The Empress Dowager stared intently at Jiang Luoxi's reaction.
She wanted Jiang Luoxi to seduce the Night King, act as a spy by his side, and, when necessary, help them eliminate him. She had never envisioned Jiang Luoxi developing feelings for the Night King.
Jiang Luoxi's expression remained unreadable as she calmly replied, "Your Majesty, this humble maiden has no other intentions towards the Night King."
If the Empress Dowager blocked her plans.
Then, there would be no need to keep this pawn, the Empress Dowager.
Coincidentally, she increasingly felt that the Empress Dowager and the Regent were becoming nuisances.
"It's good that you have no other intentions. Rest well and recover from your injuries these days. Rest assured, I will absolutely not let the matter of the Night King sending you to prison and having you tortured go unpunished. I will certainly get you justice," the Empress Dowager said, rubbing her head and offering a perfunctory comfort.
So many things had happened recently, one after another, none of them giving her any peace.
Furthermore, after the Regent lost his ability to perform his marital duties, she felt a pain that was beyond words.
It seemed that all her efforts over the years were about to be in vain.
Why had things been going so smoothly before, only to become so difficult after returning to the capital?
For a moment, the Empress Dowager felt utterly dejected.
Suddenly, a palace servant's voice announced from outside the door, "Your Majesty, the Prime Minister has entered the palace. He is waiting outside and wishes to see Miss Jiang."
"What? Prime Minister Jiang?" The Empress Dowager was taken aback.
Why had Prime Minister Jiang come at such a time?
Hadn't it been said that Prime Minister Jiang was indifferent to Jiang Luoxi, his illegitimate daughter, treating her no differently from a stranger? Yet today, he had come to see her.
Jiang Luoxi was also somewhat surprised.
"Prime Minister Jiang is your father. Since he has come to see you, you should go meet him," the Empress Dowager said.
Although Jiang Luoxi was not in good condition and even felt like sleeping for a while to calm herself, she could not refuse Prime Minister Jiang's visit.
A moment later.
Jiang Luoxi met Prime Minister Jiang.
The father and daughter had met only a few times.
There was little father-daughter affection between them.
Moreover, Prime Minister Jiang had never treated Jiang Luoxi as his daughter, let alone given her any status.
When Jiang Luoxi was young, she might have cared, but as she grew older and gained more control over things, she found her father, Prime Minister Jiang, to be dispensable.
"May I ask why Prime Minister Jiang has entered the palace to see this humble maiden?" Jiang Luoxi asked coldly.
Prime Minister Jiang had barely looked at Jiang Luoxi before, but this was the first time he examined her closely.
Upon seeing her, he immediately confirmed that the woman in the painting was Jiang Luoxi.
If one didn't look closely and depict each stroke meticulously, it would be impossible to capture such a lifelike resemblance.
*Bang!*
Prime Minister Jiang slammed the table hard, "You've done well!"
The sudden noise startled Jiang Luoxi.
Jiang Luoxi frowned, "What does Prime Minister Jiang mean by this?"
As a father, Prime Minister Jiang never cared for her, and now, his first words upon seeing her were an unprovoked scolding!
What a truly good father!
Jiang Luoxi's eyes turned icy.
Prime Minister Jiang took out a crumpled painting from his sleeve and threw it in front of Jiang Luoxi.
"It's one thing that you have no shame, but you even had someone paint such a debauched side of you! Do you feel no disgrace?! You've even implicated my Jiang family!" Prime Minister Jiang was furious.
If this were not the imperial palace, he would have already slapped her.
The moment Jiang Luoxi saw the painting, her vision blurred, and she stared at the artwork in disbelief.
She suddenly understood why she had felt something was unusual!
Someone wanted to harm her, to ruin her reputation!
The paintings she had seen in the dilapidated temple were not just one, but many!
Perhaps, perhaps the entire capital, many people, had seen the paintings by now! Otherwise, her Prime Minister father would not have come to the palace in such a rage to find her!
Her Prime Minister father would rather never acknowledge her in public for the rest of his life!
"The painting is fake," Jiang Luoxi explained coldly.
At the same time, a voice emerged in her mind: was it the Night King who took her away after the carriage overturned?
Or was it Old Master Qin?
After all, the迷蛊术 had informed Old Master Qin about this exact scenario she had experienced.
Could this method of revenge, which killed without shedding blood, be from Yun Shu?
For a moment, various speculations flooded Jiang Luoxi's mind.
"Fake? You can use that to fool others, but to fool me is simply laughable! You will leave the imperial palace and the capital immediately. In the future, I will ensure you have a comfortable life, but from this day forward, you are absolutely forbidden to set foot in the capital again. Before you leave, declare to the world that the person in the painting is you, not the Prime Minister's daughter!" Prime Minister Jiang commanded with a frosty expression.
This was the first time he had been so enraged with his disreputable daughter.
He had never expected this daughter to bring him any honor, but he had never imagined she would bring him such profound shame!
Jiang Luoxi's face turned even paler, and her demeanor grew more somber and cold. She pursed her lips and said, "Absolutely impossible. I will never leave the capital. I said, the person in the painting is not me."
Suddenly.
Her eyes brightened.
She had thought of something.
Prime Minister Jiang had encountered countless people in his life, and many could discern their thoughts, but at this moment, he could not see through the Jiang Luoxi before him. "Fine, if you insist on staying in the capital, then do not regret it!"
...
Just as Prime Minister Jiang was causing trouble for Jiang Luoxi, the same painting was presented to the Empress Dowager.
The moment the Empress Dowager saw the painting, her head felt like it would explode.
Jiang Luoxi returned to the Empress Dowager's presence and saw the painting placed before her.
She showed no emotion.
She remained as steady as a mountain.
Extremely calm.
She said to the Empress Dowager, "The person in the painting is the eldest daughter of the Prime Minister's mansion. Prime Minister Jiang sought out this humble maiden today, wishing for me to admit to this."
"What?! Such a cold and heartless Prime Minister!" the Empress Dowager exclaimed in shock.
Jiang Luoxi lowered her head. "This humble maiden does not wish to admit it."
"Of course, you cannot admit it!" the Empress Dowager raged.
How could a trusted pawn, who had finally been kept by her side, be used as a pawn by Prime Minister Jiang? Unacceptable!
Jiang Luoxi pursed her lips, her head bowed.
In the Empress Dowager's eyes, she mistook this for fear. She immediately said, "Rest assured, leave this matter to me. I will absolutely not let Prime Minister Jiang ruin you."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
...
A painting that could easily cause a nosebleed was delivered by a servant to Prince Ning, Zhan Tianyu.
The moment Zhan Tianyu saw the painting, he raised an eyebrow and concentrated.
"Rumor has it outside that the woman in the painting is the eldest daughter of the Prime Minister's mansion," the servant said.
Zhan Tianyu's gaze fell on the woman's face in the painting, and he said with a half-smile, "Sometimes, what we see and hear is not necessarily the truth. It's been a long time since I returned to the capital, and I didn't expect it to be more interesting than I imagined."