Consort Chen was in a panic when she heard this, and immediately had someone contact her brother.

Her brother was a general with great achievements in battle, and was highly regarded by the emperor.

That's why Consort Chen was so arrogant and domineering, as the General's mansion was her strongest backing.

But at this time, Ying Xue started to cause trouble for me.

As soon as I entered the Zhao Yang Palace, everything went black as someone slapped me to the ground.

"You, Cen Mingzhao, dared to bring forbidden drugs into the palace and seduced Consort Chen into a grave mistake. You deserve to be punished!"

I was dazed from the blow, blood seeping from the corner of my mouth, a ringing in my ears.

Ying Xue, still unsatisfied, kicked me hard in the face.

"You, with your evil heart, implicated Consort Chen and caused her great harm. You deserve to die!"

I took a deep breath, slowly got up, and stared directly at Ying Xue, calmly speaking, "I didn't know when the Zhao Yang Palace changed its master, and since the consort hadn't spoken, Ying Xue dared to act on her behalf. Does that mean she doesn't hold the consort in high regard?"

Ying Xue's expression stiffened, then she glared at me, sneering, and through gritted teeth said, "How dare you speak like this? I want to see if you can still be so tough after suffering greatly."

"Do you, a lowly person, deserve to sit on equal footing with me? Take your precious ointment and go to hell."

Seeing Ying Xue's enraged expression, I couldn't help but smile.

She used to be Consort Chen's personal palace maid, and was favored, but because of the ointment, Consort Chen gradually got used to having me serve her. Once during a meal, Ying Xue rushed to serve Consort Chen, but ended up breaking her bowl. Consort Chen was about to blow up, but I took pity on her and interceded, allowing her to escape punishment. However, she always believed that I had taken away Consort Chen's favor, so she harbored a grudge against me from the beginning, even hating me despite my having saved her.

She always made things difficult for me, and now, with a major disaster looming, she couldn't wait to come and punish me.

Seeing me smile, Ying Xue said, "You still dare to laugh? I think you're insane. But don't think you can escape by acting like a fool. You are definitely going to die this time."

I just smiled and said, "The ointment was the one you gave to the empress, wasn't it?"

Ying Xue's face changed drastically, then she became angry. "You're talking nonsense! I'll make you regret saying that!"

Seeing her trying to remain calm, I sneered inwardly. With such limited abilities, she still dared to engage in such sycophantic behavior. She was truly shameless.

Of course, the reason she gave the ointment to the empress was because of my "suggestion." I gave her a choice, and she chose the path of death.