Jiang Wan shook her head, lowering her voice. “Your Majesty, to resolve this situation, it still depends on you.”
Huan Cheng’s eyes seemed on the verge of turning bloodshot. The moment Jiang Wan finished speaking, he moved with such speed that he leaned over in an instant, his hand clamping around her neck without the slightest restraint, the veins on his hand bulging.
Without her magic, Jiang Wan was as weak as a kitten, and her desperate attempts to pry his hand away felt like nothing more than tickling him.
Soon, Jiang Wan’s face turned crimson from the choking, nearly suffocating.
Huan Cheng hadn’t completely lost his senses, and he finally released his grip just before her eyes rolled back.
Coughing, Jiang Wan took a long moment to recover, then glared coldly at Huan Cheng. “Why take your anger out on me? Do you think I want to meddle in your mess? If it weren’t for my child, I wouldn’t have the time to care how you die.”
Huan Cheng picked up a handkerchief to wipe his hands, his youthful face etched with a chilling coldness that eerily resembled Xie Changlin’s aura when he was angry.
Seeing him like this, Jiang Wan grew even more certain of her thoughts. She chuckled softly, still breathing heavily. “I’ll bet you’re not as useless as you pretend to be.”
“Huan Cheng, although you were treated coldly by the late emperor since childhood, you worked diligently in secret. Later, when you ascended the throne as Xie Changlin’s puppet emperor, he didn’t raise you to be completely uneducated and incompetent. On the contrary, he hoped you would become like him—obediently helping him wreak havoc on the world. Am I wrong?”
“Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made his next move only when my father wanted to secure a hereditary position. Clearly, you’ve disappointed him.”
“Eight years. He’s endured you for eight years, and you still haven’t become what he wants. You’re the one forcing his hand.”
Because Huan Cheng always wanted to escape, focusing only on playing the role of a debauched and incompetent ruler, he was utterly useless, leaving neither Jiang Wenshan nor Xie Changlin satisfied with him.
As she spoke, Jiang Wan straightened her posture and let out a deep sigh. “As for my father, he doesn’t want to see the world thrown into chaos, which is why he resorted to this desperate measure. As long as you can give him a little peace of mind, your throne can remain secure for now.”
By the end, Huan Cheng actually detected a tone akin to an elder sister lecturing her younger brother, finding it rather amusing. Yet, inexplicably, his expression softened considerably.
He sat back down, staring at the chessboard, and remained silent for a long while.
Jiang Wan wasn’t in a hurry either. She took a large sip of tea and narrowed her phoenix eyes to gaze out the window.
The bright moon hung high, as if right before her eyes.
After an unknown length of time, Huan Cheng gently overturned the chessboard, scattering the white and black pieces together until it was impossible to discern the previous state of the game.
“Empress, you are very clever, but by speaking so lightly, do you know how difficult you’ve made things for me?”
“Whether it’s difficult or not is not for this concubine to concern herself with.”
She finished the last sip of tea in her cup, placed it gently back on the table, stood up to straighten her dress, and performed a bow. “This concubine takes her leave.”
Most likely, Xie Changlin would still learn about tonight’s conversation.
But she wasn’t worried. Because no matter what Huan Cheng did, as long as he could muster even a little strength, it would create the most stable balance of power—a tripod standing firm on three legs.
Yes, then Jiang Wan would have time to climb into bed.
In high spirits, she left Qian’an Hall with a smile on her face.
Qiaoqiao was drenched in cold sweat outside the door. When she saw Jiang Wan, her legs gave way, and she fell to her knees with a thud.
“Your Majesty, the Lord of a Thousand Years… the Lord of a Thousand Years was just here.”
Only then did Jiang Wan notice that several palace attendants nearby had long been kneeling on the ground—no, not kneeling…
They were dead, lying all over the ground.
Only Li Dequan, trembling all over, and Qiaoqiao remained.
Jiang Wan’s heart skipped a beat, but she quickly regained her composure.
At the very least, Xie Changlin hadn’t barged in to deal with them directly, which meant he hadn’t completely given up on the emperor. Jiang Wan had gambled correctly.
Not long after, she found that figure under the moonlight in the plum garden.
He stood with his hands behind his back, his crimson robe like blood, his ink-black hair gently lifted by the wind. In the darkness, only his silhouette was visible. Plum blossoms slid from his body and fell at his feet, making him appear both lonely and aloof.
“Your Eminence.”
Jiang Wan took a deep breath and walked toward Xie Changlin.
As she drew near, a hand clamped heavily around her neck.
The red marks left by Huan Cheng’s earlier grip were still there, and the force now was even greater than his.
She felt like crying but had no tears left. These marks would definitely not fade by tomorrow morning—couldn’t they find another way to kill her?
Would she have to face others looking like a hanged ghost?
Xie Changlin’s dark eyes were fixed on the moon, as if he hadn’t moved at all. His voice was colder than the night itself. “This humble one is curious. What else does Your Ladyship know?”
Tears welled in Jiang Wan’s reddened eyes, glistening as they spilled over. She forced the words out from her constricted throat, one by one. “I know nothing I shouldn’t know.”
Though, in truth, she probably knew everything.
“What else did that old fool Jiang Wenshan say?”
This sentence seemed to crawl out from the depths of hell, carrying an unmistakable aura of death.
“He… he said nothing…” Jiang Wan’s breath grew faint, but she still didn’t struggle. Her dark eyes shone even in the darkness, though now they were wetter than usual.
How could she possibly say that she had been spoiled by Si Ming through the storybooks he gave her?
Finally, the grip loosened. Jiang Wan collapsed to the ground, her face flushed red as she coughed violently, nearly hacking out her heart, liver, and lungs.
After a long moment, Xie Changlin slowly crouched down, meeting Jiang Wan at eye level. His fingers pinched her chin with force, his eyes brewing a storm, yet his voice carried a seductive tone. “Jiang Wan, this humble one will give you one last chance. What else do you know?”
Jiang Wan had no doubt that if she knew even one more word, she would die a gruesome death right here.
She steadied her breathing as much as possible and gritted her teeth. “My father knows nothing. Everything I told the emperor was merely my own guess.”
She lifted the corners of her lips slightly, as if smiling or crying. “Your Eminence, I gambled correctly, didn’t I?”
“From now on, am I Your Eminence’s person?”
As she spoke these last words, her voice had cleared like water, carrying the soft sweetness of a young girl. The curve of her smile was sweeter than ever before.
A petal suddenly drifted down, landing gently on Jiang Wan’s trembling, fan-like lashes, casting a shadow.
After a long, silent stare, Xie Changlin released her chin, gently plucked the petal, twirled it between his fingers, and placed it in his mouth.
Then he stood up, lightly twisting his neck. “This humble one underestimated Your Ladyship.”
He wasn’t easily convinced, but Jiang Wan knew he had temporarily spared her.
The life-risking groundwork she had laid over the past two days had finally served its purpose.
Jiang Wan lowered her gaze and smiled silently.
A moment later, she reached out and tugged at the hem of Xie Changlin’s robe. “Your Eminence, it hurts.”
This time, Xie Changlin said nothing. Expressionlessly, he bent down, picked Jiang Wan up, and carried her back to Eternal Joy Palace.
Jiang Wan nestled comfortably in his arms, her heart bubbling with joy, not worrying in the least about whether anyone might see them.
In the end, the people of Eternal Joy Palace were naturally terrified, but they all kept their heads bowed, not daring to look.
Especially Qiaoqiao, having witnessed Xie Changlin instantly taking down someone at the entrance of Qian’an Hall, she became even more afraid to look directly at this lord.
She truly wanted to cry, “Your Highness, can’t we stay farther away from him?”
Under Xie Changlin’s gaze, Qiaoqiao’s hand holding the handkerchief trembled.
“If your hand is useless, shall we cut it off?”
That light remark made everyone in Eternal Joy Palace kneel in fear.
Jiang Wan coughed softly and pleaded weakly, “Your Eminence, don’t scare them.”
Xie Changlin snatched the handkerchief, not hiding his impatience. “I never scare people.”