The Knot of Hearts is still with her.

"If it weren't for you! How could I have fallen to this state!" A deep, intense hatred burned in Noble Lady Zhao's eyes. She even wanted to scramble and crawl over to choke Shen Fuyu's neck, only to be kicked away by Shen Fuyu's foot!

"No need to be so grateful to this Empress," Shen Fuyu said with a beaming smile. "Look at you, why bother giving this Empress such a grand bow?"

"How terribly embarrassing!"

Noble Lady Zhao wore a ferocious expression, staring fixedly at Shen Fuyu as she began to scream and shout as if to vent. The more nonchalant and unbothered Shen Fuyu acted, the more intensely dissatisfied Noble Lady Zhao felt in the depths of her heart!

She was unsatisfied! Why should she be trampled under the feet of such a lowly wretch!

She hated her so much!

Meanwhile, Shen Fuyu was completely intoxicated by the joy of gaining rage points. This kind of situation was the best; after all, for someone who could never make a comeback, status was no longer something to be feared. However, Noble Lady Zhao was not like Talent Jiang, whose family background was relatively small, otherwise she would have considered sending Noble Lady Zhao off a second time right then and there.

"Get up quickly, Younger Sister Zhao. This Empress knows you feel grateful in your heart. Look, this Empress even brought you medicine." Shen Fuyu very kindly produced a bottle of medicine, poured out a single pill, and pinched it between her fingertips. "Although the Emperor has forsaken you and is likely to leave you here to fend for yourself, this Empress is carrying a child after all and cannot bear to look upon such ominous affairs. So, Younger Sister Zhao, it is better for you to stay alive."

With that, under Noble Lady Zhao's ferocious gaze, Shen Fuyu stepped closer and directly pinched Noble Lady Zhao's chin. As Noble Lady Zhao thrashed about in agitation, Shen Fuyu forcefully shoved the medicine into her mouth!

"What did you feed me?" Noble Lady Zhao frantically clawed at her throat, letting out a series of dry heaves, but nothing came up. Panic suddenly seized her. "Vixen! What on earth did you feed me?"

"Don't be so excited!" Shen Fuyu wicked stroked her cheek, looking remarkably like a pervert. "The imperial physicians don't care about you anymore, Younger Sister. If the injuries on your body are simply left unattended, I'm afraid they will never heal."

"So this Empress specifically begged for some miraculous medicine. Once this medicine is consumed, I guarantee that Younger Sister will be full of life and vigor every single day. There is no need to thank this Empress too much, oh!"

Noble Lady Zhao's pupils contracted violently as she stared at Shen Fuyu in disbelief. Such seemingly kind and benevolent words felt as chilling as the depths of winter! How could Shen Fuyu possibly be kind enough to let her live? This was clearly meant to make her wish she were dead!

"Shen Fuyu, you are simply a venomous demon with a scorpion's heart!" Noble Lady Zhao collapsed onto the ground. The more she felt her body beginning to recover, the more frantic terror she felt in her heart. "I merely muttered two casual words about you! In this entire palace, who doesn't want you to lose your child! Who doesn't hate you to the bone! Why on earth must you target only me?"

"Ah, then you have misunderstood."

Shen Fuyu chuckled musically. "This Empress is not targeting only you alone. It's just that your luck is poor. After Talent Jiang, you are simply the second!"

Where could there be any truly good people in the palace? Everyone came from aristocratic clans; when it all came down to it, whose hands were free of a few lives?

Dogs eating dogs—Shen Fuyu saw nothing wrong with that.

"You!..."

"Rest well, Younger Sister Zhao. Tomorrow it will be time to return to the palace." Shen Fuyu patted her belly. "To accumulate blessings for the child in my womb, this Empress will come to visit you every single day."

The moment Shen Fuyu stepped outside, Noble Lady Zhao's voice rang out from within the tent.

"Shen Fuyu! You will die a horrible death! A venomous, scorpion-hearted woman like you is entirely unworthy of having children! Sooner or later, you will meet a wretched end!"

Shen Fuyu was in a wonderful mood. Could mere words capture how exhilarating these rage points were?

"Your Ladyship, the item has been secured."

In the Fengluan Palace, Dongling handed the concentric knot to Jing Lianxi. "Your Ladyship's prediction was correct; that item was indeed handed over to the Xianfei by the Emperor."

Jing Lianxi glanced at it, then suddenly picked up the concentric knot and squeezed it in her hand. Her expression drastically changed as she slammed the item onto the floor!

"Your Ladyship?..." Dongling was startled. Under Jing Lianxi's ferocious glare, she quickly picked up the concentric knot, only to discover that the object originally hidden inside had long since been removed. This was clearly nothing more than an empty decoration!

"Your Ladyship, forgive me! This servant was remiss!" Dongling knelt on the ground to confess her fault. "That group of people must have left in a hurry, but surely the item is still hidden somewhere!"

"This servant will have them search again immediately!"

"There is no need," Jing Lianxi interrupted her. "If they have hidden it away, how could they possibly let you find it so easily?"

Qin Zhiyi's schemes had actually reached this point; she had truly underestimated him. It was a pity they had failed to poison him to death back then. Now that the item had been taken back by Qin Zhiyi, the Dragon Shadow Guards had quietly purged nearly half their ranks—all of them people she had previously found convenient to use. Since the item could no longer be easily retrieved, she simply could not allow Qin Zhiyi to use it smoothly either!

"It is time to clean up the capital as well," Jing Lianxi declared. "Qin Zhiyi will surely find a place to expand the numbers of the Dragon Shadow Guards next. I made so many promises to that faction in the former court before, and now it is time for them to repay the favor. Tell them to keep their eyes locked tightly on the Shen family and give the Shen family no room to breathe!"

"In addition, keep finding ways to investigate Shen Fuyu's side. If I am not mistaken, the Dragon Shadow Token is definitely in her hands; the concentric knot was merely a decoy used to deceive people."

"Understood."

Having finished these arrangements, Jing Lianxi sat down in a chair, gazing at her flat lower abdomen, feeling somewhat depressed and irritable. She both anticipated and detested the possibility of new life growing within her; she had already stopped taking the contraceptives, yet after all this time, there was still no sign of any movement.

There were already two imperial concubines pregnant in the palace; under no circumstances could a third one be allowed to appear!

The autumn hunt lasted only a few short days, but for the concubines in the palace, it felt as long as passing years. However, with the Emperor away, no major disturbances could break out, except for the fact that the Ninglu Palace had been summoning imperial physicians with great frequency over the past few days.

"What is going on with the Huifei's pregnancy? Summoning imperial physicians with such frequency these past few days."

Early in the morning, the Shufei came to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager sighed softly. Huifei was somewhat restless, but the child in her womb was still superior to Xianfei's. She had not been pregnant for long, and usually seemed to be extremely cautious, so what on earth was happening these past few days?

"This concubine is also worried, and after asking, I saw that Younger Sister Huifei still looked to be doing well." The Shufei made no secret of it, even though deep down she wished something would happen to Huifei's child. "The imperial physicians also said that it is perhaps due to the sudden change in weather these past few days, coupled with the fact that this is Huifei's first time carrying a child, making it normal for her to overthink and worry too much."

"That is good then." The Empress Dowager nodded upon hearing this. Being pregnant for the first time always brought extra care and caution, so worrying more was indeed normal. "Now that you are managing the six palaces, take some time when you are free to go and comfort Huifei, and tell her not to dwell on things constantly. It is bad for retaining the pregnancy."

"This concubine understands. Once I have a moment, I will go and check on Younger Sister Huifei."