Chapter 214: Acknowledging Father

Wan Tang almost lunged forward to snatch up that bottle of golden ulcer medicine.

With trembling hands, she carefully peeled back Xiao Shunzi's blood‑stained, ragged clothes and meticulously scattered the powder over the snarling wound.

When the powder touched flesh, Xiao Shunzi, even in his coma, involuntarily twitched.

Wan Tang held her breath, watching anxiously.

Perhaps the medicine truly had miraculous effect, or perhaps it was a placebo; after roughly the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Xiao Shunzi's originally rapid and faint breathing seemed to truly ease a little.

Though still unconscious, the terrifying death aura appeared slightly dispelled.

Her taut heartstrings finally loosened a bit, and she suddenly remembered she should thank the one who gave the medicine.

She ran to the wall and hurriedly said, "Lord Su, thank you…"

But the high wall was already empty.

The moonlight was cold, leaving only the faint rustle of night wind through the wild grass.

【Su Yanci must be very sad right now!】

【He originally only wanted to be a carefree cloud and wild crane, but unexpectedly, he is still bound to the court.】

【Huang Hu disappeared, the Duke of Ning is in poor health and doesn't care about the Grand General position. As for Su Yanci, his father is also a veteran of three reigns; the key is that Su Yanci's mind is no longer on state affairs, so it won't affect Chu Yunzheng's control over military power.】

【Su Yanci repeatedly refused, but the Emperor said Xiao Susu still has three days before she turns sixteen, and he will give a gift. What gift could the Dog Emperor possibly give? Of course, to dote on Xiao Susu, making her fully a member of the royal family and thereby binding Su Yanci.】

Wan Tang shook her lower lip, her eyes full of shame.

She had clearly promised Su Yanci she would try her best, yet she hadn't done anything.

On the contrary, Su Yanci kept helping her.

【Before the state affairs, the Dog Emperor will place anyone behind one position, of course, except his white moonlight.】

【These past days, the Dog Emperor has often been woken by nightmares because he dreamed of Bai Li performing the bright moon dance for him. The focus is that veil, the pear blossoms on it are especially moving.】

【But the bright moon dance is Bai Li's original creation; no one else can do it!】

【What originality? It's just the tea‑picking dance transformed into a ceremonial form, made to look grand. The point is the hazy beauty Bai Li creates, which bewilders the emperor.】

【Pah, actually the emperor just drank Bai Li's wine, which had wind‑pepper juice added, and it started producing hallucinations—of course, a beauty unique in the world.】

Wan Tang's heart raced; she hadn't expected to hear such crucial information.

Once Xiao Susu is favored, Su Yanci will be bound and take the Grand General's position.

What about Xu Yanchuan then?

He is still only a minor general; how can he fully control the veteran commander that Xu Chengyuan has cultivated for over a decade?

If time passes, how can Xu Yanchuan alone become an unshakable existence?

To change the situation, Wan Tang must go out.

But the court matters are far more important; she can't even see the Emperor's face.

What should she do?

Wan Tang could hear Li Ping'er's frantic voice from outside the palace gate, apparently arguing with a guard, but she was being held tightly outside, unable to take a single step inside.

The golden ulcer medicine Su Yanci gave stopped the bleeding, but Xiao Shunzi's body began to run a high fever, his whole body scorching, and in his coma he occasionally uttered painful delirium.

Worse, no food was delivered; for two consecutive days, not a drop of water entered.

Wan Tang herself was so weak that darkness clouded her vision, she could barely stand, let alone tend to the gravely injured Xiao Shunzi.

She could not keep waiting like this.

Wan Tang strained to lift herself, leaning on the cold wall, and trudged step by step toward the tightly shut palace gate.

She must find a way, even if just to beg for a sip of water.

Her steps were feeble; before she reached the doorway, she heard a commotion outside.

The guard's voice suddenly became exceedingly respectful:

"Grandfather Li! How come you, an old man, are here in person?"

Immediately after, Li Defu's characteristic voice, neither high nor low but piercing, said: "Open the gate."

The guard seemed extremely troubled: "Grandfather Li, forgive us, the higher‑ups issued a strict order, this…"

Li Defu's voice instantly took on a perfectly timed hint of bewilderment and retreat: "I understand. Since it's an order from above, I won't go in."

"After all, the Imperial Majesty's word is golden; he said he wouldn't come, right? I'll just go back and report…"

Before his words finished, the chief eunuch who had been hiding nearby sprang out as if his tail had been stepped on.

He shouted harshly at the guards: "Scoundrels!"

"Can you not see?"

"Grandfather Li's Majesty is here, and you dare block him?!"

"Hurry up and open the gate!"

The guards, clearly more afraid of the eunuch who directly commanded them, hesitated, then with a few "clang" sounds, they broke the heavy bronze lock and slowly pushed open the Cold Palace's massive gate.

As soon as the gate opened, Li Ping'er was the first to rush in.

Seeing Wan Tang's weak and disheveled state, her eyes instantly reddened.

Her voice trembled with crying and anger: "Sister! How could they dare treat you like this!"

She hurriedly handed the food she brought into Wan Tang's hand.

Wan Tang almost instinctively devoured two mouthfuls, the dry snack choking her into a cough, but she immediately held it back.

Grabbing the still‑warm bird's‑nest porridge, she staggered back to Xiao Shunzi's side, carefully pried his mouth open and fed the thin broth in little spoonfuls.

Only then did Li Ping'er notice the blood‑splattered, barely‑living Xiao Shunzi in the corner, and she gasped, "Xiao Shunzi?!"

"How did he… become like this?!" she panicked, searching again for the wound medicine she'd brought.

Li Defu, who had been silently standing at the doorway, looking down on everything, finally spoke slowly.

"His injury likely damaged his internal organs. Your ordinary golden ulcer medicine can't save his life. Even if used, it will only prolong his suffering by a few days."

Li Ping'er's attitude toward Li Defu remained hostile; hearing that, she instantly turned her head and, in a sharp tone, said, "Then why are you still standing there doing nothing?!"

"Aren't you going to call the imperial physician quickly!"

Li Defu's face showed a trace of a scheming smile.

His gaze sharply swept over Wan Tang: "Ping'er, I today stepping through this gate already risked losing my head."

Li Defu paused, lowered his voice yet each word was clear, "Nowadays, who in this palace doesn't know the wind direction? Who would dare to set foot in this Cold Palace and be tainted even a little?"

"If it weren't for you… I would never meddle in this idle matter."

With a scrutinizing, almost cruel calm, "Do you understand?"

Wan Tang turned her back to him, her hand trembling violently.

The overwhelming sense of humiliation and the pressure of reality nearly crushed her.

She bit her lip hard until she tasted blood.

Finally, she spun around abruptly, lifted her paper‑pale face, her eyes filled with shattered dignity and a desperate plea, her voice trembling into a mess:

"Save him… Li Gonggong… I beg you…"

She closed her eyes, as if she had exhausted all her strength, and forced out through her clenched teeth the promise she most despised yet had to make:

"As long as you save him, I will give you… care in old age and a proper burial…"

Li Ping'er's words fell like a stone tossed into a deep pool, stirring endless bitterness and raging waves within her own heart.

Li Ping'er made the promise of care and burial to the mortal‑enemy who had murdered her mother!

Wan Tang subconsciously glanced at Li Ping'er, her eyes filled with unmistakable guilt and panic, as if she had herself sprinkled another pinch of salt onto Li Ping'er's blood‑soaked wound.

Li Defu heard this and his face instantly blossomed into an extremely radiant, even slightly twisted smile, as if a years‑long longing had finally seen the light of dawn.

Yet his shrewd old eyes shifted, and his greedy desire for more showed itself without any concealment.

"How nice…" he smacked his lips, his gaze slithering like a venomous snake toward the pale‑faced, trembling Li Ping'er beside him.

His tone turned unusually "sentimental" and deliberate, "But I, in my heart, always lack a piece…"

"If… if I could hear my own blood‑relative call me 'Father', then my whole life… would truly be worth dying instantly…"

Those words were like a poison‑coated dagger, piercing precisely into Li Ping'er's most painful spot.

She jerked her head up, her eyes filled with boundless hatred, humiliation, and fierce struggle.

She looked at the dying Xiao Shunzi, whose fate was this because of Wan Tang, and then at Wan Tang herself, nearly collapsed, eyes pleading and heavy with guilt.

Finally she stared at Li Defu's greedy, nauseatingly false visage.

The air was dead‑silent, leaving only Li Ping'er's heavy, suppressed breathing and the sharp pain of her fingernails digging into her clenched palms.

At last, that taut spine seemed to snap under an invisible crushing pressure.

She shut her eyes tightly, two streams of scorching tears burst forth, sliding down her pallid cheeks.

She used every ounce of strength, forcing through her trembling teeth a broken yet crystal‑clear syllable that seemed to carry a whiff of blood:

"Father."

That single word drained all her strength.

Li Defu heard this and was overjoyed, his facial wrinkles relaxed, as if he had become several years younger in an instant.

Meanwhile, Li Ping'er's eyes reddened, and she abruptly turned and rushed to the courtyard gate.

Turning her back to everyone, her shoulders trembled violently, and her suppressed sobs came out in broken bursts.

Li Defu did not chase after her to comfort her; his goal had already been achieved.

He turned and said, "Empress also saw that Ping'er is my own flesh and blood."

"My daughter, how could she forever be just an Answering?"

"In this Imperial harem, without favor, one is merely an ant."

He shifted his tone, seasoned with age, "It's just that many matters, due to my limited status, I cannot act personally."

His gaze burned as he stared at Wan Tang, "Today, daring to save someone, I can accomplish it."

"But I also must fight a path for Ping'er's future."

"I humbly ask the Empress… to give me some guidance on how she can gain favor before the throne?"

Wan Tang wrestled fiercely within her heart.

In an instant, Su Yanci's lazy, smiling visage flashed in her mind, recalling Xiao Susu.

She inhaled deeply, suppressing the turmoil within, and when she lifted her gaze, it was already cold and clear, even bearing a hint of icy sharpness.

She looked at Li Defu and said clearly and softly:

"Lady of Grace's birthday banquet is an opportunity. At that time, I still ask Li Gonggong… to prepare the 'Wind Eggplant Flower' juice in advance."

She paused briefly, looked at Li Defu's suddenly bright eyes, and added, "When the timing is right, Li Gonggong will naturally have his wish fulfilled."

Having said that, Wan Tang inhaled deeply, walked to the doorway, and took Li Ping'er's hand.

She whispered, "Ping'er, you come."

"I have a dance to teach you."