Chapter 32: Kill Him

Wan Tang was startled, her hand suddenly clenched.

This was clearly aimed at her; today Wan Tang made Xu Chengyuan take a huge tumble, and Wan Tang was also summoned away by the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager punished her; if Xu Luoyan comes to trouble Wan Tang again, it would be striking the Empress Dowager's face.

Xu Luoyan could not vent this vile anger, so she turned her spear toward Li Ping'er.

Wan Tang thought that by putting herself into the game she could avenge without harming the innocent, but she did not expect them to be so vicious.

"Ping'er, where is she? I'm going to find her." Wan Tang could not mind the pain on her body, turned and left.

Shang Zhi, standing nearby, was also anxious: "Xiao Shunzi has already gone looking, young master's injuries are serious; better let the imperial physician examine first."

"If a scar remains, the Emperor will surely be upset when he sees it later."

What nonsense about being upset, it's really just disgust at ugliness. To please a man, they must ruin a good girl, and Wan Tang cannot do that.

Ignoring Shang Zhi's obstruction, Wan Tang hobbled outward.

"Young master."

Xiao Shunzi rushed back, drenched in sweat, eyes full of panic and despair, eyes reddened, and said, "Found someone."

"Ping'er was taken to the South Wu Chamber, that's where the chief eunuch lives; Nubi cannot enter."

"South Wu Chamber!" Shang Zhi's face turned a sickly white, trembling, "That's where eunuchs live; how could a woman go there?"

Xiao Shunzi, even if she entered, lacks the ability to bring anyone out.

If Wan Tang entered, she couldn't explain clearly.

"Don't rush!" Wan Tang said, rubbing her temples, forcing herself to calm: "Let me think carefully."

After pondering repeatedly, Wan Tang lifted her brush, wrote a letter, and slipped it into an envelope.

"Xiao Shunzi, go guard at Qiankun Palace. If you see the two elders leaving, you must deliver the letter to the Emperor even at the cost of your life."

"Young master!" Shang Zhi seized Wan Tang: "How could the Emperor personally intervene in Nubi's affairs?"

"Making such a mountain out of a molehill, alarming the Empress, fearing the loss of titles, the consequences would be disgraceful."

Wan Tang's heart pounded wildly, yet she could not mind all that, and said, "Ping'er is important."

Wan Tang forced herself to endure the searing knee pain, hobbled through the dim palace alley, the lantern in her hand flickering on and off.

The South Wu Chamber is located in a side hall on the left side of the Palace of Supreme Clarity, a small courtyard of blue bricks without a plaque, copper bells hanging under the eaves, and an old locust tree planted in the yard.

Thinking of her past ordeal, Wan Tang's back was drenched in cold sweat, and her steps quickened a few paces.

"Stop!" Two broad‑shouldered, stout women suddenly sprang from the shadows, their calloused hands clamping her shoulders like iron tongs.

Under the eaves of the South Wu Chamber, a dozen scarlet lanterns flared up, casting a cold gleam off the golden phoenix hairpin at Xu Luoyan's temples.

"Look at you, the cripple." Xu Luoyan covered her nose with a silk handkerchief and laughed lightly: "The Empress Dowager truly dotes on me, and also punishes you harshly."

"It's a pity she didn't kill you outright!" Xu Luoyan's gaze suddenly turned sharp.

Wan Tang's knee was already injured, how could she resist these two women? She sneered at Xu Luoyan: "Sister, you come to this place and aren't afraid the Emperor will be displeased?"

"I'm only here to wait for the Emperor; the waiting spot happens to be nearer, so what of it?"

Wan Tang spat, her gaze icy: "Xu Luoyan, is that all the skill you have? Only by currying favor with eunuchs?"

"You wretch, your defiance is useless to me." Xu Luoyan's eyes were feral and terrifying, roaring in anger: "You luckily crawled onto the Emperor's bed, but this wretched maid will not have such luck."

"In the end you cannot escape this fate; if you run, someone will take your place."

She suddenly yanked Wan Tang's disheveled hair bun, forcing her to tilt her head back toward the interior.

The carved lattice window reflected the shadow of Ping'er being pressed onto a spring bench, struggling.

"See? She's repaying your debt!" Xu Luoyan suddenly leaned to her ear, pinching her chin: "Since you're here, take a good look at how the wretched maid beside you is intimate with the eunuchs."

"It's you who harmed her."

Before the words finished, a "crack" sound of fabric tearing rang from inside.

Wan Tang's heart felt like being torn by a knife; she fought with all her might to change fate, only to find it was just swapping lives with someone?

No!

"Let her go!" Wan Tang roared, struggling with all her might, pushing the women aside, and lunged into the small courtyard.

With a "bang", she slammed the door open.

Rong Fu pinched Li Ping'er's neck, her robe's collar torn open half, exposing several fierce bloodstains on her snow‑white shoulder. Rong Fu himself didn't look well either; his face and neck were covered with claw marks.

Hearing the commotion, Rong Fu turned his head.

"Blessed Lady Wan, auspicious." Rong Fu grinned, deliberately easing his grip, causing Li Ping'er to gasp like she was drowning.

"Thanks to the Lady's grace, you've gifted this fresh young girl to Nubi."

"Let her go!" Wan Tang, dragging her injured leg forward half a step: "She's still so young, knows nothing, and you still dare lay a hand on her?"

Rong Fu truly released his grip, his cloudy eyes scanning Wan Tang. He licked his cracked lips: "She doesn't understand, but you, young master, are experienced."

Rong Fu reached for his belt: "Why not have you teach Nubi yourself?"

"How audacious!" Wan Tang shouted angrily.

Rong Fu, indifferent, continued: "My patron is Grandfather Li, and today's reward was also approved by the Noble Consort."

"If the Lady of Grace doesn't take the initiative, how would she enter the South Wu Chamber?"

"If the Emperor knows, he would only grow to despise the Lady of Grace, right!"

Rong Fu released Li Ping'er, looking at Wan Tang.

【It was thought the script had changed, but it was only delayed. Wan Tang ultimately cannot escape the fate of a cannon‑fodder female supporting character; she will still die at the hands of eunuchs.】

【The South Wu Chamber is the eunuchs' residence, reeking, and no one but eunuchs would enter.】

【Since Wan Tang stepped into the South Wu Chamber, a thousand mouths cannot describe it. Having entered, it is worse than being rejected by the Emperor.】

Wan Tang's heart was icy; it turned out Xu Luoyan and Li Defu were waiting for her here.

How could a respectable person enter the eunuchs' residence? And why be with eunuchs, can that be explained?

Today, either Wan Tang endures humiliation and bears the burden, sacrificing Li Ping'er to replace her own fate, or she gets caught in the whirlpool of public opinion and becomes a discarded wife.

Is this what they call a script?

But Wan Tang, she does not accept fate!

Fate is in her own hands; no matter what aura she has, she only needs to fight for herself.

Li Ping'er seized the chance to break free, stumbling to Wan Tang's feet. The girl's fingertip just brushed Wan Tang's hem when Rong Fu sneered and grabbed her hair: "What are you running from? The Noble Consort herself arranged the match, and with a godfather as guarantor, you and I are already husband and wife."

His words abruptly stopped.

A hairpin pressed against Rong Fu's throat; Wan Tang's breathing was light and rapid, yet she steadily pushed the pin in a half‑inch: "Since you know to call me 'Little Master', you should understand that you are, after all, just a servant!"

"Xu Luoyan once said that a servant's life is worth not a single coin. Today, I return that sentence to her!"

Wan Tang finished speaking, her hand pressing harder, stabbing fiercely into Rong Fu's neck.

"Ah!" Rong Fu cried out in agony.

Wan Tang showed no mercy, striking again and again until Rong Fu fell to the ground, breathless.

Blood splattered everywhere, yet Wan Tang remained unusually calm. She took out a handkerchief, wiping the stains from her face and hands, refusing to let any trace of blood remain on her.

Li Ping'er stood trembling in place, grinding her teeth hard, but still stepped forward, shaking as she helped Wan Tang clean the blood.

"Don't break the cauldrons and sink the ships; where would a way out come from?" Wan Tang's voice was weary, but mostly resolute.

"Little Master, I harmed you," Li Ping'er sobbed.

"Wan Lady of Grace has killed someone!"

A sharp shout tore through the night, followed immediately by chaotic footsteps drawing near.

Xu Luoyan arrived with a group of senior eunuchs, and without a word she pressed Wan Tang down to the ground.

"What audacity! To dare commit murder in the palace!" Xu Luoyan looked down from above, a cold smile curling at her lips: "Guards, bind her!"

【A classic moment arrives: eunuchs run rampant, and Xu Luoyan uses the opportunity to set right the harem's crooked atmosphere.】

【The Empress and Empress Dowager exchange admiring glances, praising her. Moreover, they personally grant Xu Luoyan the name 'Xian', bestowing upon her the title 'Virtuous Noble Consort'.】

【The Empress, because of these events, regains the authority to coordinate the six palaces.】

Wan Tang lifted her head, staring at Xu Luoyan, a series of cold sneers in her heart. Is this the heroine's aura?

Even if it means stepping on others' purity and lives, one must strive to elevate oneself.

Wan Tang sneered: "Xu Luoyan, I will drag you into hell!"

"Wan Lady of Grace, you have such audacity. Causing chaos in the palace yet daring to speak ill of me. Today, I will punish you and those ambiguous eunuchs properly. Let this harem become clearer."

Xu Luoyan snorted, waved her hand: "Raise the restraining finger!"

Two burly senior eunuchs stepped forward, slipping the restraining device onto Wan Tang's delicate fingers. As the rope tightened, excruciating pain pierced her heart like a knife; cold sweat beaded on Wan Tang's temples, yet she bit her lower lip hard, refusing to utter a cry of pain.

"You are the one who truly deserves to be purged," Wan Tang gritted her teeth.

Xu Luoyan leaned down, her cocoa‑colored fingernails pinching Wan Tang's chin: "Wan Tang, you think that sleeping with the Emperor makes you a master?"

"Someone like you, even in death no one will cry injustice. Over time, the Emperor will simply forget you."

"Aren't you clever, good at finding allies? I want to see, in the Emperor's heart, is Bei Mo more important or you?"

"Will he ignore the discussion of a campaign, go to Cuivei Palace to find you, and then come to rescue you?"

Xu Luoyan's eyes narrowed: "Give me a firm squeeze; when will you confess? When will you release? If you still stay silent, I will strike you hard."

"No, don't hurt my little master. Little master…" Li Ping'er, who usually came to protect, was seized and pressed aside to be beaten.

Wan Tang counted the time; it had arrived, it should have arrived.

She suddenly let out a mournful shout: "Even if I die, I am not wrong. Xu Luoyan, above us is the Emperor, the Empress. You dare not think you can cover the heavens with one hand."

"Slap!" Xu Luoyan smacked Wan Tang's face: "I have teamed up with Lord Li; this harem is my heaven."

"Guards, seal her mouth for me. Beat this depraved harem scum to death!"

Indeed, the dead cannot speak. A lone girl like Wan Tang, even if she meets a tragic death, no one will cry injustice.

Emperor, how could he turn against the Noble Consort and the Xu Family over a dead person?

Wan Tang chuckled; unfortunately, she is no longer that pliable soft persimmon anyone can manipulate.

The time has come!

"Stop!" a cold, sharp voice suddenly rang out.

Everyone turned, seeing Chu Yunzheng standing with arms crossed in Langxia, his dragon robe fluttering in the night wind, his eyes dark as ink.

Xu Luoyan's complexion changed slightly, yet she forced herself to say: "Emperor, Wan Lady of Grace has harmed the palace staff; the evidence is conclusive…"

Chu Yunzheng sneered: "Evidence?"

He paced forward slowly, his gaze sweeping over Wan Tang's blood‑stained fingertips, his voice icy to the bone: "I want to see who dares to commit misdeeds right under my very eyes!"

With those words, he flung a letter straight onto Xu Luoyan's face.