“Your Majesty, please grant this concubine death. I have failed you.”
Su Wanmei deliberately retreated in order to advance.
She knew there was no way to hide the fact that she had been violated, so she decided to lay everything out openly.
Could this be the price of being reborn?
If so…
She was still willing to be reborn.
The only thing she hated was that someone had plotted against her.
Originally, Su Wanmei had suspected Hua Zhiyun.
But after learning that Hua Zhiyun had been imprisoned the entire time, unarmed and powerless, there was no way she could have abducted her and dumped her in the City God Temple to be violated by beggars.
The captured beggars had been brutally tortured before finally confessing.
The person who had ordered them to assault her…
Was an old man.
His entire body had been concealed beneath a cloak, and they had never seen his face.
Judging from his voice, he sounded middle-aged or elderly.
In her previous life, Su Wanmei had never heard of such an extraordinary old man in the capital—someone capable of entering and leaving the imperial palace as though it were his own home.
Nor had she ever heard of Fengyi Palace or the imperial treasury being emptied.
Even more infuriating…
The Su residence had also been completely looted.
Even the courtyard where she had lived before marriage had disappeared.
Only a massive pit remained.
Thinking of Fengyi Palace’s fate, Su Wanmei became convinced…
Whoever had done this was targeting her.
Since her rebirth, the only person she had actively schemed against was Hua Zhiyun.
No one else hated her enough to go to such lengths.
That bitch didn’t possess such abilities.
Even so…
It didn’t stop Su Wanmei from pouring all her hatred onto Hua Zhiyun.
She had already arranged everything.
Even if the death-row inmates in prison had failed…
Hua Zhiyun would have no peaceful days during exile.
Su Wanmei had secretly instructed the prison escorts to treat Hua Zhiyun even more brutally than they treated prostitutes.
In her previous life, she had been the one sent into exile.
After being reborn, she decisively abandoned Chu Linzhang and chose Xiao Lian—the current Emperor—instead.
She believed she had successfully changed her fate.
She had escaped exile…
Only to be schemed against anyway.
Touching the freshly shaved portion of her scalp, where only coarse stubble remained…
Su Wanmei ground her teeth in hatred.
“Husband and wife are one.”
“How could I bear to let you die?”
Xiao Lian forced himself to suppress his disgust as he wrapped an arm around her.
“I know you’ve suffered.”
“Don’t worry.”
“I will seek justice for you.”
“Forget what happened.”
“I won’t despise you.”
“You are still my Empress.”
Su Wanmei had never expected Xiao Lian to love her this deeply.
Even after she had been defiled…
He still refused to depose her.
She secretly congratulated herself.
Everything she had planned beforehand had been correct.
She had won Xiao Lian’s heart long ago.
Even after such a scandal…
He couldn’t bear to abandon either her…
Or the Su family’s political influence.
As long as Xiao Lian didn’t mind…
She still had a chance to recover everything.
After crying pitifully for a while, Su Wanmei tearfully declared her loyalty.
“I know I can no longer serve Your Majesty as a wife.”
“But I will faithfully fulfill my duties as Empress.”
“I will manage the imperial harem well.”
“And I will never interfere with Your Majesty fathering more heirs.”
Those words stabbed Xiao Lian directly in the heart.
Because…
He probably couldn’t father any heirs anymore.
Naturally, he would never tell Su Wanmei.
If she knew…
Then the Su family would know.
Given Grand Secretary Su’s scheming nature…
He would surely arrange for another male member of the Su family to father a child…
Then have Su Wanmei claim it as her own and raise the boy as Crown Prince.
Xiao Lian refused to become Grand Secretary Su’s puppet.
An emperor who had to answer to his ministers…
Was no emperor at all.
The Su family…
Would eventually have to be destroyed.
How could one allow another to sleep peacefully beside one’s own bed?
“You’ve suffered.”
Xiao Lian gave Su Wanmei a fake, perfunctory embrace.
To him…
She felt filthy.
Though he concealed his revulsion.
Even worse…
Su Wanmei wasn’t actually a daughter of the Su family.
She carried Chu family blood.
The very bloodline Xiao Lian hated most.
That thought only made him feel even more nauseated.
Burying herself in Xiao Lian’s embrace, Su Wanmei cried bitterly.
At the same time, she silently swore…
Whoever had done this…
She would grind their bones to dust and erase them from the world forever.
After her emotional performance ended…
She put on a wig.
Once again, she became the dignified, noble, majestic Empress who ruled the harem.
When she heard that Grand Secretary Su had suffered a stroke, Su Wanmei was greatly concerned.
She immediately dispatched imperial physicians to treat him, earning herself praise as a devoted granddaughter.
She no longer had any hope of regaining the Emperor’s favor.
He probably wouldn’t even touch her again.
But that didn’t matter.
As long as the Su family remained powerful…
Her position in the palace was secure.
Thinking about Hua Zhiyun suffering endless torment along the road to exile…
Su Wanmei almost regretted not witnessing it personally.
If Hua Zhiyun ever learned…
That Lord Hua and Lady Hua had both been murdered…
How devastated would she become?
Speaking of it…
Although many households had been looted…
Only the Hua family had suffered deaths.
The husband and wife had both been poisoned.
The poison had been so potent that they died on the spot.
Who hated the Hua family so much…
That they not only stole everything…
But murdered them as well?
They left behind only the underage Second Miss Hua, Third Miss Hua, and the young master.
Hua Zhiyun had already been sent into exile.
She could no longer manage family affairs.
The Hua family’s collateral branch eagerly took over the estate, expecting to inherit great wealth.
Instead…
When they arrived…
The treasury was empty.
The woodshed was empty.
Even the koi fish in the pond had disappeared.
The carriages…
The fine horses…
The mules…
Not a single one remained.
Every wealthy family in the capital became terrified.
Everyone feared they would wake up one morning to discover all their possessions had vanished overnight.
From that day onward…
Hua Zhiyun gained a new nickname throughout the capital—
“The Emptying Reaper.”
Hua Zhiyun: “…”
…
Chu Linzhang woke to find himself lying inside a carriage.
Morning had already arrived.
His body, which had remained tense for two straight days, had finally relaxed after the anesthesia wore off.
He vaguely remembered waking briefly during the night.
The surgery had already been completed.
His limbs had been bandaged.
Even the wounds on his face had been treated.
His heart filled with gratitude.
Originally, he had wanted to thank Hua Zhiyun personally.
But seeing her sound asleep beside a large rock…
He hadn’t wanted to disturb her.
So he simply went back to sleep.
It was the deepest sleep he’d had in a long time.
He was eventually awakened by Chen Dali shouting as he drove the prisoners onward.
As soon as Chu Linzhang opened his eyes, a dull ache spread through all four limbs.
Bai Lian immediately brought over breakfast.
A bowl of rice porridge.
And a boiled egg.
“Your Highness, breakfast.”
“We’ve already resumed the journey.”
Chu Linzhang looked at the food.
“Take it to the Princess Consort.”
Bai Lian curled his lips.
“No need.”
“I already saw Her Highness.”
“She drank a full bowl of porridge…”
“A small plate of pickled vegetables…”
“And ate two boiled eggs.”
“She isn’t hungry.”
Chu Linzhang: “…”
Of course.
That woman would never let herself suffer.
Only then did he calmly finish the porridge while Bai Lian fed him the egg.
After going so long without eating…
The porridge soothed his stomach.
The egg replenished his strength.
Halfway through eating…
He suddenly paused.
Looking toward the last carriage in the convoy, he asked,
“Who’s riding in that carriage?”
Bai Lian rolled his eyes.
“The Princess Consort.”
Chu Linzhang raised an eyebrow.
“You arranged it?”
“No.”
“It was supposedly sent by her family.”
“They said they were afraid she’d suffer during exile, so they prepared a carriage for her.”
“It blocks the wind and rain.”
“It would’ve been perfect for Your Highness.”
“But the Princess Consort didn’t hesitate.”
“She simply ordered Bai Zhong to drive while she lay inside sleeping.”
Chu Linzhang hadn’t expected the Hua family to care for her so much.
Bai Lian, however, narrowed his eyes.
“Your Highness…”
“There’s something you don’t know.”
“Lord Hua and Lady Hua were found yesterday.”
“They’d both been poisoned to death.”
“So…”
“That carriage couldn’t possibly have been arranged by Lord Hua.”
Chu Linzhang glanced sideways.
“What happened?”
Bai Lian immediately recounted everything he’d learned in the capital yesterday.
First—
Someone had audaciously emptied the entire imperial palace.
Second—
Grand Secretary Su’s residence had been stripped clean, causing him to suffer a stroke.
Third—
Numerous officials’ homes had been looted.
The Hua family had not only been robbed…
But both the master and mistress had been murdered.
Fourth—
Rumors claimed the Empress’s disappearance had something to do with the beggars who had mysteriously vanished overnight.
Chu Linzhang blinked.
He had only been imprisoned for one day…
And exiled for one day.
How had the capital changed so drastically?
His thoughtful gaze drifted toward the plain blue carriage bringing up the rear.
His eyes narrowed.
Surely… it couldn’t have been her.
Emptying the imperial palace wasn’t something one person could accomplish alone.
Besides…
The Hua family tragedy had happened after they left the capital.
At that time…
Hua Zhiyun had been with him the entire time.
How could she possibly have returned to the capital to poison Lord Hua and Lady Hua?
Unless…