Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved-Chapter 513 Turns Out to Be a Joke in the End

Wang Yingluo tucked the pendant away, slipping it into her clothing.

As she turned her head to look at the maid, Fu Rong, lying on the ground, she contemplated whether to reveal her abilities just as Eunuch Li had done, to intimidate the other party into willingly serving her.

However, compared to Eunuch Li, a mere palace maid was not of much use.

She needed only one maid—loyal, capable, and able to do her bidding.

Though revealing her abilities would certainly instil fear and respect, deterring betrayal, the more people who knew, the less of a secret it would remain.

Staring at the expressionless maid, she suddenly felt something was amiss but couldn’t put her finger on it.

Wang Yingluo narrowed her eyes and stood up.

Fu Rong’s fist was clenched tightly in her sleeve, her palm drenched with sweat.

"Ah—"

Just then, a sharp scream echoed from the corridor outside. It was so piercing that Wang Yingluo jumped, forgetting about Fu Rong. She immediately opened the door to find a palace maid had fallen on the ground, pointing at the floor and shouting:

"There, there’s a huge centipede! Thicker than a wrist!"

The cry attracted everyone on duty, and even the Empress Dowager had been alarmed.

"There’s no centipede though."

"Did you perhaps see it wrong because of blurry vision?"

After a search, no one could find the centipede.

But the maid’s face was filled with terror, not seeming like an act, as her hands trembled persistently.

Eunuch Li whispered to Wang Yingluo, "Miss, that Miao the Divine Healer is adept in using poisonous creatures. It must have been intended for you. Fortunately, that maid spotted it, or the consequences would have been unimaginable!"

Wang Yingluo, having grown up in the countryside, was not scared of poisonous insects and snakes, which she had often encountered. Yet, she understood that even in modern times, mysterious forces existed. In ancient times, witchcraft and Gu techniques had been prevalent since time immemorial.

The venom of these creatures was extremely potent, and a single bite, if not promptly treated, could leave her lifeless by the next morning!

By then, that man surnamed Miao would take the blame, while the Empress would remain unscathed!

Thinking of this darkened her expression significantly.

She had shown mercy to the Empress today by not poisoning her, yet the Empress, in turn, had conspired with her lover to kill her in the Emperor’s absence!

What a vicious woman!

"This servant will go and report to the Empress Dowager!" Eunuch Li suggested with concern.

Wang Yingluo looked towards the main hall of Cining Palace and said coldly, "If the Empress Dowager wishes to investigate, there is no need to report. She’s already sent people to scrutinize the matter. If she wishes to stay out of it, even if you do tell her, she will not care."

The eunuchs and maids from the Empress Dowager’s palace had come out, but since they didn’t find the centipede, they returned, showing that the Empress Dowager had no intention of backing her.

In the end, this old woman simply did not consider her important and cared not for her life or death.

"You needn’t worry. If it didn’t work this time, they won’t risk a second attempt," Wang Yingluo assured Eunuch Li.

Despite her words, Eunuch Li promptly arranged for guards both inside and outside of Wang Yingluo’s palace.

At that moment, Fu Rong came out holding her head. Upon seeing Wang Yingluo, she knelt with a thud:

"This servant deserves death. I fell asleep while serving you, nearly causing you harm. I am worthy of a thousand deaths. Please, Miss, punish me!"

Eunuch Li saw the situation, and without changing his expression, he glanced at Wang Yingluo.

Wang Yingluo was in a bad mood, and having used hypnosis twice in a row, she was feeling both physically and mentally exhausted. She didn’t even look at Fu Rong, waved her hand to let her go rest, and returned to the hall.

The centipede incident had made her more cautious. She had to be more vigilant to prevent Murong Jiu from trying to silence her.

She must hasten Murong Jiu’s downfall to avoid any future worries.

Otherwise, leaving such a powerful enemy alive would mean she could never sleep in peace.

Watching Wang Yingluo enter the hall, Fu Rong slowly stood up from the ground, sighed with relief, and exchanged a glance with the frightened palace maid.

While there was a close call at Cining Palace, the two within Kunning Palace had also settled down to sleep.

Better to avoid trouble if it’s not necessary; the time had not yet come to burn bridges. Yet, neither Murong Jiu nor Jun Yuyan really feared anything.

The next day, before dawn, under various covers, Murong Jiu followed Jun Yuyan out of the palace.

Someone had already arranged a meeting with Lord Zhen Zhen Huailin in advance, at a private room in a restaurant owned by Murong Jiu.

Knowing that it was the Emperor who wanted to meet him, the middle-aged Lord Zhen had been standing, waiting without sitting down, and beads of sweat had formed on his forehead.

He really couldn’t understand why His Majesty would arrange a private meeting with him. He prided himself on having conducted his official duties honorably throughout his career, yet he couldn’t help but feel somewhat flustered.

Soon, Zhen Huailin heard footsteps coming upstairs, and he hurriedly went up to meet them. The tall and imposing man was already approaching.

"This humble official greets Your Majesty, may Your Majesty live a thousand, ten thousand years!"

"Stand up, Beloved Minister Zhen. Today I am dressed in plain clothes to meet you, so there’s no need for the formalities of monarch and minister. Please, Beloved Minister Zhen, take a seat," said the Emperor.

Zhen Huailin continued to decline, insisting that His Majesty take his seat first.

Due to excessive nervousness, he hadn’t even noticed that a woman had been accompanying His Majesty up the stairs and had now entered the adjacent private room, separated only by a wall.

"Beloved Minister Zhen, there’s no need to be tense. I’ll get straight to the point. Today, I’ve come to see you not to discuss official matters but because there is a personal matter that I am curious about, and before heading to the military camp, I had someone arrange this meeting," the Emperor explained.

Upon hearing this, Zhen Huailin became even more anxious.

He had a clear conscience about official matters, but his personal life was a mess, worse than any official investigation.

He didn’t know whether the Emperor had heard some outrageous rumor; otherwise, why would he take the trouble to inquire personally?

At his age, his heart was pounding as he hurriedly apologized, overwhelmed with shame.

"Is the matter Your Majesty wishes to ask about related to the rumors regarding favoring a concubine over a wife? In truth, the rumors are exaggerated," he said.

"Oh? Then why not tell me, Minister Zhen, in what way are they exaggerated?"

Zhen Huailin broke out in a sweat, not expecting the Emperor to indeed inquire about such matters.

In fact, in the whole of Capital City, many powerful families had much more chaotic affairs than his own. Compared to them, the Zhen Family was not too disorderly. Given his modest rank and inconspicuous demeanor, he would never have imagined that the Emperor would summon him personally to ask about his private affairs.

So he told the truth.

"It is with embarrassment that I speak, Your Majesty. I misjudged someone, thinking I had married a woman who would not scorn my poverty. In the end, it was all a joke," he confessed.

Originally, his family was so poor that just sending him to school had drained their resources. If he had succeeded in his studies and earned a title, marrying a wife would not have been an issue. His academics were promising, and achieving a title appeared within easy reach.

However, fate had other plans. He suffered a bout of food poisoning right before his exams and failed to achieve the expected results. Later, he learned that his meal had been tampered with by someone seeking vengeance for a slight against the son of the local County Magistrate.

What surprised him even more was that his wife, Madam Lin, had intricate connections with the Magistrate’s son.

Back then, to curry favor with the Magistrate’s son, she had taken the opportunity to poison him.