Chapter 105: Alive

【I really feel wronged inside—can this be blamed on my Xiao Chuan? Even I would want to kill someone.】

【But Xiao Chuan's reaction was really fast; he figured it out in such a short time.】

【The Dog Emperor is over there waiting for Wan Tang to bring good news, but that old eunuch dog Li Defu sensed something was wrong and is guarding outside.】

【Exactly, that old eunuch dog actually wanted to join forces with the Xu Family to mess with Wan Tang. Ah, no help for it—who told him his days started getting worse after Wan Tang appeared?】

【That's not the main point, the main point is that Wan Tang actually dared to groom Xiao Dongzi, shaking his position.】

【Wan Tang is still pitiful; she finally recognized Xiao Chuan, but once she steps out, Xu Chengyuan's Imperial Guard will take his life.】

Li Defu is outside?

Wan Tang's face instantly turned cold.

Now that Xu Yanchuan had finally learned the truth, how could she let him take any more risks.

Wan Tang's eyes sharpened, and her fingertips unconsciously tightened on her sleeve: "Since General Xu has already agreed to an audience with the Emperor, staying here may bring unforeseen trouble."

Consort Hui casually adjusted her cuffs, the pearl tassels on her nine-phoenix crown gently swaying: "I am ordered to escort you in and out of the dungeon."

She lifted her eyes to scan Xu Yanchuan, bound by iron chains, "As for others, what concern is that of mine?"

"I am willing to take him away in my personal capacity." Wan Tang's voice was very soft, yet every word was clear, "If anything goes wrong, I will bear the consequences myself."

Consort Hui's lips curled slightly: "As you wish."

"There may be an ambush ahead." Wan Tang lowered her voice, "Better to go through the back door."

"Since when do the children of the Ning family take the back door?" Consort Hui cut her off, a flash of pride in her eyes.

After a pause, she added, "However, the carriage will be waiting at the back door."

With that, Consort Hui also left gracefully.

When Wan Tang's trembling fingers touched the manacles on Xu Yanchuan's wrists, rust mixed with blood scabs stuck to her fingertips.

She bit her lip and turned the key bit by bit; with every clank of the chains, more blood gushed from his wrists, black and gleaming in the moonlight.

"Does it hurt?" As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them.

Xu Yanchuan suddenly let out a cold laugh, his wrist, worn down to the bone by the shackles, jerked up, and blood droplets splattered onto her face: "Has Lady Wan Bin ever gotten blood on her hands?"

As he leaned in, his breath, carrying the smell of rust, sprayed against her ear, "When I crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, my guts were still hanging outside my armor."

Wan Tang's pupils violently contracted, a coppery taste rising in her throat.

"Do you know why?" He tore open his collar, the hideous arrow wound on his chest still oozing blood, "To earn a Marquis of Ten Thousand Households for my 'good elder brother.'"

Every word was like a poisoned blade, "And now you tell me that bastard isn't my brother at all, but my enemy."

"He's a scourge I have to finish off with my own hands!"

"Stop it!" Wan Tang suddenly grabbed his arm, her fingertips digging into his scabbed wounds.

Xu Yanchuan didn't even furrow his brow; instead, he chuckled lowly, watching her panicked tears.

As she dragged him along in a hurry, Xu Yanchuan deliberately stumbled and crashed into the stone wall.

Wan Tang blocked him with her body, her lower back hitting a protruding stone edge, letting out a muffled groan.

Xu Yanchuan coldly watched her pale lips, then suddenly pinched her chin: "Why don't you put on this pitiful act in front of the Emperor?"

"You should know very well that men can't stand seeing this the most."

Amid the screeching of night owls, Wan Tang gripped his sleeve tightly and pulled him forward.

A carriage was indeed parked at the door, and the driver immediately got down to help Xu Yanchuan aboard.

Just as the carriage turned the corner, Wan Tang's hand, lifting the curtain, suddenly trembled.

At the front gate, a "young master" in ink-black form-fitting attire was surrounded on all sides.

Li Defu's shrill voice pierced the night: "Halt! In this heavily guarded Heavenly Prison, not even a rat should think of slipping out!"

Consort Hui didn't even pause her steps; the jade pendant at her waist flashed a cold gleam under the palace lanterns.

"This is treason!" Li Defu stomped his foot and shouted harshly, "Seize him for I!"

Before the words faded, everyone only felt a blur before their eyes.

Consort Hui had already grabbed Li Defu by the throat, lifting his entire body three inches off the ground: "You dog of a servant!"

She tore off her crown, her black hair cascading down like a waterfall, "Take a good look at who I am!"

Li Defu's face instantly turned from red to white, a distorted, trembling voice squeezing from his throat: "C-Consort Hui?!"

He hurriedly knelt to confess his guilt, "This old servant was blind, but this is all by the Emperor's decree."

Consort Hui flung him to the ground, grinding the sole of her boot against his trembling fingers, "Go and summon the Emperor now; it just so happens I can't be bothered to waste words with a dog."

Li Defu suddenly let out a howling scream: "Hurry and check the dungeon!"

"The blades of the Duke of Ying's mansion have no eyes."

With a "clang," Consort Hui drew the soft sword from her waist, its tip pressing against his brow, "Anyone who moves a step, I'll take their head off and kick it around like a ball."

The guards all stepped back in unison—who would dare offend the Duke of Ying?

Amid the clatter of armor, Li Defu suddenly scrambled up and charged inside: "Where is he? Where is Xu Mingde?"

"I'll go see for myself!"

"Slap!"

A slap sent him spinning in place.

Consort Hui struck three more crisp slaps with the back of her hand, and blood immediately appeared at the corner of Li Defu's mouth.

"A dog relying on its master's power." She shook her numb palm, "Bark once more, and I'll cut out your tongue."

Li Defu collapsed to the ground, his legs too weak to stand.

Consort Hui didn't even spare him a glance, stepping straight onto the carriage.

As the carriage curtain fell, her icy face flickered briefly behind the gauze.

Wan Tang watched longingly, truly envious in her heart.

The Duke of England's legitimate daughter, indeed has confidence.

Is this the domineering aura that power brings?

After entering the palace.

Consort Hui suddenly ordered the carriage to stop.

She lifted the carriage curtain and stepped out without looking back.

"From now on, for such matters," she snapped, "don't bother me."

Amid the clatter of wheels over the bluestone slabs, Xu Yanchuan sneered, "What a clever borrowed‑knife move."

He leaned in close to Wan Tang, a whiff of blood hitting his face, "Even the legitimate daughter of the Ning family has become your pawn?"

Wan Tang's fingernails left fine scratches on the carriage wall, "I'm not as scheming and flawless as you think."

"Is that so?" Xu Yanchuan mocked, "Then tell me, what do you need this wretched life of mine for?"

Wan Tang's heart ached sharply again.

"Alive." Wan Tang suddenly grasped his scar‑covered wrist, "I only need you alive."

"Within the Imperial harem, every consort has her own patron. With a patron, the children they bear have a chance to inherit the great throne."

Xu Yanchuan's gaze suddenly sharpened, fixed on her protruding abdomen.

"I can tell you outright, all of Xu Mingde's achievements belong to me." He stepped closer, "I can give you a valiant general's younger brother."

Wan Tang's face darkened like water in an instant, her lips pressed together in silence.

"The premise is," Xu Yanchuan's voice was like a blade tempered with poison, "you must let me see clearly what use you have."

Wan Tang's eyes brimmed with tears, she forced herself to endure the grievance and returned to the Xitang Courtyard.

Just let the carriage stop in the courtyard,

She waved wearily, casually sent another person, and said, "Go, tell the Emperor."

"The gift I prepared for him, from my palace, has arrived!"