Pu Wuyong was one of the chief eunuchs serving Emperor Yongchang, along with Eunuch Xia. One managed affairs outside the palace, the other inside. They didn’t interfere with each other but were always subtly at odds.
As someone who held the title of Chief Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonies—one who could personally approve imperial documents—Pu Wuyong had never been this flustered.
He was more miserable than if his own mother had died!
Noble Consort Xiao Liu was actually dead!
The Emperor would surely go mad!
Everyone present tonight—who would survive?
When the Son of Heaven raged, bodies could pile up by the millions. Who among those present today would still be left standing? No one could tell.
Even Liu Wangfei was shocked, raising her brows in surprise. As much as she felt a breath of satisfaction in her heart, she couldn’t help but take in a cold breath.
She suddenly thought of that girl— Qi Yuan.
That girl who had helped her so much, who spoke with the composure of an adult despite her young age—she was the one who went to treat Noble Consort Xiao Liu. If Noble Consort Xiao Liu was now dead, did it have something to do with her?!
If that was the case… She glanced at Emperor Yongchang, her heart sinking with a heavy thud.
The Emperor’s face was expressionless.
Given his affection for Noble Consort Xiao Liu, this was a matter where he should have flown into a rage, should have been panicking, should have rushed to see the situation—but instead, he simply stood there calmly.
It was this calm that was the most terrifying—the kind of calm that concealed a brewing storm powerful enough to destroy everything.
Even Liu Wangfei couldn’t help but shiver.
Just as she was about to speak, Emperor Yongchang turned to Lai Chenglong and ordered coldly: “Drag this old, foul-mouthed eunuch out and beat him to death! How dare he curse Noble Consort Xiao Liu! His death is not to be pitied!”
“!”
The Embroidered Uniform Guard were usually under the supervision of eunuchs from the Directorate of Ceremonies.
In fact, Pu Wuyong was officially the local Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
But now, the Emperor was ordering Lai Chenglong to personally drag Pu Wuyong out and beat him to death. This was completely overturning the proper order of things.
At the same time, it made everyone present feel as if their hearts were about to leap out of their chests.
Pu Wuyong had grown up serving Emperor Yongchang, just like Eunuch Xia—they had attended to him since childhood.
Yet now, Emperor Yongchang was willing to kill even him.
If Noble Consort Xiao Liu really was dead—how many more people would have to die?
Pu Wuyong had never been this terrified in his life. He cried out desperately: “Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please, go see for yourself! Your Majesty, the Consort—she couldn’t even close her eyes when she died! She kept waiting for you, Your Majesty!”
Eunuch Xia quietly withdrew from the scene. Without making a sound, he signaled with a frown to Cui Minglou, warning him not to step forward at a time like this.
But Cui Minglou couldn’t hold back. His heart was pounding so hard it seemed about to burst, cold sweat pouring down his back.
Even when he had been left alone deep in the wilderness by his masters at Mao Mountain to train and survive on his own, he had never been this afraid.
But this time—he was terrified to the point that even his scalp ached and went numb.
Qi Yuan… really dared to do it.
If she wanted someone dead, even if that person were the Jade Emperor himself, she would probably still find a way to drag them both to destruction.
In a split second, Xiao Yunting made his decision.
The world was full of illusions—but pain never lied.
Just the thought that Qi Yuan might be sliced to pieces by Emperor Yongchang’s fury, or torn apart by five horses, made his heart ache so much he could barely breathe.
This girl—this girl who had always fought her way forward on her own.
On the surface, she seemed radiant and admired. She never cried out in pain, never spoke of hardship—but no one suffered more pain or hardship than she did.
Since childhood, her adoptive mother had deliberately swapped her identity, and she had lived like an animal, no better than a pig or a dog.
Those who were supposed to protect her hurt her the most. The ones who had genuinely protected her no longer remembered the entanglements of their past lives. She was often calculated as the sacrifice, the part to be abandoned. Stumbling along the way, in the end, the only one she could rely on was still herself.
He avoided Eunuch Xia’s warning and stepped up onto the platform, calling out, “Imperial Grandfather, I…”
He was going to take all of this on in place of Qi Yuan.
He wanted her to know—she wasn’t alone. She could have someone to rely on too.
Eunuch Xia broke into a cold sweat from anxiety. If His Highness got involved in something like this, not only would the throne be forever out of reach—he might not even survive!
Fortunately, at that moment, Princess consort Lu, came rushing over from the meditation hall, dripping with sweat as he pulled Xiao Yunting aside and addressed Emperor Yongchang and Liu Wangfei: “Your Majesty, Wangfei, something’s happened—Wangye, he’s vomiting and having diarrhea non-stop, it looks like he’s on the verge of collapse!”
On the verge of collapse?!
Xiao Mo?!
Emperor Yongchang was stunned. His fury turned to bewilderment. He immediately shouted for Lai Chenglong: “Lai Chenglong! Gather everyone from Baiyun Temple—search! Search this place top to bottom! Investigate thoroughly! Find out what happened! Start by checking on the Wangye—I’ll go to the Noble Consort first!”
Liu Wangfei should have been furious—this man was going to see a dead woman before even checking on his own son, who could be dying too.
But knowing that Qi Yuan was temporarily safe, she couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Xiao Yunting’s scalp tingled. Eunuch Xia’s did too. As Pu Wuyong eagerly trotted off after Emperor Yongchang, Eunuch Xia gave a low, urgent warning: “Your Highness! How could you step out at a time like this? His Highness is watching everything! You…”
Xiao Yunting didn’t answer. His mind was already racing to connect the two events.
There couldn’t be such a coincidence.
How could it be that just after the death of Noble Consort Xiao Liu Xiao, Xiao Mo also suddenly fell ill?
And judging by the symptoms, it seemed like poisoning…
Right now, Xiao Mo wasn’t the only one with a splitting headache.
When the Embroidered Uniform Guard gathered everyone and announced the death of Noble Consort Xiao, Qi Zhen’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
He—he—what had he said before?
Since when had Qi Yuan ever gotten through anything without it ending in death?
But how was she getting deadlier and deadlier?
He used to think that killing a marquis shizi was already the peak.
He didn’t expect Qi Yuan to later kill a Cheng Wang.
And now? Qi Yuan had taken it all the way to a Noble Consort!
Qi Zhen felt like he was losing his mind. He clutched at the sleeve of Old Marquis Qi and whispered, “Father, she’s about to ascend to heaven!”
Old Marquis Qi snapped at him irritably, “Shut up!”
Lai Chenglong had already started interrogating the cooks who prepared Xiao Mo’s food, along with the servants who looked after him.
Meanwhile, Princess Baorong stared at the lifeless, motionless body of Noble Consort Xiao lying on the bed, her face utterly blank with shock.
She collapsed onto the edge of the bed, looking at Noble Consort Xiao, whose eyes would never open again, and cried out mother with heart-rending anguish.
After she transmigrated, Noble Consort Xiao had treated her the best.
She loved holding her, comforting her.
All her childhood clothes were hand-sewn by Noble Consort Xiao.
At first, her stitching was poor, and her fingers were covered in cuts and pricks, but she still sewed with gentle patience.
When she fell ill with a high fever that wouldn’t go down, it was Noble Consort Xiao who stayed at her bedside day and night, until she passed out from exhaustion and had to be carried away.
Princess Baorong felt like there was a fire burning in her chest—a fire that, if it didn’t burn someone else to death, would burn her alive.
So when she saw Qi Yuan enter the room, she rushed at her, shouting with fury and grief: “You wretched woman! You killed my mother—I’ll kill you!”
