Chapter 186: Do Not Move Her

Two hours later, Wan Tang tidied her slightly disheveled collar and hair bun, and with dignified bearing walked out of Yangxin Hall.

Outside the hall, Xiao Mingshu still knelt upright on the cold hard stone tiles, looking wretched.

She heard footsteps, jerked her head up, eyes bloodshot, staring fixedly at Wan Tang.

Wan Tang's steps did not pause; when she reached her, her expression was calm and unruffled, and she simply said, "The Emperor lets you in."

No sarcasm, no flaunting, as if merely stating an unrelated fact.

This calm, however, was more unbearable to Xiao Mingshu than any provocation.

Her chest surged violently, and she forced a hoarse voice from between her teeth: "Wan Tang, stop being proud before me."

She forced the Empress's dignity, but her voice carried uncontainable resentment: "How long do you think you can be proud?"

"Hmph, fortunes turn. Today you are favored only because of your youthful looks."

"When you grow old and lose your luster, will the Emperor still glance at you?"

"I, this palace, am waiting to see the day you fall!"

Wan Tang heard this, her steps briefly faltered.

She turned sideways, lowered her gaze at the kneeling, seemingly frantic Xiao Mingshu, and suddenly smiled very lightly.

That smile carried a condescending pity.

"Empress," her voice remained steady, "you still think, even now, that I have exhausted my efforts just to obtain that little favor of the Emperor, a fleeting grace?"

Xiao Mingshu was startled, her pupils suddenly contracted, as if for the first time truly seeing the person before her.

The thing in that gaze made a chill rise from deep within her.

Wan Tang said no more, withdrew her gaze, turned and left calmly, leaving Xiao Mingshu alone, rigidly kneeling where she was.

The heavy hall doors of Yangxin Hall shut behind her, and Xiao Mingshu almost collapsed in a kneel on the cold floor tiles.

Crawling a few steps, her voice was mournful with a sob: "Emperor! Emperor, grant mercy!"

"Please spare the Xiao family this time!"

"The Xiao family is loyal to the Emperor, heaven and earth can bear witness."

"If not for my father's and the elders' great assistance back then, the Emperor would not have been so smooth…"

In her haste, she spoke without filter, only wanting to stress the Xiao family's merit.

"Bang!" Chu Yunzheng's palm struck the imperial desk, shaking the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.

His complexion turned iron‑blue, cold light flared in his eyes, his voice was bone‑cold: "Do you mean that I, the Emperor, owe my present position entirely to the Xiao family's merit?"

"Do I now have to act according to the Xiao family's wishes?!"

Xiao Mingshu trembled all over, instantly realizing her slip of the tongue.

Hastily touching the ground with her head, she trembled and said: "Subject does not dare!"

"Subject certainly did not mean this, Emperor, calm your anger!"

Chu Yunzheng looked down from his height, his face so gloomy it could drip water.

Xiao Mingshu gritted her teeth hard, knowing that now she could only submit, and wept: "Emperor, those death soldiers, the Xiao family trained them, originally also to guard the Emperor, to handle matters you could not act on!"

"Please, Emperor, consider the Xiao family's loyalty, and show mercy…"

"Loyalty?" Chu Yunzheng sneered, his tone cold: "Why did they appear on the training ground, why did their swords point at the people I must protect, you truly do not understand?"

Xiao Mingshu's tears fell like rain, her lifted face full of grievance and unwillingness: "Subject… I am only afraid the Emperor would be deceived by that demon concubine."

"She, Wan Tang, is fundamentally scheming, deliberately approaching the Emperor."

"I do not think so," Chu Yunzheng cut coldly, his tone carrying an unquestionable certainty, "She is a lone orphan with no support; even if I favor her further, in this deep palace she is nothing but a rootless water‑weed."

"Whether she gives birth to a princess or a prince, their honor and death all hinge on my single thought."

"Their only reliance is me."

He sharply pierced his gaze at the Empress: "Empress, tell me, for a person like that, what could I possibly be uneasy about?"

Xiao Mingshu was left speechless by these words, opening her mouth.

Yet she found all her accusations appeared pale and powerless before the Emperor's logic.

She could only sigh and say: "But Emperor, you are too fond of her, which makes her arrogant and lawless."

"Lawless?" Chu Yunzheng seemed to hear a huge joke, "She struggles at every step in the palace; I see clearly."

"Has she ever blamed heaven or others?"

"Has she ever actively harmed anyone?"

"Even the one who has always troubled her, repeatedly tormented her, Xu Luoyan, Wan Tang could still risk her own safety to save that child's life."

"Then tell me, how can such a person be lawless?"

Xiao Mingshu still wanted to argue, but Chu Yunzheng, impatient, waved his hand, his cold gaze fixed on her, and with one word exposed the truth:

"What you truly fear is only that she will affect your position as Empress, right?"

"Rest assured," his tone was indifferent yet carried the weight of an imperial word, "I have already promised your father that as long as the Xiao family behaves, this Empress's Phoenix Throne will forever belong to you, Xiao Mingshu."

These words were like a protective talisman, yet also like an icy shackles, instantly sealing all of Xiao Mingshu's mouth.

She collapsed, kneeling, her whole body cold, unable to utter another word.

Xiao Mingshu's face lost all color, tears mixed with despair streamed down, she lifted her head, her voice shattered.

With her final struggle and question: "Emperor, does that mean in your eyes, I, your subject, do not deserve even a shred of love?"

"I am also your wife!"

Who could have thought, this sentence not only failed to elicit any pity, but made Chu Yunzheng seem to hear an utterly absurd joke.

He looked down at the kneeling, disheveled Empress, his eyes full of unmasked mockery and ridicule.

"Love?" he repeated the word, his tone light and slow as if discussing a trivial trifle, "Xiao Mingshu, from the moment you decided to marry me and sit upon this Phoenix Throne."

"You should be crystal clear about what you actually chose."

"Speaking of family background, speaking of Former Dynasty forces, speaking of checks and balances, no matter which angle you look from," his tone suddenly turned cold, with a hint of cruel clarity, "Tangtang will never be your opponent."

"You possess something she could never reach even after a lifetime, yet you deliberately lower yourself to vie with her for that fleeting, illusory favor?" "Ridiculous!"

He stepped forward, stopping before the Empress's eyes, his voice pressed down to a whisper, yet each word was like an ice spear, striking Xiao Mingshu's heart.

"I give you my final warning: keep your place and respect the Empress's honor."

"If you dare move her a fraction more, don't blame me; I will give the Xiao Family no face at all."

Xiao Mingshu seemed utterly crushed, yet she hissed unwillingly, "Emperor! Are you truly willing to be so beguiled by her?!"

"She clearly…"

"Beguile?" Chu Yunzheng cut her off, a nearly lazy curve lifting his lip, confidence in his absolute control, "What ill intent could she possibly have?"

"She's just a helpless little woman, wanting me to favor her a bit more."

"That request, I can grant and am happy to grant."

After speaking, he truly no longer looked at her, brushed his sleeve and rose, as if he suddenly recalled something of utmost importance.

His tone even carried a deliberately casual ease:

"Now that you mention it, I find that Tangtang needs me even more than any of you."

"Since you enjoy kneeling, stay here and kneel in contemplation." He dropped that line, walked straight past her, his voice drifting in the air, "Tonight I will go keep my Princess company."

The footsteps grew farther, leaving Xiao Mingshu alone, rigidly kneeling in the cold, empty Grand Hall's center, as if all her spirit had been drained.

Outside Yangxin Hall, the night wind began to rise.

Li Defu watched the bright yellow figure vanish completely from sight, then slowly paced back to the still‑kneeling Xiao Mingshu. He bowed slightly, extended a hand, his voice flat and even, "Empress, the Emperor has already set out."

"Even if you kneel until dawn, the Emperor still won't see you."

"Return to the palace."

Xiao Mingshu snapped her head up, blood‑veined eyes fixed rigidly on Li Defu's outstretched hand.

A chilling sneer curled his lip, "Grandfather Li, not going to Changle Palace, yet you have idle time to attend to me?"

Li Defu's face was layered with wrinkles, showing a hint of ambiguous helplessness, he sighed, "Empress, why must you mock this old servant? I am also forced."

"Forced?" Xiao Mingshu seemed to hear the biggest joke, her voice sharpening, "So you can betray on a whim?"

Li Defu's murky eyes flicked, his voice pressed even lower, with a strange sincerity, "In short, this old servant has his own grievances."

"Empress, this Nubi can only say, if in the future there are those who cannot discern good from bad and obstruct your sight, this old servant will still be willing to serve you like a dog or horse."

Xiao Mingshu's gaze sharpened suddenly, bearing scrutiny and warning.

Li Defu suddenly changed his tone, the trace of meek helplessness on his face vanished instantly.

In its place was an almost arrogant, court‑eunuch pride.

He even let out a low laugh, "Of course, Empress, this old servant has served the Emperor for decades; I have no merit but I have endured hardship."

"To speak grandly, I, a eunuch, have reached the pinnacle of power and wealth; what more could I seek?"

He straightened slightly, his gaze scanning the Empress with an elusive meaning, "Now I act solely on my mood."

"Empress, do you understand?"

Xiao Mingshu's chest heaved violently, she inhaled sharply, then forced down the fury that nearly burst forth.

Her voice squeezed from between her teeth, "How could I, this palace, dare to sway Grandfather Li."

She stared at him unflinchingly, finally asking the long‑troubled question with unwillingness, "I simply do not understand."

"What heavenly favor did Wan Tang promise you that makes you betray this palace?!"

Li Defu's inscrutable smile resurfaced.

He muttered vaguely, "Empress, you need not ask further; this old servant has his own reasons."

Xiao Mingshu clenched her teeth, almost tasting blood.

She propped her numb legs, struggled to rise on her own, brushed dust from her skirt, tidied her disheveled hair, each movement exuding humiliation and hatred.

Before leaving, she turned back, dropping a cold warning:

"I only remind Grandfather, sharpen your eyes, lest you be deceived and end up with nothing!"

Li Defu heard this, his smile unchanged, even bearing a hint of slick, self‑important smoothness.

He said leisurely, "Empress, rest assured, this old servant has lived to this age; perhaps lacking in other things, but I have certainly tasted plenty of salt."

He bowed, assuming a respectful send‑off posture, "Empress, the night road is treacherous; please take your time."

Xiao Mingshu let out a cold snort, no longer looking at him, straightening a spine that was nearly about to shatter.

Step by step, exceedingly slow yet unusually steadfast, she left.

Bai Wei watched the Empress emerge, hurriedly ran up to support her, eyes reddened, full of anguish.

Xiao Mingshu gripped Bai Wei's hand hard, her gaze flashing with icy ferocity, teeth clenched as she said, "Bai Wei, I will not let this end here."

"If the demon concubine and charm master are ignored by the Emperor, then go find the Empress Dowager."