"Was it done?" Murong Xue asked one of the older palace maids after she was done getting dressed.

The palace maid she asked was one of the two who brought Aurum to the fifth prince's palace. "Yes, Your Majesty."

"There weren't any problems?"

"No, Your Majesty. We stayed at the door of the prince's room and no one went out until sunrise. We also heard the sound of love making."

The Empress smiled, clearly satisfied by what she heard. "Good. This Empress feels like visiting the fifth prince. Let us go to his palace."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Along with a number of palace maids, the Empress walked out of her private quarters. They just walked out when they saw the sixth princess walking towards them with a couple of young ladies in tow.

"Good morning, Mother," the sixth princess greeted.

The three young ladies with the princess also bowed. "Your Majesty."

"Are you going somewhere, Mother?"

"Yes, to your fifth brother's palace. This Empress just heard that he was not feeling well. This Empress is going to check if he caught a cold or if it already turned into a fever."

"Is that the case? Then could I go with you as well, Mother? I'm also worried about fifth brother. I remember how he often had fevers when we were children," the sixth princess said worriedly. "But before that, Mother, could you listen to these three ladies first. They've been wanting to express their grat.i.tude to you for allowing them to stay at Fenghua Palace for a night."

Murong Xue looked at the three young ladies that Li Min brought. She didn't recognize any of them. Being able to be invited in Li Zi's hairpin ceremony meant that their family at least had a bit of standing. But not recognizing any of them could only mean that they belong to a declining family. Girls from those families were desperate to climb the social ladder. They would do anything just for that one second of fame. In short, they're the perfect audience for the upcoming show.

"It's alright, Your Majesty. We could just come back later," one of the girls said with extreme politeness and reverence.

"It's fine. You could just come with this Empress."

The three were obviously ecstatic by what the Empress said. They couldn't believe their luck. To accidentaly b.u.mped into the sixth princess, then have her led them to the Empress' quarters. And now, the Empress was inviting them to accompany her. This was like a chance of a lifetime. If they could give a good impression, then that would be even better. So, of course, they enthusiastically agreed.

Li Min sneered inside when she saw the expression of the three idiots. They didn't even know that they were just being used. She guessed that's just the kind of role they would have for the rest of their lives. Thinking of where they were about to go, Li Min couldn't suppress her smile. She just couldn't wait to see the utter horror on that Aurum's face. It would even be better if she could post it on [Jiffy] and show it to the people around the world.

Their party started walking out of Fenghua Palace. The fifth prince's palace was the palace closest there, so it didn't take much time before they arrived at their destination. Their journey was unimpeded. No one would dare stop the Empress, especially at her youngest son's palace. They stopped in front of the door of the fifth prince's room. Two palace maids opened the door for the Empress.

Murong Xue entered, behind her was the sixth princess, the three young ladies, and a number of palace maids. She was still filled with excitement and confidence when she entered the room. But the moment she saw the scene inside, her whole body instantly froze. Because what she's seeing now was something she would never think to see even in her wildest imagination. Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.

There were clothes scattered on the floor. On the bed, two naked bodies were intertwined. One was her beloved son, he was sweetly tucked in the arms of another person. That person was not the one Murong Xue expected to see here. It was not Lady Aurum but the oldest son of the Left Prime Minister - Zhao Shang!

Murong Xue started to tremble. It's like there was something ringing inside her head. She didn't want to believe what she was seeing. But it was there, right before her eyes. Her youngest son was naked and was being held by another man. Based on the marks and bites she could see on Li Ren's delicate white skin, one could easily tell just what happened here.

Then she heard the murmur of the people behind her. That's when she remembered the people she dragged here. Panic immediately gripped her. "Out! Everyone get out!" she screamed.

Li Min, at the same time, also came back to G.o.d. She didn't think much and just pushed the three ladies out of the room who all had a shocked expression on their faces. But one could also see the hidden excitement they had, as if they couldn't wait to tell everyone about what they saw. The palace maids also scrambled to get out of the room. Li Min was still shocked by what she saw. She could no longer maintain the elegant expression on her face.

How the h.e.l.l did Zhao Shang end up in Li Ren's bed?

Inside, because of the noise, the two people sleeping on the bed slowly woke up.

Zhao Shang opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was an unfamiliar ceiling. Then he felt the warm body he was holding. He looked down and his pupil dilated when he saw a naked Li Ren sleeping sweetly in his arms. Scared out of his wits, he pushed Li Ren away and tried hard to sit up. Then memories of last night came back to him. For some reason, he came here drunk and then he started attacking Li Ren. Doing all those things to him.

He- what had he done?

The pushed Li Ren also completely woke up. He looked at the trembling Zhao Shang. He could see a number of emotions crossing on his handsome face - fear, anger, confusion, guilt. But there was no hate, not even disgust. Li Ren smiled sadly. [Brother Shang, you're really too kind.]

Then he turned to the person standing in his room. His mother seemed like she was frozen on the spot. She looked calm. But he knew there was nothing calm about her right now. As evidence of the violent Mana swirling around her at this moment.

"Get up," she said coldly, her eyes staring daggers at Zhao Shang. "Get away from my son."

Zhao Shang suddenly became stiff. He only now realized that they were not alone. He raised his head and looked stupidly at the Empress. Fear immediately filled him. But the first thing he thought was not to run away but to kneel in front of the Empress.

"It's my fault, Your Majesty! I was the one who initiated everything. Ah Ren didn't do anything wrong. It was all my fault. Please, only punish me!"

"Then let me have your head," Murong Xue said, her eyes cold. She took a seed from her sleeve and poured Mana into it. A long vine immediately grew from it until it became like a whip. She threw it towards Zhao Shang and the vine gripped the young man's neck, slowly tightening around it.

Zhao Shang's face slowly turned red because of lack of air. But he didn't dare to fight. Because it was his fault. The Empress was within her rights to deal with him like this.

Li Ren stood up and took a dagger from the bedside table. Then he didn't hesitate to cut the vine whip. He stood in front of Zhao Shang, he could hear him coughing behind him.

Murong Xue's expression turned ugly especially when she saw the white turbid liquid flowing down between the thighs of her son. "Get out of the way, Li Ren."

"You can't kill him, Mother. He's the son of the Left Prime Minister. Father will definitely get mad at you if you do."

The Left Prime Minister had a big political power. The Emperor had been trying to get him under his control by trying to marry his eldest son and heir to one of the princesses. But the prime minister almost always manage to dodge it. That's why the prime minister was trying to hasten the wedding of Zhao Shang to the fourth miss of the Wei family.

If his father found out about this incident, he wouldn't be angry. He might even be delighted. Because with this, he could finally tie the prime minister's family to the royal family. He might even help so Li Ren and Zhao Shang could quickly marry.

That's just the type of person the Emperor was. Everyone was just a piece of p.a.w.n to him. If it could help Xing, then he wouldn't hesitate to use anyone. Even his own children. Because for him, the most important thing had always been their country. If none of his sons could live up to his expectations, Li Ren had no doubt that their father wouldn't hesitate to pa.s.s the throne to a completely unrelated person. As long as that person had the ability to govern Xing.

Li Ren no longer had any illusions about his father. He also understood him. That's why he dare to do this thing. Because he knew his father wouldn't let Brother Shang die.

Murong Xue looked at her youngerst son and it was like she was seeing him for the first time. The sweet smile on his face was gone, his tone no longer the spoiled one she was so familiar with. Just before she could say anything, a eunuch outside announced the arrival of the Emperor.

She gripped the whip she was holding tightly. It's over. Just where did everything go wrong?