Nanmeng Rong’s provocation was so raw and cutting, so utterly humiliating!

Was Emperor Qiwen angry? How could he not be? Yet even as the guards seethed with rage to the very tips of their fingers, not one of them dared to use their full strength.

Again and again, just as a blade was about to touch Nanmeng Rong, they would immediately pull it back themselves, terrified of actually wounding her.

His Majesty could detain Noble Consort Rong — but who dared to be the first to raise a hand against her?

If His Majesty, once his anger cooled, were to put the greater picture first and reconcile with Nanmeng Rong, then those who had once injured her would surely face the extermination of their entire family.

The guard captain, though also furious, had not anticipated that Nanmeng Rong’s martial arts would be so formidable. To capture her alive without harming a hair on her head was truly no easy task.

Suddenly, a guard of slender and tall build, yet of entirely unremarkable appearance, stepped forward. He drew in his sword and instead thrust out a palm.

Everyone was caught up in the melee, and not a single person noticed this unfamiliar-looking guard. That palm strike appeared slow and lethargic, without any seeming force whatsoever.

Yet just as that palm was about to graze Nanmeng Rong, the palm force abruptly intensified. Nanmeng Rong sensed the danger in an instant — but the force had come too swiftly, leaving no room to guard against it.

With a crack, Nanmeng Rong was struck by the palm and sent flying sideways, her body crashing hard into an ancient wooden chair, and then — with a heavy thud — she fell to the floor.

Her mouth opened and she let out a cry, spitting a mouthful of blood, unable to pick herself up immediately.

Guards drawn swords — several longswords landed before her. Nanmeng Rong paid them no heed; she only wanted to know who exactly had struck that blow.

Yet the scene had been crowded and chaotic. Not only Nanmeng Rong — even the guards themselves could not tell who had wounded her.

“Bind her.” Emperor Qiwen could not care less who had done it — what mattered most right now was that this wretched woman had finally been brought down!

The guard captain hesitated only a moment before immediately stepping forward: “Someone — bring rope!”

“You… how dare you!” Nanmeng Rong felt her chest constrict; the blood and energy within her chest surged and churned in a moment, and before she could help it, she opened her mouth and spat another mouthful of stagnant blood.

Seeing this, the senior maidservant Consort Qin’s nanny hesitated three times over before finally slipping out from among the crowd, attempting to leave Xuanhua Hall without a sound.

To her surprise, the chief eunuch’s icy voice came from behind: “Consort Qin’s nanny — where do you think you are going? Were you thinking of going to the Crown Prince’s quarters to tip him off?”

The senior maidservant’s knees went weak with fright at those words; she immediately dropped to her knees with a thud: “This servant dares not, this servant dares not!”

But Emperor Qiwen’s eyes had gone red with fury. These wretched servants, every last one of them scheming against him!

He was the master here, the sovereign of a realm — yet these people below him, Nanmeng Rong’s people, had never for a single moment placed him in their eyes!

“Someone!” Emperor Qiwen’s expression was glacially cold, his eyes brimming with killing intent: “Drag this wretch outside and beat her to death with rods!”

“Your— Your Majesty… Your Majesty, spare this servant’s life! This servant dares not anymore, this servant will never dare again! Your Majesty, please spare me!”

Two guards hauled the senior maidservant up and dragged her to a corner of the courtyard, carrying out the sentence on the spot.

Soon, the agonized screams of Consort Qin’s nanny rang out from within the courtyard.

Nanmeng Rong was trembling with rage to the tips of her fingers. She struggled desperately to fight her way free — but before she could, another mouthful of stagnant blood was coughed up.

The guard who had struck that blow just now — what manner of person were they? At this moment, among those present, not a single one possessed such a commanding presence. Just who was it?

“Aah… aah… Your Majesty, spare me, Your Majesty… My Lady, My Lady…”

Consort Qin’s nanny’s cries grew more and more wretched, more and more hoarse, until they gradually faded into silence.

Nanmeng Rong was both furious and frantic: “Emperor Qiwen, she was a person brought over from this consort’s family — you — how dare you——”

“Beat her to death! Beat her to death at once! If Consort Qin’s nanny does not die, you die!” Emperor Qiwen thundered, his voice so loud that not a soul could fail to hear.

The guard captain waved his hand; a guard immediately went out through the door. A moment later, two women’s screams rang out from the outside, and when that guard returned, he reported in a flurry: “Your Majesty, Consort Qin’s nanny is dead.”

“Good. Very good!” Emperor Qiwen turned his gaze back upon the bound Nanmeng Rong and laughed coldly: “You see — do I dare, or don’t I?”

“You… you…” Nanmeng Rong truly had not expected this, had not dreamed of it even in her sleep — that this incompetent emperor would actually order her own person beaten to death.

Consort Qin’s nanny had watched over her since she was small. Though she had never held too much attachment to servants, Emperor Qiwen was slapping her across the face!

In all of Nanmeng Rong’s more than forty years, when had she ever been humiliated so?

At the absolute height of her fury, she suddenly let out a cry, spat another mouthful of blood, then her eyes rolled back and she fell into unconsciousness.

“Your Majesty, she——” The chief eunuch was startled; he hurried forward and reached out to probe at her nose. Only upon feeling her breath did he let out a sigh of relief.

“She has merely fainted, Your Majesty. Now……” Though he too found Nanmeng Rong’s conduct intolerable, if she were truly killed here and now, it would absolutely not be good news for His Majesty.

“Send her to the prison cells.” Emperor Qiwen said coldly.

The chief eunuch thought it over, then raised his voice and announced: “Noble Consort Rong harbored an assassin and attempted to attack His Majesty. Someone — escort Noble Consort Rong to the dungeon to await sentencing on a chosen date.”

The guard captain made a gesture; two guards followed him and took hold of Nanmeng Rong, about to march her out through the door.

The chief eunuch then said: “Take the back gate.”

The guard captain understood at once, and led the men out through the back gate. Along the way he took care not to disturb anyone.

The Crown Prince had been injured in an assassination attempt outside the palace earlier and was still recuperating. Though this matter could not be concealed forever, for now it was best to keep it hidden as long as possible.

After the others had departed, the chief eunuch surveyed the room full of maids and eunuchs, and said in a chilling voice: “Just now, Consort Qin’s nanny attempted to defy His Majesty’s will. Her fate — have you all seen it clearly?”

The little maids were quietly sobbing one and all; the eunuchs were trembling in terror, some nearly on the verge of wetting themselves.

Consort Qin’s nanny had been one of Noble Consort Rong’s most favored people. No one had imagined that her life could be snuffed out just like that.

His Majesty had even killed Consort Qin’s nanny — for the lives of lowly servant women and servant men such as themselves, he would care even less. If he wished to kill them, he could do so at any time.

The chief eunuch, seeing no response from them, suddenly raised his voice: “Did you hear?”

“We… we heard.” Maids and eunuchs alike kowtowed across the floor, not one of them able to so much as stand.

Only then did the chief eunuch appear satisfied. He saw His Majesty turn to leave and hurried after him.

Over at Xuanhua Hall, all was deathly still. But here at the Qingxiang Hall, the mistress of this place was in very high spirits indeed.

“What a scheme to kill two birds with one stone! Jian Yi — you are truly… truly too brilliant!”

Feng Qingyin was so excited she nearly could not hold herself back from rushing over to embrace him, wanting to kiss and hug him right then and there.

However, though Jian Yi was grateful to her, and because of that gratitude held her in considerable regard, he was accustomed to his cool reserve. Whenever she tried to get close to him, he would say things about men and women not being too familiar — quite the stubbornly old-fashioned one.