After dismissing the ministers and withdrawing the Imperial Guards from the inner palace, Jiufang Ye naturally went to reclaim his throne.
At this moment, publicly declaring the emperor's return was also meant to gather the various Lineages again and win back their hearts. After all, he could not slaughter every family that had previously defected to Jiufang Lin. How could Jiufang Ye let those he could use slip away?
As for Di Yifei and me, we naturally remained in the inner palace.
After the Empress Dowager waited until Jiufang Ye had gone far away, she trembled with rage when she looked at Di Yifei. She had held herself back just now, but how could she possibly endure it any longer? She glared furiously at Di Yifei and shouted, "Shameless wretch! Lin'er had only just left, and you followed my eldest son already? In all this vast world, where could anyone find a slut as shameless as you?"
"Hehe, Mother, you've misunderstood. I was merely protecting myself. Your second son is no simple man—he can even kill his own father. How much better could your eldest son be? I had received a secret report long before he came in, to say nothing of myself. Even you would probably have died beneath his sword if I hadn't said those words just now. And now Mother calls me shameless? I wonder where your own face was just now." Di Yifei let out a cold laugh, seemingly ignoring the female attendants around her as she stared eerily at the Empress Dowager with those large eyes.
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager staggered back a step and was caught by two terrified female attendants. Trembling, she pointed at Di Yifei and said in disbelief, "Impossible... Impossible. How could my eldest son..."
"Mother, in a struggle