Outside Zhao He Hall, the sounds of Concubine Xiang and Noble Lady Liu being punished by flogging could be heard. Those were the sounds of the paddle hitting their bodies, and every hit caused the Emperor to feel better.

  Last night was a disgrace. Even though he was the Emperor, even though there were countless beauties in the harem, even though those two had been favoured by him in the past, he had never done anything like summon three concubines to spend one night with him. Exhibiting such excessive debauchery, wasn’t that no different from a beast? If such information spread outside, how could he, the Emperor, still show his face outside?

  Once he thought about it, he felt that the process of being flogged to death occurring outside was too slow, so he shouted outside in a restless tone on reflex: “Hit faster! Hit a little faster! Shut their mouths! We do not wish to hear their shouts!”


  At this moment, Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu was obediently sitting on the Emperor’s lap. It looked like she was continuously comforting the Emperor, but in reality, she was comforting herself. What did those two say when they were dragged out? They said: We don’t know anything! We don’t know how we came here, we were clearly sleeping in our own palace courtyards! But we came here in a blink of an eye?

  These words caused Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu to immediately think of the two things Xuan Tianmo had told her before. The first thing was when Sheng Palace was robbed, all the treasures disappeared in one night without any signs, as if they simply disappeared. The many eyes of the hidden guards were useless, they could not even find a bird. The other thing was scarier than losing valuables. The private mentor they had arranged for Feng Zirui strangely arrived at her son’s bed. And just like Concubine Xiang and Noble Lady Liu, she did not know anything about the process. It occurred so suddenly in a god-like manner, and the attack took them by surprise.

  Instinct told her that this series of incidents were done by the same person or the same group of people. This was too scary, the other party could actually do things so seamlessly. If they had the intent to kill a person last night, then wouldn’t killing her be just as easy?

  Once she thought about how she was likely to die in her sleep, Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu shivered violently. When the Emperor sensed it, he asked quickly: “Beloved concubine, what’s wrong?” He saw that Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu was pale and felt that she must be feeling ashamed for what happened last night, so he comforted her, saying: “What’s past is past, We will order the Empress…… ah no, you, my beloved concubine, will personally oversee the harem. You can deal with whoever you dislike in any way you want to make sure something similar does not happen again, alright? Beloved concubine, don’t be scared, no matter when, We will definitely protect you and make sure you do not get hurt in any way.”


  When the Emperor said these words, his mind was actually not that clear. This kind of feeling would occasionally occur with some degree of haziness, some degree of headache, and also some degree of dizziness. If he was alone, when this feeling came, it would be especially unbearable to the point that it would not dissipate at all. But it was easier if Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu was at this side, as long as he hugged her, as long as he continuously spoke sweet words to her, as long as he could see his beloved Imperial Concubine happy and make her smile, all the pain he felt would disappear like smoke.

  The Emperor thought he must have been inflicted by some illness and Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu was the best medicine to cure his illness. He liked being with Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu, it was like his heart had found where it belonged. This feeling of love made him want to dig his own heart out to show her and he hated that he could not surrender this nation to her. There were so many times when he felt the urge to hand over the throne to her and the son Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu gave birth to, but once the words reached the edge of his mouth, it seemed like another force would stuff those words back, making him unable to say those words at all.

  His mental state was actually very messed up and he could only calm down when Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu was at his side. He enjoyed this calm, enjoyed this feeling, so no matter what, no one could steal his beloved concubine away. Everything which made his beloved concubine unhappy, he would get rid of them, he did not care even if he emptied this harem.

  At this moment, the newly promoted Eunuch Wu Ying entered the inner hall and reported: “Your Majesty, Concubine Xiang and Noble Lady Liu have stopped breathing, the bodies……”


  “Throw them away, throw them away!” The Emperor waved his hand impatiently, “The further you throw them, the better!”


  “This Servant understands.” Once Wu Ying said this, he glanced at Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu and spoke again: “Your Highness, there is one more matter. Her Highness Concubine Mei, she……”


  “What’s wrong with Concubine Mei now?” The Emperor felt irritated as he heard this, “These women do not live righteously at all and are always scheming something or other all day long. If they do not wish to live, then they should just die, no one will stop them!”


  Wu Ying’s heart skipped a beat and felt that the current Emperor was really too different compared to before. His behaviour changed just like that, isn’t it too fast? Even though he decided to side with Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu and thought that it was best for the the Emperor to remain muddle headed, when the Emperor’s behaviour changed in such an obvious manner, he could not help but rethink some things. “Your Majesty!” Wu Ying said: “Concubine Mei is already dead, someone tied stones onto her and threw her into the lake of the Imperial Garden last night and she drowned.”


  “What?” Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu suddenly screamed and jumped up from the Emperor’s lap, asking Wu Ying directly: “Concubine Mei was thrown into the lake? And it’s the lake inside the Imperial Garden?”


  Wu Ying nodded: “Answering Your Highness, that is correct.”


  “This……” She suddenly remembered hearing about something happening at the Imperial Garden. Concubine Mei and a few others bullied Feng Zirui and agitated the Empress. That transvestite living at Jing Ci Palace, Feng Zhaolian, kicked Concubine Qi into the lake on the spot and drowned her. And over the course of one night, Concubine Xiang, Noble Lady Liu and now Concubine Mei were lost. Vaguely, she seemed to grasp onto some clue, but could not make anything of it at the moment.

  Holding her hand, the Emperor asked: “Beloved concubine, what’s wrong?”


  Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu was pale, as if she had received an extreme scare. The Emperor scolded Wu Ying: “Her Highness has a weak heart, how can you speak of such bloody things in front of her? Leave quickly! Anyone can die, but as long as my beloved concubine is alright, all of you do not have to report anything!”


  Wu Ying bowed and left the inner hall, but Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu was truly frightened. She suddenly realised that these four people had did the same thing before their deaths, which would be bullying Feng Zirui. Now those four are dead, what did that mean? This meant someone was taking revenge on behalf of Feng Zirui, and in this world, the one who protected Feng Zirui the most, who else would it be but his older sister? But Feng Yuheng…… could it be…… she’s a spirit? Else how would she have such great abilities?

  Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu suddenly felt that this palace was filled with evil energy and felt chills down her spine. Even the hand the Emperor held became icy cold and the Emperor could not warm it up no matter how he rubbed it. She excused herself from the Emperor and said that she wanted to return to Cun Shan Palace to rest. The Emperor did not want her to leave, but seeing that the complexion of his beloved concubine was really not good and that he pitied Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu because of what happened last night, he said quickly: “Then beloved concubine can go back using Our imperial carriage, let’s see who still dares to bully Our beloved concubine.”


  Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu quickly gave her thanks, rode on the imperial carriage and returned to her palace. Once she entered her house, she chased all the servants out, leaving only Yue Xiu. Yue Xiu could sense the fear in her mistress’ heart, so she reassured in a soft voice: “Your Highness, do not think too much, with things as they are now, there is only this road to take. No matter what troubles there are, there is a need to face them head on, definitely do not get defeated by these things.” After saying this, she presented her own analysis: “Your Highness, the one who did these things, could it be that demon person next to the Empress? This servant heard that he used to be Qian Zhou’s prince, but he was harmed by the past ruler of Qian Zhou such that he became neither a man nor a woman. This kind of person is a demon person, only demon people can do demonic things!”


  Yue Xiu’s words reminded Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu, that’s right, there was still that Feng Zhaolian! She might have overthought this, Feng Yuheng was outside the palace. With the palace defences being so tight now, how could she come in. But Feng Zhaolian was in the palace, since he could kick one into the lake and kill them, he could kill the other three. This might have been done by Feng Zhaolian. That person used to be Qian Zhou royalty after all, he might have some special methods, such as anesthetic or other things. If not, there was still that absolutely captivating face!

  However, thinking about what happened at the Sheng Palace earlier, her heart was unsettled. And other than Sheng Palace, Head Eunuch Wu Ying also secretly mentioned that his own house was suddenly emptied. At that moment, she felt that this was similar to the robbery of Sheng Palace. With all this, this meant that the danger was lying in wait at her side and she could not even catch their shadow, it was too scary!

  Yue Xiu served Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu a bowl of hot tea to calm her nerves but heard her grit her teeth and say: “Just you wait! When This One sits on the position of Empress, I will definitely kill all of them! Kill them all!” For an instant, a foul expression appeared on Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu’s face, and even Yue Xiu, the palace maid who had served her for many years, could not help but break out in cold sweat.

  It was a mess in the palace. As for Yu Palace outside the palace, Xuan Tianming rushed back from the military camp, and when he heard that there was no morning court session, he rushed to Chun Palace to meet up with Xuan Tianhua. Baize was stopped by Feng Yuheng, telling him: “I wanted to give you a break so you can go to Ji An Prefecture to see Furong. In a blink of an eye, it’s already almost the end of the year. Time is too tight, so you might not make it in time for New Year’s Eve. Why don’t you leave immediately and arrive there as early as you can. For Xuan Tianming, I will support him personally.

  Baize was very touched when he heard these words. Why else would it be said that a person needed to be thorough! The Master he followed was distant and would never think about these small things, but the Mistress who his Master found was a kind person! Not only was she thoughtful and considerate, she was generous and kind. He was thinking about Furong everyday and she just gave him a holiday without him asking for it.

  Unfortunately, even if Feng Yuheng gave him that holiday, he could not leave. He told Feng Yuheng: “In this situation, I cannot leave. A crisis has beset the capital and changes in the palace can happen anytime, I have to stay and be by His Highness’ side. The Princess’ kindness, I have received it. As for Furong…… after the situation in the capital has stabilised, I will see her.”


  Feng Yuheng knew that this was happen and was not surprised. She only nodded silently and did not say anything else. In these chaotic times, forget about lovers in different lands, even the people living in the capital could not meet each other every day. Baize was a loyal subordinate, choosing to stay at his Master’s side at this time was something he took pride in.

  After watching Baize catch up to Xuan Tianming to go to Chun Palace together, Feng Yuheng turned around to return, thinking of catching up on some sleep. At this moment, she saw a guard from Yu Palace return from outside on horseback, calling her from far away: “Princess! Please wait, Princess, this servant has something to report.”