Chapter 282: Do Not Hold It Against Me

Wan Tang obediently nestled in Chu Yunzheng's arms and gave a soft reply.

Then, Ping'er's matter, shall we not bring it up again?

She turned to look at the pallid Liu Guiren and gently reminded, "Sister Liu, the ground is cold, don't keep kneeling."

"You just had a miscarriage; if it harmed your body, that would be bad."

【Tangtang, don't mind her; she's not anything good.】

【Indeed, and besides, the Wang family has already pledged allegiance to Yan Wang. You've helped too much; it could make Chu Yunzheng suspicious.】

【Dog Emperor is a terrible thief; be sure not to get entangled yourself.】

I originally thought, since they're on my side, I could say a few kind words.

If I could grant a promotion, I would gently persuade and wash away Ping'er's accusations.

From this moment, Wan Tang hurriedly fell silent.

Chu Yunzheng heard this and only then redirected his gaze toward Liu Guiren.

His tone bore no warmth, carrying a hint of all‑seeing coldness: "The Wang family?"

Liu Guiren instinctively nodded: "Yes."

The moment the words left her mouth, she suddenly realized something was wrong.

How could the Emperor ask that?

She entered the palace under her mother's family, the Liu clan, and had kept that hidden well; how could the Emperor have known?!

She startled, looked up reflexively at Wan Tang, her eyes filled with startled doubt.

Wan Tang's expression remained calm, her brows slightly furrowed.

"Hmph," Chu Yunzheng let out a cold sneer.

He leaned down, gripping Liu Guiren's chin with force; the pressure was so great that her eyes instantly reddened with pain.

Chu Yunzheng forced her to lift her head, meeting his bottomless, mocking eyes, and said, "Do you think your petty scheming can escape my sight?"

His voice suddenly sharpened, each word striking like an ice spear:

"Do you think you're clever?"

"The Wang family is clever."

He leaned close, whispering almost, yet with a chilling force:

"But I, too, consider myself very clever."

Liu Guiren was terrified, her soul fleeing, by the unmasked murderous intent in his words and that all‑piercing gaze.

She trembled like a sifted husk; she dared not ask for any favor.

Her only thought was to preserve her life.

She hurriedly begged, "Emperor, forgive me; I acknowledge my mistake."

"Emperor, spare my life!"

"Since childhood I lived at my maternal grandmother's house, always taking my maternal grandfather's surname..."

"I..."

Her eyes darted rapidly as she strained to explain clearly.

Chu Yunzheng repulsively flicked her chin away, as if it were something filthy, straightened up, and spat a single word from his thin lips:

"Get out."

He paused, then added in a low voice, like a final verdict: "From now on, do not appear before me again."

Liu Guiren felt as if granted a great pardon, yet also as if all her strength had been drained.

She could not attend to the weakness after her miscarriage nor the fresh blood flowing from her body.

She staggered, crawling and lurching into the endless snowstorm, her back fleeing like a bereaved dog.

The emperor is merciless.

He knew her identity from the start; wasn't that still a favor?

Was it that night that Liu Guiren truly made him recall his white moonlight?

Or perhaps it was simply that a young body aroused such desire.

On that point, Wan Tang did not wish to investigate.

She was only a little puzzled: since he knew the Wang family belonged to Yan Wang, why could he remain silent?

This game of chess was larger than Wan Tang had imagined.

It had grown so vast that its edges were invisible.

Wan Tang's eyelashes fluttered lightly, merely clinging beside Chu Yunzheng.

At her ear, Chu Yunzheng's gentle admonition came: "You are still too naive; anyone can…"

"Do not let others harm you, yet you are unaware."

Wan Tang lowered her head, proud: "The Emperor protects me; what else is there to fear?"

Chu Yunzheng's gaze grew even more gentle.

He pinched her cheek and, as if offhand, said, "I have always hoped you would bear offspring for me."

"Liu Guiren's child dying on this bed is inauspicious."

He smiled and said, "This place is not suitable for Tangtang."

"I will send people to refurbish Kunning Palace; find an appropriate day and move there!"

Wan Tang suddenly widened her eyes, full of disbelief.

That place is reserved only for the Empress.

She was about to speak.

Chu Yunzheng's finger rested at Wan Tang's lips: "Obey, be good."

Yes!

Obey, and that's fine.

When she had nothing, Wan Tang could only obey.

Now that she has everything, Wan Tang can only obey.

News will be like a gust of wind, blowing through the Former Dynasty's harem, into the ears of every ambitious person.

The Imperial Decree has not yet been issued, so it remains calm.

Outside Cining Palace, the wind and snow have not ceased.

The Emperor's stance is clear: to rescue Li Ping'er, one must go through the Empress Dowager.

【Is there any point in rescuing that kind of pig teammate?】

【Exactly, keeping that kind of fool by one's side is just courting trouble.】

【Probably just loneliness! Without friends we can still play on our phones and binge dramas, but in that place without internet, having another person to talk to would be great!】

【At least Li Ping'er won't hurt her!】

Yes!

A person who won't harm you, and who might even truly go to death for you.

Wan Tang cannot think of any reason not to rescue her.

She walked toward the palace outskirts.

Xiao Luzi followed behind, shielding the people behind.

Gong Shen said to Wan Tang: "Master, if the Empress Dowager gets angry later, you go first; Nubi will block her."

Wan Tang's mouth curved slightly, and she said lightly: "If she gets angry, I will certainly not obey."

The Empress Dowager was performing a Buddhist ceremony.

Rong Mama stood outside the hall.

Seeing her arrive, she seemed slightly surprised.

After a brief panic, she forced a hollow smile and blocked the way: "Noble Consort, please return; the Empress Dowager's phoenix constitution is unwell, no guests today."

Wan Tang was about to speak, when a sudden fierce argument erupted from inside the hall: "Nubi, today I am not threatening the Empress Dowager."

"It's just that Nubi has always followed Yuan Bin, and must be loyal."

It was Li Defu's voice.

It was also a rootless thing, rotten to the extreme, yet it harbors a crazy obsession toward its own descendants.

To Li Defu, Ping'er is proof that he once existed as a man.

"Li Defu, you dog, bringing this up to me—does it have any meaning?"

The Empress Dowager's voice was mocking, with a cold smile: "It seems this woman can truly endure, even serving you, old thing."

"Empress Dowager, be careful with your words." Li Defu hurried, saying, "Nubi and Yuan Bin, we are as pure as can be."

The Empress Dowager didn't believe it.

She simply affirmed: "Thinking you can have me release someone—dream on."

"Don't blame me either; if you must blame someone, blame her—she's brainless, daring to get too close to the person I despise most."

Li Defu wasn't flustered, his voice rising: "Aren't you utterly hating the descendants of the Mo Family?"

"But think, if their siblings learn the truth of how the Mo Family was completely slaughtered back then..."

"... they would know why the Late Emperor still trusted betrayal without doubt..."

"Empress Dowager, do you think you can still peacefully perform Buddhist rites in Cining Palace and enjoy your twilight years?"

Wan Tang's whole body suddenly stiffened, as if her blood had instantly frozen.

Rong Mama's complexion changed abruptly; unable to attend to Wan Tang, she shouted toward the hall: "Imperial Noble Consort, you cannot enter."

"Leave quickly!"

She turned and tried to drive Wan Tang away.

At that moment, a cold, weary voice of the Empress Dowager came from inside the hall, carrying a suppressed anger and concession:

"Enough!"

"Person... I can release them."

She paused, her tone bearing a grim warning: "But regarding the events of those years, if you dare reveal even a fraction..."

"Nubi, I will remember, thank you for the Empress Dowager's grace!" Li Defu immediately bowed in thanks.

The hall door creaked open from the inside.

Li Defu bent over and stepped out from inside.

Li Defu suddenly met Wan Tang's icy gaze; a flash of panic crossed his face, and he instinctively tried to look away.

The Empress Dowager inside the hall merely gave an indifferent glance this way, as if unconcerned, and waved at Rong Mama.

Rong Mama understood, stepped forward immediately, and said firmly to Li Defu: "Lord Li, please!"

She almost half‑pushed, half‑hurried him away from Wan Tang.

Xiao Luzi lowered his brows obediently, but after hearing so much, a flash of shock appeared in his eyes.

On the way back to Changle Palace, wind and snow battered their faces.

Wan Tang pushed aside those on either side, walking only with Li Defu along the palace corridor.

She halted, her gaze like a torch, staring intently at Li Defu; her voice was pressed down to a whisper, yet carried an undeniable oppressive weight:

"Li Defu, what exactly do you know?"

"What hidden truths about the Mo Family from back then still remain?"

Li Defu hunches over, snowflakes land on his graying hair, and he shakes his head repeatedly, his gaze flitting away.

In one breath, he said, "Noble Consort, please see clearly, this old servant knows nothing."

"Those words just now were merely to scare the Empress Dowager, a spur‑of‑the‑moment lie to rescue Yuan Bin…"

"A lie?" Wan Tang steps closer, her gaze sharp as a knife, "A 'lie' that could scare the Empress Dowager into releasing someone immediately?"

"Li Defu, do you think I am a three‑year‑old child?!"

No matter how Wan Tang pressed, Li Defu only drew his neck back, repeatedly muttering "This old servant knows nothing," "Lady, have mercy on this old servant," and refused to utter another word.

Seeing that he could not be pressed any further, he instead lifted his cloudy old eyes toward Wan Tang, his tone bearing an indescribable heaviness and a warning:

"Lady, since you and Yuan Bin are close friends, and now you hold high rank and authority, some matters are better left unknown than known."

"If you truly care for her, you should protect her well, keep her away from all this fuss, and let her live peacefully and safely, which is better than anything else."

After speaking, he let out a deep sigh, no longer looking at Wan Tang, quickened his pace, dragging his crippled leg, stumbling slightly as he vanished into the snowstorm ahead.

Wan Tang stood alone where she was, gazing toward the direction of his disappearance, and recalled the fragments of words she had just heard outside Cining Palace.

The doubts in her heart not only did not disperse, but grew even denser.

The letter Li Ping'er had previously handed over already contained a hint.

Now, hearing them say it again.

Could it be that the Mo Family's affairs are truly not over yet?

【Actually I also find it strange; Xiao Sihai is merely a Subject, how could he possibly influence the Late Emperor?】

【The key is, Yan Wang helps Wan Tang like this, yet remains fully confident.】

【If Li Defu still won't speak, go find Yan Wang and ask him clearly.】

【Someone like Yan Wang is a starving wolf. Once you involve him in something, he'll always try to snatch a piece of meat from you.】

The night was deep and dark.

Chu Yunzheng actually came again.

Logically, he should have returned a few days later.

Wan Tang looked at the young attendant, and it seemed the matter of Cining Palace had already reached Chu Yunzheng's ears.

That's also good; with the Emperor's help, the matter will become clear more quickly.

Chu Yunzheng wore a faint smile, as if the daytime turmoil involving Liu Guiren had never existed.

Naturally, he wrapped his arms around Wan Tang, his fingertips playing with a strand of her black hair, casually asking, "I have heard you went to Cining Palace today?"

Wan Tang felt a chill in her heart, yet showed no expression, gently leaning into his embrace.

She gave a soft "hm" and said, "I, your humble concubine, am worried about Yuan Bin and would like to appeal to the Empress Dowager."

Chu Yunzheng let out a low laugh, his fingertip lightly brushing her cheek, his tone gentle yet carrying an unmistakable depth.

"Tangtang is kind‑hearted."

"However, the Empress Dowager is advanced in age, and in recent years has devoted herself to Buddhist rites, disliking disturbances."

As he spoke, his gaze fixed on Wan Tang's face: "Some old matters, once past, should be left past; why must one dig up the roots and disturb the elder's peace?"

He slightly lowered his head, his eyes landing in Wan Tang's, that smile still hanging at the corner of his mouth.

His gaze, however, was so deep that one could not discern its bottom: "Some things, known too much, may not be a blessing."

Wan Tang grew increasingly uneasy in her heart.

Just as she was about to speak, Chu Yunzheng interjected, "You are now the Imperial Noble Consort, of noble status, your younger brother also serves at the front for the country; this is precisely the time to enjoy peaceful honor."

"Why bother with trivial past matters, only to add worry and even invite unnecessary trouble?"

He gently pinched her palm, as if soothing yet warning, "Obey, be a steady Consort, stay by my side, watch Minghui grow up, okay?"

"As for the rest, do not probe further."