No one could have imagined that, after the court came to Luoyang for a few days, two dukes were deprived of their nobility titles in a row.

Then, Prince Huai’s consort and concubine were convicted of capital crimes one after the other.

In the Prince Huai Mansion, after Concubine Qin heard the imperial decree, a sudden huge pain in her lower abdomen suddenly washed over her, and blood flowed. She suddenly thought of the long-forgotten Qiao Ruoshui.

Prince Huai and Prince Mediocre were worthy of being brothers, and even their ways of treating their women were similar.

When she was useless, he would even kill his own child!

Concubine Qin slowly opened her eyes and looked at Prince Huai. “Your Highness, why are you so ruthless?! This is your child too!”

Prince Huai said coldly, “You can blame no one but yourself for being so stupid. I’m already disliked by my father, and leaving your child alive will only make him dislike me even more.”

Concubine Qin bit her lower lip. She really regretted it this time. If she didn’t covet high positions, she would have just married an ordinary husband like other ordinary women.

With the Duke Qin Mansion behind her, she would probably live in happiness. How could she have ended up like this? Now she couldn’t even save her own child!

“Concubine Qin bled to death after a miscarriage… She has been convicted of murdering her sister-in-law. Wrap her body with a broken straw mat and throw it to a random mass grave.”

Suffering from the sharp abdominal pain, Concubine Qin was dying. “Your Highness, unlike the Crown Prince, you’re really cold-hearted. It’s no wonder no matter how hard you try, you just can’t be the crown prince! It’s because you are not worthy of the title!”

When Prince Huai heard these words, he strangled Concubine Qin by the neck with a fierce look. “You are courting death!”

…

When the news that Prince Huai’s concubine died of miscarriage spread throughout the imperial palace, Qiao Jinniang couldn’t help sighing in the East Palace.

Concubine Qin didn’t hesitate to murder her own sister-in-law for the sake of power, but in the end, she died in misery. However, Qiao Jinniang had no sympathy for her. She just got what she deserved.

Only a few days ago, Prince Huai’s party was still aggressive and overbearing, but the Emperor was the Emperor. A few words of Emperor Huiling had brought Prince Huai back to his original form.

This was the cruelty of the imperial power.

Xuanzheng Palace.

After Empress Zhou heard the news, she just shook the fan gently and sighed.

“That child just can’t be reconciled. If he could have listened to his mother’s advice, his child wouldn’t have been killed.”

“Your Highness, there is a woman who claims to be your elder sister asking to see you. She has been making trouble at the gate of the imperial palace…”

Empress Zhou took the post from the imperial maid and said with joy, “It’s my sister who is back. Quickly let her in.”

Zhou Qinghe entered the Xuanzheng Palace, looked at the woman who was sitting on the seat of honor in the palace, dressed gorgeously and still looked young and beautiful, and said coldly,

“My dear sister, you’ve been the Empress for 20 years, so you’ve forgotten your natal family? Our family’s nobility title has been deprived, and Mother is seriously ill and still in coma, but you just sit there and do nothing at all?”

“How dare you! Why don’t you salute Her Majesty?!” A mammy scolded.

Empress Zhou raised her hand to stop the mammy, and said to Zhou Qinghe, “Sister, don’t pretend to be a filial daughter at this time, okay? You’ve disappeared for 20 years, during which Mother has been worried about you every day. Now you’re blaming me?

“Besides, I’ve given Brother many chances, but he never cherished them. Keeping this nobility title will only bring disaster to the Zhou family!”

Zhou Qinghe said, “Then what about Sisi? You watched Sisi grow up. She just killed a commoner. Does she have to die?”

“She has been calling you ‘Auntie’ since she was a child. How can you have the heart to watch her die at such a young age?”

Empress Zhou shook the fan in her hand and said, “A life for a life. This is the law.”

“Zhou Qingxiu!” Zhou Qinghe frowned. “You stole my identity and became the Empress back then! If you don’t rescue Sisi, don’t blame me for telling His Majesty the truth!”

Empress Zhou smiled coldly and said, “Go ahead.”

Zhou Qinghe was very angry. “Good, very good! You think you can dump your natal family just because you’ve been the Empress for twenty years? I’ll see how long you can be favored by His Majesty without the support of the Duke Wu Mansion!”

Zhou Qinghe flung her sleeves in anger and left the Xuanzheng Palace.

Qiao Jinniang came to Xuanzheng Palace to deliver snacks to the Empress, only to see Zhou Qinghe coming out of the door huffily.

Her impression on Zhou Qinghe was already vague, but she still recognized her. “Ms. Zhou!”

Zhou Qinghe glanced at Qiao Jinniang and narrowed her eyes. “Are you the Crown Princess, the one who helped Princess Fulu steal my daughter’s fiance? With me here, you can’t hurt my daughter!”

Qiao Jinniang: “…”

“You’re just a mere menial businesswoman. How dare you bully my daughter, bah!”

Hongling stepped forward and slapped Zhou Qinghe hard in the face. “Who do you think you are? How dare you disrespect Her Highness?”

Zhou Qinghe covered her face, glared at Qiao Jinniang and said in disbelief, “Even that ingrate Zhou Qingxiu won’t dare to touch me. How dare you hit me?!”

Qiao Jinniang said, “Why don’t I dare?”

Zhou Qinghe glared at Qiao Jinniang, apparently not recognizing that Qiao Jinniang was her former student. She glared at Qiao Jinniang and said, “Let’s wait and see.”

Qiao Jinniang frowned, feeling that Zhou Qinghe was very different from that Ms. Zhou in her memory. Maybe she was wrong. This was what Ms. Zhou was really like but she didn’t find out back then.

When they were under a heavy academic pressure, a teacher who allowed them to read novels and didn’t urge them to study was certainly a good teacher in their eyes.

But now from the perspective of a mother, Qiao Jinniang realized that her parents spent a lot of money to send her to the school, and a teacher who didn’t give lectures and indulge them in playing was actually a bad teacher.

Qiao Jinniang entered the Xuanzheng Palace and found Empress Zhou looking a bit angry.

Empress Zhou smiled when she saw Qiao Jinniang coming. “I smelled the fragrance from far away. What delicious food did you bring today?”

Qiao Jinniang said, “Xi’er was clamoring to eat ice cream, and it happens that there is lychee sent from Shu as a tribute, so I made lychee ice cream. Would you like to have a try, Mother?”

Empress Zhou chuckled and said, “That’s great. By the way, is Qiao Ruoyun still alive?”

Qiao Jinniang nodded and said, “Yes!”

Empress Zhou scooped up a spoonful of ice cream and said, “Qin Shu looked very affectionate to Ruoyun, but I really didn’t expect him to be so vicious. Alas, many men in the world are cruel to their women.”

Qiao Jinniang nodded and didn’t forget to flatter the Empress, saying, “Yes, but Mother, you’re so blissful as to wholly own the love of Father, which is really to be envied by all women in the world.”

Empress Zhou gently tapped Qiao Jinniang’s forehead. “Did you learn this from Junior Duke Rong?”

Qiao Jinniang said to Empress Zhou, “Mother, can you do me a favor? I’m interested in a few shops in Jiuzhou Lane, but those shops are neither for sale nor for rental…

“His Royal Highness said that those shops belong to Father…”

The Empress smiled and said, “If you want those shops, it’s not difficult. Yu’er, go fetch the title deeds for the shops in Jiuzhou Lane.”

After the imperial maid brought the title deeds over, the Empress handed them to Qiao Jinniang and said, “I’m already old and impatient to handle the ledger. Now the shops in Jiuzhou Lane are yours.”

Qiao Jinniang said, “No, Mother, you’re not old at all! You look like my sister. I’m not flattering you but telling the truth. You are very young.”

The Empress hadn’t reached forty yet, and her skin was well-maintained, so she looked even younger than ordinary women in their twenties.

Empress Zhou sighed. “I’m already a grandmother. How can I not be old? When I saw my elder sister today, I realized how time flies. In the blink of an eye, I haven’t seen her for more than 20 years.”