Zhanghua Hall was where the successive previous kings of Chen Kingdom resided. It was built far more magnificently than other palaces within the royal palace.

When Imperial Physician Fang was led by a young eunuch through the palace doors, a fine layer of cold sweat beads had already formed on his forehead.

Since the Chen Prince ascended to the throne, whenever he had any physical discomfort, he had never sought treatment from other physicians at the Imperial Medical Bureau. He had always been examined by physicians residing in Zhanghua Hall.

Today, the Chen Prince suddenly summoned him. Thinking of his act of defecting to Wen Yu, Imperial Physician Fang’s legs already felt somewhat weak, though what he felt most was grievance.

He had a family to support and could only hold a position at the Imperial Medical Bureau thanks to his ancestors’ blessings. When the masters above fought their power struggles, they used these lowly servants below as their sacrificial pawns.

That day at the courier station, if Wen Yu hadn’t intervened to protect him, he would already have been separated from his head by now.

He also understood that the Empress Dowager certainly couldn’t swallow this insult. These past days on duty at the Imperial Medical Bureau, he had been constantly anxious. Fortunately, with Wen Yu’s people secretly protecting him, his head had remained securely on his neck.

But today’s calamity—his survival was uncertain.

The Chen Prince’s violent temperament and unpredictable moods were no secret in the palace. Palace servants selected to serve in Zhanghua Hall all prayed for their own good fortune. Only old cunning foxes like Eunuch Li, who had found backing everywhere, could barely breathe beside the Chen Prince.

Just as Imperial Physician Fang was deeply distressed about his upcoming fate, the young eunuch leading the way arrogantly tossed out a command: “Kneel.”

Imperial Physician Fang dared not raise his head. He knelt down awkwardly on the spot, hands folded before his forehead, pressing firmly against the mirror-bright floor tiles, saying in a trembling voice: “This humble subject… pays respects to Your Majesty.”

From above came the Chen Prince’s extremely gloomy voice: “This Prince’s body is unwell. Physician, take a look—what illness does this Prince have?”

Only then did Imperial Physician Fang fearfully raise his head, cautiously observing the Chen Prince’s complexion. Because the Chen Prince also held a beautiful person with a powder-pink spring-filled face in his embrace, he could only try his best to control his gaze to fall only on the Chen Prince’s face. But when he met the Chen Prince’s eyes full of malevolence and sinister intent, Imperial Physician Fang’s heart still trembled, feeling he would surely die here today.

Sure enough, the next moment he heard the Chen Prince ask coldly: “How is your examination? What illness does this Prince suffer from?”

Imperial Physician Fang’s mind, filled with fear and distress, had almost become a puddle of mush. Thinking was difficult, much less diagnosing an illness with just this one glance. He pressed his forehead to the ground, saying fearfully: “This humble subject… this humble subject’s medical skills are inadequate. With only ‘observation,’ I cannot diagnose Your Majesty’s illness. Please permit this humble subject to approach and take your pulse to examine further.”

The Chen Prince sitting above suddenly laughed coldly. That fierce gaze was like something tangible. Even without raising his head, Imperial Physician Fang felt his shoulders and back were nearly burned through with two large holes by the Chen Prince’s cold stare. His heart filled with even more fear, not understanding what taboo his words had violated. He hastily kowtowed for mercy, saying his medical skills were inadequate.

The Chen Prince pushed away the beautiful person sitting in his embrace, staring at Imperial Physician Fang with a gaze cold as a hissing venomous snake: “The royal palace doesn’t support idle people. A reputation-seeking charlatan who can’t even tell what illness this Prince has—drag him out and behead him!”

Immediately, Imperial Guards entered, one on each side gripping Imperial Physician Fang’s arms and dragging him out.

A mere medical official, Imperial Physician Fang couldn’t break free from the two Imperial Guards’ grip even if he risked his life struggling. He could only wail and beg for mercy in the great hall: “Your Majesty, give this humble subject one more chance! As long as you let this humble subject take your pulse, this humble subject will definitely determine what illness Your Majesty suffers from…”

Who would have thought that hearing this wailing, the Chen Prince’s face became even more gloomy and iron-blue. His five fingers resting on the dragon throne also gripped the golden dragon armrest extremely forcefully.

Eunuch Li standing beside him quickly flicked his whisk and rebuked the two Imperial Guards: “Why haven’t you gagged this quack’s mouth? His clamoring is vexing His Majesty!”

The Imperial Guards had nothing at hand to gag him with, so they simply gripped Imperial Physician Fang’s jaw and wrenched forcefully, directly dislocating his chin.

Just as they were dragging him out of the hall, another young eunuch hurriedly came to report: “Your Majesty, the Queen Consort has brought people!”

The Chen Prince sitting on the dragon throne looked up gloomily. The beautiful person he had pushed to the ground earlier also showed a strange expression. Eunuch Li was shrewd—after only a moment’s hesitation, he quickly schooled his facial expression, adopting a worried appearance as he asked the Chen Prince: “Your Majesty, this… what should we do?”

The Chen Prince laughed coldly: “What ‘what should we do’? This Prince killing the Chen Prince’s palace physician—must I still obtain approval from that Liang woman?”

Just as Eunuch Li was smiling obsequiously, not knowing how to respond to these words, clamoring voices already came from outside the hall doors: “Without His Majesty’s summons, you cannot enter…”

“My mistress holds the phoenix seal and manages the six palaces. What place in this royal palace can she not go? Today, hearing His Majesty’s body is unwell, she specially came to visit. You audacious slave—how dare you obstruct her?”

Tongque had a fiery temper and was formerly trained as a martial maid. While scolding, she led the Azure Cloud Guards and pushed inward. The Imperial Guards outside Zhanghua Hall didn’t dare draw their blades against Wen Yu, and along with the young eunuchs, they were pushed into the great hall by Tongque and the others.

The hall doors opened wide. After the Imperial Guards and young eunuchs tumbled into the hall, they hastily knelt before the Chen Prince to beg forgiveness: “Your Majesty, please forgive us… the Queen Consort insisted on entering the hall. We… could not stop her.”

Wen Yu, in a magnificent robe of deep ink-wash landscape blue-green color, stood behind the crowd. She slowly raised her eyes to survey the Chen Prince and said unhurriedly: “This palace heard His Majesty’s body is unwell and was greatly concerned, so came specially to visit. Unexpectedly, I was obstructed outside the hall. This palace worried for His Majesty’s safety, so my subordinates were somewhat rash. Surely His Majesty will not punish them for this?”

The reason a beauty is a beauty is that even when you clearly know she is speaking these words completely without emotion—even coldly—looking at that incomparably exquisite countenance, one’s heart and spirit still cannot help but stir.

The Chen Prince stared at Wen Yu’s extremely gorgeous yet extremely cold face, losing focus for a full two breaths. After coming back to himself, he laughed coldly with an inexplicable hatred mixed in: “The Queen Consort cares so much for this Prince—this Prince is flattered before it’s too late. How could I blame anyone?”

Hearing the Chen Prince’s deliberately nauseating words, Wen Yu’s face still showed no expression whatsoever. She only said: “That’s good then.”

The Imperial Guards who had been pushed into the great hall still looked at each other uncertainly, just wondering whether to go or stay, when they saw Eunuch Li standing beside the Chen Prince gesture for them to withdraw. Only then did the group retreat back outside the hall.

When Imperial Physician Fang saw Wen Yu, his emotions became extremely agitated. He clearly wanted to call for help, but with his chin dislocated, he couldn’t make a sound. He could only open his mouth and pitifully cry out in a confused “ah ah” mess.

The two Imperial Guards holding him continued dragging him outside. When passing by Wen Yu’s side, they heard her clear, cold voice: “Wait.”

The Imperial Guards were forced to stop and looked at the Chen Prince, waiting for his next indication.

The Chen Prince obviously already knew why Wen Yu had come. His face looked even uglier. He let himself slump completely into the dragon throne, his left hand embracing that beautiful person from earlier, and asked Wen Yu: “Does the Queen Consort have any instruction?”

Wen Yu said: “When this palace first arrived in Chen lands, I was unaccustomed to the climate and frequently suffered headaches. Only after Mother Empress sent Imperial Physician Fang to treat me did I see considerable improvement. Speaking of it, Imperial Physician Fang can also be considered someone Mother Empress bestowed upon me. Today, seeing he seems to have offended His Majesty, for the sake of Mother Empress’s caring heart, naturally this palace must also ask—what did Imperial Physician Fang do wrong?”

Eunuch Li stood slightly bowed at the Chen Prince’s side. Hearing Wen Yu bring up the Empress Dowager, his eyelids moved, but he said nothing.

The Chen Prince stared at Wen Yu, his face still maintaining a smile, yet already containing a somewhat ferocious meaning: “What? This quack cannot diagnose what illness this Prince suffers from—can this Prince not kill him?”

Imperial Physician Fang became even more agitated with his “ah ah” sounds, as if he had many grievances.

Wen Yu said calmly: “This palace’s headaches recur from time to time. I rely entirely on Imperial Physician Fang’s acupuncture methods for relief. There’s a saying: ‘Each profession has its specialty.’ Perhaps the illness His Majesty suffers from happens not to be what Imperial Physician Fang excels at. To quickly find the cause and relieve His Majesty’s suffering from illness, it would be better to summon all physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau to take His Majesty’s pulse in consultation. This would be the best strategy. What does His Majesty think?”

The Chen Prince stared at Wen Yu coldly, forcefully gripping the beauty’s waist and pulling her toward himself. The beautiful person’s face changed color from pain, yet she dared not make a sound. The Chen Prince laughed savagely: “The Queen Consort goes to such great lengths—so it’s to plead for this quack?”

Wen Yu said: “What this palace considers is Mother Empress’s heartfelt intention.”

These words somehow touched the Chen Prince’s pressure point. His face became even more somber as he stared at Wen Yu: “Think using the Empress Dowager to pressure this Prince will make this Prince afraid?”

He released his hand from around the beauty’s waist, saying sinisterly: “Today, this quack—this Prince is absolutely determined to kill!”

Eunuch Li played dead on the side, not daring to speak. A young eunuch who had recently gained favor before the Chen Prince naturally didn’t want to give up this opportunity to curry favor with the Chen Prince. He immediately shouted at the two Imperial Guards: “Are you deaf? Didn’t you hear His Majesty’s decree? Why don’t you quickly drag this quack down and execute him immediately?”

The two Imperial Guards dragged up Imperial Physician Fang to continue walking out. Wen Yu said nothing, but several Azure Cloud Guards blocked their path completely. They had to stop once again.

That young eunuch, feeling his earlier shout had won the Chen Prince’s favor, now straightened his back even more and openly demanded of Wen Yu: “What is the Queen Consort’s meaning in this?”

Wen Yu raised her eyes coldly: “This palace has said—this palace’s headaches can only be treated by Imperial Physician Fang. Today, this person—this palace absolutely must take him away.”

Applause came from above.

Tongque and the others who had been protecting both sides of Wen Yu looked up to see the Chen Prince stop his applause. His elbow propped on one knee, his body leaning slightly forward, he examined Wen Yu with a gaze as sticky and disgusting as a spider’s web, his eyes also concealing an indescribable malice. After inexplicably smiling at Wen Yu, he said: “Fine! The Queen Consort rarely asks this Prince for anything. Today, since you insist on taking this quack away—all right then, please this Prince.”

After saying this, he leaned back entirely against the dragon throne, spreading his legs wide in an extremely disrespectful and extremely dissolute posture.

A crowd of eunuchs and two Imperial Guards were still present in the hall. Even Imperial Physician Fang didn’t dare wail anymore, lowering his head, not daring to look at either party.

This was simply naked humiliation toward Wen Yu.

The Azure Cloud Guards led by Tongque had long since changed expressions. If not for the rule that no weapons could be carried into Zhanghua Hall, she would have drawn her sword on the spot.

Seeing Wen Yu coldly staring at him as if looking at something filthy, the Chen Prince’s face couldn’t help but twist somewhat from an inexplicable hatred. Yet he smiled at her again, full of malice: “What? Don’t know how?”

He turned his head to look at the beautiful person he had neglected for so long, calling as if to a kitten or puppy: “Beloved consort, you teach the Queen Consort.”

That beautiful person in light, thin garments with alluring cloudy temples then prostrated and knelt on the ground. Every corner of her eyes and brows carried a hint of pleasing charm as she slowly crawled toward the Chen Prince using both hands and feet.

Watching all this, Tongque was so angry her tightly clenched fists trembled.

The beautiful person crawled to the Chen Prince’s feet, making as if to rub her face—covered in fragrant ointments and powder, tender as peach cheeks—against the boots on the Chen Prince’s feet. Only then did Wen Yu, who had remained silent the entire time, speak coldly: “Get up.”

The beautiful person’s movements paused slightly. She looked at Wen Yu, then at the Chen Prince, her beautiful eyes glancing around radiantly, as if uncertain whether to continue.

The Chen Prince stared at Wen Yu with a half-smile: “Has the Queen Consort learned?”

Tongque glared furiously at the Chen Prince, her eyes almost spitting fire.

But Wen Yu only said lightly: “I have learned.”

That young eunuch, seeing the Chen Prince publicly humiliate Wen Yu like this, had already calculated Wen Yu’s position in the royal palace in his heart. Seeing Wen Yu now so compliant—where was the dignity of a kingdom’s queen consort, a kingdom’s princess?—his heart looked down on her even more. When he spoke again, his tone was even more condescending: “Then Queen Consort, please proceed.”

After speaking, he even pretentiously made a “please” gesture toward Wen Yu.

Wen Yu walked forward leisurely. Although Tongque knew Wen Yu would never commit such a humiliating act, seeing Wen Yu advance, she still couldn’t help but worry and called out urgently in a low voice: “Princess…”

Just as she began speaking, she saw Wen Yu, as she brushed past the two Imperial Guards, directly pull out the sword from one Imperial Guard’s waist.

A “puff”—the muffled sound of a blade entering flesh. Fresh blood splattered on Wen Yu’s magnificent blue-green robe. A few scarlet drops also flew onto her cold jade-like cheeks, contrasting with her icy brows and eyes, creating a strange, demonic beauty.

The young eunuch who had made the “please” gesture toward Wen Yu—the arrogance and contempt in his eyes not yet fully withdrawn—already clutched his abdomen, vomiting fresh blood as he fell.

Everyone present was stunned by this sudden turn of events.

When Wen Yu withdrew the sword, blood flicked from the sword tip splattered onto the Chen Prince’s face. The Chen Prince, shocked speechless, finally awoke as if from a dream and screamed: “Protect me! Protect me! The Liang woman is committing regicide!”

The Imperial Guard whose sword had been taken also couldn’t bother continuing to hold Imperial Physician Fang. Together with his companion, he surrounded the Chen Prince, shouting: “Protect His Majesty!”

The Imperial Guards outside the doors surged in. Tongque, coming to her senses, hastily led the Azure Cloud Guards to block horizontally in front of Wen Yu.

Eunuch Li didn’t dare play dead now. Half his body protecting the Chen Prince, he said to Wen Yu with a trembling, shrill voice: “Your Highness, if you have something to say, say it properly—why draw a sword…”

Wen Yu flicked off the bloodstains on the sword body. Every shake of the blade made Eunuch Li’s heart tremble with fear. She only casually tossed out a sentence: “This eunuch was disrespectful to this palace. Clearly, in daily life, he has also never placed the royal palace’s rules and the royal family’s dignity in his eyes. This palace is merely purging the palace regulations for His Majesty and disciplining lawless slaves in the palace.”