Imperial Concubine Lin staggered back in fright, her liquid black eyes stared at Pang Zihuang’s handsome yet grim face in astonishment.

　　“Your Imperial Majesty, what has Your humble servant done to deserve Your ire? If I have done anything wrong, I humbly submit to punishment. All I ask for is that Your Imperial Majesty takes care of the Imperial body!”

　　Her spoken words sounded fair and reasonable. Her lovely liquid black eyes overflowed with concern, almost as if she was sincerely worried about Pang Zihuang’s well-being.

　　“Take care of the Imperial body? Hah!” Pang Zihuang laughed derisively while clenching his fists. His eyes stared coldly at Imperial Concubine Lin’s gorgeous face.

　　It should go without saying that this woman was indeed stunning. Even though she surpassed the Empress in looks, she did not have the benevolence and sincerity of the Empress, who was a motherly figure to the nation; neither did she have the latter’s elegance and grace. Therefore, in his heart, none could ever measure up to the Empress, no matter how beautiful they were!

　　“Imperial Concubine Lin,” Pang Zihuang sounded grave as he gritted his teeth. “Do you feel no guilt in the words you speak? We see that you are far too anxious for Us to die an early death so that the Third Prince can ascend the throne! Not on your life! We will not die, no matter what, neither will We allow you to get away with your plan!”

　　“Your Imperial Majesty?” Imperial Concubine Lin looked up in surprise and asked uncertainly. “Why would Your Imperial Majesty say such a thing? When has this humble servant ever wanted to take the life of Your Imperial Majesty?”

　　“Hmph! Are you still pretending? A few days ago, you sent Us a potted plant as a gift. Now, We ask you, was the plant called trigonotis peduncularis, which contains a slow-acting poison?”

　　Imperial Concubine Lin’s heart thumped loudly. Initially, she assumed that her ploy would have stayed a secret. She did not expect that His Imperial Majesty would have found out about it. It seemed that she could no longer hide it.

　　So be it, she thought. I shall strike first and gain the upper hand!

　　Imperial Concubine Lin’s eyes gleamed a strange glint at the thought. She lightly puckered her lips and smiled, saying, “It seems that Your Imperial Majesty has found out — what a pity that it is far too late! However, if Your Imperial Majesty is willing to abandon and kill the Empress, then I will gladly give the cure to Your Imperial Majesty. Therefore, whether Your Imperial Majesty lives or dies… stays out of my hands.”

　　Angry thoughts crossed Pang Zihuang’s mind: If Imperial Concubine Lin’s target had been Us all along, that would have been fine. We did not think that she had wanted to harm the Empress as well!

　　This was because there were many instances where he, as the Emperor, had no volition, and he had already let the Empress down many times.

　　How could We have caused another woman to harm her?

　　“You want to be Empress, Imperial Concubine Lin?” Pang Zihuang laughed in spite of his anger. “Unfortunately, even your finger is unfit to become Empress! There is only one true Empress of Black Tortoise Country! Even if she were gone, We would forever leave her throne empty. So do not even think about it! And do not even think about asking Us to hurt her! The Empress is the love of Our life. Even if We were to die from the poison today, We will never give in to your demands!”

　　Imperial Concubine Lin laughed coldly, her glamorous face turned icy. Simply due to her old affection for him, she had only wanted him to kill the mother and son, for she would not have been so calculative. She did not expect that he would rather let the poison spread all over his body than kill the Empress.

　　Nice, very nice! she thought. Then he’ll pay the consequences for his stupidity!

　　“It seems like a choice has been made, Your Imperial Majesty. No matter, Your Imperial Majesty will soon die a very sudden death. The two other princes left in Black Tortoise Country — one is a good-for-nothing, and the other is a drunkard whose only interest is in wine and women. Only my son is fit to carry such a demanding responsibility! Ah, one more thing; I should probably tell Your Imperial Majesty that my elder brother and I caused the deaths of the other three princes — especially the eldest prince! He looked particularly miserable as he died. He even begged me to let the Empress off with her life once I have seized power. Tsk, tsk, now why would I let her live? If it were not for her, I would have become the Empress long ago!”