The Grand Secretary's Pampered Wife

Chapter 576: Settling All Accounts

Special Thanks to these patrons for their support!

S T E L L A R C L O U D

[Celeste S.] [Christine G.-L.]

O R A N G E S T A R

[Fazzienaz] [K.Rom] [Reece P.] [Suong D.] [Ziana K.-P.]

Y E L L O W S T A R

[Chlaudette P.] [Gwyneth T.] [Manon] [Passerby] [Xena]

G O L D S T A R

[Lord_Wolve] [Nanashi D. Y.] [Nevy] [Roxanne C.]

R A I N B O W S T A R

[Allie] [BritnaeM] [Debra W] [Kiiayame] [Peggy F.]

T H E S U N

[Ava C.] [Caroline] [Galetron] [Kaylee3150] [kuroneko_chan] [Lily J.]

[Malinkat] [Michelle K.] [onepiece] [Scorpion Princess] [Smurfinbatik] [Sophia W.]

Also, many thanks to everyone who bought me coffee (*???*)

At the Marquis Ding'an Estate, Gu Chengfeng had just taken a bath and was sweating all over. Normally, he should be feeling hot, but inexplicably, his whole body shivered!

"What's wrong?" Gu Chenglin asked him.

Gu Chengfeng scratched his head oddly, "I don't know, I suddenly felt a chill down my spine."

……

Knowing that the Emperor had woken up, Princess Xinyang naturally had to go into the palace to see him.

Xiao Heng and Gu Jiao also stood up together. Princess Xinyang looked at the two of them and said lightly, "You two stay here and wait for news."

Having done so many things, even forging an imperial decree, who knew what the Emperor was thinking and whether he would hold them accountable?

Princess Xinyang decided to go ahead alone and call the two younger ones into the palace once the situation was confirmed to be safe.

Princess Xinyang took Yu Jin and got into the carriage.

Xiao Heng escorted her to the door and asked, "Not taking Long Yi with you?"

Princess Xinyang replied lightly, "No need, he only listens to half of my words."

The Emperor had just awakened after being unconscious for several days, his face looking very haggard. When Princess Xinyang arrived at Huaqing Palace, Empress Xiao had just fed the Emperor some porridge.

The Emperor said to Empress Xiao, "Zhen will be fine here. You go take care of Little Seven, I have something to discuss with Xinyang."

"This consort shall take her leave." Empress Xiao put down the bowl of porridge and left.

Princess Xinyang bowed slightly to Empress Xiao.

The Emperor felt weak all over, not even having the strength to lift his arms. He sighed and instructed Eunuch Wei and the others, "All of you, withdraw."

"Yes!" Eunuch Wei glanced at Princess Xinyang unobtrusively. Strange, did she shave her hands today? He couldn't see her Adam's apple either... and all the rash on her face seemed to have disappeared...

As Eunuch Wei muttered to himself, he glanced at the hem of Princess Xinyang's clothes.

Yu Jin's gaze darkened, "Eunuch Wei!"

Eunuch Wei felt like he had been struck on the head and hastily rolled out!

"What's the matter?" Princess Xinyang asked.

Yu Jin hesitated to speak, mainly because it was somewhat difficult to say. She hadn't found Eunuch Wei being so indecent before!

Yu Jin whispered, "Forget it, I'll tell the princess later. Princess, please see His Majesty first."

Princess Xinyang approached the dragon bed and bowed slightly, "Your Majesty."

That was the difference between Princess Xinyang and Princess Ning'an. Princess Xinyang actually never addressed him as 'imperial brother.' Even when he was still just an imperial prince, she always called him 'Sixth Prince'.

The Emperor glanced at a nearby stool and said, "Take a seat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Princess Xinyang sat down as instructed.

Yu Jin stood behind her. The Emperor had dismissed the palace attendants, so theoretically, Princess Xinyang should also have dismissed Yu Jin.

Princess Xinyang didn't do so because she wasn't accustomed to being alone in a room with a man, except for Xiao Heng and Long Yi.

The Emperor didn't know her habits, but he didn't mind her leaving Yu Jin there.

Princess Xinyang said, "The imperial physician said that Your Majesty would remain unconscious for several more days. I didn't expect you to wake up so soon."

The Emperor gritted his teeth and said, "It's thanks to that brat from the Gu Family!"

"What?" Princess Xinyang didn't understand.

"It's nothing." The Emperor coughed lightly and said, "Zhen knows almost everything that has happened in the palace recently, and the Empress also informed Zhen about Liulang's matter."

Princess Xinyang looked at the Emperor, "Since Your Majesty knows, what does Your Majesty plan to do?"

The Emperor sighed complicatedly and said, "As for the forged imperial decree, Zhen won't pursue it."

Princess Xinyang furrowed her eyebrows, "Won't pursue it?"

The Emperor nodded, and with a solemn tone, he said, "That's right, Zhen won't pursue it. Regardless of what he had plotted, Zhen won't pursue any of it. After all, no matter what, he’s Zhen’s..." [T/N: He & she in mandarin sound the same when spoken.]

"Your Majesty, what is that?" Princess Xinyang interrupted him, pointing behind the Emperor.

The Emperor turned his head.

Princess Xinyang suddenly grabbed the jade pillow on the dragon bed and knocked out the Emperor with it!

Yu Jin exclaimed, "Princess! Why did you knock out His Majesty?"

Princess Xinyang was furious, "If I didn't knock His Majesty out, would you wait for him to pardon that woman? After doing so many outrageous things, His Majesty surprisingly decides not to pursue any of it! Then I might as well take care of her first! Take action first, report later! Afterwards, His Majesty can do whatever he wants!"

"Princess..."

"What else do you want to say?" Princess Xinyang asked.

Yu Jin hesitantly said, "I think what His Majesty said just now wasn't ‘she’, but ‘he!’"

Yu Jin took her hand and wrote the word ‘he' in her palm.

Princess Xinyang looked puzzled, "He?"

"Yes! Think about it, what did His Majesty say before you asked him what he intended to do?" Yu Jin reminded her.

Princess Xinyang recalled, "His Majesty mentioned that he already knew about recent events in the palace, and the Empress also informed him about Liulang's matter..."

Yu Jin explained, "What else could Liulang's matter be? It refers to Little Marquis's background! When His Majesty mentioned the forged imperial decree, it was about Little Marquis's forgery of the decree appointing you as regent, as well as the scheme involving someone impersonating you entering the palace, and some other actions he plotted in secret. His Majesty meant that Little Marquis's actions wouldn't be investigated."

Once bitten by a snake, one could get afraid of a well rope for ten years. Princess Xinyang had lost basic trust in the Emperor due to his infatuation with that pair of mother and daughter. Therefore, she mistakenly thought the Emperor meant not investigating Princess Ning'an.

Princess Xinyang looked at the Emperor, whom she had knocked unconscious with a pillow, and felt a pang of guilt, "I acted hastily!"

……

The Heavenly Prison was where serious criminals were held, heavily guarded with intricate security measures.

In the most tightly secured cell, Princess Ning'an, with her legs broken, gripped onto the filthy wooden plank, roaring hoarsely, "Let me out! I want to see the Emperor! I want to see Empress Dowager Zhuang! I'm the Emperor's most beloved younger sister! If you dare keep me here, once the Emperor and Empress Dowager Zhuang know, they'll have you all executed!"

The guards remained unmoved by her pleas.

She grabbed a steamed bun that was brought in and hurled it towards one of the guards.

The bun, now as hard as a rock, hit the guard's back, but he didn't flinch.

"Are you all deaf? I am Princess Ning'an! I want to see the Emperor!"

"The Emperor won't come to see you. Give up on that hope."

A commanding voice echoed from the other end of the corridor, filling the narrow dungeon with an imposing aura.

The guards all bowed respectfully.

Princess Ning'an stared in astonishment as Empress Dowager Zhuang, clad in a black and gold phoenix robe, approached her with an icy demeanor.

Empress Dowager Zhuang looked at her, who was covered in blood, but there wasn’t a trace of affection or pity in her eyes.

Princess Ning'an's heart sank, "Imperial mother..."

Empress Dowager Zhuang said expressionlessly, "I've told you, don't call Aijia that."

Princess Ning'an pleaded, "Imperial mother... I'm your Ning'an... What should I call you if not imperial mother..."

Empress Dowager Zhuang let out a sigh, "Forget it, call me whatever you want, it won't be for long anyway."

Princess Ning'a looked up with tears in her eyes and questioned, "Imperial mother, what do you mean by that?"

Empress Dowager Zhuang looked down at her and said, "You're so clever, shouldn’t you understand what Aijia means?"

Raz P.'s Thoughts

To read advance GSPW chapters! Updates 7x a week (daily).

You can read up to 30 advance chapters in our patreon so you should go check it out. ^^

No patreon but want to support us? Then,

OR if you can't support us in money, you can always support us emotionally -just hope into . Hehehe~