The Night Before Leaving the Palace, Reduced to the Tyrant's Plaything - Chapter 32

Wanyu shrank back, her head lowered in silence, waiting for Qi Rang’s verdict.

She had guessed correctly-Hu Jinzhong was indeed acting on Qi Rang’s orders. Qi Rang’s eagerness to kill Xiang Rui and silence her was all to protect Hu Jinzhong.

Because he still needed Hu Jinzhong to do his dirty work.

Hu Jinzhong wiped the sweat from his brow and began to persuade Wanyu earnestly: “Miss Wanyu, don’t be stubborn. Just give in to His Majesty and go back with him. Look, without His Majesty’s protection, you wouldn’t survive a single day in the Lateral Courts.”

He was so intent on performing in front of Qi Rang that he forgot they were now in Yongshou Palace.

As soon as Consort Shu heard him telling Jiang Wanyu to go back with the emperor, she flew into a rage. “You dog, what are you saying?”

Hu Jinzhong realized he had misspoken and slapped himself across the face. “Please calm your anger, Your Highness! That’s not what I meant. I just spoke out of habit, thinking Miss Wanyu was still in Qianqing Palace.”

“Who are you trying to fool? Do you take me for a fool?” Consort Shu snapped angrily. “I used to think you were wrongly accused, but now it seems what Xiang Rui said was probably true. It was your wicked idea to make Jiang Wanyu suffer so she would start thinking fondly of His Majesty. Am I right?”

Hu Jinzhong hurriedly knelt and kowtowed, refusing to admit anything: “Your Highness, you have wronged me! I’m not that kind of person!”

“Bah!” Consort Shu spat. “Don’t I know exactly what kind of person you are? You’re full of dirty tricks and always doing wicked things. Now I even suspect you’re the one who stole His Majesty’s jade pendant.”

At these words, Wanyu instantly tensed up.

Qi Rang subconsciously tightened his grip on his prayer beads.

Xu Qingzhan’s fox-like eyes narrowed slightly, and he glanced at Hu Jinzhong without betraying any emotion.

Hu Jinzhong’s face changed dramatically, and he cried out in grievance: “Your Highness, you have truly wronged me! Even if I had a hundred times the courage, I wouldn’t dare steal anything from His Majesty!”

Consort Shu sneered, “To curry favor with His Majesty, you even dared to use me as a stepping stone-what wouldn’t you dare to do? You self-important dog, Heaven has eyes to let you fall into my hands today. Let’s see if I don’t skin you alive!”

Without caring whether Qi Rang agreed or not, she ordered her chief Palace Maid Gan Ju harshly, “Go and slap his mouth for me!”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Gan Ju stepped forward to obey.

Consort Shu continued, “Use a bamboo board-don’t dirty your hands on his dog face.”

Another Palace Maid named Ling Lan promptly handed over a bamboo board. Gan Ju took it and smacked Hu Jinzhong hard across the face.

Hu Jinzhong let out a howl and nearly jumped up.

Gan Ju signaled Ling Lan to hold him down and struck him several more times, left and right.

“Your Majesty, save me! Your Majesty, save me!” Hu Jinzhong wailed in pain, sounding utterly miserable.

Qi Rang pressed his fist to his mouth and coughed lightly, saying to Consort Shu, “He just has a foul mouth; he’s not that brave. I believe he didn’t steal the jade pendant. Besides, he’s still my deputy head eunuch-if his face is ruined, it will be hard for him to manage the others.”

“That’s his own fault,” Consort Shu replied. “Jiang Wanyu really was wronged this time. Even though I dislike her, I am a person who rewards and punishes clearly. Today, I won’t punish her-only Hu Jinzhong, the dog. I want everyone to know the consequences of scheming against me.”

Qi Rang looked at Jiang Wanyu with some surprise, seemingly a little unsatisfied.

He hadn’t even started the interrogation, and that dog Hu Jinzhong had already managed to get himself caught in his own trap.
{“translation”: ”

Now things were settled: Consort Shu’s anger was vented entirely on Hu Jinzhong, allowing that girl to escape calamity.

“Do as you wish!” Qi Rang lost interest. “You can punish him however you like, just don’t kill him. I still need him for errands.”

Consort Shu snorted angrily, “Then for Your Majesty’s sake, I’ll give him some leeway-let him serve as a night watchman for a month. That should be fair enough, right?”

Upon hearing this, Hu Jinzhong’s already swollen and bruised face wrinkled up miserably, like an overripe bitter melon.

He’d be on duty during the day and beating the watch at night. In this bitter cold, if he didn’t die from exhaustion, he’d freeze to death.

Consort Shu truly had a ruthless heart!

Hu Jinzhong looked pitiably at Qi Rang, like an abandoned old dog. “Your Majesty, please don’t ignore your humble servant!”

Qi Rang put on a stern face. “This is Consort Shu’s graciousness-why haven’t you knelt to thank her yet?”

Hu Jinzhong could only kneel and offer thanks, resigned.

For once, Consort Shu gave Wanyu a pleasant look. “Return to your Lateral Courts. I won’t hold today’s matter against you, but remember, don’t ever touch my clothing again!”

Wanyu also kowtowed to thank her, then to Qi Rang as well, and got up to leave. Having knelt for so long, a sharp pain shot through her knees, making her fall back onto the floor.

Xu Qingzhan and Qi Rang both gasped, but neither moved.

Wanyu sat on the ground for a moment to recover, then struggled up and limped out of the hall.

Qi Rang’s gaze followed her as she exited, then he too rose to his feet.

“Is Your Majesty leaving?” Consort Shu immediately grabbed his sleeve. “Stay and talk with me a little longer, please! I’m still upset!”

Qi Rang calmly withdrew his sleeve. “I have state affairs to attend to. I’ll come back tonight to talk with you.”

“Do you mean it? Your Majesty, you mustn’t deceive me!”

Qi Rang had only meant to placate her. Any other consort would have taken the hint and thanked him.

But Consort Shu was not like the others-she pestered him for a firm promise.

Helpless, Qi Rang nodded. “My word is golden. I won’t deceive you.”

Only then was Consort Shu satisfied, laughing coquettishly, “Then I’ll be waiting for Your Majesty. If you don’t come, I won’t sleep tonight.”

“Alright.”

Qi Rang gave a perfunctory reply and hurried out.

By the time he left Yongshou Palace, Jiang Wanyu’s figure was nowhere to be seen along the white, snowy palace path.

He let out a stifled sigh, lowered his head to look at the footprints in the snow, and thought: Wasn’t her knee hurting? How did she disappear so fast, gone in the blink of an eye?

Running off so quickly-was she trying to avoid him? Did she think he was some kind of man-eating monster?

“Is Your Majesty searching for Miss Wanyu’s footprints?” Xu Qingzhan followed out, half-smiling. “There are so many tracks, I doubt you’d find hers. Shall I be of service?”

“Are you that idle?” Qi Rang swept his sleeve and climbed onto the shoulder carriage. “If you have time to spare, catch a few more rebels for me, so I can have a peaceful New Year.”

“As you command, Your Majesty.” Xu Qingzhan stowed away his teasing manner, glanced back-intentionally or not-and accompanied the shoulder carriage toward Qianqing Palace.

Hu Jinzhong trudged along behind, as wilted as a frostbitten eggplant.

After they left, Wanyu emerged from behind the gate of Yongshou Palace. Seeing that no one was around, she endured the stabbing pain in her knee and hurried off in the opposite direction from Qi Rang.

As Qi Rang sat atop the shoulder carriage, something suddenly occurred to him and he sharply turned back to look behind.
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