Vicious

Even Emperor Jinyuan and the Crown Prince could not help casting Shen Zhuocheng a sympathetic glance.

For Consort Liu's sake, Guard Shen was willing to give up even his dignity as a man.

Shen Zhuocheng paid no heed to their strange looks.

All his attention was on Consort Liu.

Seeing her gravely injured and coughing up blood broke his heart.

[Unfortunately, Consort Liu wasn't moved in the slightest. From beginning to end, she saw him as nothing more than a tool to do her bidding.]

[Once Consort Liu saw that Shen Zhuocheng had won the foolish emperor's favor and attended him closely, she often used him to arrange chance encounters with the foolish emperor.]

Emperor Jinyuan's face instantly darkened.

No wonder he always ran into Consort Liu whenever he occasionally went to the Imperial Garden to clear his head over the years.

He even encountered her admiring the moon on his way to Consort Wan's chambers.

She haunted him like a restless ghost and had nearly driven him mad!

He often wondered whether he had done something so shameful that Heaven could no longer stand it and had sent Consort Liu to punish him!

He could not even escape her.

What rotten luck!

Whenever he met her, he could not simply turn around and leave.

After all, that would hardly befit the dignity of a sovereign.

Emperor Jinyuan looked at Shen Zhuocheng with bitter resentment.

He had kept him in the palace because of his martial prowess, even trusting him enough to put him in full charge of protecting the Crown Prince.

Who would have thought he was such an ungrateful wretch!

No wonder he had known neither that the Imperial Household Department was withholding the Crown Prince's monthly allowance nor that palace servants were freely bullying and trampling on the Crown Prince he himself had appointed.

Someone had been deceiving him and concealing the truth, deliberately keeping him in the dark!

Shen Zhuocheng, you bastard!

When had I ever mistreated him? How could he repay my kindness like this!

The company you keep really does rub off on you. He was just as rotten as Consort Liu!

Emperor Jinyuan's gaze cut into Shen Zhuocheng like knives. He wished he could have him sliced to pieces right then and there!

He ground his teeth. "Guard Shen... I had no idea you and Consort Liu had grown so close. Since when did you start calling her by her personal name?"

Shen Zhuocheng stiffened, his eyes dimming.

He knelt. "Your Majesty must have misheard. I would never dare address Her Highness by her personal name!"

A flicker of delighted surprise crossed Consort Liu's face at Emperor Jinyuan's words, and she pushed aside Shen Zhuocheng, who stood in front of her.

She explained, "Your Majesty, there is nothing between Guard Shen and me. I barely know him!"

His Majesty was so angry just because she and Guard Shen were standing close together. He must be jealous!

His Majesty still cared about her!

Shen Zhuocheng's eyes dimmed at her words.

He lowered his head and knelt silently to one side, awaiting his punishment.

Concerned by his unusual behavior, Consort Liu gazed tenderly at Emperor Jinyuan. "Your Majesty, could you help me up? I'm injured..."

Emperor Jinyuan's shoulders trembled, and goosebumps sprang up all over him.

He studied Consort Liu's sudden change in demeanor. "Consort Liu, surely you don't think you can act coy and wipe the slate clean after everything you've done to hurt Wanwan?"

[Exactly! Consort Liu is vicious and utterly twisted. You can't let her off!]

[In my previous life, even after she had my imperial sister-in-law confined to the Cold Palace, she still wouldn't leave her alone!]

[Beating and berating her whenever she had the chance was bad enough, but she even told her how she had worked with others to kill the Crown Prince, step by step.]

[She even whispered in her ear over and over that before the Crown Prince died, he kept crying, "Consort Mother, it hurts so much... I'm so cold... Come down and stay with me..."]

[She was utterly deranged!]

[My imperial sister-in-law finally couldn't bear it anymore and dashed her head against a wall to join the Crown Prince!]

[Sob... My poor imperial sister-in-law! And the poor little Crown Prince...]

[Consort Liu tricked him into believing he could see his Consort Mother if he drank the bowl of poison she brought him, and he drank it...]

[My Elder Imperial Brother, that foolish emperor, was completely useless when it mattered most!]

[How am I supposed to tell Elder Imperial Brother to execute Consort Liu now? Otherwise, tomorrow will be the day the Crown Prince dies...]

[She's already brewed the poison to kill him...]

Xiao Yu said, "Elder Imperial Brother-"

Consort Wan said, "Your Majesty-"

Emperor Jinyuan ordered, "Guards, drag Consort Liu away and beat her to death!"

At the foolish emperor's words, Xiao Yu and Consort Wan both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your Majesty! I am willing to give my life in exchange for hers!"

Shen Zhuocheng knocked his forehead against the ground and pleaded, "Please spare Consort Liu's life, Your Majesty!"

Consort Liu stared at Emperor Jinyuan in shock.

She could not believe those cold, heartless words had come from his mouth.

For a moment, she froze, unable to react.

After issuing his order, Emperor Jinyuan did not want to spare Consort Liu another glance.

He glanced at Shen Zhuocheng, his face full of barely restrained fury. "She deserves to die!"

"Since you want so badly to be with her, go down and keep her company! At least she'll have someone beside her on Yellow Springs Road."

"I'll grant your wish. No need to thank me!"

"You worthless tyrant! Ruomei must have been blind to fall for a heartless, faithless man like you!"

Driven beyond reason by his words, Shen Zhuocheng cried, "What did she do wrong? What did she do wrong? All she did was fall in love with you!"

"What gives you the right to treat her this way? How can you face her?"

That only made Emperor Jinyuan angrier. He snapped back, "And what did I do wrong to deserve her falling in love with me?"

"Was it because I was the Crown Prince then, and exceptionally handsome?"

He sneered. "Wanwan and I were simply too kind. That's why we let you bully us like this!"

"Otherwise, everything she's done over the years would have been enough to get her killed a thousand times over!"

He knew Wanwan was softhearted and could not bear to hurt Consort Liu.

Consort Liu, however, felt no such compunction.

He had deliberately distanced himself from Wanwan and spent his nights with the other consorts to divert Consort Liu's attention, so she would not secretly hurt Wanwan out of jealousy over his favor.

For a moment, Shen Zhuocheng had no answer.

He had followed Consort Liu all these years. Naturally, he knew how many sordid things she had done in secret to win His Majesty's affection.

Sowing discord and stirring up trouble were commonplace.

Even attempts on the lives of imperial children... were frequent.

Yet he could never bear to see her die.

Thud!

He slammed his forehead against the ground. "I deserve to die! But please, Your Majesty, give Consort Liu a chance to mend her ways!"

Thud!

He kowtowed again. "I deserve to die! But please, Your Majesty, give Consort Liu a chance to mend her ways!"

Everyone watching could not help being moved.

But remembering what Consort Liu had done, they held back.

"Every adult must answer for their own actions."

Emperor Jinyuan's tone was noticeably less severe, but he still refused to relent. "I will not rescind my decree. All I can promise is that the second prince will not be implicated."

He could not spare someone he knew intended to harm Wanwan and the Crown Prince.

As for the second prince, if he knew his place, he would remain his son. Otherwise...

He could not blame him for disregarding their bond as father and son!

[What a headache!]

[Relationships between men and women in this mortal world really are a mess!]

[Maybe I should switch to cultivating the Path of Heartless-]

"-ness..."

Xiao Yu froze at the gleaming blade suddenly pressed across his throat.

"Please spare Consort Liu's life, Your Majesty. Otherwise, I can only kill Prince Yu to keep her company!"

Holding Xiao Yu hostage, Shen Zhuocheng addressed Emperor Jinyuan.

"Let my Little Imperial Uncle go!"

Startled, the Crown Prince was about to charge over and fight him.

Emperor Jinyuan abruptly caught him by the back of his collar. "Stay to one side and don't make trouble!"

The Crown Prince pressed his lips together and did not dare move.

Consort Wan led him to a safe corner and reassured him. "Trust your Emperor Father. Qi'an will be all right."

Keeping his eyes on Xiao Yu, the Crown Prince answered, "Mm."

"Guard Shen! The Imperial Guards have already surrounded you."

Emperor Jinyuan looked at him. "Even if you take Prince Yu hostage, Liu will still die."

"Why bother with this pointless move?"