Chapter 162: Failed to Steal the Chicken

Chu Yunzheng led Lin Wanyi into the inner chamber.

His eyes softened noticeably when they fell on Wan Tang, yet he still subtly shielded Lin Wanyi on his rear half, a slight protective posture that pricked Wan Tang's eyes.

"Sister." Lin Wanyi said timidly, water glistening quickly in her eyes, "I have come to beg forgiveness; that day is truly a matter I cannot escape from."

"If I hadn't come, I would have felt uneasy."

Lin Wanyi pretended to be charming, but her gaze carried a selection only a woman could understand.

Wan Tang's expression was cold, her mouth slightly upturned.

Does this woman again intend to play the pitiful one before her?

"Lady of Grace Jing," Wan Tang cut in coldly, "According to Palace Rules, you should address this palace as 'Wan Pin, Your Highness.'"

She never once glanced at the pitiful beauty, her gaze fixed solely on Chu Yunzheng's face.

Lin Wanyi's tears fell in response, yet she forced a smile toward the Emperor: "Emperor, do not blame Your Highness; I had long foreseen this."

Her slender fingers lightly tugged the dragon robe's sleeve, "Being allowed to atone is already a grace; I ought to accept some displeasure as well."

Having spoken, Lin Wanyi's gaze at Wan Tang already bore the posture of a victor.

The Emperor was angry; even if she were a newly birthed consort, harsh treatment of a newcomer would ultimately be despised by the Emperor.

Chu Yunzheng's brows furrowed slightly, his tone bearing an unmistakable bias: "Tangtang, why must sisters be like this?"

"Sisters?" Wan Tang suddenly let out a light laugh, the laugh tinged with ice, "Does the Emperor know that if I hadn't been so fortunate that day, the two bodies lying here now would be corpses!"

"Your Lady of Grace Jing can steal your gaze and share your favor."

Her voice suddenly choked, pointing at the sleeping princess in the cradle: "But she should not have let my child nearly die!"

The tears finally burst forth, yet she kept her back straight, "I can choose not to haggle, but that does not mean I can smile and call a rival a sister!"

Chu Yunzheng was shaken by the desperation in her eyes and stepped back half a pace.

Lin Wanyi seized the chance to kneel and weep, "Emperor, you see clearly! That day I truly was careless."

Lin Wanyi's "careless" was like a poisonous thorn lodged in Wan Tang's heart.

She suddenly let out a low laugh, the laugh tinged with cold sarcasm, "If one 'carelessly' kills a person, can one also say 'it was not my wish' and be absolved? Intentional or not, the result is already laid out here!"

Seeing Wan Tang's emotions flare, a hint of triumph flashed in Lin Wanyi's eyes.

She suddenly fell to her knees with a splash, her voice rising with a sob, "All the fault is mine! Your Highness, punish me as you see fit!"

Such a retreat-as-advance stance indeed made Chu Yunzheng show a look of concern.

"I was only thinking," Lin Wanyi seized the opportunity to grab the Emperor's robe hem, "once Your Highness has completed her confinement, the Emperor must always have someone to attend him."

Wan Tang suddenly stood up.

Her postpartum‑weak body swayed slightly, yet she radiated undeniable authority: "Lady of Grace Jing, that statement makes no sense."

"If you err, whether you are punished is my matter; why does it feel as if I am the one forcing you?"

Her gaze swept over Chu Yunzheng, "Moreover, with so many sisters in the harem, does the Emperor lack attendants?"

She stepped closer, her skirt brushing the floor strewn with disorder, "Equal share of rain and dew is the Heavenly family's rule; all women under heaven belong to the Emperor."

"Today you can use 'careless' to shirk guilt; will others later be able to use 'unintentional' to cause the Imperial Heir's death?"

Lin Wanyi was left speechless by the question, then suddenly threw herself into Chu Yunzheng's arms, sobbing, "Emperor, look! My sister is trying to drive me to death!"

Tears instantly soaked the front of the dragon robe, "I merely misspoke, yet Your Highness is about to brand me with the crime of plotting against the Imperial Heir."

A cold smile lingered at Wan Tang's lips.

Lin Wanyi truly believed that, relying on the Emperor's affection toward her, she could invert right and wrong like this.

Initially not pursuing the matter was to avoid implicating Lady of Grace Qi.

Now Lady of Grace Qi is already dead.

The resentment in Wan Tang's heart could no longer be endured.

Looking again at that delicate, moving figure, it truly resembled herself.

She had always been clear that Chu Yunzheng is an emperor, and moreover a highly suspicious emperor.

Whatever she does, before Chu Yunzheng she presents a half‑true, half‑false, cautious demeanor. For matters Chu Yunzheng can tolerate, she resorts to a sly cleverness.

What she cannot tolerate must never show even a hint of a tail.

This woman, possessing only a pretty face, treats the emperor as a fool.

Simply nitpicking right and wrong is the most foolish thing. Now that Lady of Grace Qi is dead and the child has safely arrived, the Emperor's greatest concern is to quell matters swiftly.

The lives of others are, to the Emperor, merely pieces falling on a board.

Then, how does this matter involve the Emperor?

Wan Tang already had a plan in mind, slowly kneeling onto the cold ground.

She lifted her head to stare at the Emperor, her voice clear as shattered jade: "Emperor, I originally did not wish to pursue this. After all, you truly love her."

Her tone suddenly sharpened: "But her behavior today truly makes me feel sick!"

She abruptly bowed and struck her forehead hard against the golden slab, "If so, I ask the Emperor to punish according to Palace Rules."

"Lady of Grace Jing Lin, for colliding with the pregnant consort and endangering the Imperial Heir, thereafter showing no remorse, pleading with tears for favor, deceiving the ruler!"

Each time she spoke, the sound of her bow reverberated, "According to Palace Rules, Volume Three, Article Nine, the punishment is thirty lashes, demotion to selected maid, and confinement for six months of reflection!"

Lin Wanyi's face turned ghastly with fear, clutching tightly onto Chu Yunzheng's hem, "Emperor! I do not…"

"I know I was wrong."

Lin Wanyi cooed, swearing solemnly.

She only fixed her eyes on Chu Yunzheng.

Wan Tang's tone was even, slowly saying, "I, too, have been driven to the limit."

"You know, I have scarcely managed to keep my beloved princess by my side; you and the Empress Dowager agreed that I personally tend to her, and I have no other wishes."

"These past two days, I have been extremely happy."

"Alas, I'm terribly distressed…"

Having said enough, Wan Tang need not continue.

"Kneel!" Chu Yunzheng barked suddenly, his dragon‑like might sweeping like a cold tide, "Tangtang is already kneeling, and you still want to lean on my chest?"

Lin Wan Yi trembled all over in fright, hurriedly fell to her knees, lifted her rain‑kissed pear‑blossom face, her eyes still holding lingering grievance and terror.

Chu Yunzheng leaned down and pinched her chin, the force so great that she let out a painful cry.

The emperor's gaze sliced across her delicate visage like an ice blade: "You have ruined these eyes."

His thumb brushed her outer eye rudely, "Since you have come to beg forgiveness, Lady of Grace Wan, according to Palace Rules you will be dealt with; what grievance do you have?"

Lin Wan Yi finally panicked, tears streaming as she tried to argue, "I, your servant, only…"

Before the words finished, Chu Yunzheng had already thrown her aside, his voice bone‑cold, "If you dare set foot in Xitang Courtyard again, I will break your leg!"

During this period, the Emperor truly cherished her to the bone.

Lin Wan Yi was already convinced that even the stars in the sky, the Emperor would pluck for her.

But why did it turn out like this the moment she met Wan Tang?

Just half a incense stick ago, the Emperor was still gripping her slender waist, saying he would stay with her and guarantee nothing would happen.

With such harsh words spoken, Lin Wan Yi's eyes rolled, and she fainted softly to the ground.

Chu Yunzheng looked at that face, and a trace of pity finally flickered in his eyes.

Wan Tang stepped forward in time, gently urging, "Your Majesty, calm your anger."

"Jing, the younger sister, has only just entered the palace; she doesn't understand many rules yet, we can teach her slowly."

She gently smoothed the emperor's sleeve folds, "It inevitably takes time to adjust."

Chu Yunzheng grasped her hand again, his fingertips rubbing the thin callus on her palm, "Tangtang has received even less instruction than she has."

He stared at the scar at her temple, his tone suddenly soft, "Yet you have always understood my thoughts best."

"As long as you truly love the Emperor," Wan Tang lowered her gaze and smiled faintly, "placing the Emperor above all else, you will naturally grasp the holy will."

She clasped Chu Yunzheng's hand, "Your servant and the Princess are forever the Emperor's most loyal support."

Chu Yunzheng, moved, pulled her into his arms, "Within this inner palace, the rarest treasure is sincerity."

His sigh merged with the dusk, "Fortunately, Tangtang is here."

【Ugh, disgusting. The Dog Emperor eats from the bowl while watching the pot. He keeps saying he loves Tangtang, and when he rolls in bed with Lin Wan Yi, isn't he being quite vigorous?】

【Honestly, I also find it pretty gross; how did the Dog Emperor manage to give the bullet to someone else, and give the cheapest love—'I love you'—to Wan Tang?】

【Tangtang was just clever; otherwise Lin Wan Yi would have incited her. Lin Wan Yi deliberately tried to disgust Wan Tang, also creating a rift between Chu Yunzheng and Wan Tang.】

Wan Tang sneered inwardly, "Enough!"

Today's scene has become unforgettable for Wan Tang for the rest of her life.

Regarding Chu Yunzheng, she can never be the same as before.

The news of Lady of Grace Qi's death was like snow on a spring‑blooming flower, vanished without a trace.

With Wan Tang's help, returning the corpse to the Qi Family required a bit of sleight of hand.

A perfunctory note of "died postpartum" ended Lady of Grace Qi's life with a period.

The First Prince was completely raised under Xiao Mingshu's name.

The Empress now has a legitimate son, and the Crown Prince position has an indisputable heir.

A month later, morning light filtered through the newly plastered crimson‑sheer windows, coating the interior with a warm golden hue.

Li Pin stepped over the threshold, hand on a maid's, and upon seeing Wan Tang holding the Princess sunbathing by the window, burst into laughter, "Good sister, finally I've been waiting for you to finish confinement!"

Wan Tang quickly rose to greet her, the petite Princess of delicate porcelain and jade in her arms cooing.

Li Pin, full of joy, stepped forward to tease the Princess.

Wan Tang smiled and asked, "Sister, you've become much slimmer lately."

Now that I am also a mother, I finally understand that even if ten wet nurses surround a child during confinement, one must remain constantly mindful.

Li Pin examined the Princess; though the child had grown a bit smaller, her complexion was rosy and luminous, "Our Second Prince is much better now."

"With proper care, he can indeed grow into an adult."

Wan Tang thought of that premature child and couldn't help saying, "I was just about to go check."

"No need then," Li Pin abruptly cut off, forcing a smile, "The Empress Dowager's benevolent decree says the child should not see outsiders before six months; even I, his own mother, am limited to certain hours for visits."

Wan Tang nodded in understanding, "The Empress Dowager is thorough; the child is fragile, so it should be so."

She handed the Princess to the wet nurse and personally poured a cup of red‑date tea for Li Pin.

Li Pin teased the golden bell on the Princess's wrist, then lowered her voice, "Sister, did you know the Emperor will personally arrange the Princess's one‑month ceremony? Even the Imperial Household Department's regulations have been revised three times!"

She glanced out the window, her tone tinged with bitterness, "When the First Prince was born, the Emperor only let the Empress handle it, and the rewards were reduced by thirty percent from the norm…"

She suddenly leaned close to Wan Tang's ear, "But that newly arrived Lady of Grace Jing, now residing in Kunning Palace's Side Hall, is said to revel in nightly music until the third watch."

Her fingertips traced deep marks on the desk, "In the past month, the Emperor has spent twenty days lodging in the Empress's palace."

"Sister, now that you're out of confinement, you must seize the Holy Heart quickly!"