The clothes in her hands suddenly dropped into the wash basin, water splashing everywhere, hitting her face and body. Suzhen shivered violently from the cold shock, then immediately stood up and rushed toward the door.

The people in the Laundry Bureau didn’t know about her past entanglement with Lian Yu. Seeing her rushing out like a madwoman, Ji Er was quick-eyed and swift-handed, immediately beckoning two palace maids to block her path, shouting sternly: “What are you trying to do?”

Suzhen’s eyes were bloodshot: “I want to see Supervisor Qi.”

Upon hearing this, Ji Er laughed coldly: “Supervisor Qi went out on business. Today I’m watching over this place. What madness are you having? Get back to work immediately!”

“Seize her and take her back.” She directed the two palace servants, then spat fiercely on the ground: “Think you’re still His Majesty’s woman? This insolent behavior – bah!”

Suzhen naturally couldn’t explain to her all the things between herself and Lian Yu. Knowing that Supervisor Qi wouldn’t return soon and that Ji Er wouldn’t easily let her leave, she jabbed her elbows at the two palace maids trying to catch her. They immediately cried out in pain and released their grip, and she took the opportunity to run toward the door.

Ji Er was furious and waved her hand. The palace servants in the courtyard immediately swarmed forward, blocking the doorway. Suzhen lost all her usual calm composure and charged out regardless. Though she had martial arts skills and ordinary women were no match for her hands and feet, there were many people now. Soon her head and face were scratched by others, and her body received punches and slaps. Seeing someone’s fist swinging toward her abdomen, she suddenly panicked and abruptly calmed down.

Little Lotus Seed!

“Stop hitting me,” she shouted loudly. “I was wrong. I’ll go back to work immediately.”

Seeing her clutching her abdomen, completely lacking any trace of her former composure and tranquility, Ji Er contemptuously curled her lips: “Look, this is a lady’s dignity.”

Everyone laughed mockingly. Suzhen slowly walked back to her place and lowered her head to wash clothes.

Regarding Lian Yu’s corpse, she knew she had absolutely no possibility of asking Li Zhaoting to return it to her, so she had never asked and didn’t dare think about it much. She had only made the worst-case assumption that they would throw him into a mass grave. She had thought that one day when she got out, she would ask Wu Qing for the location, then collect his bones, cremate them, and keep them with her.

But she never imagined they would treat him and Huo Chang’an this way.

She knew their intention – they wanted to provoke Lian Jie and the others to show themselves.

That day, she had given Lian Jie three silk pouches containing escape plans and warnings that no matter what happened, they must never return. She had long anticipated they would find ways to lure them out. She just hadn’t expected they would use Lian Yu’s corpse for this.

When night fell, Supervisor Qi returned, and she went to request an audience.

“Please prepare some paper money for me. Also, please take a message to the Six Doors Bureau,” she said.

Now that this female official had been forced to become Quan Feitong’s person, as long as the request wasn’t excessive, she wouldn’t refuse. Supervisor Qi seemed somewhat surprised that she had finished all her work so early today. After all, reducing her workload wasn’t something that had started in recent days – it had to be done gradually. Otherwise, since this was someone the Empress Dowager and Empress had specifically instructed to be “looked after,” if they knew, she would be in serious trouble.

Her gaze passed over the other person’s swollen, festering fingers, and she nodded coldly.

Incense smoke drifted faintly in the same abandoned palace courtyard from two days before. Suzhen crouched down, slowly placing the lit paper money into the basin.

In the end, she did nothing.

She couldn’t get out.

Even if she could get out, what could she do? Ask Li Zhaoting to return Lian Yu’s corpse?

Would that person agree?!

Wei Chenghui, Li Zhaoting!

Her hand gripped the basin rim, her unmanicured fingertips scraping until the skin broke and bled.

With her other hand, she slowly took out the jade stone and jade pendant from around her neck, gripping them tightly as she looked up at the overcast night sky.

“Lian Yu, if time could start over, I would rather you forever love that girl in your heart, and you and I had never met.”

…

Outside the door, A Luo watched silently, her eyes seeming ready to drip blood. She had asked Supervisor Qi and learned this person had come here. She had come tonight originally to tell her that Lian Yu’s corpse had been removed and taken for public display through the streets.

She couldn’t be the only one suffering!

But it seemed she didn’t need her reminder – she already knew. Though she didn’t know who had spread the news, seeing her heartbroken and despairing appearance made her very happy.

But that jade stone and those words pierced straight into her heart!

Lian Yu!

He would give up even his life for this person! Haha! Love transcending life itself – this was love transcending life itself! But he had never treated her this way. He had even touched this person, this woman whom even Li Zhaoting couldn’t appreciate.

Her heart felt as if a huge dagger had been thrust deep into it, pulled out, then plunged deeper! She strode in and slapped her across the face!

“Seize her for me!”

She commanded in a deep voice, fierce light blazing from her eyes.

Seeing the guards who had followed immediately enter and pin this person down tightly, she tore the cord from her neck and hurled the items forcefully to the ground, repeating this several times. The jade pendant broke first, then the jade stone.

Suzhen watched intently but this time didn’t struggle, only stared motionlessly.

For Little Lotus Seed’s sake, she couldn’t.

Pain struck her face again, and she didn’t dodge.

She let Gu Xi Luo slap her again and again.

As long as it didn’t harm her abdomen, she could endure it all. She tried not to provoke the other’s anger into striking harder. Something in her heart completely collapsed while something else rapidly surged up!

Seeing Suzhen’s face, already bruised and swollen, continuously covered with flowing blood, though Mei Er hated Suzhen extremely, she spoke up in alarm: “Master, you can’t hit her anymore! Though the Empress Dowager forbade Miao Yin from visiting, if that little hussy finds out and impeaches you before His Majesty, that would be trouble! If this Feng Suzhen must die, she absolutely cannot die at our hands!”

A Luo was crying, feeling full of rage and grievance with nowhere to vent. Only that crisp sound of flesh being struck could give her slight relief. Hearing Mei Er’s words and seeing Suzhen’s blood-covered face looking at her quietly with her head tilted, her heart jumped in alarm, and she finally stopped.

Outside the door, seeing A Luo about to leave, Wu Lei made a silencing gesture and quietly departed first with her trusted maid Ying Ge. After walking some distance, she lightly curved her lips.

Her timing was quite perfect. Female Official Qi had informed her that both Feng Suzhen and Her Majesty the Empress were coming this way.

As soon as she arrived, she saw an interesting scene.

Hehe, originally, how would lowly laundry palace maids know about the former emperor’s affairs?

It was she who had the news spread.

After three days of street parade, the corpses would be hung on the city tower. Father had suggested His Majesty do this, which could be called killing two birds with one stone – first to lure Lian Jie and others out to steal the corpses, and even if that failed, it might drive Feng Suzhen mad. If she completely angered Li Zhaoting, they wouldn’t need to worry about consequences. She hadn’t expected it would also draw out Gu Xi Luo to vent her hatred.

If she personally eliminated this person, it would be even better – they could save much effort.

Besides, no matter how much His Majesty loved this Empress, he still remembered the Feng family’s kindness. If Feng Suzhen died, it might not shake Gu Xi Luo’s position as Empress, but it would at least anger His Majesty for a while, giving her a better chance of conceiving an heir.

Thinking of the young, handsome Emperor, her smile changed from vicious to sweet.

Six Doors Bureau.

In the deep night, Wu Qing, as bureau commander, wasn’t resting in his own room but stood outside another room in the courtyard. He leaned against a pillar, his gaze silently fixed on the door, as if guarding something.

After an unknown amount of time, that door suddenly opened and a woman came out, immediately striking at his head: “Who wants your crocodile tears and false compassion? Get lost!”

Her voice was full of resentment.

He said nothing, letting her hit him several times before reaching out to grip her hands tightly, saying in a deep voice: “I have no way to help my sister in the palace, but I cannot ignore you. Lian Yu is already dead – what does it matter what happens to his corpse? Zhu Xiao Zhou, calm down!”

Xiao Zhou flew into a rage and kicked at the old wound on his leg. Wu Qing let her kick once, grunting and enduring the intense pain. Seeing her second and third kicks coming, his heart flared with anger. His arms like iron pressed her against the door as he kissed her lips.

Xiao Zhou was extremely angry at first, but that grief with nowhere to vent gradually made her stop struggling, letting him do as he wished like a walking corpse. Wu Qing was the same – with Suzhen trapped in the palace, he was like a caged beast with no way to rescue her. This woman he loved before him, their relationship full of rifts, his heart in pain but finding no outlet. This was venting, but also conquest. He wanted her!

Back and forth, both their breathing became disordered. He reached into the depths of her clothing to caress her. Xiao Zhou was muffled into low cries and couldn’t help kicking him forcefully again!

“Boss, there’s a guest—” The person entering said a few words then suddenly stopped. Xiao Zhou was startled and pushed the person away, but then froze, and after a long moment finally made a sound: “Princess…”

Between the blue-clothed constable and the unnamed female constable stood a woman dressed as a young man. She looked at them both coolly and laughed mockingly: “Did I interrupt your good time? I always appear at such inappropriate moments. But sister-in-law’s letter to Seventh Brother and Ninth Brother said that no matter what happened in the capital, they absolutely must never return. Yet each of us suffers unbearably. Wu Yan also secretly left. I’m just a woman and cannot raise a banner for restoration, so I came back to pay respects to Sixth Brother and Cousin, and to find Wu Yan. Seventh Brother said I could come here to find you both, have you take me to see them. It was you who caused Cousin Chang’an’s death.”

She looked at Wu Qing as she spoke.

Her eyes held hatred, mockery, and something indescribable. Wu Qing suddenly laughed: “Lian Xin, you’re asking favors of me yet dare speak this way – truly worthy of someone who was once… a princess.”

Lian Xin was stung by his words. Looking at that handsome, ruthless face that was callously cold to the extreme, she found herself unable to speak.

She truly was nothing now. At least Xiao Zhou was still someone he loved.

The next day, the corpses of the rebel king and rebel general continued to be paraded through the streets. Supervising the guard was current First Rank Minister Wei Chenghui and National Master Wu Liang. The soldiers’ guard was strict and tight.

The common people looked at the two corpses in the official procession with both fear and strange curiosity. Many didn’t want to see this scene. When this emperor had been on the throne, everyone lived and worked in peace, and taxes were light. Though the emperor was harsh, he mostly governed cruel officials. With such a person dead, the people still felt regret in their hearts, even though it was said the current emperor was the true dragon son who followed Heaven’s mandate and rightfully inherited the throne.

As for that General Huo, it was said he had guarded the frontier years ago and repelled many foreign enemies.

Now both men lay in tattered clothes that barely covered their bodies on two thin planks. Especially that young emperor – there wasn’t a single intact part of his body. Where his torn clothing revealed skin, there were black holes everywhere, showing how tragically painful his death had been, making people sigh with emotion.

But no one dared voice these thoughts.

What surprised and mystified them was that these two corpses, having been exposed under the summer sun since yesterday, one decomposed rapidly while the other remained lifelike.

Author’s note: The next section will begin a turning point between Li [Zhaoting] and Su [zhen] in the palace. To make the plot flow more coherently, I might not update tomorrow and post together the day after.