The Night Before Leaving the Palace, Reduced to the Tyrant's Plaything - Chapter 37

Hu Jinzhong, who was on imperial duty to patrol, had just been called over by Fuzi. He was pressed against the door crack, listening for any sound inside, when the door suddenly opened, catching him off guard and sending him tumbling headfirst into Qi Rang’s arms.

Qi Rang was already irritable, and now, with a eunuch throwing himself into his embrace, his anger exploded. He grabbed Hu Jinzhong by the collar and flung him out: “You dog, what are you doing?”

Hu Jinzhong was thrown a long way, and the clapper and bronze gong he used for patrolling crashed loudly to the ground. Startled, he didn’t even have time to cry out in pain before scrambling up and kneeling, kowtowing repeatedly.

Sun Liangyan wanted to laugh but didn’t dare. He stepped forward and asked, “Your Majesty, why are you up?”

Qi Rang, suppressing his anger, shot him a glare and left without a word.

Sun Liangyan was overjoyed, quickly instructing Fuzi to fetch the Emperor’s cloak. He then said to Hu Jinzhong, “Deputy Chief Steward Hu, stop kowtowing and come along quickly!”

“Chief Steward Sun, you’re going to be the death of me!” Hu Jinzhong grimaced with pain but dared not slack off, quickly getting up and limping after Qi Rang.

All of Sun Liangyan’s previous frustration vanished. He made a gesture into the shadows, and the guards, already prepared, followed silently.

…

That night, Wanyu did not bolt the doors or windows. She lit the bright red wedding candles, spread out the red brocade quilt, and sat on the bed, quietly awaiting the moment of the impending hunt.

She wasn’t sure if she could succeed.

She was like a gambler, betting her own life against another’s.

She didn’t know how much time had passed when the door creaked open and a figure poked his head in, suppressing his excitement as he called out, “Little darling, your lord has come to dote on you.”

Wanyu sat unmoving, but all her nerves instantly tensed.

Lai Sanchun closed the door and eagerly walked toward her, saying as he came, “You know, with these red candles and the mandarin duck quilt, it really does feel a bit like a wedding night.”

Wanyu still sat silently on the bed.

Lai Sanchun approached her and reached out to embrace her.

Wanyu pushed him away and, with shy gestures, pointed to the bed and then to his clothes, signaling for him to take off his clothes and get in bed first.

Her bashfulness made Lai Sanchun burn with desire. In just a couple of moves, he stripped down to just his underpants, impatiently lifted the quilt, and burrowed into bed. “Little darling, you come in too!”

Wanyu smiled at him but didn’t rush to undress. Instead, she raised her hand and pulled out the bronze hairpin holding her hair up.

A cascade of black hair tumbled down like a waterfall. Lai Sanchun couldn’t help but swallow, urging, “Take it off, take it off…”

Suddenly, Wanyu bent over and covered his eyes with one hand.

Lai Sanchun was startled for a moment, then laughed, “At a time like this, why are you still shy? Or should I help you myself…”

Before he finished the word “take off,” a sharp object pierced his throat.

“Ah…” He let out a muffled, miserable scream, pried away the hand covering his eyes, and met Wanyu’s eyes, filled with hatred.

He opened his mouth to curse, but could only make gurgling noises in his throat.

He never expected to fall at the hands of a lowly slave. He knew he probably wouldn’t survive, but even if he died, he wanted to drag this wretch down with him.

He struggled to get up, but Wanyu was faster. She pulled out the hairpin, grabbed the quilt and threw it over him, pressing down with all her strength, and stabbed him over and over on his head and face through the quilt.

No one knew how many times she stabbed. At first, Lai Sanchun roared and struggled desperately, but gradually, the sounds grew weaker, and so did his strength.

Eventually, all movement ceased.

Wanyu stabbed him a dozen more times, only stopping when she was exhausted and her strength failed her. She trembled as she lifted the quilt.

Under the quilt was a face riddled with holes.

Lai Sanchun’s eyes, nose, mouth, forehead, and neck were all stabbed into a bloody, mangled mess, unrecognizable.

Wanyu was shaking like a leaf. She tossed the quilt aside in a trembling heap, took off her outer clothes and threw them on the floor, tore her underclothes to expose half of her shoulder, and sat there waiting.

Soon, hurried footsteps sounded outside, and lanterns and torches lit up the night as bright as day.

Wanyu glanced outside, wiped a handful of blood onto her face, and picked up the hairpin again to stab Lai Sanchun’s face.

With a loud “bang,” the door was kicked open and Qi Rang strode in.

Sun Liangyan, Hu Jinzhong, and Fuzi followed behind with lanterns, their light illuminating the whole room-and the chilling scene upon the bed.

Qi Rang gasped, eyes wide, staring at the disheveled, half-dressed woman on the bed. She looked like a crazed killer, stabbing the blood-soaked corpse again and again with something in her hand.

The corpse wore only underpants, a heap of pale flesh like a freshly slaughtered fat pig, its face destroyed and unrecognizable.

The murderous woman seemed to be in shock, oblivious to his arrival. She continued the killing motion over and over right in front of him. Her face and body were covered in blood, and her exposed shoulder was white as jade, now stained with blood-making the scene all the more shocking.

The three men following behind were also dumbfounded.

They’d all seen dead bodies before, but never a murder scene like this.

“Your Majesty…” Sun Liangyan called out, about to step forward.

Qi Rang motioned him back, then went to the bed himself. As Wanyu raised her hand once again, he seized her blood-stained wrist.

“Ahhh…” Wanyu’s body jolted, a hoarse growl erupting from her lips as she struggled desperately, trying to stab him with the hairpin.

Qi Rang gripped her wrist tighter, pinning her so she couldn’t move. “Look carefully. It’s me. Do you want to stab even me to death?”