Chapter 66: Unforgivable

"The sin of being old and culpable has turned into an accomplice aiding Zhou's cruelty," Xie Taiyi said, his eyes full of shame. "I truly cannot imagine what they intend to do."

"Who ordered this?" Wan Tang's voice was as cold as ice, her fingertips gripping the table corner tightly.

Xie Taiyi knelt on the floor, his forehead pressed to the cold brick. "Old Minister does not know… that person only handed a note, saying if you do not obey, you will never see the child again…"

Candlelight cast half of Wan Tang's face into shadow.

"I do not blame you."

After a long silence, she finally spoke, her voice so light it was almost inaudible, "But the Emperor is overly attached to this 'Prince'."

She placed her hand on her flat abdomen, fingertips trembling, "If we knew it was false, I fear both you and I would be doomed forever."

Xie Taiyi looked up, his aged eyes clouded. "Your Majesty, I have an ancestral secret formula."

He retrieved a yellowed prescription from a secret compartment in the medicine box, its edges already blackened. "If taken, you will become pregnant within three days."

He cleared his throat. "But the medicine is too potent, it will damage the mother's body fundamentally. Our ancestors have always classified it as Forbidden Medicine, not to be used lightly."

Wan Tang took the prescription; the paper, thin as a cicada's wing, rustled between her fingers.

Xie Taiyi bowed heavily, "Now I am willing to risk a trial for Your Majesty!"

"But the Emperor lately…" he hesitated. "I fear he is reluctant to be close to Your Majesty."

Wan Tang suddenly laughed, the smile not reaching her eyes. "I have my own method."

She slipped the prescription into her sleeve. "Treat this medicine as a prenatal tonic."

As Xie Taiyi was about to leave, he glanced back.

Wan Tang stood beneath the lamp, gently caressing her abdomen, her eyes cold to a terrifying degree.

【Wow, Wan Tang wants to use the incense from the tent again?】

【So embarrassing!】

【Never mind whether it's embarrassing, Jingren Palace is truly bustling.】

【The Emperor went to Jingren Palace, but he didn't go to the main hall; he went to Li Pin's instead.】

【Exactly, Lin Zehai, for his daughter, single‑handedly collected salt water from Jiangnan, almost covering the army's expenses; could the Emperor not go?】

【Tangtang is just giving the Emperor a timely aid; the Emperor probably can't find a reason to release Li Pin!】

【Hahaha, XU LUOYAN is about to die of anger, just missing kicking their door down.】

Wan Tang should keep a smile.

The Emperor must attend court each day, departing before sunrise.

I must not miss this excitement.

She stared at her flat abdomen; others trying to harm her with a false pregnancy, no matter who the opponent, must not be sacrificed in vain.

Perhaps she should go with the flow, letting this 'child' serve a purpose.

Early in the morning.

Inside Jingren Palace, the sound of shattered tea cups rang repeatedly.

"Wretch! How dare you let the Emperor step through your palace gate?!"

XU LUOYAN flipped a case in one motion; the low golden‑silk nanmu wood table toppled with a crash, tea splashed, soaking Li Pin's skirt.

Li Pin sat upright, untouched, flicked water droplets from her sleeve: "Xu Deying, watch your status."

"Status?" XU LUOYAN's red lips curled, her gold‑inlaid jade armor pointing at Li Pin's nose. "A discarded child I trampled into the mud, how can you even speak of status?"

"You came out of the Cold Palace, didn't come to pay respects to me, yet you dare to block the Emperor."

"The Emperor definitely came to see me."

XU LUOYAN vented her emotions in a rush.

The beaded curtain was suddenly lifted; Wan Tang, supporting Li Ping'er's hand, stepped in slowly. "Xu Deying is so angry."

XU LUOYAN's pupils narrowed. "Fine, two wretched maids piled together!"

Li Pin saw Wan Tang, stood, bowed politely, and performed a courteous salute.

She turned to XU LUOYAN with a cold sneer. "Discarded child? When I plotted for your favor back then, you weren't like this."

She sprang up. "Wan Pin has paved the way for you for ten years, yet you handed her to a eunuch for humiliation! I have served you front and back, how could you treat me?"

XU LUOYAN raised her hand to strike, but Wan Tang suddenly stepped sideways, taking the blow for Li Pin.

A red mark instantly appeared on the fair cheek.

"Wan Pin!" Li Pin gasped, the slap nearly stole her soul.

She was the one bearing the Imperial Heir; good or bad, with the harem now having no princes, she must die.

Seeing Wan Tang's subtle signal, Li Pin regained her composure and immediately understood, "I'll go summon the Emperor!"

Having said that, she hurried away.

"Wretch, everyone left first." XU LUOYAN stepped forward to seize Li Pin.

Wan Tang's eyes turned cold; she seized XU LUOYAN's raised wrist. "XU LUOYAN, your opponent is me."

"You wretch, it seems you have forgotten what my mother said—you don't want your brother to live!"

Wan Tang pressed with her fingertips, forcing the opponent to stagger backward. "If you dare use my brother as a raft again, I'll wish you a death worse than life."

XU LUOYAN winced in pain but kept her chin raised. "Even a bastard is worthy… ah!"

【Tangtang is mighty.】

【Mighty? What a joke, the trash dragon is here, came so fast.】

【I was already planning to come back to comfort XU LUOYAN, Li Pin just happened to run into it.】

Wan Tang felt a chill in her heart; the Emperor's heart also contained XU LUOYAN's.

"Alright, then I'll make the Emperor utterly disappointed with this woman."

Wan Tang suddenly released, collapsed to the ground, hands shielding her abdomen. "Please don't strike my belly…"

The voice trembled like a leaf falling in the wind.

"What are you pretending!" Xu Luoyan lifted her foot and kicked,

"How audacious!"

Chu Yunzheng's dragon robe fluttered as he entered, his eyes widening to the brink of splitting, and he raised his hand to deliver a slap.

"Slap!"

Xu Luoyan was slapped back three steps, and her gold hairpin fell to the ground.

She covered her face, looked up, and met the Emperor's cold, fierce gaze. There was no trace of past warmth, only a dead‑like chill.

"Emperor?" her voice trembled, "You actually struck your concubine......"

Chu Yunzheng bent down to lift Wan Tang, and when he spoke again each word laced with poison: "The Xue clan's transgression against the throne shall, from this day, be stripped of title and confined to the Cold Palace!"

Xu Luoyan felt as if struck by lightning, knelt and reached forward to grasp the hem of the dragon robe: "Emperor! You who once favored your concubine, why......"

"Take her away." Chu Yunzheng kicked her aside, "I find even a glance at her filthy."

From outside the hall, a eunuch's sharp announcement rang: "Her Imperial Majesty the Empress has arrived."

Xiao Mingshu entered slowly, supporting Bai Wei's hand; her phoenix eyes swept the chaotic floor, lingered a moment on Wan Tang's swollen cheek and disheveled clothing, and her pupils suddenly contracted.

"What is happening?" her voice was gentle yet carried undeniable authority.

Chu Yunzheng kept his face cold and silent; Xiao Mingshu understood, leaned close to his ear and whispered a few words.

The Emperor was silent for a moment, then nodded.

The Empress's complexion changed abruptly, and her armor clenched into her palm: "The Xue clan dares to plot against the Imperial Heir?!"

She turned and barked, "Men! Take the Xue clan to the Shenxing Office!"

"Emperor! Emperor!" Xu Luoyan broke free from the palace staff, collapsed before the dragon‑patterned boots, tears streaming, "I have served you since I was sixteen, brewing tea, grinding ink, praying for you every night......"

She trembled as she presented a faded fragrance pouch, "This mandarin duck is still the one you praised......"

In Chu Yunzheng's eyes, a hint of emotion unexpectedly appeared.

Everyone inside the hall held their breath.

Li Pin and Wan Tang exchanged looks, each seeing worry in the other's eyes.

Wan Tang pressed her fingertip into her palm, let out a sudden painful cry, and her body slipped down weakly: "Ah...... my belly......"

Xiao Mingshu sprang forward, steadied her, her phoenix eyes burning with anger: "Emperor, look! The Xue clan's recklessness—if they harm the dragon fetus, what then?"

Li Pin also knelt at the right moment: "The Xue clan just kicked Concubine Wan's abdomen!"

"Dragon fetus?!"

Xu Luoyan heard this and showed her most painful expression.

She roared in fury, "You wretch, on what right?"

"I have no children, yet you claim what right?"

Chu Yunzheng stared at Xu Luoyan's tear‑streaked makeup, a flicker of emotion passing in his eyes, but when he heard Wan Tang's moan, his tone hardened abruptly: "Considering our ten‑year bond, I did not wish to embarrass you further."

"But you truly went too far."

"Letting you roam outside, you still don't know what harm it brings to Tangtang."

He closed his eyes briefly: "The Shenxing Office is waived; go to the Huan Yi Bureau."

Xu Luoyan felt as if struck by lightning: "Huan Yi Bureau?!"

That place is even worse than the Cold Palace for torment!

"When will you realize your mistake," Chu Yunzheng turned away, no longer looking at her, "then go plead for the Empress's mercy."

"No! Emperor! You cannot treat me so." Xu Luoyan's scream abruptly stopped, as a rough matron clamped her mouth and dragged her away.

Xiao Mingshu personally helped Wan Tang sit, her fingertip gently stroking her abdomen: "Sister, stop getting angry; I will summon the Imperial Physician at once."

She turned and scolded the Emperor, "Your Majesty as well, how could you let Concubine Wan suffer such grievance?"

She removed her own incense bead from Gannan and placed it on Wan Tang's wrist: "This bead was blessed by a high monk; it is best for stabilizing pregnancy."

Wan Tang thanked weakly, but a sidelong glance caught the Empress's fleeting cold smile as she turned.

Could it be that the one pulling the strings behind all this is the Empress?

On the day Xu Luoyan was dragged to the Huan Yi Bureau, Wang Jingyi changed into the proclamation court robes, wielding the Wang family jade command, and entered Cining Palace directly.

This time, she went with the Wang family's prestige.

The Empress Dowager and Wang Jingyi's mother were hand‑kerchief acquaintances, so a bit of face had to be given.

"Empress Dowager!" she knelt and bowed upon entering, her voice choked, "My lady, I have failed to guide my daughter; after all, you raised Luoyan."

The Empress Dowager was twirling prayer beads, lifted her eyes at the words, a cold glint flashing: "What, do I still need to save face for you?"

Wang Jingyi gritted her teeth, drew a faded silk handkerchief from her sleeve: "This was entrusted by my mother before her death...... if you see it, you will recall old feelings."

The Empress Dowager's fingertip paused.

It was a twin lotus embroidered sixty years ago when she shared a boudoir with the elder Mrs. Wang.

Half a quarter hour later, the Empress Dowager, on phoenix carriage, stormed straight into Kunning Palace.

Wan Tang was being "concernedly" pressed onto the couch by Xiao Mingshu for "nurturing the fetus" when a sharp eunuch announcement echoed outside; before she could rise, the Empress Dowager entered the inner hall with a cold face.

"Concubine Wan, what nerve!" the dragon‑head staff struck heavily, "Even if the Xue clan commits faults, she is the daughter of a meritorious official; it is not for a concubine of rank to insult!"

Wang Jingyi followed behind the Empress Dowager, a hint of smugness flashing in her eyes.

Wan Tang hurriedly knelt: "I dare not......"

"Dare not?" the Empress Dowager sneered, "Luoyan is still scrubbing the toilets at the Huan Yi Bureau!"

"Mother Empress, calm your anger." Xiao Mingshu suddenly stepped forward, gently patting the Empress Dowager's back, "Concubine Wan now......" she lowered her voice, "is bearing a dragon heir."

The Empress Dowager snapped her head around: "Really?"

"Absolutely certain," Xiao Mingshu smiled, "Imperial Physician Xie personally examined the pulse."

"Xie Huairen?" the Empress Dowager's expression cleared slightly, "He is indeed a steady one."

The dragon‑head staff suddenly turned and pointed at Wang Jingyi: "Listen! Your daughter almost harmed my family's golden grandson!"

Wang Jingyi's face turned ashen: "Empress Dowager......"

"Shut up!" the Empress Dowager barked, "Raising such a monster, does the Wang family still have the face to plead? If the Imperial Heir falls ill, my family will tear her to pieces!"

Wang Jingyi staggered backward, her meticulously applied makeup soaked with cold sweat.

"Subject's wife...... I take my leave." She knelt deeply, her forehead pressed against the cold floor tiles, hiding her twisted visage.

Only as she departed, she clutched that clay doll.

She made a gesture as if to snap the clay doll's head off.