Chapter 52

Yun Yaoyao and Ning Shouli strode ahead.

Ning Shouli’s tightly clenched fists betrayed the anxiety in his heart. The only person connected to this could be his sole daughter, the one serving as a female official in the palace!

He never should have agreed to let Ning Ying enter the palace!

Behind them trailed a large group of ministers who had come to watch the spectacle. Not one of them minded making a scene. They were all afraid of missing some juicy gossip—anything that might add a spark to their otherwise dull, tedious lives.

By the time they reached the Cold Palace, so many spectators had gathered that there was barely room to stand on the main path. Every pair of eyes was fixed wide open on the palace doors.

The imperial guards looked utterly ashamed. “Your Majesty, someone inside has committed an act of grave impropriety. Their identities are unusual, so we await Your Majesty’s decision!”

The ministers grew even more excited upon hearing this. They were eager to see just how outrageous the deed had been!

Yun Yaoyao swept back her sleeve, her entire body radiating chill as she perfectly portrayed a monarch on the verge of anger. “Open the palace doors!”

As the doors were slowly pushed open, the scene inside was revealed.

After a brief moment of complete silence, the court officials’ pupils trembled and their lips quivered. They wished they could gouge out their own eyes.

It really was… far, far too outrageous!

“Ah! My eyes have been assaulted!”

“Indecency in broad daylight! An insult to propriety! I cannot bear to look!”

“This is the utter destruction of all decorum! Utter depravity! It has shattered my very soul!”

Even Yun Yaoyao, a woman who considered herself something of a pervert, cried out that the scene was too depraved.

Feces and yogurt flew together, while red, yellow, and snowy white merged into one horrifying tableau!

In practically the blink of an eye, everyone covered their eyes with their hands. Then, through the narrow gaps between their fingers, they continued to hop about and curse furiously.

The imperial guard who had opened the doors was stunned, his hands trembling.

Shouldn’t the two female officials have been inside? How had they turned into Deputy Commander Dong and his men?

The guard hurriedly shut the doors again, then collapsed limply to the ground.

It was over. Everything was over!

Deputy Commander Dong was finished—and so was he!

Yun Yaoyao was still too shocked to recover when Tu Shanjin arrived from another path with a group of palace servants.

“Your Majesty, what happened?”

Xiao Wuzi, who had also been thoroughly shaken, immediately came to his senses and reported the entire situation to Tu Shanjin.

Upon ​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​‍hearing this, Tu Shanjin said coldly, “Dong Guang is the deputy commander of the imperial guards, yet he abandoned his post and gathered people to commit obscenities in the inner palace. His crime is punishable by death!”

The ministers had also recovered by now and began offering their recommendations.

“Your Majesty, Dong Guang and the others are guilty of heinous crimes. They should be executed at the Meridian Gate by dismemberment, as a warning to others!”

“If this man is not killed, his crimes will never be atoned for!”

“I second the motion!”

“I second the motion!”

Seeing this, Yun Yaoyao nodded. “Guards, drag Dong Guang and the others out!”

“Tomorrow, at the third quarter of the hour past noon, execute them at the Meridian Gate!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Now that His Majesty had dealt with the matter, the ministers began to leave one after another. They were eager to hurry home, look at their beautiful concubines, and cleanse their eyes.

Before withdrawing, Ning Shouli cast a deep look at the doors of the Cold Palace.

So this whole affair today had been a trap laid by His Majesty?

And what role had his daughter played in it?

Once the crowd had dispersed, Yun Yaoyao and Tu Shanjin walked side by side. She lowered her head and leaned close to his ear.

“So this is the grand spectacle you mentioned?”

“Mm.”

“Well, I never thought you were this kind of person, Tu Shanjin!”

The spectacle Yun Yaoyao had imagined was this: Consort Tu making elaborate plans, deep and calculating, wielding an iron fist and slaughtering his way through the opposition!

The spectacle in reality was this: Consort Tu baiting the enemy into taking the bait, attacking from behind, drugging people with aphrodisiacs, and catching them in the act!

What filthy palace intrigue.

What shameless methods.

But…

“I like it!” Yun Yaoyao said with an evil little smile.

Those three words blocked every reply Tu Shanjin had been about to make.

His heartbeat quickened once again. This symptom had appeared from time to time lately, and Tu Shanjin suspected that this body suffered from some congenital illness.

That was what Tu Shanjin thought inwardly, but outwardly he put on a serious expression. “This method is indeed simple and crude, but it is highly effective. Dong Guang has been eliminated. Clearing out the remaining forces is merely a matter of time.”

“Fine. I trust you to handle things.”

Yun Yaoyao slung an arm around her meal buddy Tu Shanjin’s shoulder and declared grandly, “A Jiangnan imperial chef skilled at making breakfast recently joined the Imperial Kitchen. Come on, I’ll take you to breakfast, my beloved consort!”

The cool autumn wind swept past in waves, yet the warmth coming from his shoulder made Tu Shanjin’s heart burn.

His gaze grew dark and inscrutable.

That uncomfortable fluttering in his chest had appeared again.

Yes, it seemed he needed to summon the imperial physicians as soon as possible and have them examine his body.

Time passed slowly as Yun Liang found himself increasingly isolated.

Under the combined pressure of the two Tushan princes, Yun Liang’s life became exceptionally miserable.

Back when he had been in power, he had exploited his position as Minister of Rites to tamper with the imperial examinations. He would switch out the papers of certain aristocratic candidates whose families had already pulled strings on their behalf, replacing them with the outstanding papers of poor scholars. In doing so, he gave those aristocratic candidates the opportunity to enter the court as officials.

That secret had been useful as a bargaining chip when he was powerful. But now that he had fallen from grace, everyone who had benefited from it wished him dead, so the matter would be buried forever!

The world was cold and heartless. What a bunch of ungrateful wretches!

Yun Liang was furious, but he also understood the situation. If he stayed any longer, death was the only road left to him.

Thus, while he appeared to be struggling desperately, he had secretly transferred a considerable amount of silver and made all the necessary arrangements. He was preparing to flee to a neighboring kingdom.

Once he changed his appearance, Yun Liang would be a new man!

Before leaving, he decided to take revenge on those heartless wretches. He pretended to visit them again for help, then slipped fertility-blocking powder into their food!

Gao Chongguang in particular—Yun Liang had risked being harshly humiliated by him yet again just to pay him a visit, and he had poured an entire packet of the powder into his food!

If he, Yun Liang, couldn’t live well, then none of those wretches would either. Let them all become childless!

If he hadn’t been afraid of arousing suspicion, Yun Liang had even wanted to dose Tu Shanjin and Tushan Ze with the powder.

Today was the day Yun Liang officially fled.

Originally, sneaking away alone would have been the safest option. But Yanyan was his only child. Without the Yun family to rely on, her fate in Prince Ze’s Manor could easily be imagined.

Thus, Yun Liang had sent someone to deliver a message to Yun Yanyan, telling her to find an excuse to leave the manor and meet him at a cosmetics shop. He had already prepared a decoy and an escort.

Yun Liang soon left the imperial capital and reached the outskirts. He lifted the carriage curtain and looked toward the end of the path.

For some reason, he felt unusually anxious that day, as though something major were about to happen.

After waiting for nearly half an incense stick’s time, a horse finally came galloping down the path.

Yun Yanyan sat behind the rider, tears in her eyes. “Father, I’m here!”

Only after seeing Yun Yanyan’s face did Yun Liang finally relax.

Once Yun Yanyan had climbed into the carriage, Yun Liang hurriedly ordered the coachman to set off. But when they passed through a stretch of woods, a group of men wielding long sabers suddenly charged out ahead of them and blocked the carriage’s path.

At their head was Shangguan Ming, the Minister of Rites who had stabbed him in the back.

Yun Liang’s heart sank at the sight.

Why was Shangguan Ming here? His whereabouts had been exposed!

Riding atop his horse, Shangguan Ming laughed brazenly. “Yun Liang, where do you think you’re running off to? If I capture you and present you to His Majesty, that will be another great merit for me!”

Yun Liang let out a cold laugh. “If this is all the manpower you brought, then you’ll be the one dying here!”

“Men!”

At Yun Liang’s command, a large number of elite soldiers armed with bows and arrows immediately rushed out from all around them, surrounding Shangguan Ming and the others.

“Since you’d already decided to flee, how could you possibly have made no other preparations? Shangguan Ming, you came here begging for death.” Yun Liang’s face was filled with cruelty.

Even when surrounded by archers, Shangguan Ming remained completely unruffled, a confident, victorious smile still playing at the corners of his lips.

The panic in Yun Liang’s heart surged once more. He hurriedly waved his hand and ordered, “Kill—”

Before he could finish the word, pain suddenly struck his back.

Yun Liang turned around in disbelief, only to see that Yun Yanyan had plunged a dagger into his back. Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed.

“Yanyan, you…”

Yun Yanyan did not dare meet Yun Liang’s gaze. Choking back sobs, she said, “Father, I’m sorry… I… I’m already two months pregnant…”

“The Prince can no longer have any more children. If I give birth to a boy, he will be the Prince’s only heir. Then my child and I will enjoy endless wealth and honor…”

“Father, I don’t want to flee for my life…”

“You’ve always treasured me so dearly. Surely you’re willing to die for me, aren’t you? Only after you’re dead can I continue receiving the Prince’s favor…”

Blood seeped from the corners of Yun Liang’s mouth, and his hand slowly fell to his side.

How familiar those words sounded.

Before Lin Qingjun died, he had said to her: “Only after you’re dead can I live with dignity and no longer suffer the contempt of others. My wife loves me with all her heart—surely she would be willing to go to the underworld for me.”

Before Madam Yun took her own life, he had said to her: “Didn’t you say you loved me? Only by dying can you truly be thinking of your husband and Yanyan.”

Yet he had never imagined that one day, those very words would come back to haunt him.