The Empress's No.1 Lackey

Gone mad? Xu Jianwen's Holy Mother has gone mad? Was it because of the coup, the blow from Xu Jianwen's death? Was her mind so agitated that she became disordered? Or was it due to long-term confinement after being thrown into the Cold Palace?

Zhao Douan was startled, and intense doubt and surprise immediately surged in his mind.

Suddenly, he thought of a new possibility:

Pretending to be mad to avoid disaster!

If Xu Jianwen died, and the entire outer clan, the Xiao family, was implicated for the crime of rebellion, could the Noble Princess Consort Xiao deliberately feign madness to escape death?

"She is truly mad, at least I haven't seen any signs of disguise. When the news of Jian Wen's death came back to the harem, she fainted immediately, and after waking up, she was like this."

Xu Zhenguan seemed to have understood his thoughts at a glance and calmly explained.

"..." Zhao Douan awkwardly smiled and gathered his thoughts, seriously saying, "So, it's impossible to interrogate her?"

Trying to obtain valuable information from a deranged Imperial Concubine was evidently very challenging.

Punishment at this time is difficult to be effective because normal people find it hard to follow a mental patient's train of thought, and it's also impossible to determine which words can be trusted and which are fabricated.

"I have tried to send someone to communicate with her, but she is completely immersed in her own world, unable to communicate with anyone." Xu Zhenguan sighed softly.

Zhao Douan looked up; the crazed Imperial Concubine, seeing no food in their hands, immediately turned away with a sullen expression, heading back indoors.

He tried calling out to her, but she ignored him completely.

Oh, this... Zhao Douan was in a difficult position, tentatively asking, "Does His Majesty have any thoughts?"

Xu Zhenguan rolled his eyes, with an expression saying, "If I had an idea, would I have brought you here?" "I was about to hear if Mr. Zhao has a good plan."

Not really... I'm not a psychiatrist, and I definitely can't ask Gongshu Tianyuan's fox fairy to come over... Well, not entirely impossible, but the key lies in two downsides: firstly, whether the fox fairy can make a mad person speak normally is still unknown; secondly, interrogating with the fox fairy means killing the Noble Princess Consort Xiao...

Zhao Douan frowned in deep thought, the bright sun shining in the mottled, chilly courtyard of the Cold Palace, where sparrows occasionally flapped their wings or landed on the barren branches in the corners full of weeds.

Xu Zhenguan remained silent without interruption; after a moment, Zhao Douan suddenly looked up, hesitantly saying, "I really have a method we can try."

Saying this, Zhao Douan flipped his wrist, and a silver scroll appeared in his palm, surprisingly the "Void Illusion Scroll" he used as a storage Magic Artifact.

Its other function is: creating an illusion realm.

Combined with the Thousand Illusion God's Disguise Mask, it's a perfect combo.

Xu Zhenguan raised his eyebrows, with an expression like watching a performance.

...

Inside the dilapidated room of the Cold Palace, the furniture was in ruins, and cobwebs were growing in the corners.

The Noble Princess Consort Xiao returned to her bed, curled up and lay down, covering her stomach, drew up the tattered bedding with exposed cotton, and started to sleep.

In a trance, an invisible force swept through the surroundings; a phantom voice came to her ears: "Mother... Mother..."

The Noble Princess Consort Xiao's eyes suddenly widened; she blankly saw herself lying on a luxurious bed draped with silk curtains.

She was somewhat dazed, slowly sat up, and looked around, astonishingly finding herself in a lavishly decorated sleeping palace.

Outside the palace, the sunlight was so dazzling that it was as if her years in the Cold Palace were a dream. Now she awoke from the dream, and she was still the Imperial Concubine, just taking a nap.

"Mother..."

Suddenly, a tall figure stepped into the room, dressed in luxurious robes, about thirty-something years old.

His appearance bore six or seven similarities to the deceased Old Emperor, evidently the Second Prince Jian Wen.

"Xu Jianwen" smiled: "Mother, did you sleep muddled? I came to pay my respects."

The Noble Princess Consort Xiao seemed struck by lightning; she stared blankly at him, tears rolling down her eyes. She immediately ignored the unreasonable details around her, reached out her arms, stumbled off the bed, and threw herself at "Xu Jianwen," joyfully touching his face and cried with joy: "You're still alive... still alive..."

"Xu Jianwen" looked puzzled, reassuring her to sit down, and smiled: "Did Mother have a nightmare in the afternoon? I'm perfectly fine; why does it seem like you were told I'm dead?"

"Don't say that word!" The Noble Princess Consort Xiao covered his mouth, seeming unwilling to hear the unlucky "dead" word, sobbing: "Mother dreamt you were gone, everyone was gone..."

Disguised as Xu Jianwen, Zhao Douan continued to comfort and gently guide her: "Mother slept muddled. You must have remembered wrong. Does Mother still remember that I came to pay respects a few days ago?"

"Yes, you came... you came..." The Noble Princess Consort Xiao murmured.

Indeed... according to the information provided by Zhenbao, the last time the Noble Princess Consort Xiao saw Xu Jianwen before her madness should be him coming to pay respects before the coup... The Noble Princess Consort Xiao's memory stops at this point...

The reason she cannot interact with others and is immersed in her own world should be a brain's self-protection mechanism triggered by trauma... which means... as long as the correct approach is used to enter "her" world, simple communication can be made...

Thoughts flitted through Zhao Douan's mind as he continued to gently guide, gradually asking her if she remembered the last visit, the conversation between mother and son.

The last conversation should be one of the most memorable scenes for the Noble Princess Consort Xiao, even if mad, not completely forgotten.

Sure enough, the Noble Princess Consort Xiao, crying as she spoke: "I remember, remember... you said you might have to leave the palace for a while, Mother should wait for you... keep waiting, even if there is an accident, wait... you will come back..."