Zhongli Mingye understood immediately. "Since you, my beloved consort, already have a plan, I'll leave the Imperial Guards to you!"
What was he talking about? Ning Yue shot him a glare. "I've already sent the Shadow Guards to arrest the culprit and interrogate them."
"I'm sure that person will confess soon."
"However, Your Highness the Crown Prince, your Eastern Palace is far from stable! As soon as I entered the door, you've given me such a big 'gift'!" Ning Yue teased him playfully in his arms, completely oblivious to Zhongli Mingye's darkened face.
A perfect wedding night had turned into a night of dealing with villains. His anger had nowhere to go.
He reached out and pinched her cheek gently. His phoenix eyes turned to the bed. Little Yuanbao was sleeping soundly, seemingly unharmed. If Ning Yue hadn't discovered the plot early, once the poison took effect, this little child might have lost half his life.
Nan Zhilan was blindfolded and brought before Ning Yue. "Kneel down!" Mi Cui kicked her. Nan Zhilan was extremely indignant. "May I ask, Crown Princess, what crime have I committed that you treat me like this?"
Nan Zhilan thought that as the daughter of the Minister of Works, Song Ning Yue wouldn't dare to do anything to her.
At the moment, she looked at Ning Yue haughtily. Ning Yue played with an old-fashioned ring on her hand. The poison in it was used up, but the poisoned needle was still there.
She didn't want to wear it today for fear of hurting Little Yuanbao. Now that Nan Zhilan was arrested, she really wanted to test the poison she had made before.
However, killing her so easily was too good for her.
"Attempting to poison His Highness the Crown Prince's grandson. Do you think you deserve to die?" Ning Yue smiled faintly. "Not only you, but your entire Nan family, the family of the Minister of Works, should be raided!"
"You're talking nonsense!"
Nan Zhilan refused to admit it. She thought Ning Yue had no evidence. So, she stiffened her neck and glared at Ning Yue fiercely. "Am I talking nonsense? Then you deserve to die even more. Evidence? I'll make sure there is evidence when I say there is."
Mi Cui saw that she was so oblivious to the danger and stepped forward to tell Nan Zhilan all the evidence one by one. "You were really afraid of causing a huge trouble and accidentally killing Yuanbao. So you didn't dare to use a fatal dose."
Ning Yue looked down at her from above. "But your intentions are extremely vicious! In order to make me disliked by the Noble Consort and the Crown Prince, you even targeted Yuanbao. You deserve to die!"
Under this imposing manner, Nan Zhilan couldn't bear it. She would never admit it. "I... I'm the daughter of the Minister of Works..."
"Don't dare to do anything to me? Ha... You're really audacious!"
Ning Yue reached out and pinched her chin. "Do you think your father and mother know nothing about what you've done? When the Noble Consort came to question me, I already suspected you. Just in time, I'll use you to assert my authority and let all the relatives of the officials see your end..." At this moment, Ning Yue was like a devil.
Nan Zhilan couldn't believe it. The Song Ning Yue she usually saw was so terrifying?
Ning Yue activated the mechanism of the ring.
The poisoned needle silently pierced into Nan Zhilan's neck. "Ah..." Her shrill screams pierced the night sky.
Nan Zhilan rolled on the ground in pain. Ning Yue clapped her hands, squatted down and looked at her. "I'll let you die knowing the truth. I... I'm actually Song Jinyu. There's no such thing as a substitute."
In the dark night, Nan Zhilan's eyes were bloodshot. She vaguely heard Ning Yue's laughter. "The Noble Consort knows my identity. Do you think His Highness the Crown Prince knows?"
What?
This was the truth. No wonder Ning Yue was never angry no matter what she said! Nan Zhilan only hated herself for being so stupid.
"Just in time, I'll use you to clean up the Eastern Palace."
"In the future, I'll also clean up the palace carefully."
As soon as Nan Zhilan died, the Nan family, the family of the Minister of Works, was raided. Then, the title of the Duke Protector's Mansion was stripped, and they were driven out of the capital and became commoners.
For a moment, everyone in the court was in danger.
Many families that were on good terms with the Chen family and the Nan family didn't dare to refute the powerful Crown Prince.
Taking this opportunity, all the spies planted by the concubines in the harem and the officials in the previous court in the Eastern Palace were rooted out.
The discerning people could see that the Crown Prince was decisive and swift. With the support of Prime Minister Song in the previous court, the voices asking the emperor to abdicate gradually increased.
When everything calmed down, Zhongli Mingye finally had the chance to find his lovely wife.
Since the wedding night, they hadn't been together. That woman only cared about taking care of Little Yuanbao and left her newlywed husband aside.
Sleeping alone in the empty room every night was really unacceptable!
Finally, he caught her. "What are you doing? I still have to play games with Yuanbao!" Ning Yue hurriedly pushed Zhongli Mingye away, but found that he didn't move at all.
She bumped into his arms. Ning Yue listened to his familiar heartbeat. She wrapped her arms around his lean waist. "You only care about Yuanbao. Do you ever think of me?" Zhongli Mingye admitted that he was jealous.
"Who ever gets jealous of their own son?" Ning Yue was helpless.
She wanted to say something else, but was kissed by him. All her words were swallowed. In a daze, her clothes fell off one by one, and she was carried into the room by him.
After the lovemaking, Ning Yue said weakly, "Who is taking care of Yuanbao now?"
Zhongli Mingye couldn't bear it anymore and kissed her to shut her up. After a long time, the candle wax had fallen all over the place. Then he said, "Prepare the fragrant bath."
Ning Yue was already too tired and fell asleep.
Not long after, it was diagnosed that Ning Yue, the Crown Princess of the Xia Dynasty, was pregnant. In the 35th year of Tianqing, she gave birth to the County Princess Zhongli Yuan Ruo.
The next year, Emperor Chongde passed away. The Crown Prince Zhongli Mingye ascended the throne, with the reign title Hongyu. He made Song Ning Yue the empress, Zhongli Yuan Jing the Crown Prince, and Zhongli Yuan Ruo the eldest princess.
On the day of his enthronement, he announced to the world that he would never take another consort in his life.
"Where's His Majesty?"
Ning Yue lifted her skirt and held a bunch of wintersweet in her hand. She didn't ask anyone to announce her arrival. And Eunuch Lianluo, who was guarding the door, was already used to the empress's temperament.
The emperor never spoke harshly in front of the empress.
Now, the emperor was furious because of the corruption case in Chengzhou. At this time, the ministers were trembling under the emperor's anger.
But as soon as the empress came, the emperor's cold face seemed to melt the frost.
"Look at these wintersweet. They're blooming so beautifully."
She leaned in Zhongli Mingye's arms and smelled the familiar sandalwood fragrance.
In these three years, she still couldn't remember anything about the past. But with Zhongli Mingye's love and care, the missing gaps in her mind were gradually filled.