Chapter 158: Mutual Schemes

ircles under his eyes are evident signs of his excessive indulgence.The ripples gracefully withdrew a white handkerchief from her sleeve, then feigned wiping at the corner of her eye. She covered her...While the eldest princess was on her way, the second princess went to see their father and relayed Ripple's words. After pouring herself a cup of tea, she unwillingly said:

"My mother's words this time clearly show her dissatisfaction with the Zhao family controlling the military power. And with my third sister's matter also involved, I feel incredibly unlucky."

After hearing this, Zhao shi also wore a look of displeasure on her face and said in a low voice:

“I said, how come I haven't seen any wise men serving the lord lately Turns out he's already gone to be by the side of the Third Princess. He was just a lowly attendant who couldn't even make it onto the stage, and now he's actually surpassed me! He’s just relying on being an old hand from the former palace and having a daughter to back him up.”

"Father, please don't anger yourself. You are the Imperial Husband, and after a hundred years, you will be the only one who can be buried with the Empress Mother. They can only watch helplessly."

The second princess spoke up to comfort, then immediately said with hatred:

"Third Sister appearing here is not a good idea. If something were to happen to her, the Empress would definitely blame me."

This could also be an opportunity to bring down the Great Princess.

Zhao rubbed the cup in her hand and said softly.

"Father meant..."

"If the Third Princess really gets into trouble, you can blame it on the First Princess."

"Will Mother believe"

"You two are now competitors. With the Third Princess's incident, she is the biggest beneficiary and you are the biggest victim. What do you think others will think when that time comes"

They would think that the eldest princess wants to eliminate me from the running. So, she's trying every means to get my third sister into trouble while I'm acting as regent. This way, not only can it prove my incompetence, but also make the Empress Dowager angry with me.

Unless I've gone mad, I would never do something so self-destructive. Their suspicions will naturally shift to the Grand Princess! What a clever move!”

The Second Princess' mind suddenly cleared, and she immediately had an idea. After saying a few words to her father, she hurried away.

After thinking for a while, the emperor tidied himself up and then went to see the Empress.

Since moving to Zhu Xiuan, the Empress has not spent a night at any of their residences under the pretext of illness. She does not summon them for trivial matters, but rewards them generously.

It was no surprise to her that the imperial consort would come to see her. She had simply asked Zhao shi to play a game of chess with her. The other party expressed their loyalty in every word they said, and she remained indifferent. She only reminded them not to interfere too much with the decisions of the second imperial princess, leaving Zhao shi feeling awkward.

The third princess of the Phoenix Nation was unaware at this time that her life was being coveted by both her elder and younger sisters. She was still sipping on bitter medicine, occasionally coquettishly with the attendant, while the threat of death crept closer inch by inch.

Half a month later, the items Princess Taizi had collected arrived in the disaster-stricken city. Feng Xuancheng also received ten carts of supplies. After the goods were delivered, the transport team did not leave immediately, but instead helped distribute the items. Because they transported the goods themselves, they knew exactly what was on each cart.

Because of their addition, the work efficiency was very high, and within a day's time, everything was allocated.

The marked garments, after being passed around several times, finally reached the location of the three princesses. However, instead of reaching their hands, they were intercepted by the noble lady-in-waiting.

"I'm not sure if these old clothes have been washed, so maybe it's best not to let the Third Princess wear them. She's still recovering from her illness and can't afford any risks. I brought her a few sets of old clothes that are enough for changing and washing. These can be given to other soldiers instead."

"Yes."

The female guardsman also felt that the pampered Third Princess wouldn't wear such old clothes, so she casually gave the clothes to two new recruits from poor families in the next tent. They weren't as particular, and naturally happily accepted them.

Even within the barracks, there were ranks. Only after the veteran soldiers had finished their choices would it be their turn. What good things could possibly remain However, what was given to the three princesses was definitely better than theirs. They only knew that the female soldier next door held a noble status, but they did not know she was a princess. Therefore, there was no burden in collecting their belongings.

But five days later, all five new recruits in the neighboring tent were stricken with the plague. Those five were immediately taken away, and then medics began fumigating their tent with medicine. Their personal belongings were also gathered together and burned.

"It's really strange, why are only the people in this one tent infected, while everyone else around them is fine And it's on the inside of the tents, how did they get infected"

A fully equipped medic is searching for the source of the infection, fearing a widespread outbreak among the soldiers. If that happens, things will go terribly wrong.

The speaker meant no ill, but the listener took offense. The cold-faced guard's eyes flashed, and he turned to go straight to the Three Emperors' daughter's tent, asking if anyone among them had contact with the people in the neighboring tent. Sure enough, two stepped forward, saying they had delivered old clothes.

"Leave the Three Empress's tent at once."

The guard commander barked an order.

The two of them stood there for a moment, but still obeyed the order and immediately left the tent. Even Xian Shijun noticed something was amiss and directly asked:

"But what's the problem"

"My subordinates suspect someone might be targeting the Third Princess, but there's no evidence. Also, the timing of the people in the neighboring tent contracting the plague is too coincidental. I can't risk it, so I've had these two individuals who came into contact with outsiders to leave temporarily."

"Do you suspect they intentionally spread the plague through the things they distribute"

The wise servant furrowed his brow, trying to recall the people and things he had recently encountered.

“Yes, the Third Princess's body is recovering. We are protected and haven't been infected by the plague. If we all fell, who would protect the Third Princess Just in case, we might have to send her out of Phoenix Sunset City then. That definitely wouldn't be the best outcome.”

The cold noodle guard spoke in a low voice.

The wise attendant nodded, acknowledging this was the worst outcome.

"Well then, we must be doubly cautious. Before we came, the Empress gave Mei Yuan's wife a medicine pouch. Remember to boil and drink the preventive decoction every day."

Pay close attention to the situation with the female soldiers next door. Try to figure out how they contracted the plague.

"Yes."

After leaving the tent, the guards gathered their comrades and organized into shifts to guard the three princesses' tent. They checked everything entering and exiting the tent with ever-increasing scrutiny.

In the evening, the Imperial Guard met with the Wise Counselor alone, their expression grave, and reported their findings:

"Those five people were infected because the clothes they wore seemed to have been worn by someone with the plague. I went to take a look, and those few pieces of clothing were all from the old clothes that were distributed this time. We didn't keep any of them, so we avoided disaster."

The wise servant heard this and his eyes narrowed. This was clearly aimed at the Third Princess, he was very certain of it.

"I will send a message to the Empress right away. You must strengthen the protection of the Three Empresses."

"Yes!"

On the other side, the Second Princess's confidante is discreetly contacting people sent by Panlong Kingdom.

The second princess had consulted with her own people and felt that even if she wanted to frame the third princess, she couldn't let her people do it themselves. Once it was discovered, she would be in a desperate situation. At this time, people from the Panlong Kingdom appeared, and she thought this was a good opportunity to use a knife to kill someone. spoke in a bargaining tone."Okay."Zhang Xuedao knew that once he was discovered, he would be a dead man.Yun Siyu directly took off her own scarf and wrapped it around Zhang Xuetao's injured shoulder...