Chapter 144: Helpless

Xitang Courtyard.

Wan Tang slowly woke up.

She hadn't yet seen everything around her; her fingertips clenched the brocade quilt, and cold sweat soaked the newly changed plain white inner garment.

Her clothes had actually been changed?

Her gaze hurriedly swept every corner of the room—dressing table, treasure cabinet, hidden compartment of the bed—but there was no sign of that spirit plaque.

A sharp ringing suddenly sounded in her ears, and darkness flickered before her eyes.

"Tangtang! You're awake?"

Chu Yunzheng's voice suddenly pierced the buzzing.

Wan Tang snapped back to awareness; the emperor had already bent down and pulled her into his arms.

The scent of dragon's saliva incense, wrapped in warmth, surged toward her, yet she lay stiff as stone in his embrace.

In the peripheral light she glimpsed Li Ping'er standing by the screen, even giving her a goofy smile, which made her nails dig deep into her palm in anxiety.

"Emperor." She weakly leaned back onto the pillow, her voice hoarse beyond recognition, "Subject... have caused you worry."

Chu Yunzheng cupped her face, his thumb brushing the dark bruises under her eyes: "Do you know how dangerous it was?"

Anger lay beneath his voice, "If you and the child in your womb suffered any mishap, what could be done?"

"At that time, I only thought of saving lives," Wan Tang lowered her eyelids, her lashes casting shadows on her pallid face, "After all, it's the emperor's bloodline."

Chu Yunzheng fell silent suddenly.

Amid the crackling of candle flames, he suddenly asked, "Don't you hate Xu Luoyan?"

Wan Tang trembled all over.

She saw her own reflection mirrored in the emperor's pupils.

Her lip corner smiled, yet her eyes held ice.

He is the most suspicious; he would never ask such a question without cause.

After a long while, a tear suddenly struck the back of their clasped hands: "Hate."

The word felt like a knife across the throat, "But compared to hate, the Imperial Heir's safety is more important…"

Chu Yunzheng's eyes darkened sharply, and he suddenly held her even tighter.

"Tangtang, how fortunate I am to have met you," he said.

Wan Tang rested against Chu Yunzheng's chest, every corner of her eyes and brows alight with a smile: "Subject feels the same."

The two were so affectionate.

Wan Tang's face showed nothing, yet her fingertips whitened as they clenched under the brocade quilt.

Where exactly did Mother's spirit tablet go?

Does the Emperor know?

Wan Tang anxiously looked at Li Ping'er, hoping they could give an answer.

"Everyone step back," Chu Yunzheng suddenly spoke.

The sound of the hall doors closing made Wan Tang's heart jump.

Chu Yunzheng's smile suddenly faded, his eyes turning terrifyingly dark: "Now, tell me the truth, what exactly is the matter between you and Xu Luoyan?"

"Subject…" Wan Tang's throat tightened, her gaze falling on the rhombus of light cast by the window lattice, "Since I have memory, I've already been at the Xu residence."

"At that time, I have always been Xu Luoyan's servant."

Her voice was as light as drifting fluff, gradually dissecting those dark years.

The sting of Xu Luoyan's whip on the back, Wang Jingyi pressed a Jīn zān against her throat and said, "If I can't support the noble consort, I'll be buried with her."

And that night when she was laced with love‑potion powder…

When mentioning that night, Wan Tang hesitated repeatedly.

In the end she gritted her teeth hard and spoke it out.

"So that night," Chu Yunzheng suddenly pinched her chin, a terrifying storm swirling in his eyes, "It wasn't Xu Luoyan at all?"

"She actually dared to use someone else as a substitute?"

When Chu Yunzheng mentioned this, a terrifying cold light shone in his gaze.

Wan Tang trembled all over as she rolled off the bed, her forehead striking the ground heavily: "Subject is guilty."

"Ha!" the emperor suddenly laughed out loud, his laughter tinged with a hint of madness, "No wonder, no wonder that when I later visited her again, I never felt that feeling again."

He suddenly squeezed Wan Tang's shoulder, "Do you know how important that feeling is to me?"

Chu Yunzheng's eyes were filled with scorching cold light.

The excruciating pain made Wan Tang's vision go black.

She knew these would anger the Emperor.

But likewise, these must be spoken.

Only by ensuring Chu Yunzheng harbors no sentiment for her can last night's events be better concealed.

Wan Tang's heart was tense, yet she heard a gentle sigh from above: "It's all destiny!"

"Fortunately, I have met Tangtang again," Chu Yunzheng's fingertip brushed over her tear stain so gently it was unbelievable, "Tangtang, you are so well nurtured."

As the hall doors opened and closed, Wan Tang saw the emperor's eyes flash with brutality when he turned.

It was clearly the excitement of a beast that has seen blood.

"Bang!"

The hall doors had just closed when Li Ping'er stumbled in.

She still held a medicine bowl in her hand, but Wan Tang seized her wrist, spilling the soup onto the brocade quilt, staining a large brown patch.

"Where are my clothes?" Wan Tang's voice was terrifyingly hoarse, her nails almost digging into Li Ping'er's flesh, "Where is the replaced clothing?"

Li Ping'er winced in pain and pulled her neck back: "I, I (serving woman) changed it with my own hands."

Li Ping'er looked at her Master's pallid face, then suddenly realized, "The Empress is looking for that …"

"Shut up!" Wan Tang abruptly covered her mouth, her gaze sweeping toward the swaying tree shadows outside the window.

She lowered her voice and asked, "Where is the thing?"

"It's not there," Li Ping'er said anxiously, tears welling up, "I, the serving woman, have turned it over inside and out three times."

Wan Tang suddenly released her hand, her fingertips trembling uncontrollably.

A spirit tablet that large could not simply vanish into thin air.

"Alas!"

"If this falls into someone else's hands, what should be done?" she muttered to herself, cold sweat rolling down her spine.

Yangxin Hall.

The azure smoke exhaled by the gilded beast furnace swirled within the hall, and Xu Chengyuan's armor glimmered with a cold light in the candlelight.

The old general, though forced to kneel on the ground, kept his back perfectly straight: "Emperor, are you planning to burn the bridge after crossing the river?"

Bang!

Xu Chengyuan, though forced to kneel on the ground, kept his back straight, his eyes blazing with anger: "Emperor! What crime have I, an old minister, committed?"

Chu Yunzheng leisurely caressed the jade ring, his gaze sweeping over the people in the hall.

Xu Yanchuan lowered his head, standing on the left, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the sword sheath.

Su Yanci stood in the shadow on the right, his dark official robe almost merging with the darkness.

"Come to think of it, it should be you who are being questioned, right?"

"So the one who died in the Cold Palace was my daughter?"

Xu Chengyuan's gaze was icy.

He opened his mouth to question.

"Minister Xu, why are you in such a hurry?" the Emperor chuckled lightly, tapping the military report with his fingertip, "The Tiger Tally of the Hundred Thousand Iron Cavalry of the Northern Border is still tucked in your bosom, isn't it?"

Xu Chengyuan's pupils contracted sharply, and he instinctively pressed his hand to his chest.

The gilded Tiger Tally's edges, hidden beneath the fabric, could summon the armies of the thirteen border states.

It is a fact that he holds heavy troops, but the mistake lies in the fact that he repeatedly brings this item into the palace.

"I… am only concerned for my wife and daughters," the old general's voice suddenly softened by three degrees.

"Concerned enough to bring personal troops into the palace?" Chu Yunzheng suddenly threw a bamboo slip.

The bamboo slip unfurled with a rustling sound, revealing a secret report on the Xu family's illicit recruitment of soldiers, "Or are you still worried that these deeds are enough to annihilate the nine clans?"

Xu Chengyuan snapped his head up, only to see the Emperor looking at him meaningfully: "Tell me, what crime does privately raising troops constitute?"

These pieces of evidence suddenly lay before his eyes.

Xu Chengyuan's complexion changed in an instant.

Not many people know these matters.

Among them is Xu Yanchuan.

Xu Chengyuan slowly turned his head, staring at Xu Yanchuan in shock, while his hand subtly tightened.

Su Yanci silently shifted his step, perfectly blocking the path of Xu Chengyuan's sudden rise.

Veins bulged on Xu Chengyuan's temples as he let out a sudden snarl: "Has the Emperor forgotten? When the Northern Border's war drums sound again, it will still be my own bones that must fill the gap!"

"Indeed!" Chu Yunzheng sighed as he rose, his dragon‑patterned boots stopping before Xu Chengyuan, "That is why I am asking you."

"Does the Emperor know that when I crushed the barbarians of the Northern Border, I also bled and fought to the death?" Xu Chengyuan's voice became sharp.

"Does the Emperor truly disregard the feelings of the Hundred Thousand Army?"

Chu Yunzheng's face showed a cold, indifferent smile.

He suddenly tossed another bamboo slip onto the ground, "The Northern Border's army rations are short by three hundred thousand taels; you say, if the soldiers learn of this, what should they feel?"

"After all, these silver taels were earned with their blood."

Xu Chengyuan's hand hanging at his side clenched suddenly.

He looked at Xu Yanchuan; this was a secret known only to the Xu family.

Moreover, Xu Mingde is now gone.

Veins on Xu Chengyuan's temples sweated coldly, "The border is bitterly cold, and so many soldiers endure hardship, yet the Emperor says such words."

"How can one not feel chilled?"

Xu Chengyuan started to turn the question back on them.

"Is the suffering so great that you must forge weapons in secret?" Su Yanci suddenly spoke, pulling a piece of raw iron from his sleeve, the character 'Xu' clearly marked on it.

Xu Chengyuan's pupils contracted sharply, and he leapt up suddenly: "You impudent brat!"

He forcefully pushed aside the guard, only to see Xu Yanchuan's sword held horizontally before him.

"Rebel son!" the old general's eyes widened in fury.

Xu Yanchuan's sword tip remained motionless: "I only obey the Emperor's command."

Xu Chengyuan snapped his head up, his murky eyes fixed on the three people in the hall.

Chu Yunzheng sat high upon the Dragon Throne, his expression indifferent.

Xu Yanchuan stood with his head lowered, his face stern.

Su Yanci stood in the shadows, a faint, ambiguous smile curling at the corner of his lips.

He suddenly burst into a hoarse, owl‑like laugh: "Alright! Alright!"

He struggled to fling off the guard, staggered two steps, pointed at Xu Yanchuan, eyes blazing, "Rebel son! You pretended to return home, pretended to show loyalty to me, and actually… were waiting for me here?!"

Xu Yanchuan's face remained expressionless, and he said calmly: "Father, you are weary."

"Tired?" Xu Chengyuan sneered, slapped his chest hard, "Just because of this little thing you have in your hands, you think you can make the Northern Border Hundred Thousand Army submit?"

His eyes flashed with mad light, "You think that without the Tiger Tally, they'll obey you?"

"I, Xu Chengyuan, have been operating in the Northern Border for twenty years; all the commanders in the army were promoted by me!" His voice was hoarse, yet each word cut like a knife, "You dare act against me today; tomorrow the Northern Border will be in chaos!"

The hall fell into dead silence.

Chu Yunzheng lightly laughed, tapped the Dragon Throne armrest with his fingertip, "It seems General Xu truly is tired."

He lifted his gaze, his tone casual, "Xu Yanchuan, personally escort General Xu back to rest."

"Without my order, Shei may not approach him."

Xu Yanchuan clasped his hands, "Subject obeys the decree."

Xu Chengyuan, furious, laughed bitterly, "Chu Yunzheng! Do you really think that this way you can control me?"

The emperor leaned slightly, a cold chill in his eyes, "I do not need to control you."

He said slowly, "This world belongs to me."

Xu Chengyuan's pupils contracted sharply; before he could speak, Chu Yunzheng waved his hand, "Take him down."

The guard stepped forward, lifted Xu Chengyuan and dragged him outward.

The old general struggled, turned his head, his voice ghastly like a ghost, "You will regret this! The Northern Border will be in chaos…"