Let’s Squander A Billion First!

Chapter 1391: Chapter 1391: The Noble Lady from the Military Family (Part 1)

[Thank-You Card synthesizing...]

[Thank-You Card successfully synthesized, current progress 9%.]

It seems that Chuzheng’s ’Jin Li’ state caused more Thank-You Cards this time than before.

At ten percent, clues to the Identity Fragment can be obtained...

Chuzheng calmed herself and opened her eyes.

The sight was a resplendently decorated palace, with carved beams and painted rafters.

Vast and empty, cold and desolate.

A place can truly emanate an aura; at this moment, the palace felt deathly silent to her.

Chuzheng sat up from where she lay, wearing extremely complex clothing, giving the sensation of being wrapped in several layers of blankets.

Hot and uncomfortable.

The attire...

The status should not be low.

-

Chuzheng guessed correctly that her status indeed wasn’t low; she was an empress dowager of a nation.

Not only not low, but she was also of unparalleled nobility.

The original owner’s surname was Nie.

Just after being sent to the palace and made empress, the Emperor passed away.

The original owner hadn’t even warmed the Empress’s seat and was directly elevated to Empress Dowager, taking the late Emperor’s only bloodline, the nine-year-old Crown Prince, to the Golden Luan Hall, overseeing state affairs behind a curtain.

Although referred to as overseeing state affairs, the original owner knew nothing about governance.

She had learned music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, not state affairs.

Of course, the young Emperor also understood nothing.

So most of the time, the two of them stared blankly at each other, listening to the Court Officials speak in what seemed like celestial script, and after they finished, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor of different generations would go hand in hand to the imperial garden to catch crickets.

When the late Emperor died, he left a decree appointing his younger brother as Regent Prince.

This decree was questioned for its authenticity.

However, neither the young Emperor nor the Empress Dowager understood.

The Regent Prince used to be a very humble person without any ambition, so people felt there was no problem with him becoming Regent Prince.

Yet, once the Regent Prince took office, the Court Officials soon found out it wasn’t the case.

The matters of the court were soon all overseen by the Regent Prince.

His faction gradually grew.

The Regent Prince held sway over the court with ill intentions.

The original owner disliked this Regent Prince; his gaze towards her carried a peculiar malice.

Moreover, he was always touchy-feely; had it not been for the original owner’s cleverness, she didn’t know how many times she would have suffered disadvantage.

The original owner feared the Regent Prince, so aside from sleeping, she stayed with the young Emperor every day.

However, the Regent Prince came up with a ploy.

He found a woman to be a concubine for the young Prince.

The woman wasn’t much older than the original owner.

But compared to the young Emperor, she was much older.

Of course, such occurrences have historical precedents, so under the Regent Prince’s insistence, no one dared to protest.

This meant the original owner could no longer be with the young Emperor at all times.

The Regent Prince’s power grew, and he became more brazen, roaming the palace at will.

Brazenly stopping the original owner and ridiculing her.

The lives of the original owner’s family were in the hands of the Regent Prince, leaving her with no option but to hide, without daring to retaliate.

The young Emperor’s concubine wasn’t an easy person either, leading the young Emperor astray all day long.

The original owner genuinely liked the young Emperor and hoped he would become a good emperor.

However, with that concubine sowing discord by the young Emperor’s side and monopolizing his time, the young Emperor began to grow distant from her.

At one palace banquet, the Regent Prince suddenly barged into the original owner’s bedchamber.

The original owner sent someone to fetch the young Emperor.

Yet the young Emperor was entangled by that concubine.

By the time the young Emperor remembered and reached the original owner’s chamber, all he saw was a cold, lifeless body.

-

Chuzheng rubbed her temples, sorting through all the memories.

The original owner’s entry into the palace was sudden, and she was directly made Empress.

The original owner’s grandfather was the Grand Tutor.

In this world, the Grand Tutor had no actual power, merely holding a high but titular position.

It’s unclear why the late Emperor wanted the daughter of the Grand Tutor to enter the palace...

Could it be precisely because she was powerless and easily controllable, preventing any harem interference in governance?

Chuzheng thought it was possible.

The late Emperor left behind two decrees, one appointing his brother as Regent Prince—this decree is questionable, whether it was truly left by the late Emperor is unclear.

The other decree was to bury all the harem concubines with him.

Except for the original owner who had been married in for just a few days as Empress.

The young Emperor was only nine years old.

If other women were to nurture him, who knows whose world it might ultimately become?

But the late Emperor could never have imagined that his brother, who always appeared unambitious, was hiding the deepest intentions.

With his body not even interred in the Imperial Mausoleum, his true nature was exposed.

This was the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

-

The current timeline already reaches the day of the original owner’s death.

The Regent Prince might arrive to kill her any moment.

Chuzheng sat cross-legged on the bed, pondering with her chin in her hand.

As the Empress Dowager, would eliminating the Regent Prince result in a sentence?

Chuzheng contemplated for a while, felt too hot, and removed a couple of layers of her heavy attire.

The original owner had just returned from a palace banquet; this was the palace dress for the banquet, which she had not yet managed to change out of.

”Someone, come here.”

Chuzheng called out.

The echo of her voice resounded in the vast hall.

The hall doors were pushed open, and Palace Maid Su Xue, who served the original owner closely, tiptoed in.

”Empress Dowager.”

”Find me something lighter to wear,” Chuzheng instructed.

”Yes.”

Su Xue went to fetch clothes and helped Chuzheng change out of the heavy palace dress.

Chuzheng had just finished changing when she heard noises from outside.

Su Xue perked up her ears and listened, her face changing slightly: ”Empress Dowager, it’s the Regent Prince.”

”Just in time,” Chuzheng said, sitting in front of the bronze mirror, her expression indifferent, ”You go out first, and no matter what you hear, don’t come in.”

Su Xue froze: ”Empress Dowager, you...”

Su Xue had grown up with the original owner, being brought from home.

She was genuinely concerned at this moment.

That Regent Prince...

Chuzheng’s face was cool and she casually waved her hand: ”I’ll be fine, you may leave.”

”Miss, don’t do anything foolish; living is what’s most important.” Su Xue did not address her as Empress Dowager but by the name she used to call her.

”Of course, I intend to live.”

Chuzheng’s tone betrayed no emotion, yet it revealed no negative attitude.

Nor did she appear as before, looking pale and at a loss.

While Su Xue hesitated for a moment, the Regent Prince was already at the door.

The Regent Prince, with a handsome face, dressed in the formal attire of a Regent Prince, exuded a dignified air as he entered from outside.

Just judging by appearance, the Regent Prince was quite handsome.

Though at his age, he could easily be her father.

Chuzheng signaled Su Xue to leave.

Su Xue gritted her teeth, curtsied, and exited the hall.

The door of the hall closed, and the Regent Prince stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the young girl sitting in front of the bronze mirror: ”Empress Dowager, this prince saw that you left the banquet early, thinking you might not feel well, I came to check on you.”

Chuzheng turned around.

The golden hairpins had already been removed from her hair, allowing her long black tresses to cascade casually down her back, accentuating her snow-white complexion.

Her clothing wasn’t luxurious but was dignified, with her dress trailing elegantly on the ground, exuding nobility.

Seeing her like this, the Regent Prince’s throat tightened.

His imperial brother pulled such a beauty into his harem even at his death.

He never had the fortune to enjoy her, yet made sure no one else could.

However...

This only made it more exciting.

The Regent Prince’s lips curled into a slight smile: ”Empress Dowager, dressed like this today, have you seen the light?”