Chapter 38: That Vile Woman Knows Witchcraft

Eunuch Hu’s expression changed drastically: “Regent’s Princess, even if the Regent is an elder, the hierarchical relationship between monarch and subject cannot be disordered. The Regent is a subject—”

“The Regent is a subject?” Shen Ning turned her head to look at him, as if puzzled, “Isn’t the Regent currently governing on behalf of the Emperor? Do you mean that even the Regent should kneel before the Emperor?”

“This…” Eunuch Hu raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, unable to help but look towards the Emperor, “Although it’s not necessary, but… but…”

“Enough.” Ji Jin spoke indifferently, “If she doesn’t want to kneel, then so be it.”

Eunuch Hu stood to the side with his head bowed and his eyes lowered.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Shen Ning slightly bowed, “Your Majesty summoned me to the palace to obtain the antidote. Although I’m not entirely sure what’s going on, thinking that the Regent is now my husband, in case something happens to him… So I came. Please give me the antidote, Your Majesty, so I can go back and administer it to him immediately.”

Ji Jin didn’t speak, only deeply scrutinized this woman.

The eldest daughter of the Duke of the State, Shen Ning.

How did he not notice before that she was a woman bold enough to wrap the heavens?

Encountering bandits, being rejected by the Qin family, marrying the Regent.

Among these three events, which one caused her personality to change so drastically?

Thinking back to the night she married the Regent, the cold and merciless look in her eyes as she walked out of the bridal chamber, like the Grim Reaper just stepping out of hell…

Ji Jin’s heart shuddered, inexplicably filled with killing intent.

This woman cannot be allowed to live.

However, she cannot die within the palace.

Ji Jin regained his senses and turned to instruct: “Zhou Fang, give the antidote to the Regent’s Princess.”

“Yes.”

The chief steward Zhou Fang, standing beside the Emperor, left to carry out the order. After a short while, he returned from the inner hall with a yellow square brocade box and silently handed it to Shen Ning.

Shen Ning took the box and opened it to find a completely black and shiny pill quietly placed inside. As the box opened, a fragrant aroma wafted towards her.

The fragrance was so rich that it was enough to mask any other scents from the pill.

Shen Ning closed the brocade box and slightly bowed: “Thank you, Your Majesty. I will take my leave now.”

Ji Jin asked indifferently: “Is the princess not at all curious about why the Regent didn’t come in person to get the antidote today?”

Shen Ning was silent for a moment before guessing: “Is it because the Regent was delayed by something?”

Ji Jin frowned: “Why do I feel that you know nothing about uncle, the Regent?”

“Your Majesty is correct, I indeed know very little about the Regent.” Shen Ning lowered her eyes, her tone unperturbed, “I have only been married to the Regent for half a month, and we have met only a few times. Each meeting only consists of a few words, so there is truly not much to know.”

Hearing this, Ji Jin couldn’t help but doubt the Regent’s motives for marrying Shen Ning again.

Going to great lengths to marry her, yet remaining unfamiliar until now?

Shen Ning calculated the time since leaving the Longevity Palace, knowing that it was not suitable to linger here any longer. She bowed her head in a gesture of respect: “Your Majesty, I will take my leave now.”

With that, she turned and walked out.

Ji Jin remained silent, allowing her to leave.

He only stared at her slender and upright back, feeling as if she were shrouded in a layer of mist, vague and unclear.

Why did the Regent marry her?

Where did Shen Ning get the audacity to be so bold?

Was she truly fearless of death, or was she relying on the Regent’s power to put on a show, borrowing the tiger’s might?

“What happened when the Regent’s Princess went to the Longevity Palace earlier?” Ji Jin looked up at Eunuch Hu, who was not far away, “Did the Empress Dowager not make things difficult for her?”

“In response to Your Majesty, this servant has been waiting outside the palace gates and is not clear on what was said between the Empress Dowager and the Regent’s Princess. However… it seems that Princess Jiahe was throwing a tantrum, angrily asking the Empress Dowager what was wrong.”

Princess Jiahe throwing a tantrum?

Ji Jin involuntarily tightened his grip on the book in his hand, a thoughtful look appearing in his eyes…

“Your Majesty!” Suddenly, a domineering voice sounded from outside, “I want to see the Emperor! Your Majesty, you cannot let Shen Ning leave. Please, Your Majesty, do not let Shen Ning go. I must teach her a lesson!”

Ji Jin frowned: “Let her in.”

“Yes.”

Eunuch Hu turned and walked out, saying to Princess Jiahe: “Your Highness, His Majesty has invited you in for a conversation.”

Princess Jiahe swept in like a gust of wind, looking around frantically, searching for something.

However, no matter how she searched, she couldn’t find any trace of Shen Ning. She looked at Ji Jin: “Your Majesty, where is that vile woman Shen Ning?”

Ji Jin’s face darkened, and he spoke displeasedly: “Elder sister, you are a princess of the royal family, not a vulgar woman from the streets.”

Princess Jiahe replied coldly: “Where is Shen Ning?”

Eunuch Hu respectfully replied: “In response to Your Highness, the Regent’s Princess has just left. May I ask what you need her for?”

Princess Jiahe’s expression changed, and she gritted her teeth: “That vile woman knows witchcraft!”

Witchcraft?

Ji Jin was taken aback and instinctively asked: “What do you mean?”

“Today, Shen Ning offended me, and I complained to my mother. The Empress Dowager promised me that she would teach her a lesson!” Princess Jiahe’s face was dark and furious, clearly enraged, “But after bringing her into the Longevity Palace, the Empress Dowager suddenly changed as if she were a different person, speaking to Shen Ning so gently, without any temper at all!”

Hearing this, Ji Jin’s expression tightened slightly.

He had found it strange earlier.

He had assumed that when Shen Ning went to the Longevity Palace, the Empress Dowager would certainly make things difficult for her. He hadn’t expected her to return so quickly.

Ji Jin wanted to ask but couldn’t really do so in front of Shen Ning: “Did the Empress Dowager not make things difficult for you?”

So he suppressed his doubts, suspecting whether the Regent had given Shen Ning a protective talisman, making the Empress Dowager hesitant to act?

But Princess Jiahe said the Empress Dowager’s attitude was gentle…

Ji Jin understood his own mother. She had always been accustomed to being strong, and now, as the Empress Dowager, it was impossible for her to be friendly towards anyone she detested.

“What do you think happened?” Ji Jin picked up his teacup and took a sip before putting it down and looking up at Princess Jiahe, “After Shen Ning entered the Longevity Palace, did she drink tea or eat anything? Did she get close to the Empress Dowager?”

“This…” Princess Jiahe hesitated, “No, she didn’t.”

That was strange.

Ji Jin pondered for a moment but couldn’t make sense of it: “Later, I’ll ask the Empress Dowager.”

Princess Jiahe couldn’t help but stamp her foot: “Today was a rare opportunity to get her into the palace. Are we just going to let it go like this?”

“What else can we do?” Ji Jin lowered his head to read, his voice clear and indifferent, “There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. Just be smarter in the future, elder sister, and don’t easily provoke her.”

Princess Jiahe was furious inside.

What did it mean not to easily provoke her? It was clearly Shen Ning who provoked her, the princess.

That damned vile woman.

In the past, wherever she and Princess Jiayu went, which noble lady wasn’t respectful? Who would dare to be disrespectful to her, the legitimate princess?

Yet now, she had been humiliated several times in front of that vile woman Shen Ning.

If she didn’t seek revenge for this humiliation, she wouldn’t be the legitimate princess of the royal family.