The scheming empress starts by conquering men

After hearing this, Wenren immediately reported to Zhong Bohou.

"Marquis Zhong, His Highness has gone to bed. If you have anything to say, why not talk to him tomorrow?"

Zhong Bohou frowned slightly and clasped his fists towards Wenren.

"Thank you, sir. I will come again tomorrow."

That night, Shaodian Sishui slept soundly, but Zhong Bohou tossed and turned, unable to sleep, his mind full of the words his daughter brought back.

It’s better not to mention those designs, but His Highness said this at the end.

"I and A Yao are one, A Yao and Mrs. Zhong are one. When A Yao married me, I and Mrs. Zhong were already tied together."

She didn't know whether His Highness meant what she had in mind.

Warn her that she must make a decision between the Empress and His Highness.

But since ancient times, every loyal minister and general who chose to stand on the side in advance died at the hands of the empress after she came to power.

She didn't want the Zhong family to be imprisoned, and she didn't want the century-old Zhong family to be destroyed in her hands.

She just wants to be a loyal minister and a good general.

Until the daybreak.

Zhong Bohou couldn't wait to come again.

Shaodian Sishui had not yet woken up when he heard someone report.

"Your Highness, Marquis Zhong is here to greet you."

Shaodian Sishui opened her eyes and stretched lazily.

"Let her in."

"Here."

After a while, Shaodian Sishui, who had just dressed, heard a loud female voice outside the door.

"Your Highness, I, Zhong Aoyi, greet you. May your Highness be well and safe."

Shaodian Sishui opened the door, looked at the black figure kneeling on the ground, and quickly stepped forward to support her.

"Mother-in-law, please get up quickly. You came so early, but do you want to ask about A Yao?"

As she spoke, she looked up at the guards welcoming the bride outside.

"Go tell the kitchen to prepare more food. I will dine with Lord Zhong."

The guard took the order and left, and Shaodian Sishui turned around and went into the house.

Zhong Bohou followed behind, looked outside vigilantly a few times, and closed the door to prevent the conversation from being eavesdropped by people outside.

Before she could even open her mouth to ask, she knew what His Highness meant by those words.

Shaodian Sishui turned around, walked a few steps forward to the door, and spoke first.

"Marquis Zhong, I have already made it very clear to you. Whatever you think is what I want to tell you."

"I thought you should know everything."

After she finished speaking, she opened the door that Zhong Bohou had closed.

"If you close the door in broad daylight, others will misunderstand you."

After all, the guards that the empress actually sent to monitor her were all killed by her through Song Huitian.

If she closes the door now, those "righteous" and royalist censors will become suspicious and do things that are detrimental to her.

Shaodian Sishui sat in the main seat and asked Zhong Aoyi to sit next to her. She kept yawning without saying a word.

In fact, he was secretly observing Zhong Aoyi, who was wearing a black robe, a black crown, and was seven feet tall.

She looks a bit like Jiang Xin, the general in Hua Xu Yin, very majestic and imposing.

Zhong Aoyi looked tired and complicated. He seemed to be hesitant to speak. He had so many questions to ask, but didn't know where to start.

Finally, she thought for a long time, changed her train of thought, and asked Shaodian Sishui in a roundabout way.

"Your Highness, have you heard any rumors?"

She knew everything that His Highness said to Yan'er yesterday, as well as the collusion between the nobles and Qu Suo and Dayu.

How did Your Highness know these things when you first arrived?

After hearing these words yesterday, she broke out in a sweat. It turned out that she had offended His Majesty without realizing it.

Even if His Highness did not say anything, she knew something in her heart. During this year, she just tried hard to convince herself and chose to believe in His Majesty's character.

She never had any intention of treason, nor did she have any intention of harming the Great Zhou.

Her Zhong clan belongs to the royal family, and their tradition is to be loyal to the emperor and the country and to protect the successive empresses of the Great Zhou.

A year ago, she asked His Majesty to issue an order to marry Yao'er to the Sixth Princess, not without thinking that it would arouse the Empress' suspicion.

But she also explained to the empress that A Yao simply liked the Sixth Princess, that was all, and he had no other thoughts than her.

For this reason, except for the secret guards around Yan'er, all the secret guards around her were dedicated to the empress to show their loyalty.

The empress also chose to forgive and issued an edict to grant the marriage.

She thought that His Majesty had let it go.

Seeing that Shaodian Sishui didn't say anything, Zhong Aoyi continued, "Yesterday, Yan told me everything that Your Highness talked about with Yan."

Shaodian Sishui knew that Zhong Wuyan would definitely tell Zhong Aoyi that she did it on purpose.

However, she still pretended to look gloomy, as if she was dissatisfied with Zhong Wuyan's behavior.

Zhong Aoyi knelt down hurriedly and saluted.

"Your Highness, please do not blame Yan. That child is too straightforward. I am just worried that she cannot shoulder the responsibility of Your Highness."

Shaodian Sishui chuckled.

"You are worried that she will be deceived by me."

"Your Highness, please forgive me. I did not mean that."

Zhong Aoyi clasped his fists, looking a little flustered.

Before this, she did have this idea that His Highness wanted to use Yan as a chess piece or a discarded piece.

But now, she roughly understood what His Highness intended.

His Highness wants to use the power of the Zhong family and wants that position.

He didn't want to use her daughter as a pawn, but wanted her and the entire Zhong family to become a sharp sword in His Highness's hand, pointing at the Empress.

Just then, footsteps were heard outside.

It must be the guard who served the meal who came back.

Shaodian Sishui glanced at Zhong Aoyi, who understood and stood up, then sat aside.

Shaodian Sishui said softly, "Sister is honest, I understand, we should not judge things by appearances, if I say she can do it, then she can do it."

"Well, Your Highness is absolutely right."

Zhong Aoyi agreed and did not dare to refute.

He glanced at the guard standing at the door and seemed to want to say something but stopped himself.

I wanted to ask her how Her Highness knew that the nobles were in collusion with Qu Suo and Dayu, and how she knew that there were spies for the empress within the Zhong family.

Otherwise, Her Highness would never have told her daughter to not only be wary of the people around her, but also to be wary of the person next to her.

The people sleeping beside her were all actors who were awarded to her by His Majesty a long time ago. They were actors of low status.

If she has to be on guard against even this, doesn't that mean the Empress has been harboring a grudge against her for many years?

But she couldn't ask. Although the guards outside were normal guards in the palace and not the secret guards around the empress, they were guards after all.

I don’t know if the Empress will hear what she said to her subordinates.

Shaodian Sishui smiled softly, looked at the guards outside the room, and spoke slowly.

"I know what you want to ask. In fact, you should have understood some truths in your heart a long time ago, but you just didn't want to believe it. Now that the facts are in front of you, you should also believe that you and I are one."

"Although you have no intention and do not want to see the current situation, you have to admit that this is all caused by you."

"You thought you married A Yao to me and gave the secret guards to the empress as bargaining chips because you wanted to see your son happy, to show your loyalty and to make that person feel at ease."

"Little did you know that everything you did not only pushed the Zhong family to the opposite side of her, but also threatened her. You are the only one who can train secret guards, no one else can."