The Night Before Leaving the Palace, Reduced to the Tyrant's Plaything - chapter 19

Very soon, the news that Jiang Wanyu had failed to leave spread through the harem as if it had grown wings, reaching the ears of every consort.

Everyone was utterly shocked and spontaneously gathered at Consort Lan’s Yikun Palace to discuss countermeasures.

Wanyu, meanwhile, was escorted back to Shenxing Si by Hu Jinzhong and locked in a solitary cell.

The cell was cramped and narrow, with no windows. Without a lamp, it was as dark and suffocating as a square coffin.

She sat on the cold ground, hugging her knees. The thought that he might still be waiting for her outside the palace gates, and that they might never meet again, made her heart ache as if it were being twisted in a pot of boiling oil.

By now, she feared even Xu Qingzhan would be powerless to help her.

She didn’t want Xu Qingzhan to risk himself for her, nor for Qi Rang to discover their old acquaintance.

Qi Rang was deeply suspicious by nature and hated being deceived above all. If he detected anything amiss, even if he depended on Xu Qingzhan, he would not hesitate to kill him.

Xu Qingzhan had already sacrificed too much for her; she did not want to implicate him further.

Yet Xu Qingzhan was so stubborn-once he set his mind on a path, there was no turning back.

Whether she wanted it or not, it was entirely useless.

And that other person was also the most stubborn man in the world; she truly feared the two of them would do something reckless.

What was Qi Rang really thinking? If he did not want her to leave, why not just say so?

He was the Son of Heaven; his word was law. If he wished her to remain in the palace, wasn’t it a matter of a single command?

But he just wouldn’t say it. Like a cat toying with a mouse, he watched coldly as she trembled, panicked, and struggled desperately before him, treating it all as a game for his amusement.

He had toyed with her for five years-was that not enough? In the end, he even used a jade pendant to shatter her last hope.

Did he not know, for a mouse, it would rather have its throat bitten through in an instant than endure such endless torment?

She hated the cold-blooded father who sent her into the palace, hated the selfish elder sister who pushed her out as a shield, and even hated the mother who, after all the humiliation, still pined for her father.

Yet all these hatreds combined could not compare to the hatred she felt for Qi Rang at this moment.

She truly hated him to the core-hated him so much that she felt the urge to perish together with him.

If she could not leave the palace, what difference was there between life and death?

The cell door creaked open, and Hu Jinzhong swaggered in with a mocking air.

“Miss Wanyu, have you thought it over? This solitary cell is a privilege I shamelessly begged for on your behalf. After all, I just feel sorry for you, afraid your delicate body could not endure torture.

If you ask me, things have come to this-why be stubborn any longer? I know His Majesty’s thoughts better than anyone. He simply cannot bear to let you go. If you just nod, tonight you could become the new favorite on the imperial bed-wouldn’t that be a thousand times better than languishing in this sunless cell?”

Hearing this, Wanyu became even more certain that the whole matter with the jade pendant was a scheme between Hu Jinzhong and Qi Rang.

They had truly exhausted every means to keep her from leaving.

For a sovereign to resort to such underhanded tricks against a Palace Maid-wasn’t he afraid of tarnishing his imperial dignity?

Seeing Wanyu unmoved, Hu Jinzhong continued to coax her patiently:

“As the saying goes, a wise person adapts to the times. Miss Wanyu, though you are a woman, from our daily interactions I know your character is far above the ordinary. Otherwise, with so many Palace Maids in Qianqing Palace, why would His Majesty single you out?

His Majesty has his reasons for not speaking plainly. Back then, Consort Rong, who caused the death of his birth mother, was the former emperor’s Sleeping Attendant. He has brooded over this ever since, and has sworn never to touch the bedchamber attendants who serve at his side.”
But matters of the heart are never so easy to control. You-such a great beauty-spend your days making his bed and folding his blankets right under his nose. How could he possibly remain unmoved? He’s only restraining himself because he doesn’t want to break his own rules. He’s forcing himself to hold back, that’s all.

Why am I telling you all this? I just want you to see Qi Rang’s heart clearly, to know how deep his feelings for you truly are.

Since Qi Rang can’t take the initiative because of his pride, you’ll have to be the one to break this last barrier between you two.

He held up one finger, miming the motion of poking through a paper window. “All you have to do is make the slightest move, and you’ll become the number one favored consort in the Forbidden City. My good girl, do you understand?”

He’d said all this in one breath, thinking that even the dullest girl should have figured it out by now.

To know that she was on the mind of the wise and mighty emperor, the supreme ruler of the world-even a heart of stone would start to waver, wouldn’t it?

Yet Wanyu didn’t even spare him a glance. Pointing at the door, she silently mouthed a single word-

“Get out!”

Hu Jinzhong’s obsequious smile froze on his face. He gave her a thumbs up. “Good girl, you really are something else. I’ve been floating up and down in the Forbidden City for years and have seen all kinds of women trying to climb into the emperor’s bed. But someone as stubborn and unyielding as you, completely impervious to persuasion-this is truly the first time I’ve encountered it.

Now, I’ve said all I can, both kind and harsh. Since you refuse to heed my advice and insist on opposing Qi Rang, there’s nothing more I can do to protect you. Next, you’d better brace yourself for the Shenxing Si’s methods of persuasion!”

He slammed the door and left in a huff. Moments later, two eunuchs entered and dragged Wanyu off to the interrogation chamber.

Zhang Youdao, the head eunuch of the Shenxing Si, sat cross-legged in a grand chair, watching coldly as they tied Wanyu to a filthy punishment post.

The stench of blood on the post made Wanyu nauseous, and the coarse rope cut painfully into her delicate wrists.

“Speak. How did you steal Qi Rang’s jade pendant?” Zhang Youdao asked sinisterly.

Wanyu knew that no matter whether she confessed or not, she wouldn’t escape this ordeal of flesh and bone.

Because what Qi Rang cared about wasn’t the truth-he just wanted her to submit.

She had survived five long years to make it to today. How could she possibly give in?

Qi Rang would either release her alive or have her beaten to death and sent out. In any case, she would never give him the satisfaction of admitting any affection for him.

She would never, ever fall in love with such a cold-blooded, heartless man.

Her beloved was a man of honor and integrity, iron-willed yet gentle at heart, with the noblest of souls and the warmest of embraces.

If she couldn’t be with him, she would rather die!

Zhang Youdao waited a long time. Seeing that Wanyu still ignored him, he let out a cold laugh. “Do you think you can get away with this by keeping silent? I’ll have you know, once someone enters the Shenxing Si, even a Mute will be forced to speak.”

He slowly raised his hand, his voice sharp. “Begin-fifty lashes to loosen Miss Wanyu’s joints.”

On the long table, every kind of torture instrument-named and nameless-was laid out in a row. One of the eunuchs stepped forward, selecting a whip stained with who knew how much blood. With a cold voice, he said, “Miss, forgive me.”

To the servants of the Forbidden City, the Shenxing Si was like the underworld’s hall of judgment. Wanyu would be lying if she said she wasn’t afraid.

The whip sliced through the air with a whooshing sound as it came down upon her. Terrified, Wanyu squeezed her eyes shut.