"This is such a good opportunity that this b*tch, Empress Gu, will not let it go!" At about the same time, Honored Consort Deng held a precious pure breed black Chausie with four white paws, sitting in a small pavilion in the rock garden of the Mingguang Palace and leisurely saying.

Because of the Crown Prince's wedding, she had especially had her nails done two days before. The bright color was still very shiny after a day, still intensely red like the blood that had just flowed out and hadn’t dried yet. Her carefully treated and delicate fair-skinned hand ran over the shiny coat of the cat. The red, white, and black were added together, presenting an indescribable eeriness. The Chausie felt so content that it kept purring and rubbing its fluffy face against Honored Consort Deng's hand, showing its affection.

Yao Tao was allowed to be seated on the right, paying no attention to the cat, but the Honored Consort's words drew her complete attention. She asked suspiciously, "Your Grace, are you not going to promise Song Xiyue to young master Deng?" Just as Wei Changying and Empress Gu had speculated, the reason why Honored Consort Deng had paid extra attention to Song Xiyue at the Crown Prince's wedding resulted from what had happened on Infanta Chengxian's wedding day.

On that day, Deng Wanwan, who did not know what Deng Zongqi thought, and Yao Tao had been on their way back to the palace. Deng Wanwan had happened to say, "Today I met the two sisters of the Song Family. Xiyue looks very like the third sister of the Wei Family. If they hadn't told me, I would have thought they were the ladies of the Wei Family." Deng Wanwan didn't know that Yao Tao was under Honored Consort Deng's order to find a beautiful radiant girl like Wei Changying to be Deng Zongqi's wife, but Yao Tao had registered it in her mind immediately.

In the evening, she had avoided others and spoken about it with Honored Consort Deng. Honored Consort Deng had thought for a while and sent Yao Tao over to the mansion of the Su Family to give her congratulations on Su Yulee's wedding the next day, so she had been able to personally see how Song Xiyue and Wei Changying looked alike! Then Yao Tao had returned to the palace and said that Song Xiyue really looked like her cousin. Honored Consort Deng had said nothing at that time. Yesterday at the Crown Prince's wedding, when Song Xiyue had been in the palace with her mother to celebrate, Honored Consort Deng had especially called her to her side to ask her questions in a very kind and gentle way.

Yao Tao thought the Honored Consort must have liked her, but now it didn't seem that the Honored Consort actually wanted to promise her to Deng Zongqi!

Honored Consort Deng smiled, saying, "Have you forgotten her relationship with Wei Changying?"

Yao Tao thought for a bit and immediately recalled that when she had suggested promising Deng Wanwan to Wei Qing, a child from a collateral branch of Ruiyu Hall, Honored Consort Deng had said that Wei Qing and Wei Changying were cousins of the same family and they were relatives who would visit each other. So, if Deng Zongqi fell more deeply in love with Wei Changying due to this reason and lost himself in it, people really could tell what was going on. Knowing Shen Cangfeng and Wei Changying's background, and the current status of Deng Zongqi, that he had been abandoned by the Deng Family and had to rely on the Honored Consort to obtain what he had today, she knew Deng Zongqi would be doomed eternally by this!

Wei Qing was far away in Fengzhou, and his relationship with Wei Changying could be traced back to their great grandfather's generation. Besides, Song Xiyue was the daughter of Wei Changying's aunt and she was in the capital now. Obviously, if Deng Zongqi married Song Xiyue, though he wouldn't be able to see Wei Changying all the time, he would hear things about Wei Changying through people in the family. Thinking of this, Yao Tao finally grasped it, saying, "Your Grace, you deliberately called Song Xiyue to your side yesterday, didn't you?"

Honored Consort Deng lifted the corner of her mouth, saying calmly, "Empress Gu keeps trying to get something on me. I see she is so dedicated, and I shouldn't always give her nothing. So, why don't I give her an opportunity?"

Yao Tao asked quickly, "Then, what do you want to do, Your Grace?"

"She knows that I have always loved Zongqi. Whenever Zongqi wants something, I will always be generous and try to satisfy him." Honored Consort Deng sneered, saying, "Since she knows that I am 'eyeing' up Song Xiyue. You see that she even interferes with Shenbo's request to marry Wei Lingyue, let alone things from me!"

The Honored Consort said in a leisurely manner, "If Empress Gu wants to interfere, there will only be two ways. One is to marry Song Xiyue to someone else, and the second one is to do something to interfere in Zongqi's affairs. However, Empress Gu is very sly. Since she knows I'm interested in Song Xiyue, she won't directly marry her to someone else, in case people find out it was her doing, and she can't explain it to His Majesty. I think that she will most likely tell someone else to do it."

Yao Tao asked, "Your Grace, you are saying?"

"She will take the opportunity to be nice to Song Tong and his wife." Honored Consort Deng squinted, saying slowly, "Song Tong had been an official in Zezhou for many years, but he only recently tries to be transferred back to the capital for the sake of his two daughters' marriages. But they just returned to the capital, so even if there are relatives here, they won't find suitors in a short time. Wait and see. Empress Gu will definitely give Wei Shengxian some good son-in-law options and will also try her best to make Wei Shengxian believe that Zongqi is not a good match for Song Xiyue."

"Your Grace, since you have already realized that Empress Gu will do that, what should we do?" Yao Tao pondered for a moment and asked.

Honored Consort Deng said, "Let her do whatever she wants! It's good to keep her busy with this!" She said thoughtfully, "If I don't find something for her to do, she will come to mess up what I really want to do!"

Yao Tao was surprised, asking unthinkingly, "Your Grace, what do you want to do?"

"Shenbo is sixteen years old, and he was crowned as Prince Yi in October." Honored Consort Deng looked still, saying, "Now there is Song Xiyue who looks similar to Wei Changying. Empress Gu didn't want to waste time with him and will soon give him permission to marry Wei Lingyue. In that case, he will at most wait for one month until when he is married and then he will go to his fiefdom. Let me find a way to help him to keep himself in the capital!"

"Your Grace, don't you have the Sixteenth Prince and the Seventeenth Prince who are kept in Miao Jieyu's place?" Yao Tao said in surprise, "Although His Majesty quite likes Prince Yi, Prince Yi is not as favored as the Crown Prince. Besides, Prince Yi was brought up by Madam Zhenyi, and only in the past two years."

"The Sixteenth Prince and Seventeenth Prince are too young." Honored Consort Deng sighed, saying, "One is only seven years old and the other is only five! They are not even as old as Qingxin! Even if one of them surpasses Shen Xun, do you think His Majesty will feel comfortable handing over the Great Vi to a young prince who is less than ten years old? If the future emperor is young, the country will be in danger! If everything was peaceful in the country, it would be fine, but now the Great Vi. Even I, a woman who doesn't go out of the palace very often, know it is not peaceful out there. Otherwise, why did they send imperial guards to the border? His Majesty does not like to read reports as he knows news reported from everywhere is bad. The more he sees, the more annoyed he is. So, he simply doesn't want to see these, does he?"

Having heard this, Yao Tao was a little panicked, murmuring, "The Crown Prince's elder brothers, excepting that the Eldest Prince and the Fourth Prince are dead, are in their fiefs. Apart from the Crown Prince and Prince Yi, among His Majesty's sons, only the Twelfth Prince is relatively older. From the Thirteenth Prince to the Fifteenth Prince, they have all died one after another. His Majesty does not like the Twelfth Prince, so if His Majesty... If it wasn't the Crown Prince, it could only be Prince Yi, right?"

In October, Shenbo had been crowned Prince Yi. As he suspected that his biological mother Zhou Baolin had died at Empress Gu's hands. He was hostile to the Weiyang Palace, but he wasn't very friendly to the Mingguang Palace either. Shenbo's foster mother, Madam Zhenyi, had still been in her moment of glory when she had first adopted him. As Madam Zhenyi only had a daughter herself, she had treated Shenbo well.

However, it hadn't taken long for Madam Zhenyi to fall out of favor. After that, though she was not demoted, if her daughter, Princess Anji, hadn't been capable, Doujin Palace would have been no different to a place where women were banished.

Not soon after Madam Zhenyi had been out of favor, she had become ill. For various reasons, her health became worse and worse. Almost every few days, she became more ill. In the circumstances, Princess Anji had served at her bedside day and night. Madam Zhenyi couldn't turtle on her back. It became obvious that people were further away from each other when they were facing difficulties. The mother and her daughter had been busy comforting and encouraging each other, so nobody had cared how Shenbo had been!

No one had cared about Shenbo, so he had lived in the palace miserably. When he had become old enough, he had moved to Jiamu Palace where princes lived. He only went back to Doujin Palace every a few months as he didn't want anyone to report him, saying he showed no filial obedience to Madam Zhenyi. This prince was not even close to his foster mother, let alone Honored Consort Deng who now had formed an alliance around a common enemy!

Yao Tao was disappointed to hear the speculations of Honored Consort Deng. Honored Consort Deng had been plotting against the Empress over the years because she wanted to replace the Empress herself and make the prince she supported the Crown Prince! Yao Tao had always thought that Honored Consort Deng let Miao Jieyu adopt the Sixteenth Prince and Seventeenth Prince, so the Crown Prince could be replaced by them. However, now the Honored Consort clearly told her that keeping the Sixteenth Prince and Seventeenth Prince was just a show for outsiders, as the Honored Consort was very aware that even if the Emperor loved his young boys, he wouldn't make a young boy the Emperor when the Great Vi was beset with difficulties both at home and abroad.

That was to say, even if the Emperor dismissed Empress Gu and the Crown Prince, Shen Xun, the successor would be either the Eleventh Prince, Prince Yi Shenbo, or the Twelfth Prince Shen Cheng! These two princes were not close to the Mingguang Palace, and they were older, so it would be more difficult to win over their support than that of the Sixteenth Prince and Seventeenth Prince... This was not saying that Yao Tao was only loyal to Honored Consort Deng so that she could enjoy her life after she had helped the prince, who was close to the Mingguang Palace, to be enthroned. She was quite upset when she had realized that what she had believed was not true and her years of dedicated effort had gone in vain.

As she was feeling disappointed, Honored Consort Deng noticed her sadness, suddenly laughing and scolding her, "You are so silly. The princes who are older than the Crown Prince, except for the Eldest Prince and the Fourth Prince, are in their fiefs, not dead. Can't they come back to become the emperor?"

Yao Tao paused quickly thought about the relationship between the Mingguang Palace and the princes. She disappointedly realized that apart from the Sixteenth and Seventeen Princes kept at Miao Jieyu's place, among the sons of the Emperor, only Prince Yi Shenbo was close to the Mingguang Palace!

But Honored Consort Deng continued, "So, even though Shenbo defeated Empress Gu and Shen Xun and took the throne, so what? Do you think he can do whatever he wants? His foster mother, Madam Zhenyi, was from a humble background and was favored only because of her naturally beautiful face! Anji is certainly fierce, but she is getting married soon. Besides, Anji's capability can only protect her mother and herself as far as to be able to live in the palace. She is nothing like Shenbo who can control the country! Although Shenbo's biological mother is a daughter from the Zhou Family in Xilin, the Zhou Family has never cared about him over the years. He is not a forgiving person. The Zhou Family is his mother's family, but after his mother's unexplained death, as they feared Empress Gu's position and her being favored by the Emperor, they didn't investigate the cause of his mother’s death or try to look after him. Probably, once he gains power, the first one he will want to deal with will be the Zhou Family, not to mention supporting the Zhou Family! Do you think he can go far without my support in the future? As soon as he is enthroned, can he get rid of me immediately? I haven't helped him a lot in the past, but I have no grudge against him!"

Yao Tao was stunned, saying, "Your Grace, why have you always wanted to replace the Crown Prince with Prince Yi all these years?"

"It doesn't have to be Shenbo." Honored Consort Deng squinted, saying calmly, "This person should be a bit older, so His Majesty won't worry that the future emperor is too young and the people in the country will have doubts. He should be the type that His Majesty won't dislike when he just glances at him. He should be of average intelligence, so he should be able to gain power with some help. But he is not too smart to make me feel worried. Of course, the most important thing is he will absolutely not go over to Empress Gu's side. As long as this person meets these requirements, I don't care who he will be."

The Honored Consort spoke in a slightly choked voice, "Anyway, my son died. As long as the Great Vi is not in Empress Gu and her son's hands, no matter who has it, it has nothing to do with me! I just want to taste revenge!"

The drop of a shed tear rolled down Honored Consort Deng's carefully preserved face. Nevertheless, her face couldn't defeat time, showing a faint trace of wrinkles in the daylight. And then this drop of tear slipped into the Chausie's fur. The cat, seemingly showing its affection, raised its head, meowed, and turned its head around to lick it.