"Father...." Wei Xianlu muttered seeing his father's pained expression, with their private army, they still have hope of dethroning the emperor in the future but once it is gone...

"I will do as your majesty as ordered, in turn, please preserve my son's life," the prime minister reluctantly answered, with much effort, he gritted his teeth to the point that the veins in his neck were clearly visible.

​​

"Heed my order, Wei Xianlu disobeyed my order, deceived the emperor and even disrespected the emperor's tally which represents my presence, he deserves death but considering his years of service at the border, he shall be demoted to the position of captain, stripped of his salary for six years and flogged 150 times," 

"150 times!" he exclaimed, very few can survive such beating and even if he survives it, it will take a long time for his injury to heal, he exchanged glances with his helpless father who still gritted his teeth in anger.

He could only blame that foolish daughter of his, if she didn't collude with the emperor to strip him of his power then this day would not come.

"The prime minister also aided his son in deceiving the emperor, he will also be stripped of seven years of his salary, one-quarter of his property will be donated to the people and he will be put in solitary confinement for two weeks starting from tomorrow," he completed with little satisfaction in his heart, he wished he found out the reason why Wei Xianlu would risk being found out to go to Shannanxi, maybe then he would be able to execute the father and son duo without any opposition.

"Won't you kneel and thank the emperor?" the regional commander scolded with a smug expression on his face, the prime minister gave him a side glance filled with contempt and the determination to take revenge for what he has suffered today.

He dropped to his knees and kowtowed with his son.

"Your grace is immeasurable, your majesty," they chorused gritting their teeth and clenching their teeth, Wei Xianlu on the other hand had blood seeping out of the crescent marks on his palm. With his father as the second most powerful in the court, he has never faced such disgrace as he faced today, the fact that a mere entertainer put in this situation vexed him to the core.

"You may leave," the emperor ordered, the soldiers dragged Wei Xianlu back to the prison to be flogged while the emperor remained with the regional commander in the imperial hall who turned to him with confusion written on his face as soon as they were gone.

"Your majesty, I don't under..."

"You don't understand why I made him order the ministers to forfeit their soldiers instead of doing it myself,"

"Yes, your majesty," 

"If I personally ask them to forfeit their army, it will definitely cause commotion in the court and it might even cause them to revolt because they have the prime minister behind them and the Queen also has princes who can take my position after they dethrone me," 

"But they don't have enough soldiers to revolt unless..."

"Yes, they are all secretly training soldiers behind my back, they not only have their private soldiers but also other soldiers they are training behind my back, the prime minister surely knows that I don't want only their trained soldiers but also their secret soldiers and with his son's life in my hand, he will surely do as I said," the emperor explained with an accomplished smile on his curled lips, as soon as he saw Madam Ju's letter, he immediately devised his plan to make them relinquish their private army.

"Your majesty is truly wise,"

The same private army they used to make his brother and his father lose the throne so he has tried all he could to find their whereabouts to no avail, now with Wei Xianlu life in his hands, the prime minister will definitely understand his message.

 -------------------

The prime minister kept walking down the stairs leading down the imperial hall with his eyes focused on his steps but his mind filled with contempt, he kept his hand folded in his sleeves as he took each step slowly.

He finally realized that the emperor he placed on the throne is no longer a cub who aims to bite but he is now a grown tiger who is very well capable of biting.

{Your majesty, you have finally shown your claws and fangs if so then I won't hesitate to show mine}

He turned back to glance at the imperial hall.

He has always wanted to sit on that throne but he has never obtained a good reason to revolt otherwise, his name will be called with contempt for generations and he will go down in history as a traitor.

He decided to fully accept the Queen on his boat since he can't become the emperor and possess the ultimate power now that his private army is gone, he can only put his grandsons on that seat at all cost and control them.

 - - - - - - - - - -

Madam Ju and her girls were following behind one of the attendants to the palace where they will be residing when they met the imperial noble consort on her way to the emperor's palace, the stopped upon sighting her and waited for her to get to where they are.

"Greetings, Imperial noble consort," Madam Ju and the attendant greeted in unison while the girls bowed their heads, they have previously gathered information on the imperial noble consort and of course from the information they got, she will surely not see eye to eye with someone like their madam.

"Who is this?" the imperial noble consort questioned the attendant, ignoring their greeting.

"Replying imperial noble consort, she is madam Ju of Ruyi pavilion, the emperor has ordered that they reside in the palace of beauty," the attendant responded with her head still bowed, the imperial noble consort raised her gaze to meet the eyes of the stunning lady beside the attendant.

She was wearing a yellow robe with silk scarf decorated with peals on her wide sleeves. many old accessories adorned her hair and her red rouge and brows were every thick, it showed just how many extravagance she puts into her dressing and also her personality.

"Ruyi pavilion...madam Ju, are you perhaps the woman who saved the emperor some years back when he was poisoned?" she squinted her eyes in anticipation of her answer.

"Yes, your majesty," she concisely answered.

She exhaled aggressively with her eyes narrowed at her, she threatened Madam Ju years ago when the emperor wanted her to stay in the palace so she has always thought she didn't accept the offer because of her threat but seeing her again made her wonder just how much the emperor values her to make her stay by his side after so long.

"A mere entertainer even has the chance to reside in the palace, years ago, you refused to stay in the palace, I hope you still maintain the same thought," she gave her a threatening gaze which Madam Ju fully perceived but she didn't want to retort or it will just cause unnecessary enmity.

"You have nothing to worry about your majesty," she bowed her head, the imperial noble consort scoffed and walked past her but in fact, the worry in her heart was aroused once again, before it was the late imperial consort and the fourth who posed a threat to her position and it was certain that the fourth prince would definitely become the crown prince but since she died and the fourth prince disappeared, her insecurity disappeared.

Seeing how the emperor seems to favour Madam Ju, if she becomes his concubine and births a prince then she will surely be a threat in the future. She stood still and turned back to watch her back as the girls and the attendant disappeared.

The attendant escorted them to the palace of beauty then she left them to settle down.

Madam Ju stood by the pond in the courtyard of the palace which caught her attention while the girls stood beside her.

"Madam, are we really leaving the palace?" one of the girls who wanted to stay in the palace questioned.

"You are only asking that because you don't know how cruel the seemingly beautiful and luxurious palace is," she responded, dipping her hand into the pond and stirring the water.

"I agree, moreover, we cannot continue our business in the palace," one of the girls added.

"Meiniang, take this jade to Xian fu store, the owner will tell you what to do," she instructed, handing over the jade with maple leave carved on it to the girl.

"What...?"

"We are leaving the palace tomorrow," she disclosed.

"Huh!"

"We absolutely cannot stay in the palace for long," she responded, understanding their urge to stay in the palace at least for a while but from her experience of how the royal family works, she definitely doesn't want to stay another day in the palace unless it is part of the fourth prince plans.