“Good, good, good.” Cui Lingjing repeated the word three times, his eyes closing and then opening again. When they opened, there was nothing left in his gaze but the contempt of an emperor looking down on others. “Take Xueya away.”
He directed this command to the head eunuch and the palace servants.
He Xulan furrowed his brow, “Your Majesty…”
Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted.
“So, Godfather still remembers that I am the Emperor? I thought Godfather stopped caring about me long ago.” Cui Lingjing had never spoken to He Xulan in such a tone before. His voice was laced with sarcasm and bitterness, showing no respect at all. “Issue my decree: Ningfu Palace will be sealed. No one is allowed to enter or leave, not even the Empress Dowager.”
After he finished, he turned back and shouted angrily, “Is it done yet?!”
Xueya, who had already hurriedly thrown on the clothes from the chair as Cui Lingjing and He Xulan spoke, was being helped by the palace servants. They hastily wrapped an outer robe around him and dragged him down from the bed.
“It’s done, Your Majesty.”
“Take him away.”
These words were directed at He Xulan.
He Xulan’s expression visibly darkened. As Xueya was being dragged past him, He Xulan couldn’t help but grab Xueya’s arm, while Xueya, his face pale, looked back at him desperately.
At that moment, another hand reached out and grabbed Xueya’s arm.
He Xulan glanced at Cui Lingjing’s hand and spoke quickly, “Xueya is now part of Ningfu Palace. If Your Majesty wants to punish someone—”
Once again, he was interrupted. Cui Lingjing let out a scornful laugh, “Ningfu Palace? The entire world belongs to me. What is Ningfu Palace? This is the first time I’ve heard Godfather say something so foolish. What’s the matter? Is Godfather acting irrationally out of concern?”
He Xulan pursed his lips and then said, “Your Majesty, I beg you.”
The proud hawk had finally bowed its head, but it was for someone else. At that moment, all Cui Lingjing wanted to do was laugh—laugh at the absurdity.
He had always thought that He Xulan despised Xueya, despised him so much that he bullied him in private. Now, it seemed he had been a fool, a fool kept in the dark by these two all along. No wonder Xueya had refused to stay in the Beauty Pavilion and insisted on returning to Ningfu Palace as a servant. They had been sharing a bed for quite some time.
“Pleading with me is useless, Godfather.” Cui Lingjing forcefully pulled Xueya’s hand away. Xueya winced in pain and inhaled sharply. Seeing this, He Xulan had no choice but to release his grip.
As soon as He Xulan let go, without waiting for an order from Cui Lingjing, the head eunuch and the others dragged Xueya outside. The cold wind swept over his body, and Xueya couldn’t hold back his tears as he whimpered, “Brother,” but before he could finish the word, his mouth was covered.
He Xulan heard the cry and instinctively started to follow, but he was quickly blocked.
“No need to send me off, Godfather. I’ll leave on my own.” Cui Lingjing said coldly before calling the imperial guards to seal Ningfu Palace.
***
At Fengrui Palace.
As soon as the sedan chair stopped, Xueya was pulled out. He wasn’t wearing any shoes, and the icy stone floor sent shivers through his body, but the cold was the least of his concerns now.
Only one thought filled his mind—
Cui Lingjing would kill him.
He was thrown roughly onto the stone floor, his knees hitting the ground with a heavy thud. His face turned even paler, but before he could stand, Cui Lingjing strode into the room.
This was the same room where Xueya had once lived in Fengrui Palace. Everything inside was exactly as it had been when he left: the blue and white porcelain vase on the table, the green camphor bonsai by the window, and the embroidered silk quilt on the beauty couch. Xueya was pushed onto the couch, and a hand gripped his neck, making it harder and harder for him to breathe. Cui Lingjing, his gaze fierce as a demon, glared down at him, repeating several words through gritted teeth.
“Whore… whore! I… I will… kill you!”
Xueya was too terrified to fight back, his body trembling as he cried. Just as he felt he was about to die, the hand around his neck suddenly loosened.
Then came a loud crash.
Cui Lingjing had punched the wall, and blood immediately began to seep from his hand, dripping down his arm.
Hearing the sound, Xueya tightly closed his eyes, not daring to move. He didn’t know how much time passed before he felt the weight on his body disappear.
Cui Lingjing had left. Trembling, Xueya slowly opened his eyes, still filled with fear. He crawled off the couch and, just as he was about to wipe away his tears, a group of people entered the room.
They took all of the clothes from the wardrobe. The last to leave was the head eunuch, who stopped in front of Xueya, his eyes full of disdain. “His Majesty has ordered that, since you don’t like wearing clothes, you won’t need to wear any from now on.”
After the head eunuch left, Xueya heard the sound of the door being locked. Not just that, the windows were sealed with wooden slats. Hearing the sound of the slats being nailed in place, Xueya couldn’t help but crawl to the door. But once there, he didn’t know what to say.
Should he plead with Cui Lingjing?
Cui Lingjing hadn’t killed him just now, which was already a miracle. If he begged Cui Lingjing now, wouldn’t that just be asking for death?
He couldn’t turn to He Xulan either—He Xulan had been placed under house arrest.
Realizing this, Xueya slumped to the ground in despair.
“Brother,” he cried softly.
***
He remained locked in the room until nightfall, growing colder and hungrier by the minute. There was no brazier, and the blankets were thin, offering little warmth. Even after piling all the bedding from the couch and the bed on top of himself, it didn’t help.
As his face turned blue and white from the cold, Xueya heard the sound of the lock at the door being tampered with, as if someone was trying to open it.
Realizing this, he immediately shrank into the corner of the bed, but the footsteps kept coming closer. Xueya stared at the bed curtains, his heart pounding faster and faster, so loudly that he could hear it. He silently prayed that it wasn’t Cui Lingjing.
His prayers went unanswered.
A hand grabbed one side of the bed curtain and pulled it open, revealing Cui Lingjing’s face.
Cui Lingjing seemed to have drunk a lot of wine. His steps were unsteady, and his usually delicate face was flushed red from the alcohol. He stared at Xueya for a long moment, then smirked and climbed onto the bed, roughly pulling Xueya towards him.
“How did you seduce him, huh? The same way you seduced me?”
He was clearly drunk—he wasn’t even using “Zhen” to refer to himself anymore.
Xueya didn’t dare to speak. His lips trembled as he shook his head.
“Hah.” Cui Lingjing let out a soft laugh. He raised a hand to stroke Xueya’s face, gently brushing his thumb over it. His touch was surprisingly tender. “You don’t need to say anything. I already know. You used this body, right? Whore.”
As he said this, his expression suddenly darkened, and he forcefully pressed Xueya beneath him.
Outside, the head eunuch heard the crying from inside the room but turned away without a reaction. He gave instructions to the palace attendants behind him, “Go see if the hangover soup is ready.”
“Yes, sir.”
“By the way, His Majesty summoned Minister Yin. Has he arrived at the palace yet?”
“Minister Yin accompanied Madam Yin to Qianfo Temple outside the city this evening. It will probably be a little while before he returns to the palace.”
The head eunuch thought for a moment, then said, “When Minister Yin reaches the palace gate, bring him in immediately.”
