Chapter 95: Torment

"Poisonous woman! You poisonous woman!"

Xu Luoyan collapsed limply on the couch, her hair bun in disarray like a madwoman, the corners of her mouth still trembling, her eyes brimming with boundless hatred.

Wan Tang heard it and suddenly let out a light laugh.

She leisurely wiped her fingertips with a silk handkerchief, her movements elegant as if playing a lute.

"Poisonous woman?" she tilted her head, a flash of manic light flickering in her eyes, "Can't stand it already?"

"I, the palace, originally only wanted to be a free rabbit."

She suddenly leaned forward, her gilded armor lightly grazing Xu Luoyan's pallid face, her voice gentle to a chilling degree: "It was you... who forced the rabbit into desperation."

She lifted her crimson lips slightly, "Then I have no choice but to bite you."

"Attendants."

The Shenxing Si chief immediately hunched his back and hurried forward, a sycophantic smile plastered on his face: "What orders, Your Majesty?"

All the palace staff held their breath and bowed their heads.

Nowadays, who doesn't know that Consort Wan assists in managing the Six Palaces, and even Lord Yan of Shenxing Si must act according to her mood?

Wan Tang casually brushed her sleeve: "Consort Jing is pregnant, so the Imperial Heir must not be disturbed."

Her gaze shifted, looking at the two purple-clad women trembling like sifted chaff: "But this memory should exist somewhere."

"Hang them on the old locust tree in Consort Jing's courtyard."

"Cut off the water."

"Cut off the food."

"Wait until they dry in the wind..." she smiled lightly, "then lower them again."

The Shenxing Si chief bent his waist even lower: "How should those two skinny horses be dealt with?"

"Since it's a generous gift from the Xu Family, it must be returned in perfect condition."

She suddenly tilted her head, revealing a childlike innocent expression: "But... there should be some return gift, right?"

The Shenxing Si members understood and gave a grim smile: "Rest assured, Your Majesty, we will send it back in a fine coffin."

"Wan Tang! You shall not die a good death! The Xu Family will not let you go, my father will not let you go, my brother will also kill you!"

Xu Luoyan's scream was cut off by Wan Tang's light laugh.

"Brother?" Wan Tang heard the words, covered her mouth with a smile: "Yes, I, the palace, will never forget him."

Xu Luoyan went completely mad.

She lunged forward to strike Wan Tang.

But the Shenxing Si men were faster than Xu Luoyan's move, already pouncing and restraining her on the spot.

When Wan Tang turned and left, she walked away like a satiated cat, stepping on a plum blossom seal.

Behind her, hysterical curses rang out.

Wan Tang gazed at the drifting snow, softly humming: "The triumphant wind from the south blows the thorny heart. Thorny heart withers, mother labors."

"The triumphant wind from the south blows the thorny firewood. Mother is virtuous, I have no one to..."

Beside the palace path outside Xi Tang Courtyard.

Li Chongyi gathered the cuffs of his official robe, pacing back and forth in the cold wind, occasionally glancing into the distance.

Until Wan Tang's escort turned the corridor corner, he hurried forward as if granted a pardon, bowing deeply to the ground.

"I, your servant, thank Your Majesty for the life-saving grace!"

"The Emperor has specially granted me permission, so I may bid farewell to Your Majesty."

His voice was pressed down to a whisper, yet it could not hide his trembling excitement.

The ring of white fur at the collar of her fox coat made her complexion like jade.

She lowered her eyes, looking at the servant before her who had nearly lost his family, and gently shook her head: "Lord Li is mistaken."

"I, the palace, cannot save your life." The gilded armor brushed the edge of the silver note, emitting a faint rustle, "You saved yourself."

She suddenly lifted her gaze, looking into Li Chongyi's startled eyes.

Li Chongyi shivered all over, then more respectfully handed over the silver note: "I understand, this was agreed upon earlier."

"Assume your post properly." Wan Tang took the silver note, "Equine affairs concern border defense, Lord Li, you must be meticulous."

Just as Li Chongyi was about to take his leave, a plum branch behind him suddenly rustled.

"The silver I personally delivered, Your Majesty, is there anything you still doubt?"

His smiling voice sounded like a jade chime striking broken ice.

Looking back, Su Yanci was leaning against a vermilion corridor pillar.

He casually tossed a gilded fragrance pouch, his handsome, picture-perfect face bearing a cynical smile.

Walking within the inner court, a close minister of the Son of Heaven, yet he bore the demeanor of a dashing rogue.

Li Chongyi, frightened, fell to his knees: "Su, Lord Su!"

Wan Tang was equally startled; when exactly had he appeared there, and how much had he heard?

On the palace path outside Xi Tang Courtyard, the snow-covered blue bricks, and Wan Tang's embroidered shoes left shallow imprints.

Li Chongyi had already withdrawn, leaving only Su Yanci lounging lazily against the vermilion pillar, his fingertip twirling the gilded fragrance pouch, eyeing Wan Tang's silver note with amusement.

"One hundred thousand taels..." Su Yanci chuckled lightly, his amber eyes, illuminated by the snow, showing a hint of mockery, "Your Majesty's appetite is not small; can you even carry such heavy silver?"

Wan Tang's expression remained unchanged, she slowly slipped the silver note into her sleeve, calmly saying: "Lord Su, you worry too much; I have my own measure in mind."

She lifted her gaze toward the hazy sky, fine snow fluttering and settling on her long eyelashes, then quickly melting away.

"This snow is truly getting heavier."

Su Yanci followed her line of sight, let out a sudden "tch", rubbed his temples, looking pained: "Who says it isn't? Indeed. A few years ago, there was once as well."

He paused, a hint of darkness flashing in his eyes.

Wan Tang's fingertips paused slightly, and she lifted her gaze to Su Yanci's smiling amber eyes.

He is always like this, his smile never reaching his eyes, making it impossible to read his true heart.

"Lord Su, you jest," she said, nodding slightly, the gilded Step Shake unmoving, "I still have matters, I shall go ahead."

Snowflakes rustled down onto the fur collar of her fox fur coat, and Su Yanci suddenly reached out, brushing a snowflake from her shoulder.

His fingertips halted just before touching the pearl button, leaving an ambiguous distance.

"Your Highness, wait a moment," he said, pulling a faded silk scroll from his sleeve, "I was tidying the storeroom the other day and actually found some interesting items…"

A corner of the silk faintly revealed the cinnabar characters "Year 7 of Yonghe" and "Fengdu".

Wan Tang's pupils contracted sharply, yet her face remained as calm as water: "Lord Su still has duties, I shall not disturb you further."

Wan Tang gave a faint smile and turned to leave.

But her steps quickened unintentionally.

The hall doors of Xi Tang Courtyard slammed shut behind her, and Wan Tang didn't even have time to remove her snow‑stained fox coat before the gilded armor had already untied the silk's binding.

"Your Highness! Your hands are frozen red."

Li Ping'er's startled cry was muffled outside the door.

The candle flame "crackle" jumped, illuminating the faded cinnabar seal on the silk.

Year 7 of Yonghe · Fengdu Snow Disaster Record.

Wan Tang's fingertips hovered over the four characters "Starving corpses everywhere", lingering without moving.

That year's great snow buried how many white bones...

The silk recorded in detail:

"On the third day of the twelfth month, cotton prices surged twentyfold, charcoal thirtyfold..."

"Over seven hundred froze to death in the southern The City, an old woman clutching her grandchild died rigid at the doorway, her ten fingers sunk deep into the door panel..."

"Riots stormed the official granary, the prefect abandoned his seal and fled..."

Her gaze suddenly fixed on a line of small characters:

"Yan Wang, by imperial decree, provided disaster relief, opened the private treasury to purchase three thousand dan of cotton, set up porridge stalls for a hundred days, saving tens of thousands of lives..."

The ink at the silk's edge suddenly became chaotic, as if the recorder hastily lifted the brush:

"The people's hearts are unstable, the vassal king rebels, Yan Wang takes the serene Empress Dowager to the fief, never to return to court."

Wan Tang felt her heart tremble with alarm.

【What does Su Yanci mean by giving this? Could he perhaps know what Wan Tang intends to do?】

【That's too mysterious, right? Just giving this information—what use is it? What's the solution?】

【Alas, the folded documents related to the snow disaster have already gradually fallen into Zha Long's hands; Zha Long just caused a fire in Yangxin Hall. It seems, to prevent a tragedy, Zha Long is likely to block the news and handle it covertly.】

【But how to resolve the snow disaster silently is the biggest problem.】

【As long as there is a solution, Wan Tang solving the Emperor's most vexing problem will make her the Emperor's cherished pet.】

The Shice in her hand became a hot‑potato.

Watching the swirling snow outside, Wan Tang's heart fluttered, then steadied; she threw on her cloak and rushed into the Fēng xuě.

She intends to seek the answer.

"Your Highness is pregnant, better not wander around carelessly."

Su Yanci's voice suddenly sounded behind her, startling her hand to tremble.

At some point, this person had silently stood in the courtyard, still dusted with unmelted snow.

Not a single Guanren was around; whether by chance or deliberately diverted is unknown.

Wan Tang closed the Shice: "Lord Su, you dare trespass the inner palace—what audacity."

He chuckled lightly, casually tossing a gilded hand furnace: "I, a lowly official, bring this; it is the model used when Yan Wang provided disaster relief."

The furnace was etched with intricate patterns, revealing a miniature map of Fengdu.

Wan Tang's pupils narrowed slightly, seeing three markings:

West The City porridge stall, porridge served at dawn each day, the elderly and weak may receive double portions.

South The City warm house, converted from military tents, accommodates a thousand people for warmth.

Old granary site, on the third day of the snow disaster, Yan Wang beheaded seven grain merchants here.

"That year the snow piled up to the waist," Su Yanci suddenly leaned down, the scent of pine needles drifting, "Yan Wang personally led troops to clear the snow, iron spades broke seventeen of them."

He pointed his fingertip at a spot on the map, "Here, they unearthed a woman holding a baby, frozen into an ice‑sculpture form."

Wan Tang felt a tightness in her chest, recalling Li Ping'er's words.

That year Fengdu's snow was red; the starving disaster victims gnawed on corpses, and the thin coffins issued by the authorities were far insufficient.

"Do you know how Yan Wang stabilized grain prices?" Su Yanci suddenly changed the subject.

He asked himself and answered: "First, he beheaded the biggest rice merchant, hanging the corpse on the city tower. Then he opened the official granary to distribute grain, mixing in thirty percent bran."

"Mixing bran?" Wan Tang jerked her head up.

"Exactly," he said with a cynical smile, "pure rice porridge incites the disaster victims to scramble, but mixing in bran allows more people to survive."

His fingertip glided over her Shice, "What isn't written here is that Yan Wang exchanged all his salary for aged rice."

The Fēng xuě intensified, and Wan Tang's heart pounded like a drum.

She offered Su Yanci a solemn bow.

"Lord Su, I shall forever remember today's favor," she lifted her eyes, a scrutinizing look in them, "May I ask what reward you seek?"

Su Yanci leaned against the window, moonlight spilling over half of his handsome face, outlining a sharp contour.

He chuckled lightly at her words, idly twirling the jade pendant at his waist, a decidedly cynical demeanor.

"Your Highness, why be so distant?" he tilted his head, paused, a fleeting inscrutable emotion flashing in his eyes, "I merely wish to help you."

Wan Tang furrowed her brows, and the gilded armor tapped lightly on the desk: "There is no goodwill that comes without cause or reason in this world."

"Only profit that endures forever is the truth."

Su Yanci suddenly laughed aloud, his laugh clear as shattered jade, yet inexplicably tinged with a hint of loneliness.

He straightened up, his dark robe shimmering with a cold light under the moon.

"Lady, if you are determined to thank…," he said casually, flicking his sleeve, "perhaps you should consider a bigger trouble instead."

Wan Tang's eyes narrowed: "What do you mean?"

Su Yanci let out a sigh, rarely showing seriousness: "Xu Yanchuan defied the military order and fled back from the Northern Border."

He paused, his eyes carrying deep meaning: "He stepped into the Xu Family gate with his front foot, only to be taken down by Xu Mingde himself with his rear foot."

Wan Tang's fingertip suddenly pinched her palm, yet her face showed no hint: "Lord Su, your information is indeed well‑informed."

Su Yanci smiled lightly, turned and looked out at the swirling snow: "Lady, the snow is too heavy; you should go back."

"If they're nothing serious, then don't bother intervening."