Chapter 236: The Xiao Family Is Unshakable

That so‑called Buddha is merely looking for a chance to harass Wan Tang.

There's no way around it; Wan Tang's steep move this time turned the Xiao Family upside down. Xiao Sihai was suspended, the Emperor seized the opportunity to issue a harsh edict, and many core members of the Xiao Family are now under investigation.

Unfortunately the Empress Dowager is still alive, and at the moment she can't do much. Within three months, under the Empress Dowager's stirring, Xiao Sihai will likely be reinstated to his post. Even so, this time the Xiao Family has struck a vital artery and will be considerably weakened.

At this moment the Empress Dowager has pent‑up anger inside, and can only vent it on Wan Tang.

Old poisonous woman, venting now, probably doesn't know that trouble has already broken out in the Northern Border. Now Huang Hu is gravely injured, Su Yanci hasn't returned yet, the Xiao Family has been drastically weakened, and the Emperor is even less likely to favor anyone from the Xiao Family.

The only suitable person is Xu Yanchuan.

Wan Tang walked while listening.

She will not overlook any detail.

Outside the Fotang, the faint scent of sandalwood drifted, carrying a solemn, oppressive aura.

Wan Tang halted and whispered to Li Ping'er beside her, "You go back."

Li Ping'er shook her head, her tone firm, "Sister, I'll stay with you."

Wan Tang glanced at the pale‑faced, flickering‑eyed Xiao Luzi beside her.

She deliberately sighed, her voice neither loud nor soft, just audible to those nearby: "Without Xiao Shunzi nearby, it always feels like something's missing."

"Things never feel secure, the heart always uneasy."

At the sound, Xiao Luzi immediately puffed out his chest, feigning composure as he pledged loyalty: "Rest assured, Your Highness!"

"Nubi will give his all and never disappoint Your Highness!"

Wan Tang said no more, inhaled deeply, and stepped toward the Fotang.

Just at the doorway, an elderly woman with a stern face and sharp eyes—Rong Mama—blocked the way.

She is Rong Mama, the Empress Dowager's trusted confidante.

Rong Mama's scrutinizing gaze swept over Wan Tang's crimson‑red, gold‑threaded palace robe.

Her voice was cold and hard as iron: "Virtuous Consort, the Buddhist hall is a place of purity; why do you dress so flamboyantly?"

"That's utterly improper!"

Wan Tang sneered inwardly; although her attire wasn't plain, it wasn't against regulations—it was clearly a deliberate provocation.

Yet a hint of bewilderment and fear showed on her face as she timidly said, "I… I was unaware of any taboo in the Fotang; please forgive me, Rong Mama."

While speaking, her gaze unintentionally flicked toward the direction where Xiao Luzi stood.

Eager to impress, Xiao Luzi stepped forward and knelt with a thud: "Rong Mama, please calm your anger."

"It is Nubi's fault, my stupidity, I wore the wrong clothes; it has nothing to do with Your Highness."

"If you wish to punish, punish me!"

Rong Mama snorted coldly, disdainfully glancing at him: "What are you? Do you even have the right to speak here?"

Wan Tang quickly intervened, her tone protective: "Rong Mama, don't blame him; he is loyal to me and did not intend any offense."

Her words sounded like a defense of Xiao Luzi, but to Rong Mama they confirmed Wan Tang's close associate, giving her a chance to assert authority.

A cold glint flashed in Rong Mama's eyes: "Since the Virtuous Consort's discipline is lax, I, the old servant, will take over."

"Attendants, seize this ignorant Nubi and drag him away; flog him with twenty lashes so he may learn proper conduct!"

Immediately, two burly eunuchs stepped forward and, without hesitation, dragged the pleading Xiao Luzi away.

From a distance came the muffled thud of the whip striking flesh, accompanied by Xiao Luzi's harrowing scream.

Wan Tang's complexion turned pale; she exchanged a glance with Li Ping'er, and the two ignored the commotion behind them, walking straight into the depths of the Fotang.

Inside the Fotang, the light was dim, with only the ever‑burning lamp flickering weakly.

The Empress Dowager, dressed in plain everyday robes, faced away from them, kneeling on a mat, beads in hand, as if deaf to everything happening behind her.

Within the Fotang, incense and candles swirled, the atmosphere so solemn it seemed almost frozen.

Wan Tang and Li Ping'er quietly knelt on the mat behind the Empress Dowager, performing their Buddhist obeisances.

Throughout the whole process, the Empress Dowager kept her eyes closed, reciting sutras, never turning her head.

After a long while, the Empress Dowager's deep, authoritative voice finally rose slowly.

With a barely perceptible chill, she said, "Before the Buddha, one must keep reverence. Virtuous Consort, now that you are in the spotlight, you must also know restraint; do not become overly arrogant and lose your sense of proportion."

Wan Tang bowed her head, her voice gentle and slightly timid: "Empress Dowager's admonition is noted, I shall remember."

"I entered the palace late and know many rules poorly; henceforth I will constantly remind myself and dare not err."

The Empress Dowager paused her bead‑rolling, her tone plain yet weighty as a thousand pounds: "The Xiao Family has been loyal for generations, its foundation deep; it is not something anyone can simply move."

"As long as I, the grieving mother, live one day, this Imperial harem, and even the Former Dynasty, will retain whatever order it has."

Wan Tang still bowed low, her words soft yet edged: "I understand."

"The Xiao Family is the nation's cornerstone; I, a mere insignificant being, could never harbor even a fraction of disrespect."

"It is just… the Emperor's divine will is sole; I rely entirely on the Emperor's grace. Whatever the Emperor deems, I shall follow."

These words sound submissive, but in fact they highlight that she leans on imperial authority rather than the 'order' the Empress Dowager mentioned.

The Empress Dowager slowly opened her eyes, did not turn, and let out a faint, cold snort from her breath.

With a condescending, lofty disdain, she said, "The remnants of the Mo Family can raise what kind of storm?"

"All you have now is merely the Emperor's fleeting favor."

"Imperial favor is like morning dew and evening shadows; do you think it can last?"

Wan Tang lifted her head, a trace of hurt glistening in her eyes, yet her tone remained deferential.

She even added a hint of self‑mockery: "The Empress Dowager is right."

"Aside from the Emperor's fleeting favor, I truly have nothing."

"Therefore… I will be even more cautious, guarding this already scant favor, daring not to lose it."

"After all, besides this, what else do I have?"

She pushes her own "weakness" to the extreme, which makes the Empress Dowager's overbearing pressure seem somewhat out of place.

The Empress Dowager's fingers that twist the prayer beads tighten slightly, her knuckles turning pale.

She is clearly angered by Wan Tang's soft‑yet‑hard, seemingly yielding but actually unyielding attitude.

Yet years of cultivation and decorum keep her outwardly calm.

She no longer looks at Wan Tang, and coldly says, "Take care of yourself."

"Remember, I can tolerate you, and I can also… discard you."

"Subject, I thank the Empress Dowager for your instruction," Wan Tang bows deeply.

Her posture is humbly low, yet the corner of her mouth lifts slightly.

The Empress Dowager's chest rises faintly, a trapped resentment lodged in her heart, neither swallowable nor exhalable.

She snaps her eyes open, her cold, fierce gaze striking Wan Tang: "It seems your rancor cannot be dissolved by a few sutras."

"Then kneel properly for me."

"When you understand, then rise!" she points at the thick‑as‑a‑child's‑arm long incense on the altar, "Kneel until that incense burns out!"

Wan Tang presses her fingernail into her palm and whispers, "Subject obeys."

Li Ping'er's complexion turns deathly pale; that incense will burn for at least four shi.

She hurriedly kneels forward, "Empress Dowager, show mercy!"

"Virtuous Consort sister's body is weak; in the Cold Palace she has already lost her foundation. How can she endure kneeling for four shi?"

"Please, Mother Empress, be lenient!"

"Silence!" the Empress Dowager scolds harshly, "You are also a fox‑seductress of the master! If you dare speak again, you will be punished together!"

Li Ping'er trembles from the rebuke, yet does not step back.

She watches Wan Tang's pale profile, a resolute flash in her eyes, silently moves to the prayer mat beside Wan Tang, straightens her back and kneels.

"Ping'er!" Wan Tang gasps, turning her head, "Get up quickly! You need not share my punishment!"

Li Ping'er shakes her head stubbornly, reaches under her sleeve and grips Wan Tang's icy fingers tightly, her voice light yet resolute: "I won't leave."

"You are my sister!"

She turns, looking straight into Wan Tang's eyes full of worry and admonition, and says word for word, clearly: "In this deep palace, you are Ping'er's only family now."

"If family is punished, how could I remain at peace alone?"

Wan Tang's throat chokes, she grasps her with her other hand, all words collapsing into a low whisper: "Silly girl…"

"Then we'll be foolish together." Li Ping'er gives her a tear‑streaked smile, squeezes her hand, "Where sister is, Ping'er is."

The Empress Dowager watches the two below, tightly clinging and hand‑in‑hand, and fumes, letting out a cold snort.

The Fotang returns to silence, only that long incense burns slowly.

Two figures kneel on the prayer mat, leaning on each other's warmth, jointly enduring this prolonged punishment.

Time drips by, the cold from the Fotang floor seeps through the mat into their marrow.

Li Ping'er's complexion gradually shifts from pallor to an abnormal flush, fine cold sweat beading at her temples.

She can't help a low whimper, her body trembling slightly: "Sister… I feel ill…"

Wan Tang's heart tightens; she immediately looks up at the Empress Dowager, seated with eyes closed, twisting beads.

Her voice urgent: "Empress Dowager, Ping'er is unwell; please show mercy and let her rise!"

The Empress Dowager doesn't lift her eyelids, her tone indifferent: "I punish you, not her."

"She chose to kneel herself; what does it have to do with me?"

"Ping'er, get up quickly!" Wan Tang pulls at her anxiously.

Li Ping'er stubbornly shakes her head, gripping Wan Tang's hand tightly, her voice weak yet firm: "No… I stay with sister… I… ah!"

She lets out a sudden painful cry, and Wan Tang feels the hand gripping hers tighten sharply.

Looking down, she sees a small, glaring scarlet blot spreading on Li Ping'er's moon‑white skirt hem.

"Blood! How is there blood!" Wan Tang's voice instantly changes, panicked.

Empress Dowager's face darkens, she frowns and coldly rebukes: "Make a fuss over nothing! It's just a woman's menstrual blood…"

Wan Tang can no longer hear any words.

She watches the spreading bloodstain, watches Li Ping'er's limp, unconscious little face, and an unprecedented terror and heartache seize her.

It is only at this moment that she clearly realizes.

The woman who always called her sister, stubbornly kneeling with her on this icy floor, had, sometime unknown, become the sister she truly cares for in this cannibalistic deep palace!

"Imperial Physician! Quickly summon the Imperial Physician!" Wan Tang thrusts her head up, shouting toward the outside, her eyes filled with unprecedented resolve.

"How dare you!" the Empress Dowager roars, "Do I grant you permission? Keep kneeling for me!"

No one around dares to move; they can only lower their heads and stand.

Wan Tang seems not to hear, she clenches her teeth, using all her strength to hoist the unconscious Li Ping'er onto her back.

The girl's once‑light body now feels as heavy as a thousand pounds, weighing her steps unsteady.

"Virtuous Consort! How dare you defy orders?!" the Empress Dowager's voice thunders.

Wan Tang, carrying Li Ping'er, trudges step by step toward the Fotang exit.

Each step falls under the Empress Dowager's furious gaze.

She does not look back; her voice trembles from exertion yet bears unwavering resolve:

"If the Empress Dowager wishes to take my life, then wait… wait until Ping'er safely returns to Changle Palace!"

Having said that, she does not linger, carrying the one she regards as a sister onto her back, stepping over the high Fotang threshold.

Even though she knows it clearly in her heart, this move is utterly foolish.