My First Time Seeing a Living King of Hell

Little Wanwan: [I've seen a living bodhisattva before, but this is my first time seeing a living King of Hell.]

[Well, Empress Dowager, a few words from you and the entire Marquis's Residence is gone. Did the Late Emperor know this was how you'd act as Empress Dowager?]

[You really are such a wonderful person. This story can go straight to its grand finale-you've killed the Male Lead so thoroughly that not even the book's title is left.]

The emperor and Little Wanwan stared at each other, their eyes wide.

Then his brow furrowed into three deep lines, and he said, torn, "Mother, I cannot make her a princess."

Once he made her a princess, she would be his daughter.

If his Ninth Imperial Younger Brother found out, wouldn't he raise an army in rebellion and come fight him to the death?

Though he, too, wanted such an entertaining little one for a daughter.

Stealing someone else's daughter was immoral.

Especially his Ninth Imperial Younger Brother's daughter.

The Empress Dowager stared at him darkly. "Why not? Is Wanwan not worthy? I think she is. She's even better than those little boys in your harem. All those boys do is pee everywhere."

The emperor avoided her gaze. "This puts me in a difficult position. In any case, you must trust me. Wanwan will become part of our family sooner or later!"

The Empress Dowager set Little Wanwan on the desk and reached out to pinch the emperor's ear.

"Ow, Mother... Mother, be gentle! Your son has his reasons!"

The emperor let out a wail.

The Empress Dowager demanded, "Are you trying to steal another man's wife and daughter? Have you taken a fancy to Liu Wan? Do you want to kill Marquis Jing'an's Heir Apparent and then marry Liu Wan? Let me tell you, put that idea out of your head right now. Just look at your age! You're old enough to be Liu Wan's father. Do you deserve her?"

"Boohoo, I'm the Son of Heaven! Who could possibly be unworthy of me? When did I ever say I'd taken a fancy to Liu Wan?"

The emperor wanted to cry but had no tears. Thankfully, no outsiders were present, or his imposing, solemn image would have been utterly ruined.

What he did not know was this.

Outside the door, Minister Liu, who had been eavesdropping, broke out in a cold sweat.

His calves trembled uncontrollably, and several colleagues helped him away.

How terrifying!

Truly terrifying!

In just a few sentences, the Jing'an Marquis Manor was gone?

The emperor even intended to exterminate nine generations of the Jing'an Marquis Manor's family to steal his daughter!

He should never have listened in. Boohoo, would he be killed to silence him, too?

His colleagues helped him away from the Imperial Study. "Minister Liu, you look terrible. What did you hear?"

Minister Liu clutched his head and screamed, "Ah!!! Don't ask me! I don't know anything! I didn't hear anything!"

His colleagues: What's gotten into him? Why's he suddenly gone mad?

What on earth had he heard?

Inside the Imperial Study.

The emperor had already taken a beating. With a bruised nose and swollen face, he sat to one side holding Little Wanwan.

"Mother, you'd better ask my Ninth Imperial Younger Brother about this. I dare not tell you."

Seeing that he stubbornly refused to talk, the Empress Dowager turned to leave, suspicious.

Suddenly remembering something, she turned back and tried to take Wanwan from his arms.

The emperor held the little one tightly, refusing to let go no matter what.

The Empress Dowager beat him again. Finally tired, she adjusted the gold hairpin on her head and said elegantly, "Hmph, I won't bother arguing with you. I'm already beautiful anyway! Remember to send the little one back to me when you've had enough fun."

With that, she turned and left.

Only the emperor and Little Wanwan remained in the Imperial Study. He beamed at the little one.

"Wanwan, how did you make the Empress Dowager beautiful? Can you make me handsome, too?"

Little Wanwan: [The emperor got a savage beating from the Empress Dowager. Am I really allowed to witness an Imperial Family secret like this?]

She opened her mouth, trying to answer him. "Buwy... pit... me..."

[Aaaah, why is talking still so hard? I really want to grow up.]

[If only Uncle Emperor could hear my thoughts. Then I could tell him that the Empress Dowager buried herself and me in a pit, and after a nap, she woke up a beauty.]

The emperor grew excited. "You mean bury you in a pit? A dirt pit?"

"Ah... yesh..." Little Wanwan said, opening her mouth.

[Sure enough, talking to clever people saves effort.]

The emperor's eyes shone. "Good, then I'll take you to my Imperial Bedchamber and we'll get buried together. Do we need two coffins, or should we just be buried alive?"

Little Wanwan pursed her lips. He had left her speechless.

[You're awfully considerate, aren't you?]

[You even know not to bury us without anything around us.]

The emperor summoned Eunuch Yu. "Go prepare two coffins!"

Eunuch Yu's eyelids twitched wildly. Trembling, he asked, "Wh... Your Majesty, your face is only a little bruised. It doesn't detract from your handsomeness at all! There's no need to give up on life over something so small!"

The emperor touched the bruises on his face and hissed in pain. "Mother really didn't spare my dignity when she struck me. Go prepare the coffins."

"Your Majesty, are you truly not going to try further treatment?" Eunuch Yu's legs shook, and he dropped to his knees.

"Prepare them to fit me and Wanwan. One large and one small will do!" the emperor said.

Eunuch Yu nearly fainted from fright.

You want to drag Little Wanwan along even when you die?

Utterly deranged!

She's only a baby!

Someone helped Eunuch Yu out, and he went to the Imperial Household Department to select two coffins.

They were delivered to His Majesty's Imperial Bedchamber.

Eunuch Yu sobbed so hard he shook. Ready at any moment to announce the emperor's passing, he had made all his godsons put on white mourning sashes.

On the way, he encountered Liu Wan, who was heading to the Imperial Study to look for them.

Eunuch Yu wept torrents of tears. "Madam, you needn't go to the Imperial Study. They're in His Majesty's Imperial Bedchamber."

"Eunuch Yu, what has happened?" Why was he dressed like this, and why had he brought coffins?

Seeing the small coffin, Liu Wan felt a terrible foreboding.

Eunuch Yu said, "You'd better hurry and find the Ninth Prince. Only the Ninth Prince can save His Majesty and your daughter."

With that, he walked away, still crying.

Liu Wan stood frozen. All the strength drained from her body at once, and her mind went blank.

Wanwan was still so little. How could she have offended His Majesty?

Wang Xia cried out through her tears, "What do we do, Eldest Madam? The Ninth Prince! Where is the Ninth Prince?"

Liu Wan had her support her and said in a trembling voice, "Quick, go to Consort Ling."

The emperor carried Little Wanwan into his Imperial Bedchamber. Looking at the two coffins, one large and one small, he told her, "This one was prepared for you!"

Little Wanwan: ...

"Me?"

She pointed at herself, then at the coffin!

It actually looked like a pretty good fit.

The emperor said, "Yes. Lie down inside and see if it fits. If it doesn't, I'll have someone alter it!"

Little Wanwan gave him a helpless look. "N-no... need."

"This is made of yellow rosewood. Five hundred taels of silver per catty!"

Little Wanwan: "Lie... down."

Since it was yellow rosewood, it wasn't entirely out of the question.

The palace servants dug a pit and lowered the coffins into it. Little Wanwan lay on the lid, then obediently crawled inside her coffin and settled down.

As expected of yellow rosewood worth five hundred taels per catty, she felt her entire body enveloped by the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy it drew in.

A faint spiritual aura swirled around Wanwan, and she narrowed her eyes in comfort.

Seeing this, the emperor lay down in his coffin as well. "What are you standing around for? Hurry up and bury me together with Wanwan!"

The palace servants got to work. They left the coffin lids partly open and sprinkled a token amount of earth over them.

They took off their Palace Dress, revealing mourning garments underneath.

With white cloth bands tied around their foreheads, they wailed to heaven and earth under Eunuch Yu's lead.

Not long afterward.

Xia Siheng burst into the emperor's Imperial Bedchamber with Liu Wan.

At the sight before her, Liu Wan nearly fainted.