The emperor woke up the day after being assassinated, but he was extremely weak. The traces of his neck were not gone, and he had difficulty swallowing. He could only eat some liquid food every day and could not speak. He was also a little confused. His eyes occasionally flashed, but most of the time he was dim and spiritless.

An imperial physician stayed and was not allowed to leave the palace for a second step. Two eunuchs and two palace maids served the emperor. They were strictly ordered by the empress dowager and were never allowed to disclose the emperor's condition to anyone.

The imperial doctor tried to make it tactful, but the meaning was very clear. The emperor was not completely out of danger, and Empress Dowager Cining could not rest assured and still had to beware of accidents. So she deliberately made the outside world think that the emperor would be in the near future.

The news brought by Jing Yao disrupted the plan and gained the trust of Empress Dowager Cining.

Her foundation is still too shallow. Her family had just arrived in the capital and had no way to rely on her. She could not control her ministers freely, so she could not fully believe it.

But she urgently needs someone who can use it.

Jing Yao was taken to Cining Palace, and the emperor lived here all the time. The house was full of the strong smell of medicine. The imperial doctor sat on a chair and yawned. When he saw someone coming in, he immediately got up and retreated aside.

Empress Dowager Cining walked to the side of the **, looked at her son, looked sad, and immediately tried to squeeze out a smile, "My son, you must have a son, if you can understand me, just make some expression."

After waiting for a while, a snoring sound came from **, as if phlegm was stuck in the throat.

Cining {m.{[qud}The Empress Dowager was surprised and happy, turned her head to look at the imperial doctor, "Your Majesty can understand my words."

The imperial doctor was also surprised and quickly stepped forward, first asked the empress dowager to step back, then check again, pinched and pressed, took the pulse on both wrists, stood up and said to the empress dowager: "Congratulations to the empress dowager, Your Majesty's situation has indeed improved, but..."

"Just what?"

"It's just that the pulse is a bit disordered, and I don't understand why, so it's hard to make a conclusion."

"But your Majesty will be better?"

"Uh..." The imperial doctor understood that he was answering with his life and was reluctant to give a clear answer.

Empress Dowager Cining was dissatisfied, but she said nothing. She waved her hand and asked the imperial physician to retreat, walked to the side of the **, and said softly: "Your Majesty will recover, and you will have a lot of children and grandchildren, leaving a foundation for the Great Chu forever."

Empress Dowager Cining stood there, looking at the emperor silently, as if she had forgotten that there was someone else in the room. After a long time, she turned around and signaled that Jing Yao could come.

Jing Yao walked to the side of the **, knelt down and kowtowed first, then got up, turned slightly, and looked at the emperor on the **.

The emperor's face was not normal, his breathing was faint, his eyes were opened, he did not blink, and he looked a little weird. The imperial doctor didn't dare to say much, so Jing Yao naturally wouldn't speak randomly, and said softly: "Old slave Jing Yao, pay homage to Your Majesty."

Empress Dowager Cining said: "Your Majesty rescued you from the humble position and entrusted with important tasks. Jing Yao, are you willing to repay Your Majesty?"

Jing Yao immediately knelt down and kowtowed to the emperor and the queen mother one after another, "The old slave's life belongs to Your Majesty. As long as you can serve Your Majesty, I will die without regrets."

"Okay, let the people outside think that the four concubines are pregnant. Anyway, the imperial doctor cannot identify them, so no one can say that this is false news. Jing Yao, in front of His Majesty, do you think you can protect these four people, especially Concubine Tong?"

"Jing Yao swore to the sky that if he did not do his best, he would be willing to be cut into pieces. If there was an accident, he would never be reborn in hell."

The Queen Mother nodded, "Don't disclose Your Majesty's condition before Your Majesty recovers. The news of the pregnancy of the four concubines is enough to stabilize the court."

"What the Empress Dowager said is very much." Jing Yao slowly stood up.

"How do you plan to protect the four concubines and His Majesty?"

"Send more guards, patrol day and night, eat and live, and strictly supervise them."

"Can Zhongchangshi do what you said?"

"The old slave asks for instructions in everything, and according to the Queen Mother's imperial edict, there is no need for other positions."

Empress Dowager Cining nodded again, saying that she was an old official in the palace, and every word she said was in line with the master's wishes.

The emperor on ** made another snoring sound. In addition to the surprise, Empress Dowager Cining was also a little confused. "Your Majesty seems to be saying something to me, Jing Yao, can you understand?"

Jing Yao looked at the emperor again, and after a while, he shook his head, "I don't understand."

Empress Dowager Cining sighed, "Maybe I should have brought back one or two people around His Majesty. How about Zhang Youcai? He has followed His Majesty for the longest time and should be trustworthy."

"Zhang Youcai has no problem, but in this way, isn't it equivalent to announcing to the outside world that Your Majesty's condition has improved?"

Empress Dowager Cining thought for a while, "You go and do your business. If you need an imperial edict, just find me."

"Yes, the Queen Mother." Jing Yao went out and asked a eunuch to prepare food for him. He went out of the residence of the four concubines to inspect. When he came back for dinner, he immediately drafted several imperial decrees and granted himself several powers. He was very cautious. The scope of all powers was very narrow, and it was temporary and was abolished if it expired.

Empress Dowager Cining was full of suspicion, and the last thing Jing Yao wanted to do was to arouse her suspicion.

Jing Yao actually understood the emperor's meaning just now. The emperor was looking for someone. Although he didn't know who it was, he could always guess it with a little guidance. Jing Yao pretended not to understand anything in front of the empress dowager. One reason was that he didn't want the empress dowager to think he was too smart, and the other reason was that he didn't want to summon people back so soon.

What he wants is independence, which is indispensable.

The Queen Mother's imperial decree was quickly sent back, and it was re-copied by the female official, with few changes. The empress dowager's seal was stamped, and at least it could pass through the palace without any obstacles.

Although he had not regained his post as a chief supervisor, Jing Yao returned to the top of power. Before dawn the next day, a group of familiar eunuchs came to visit him. Jing Yao disappeared, so he lived near the Cining Palace. He must not show signs of holding power and respecting himself. He scolded these people in his heart for being stupid. Even if he wanted to please, he should not be so blatant.

The first thing I did when I woke up early was to pay my respects to Empress Dowager Cining, report the situation, and asked for several imperial edicts, and then patrol the concubines' residence and set the death rules: a team of eleven people are guarding each other, and no one is allowed to act alone. Even if it is in a hurry, others must be accompanied by others. Each team of guards is equipped with three eunuchs to supervise each other; the same is true for the palace maids around the concubines. One person makes mistakes and all the people are implicated; all the food and food, from the moment the materials enter the palace, must be checked by someone.

For Jingyao, it doesn’t matter whether you believe it or not. Everyone must be under supervision to be trusted.

As the sun is midday, the person who pleases Jing Yao is no longer a slave in the palace, but a master.

The three concubines who may have been pregnant all gave gifts to Jing Yao through palace maids. They were not very expensive, but were just used to show intimacy. Two of them hoped to find an imperial doctor to go to the palace for diagnosis, or bring a letter to their family outside. Concubine Shu Deng Yun was the most direct and called Jing Yao in and said, "When I give birth to a prince, I will be the imperial concubine. Please help me and send these two letters, one to my brother in the Western Regions and the other to my family in Jincheng."

Jing Yao refused all, claiming that he did not have this power and that everything would be decided by the two empress dowagers.

Tong Qing'e, who was really pregnant, didn't say anything. She was still nervous and felt that in her own status, she should not and could not give birth to the first prince. She always thought something was wrong, or that she was pregnant with her daughter.

Jing Yao carefully comforted Concubine Tong and found eunuchs who were both "hard-working people" to accompany her. In short, Tong Qing'e should take care of her baby.

During this period, two eunuchs came to Jing Yao and hinted that someone outside the palace wanted to see him, but they were deposed. Jing Yao knew who wanted to see him, and Han Chou must be very anxious, but Jing Yao didn't want to make everything clear in person so quickly. He had to wait and observe, and not make any decisions until the situation was clear.

That afternoon, Jing Yao was summoned by another empress dowager.

Jing Yao respected and hated Empress Dowager Shangguan, and respected her the most dignified Empress Dowager. He hated her for guilt on behalf of her, and was directly demoted from the Central Secretary to ****, which made him suffer endless suffering.

But he had to go. After asking Empress Dowager Cining and obtaining permission, Jing Yao went to Cishun Palace. He was a little curious. Empress Dowager Shangguan had long stopped asking about internal and external affairs, so why did he meet an old eunuch who had just returned to the palace?

Empress Dowager Shangguan gave him a seat, the palace maid presented tea, and then stepped down. Jing Yao sat sideways with a teacup, his eyes lowered, and he couldn't help but be afraid of the empress dowager who had already given up his power.

The Empress Dowager Shangguan was unwilling to talk too much, so she said "drink tea". After watching Jing Yao take a sip, she asked, "Is there anyone in the Shangguan family alive?"

Jing Yao was shocked, and the teacup in his hand almost failed to fall, "The Queen Mother..."

Empress Dowager Shangguan smiled slightly, "You went to Donghai Kingdom, but you didn't make any contribution to the Wang family. Obviously, it was not to investigate the authenticity of the Wang family, but to have other plans. I guess it was related to the Shangguan family, right?"

Jing Yao was even more shocked and forced a smile and said, "To be honest, I'm going to check on the Yan family. Your Majesty doubted..."

Empress Dowager Shangguan shook her head, "Jing Yao, you feel that your status in front of Cining is already very stable, but I can bring you back to my true form with just one word. Do you believe it?"

Jing Yao's face changed. When the emperor was still a puppet and Empress Dowager Cining was still a beauty king, Jing Yao was ordered by Empress Dowager Shangguan to do some things secretly. Once exposed, he would be imprisoned even if he did not die.

After all the calculations, he could not fight against Empress Dowager Shangguan, so he had to reply: "The old slave has indeed investigated the Empress Dowager's family, but the person who asked the old slave to do this was not Empress Dowager Cining, nor His Majesty, but Mrs. Ping'en."

Empress Dowager Shangguan frowned and then smiled and said, "The people from the Cui family want to alienate me and Empress Dowager Cining. What is your investigation result?"

"The Empress Dowager has a nephew named Shangguan Ding."

"Um."

"The old slave found a close follower of Shangguan Ding in the Donghai Kingdom. He said... He said that the Shangguan family had received an imperial edict from the Empress Dowager to ask them to help Yishi Island, but they had no evidence. Shangguan Ding did not know whereabouts and could not prove it, so the old slave did not take it seriously and never mentioned this to anyone."

"It's not impossible. Shangguan Sheng used to take charge of my seal, and he is familiar with my handwriting, so it's very convenient to forge a letter."

"When the Empress Dowager said this, I suddenly realized my heart." Jing Yao said immediately, not feeling that Shangguan Sheng had the courage to do so at the beginning.

Empress Dowager Shangguan no longer talks about her own affairs, "The emperor has a female guard named Meng'e, do you recognize her?"

Jing Yao nodded, "It is said that she killed a very suspicious female zither, which made the case of assassination even more confusing, and is now detained in Cui's mansion."

"Well, you can find a way to get her back to the palace and live."

Jing Yao looked up at the Queen Mother in surprise, feeling vaguely uneasy, afraid that he would be involved in the conspiracy again. (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!