Her expression was extremely unpleasant as she looked at Gu Yanbei: “The Emperor has had quite a bit to drink tonight and must be drunk. Someone, attend to His Majesty and help him rest.”
“I did drink some wine tonight, but I am perfectly clear-headed at the moment,” Gu Yanbei said with a calm expression, then turned his gaze to Su Tuan’er. “I intend to take her as a consort.”
The moment those words fell, the courtyard fell into a sudden, deathly silence.
Su Tuan’er looked at Gu Yanbei in disbelief. The instant her eyes met his deep, profound gaze, she received the dangerous threat within them.
That threat conveyed a clear message to her: Don’t say a word out of turn!
“I have selected so many consorts and concubines for you—what kind of woman can’t you have? This girl is sickly and frail. How could she possibly be brought into the harem?”
The Empress Dowager’s lips twitched violently, and her hand clutching the prayer beads unconsciously tightened its grip.
“Those consorts were indeed carefully chosen by Mother, and every one of them meets Mother’s satisfaction. But what pleases Mother does not necessarily please me as well.” Gu Yanbei showed not the slightest regard for her feelings.
Li Manman, who was already barely standing, nearly lost her footing upon hearing these words. With tearful eyes, she looked at Gu Yanbei: “Is what Your Majesty says true?”
Gu Yanbei parted his thin lips slightly and said flatly: “Do I look like I’m lying?”
Li Manman’s eyes reddened, and tears immediately spilled from them.
Gu Yanbei paid her no attention at all. He lifted his foot and walked straight over to Su Tuan’er.
The two guards quickly released Su Tuan’er and retreated, shrinking their necks and trembling with fear.
Su Tuan’er looked up at the man’s coldly handsome face. His tall, imposing figure stood before her, blocking the cold, dark stares that the Empress Dowager and Li Manman were casting at her.
“The imperial decree will be delivered to your residence tomorrow. It’s late now—I will escort you back to your residence to rest.”
A certain emotion stirred beneath Gu Yanbei’s half-lowered eyelids, yet his overall demeanor appeared utterly unruffled.
Su Tuan’er had no idea what he was up to, but with the Empress Dowager and Li Manman both eyeing her like tigers, her only way to escape unscathed was to play along with his act.
Su Tuan’er followed Gu Yanbei out of the courtyard. The further she walked, the more she felt eyes boring into her back.
The Empress Dowager and Li Manman watched the two of them leave, their expressions growing uglier by the second.
A gilded palanquin was waiting outside the gates of Yangxin Hall. Gu Yanbei bent down and entered it, then with his slender fingers lifted the curtain and extended his other hand toward Su Tuan’er.
Su Tuan’er stared at the broad palm before her. This hand was like a blade that could take her life at any moment, and her scalp tingled with dread.
Raising her eyes to see the man’s cold, stern expression, she steeled herself and reached out her hand.
A scorching warmth instantly enveloped her entire hand. She was pulled by Gu Yanbei to sit beside him.
All of this was witnessed by Li Manman. Her eyes bloodshot, she clenched the handkerchief in her hand, her entire expression twisting into something almost ferocious.
The palanquin moved forward slowly, gradually leaving Li Manman and the Empress Dowager—whose faces had turned ashen—behind.
“His Majesty’s palanquin has never carried any woman before… Aunt, it is Manman who has failed you, to be even less worthy than a short-lived sickly girl,” Li Manman wiped her tears with her handkerchief, her face streaked with pear-blossom tears. “Manman has let down Aunt’s nurturing…”
“As long as I am here, I will never allow anyone to overshadow you,” the Empress Dowager said in a deep, cold voice. “That little girl thinks the imperial palace is some kind of place? Does she believe she can just walk in and become a phoenix?”
“But the Emperor favors her…” Li Manman said pitifully, “Aunt has seen it too—when has the Emperor ever treated anyone so well? That girl didn’t even put me, the Huangguifei, in her eyes just now. I fear that once she enters the palace, she will only rely on the Emperor’s favor and grow arrogant, causing chaos in the harem…”
The Empress Dowager remained silent in contemplation, then after a long moment, looked at Li Manman and said meaningfully, “Hmph, then we shall see how many days she can survive once she enters the palace…”
Li Manman lowered her head and said no more. She raised her eyes to look in the direction where the soft palanquin had departed, a cold glint flashing in her gaze.