"Empress Dowager, perhaps you should give me an explanation. Why do you suspect that I'm an impostor?" Mu Fengqie said, looking at the Empress Dowager.
Before the Empress Dowager could say anything, a concubine who disliked her greatly blurted out, "What else could it be? She just heard that her power was going to be stripped away. She's unhappy and desperate!"
"Presumptuous! Who gave you the right to speak here?" The Empress Dowager stared at the concubine with a menacing look.
The concubine was frightened by the Empress Dowager's gaze and immediately nestled into Yuan Yuchuan's arms. "Your Majesty~ Look at the way the Empress Dowager is looking at me. It's terrifying!"
Yuan Yuchuan felt the woman in his arms trembling and gently patted her on the back, comforting her continuously. "Empress Dowager, you'd better focus on recuperating."
With just one sentence from Yuan Yuchuan, the matter of the Empress Dowager was settled. Seeing that there was no turning back, the Empress Dowager suddenly fixed her eyes on Mu Xingrou in the crowd. She decided that if she had to go down, she'd take someone with her.
"Mu Xingrou, don't you have anything to explain? You were the one who told me about this." The Empress Dowager said.
Mu Xingrou had a bad feeling when the Empress Dowager looked in her direction. Now, hearing the Empress Dowager's accusation, her eyes darkened.
"I don't know what the Empress Dowager is talking about." Mu Xingrou stood up weakly. "Although I don't get along well with Fengqie, I would never do such a thing as framing someone."
"Ridiculous!" The Empress Dowager slapped the table and stood up. "Your Majesty, you can send someone to investigate. If this slut didn't tell me about this, I would never have known."
Mu Fengqie watched the two of them fight like dogs and felt extremely happy. Why say anything when it's more fun to just sit back and watch the show?
"Enough!" Yuan Yuchuan rubbed his temples. This Empress Dowager was really annoying. He could see that wherever she was, there would be trouble.
"Empress Dowager, you will spend the rest of your days in seclusion in Cixi Palace. Hand over the Phoenix Seal to the Empress." After saying this, Yuan Yuchuan got up and left. They were all such a hassle.
After the Emperor left, the Empress Dowager stared fiercely at Mu Fengqie, Mu Xingrou, and the Empress, especially Mu Xingrou. She never expected that this slut would turn against her in the end. How despicable!
"Mu Xingrou, you're really bold enough to deceive me." The Empress Dowager said through gritted teeth.
"I don't understand what the Empress Dowager is talking about." Mu Xingrou looked at the Empress Dowager innocently.
The Empress Dowager was so angry at Mu Xingrou's expression that she laughed. What a great actress!
The Empress Dowager had nothing left now and had no intention of dealing with them anymore. She simply told them to leave.
After Mu Fengqie left, she went to the Empress's palace. She had seen the Empress's sincerity, and the Phoenix Seal was her return gift.
"I wonder if the Empress likes this gift?" Mu Fengqie sat opposite the Empress and said.
"Of course I like it. I didn't expect Fengqie to be so capable. With just one move, you stripped the Empress Dowager of all her power." A hint of admiration flashed in the Empress's eyes.
They were both women, so why was there such a big difference? If only she had half of Fengqie's ability.
"The Empress is overpraising me. We're just mutually beneficial." Mu Fengqie looked at the expression on the Empress's face and said. If it weren't for the Empress's own efforts today, she wouldn't have been so successful.
Moreover, based on Jingfei's reaction, this Empress seemed to be a fence-sitter, always siding with the stronger side. Such a person could only be tied down by interests. Once there was nothing she wanted, she would be easily discarded by the Empress.
The Empress didn't deny what Mu Fengqie said. They were indeed in a mutually beneficial relationship.
After Yuan Yuchuan left, he sent someone to investigate this matter. The result came back quickly. Yuan Yuchuan looked at the contents in his hand and was so angry that his fingers trembled. They were all useless fools.
The Empress Dowager was a woman in her twilight years. How could she be so easily deceived? And she had even sent someone to investigate, but still couldn't figure it out. She was really good for nothing. How could such a person be his grandmother?
Yuan Yuchuan felt extremely disgusted. However, he knew very well that there was no smoke without fire. Mu Fengqie might have indeed left the capital, but the Empress Dowager and the others just missed the time when she was away.
"Xiao Li, send someone to find out if Mu Fengqie has left the capital and what she has been doing." Yuan Yuchuan paused. "Pay special attention to Jing Xinche and his people."
"Yes, Your Majesty. I understand." Eunuch Li knew that the Emperor attached great importance to this matter, so he didn't dare to be negligent at all. He sent many people to investigate, but it would take at least three days to get the result. And in these three days, it would be enough for Mu Fengqie and the others to cover their tracks.
"Master, you were right. The Emperor has indeed sent someone to investigate. But Zhu Yan has already discussed it with An Ye, who was sent by the Marquis." Zhu Fei told Mu Fengqie about this.
But Mu Fengqie was so sleepy that she could hardly keep her eyes open. She didn't hear a single word of what Zhu Fei said and just fell asleep on the bed. When Zhu Fei finished speaking and looked up, she saw her master's sleeping back.
Zhu Fei cursed the Empress Dowager and the others in her heart while gently covering Mu Fengqie with a quilt.
Mu Fengqie had been really tired these days. She didn't wake up until the afternoon the next day. As soon as she woke up, she smelled a delicious aroma.
"Zhu Fei, what's that smell? It's so fragrant!" Mu Fengqie licked her lips and said.
"Master, this is the meal that An Ye made for you according to the Marquis's instructions." Zhu Fei was also a bit surprised because they didn't notice that An Ye could cook when they were on their way back.
"Really? I'm hungry. Go and bring some in for me." Mu Fengqie felt that she could eat two big bowls of rice.
Zhu Fei nodded and went out to bring in the food that was being kept warm on the small stove outside. However, she was a bit worried when she saw the spicy dishes on the plate. Could her master eat such spicy food? What if she got sick?
Zhu Fei put the food on the table and said, "Master, why don't we change to something else? This food looks really spicy."
"No, I just want to eat spicy food. I don't like it if it's not spicy." Mu Fengqie looked at the food on the table and suddenly felt an uncontrollable appetite.
Seeing that her master showed no signs of discomfort, Zhu Fei felt relieved.