Chapter 278: Peach Blossom Brew

Oh dear, you say that we Wan Tang need your help as well.

Pulling a fart, I see this kind of swaggering man, truly indifferent.

I really don't know what Li Ping'er is thinking; so many things have already happened, why does she still whine and go to him for help? Unreasonably making Wan Tang lower her head.

Upstairs, you can't really be someone who almost became Emperor; would your mind truly be swayed by a maid?

Don't forget, Li Ping'er has already been sold by Yan Wang. He did it deliberately to disgust Chu Yunzheng.

Wan Tang calmly looked at the man before her.

Regarding his words, she showed little emotional fluctuation.

She gave a faint smile: "Then thank you."

Wan Tang's composure was startling: "If so, then Yan Wang, please leave!"

Yan Wang slightly raised an eyebrow; Wan Tang actually dared such an attitude toward him?

Could this woman be so confident as to oppose the Emperor and the Empress Dowager single‑handedly?

He only sneered, saying, "Virtuous Consort, I await good news."

The next morning.

Wan Tang had just woken from her sleep.

A clamor had already arisen outside the cell.

"Your Highness, great joy."

Chief Eunuch rushed in, rolling and crawling.

He hurriedly said, "Last night those so‑called witnesses, including several from Kunning Palace, all died mysteriously."

"Now, there is no one who can prove that Your Highness ever acted."

Wan Tang calmly looked at them.

Since Yan Wang has already come, a storm is destined to be stirred.

As soon as his words fell, another commotion rose outside.

Several people brought a young palace maid inside.

The maid, like a startled bird, knelt upon entering, without waiting for interrogation, tears streaming as she voluntarily confessed:

"I (serving woman) saw everything; the poison was given to the Empress, it wasn't Virtuous Consort at all."

"It was our Lady of Grace."

Wan Tang felt a tightening in her heart.

Lady of Grace?

Could it be that Yan Wang has already uncovered a clue and chosen to directly expose Su Guiren?

The Shenxing Si eunuch shouted even more harshly, "Speak, who is it?"

"It is Lady of Grace Qin," the maid hurriedly said.

Wan Tang showed no expression, yet breathed a sigh of relief inside.

The Shenxing Si eunuch lifted his Whip, already drawing a blood mark on the maid's body.

A scream of agony rang out; the maid trembled violently, eyes scanning fearfully, and shrill‑voiced, "It really is Lady of Grace Qin."

"As for why everyone says it was Virtuous Consort, that's because, because…"

She trembled, then said, "I heard the Lady of Grace say that the Deposed Empress knows too much; to keep her mouth in check, we must ensure she can never speak again."

"The more I think, the more terrified I become, so I disclosed everything I knew."

After the maid finished speaking, she looked at Wan Tang again.

She hurriedly defended, "Virtuous Consort had no choice; she was threatened."

"After all, the Princess is still young. If we can get her once, we can have a second chance!"

The amount of information in that statement was indeed rather large.

The people of Shenxing Si turned pale one by one.

They hurriedly pushed a person, "Quick, quickly go report to the Emperor."

The Shenxing Si eunuchs, eager to go, all saw terror in each other's eyes.

This series of silencing, taking the blame, clearing themselves…

The methods were ruthless, the scheme meticulous, sending chills down one's spine.

Time passed.

Chu Yunzheng did not come in person, but sent Wan Tang to Yangxin Hall.

When Wan Tang stepped into the hall, Chu Yunzheng immediately rose from behind the imperial desk and took several steps forward.

Seeing her slightly haggard face and the faint red marks on her wrist, his eyes were filled with unabashed concern.

He reached out, trying to pull her into his arms: "Tangtang, you've suffered…"

Wan Tang, however, turned slightly aside, lowered her head, her voice choked with sobs and deep guilt: "I, your servant, have failed the Emperor, causing the Emperor worry."

She raised her tearful eyes, "At that time in Kunning Palace, I intended to tell the truth."

"But I saw the Empress Dowager there, so I dared not speak."

Chu Yunzheng's expression softened again, taking Wan Tang's hand, he sighed, "Only you would always consider me in everything."

He led her to sit aside, his expression turning serious: "Then why did you take the blame for others?"

"That poison, was it truly you who administered it?"

Wan Tang bit her lower lip, inhaled deeply, and softly said, "I truly am afraid of the Xiao Family."

"If I don't voluntarily admit it, then Minghui…"

Wan Tang hesitated, after a long pause said, "Indeed, I dare not gamble."

Mentioning that, Chu Yunzheng's eyes flashed with a cold light; needless to say, he also thought of something.

Wan Tang let out a long sigh.

It seemed as if she thought of something.

Her gaze was full of desolation.

Sighing, she said, "Moreover, at that time Subject saw Su Guiren at the Kunning Palace gate."

"Seeing her frantic appearance, I even thought it was her doing."

"Su Guiren?" Chu Yunzheng was first stunned, then shock flashed in his eyes, which then turned into reproach: "You fool, no matter for whom, you must never again casually take the blame for others."

"Look how dangerous this time was; if that palace maid hadn't timely recanted, you would have almost become a scapegoat!"

He said so, his gaze gradually grew cold, a calculation already forming in his heart, and he let out a cold snort:

"I say, how could the Empress Dowager have appeared so timely yesterday…"

"So she had prepared it long ago."

He pulled Wan Tang into his arms, his chin resting on the top of her hair, his voice low and firm: "Do not worry, regarding this matter, I will give the Xiao Family and the Empress Dowager a perfect outcome."

The Xiao Family was already a spent force.

Wan Tang had no reason to fear.

Although the events had already exceeded Wan Tang's expectations, there was no need for them to develop into the shape she desired.

Wan Tang nestled in Chu Yunzheng's embrace, lifted her tear‑streaked face, and whispered softly, full of worry:

"Emperor, Su Guiren has been emotionally unstable ever since Lord Su died in service."

"Subject sees her appearance outside Kunning Palace today, and it is truly frightening."

"Keeping her in the palace any longer, Subject truly fears she might do something else?"

Speaking of that woman, Chu Yunzheng's expression was exceedingly solemn.

Wan Tang paused, observing Chu Yunzheng's demeanor.

Seeing that Chu Yunzheng also cared deeply about the matter, she continued.

Her tone carried just the right amount of reminiscence and sorrow: "Moreover, Lord Su was truly loyal to the Emperor, as heaven and earth can attest."

Speaking of Su Yanci, Wan Tang carefully concealed sorrow in her eyes.

She adopted the demeanor of an onlooker, her voice trembling lightly: "Before he fell off the cliff, he only had one sentence to have Chen deliver."

Her voice choked, she mimicked the scene then, word by word, clear and solemn:

"'Tell the Emperor… the Empress is safe… Emperor… no longer restrained…'"

This half‑true, half‑false statement both revealed that Su Yanci, even at death, still cared for the sovereign, and hinted at his demise.

Hearing this, Chu Yunzheng's body gave an almost imperceptible shiver, and his gaze instantly became exceedingly complex.

He is an emperor, yet after all, also just a man.

He too had a tragic childhood.

Even his heart had once been warmed.

Su Yanci had been Chu Yunzheng's playmate since childhood; this feeling, compared with Bai Li, was far greater.

Wan Tang watched his shifting expression, and at the right moment showed a hint of bewilderment and ignorance.

Softly she asked, "Emperor, have you ever regarded Lord Su as a friend you could entrust behind your back?"

This sentence, like the last feather, gently landed on Chu Yunzheng's heart.

Friend?

Chu Yunzheng could have friends.

But the Fengqi Kingdom Emperor, where would friends come from?

【Dog Emperor at this moment is probably already recalling Su Yanci.】

【One must know, throughout the journey, it truly could not have been done without Su Yanci's assistance.】

【This matter will surely succeed; from the start, keeping her in the palace was to bind Su Yanci.】

【Now that Su Yanci is dead, whether a woman he didn't like stays in the palace or not, what does it matter?】

Chu Yunzheng remained silent for a long while, then finally drew a deep breath, his gaze sweeping over Wan Tang as if looking far away.

He patted the back of Wan Tang's hand, his tone bearing a resolve:

"You are right."

"Keeping Su Guiren in the palace is an ill‑fated matter for her and for the court alike."

He released Wan Tang, walked to the imperial desk, and spread a bright yellow silk.

Picking up the vermilion brush, after a brief pause, he stroked it to write an edict.

Having finished, he took the still‑wet edict and turned to hand it to Wan Tang.

"This edict to release her from the palace shall be personally delivered by you to Su Guiren."

"It also fulfills Su Yanci's loyal heart to the sovereign, allowing his sister a free life and peaceful days."

Wan Tang took the heavy edict with both hands, her fingertips trembling slightly,

She lowered her head, covering the fleeting complex glint in her eyes, and obediently replied, "Subject obeys the decree."

Su Guiren's residence lay in ruins, as if a storm had swept through.

Tables and chairs were overturned, porcelain shards scattered across the floor, and the gauze curtains torn to tatters.

She was tightly bound to a chair with rough rope, a cloth bundle stuffed in her mouth, her hair bun disheveled, and tear marks crossing her face.

Seeing Wan Tang enter, she immediately struggled excitedly, her eyes filled with pain, guilt, and a hint of pleading.

Wan Tang approached expressionlessly, reached out, and, not gently, tore the cloth bundle from her mouth.

"Cough… sorry…" As soon as the bundle left her mouth, Su Guiren burst into sobs, apologizing incoherently, "But I don't need you to sacrifice like this, I don't want you to take the blame for me, I…"

"Enough." Wan Tang said coldly, cutting her off, her eyes showing no trace of emotion.

She took the bright yellow edict from her sleeve, unfolded it before Lady of Grace Su, her voice steady without a ripple:

"Emperor has issued a decree: Su Shi, from today, you are released from the palace, may return to your family, marriage is free, and you shall never be used again."

Lady of Grace Su looked at the familiar characters and the bright red jade seal, instantly stopped crying, and just stared blankly at the edict, her body began to tremble uncontrollably.

At this moment, she finally understood completely why brother Su Yanci had always tried every way to get her out of the palace.

Why, when she was willfully reckless, her brother's eyes always carried such deep worry and helplessness…

This golden‑and‑emerald splendid cage, this deep palace that devours people without spitting out bones, brother had long seen through it.

Now, she is truly free.

She can go see the grasslands brother mentioned, and also go see the distant snow‑capped mountains…

But, where is her brother?

Overwhelming remorse and lingering fear flooded her like a tide; she could no longer hold on and slipped off the chair onto the floor,

heading toward Wan Tang, she used all her strength, banging her head with a "thud thud thud" sound.

Her temples quickly turned a bruised purple, mixed with tears, looking utterly disheveled.

Xiao Shunzi stepped forward, untied the ropes on Lady of Grace Su, and whispered, "Miss Su, please, Nubi will escort you out of the palace."

Lady of Grace Su collapsed on the ground, almost unable to stand on her own, half‑supported by two eunuchs as she staggered outward.

Wan Tang, from beginning to end, said not a single word.

She merely followed silently, her steps steady, her gaze empty as she looked ahead.

The group passed through gate after gate, walking along the long palace corridor.

Crimson palace walls, glazed tiles, familiar scenery flashed by one after another before their eyes.

Finally, that heavy palace gate symbolizing the boundary between freedom and confinement was right before them.

Xiao Shunzi stepped forward to negotiate with the gate guard, showing the edict.

Wan Tang stopped there, not taking another step forward.

She stood quietly, watching that gate slowly open.

Beyond the gate lay the ordinary street scene of bustling traffic and earthly fireworks, a world entirely different from the palace interior.

Sunlight streamed in from outside the gate, casting a clear line of light and shadow on the ground.

Just as back then, she was only a single step away from outside the palace…

Yet in the end, it was a world apart.

Lady of Grace Su, being helped, took a step then turned back, her tear‑filled eyes watching Wan Tang standing within the line of light and shadow.

"Wait… wait…"

Wan Tang, for reasons unknown, suddenly called out.

With difficulty she said, "Can you give me the Peach Blossom Brew formula?"