Chapter 213: Ten Years to Keep Him Alive

Wan Tang, in the inner chamber, had already heard the sounds outside crystal clear, and she did not wish to go out to face such humiliation.

But the Empress Dowager's imperial decree was no trivial matter; she could only force herself to tidy her slightly disheveled hair, drag her still‑painful body, stride quickly into the courtyard, and slowly kneel to the ground.

"Guilty concubine Wan Tang, receiving the decree," she said, her voice hoarse yet preserving her final decorum.

Zhao Quanan unfurled a bright‑yellow imperial decree, raised his voice, and read each word as if an ice spear were striking down:

"By the Empress Dowager's imperial decree: Guilty consort Wan Tang, originally the offspring of a rebel minister, the Emperor's benevolence, remembering Princess Minghui, has spared your life—such is the boundless heavenly grace!"

"You do not repent, yet you squander days in the Cold Palace, showing no restraint; this is a crime upon a crime!"

"The death penalty is waived, but the living punishment cannot be escaped!"

"Effective today, all allowances are revoked; though your consort title remains, all daily provisions shall be treated as those of a low‑ranking palace maid!"

"Respectfully submitted!"

Each word struck Wan Tang's heart like a Whip.

She clenched her teeth hard, dug her fingernails deep into her palm, and only then could she barely suppress the sour‑sweetness in her throat and the surging hatred.

That day finally arrived, faster and harsher than she had imagined.

She lowered her head, her forehead pressed against the icy ground, and in a hoarse voice said, "Guilty concubine… receiving the decree, thank you."

Zhao Quanan snorted coldly and thrust the imperial decree heavily into her hand.

His gaze, like Yin Zhi, swept over the courtyard's silent crowd, and he said, "Everyone, listen to I (servant)!"

"The Empress Dowager commands: henceforth, any who lacks eyes shall not dare to come and go freely through the Cold Palace doors, abusing privilege…"

He slapped his hands sharply, his voice sharp and piercing: "This is the consequence!"

Two robust eunuchs responded by dragging a blood‑soaked figure from outside and throwing it in.

The person fell heavily onto the empty ground before Wan Tang, emitting a muffled groan, almost silent.

His clothes were torn, soaked in dark‑red blood; his face was a blur of flesh and blood, and only his faintly rising chest proved he was still alive.

It was not a stranger but Xiao Shunzi, who had gone out to find food for her and never returned.

Wan Tang, upon seeing Xiao Shunzi's tragic state, had all her composure and pretence collapse instantly!

She cried out, nearly lunging forward, trembling hands reaching to touch him, yet fearing to worsen his pain.

"Xiao Shunzi! Xiao Shunzi, wake up!"

Her voice trembling, she jerked her head toward the surroundings and shouted urgently, "Help! Someone, help! Go fetch the imperial physician! Quickly!"

The Chief Eunuch, just beaten, covered his reddened cheek.

Seeing Wan Tang's panicked, completely disoriented demeanor.

Not only did he show no sympathy, but a surge of wicked fire and vengeful thrill shot straight to his head.

He sneered sarcastically, tugging at the wound on his face, the pain making him grind his teeth, and he decided to put the whole bill on Wan Tang.

"Yo, Virtuous Consort, you have truly made Nubi suffer so much!"

His voice was sharp, full of venom, "If it weren't for your 'extravagant excess,' Nubi could have avoided this beating?"

"Could have provoked this mess?"

He grew increasingly angry, pointing at Wan Tang and scolding, "Fine, fine! Nubi cannot offend you!"

"Nubi can hide, but cannot offend the Empress Dowager; the Emperor, Nubi dares not provoke!"

"Nubi offends no one, that should be enough, right?"

He spun around sharply, bellowing at the trembling old women and eunuchs under him, "What are you still standing around doing?!"

"Lock the main gate tight, seal it."

"From today onward, anyone inside this Cold Palace shall not think of leaving."

"And those outside, no one may think of entering."

"We shall close the doors and live a 'good' life!"

The heavy palace gate was slammed upward with a roar, and the massive bronze lock snapped shut with a 'clank,' completely separating inside from outside.

Wan Tang, watching Xiao Shunzi's barely‑living, blood‑soaked form, felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness seize her heart, making it almost impossible to breathe.

He fell into this plight because of her!

Wan Tang had promised countless times that they would become stronger and stronger, that they would become people others dare not bully.

But now, this blood‑soaked body—could it not be mocking her own incompetence?

What else does she care about?

Wan Tang took out the gold and staggered toward the tightly shut palace gate.

Through the crack, she addressed a guard old woman outside, her voice plaintive, almost begging:

"Grandma, please help, go find an imperial physician!"

"Even if it's just some wound medicine, that would be fine."

"Here, take this!"

She shoved the gold ingot through the crack.

The old woman saw the glittering gold ingot, her eyes instantly brightened, staring greedily.

Her throat churned, but as if touching a hot iron, she hesitated to reach out.

She glanced left and right, then lowered her voice, speaking with difficulty and fear, "Empress Dowager, it's not that the old servant doesn't want to help you; it's truly this situation—who dares to lay a hand on it?"

"The Emperor and Empress Dowager, those two masters, are like celestial deities fighting in the heavens!"

"We, the ants‑like servants, cannot offend any side, nor dare to help any!"

"This gold, the old servant is allowed to take, but not allowed to spend!"

Her voice was filled with fear.

Wan Tang's hand drooped weakly, and the gold ingot clanged onto the floor inside the gate.

She knew that the old woman was speaking the harshest reality.

She returned to Xiao Shunzi in a dazed, despondent state, watching his pain‑twisted face, her heart feeling like a knife tearing.

The old woman hesitated outside the door for a moment, ultimately unable to resist greed, and whispered, "Madam, perhaps you could give the gold to this old servant again."

"This old servant will risk his life, trying to obtain some ordinary golden ulcer medicine; it's better than having none."

In desperation, Wan Tang clutched the last straw, unhesitatingly slipping the gold back through the door crack.

The old woman seized it, quickly tucked it into her bosom, and repeatedly said, "Madam, rest assured! Wait! Wait!"

The night grew deeper.

Wan Tang kept vigil by Xiao Shunzi, daring not to close her eyes, repeatedly gazing at the tightly shut Gongmen.

She pricked her ears to listen for any sound outside, hoping for even the faintest sign of hope.

Until midnight, when all sounds fell silent, and outside the door, apart from the howling wind, there was not a whisper of movement.

No medicine, no one came, not even a single reply.

That piece of gold, like a stone sinking into the sea, together with that pitiful sliver of promise, was utterly swallowed by the cold night.

Only Wan Tang, the endless darkness, and Xiao Shunzi's increasingly feeble breath remained.

【Tangtang, stop waiting; the old women inside the Cold Palace are all ruthless masters, and now everyone knows the Empress Dowager is out to get you.】

【If it weren't for the thought that the Emperor once came to the Cold Palace to see you, they would have rushed in long ago, digging three feet into the ground to snatch every valuable thing you have.】

【The saying that money can make ghosts turn the mill is true; only the mill‑turner needs to be replaced…】

【The night‑watchman was placed there by Yan Wang; if you can stop him during his rounds and slip him silver, he can get things done.】

Regarding Yan Wang, Wan Tang feels a deep‑rooted aversion.

But now…

The third‑watch drum sounded from afar, unusually clear beyond the dead‑silent Cold Palace.

Wan Tang curled up behind the shut Gongmen, holding her breath to listen for any sound outside.

When the night‑watchman's footsteps drew near, she inhaled deeply and, from the lower crack of the door, swiftly shot a tiny fragment of silver outward.

The silver clinked onto the stone floor, producing a faint "ding".

The footsteps outside the door halted.

Then came a rustling rummage; the night‑watchman evidently picked up the silver, let out a puzzled "Eh", and leaned toward the crack to see what it was.

Through the narrow gap, he saw a pale hand inside the door, palm outstretched, holding a slab of foot‑colored snowflake silver.

The silver gleam under the dim moonlight almost dazzled his eyes.

The night‑watchman's breathing suddenly grew heavy, his eyes bulging.

He stared greedily at the slab of silver, then nervously glanced at the guard dozing against the wall nearby.

Wan Tang lowered her voice, speaking rapidly, "Brother, please slip this slip of paper… quietly to Li Answering."

"Heaven and earth know this matter…"

The night‑watchman swallowed, his voice hoarse, "Li Answering… Li Ping'er, young mistress?"

"Yes." a voice from inside affirmed, with a barely perceptible tremor, "Make sure it reaches her personally."

The night‑watchman stared at the slab of silver, then gazed deeply at Wan Tang.

He suddenly lunged, snatching the slab of silver away in a flash, while also taking the tiny rolled slip of paper pushed through the crack and tucking it into his chest.

"Done! Wait for the letter then!"

He whispered another line, not daring to linger, and quickened his pace.

The drumbeat rang a bit chaotically, hurriedly disappearing into the night.

Inside, Wan Tang leaned weakly against the icy door panel, her palms slick with cold sweat.

Xiao Shunzi's breath grew ever weaker, like a dying candle in the wind.

The barrage that usually chattered nonstop was now dead silent, utterly soundless.

Wan Tang knelt in the icy, desolate courtyard, an unprecedented sense of helplessness flooding over her like a tide.

She does not believe in spirits, yet now she is at a dead end.

She finally understood that when one is grasping blindly, truly anything can be done.

She pressed her palms together, gazing up at the night sky, sparsely speckled with stars as cut by the palace walls, tears silently streaming, her voice choked yet profoundly reverent:

"Old Heaven, devout woman Wan Tang prays to you."

"May you protect Xiao Shunzi through this calamity… as long as he recovers, the devout woman is willing to sacrifice ten years of lifespan…"

"A eunuch, once dead, is dead. What could be worthy for the Virtuous Consort to trade ten years of lifespan for?"

A voice with a lazy smile suddenly drifted from the wall.

Wan Tang jerked her head up; through her tear‑blurred eyes, she saw Su Yanci perched atop the high wall.

Moonlight bathed him, still exuding a breezy, clear‑moon, leisurely, lazy demeanor, starkly out of place in the Cold Palace's bleak despair.

For a fleeting instant, Wan Tang almost believed her devotion had moved Heaven, sending down a deity to rescue the suffering.

She felt she had seized the only lifeline and could not worry about anything else.

With a sobbing, urgent plea, "Lord Su! I beg you… save him!"

"He is… very important to me…"

Su Yanci looked at the tear hanging on her lashes, that wholly dependent gaze, and the teasing smile at the corner of his mouth softened a bit.

He shook his head, his tone tinged with helpless regret, "Unfortunately, I am not a physician who can heal the world."

Yet his tone shifted; he drew a white porcelain bottle from his chest and gently tossed it down.

"The golden ulcer medicine still has a little left; it might help stop bleeding and resolve bruises."

The small bottle landed precisely on the dry straw before Wan Tang.

"The rest…" Su Yanci's voice floated down, tinged with a faint, almost imperceptible sigh, "We can only watch his destiny and leave it to heaven."

PS: The third chapter is right here; as long as you dare to say it, I'll dare to do it, hehehe…