The Night Before Leaving the Palace, Reduced to the Tyrant's Plaything - Chapter 39

With Xue Ying’s help, Wanyu washed away the blood and filth from her body and changed into the clean clothes Xue Ying had prepared for her.

These were the very clothes she had handed to Xue Ying before she left, thinking she would never wear them again in this lifetime. Unexpectedly, after all the twists and turns, she found herself wearing them once more.

She couldn’t quite describe what she felt inside, nor did she know whether she should hate Qi Rang for his ruthlessness, or hate fate for its cruel games.

Xue Ying had already learned the gist of what Wanyu had gone through tonight, and comforted her gently, “What’s done is done. Don’t dwell on it too much-just take things one step at a time.

His Majesty carried you all the way back from the Lateral Courts himself. It doesn’t look like he intends to hold you accountable for the killing. You’d better seize this moment of his softness and go kneel before him, beg him to pardon your crime. Otherwise, once he calms down, he might change his mind.”

Wanyu nodded and asked her to help arrange her hair.

Xue Ying said, “Don’t bother. Your hair isn’t dry yet-let it hang loose like this, it’ll make you look more pitiful.”

Wanyu had never appeared before Qi Rang with her hair down, and hesitated for a moment.

Without giving her a choice, Xue Ying pulled her out the door, heading straight for Qi Rang’s bedchamber.

Hu Jinzhong, who had been busy for quite a while, was now leaning against the corridor pillar outside the hall to catch his breath. Seeing the two approach, his gaze immediately landed on Wanyu. “Miss Wanyu, are you feeling better?”

Wanyu nodded and bowed to him.

Xue Ying said, “Eunuch Hu, Wanyu wishes to kneel before His Majesty and thank him for his grace. Could you please announce her?”

Hu Jinzhong’s triangular eyes lit up. He thought, so the young lady is finally ready to yield? It seemed His Majesty’s heroic rescue had worked wonders-next, would the beauty offer herself in gratitude?

Thinking this, he hurried inside to announce her, his eagerness making it seem as if he himself were the one to receive the beauty’s favor.

Soon enough, he bustled back out, smiling at Wanyu. “Miss Wanyu, please-His Majesty is waiting for you on the dragon bed!”

Perhaps imagining that Wanyu would rise to great heights after tonight, he even used the honorific.

Hearing that Qi Rang was waiting for her in bed, Wanyu grew flustered and nervously glanced at Xue Ying.

“Go on, it’ll be fine,” Xue Ying gently urged her. “Don’t be afraid-His Majesty isn’t one to take advantage of others in their hour of need.”

Wanyu smiled bitterly to herself; Xue Ying didn’t truly understand Qi Rang, nor did she know what Qi Rang had done to her.

She took a deep breath and stepped over the threshold.

With this step, what kind of change would fate bring to her life? No one could predict.

Qi Rang had already finished washing up and changed into soft, bright yellow nightclothes, with a stone-blue jacket draped over his shoulders. He sat casually on the dragon bed, slowly kneading his right arm with his left hand.

Candles were lit all around, casting a warm golden glow over his cold, sharp features, making him appear unexpectedly gentle, almost like jade.

Hearing footsteps approach, he stopped his movements and glanced indifferently toward the doorway.

Wanyu approached in plain clothes, her half-dry, jet-black hair draped over her thin shoulders. The blood on her face had been washed clean, but her pallor revealed her exhaustion-she looked as pitiful as a dewdrop in a cold night.

Qi Rang sat motionless, only a barely perceptible furrow between his brows.

Wanyu stopped two or three steps in front of him, knelt down, and bowed deeply in formal salute.
Her long black hair slid down as she bent forward, spreading across the floor.

Qi Rang did not tell her to get up. He watched her silently for a while before speaking coolly, “You killed someone. Bowing a few times won’t absolve you of your crime.”

Wanyu lay on the ground, not arguing, as if quietly waiting for his judgment.

Qi Rang felt a sense of helplessness. After a pause, he continued, “He was wrong to force you, but you were wrong to kill him. Do you know how many times you stabbed him? This was no longer simple self-defense.”

Wanyu still lay there quietly, saying nothing.

Qi Rang couldn’t help but grow agitated. He slapped the dragon bed and said, “I’m asking you a question. Can you lift your head?”

Wanyu obeyed and raised her head.

A tear-streaked, pale little face appeared before Qi Rang’s eyes.

Once, Qi Rang had most despised her calm, indifferent attitude toward life and death. Now, she finally showed him a woman’s vulnerability and helplessness, yet he still found it hard to bear.

His anger had nowhere to go. He gritted his teeth, then gritted them again, finally squeezing out two words through clenched jaws: “Come here!”

Wanyu hesitated for a moment, then got up and walked to the bedside, looking at him timidly, her body trembling slightly as if she feared he might devour her.

“Sit!” Qi Rang spat out another command.

Wanyu sat gingerly on the edge of the bed.

Qi Rang suddenly reached out his hand, startling her so much that she instinctively shrank back.

“What are you hiding for? I want you to massage my arm!” Qi Rang said irritably. “Do you know how heavy you are? I carried you all the way back, and my arm is about to fall off.”

Wanyu was stunned for a moment, as if she couldn’t believe her ears.

“Why are you dawdling? Hurry up!” Qi Rang ordered.

Wanyu had no choice but to scoot forward and gently knead his arm.

Qi Rang closed his eyes and leaned back against the headboard, as if he had already forgotten about the killing, focusing solely on enjoying the massage.

Wanyu couldn’t guess what he was thinking, nor did she dare make a sound, so she kept her head down and quietly massaged him.

Qi Rang secretly opened his eyes a little, watching her lowered brows and softly trembling long lashes.

Her half-dry black hair slid down like silk, releasing faint wisps of fragrance with her movements, reminding him of the scent of the white plum tree in the Lateral Courts.

He didn’t know what possessed him, but he suddenly asked, “Is that wild plum tree still there?”

Wanyu’s hands paused. She looked at him in confusion, then shook her head and made a chopping gesture.

Qi Rang frowned and cursed Hu Jinzhong: “That bastard, he sure is quick.”

Wanyu couldn’t understand why he would think of a plum tree at a time like this, so she gestured, “It’s just a wild plum tree. If Your Majesty wants to see plum blossoms, there are plenty in the Imperial Garden.”

Qi Rang’s face turned cold and he snorted, “What do you know.”

Afraid of angering him, Wanyu lowered her head again to massage his arm.

Qi Rang withdrew his hand and said, “Switch to the other one.”

Wanyu glanced at the arm he had placed on the inside of the bed, looking troubled.

Qi Rang shot her a look: “If you can’t reach, then climb up. I’m not Lai Sanchun. Are you still afraid I’ll force you?”