Beloved Empress

Chun Fei’s father is a second-ranked officer in the court, while her brother is a third-ranked officer . They are usually close to the Mo Clan .

They are marched into Jun Qian Che’s study in a haggard manner .

Jun Qian Che is shocked to see them in that state, “What happened to both of you, beloved officials?”

Chun Fei’s father, He Guang Yuan is saddened and infuriated by the incident, “Your Majesty, we rushed over as soon as we heard about Chun Fei’s death . Who would have thought we would be ambushed by assassins along the way? Lucky the imperial guards that Your Majesty dispatched arrived in time, otherwise, we would have all died . ”

Jun Qian Che is furious, “Preposterous . They actually dared to do that, right in front of the Heaven’s Son? Zhen will send people to capture them . ”

Chun Fei’s brother, He Ming Chang has one question, “Your Majesty, this official is still confused about something . ”

Jun Qian Che looks at him, “Feel free to ask, Official He . ”

“Your Majesty, this official wonders why Chun Fei’s suddenly contracted an illness and died, and not long after that, we were pursued by assassins . And why did you send imperial guards to escort us? Could it be that Chun Fei did not die from illness?” guesses He Ming Chang .

Jun Qian Che shakes his head sadly, “No wonder you are one of the most outstanding young officials in court . You tend to notice the little details . You are right . Chun Fei did not die of illness . She was poisoned . ”

Her family listens in shock .

Her mother collapses and weeps on the floor when she hears that, “Your Majesty, someone has harmed Chun Fei to death! You must investigate the matter and give Chun Fei her justice . ”

“Someone come and help Madam He stand up,” orders Jun Qian Che .

“Yes,” two palace maids come in and help her up .

Chun Fei’s father speaks desolately, “Your Majesty, who would be so bold as to poison Chun Fei in the harem?”

Jun Qian Che looks at them sadly, “Zhen has already ordered people to secretly investigate this matter . Zhen ordered people to declare her death to be due of sudden illness as to not startle the true perpetrator . Based on the findings, Chun Fei actually died from the Wei Xin Poison . ”

“Wei Xin Poison? What sort of poison is that?” her family looks at the Emperor, confused .

Jun Qian Che glances at Eunuch Lin .

Eunuch Lin steps forward and begins explaining the effects of the poison .

Her family listens to the explanation with increasing shock, “There is actually such poison in this world?”

Her brother quips in, “Since this kind of poison only affects those who betrayed someone else, does that mean that Chun Fei had done something that would require her to take that oath on the first place?”

Jun Qian Che’s eyes becomes cold, “Chun Fei added musk to the pastries that she made for the Empress . She wanted to poison the child that the Empress is carrying . Zhen went over to question her . Zhen thought that since this is her first offence, zhen would only give her a house arrest for a month . She was grateful to hear that, and just when she was about to confess, she died . ”

Her family are horrified to hear that, “This- How could Chun Fei do such a thing?”

They originally resented Jun Qian Che because they felt that he had not protected Chun Fei as well as he should have been, and that he had forsook her . And so, the feeling of dread rises within their hearts when they heard what he said . The Empress is carrying the Emperor’s first child, one that His Majesty reportedly cared a lot for . If anything had happened to the baby, their entire family would die along with the child .

When Jun Qian Che sees how edgy and frightened they have become, a cold smile is formed on his lips . His tone remains warm though, as he say, “Official He, Madam He, no need to worry . If zhen had intended to punish you all, zhen would have announced it long ago . Zhen didn’t want to implicate the innocent He Clan because zhen knew that Chun Fei had been instructed by someone else . ”

Her father immediately speaks, “Your Majesty is wise! Chun Fei had been benevolent and kind ever since she was a child . She was compassionate even towards ants; she would never dare to harm the prince . Someone must have threatened her . ”

“Zhen also felt that there is something more to this, that’s why zhen didn’t make the matter known to the public . The real perpetrator must have feared that you would know the truth, that’s why he or she tried to assassinate you on your way to the palace . That’s exactly what zhen feared, that’s why zhen sent the Yulin guards to escort you . Fortunately, Chun Fei had been protecting you all from above, otherwise, the consequences would have been disastrous . The perpetrator is just too cruel,” says Jun Qian Che sternly .

Chun Fei’s brother is furious, “The perpetrator didn’t want us to know . It means that they come from the court . ”

Jun Qian Che nods, “That’s exactly what zhen guessed . The baby is zhen’s first child; the perpetrator must have come from the court to be interested on the baby on the first place . Zhen will definitely send people to secretly investigate this matter . ”

Chun Fei’s father is touched, “Thank you for not announcing this to the public, Your Majesty . Not only are you mindful about Chun Fei’s reputation, you are also extremely generous towards our clan . This official will definitely be loyal to you and repay your grace!”

“You are too courteous, Minister He . Please, get up . Chun Fei was zhen’s consort, and both of you are zhen’s officials, of course zhen has to be lenient . Unfortunately, the real perpetrator is still at large . Not only did Chun Fei die for nothing, zhen’s child is also still in danger . Zhen is afraid that he or she would blackmail another concubine to do the dirty work on their behalf . ”

Chun Fei’s father comforts him, “Don’t worry, Your Majesty . The Empress and the baby are innocent people, they will be protected by the heavens . ”

Jun Qian Che nods before summoning the head of Yulin Guards in . He asks him if he managed to capture any assassins .

“Your Majesty, the assassins are too sly and we didn’t manage to capture anyone alive . However, this official managed to pick up a medallion from one of them,” replies the Head of the Yulin Guards .

Jun Qian Che checks the medallion for any signs of ownership and can find none . “This medallion is too non-descript and cannot help us identify the owner . One thing for sure, whoever that person may be, he has some entanglements with zhen in a way . ”

Chun Fei’s father and brother exchange a certain look, but none of them says a word .

Jun Qian Che looks at them, “Official He, Madam He, zhen would like to ask you to not be too sad over Chun Fei’s demise . Zhen will order someone to investigate the matter . She will not die for nothing . You are all allowed to grief and take one last look at Chun Fei . ”

“Yes, thank you, Your Majesty . This official will retreat first,” they retreat from the audience and are led towards Chun Nuan Palace .

The moment they left, the leader of the secret imperial guards, Ye Ying appears and kneels before Jun Qian Che, “This subordinate greets Your Majesty . ”

Jun Qian Che looks at the medallion before meaningfully looking at Ye Ying, “You did really well this time . You may go . ”

“Yes, Your Majesty . ” Ye Ying disappears in a flash .

Jun Qian Che looks at the medallion before smiling arrogantly . The truth is that the assassins who tried to kill Chun Fei’s family had not been the real perpetrators, but his own secret guards in disguise . He was purposely putting on a show and had intended to let Chun Fei’s father and brother see this medallion . He believes they know to whom that medallion belongs to . He wants to them to begin having an idea on whom the perpetrator can be . Let them have an internal discord first . He can reap the benefits later .

After paying their respect at Chun Fei’s memorial, the He Clan left . Although Chun Fei was their daughter, she had been married to the imperial clan and is considered to be part of the imperial clan . They cannot stay any longer than that .

Her mother is completely heartbroken and could not stop weeping .

Her father and brother on the other hand, are stewing in resentment .

Upon returning to their residence, the two men immediately head to their study to discuss the matter .

Her brother faces their father as he says, “Father, the medallion that the Yulin Guards picked up looked similar to the one Duke Zhen gave us . Could it be that Duke Zhen is the one who threatened my sister to kill the Empress’ baby?”

He Guang Yuan sits in front of his desk, deep in thought, “Do not rush into conclusions . Think properly . The child that the Empress is carrying is Duke Zhen’s grandchild, if it’s a boy, he will be the Crown Prince . Why would Duke Zhen wants to kill it?”

He Ming Chang nods in agreement, “That makes sense, Father . But that medallion indeed belongs to Duke Zhen . Only he would have it . ”

“Think about it, Chang Er . If you take Duke Zhen out of the picture; who wouldn’t want the Empress to give birth safely?”

He Ming Chang considers everything properly, “Could it be the Emperor? The Mo Clan is already as powerful as it is . If the Empress gives birth to a boy, they will grow to be even more powerful . It might pose a risk to even the Emperor . ”

He Guang Yuan shakes his head, “Although the birth of the child might put some risk on the Emperor’s position as it might increase the power of Mo Clan, if you look at it from another perspective, the birth of a son might help the Emperor even more . Duke Zhen will be bound to him, as long as the child lives . Once the child becomes the Emperor, Mo Clan’s power will be preserved forever . In order for that to happen, the Emperor must stay on the throne and pass it peacefully when the time comes . And so, with this child around, Duke Zhen will not only not go against His Majesty, but will also help His Majesty stay in power . His Majesty must have known this, that’s why he cares so much about the baby . If it’s indeed His Majesty, he wouldn’t have questioned your sister and caused her to die when she tried to reveal who the perpetrator is . ”

“If it’s not His Majesty, who could it be? Could it be an enemy of the Mo Clan?” guesses He Ming Chang .

He Guang Yuan shakes his head, “Any enemy of the Mo Clan would be the Emperor’s people . Since His Majesty wants to keep the baby, no one would dare to try something behind his back . ”

He Ming Chang nods in agreement, “You have a point, Father . Then, who could it be?” He suddenly narrows his eyes, “Could it be—- the 7th King?”

He Guang Yuan nods, “I suppose you’ve already heard about the 7th King’s feelings for the Empress . Before the Empress married the Emperor, Duke Zhen had planned to marry her off to the 7th King . It’s just that the Empress had liked the Emperor from the very start, and Duke Zhen had no other choice but to marry her off to the Emperor and help him secure his throne . The Emperor has grown tough these past two years and refused to rely on Mo Clan anymore . His Majesty has been indifferent to the Empress as well, and Duke Zhen knows that . He had been planning to ditch the Emperor for the 7th King . But now, the Empress has gotten pregnant . This is a threat to the 7th King . This is not only a stumbling block in his love life, but also in politic . It’d be hard for him to continue receiving Duke Zhen’s support, and it’d be hard for him to succeed in his political endeavor without Duke Zhen’s support . The relationship between the Empress and the Emperor has been improving lately, and if the Empress chooses to speak on His Majesty’s behalf, it’d be very likely that the loving Duke Zhen will listen to his daughter and extend his support to the Emperor . That’s why the 7th King is the last person who’d want this child to be born . If the child does not survive, he would continue to get Duke Zhen’s support . The Empress might also leave the Emperor in due time . The 7th King wants the child gone, but could not do it himself because he might get exposed and the Empress and Mo Clan would never forgive him . So, he chose someone from the harem, your sister . She was gentle and weak-willed . He would only need to threat her a little for her to comply . ”

He Ming Chang is furious, “The 7th King is too despicable! He actually did that to my innocent sister! We need to tell Duke Zhen about this . If he knows, he would never help the 7th King again!”

He Guang Yuan extends his hand and stops him, “Do not be too hasty . This is only a guess, we have no proof . What if Duke Zhen really knows about this and tacitly agreed with the 7th King? If we go to him and tell him all this, we might end up exposing ourselves . ”

“Why would Duke Zhen agree to killing his own grandchild?” asks He Ming Chang uncertainly .

“It’s not impossible . Although Mo Clan’s power will increase with the birth of the child, the child is still His Majesty’s flesh and blood . What if the child sides with His Majesty once he grows up? Wouldn’t it spell doom to the Mo Clan? It’s not impossible that he decided to spare himself the trouble from the get-go,” replies He Guang Yuan, worried .

“Then what should we do? Will my sister die in vain?” He Ming Chang is enraged on his sister’s behalf .

He Guang Yuan’s eyes are full of fury, “Your sister will not die for nothing . But now, we will no longer support the 7th King . Otherwise, your sister would roll in her grave . ”

“Are you planning to continue following Duke Zhen, Father?” asks He Ming Chang .

He Guang Yuan shakes his head, “No . Neither the 7th King nor Duke Zhen could be relied on right now . The Emperor would get rid of them sooner or later . No matter how powerful the Mo Clan is right now, the Emperor would still pluck them out one by one . The best plan is to stay loyal to theEmperor . After all, Mo Clan and the 7th King are wayward and treacherous . Even if they managed to rebel one day, they still wouldn’t receive public’s support . Besides, His Majesty have said it very clearly earlier today . He did not announce what your sister did to the public to protect the He Clan . If we still didn’t get our acts together, he will definitely announce it to the public . By then, His Majesty didn’t need to do anything . Mo Clan themselves would handle us . If we side with the Emperor instead, he would help us find the perpetrator that harmed your sister . ”

He Ming Chang adds, “Father, I told you to not side with Duke Zhen when he first tried to recruit you . You didn’t listen to me and insisted on supporting them . Now look what happened . ”

“I should have listened to you and stayed loyal to His Majesty . Instead, I got greedy and ended up harming your sister . I really regret everything . From now on, I will stay loyal to His Majesty and my conscience,” replies He Guang Yuan in regret .

He Ming Chang nods .

Night slowly creeps in, and the imperial city looks splendid and majestic .

In a forest outside the capital, a man dressed in black and wearing a silver mask stands straight while looking at the moon sadly .

Another man dressed in completely black appears before him and kneels on one knee, “Master, I have a bad news . I ordered some people to keep an eye on the He Clan . They were on the way to the imperial palace to attend Chun Fei’s memorial and got ambushed by assassins along the way . The Emperor sent soldiers and managed to save them . ”

A cold look flashes on the man’s eyes, “Chun Fei, that wretched woman tried to sell me out . Lucky I gave her the Wei Xin Poison . I do not care that she died, but I did not expect that Official He would be ambushed . I was not the one who sent those assassins . ”

“If you didn’t send them, where could they possibly come from?” asks the subordinate .

A certain look flashes in the man’s eyes, “Those people must’ve been Jun Qian Che’s shadow soldiers . He must have ordered them to pretend to be our people to sway Official He to His Majesty’s side . ”

“Then let’s explain everything to Official He! Tell him that we did not send those people . He must not fall for His Majesty’s trick . ”

Anger flashes in that man’s eyes, “His Majesty kept this matter under wrap, only he and the He Clan knows . If we suddenly rush over to Official He and try to explain our stance, wouldn’t it make us appear suspicious? Like a thief accusing others of thievery? Besides, we are indeed responsible for Chun Fei’s death, are we not? All Official He have right now are his speculations, he has no proof . He cannot be certain that he is right . If we go to him right now, we as good as confessed to killing his daughter . We need to wait for changes before doing anything . ”

“Master, if Official He and his son really intend to side with the Emperor, let’s kill them right now and rid ourselves of potential trouble,” suggests the subordinate .

The man remains calm as he says, “We cannot do anything right now . People in court and at the harem are already gossiping about Chun Fei’s death, suspecting foul play . Since her death is related to the harem, the Emperor couldn’t publicly investigate the matter . In order to win over Official He and his son, His Majesty chose to conceal the matter, and in turn make them feel gratitude towards him . If we kill them now, this matter will directly involve the court and Jun Qian Che will no longer stand by and watch . By then, he will purposely let everyone know that Chun Fei had tried to harm the child that the Empress is carrying . Mo Clan will definitely not keep quiet . If the investigation leads them to me, I would be in really deep trouble . That is exactly what Jun Qian Che wants right now; for us to make this matter bigger . Let’s not give him what he wants . Let this matter regarding Chun Fei rest . Do not get involved any way with anyone from He Clan . Do not give Jun Qian Che an excuse to continue probing into the matter . ”

“Yes, master,” replies the subordinate .

“What about the matter regarding the Marquis of Ning Nan? Why isn’t there any update by now?” the man looks at his subordinate coldly .

The aide trembles before carefully replying him, “I think— they failed in their task . ”

“How could they fail in something so simple? A bunch of useless filth! Tell them I will not spare them if they fail in this,” says the man in displeasure .

“Yes, master!” the aide trembles as he replies .

On the other hand, Jun Qian Che is still busy discussing things with Chu Ling Xiao in the imperial study .

“Your Majesty, are you sure that you will be able to keep the two Officials He loyal to you?” asks Chu Ling Xiao, worried .

Jun Qian Che smiles mysteriously, “Don’t worry, after the assassination attempt, they will no longer stay loyal to Duke Zhen . They will also never turn to the 7th King . And so, they can only count on zhen . That’s the only way for them to give Chun Fei her justice . That’s also the only way for them to escape certain death . They know that once zhen publicizes what Chun Fei did, He clan will never see the light of the day again . ”

Chu Ling Xiao nods before saying, “This official think it’s better to take advantage of this Chun Fei thing and secretly kill her father and brother . All the officials in court will definitely raise an issue to give them justice . By then, Your Majesty can just announce what Chun Fei did to everyone . They will immediately blame Duke Zhen for the deaths because Chun Fei tried to harm his unborn grandchild . We can seize that chance to investigate the real perpetrator and rid ourselves of future trouble . ”

Jun Qian Che shakes his head, “It’s not that zhen hadn’t thought of that . Perhaps, that’s also what the real perpetrator expects, that’s why he or she hadn’t try to kill them yet . Killing them would bring zhen no good . If two officials get killed at the same time, it would bring cause chaos at court and the common people . It would make zhen appear incompetent and unable to protect his officials . It would only give way to waves of rumors . Besides, if they die and Chun Fei’s deed came to light, most people would suspect Duke Zhen, but there are also some people who would suspect zhen . After all, it was zhen’s child that Chun Fei tried to harm, and punishment for harming imperial bloodline would be exterminating the entire clan . The case would immediately come to close and zhen wouldn’t be any closer to finding the real perpetrator . The gap between zhen and Mo Clan will also become wider because zhen had killed Duke Zhen’s followers . Now, on the other hand, zhen could make use of the two officials, and at the same time, threaten Duke Zhen and the real perpetrator . This is really good for zhen . ”

Chu Ling Xiao smiles at him, embarrassed, “In the end, Your Majesty is the one who thinks everything through . This official had been too careless . ”

Jun Qian Che shakes his head, “There are two sides to everything . Both choices have it’s own pros and cons, zhen could only choose the one with that would give zhen the biggest advantage . That way, less people would get hurt . ”

Chu Ling Xiao nods in agreement, “Looks like Your Majesty truly intends to let the child live . ”

“The child is innocent, zhen will no longer even consider the possibility of hurting him . He is zhen’s child, zhen believes that his birth would only give zhen good things . ” A look of pleasure flits through his eyes as he thinks about the child that Mo Qi Qi is carrying .

“It is said that people usually loses their rationale whenever feelings are involved, this official has always thought that someone so driven and wise like Your Majesty would be an exception to that, but looks like you are not,” says Chu Ling Xiao, half-joking .

“Zhen think that zhen has made the right choice . Zhen would definitely regret it if zhen killed the baby, back then,” replies Jun Qian Che earnestly .

Chu Ling Xiao sighs, “Looks like Your Majesty has really fallen in love with the Empress . ”

Jun Qian Che does not reply him and remains silent .

“What about the Empress Dowager? She will give you a really hard time . She hates the Mo Clan? That’s why she despises the Empress,” asks Chu Ling Xiao, worried .

“That is zhen’s personal matter, zhen will not trouble the Prime Minister with them . As for the Marquis of Ning Nan’s matter, you must handle it with care . Do not let Duke Zhen get what he wants,” reminds Jun Qian Che .

“Yes, don’t worry, Your Majesty . This official has sent people to investigate everything, we will definitely acquit the Marquis from all the accusations . ”

In Feng Yang Palace, Mo Qi Qi sits in front of the dining table while staring at the dishes that have just been laid out . She glances out of the door from time to time, “Maybe he isn’t coming tonight . ”

Ban Xiang secretly laughs when she sees this, “Your Ladyship, maybe you should eat first . His Majesty might be busy and could not come tonight . ”

Mo Qi Qi looks away from the door and glares at Ban Xiang, “Nonsense! Bengong is not waiting for him! Bengong is just not hungry at the moment . ” Ever since Jun Qian Che got injured on the night of the Qixi Festival, he has been coming over every night to get his wound treated and at the same time, eat dinner together . And now, it is already past dinnertime and he still hasn’t come .

Actually, a person’s habit is hard to change . Jun Qian Che has been having dinner with her for the past couple of days and she has gotten used to his presence . Now that he is not coming, she suddenly feels a little empty .

Ban Xiang continues teasing her, “Your Ladyship, do not deny it . This servant can see that you already like His Majesty . You miss him whenever he is not around . ”

“Nonsense, why would bengong miss him? Bengong wants him to come because there is something bengong would like to ask him . ” Deep down inside, Mo Qi Qi keeps telling herself this: She will definitely not fall for Jun Qian Che! She wants him to come, not because she wants to see him, but because she wants to treat his wound and get everything done and over with . That’s the only way she can go to sleep in peace . If other people finds out he’s been injured, she’d be in deep trouble . Besides, she only wants him to come today because she wants to ask him about Chun Fei, and not because she likes him like what Ban Xiang said!

“Ooh,” says Ban Xiang, dragging her word purposely .

“What is there to ‘oh’ about?” asks Mo Qi Qi, confused .

“Your Ladyship, is it wrong for this servant to say ‘oh?’” asks Ban Xiang, looking aggrieved .

“Yes, it’s wrong! If you want to say something, say it directly! ‘Oh’ is not a proper answer,” replies Mo Qi Qi displeased .

“Ban Xiang, are you angering the Empress again?” a deep and majestic voice can suddenly be heard . A casually-dressed Jun Qian Che walks in . He has come right after his little discussion with Chu Ling Xiao .

Ban Xiang immediately curtsies when she sees Jun Qian Che, “This servant greets Your Majesty . ” Then, she purposely looks at them, aggrieved, “If you hadn’t come, Her Ladyship would have poured her grievance on this servant . ”

Mo Qi Qi is furious, “Nonsense! When did bengong pour my grievance on you? Don’t slander bengong! Both of you are bullying me!”