped lightly against his palm, producing a crisp sound.

“My wife is absolutely right.”

“Without the certainty of a fatal strike, revealing these cards now would only alert the enemy.”

Lu Yan also nodded in silence.

After years of handling countless prison investigations, he understood these officials better than anyone.

They could turn black into white, and the dead into the living.

Yu Qing slumped like a deflated balloon, her shoulders drooping in disappointment.

“Then what do we do? Are we just going to watch that Blood Lotus enter the palace and let the fake pregnancy be solidified?”

I’m so mad! We finally found the evidence and now it’s useless? This cursed ancient bureaucracy!

Listening to her furious inner thoughts, Lu Yan actually found her a little endearing.

He was just about to comfort her when Su Hewan suddenly let out a soft laugh.

“Who said this evidence is useless?”

Su Hewan smiled faintly.

“What I mean is—we are not going to accuse him of sending medicine.”

“We are going to accuse the Zhou family of the capital crime of deceiving the emperor and committing treason together!”

“Crime of deceiving the emperor!”

That was a crime punishable by the extermination of nine clans!

Lu Yan narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Miss Su, what do you plan to do?”

Su Hewan took a deep breath and split the confidential report on the table into two.

“This evidence and confession are not meant to convict anyone. They are meant to be the trigger.”

Her finger struck the table heavily.

“We will use the Empress Dowager’s wariness of the Zhou family and expose this matter in public!”

“Doesn’t Zhou Wenhai believe that with the blood lotus, the Empress’s pregnancy can be stabilized?”

“Then we’ll force him to watch—watch as his daughter’s fake pregnancy is exposed in front of everyone!”

Shen Jue snapped his folding fan shut, his peach blossom eyes fixed tightly on Su Hewan.

“You want a direct confrontation?”

Su Hewan let out a cold laugh, a flash of ruthlessness in her eyes.

“That’s right!”

“Once we release this evidence, the Empress Dowager will surely be enraged and demand a full investigation of the Chaofeng Palace.”

“For the sake of proving the Empress’s innocence, Zhou Wenhai will inevitably strike back—and take the initiative to request a public pulse examination by imperial physicians!”

“Because he believes the Nine-Leaf Blood Lotus has already been delivered, and the Empress’s pulse is his perfect life-saving talisman.”

She paused, her gaze sweeping across the two powerful officials.

“But what if, at that moment, the Empress’s pulse is still a slippery pulse—or worse, there is no slippery pulse at all?”

Yu Qing immediately understood.

“My god! Wanwan, you mean tampering with the blood lotus?”

Su Hewan shook her head.

“The blood lotus is a rare medicine. Tampering with it would leave traces.”

“But when I brought Imperial Physician Li to Chaofeng Palace today, I didn’t just check the medicinal residue.”

A faint smile curved her lips.

“I found a way to add an extremely small amount of Luohua Powder into the Empress’s calming incense.”

“Luohua Powder is non-toxic and harmless. It has no noticeable scent under normal conditions.”

“But once it interacts with the medicinal properties of the Nine-Leaf Blood Lotus…”

She deliberately dragged out her words.

Lu Yan suddenly cut in.

“The two will counteract each other. Not only will the fake pregnancy pulse collapse, but within one hour, the person will suffer chaotic meridians and show symptoms of a miscarriage!”

Su Hewan snapped her fingers.

“Lord Lu is clever!”

“We will make Zhou Wenhai, at the peak of his confidence, watch his entire plan collapse with his own eyes!”

“At that point, these confidential reports will no longer be meaningless rumors.”

“They will become ironclad proof that he fabricated the imperial heir and disrupted the imperial harem!”

“By then—even if he has a hundred mouths—he won’t be able to defend himself even once!”

Yu Qing covered her mouth tightly, afraid she would scream out loud.

“Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap! This is brutal! How does Wanwan even think of this?!”

“Is this what academic-level dominance looks like? Crushing an old fox into the ground!”

“I officially declare Su Hewan the hottest player in this court drama!”

Yu Qing rushed forward and hugged Su Hewan tightly.

Su Hewan was shaken dizzy by her, laughing as she pushed her away.

“Alright, stop shaking me or I’m going to fall apart!”

Shen Jue and Lu Yan both burst into laughter.

“Wanwan’s move is brilliant—absolutely lethal!”

Shen Jue stepped forward and, without hesitation, pulled Yu Qing’s hand away, then took Su Hewan into his own arms instead.

“She is my wife!”

Yu Qing glared at him.

“Stingy!”

Su Hewan smiled helplessly, trying to pull her hand back—but found his grip too firm.

She raised her chin slightly, meeting Shen Jue’s gaze without backing down.

“Eunuch Shen, dare you gamble this with me?”

Shen Jue lowered his gaze, their noses almost touching.

“What is there to fear?”

“From tomorrow onward, the Eastern Depot and the Jinyiwei will be the sharpest blades in Miss Su’s hand.”

Lu Yan, watching from the side, also nodded.

“Lu will naturally accompany you!”

He drew his embroidered spring blade halfway out with a cold motion.

“The Zhou family has been arrogant for long enough.”

The four of them exchanged a knowing smile.