Chapter 64 Certain Death

The Empress Dowager, who was still immersed in joy, found her suspicions aroused by the elderly nanny's words.

Seeing that the old nanny seemed somewhat hesitant, the Empress Dowager snapped impatiently, "You old thing, what is there to hesitate about in front of me? Speak your mind if you have something to say!"

Only then did the old nanny slowly begin, "Your Ladyship, this old slave cannot quite put it into words—it is merely a feeling!"

"This old slave always feels that this recent wager between the young emperor and Zhao Siwen is terribly strange!"

"The young emperor had just made a wager with Zhao Siwen and then ventured out of the palace once, only to happen upon those goods of Hu Wansan. Isn't that just a bit too coincidental?"

"This old slave faintly feels that this was a deliberate conspiracy specifically orchestrated against Zhao Siwen..."

Upon hearing the word "conspiracy," the Empress Dowager's brows instantly knitted together. She slowly stood up, paced back and forth, and muttered in deep thought, "A conspiracy, a conspiracy..."

"Indeed, now that you mention it, this whole affair is rather bizarre!"

"No, I must piece this together from the beginning..."

With that, her mind began to recall the various scenes of recent times.

"It was that little good-for-nothing who originally took the initiative to say he had a way to raise funds, and back then, he looked utterly confident!"

"It was precisely because of this that Zhao Siwen seized the opportunity to propose the wager!"

"Afterward, that little wretch went out of the palace, ran into Hu Wansan, brought those goods into the palace, and even voluntarily offered to organize the Lotus Viewing Festival for me..."

As she spoke, the Empress Dowager's brows hitched upwards as sudden realization dawned upon her. "Thinking about it now, behind this facade of coincidence is very likely a meticulously planned conspiracy!"

The Empress Dowager turned around, stared fixedly at the old nanny, her gaze growing increasingly sinister. "Tell me, could it be this way?"

Hearing this, the old nanny held her breath, focusing all her attention as she awaited the Empress Dowager's analysis.

The Empress Dowager said in a deep voice, "That little wretch actually knew about those goods from his very first trip out of the palace, and he was certain those items would turn a profit. That is why he deliberately provoked Zhao Siwen in court to propose the wager!"

"Then, he used the Lotus Viewing Festival to make those goods sell in massive quantities!"

At this point, a fierce murderous intent surfaced in her eyes. "He claimed every breath he took was to relieve my worries, but his true purpose was to eradicate Zhao Siwen and weaken the factions around me!"

With a sharp slap, before she could even finish her sentence, the Empress Dowager brought her hand down fiercely onto the table, her face consumed with rage.

"It seems my intuition was correct. Recently, that little wretch has been changing more and more!"

"During the peace negotiations earlier, he even dared to openly go against me!"

"He must be trying to gradually chip away at my wings!"

"His crime is unforgivable, his crime is unforgivable..."

Seeing this, a chill ran down the old nanny's spine. If things were as the Empress Dowager analyzed, then this young emperor was simply too formidable!

She also knew very well that the Empress Dowager had already formed the intent to kill and might even eliminate Ning Chen right away.

Yet, she still found it hard to believe the young emperor could suddenly become so formidable!

Thus, she cautiously spoke up, "Your Ladyship need not be so furious. This slave thinks the young emperor's purpose may not be to shear away Your Ladyship's wings."

"What do you mean by that?" The Empress Dowager stared intently at the old nanny once more.

The old nanny bowed slightly. "Firstly, if it truly were as Your Ladyship says, then this young emperor's scheming capability would simply be too terrifying!"

"To suddenly become this powerful defies all common sense!"

"Even with Master Kong teaching him, it is utterly impossible to progress by leaps and bounds in such a short span of time—especially in the art of scheming, which cannot simply be taught."

" Unless he has been hiding his capabilities all along!"

Hearing this, the Empress Dowager furrowed her brows again. "Hiding all along..."

The old nanny continued, "Yet that is even more impossible. If he had truly been concealing his talents all this time, he could not have remained indifferent when his maternal grandfather, Zhou Xianzu, launched the coup back then. That was the absolute prime opportunity!"

"Besides, what good would getting rid of Zhao Siwen do for him?"

"There is no one in the imperial court who supports him. The faction led by Fan Dayou either vanished or has already been eliminated by Your Ladyship."

"Even if he gets rid of Zhao Siwen, Your Ladyship can simply elevate another trusted confidant to the position. He gains nothing at all!"

Hearing this, the Empress Dowager was taken aback. Then, she let out a quiet sigh of relief and muttered, "That is true. If he truly wanted to eradicate my wings, logically he would have to install his own trusted subordinate in that position, but the entire court is filled with my people..."

At this, she suddenly rolled her eyes at the old nanny. "You old thing, you were the one saying something was amiss, and now you're the one saying it's not that serious. What exactly are you trying to say?"

The old nanny froze, then offered an apologetic smile. "Though it may not be that severe, one thing this old slave can be certain of: he truly, deeply wants to kill Zhao Siwen!"

"Presumably, it's because Zhao Siwen repeatedly showed blatant disrespect to the young emperor, completely provoking his wrath."

"Therefore, this slave believes the young emperor's true goal is not to target Your Ladyship!"

"It is very likely just a purely personal desire to get rid of Zhao Siwen to vent his anger!"

The Empress Dowager nodded thoughtfully and said with profound meaning, "That should be the case. However, for that little wretch to use a wager to push Zhao Siwen and me to such a state—he has indeed made no small amount of progress."

The old nanny agreed, "Indeed. In the past, he would never have dared, but now..."

"Your Ladyship, you must still exercise caution. He has already shown the sprouts of growth; I only fear that one day he truly matures..."

The Empress Dowager nodded. "Indeed, today he even dared to draw a blade and slash at Zhao Siwen himself!"

"And lately, he has indeed been changing more and more, even beginning to gradually display imperial majesty!"

Saying this, the Empress Dowager suddenly seemed to recall something and sneered, "So what if he has?"

"He suffered a toxic relapse and vomited blood today. The poison I had him ingest is completely incurable!"

"It won't be long before he is dead without a doubt!"

At this, a chilling glint returned to the Empress Dowager's eyes.

"Let him grow however he pleases!"

"No matter how fast he grows, he will inevitably be nipped in the bud by my hands..."

The old nanny nodded, looking deeply apologetic as she said, "Your Ladyship is right. This old slave was just overthinking. Since he is bound to die anyway, this little worry of mine was entirely redundant..."

The Empress Dowager smiled. "You old thing, you are never redundant. Without you by my side plotting and scheming, I would never have attained the status I have today."

With that, her expression turned stern. "Remember, in all matters, thinking deeply never does any harm!"

The old nanny nodded. "Your Ladyship speaks wisely. This slave will keep it engraved in her heart!"

The Empress Dowager nodded with satisfaction and added, "Go and have someone thoroughly investigate that Hu Wansan!"

"I want to know his entire background!"

"Do not let slip a single detail..."

Meanwhile, inside Miaoyin Pavilion, Zhou Suruo looked at the person before her and demanded in a stern, low voice, "I will ask one last time: is Chen'er truly alright?"

The person hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. "Rest assured, Miss Zhou, His Majesty is fine, otherwise he would not have sent me here to inform you."

Zhou Suruo took a deep breath, seemingly forcing down her emotions, and said slowly, "You still haven't found the antidote, have you?"

The person nodded. "Not—not yet, but we have been, been trying our best..."

Zhou Suruo fell silent for a moment before saying, "I know. You must find the antidote, otherwise Chen'er, he..."

At this, she suddenly turned her back to the visitor, her voice trembling as she spoke, "You may return. Tell Chen'er that his elder sister will surely handle the tasks he assigned to perfection. Tell him to set his mind at ease and recuperate properly!"

The person sighed softly and left the room. But the moment he closed the door behind him, he suddenly heard heart-wrenching, broken sobs echoing from within the chamber!

He froze, his eyes instantly growing moist.

For he knew that both of them were desperately holding on, refusing to let the only remaining family they had in this world worry or grieve...

In the period that followed, many things happened both within and outside the imperial court.

Yet Ning Chen would always wake up from a brief moment of lucidity only to plunge back into deep, prolonged slumber.

Every time he regained consciousness, he could only learn of the outside world through little Anzi:

Just as Ning Chen had anticipated, the Imperial Merchant Bureau was established the very next day after he collapsed. The Empress Dowager even publicly announced in court the appointment of Hu万三 (Hu Wansan) as the head of the imperial merchants, conferring upon him the official rank of Senior Second Class.

Hu Wansan did not disappoint Ning Chen either. During this time, he successfully closed several massive business deals and won the Empress Dowager's profound trust. She even handed over the jurisdiction of salt and iron management—formerly under the Ministry of Revenue—directly to Hu Wansan.

As for Zhao Siwen, though he still securely sat in his position as Minister of Revenue, his status had diminished day by day in the wake of the recent wager incident.

Ning Chen was quite satisfied, but his physical condition showed no signs of improvement.

直到这一日，他睁开眼时，却发现老夫子正满脸怜爱地坐在自己身边。(Wait, let me translate this line directly without looking at forbidden elements.)

Until on this day, when he opened his eyes, he discovered the old master sitting beside him with a face full of tender affection.

Ning Chen was utterly shocked, yet his voice remained extremely weak. "M-Master, w-why have you returned?"

"Didn't you go to investigate the matter regarding the Princess of Chu?"

"I-Is there a result..."

As he spoke, the old master gloomily interrupted him, "You brat, you're on the verge of death and you still have the energy to worry about so many things!"

Before the words faded, he suddenly produced a small wooden box, retrieved a pill from it, and said, "It's good that you're awake. Swallow this at once!"

Looking at the pill in the old master's hand—roughly the size of a glutinous rice ball and pitch-black all over—Ning Chen froze and swallowed hard.

"Is—is this the antidote..."