Ping Prince's Mansion.
"Go ask that bitch Chang Ling'er where she buried my son."
At Song Yanzheng's words, the servant knelt on the ground, too terrified to respond.
"Hurry up!"
"Your Highness, this servant dares not..."
"Useless fool." Song Yanzheng spat viciously. "You're my man, yet you fear a lowly woman? You disgrace me."
"I’ve never seen someone so shameless still worry about losing face."
A voice laced with icy contempt rang out as Chang Ling'er stepped into the room. The kneeling servant immediately lowered his head—Concubine Chang now ruled the household, and even the primary consort couldn’t afford to offend her.
"Ah Shun has long since been reborn. Don’t you dare mention his name, you vile creature, lest you taint his fortune." Ever since uncovering the truth about the incense, Chang Ling'er had become a completely different person toward Song Yanzheng—sharp-tongued and merciless.
"Chang Ling'er, is this how the Chang family raised you? Have you forgotten the teachings of a wife’s obedience to her husband?" Clearly, Song Yanzheng still hadn’t grasped who truly held power in the Ping Prince's Mansion.
"Oh? I suppose those teachings went straight into your belly instead."
Song Yanzheng’s chest heaved with rage.
"Find me a physician from the common folk. If you can cure me, I swear you’ll remain my primary consort forever." He spoke as if this were some grand favor.
He couldn’t endure another day confined to this bed.
"Your primary consort?" Chang Ling'er laughed as if hearing the most absurd joke. "Not even a beggar would take the position for two taels of silver."
"You—!"
With a dismissive glance, Chang Ling'er signaled her maid to enter. The pungent scent of medicine filled the air, and Song Yanzheng instinctively wrinkled his nose.
"Your Highness, it’s time for your medicine."
Chang Ling'er’s expression softened instantly, her earlier venom vanishing without a trace.
"What medicine? I’ve already taken my dose today. I refuse!"
"This is a special tonic I prepared just for you." Chang Ling'er lifted the bowl. "Whether you want it or not, you’ll drink it. I’ll feed you myself."
"Open wide."
Seeing her eerie calm, Song Yanzheng clenched his jaw with all his might.
When force-feeding failed, Chang Ling'er’s smile faded. "Someone, pry his mouth open."
"Mmph—!"
"You bitch! You—mmph—!"
Amid the struggle, the bitter liquid slid down his throat.
"What did you give me?!" Panic and fury twisted Song Yanzheng’s face.
"While marital relations follow the natural order, Your Highness’s limbs are broken. What if some scheming temptress took advantage and harmed you?" Chang Ling'er feigned concern. "So I devised a solution—if you’re rendered impotent, no vixen can ensnare you."
"You—you poisoned me with this filth?!" He gagged, trying to vomit the concoction, but it was futile.
"Call the physician! Now!"
"Don’t strain your voice." Chang Ling'er traced his cheek, wondering how she’d ever been blind enough to love such a monster.
"Rest well, Your Highness. I’ll take my leave."
As she stepped outside, a triumphant smile curled her lips.
He’d poisoned her, ensuring she’d never bear children?
She’d repay him a thousandfold.
Sterility wasn’t enough.
He had to be broken completely.
......
That night, Song Yanzheng dreamed.
In the dream, after Song Shihuan was brought back to the Eastern Palace, she groveled for his affection daily, even ghostwriting his political essays.
Fearing exposure, he ordered her hands severed once he won their grandfather’s favor.
Now she could never write again.
But he worried she’d escape and expose the Eastern Palace’s corruption, so he had her legs crushed, turning her into a helpless cripple.
Then he lavished kindness on Song Xiyan—after all, they were twins. Favoring one could offset the cruelty to the other.
By the dream’s end, Song Shihuan died by Song Xiyan’s hand, an outcome everyone silently endorsed.
But suddenly, the vision dissolved into chaos, morphing into an arrow that pierced his heart.
Song Yanzheng awoke gasping.
"Heavens, why couldn’t this dream be real?"
He felt no remorse for Song Shihuan—only resentment toward fate. "If it had come true, I’d be emperor!"
Trembling with excitement, he jostled his injuries. Agony lanced through him, drowning out all thoughts of the dream as he howled.
Outside, a servant hesitated before recalling Chang Ling'er’s orders.
"The primary consort said His Highness’s condition is incurable. No need to trouble the physician—he’s busy attending Concubine Chang."
She’d also decreed that henceforth, the prince would dine on plain congee and steamed buns.
Rich foods hindered recovery.
The servant smirked. A slave obeyed whoever held power.
......
Meanwhile, Song Shihuan and her mentor Shen Qingping raced ahead of their retinue, reaching Mingshui County in Ji'an Prefecture.
"Why are the streets empty?"
The moment they passed the gates, Song Shihuan’s expression darkened. She addressed the guards: "Explain."
"Who are you? Magistrate Zhao governs Mingshui’s affairs!" The guard, unaware of their identities, spoke dismissively.
"Insolence! This is Lady Fu’an and Imperial Tutor Shen!" Baoxia drew her sword. "How dare you withhold answers from Her Ladyship?"
"L-Lady Fu’an?!"
The guard collapsed to his knees, trembling. "T-today... the criminal Zheng Fang is to be publicly flogged. The crowd... they’ve all gone to watch."
"Zheng Fang holds a scholar’s rank. His punishment requires approval from the education commissioner and the imperial court." Shen Qingping’s voice turned glacial. "Since when does a mere magistrate override the law?"
"It seems Magistrate Zhao of Qingshui County considers himself above the empire."
The surrounding guards dropped to their knees in unison.
None could fathom why a minor scholar warranted such high-ranking intervention.
At that very moment, Magistrate Zhao Zhi observed Zheng Fang bound to the whipping post.
The prisoner, clad in rags, bore streaks of white in his hair.
"Zheng Fang, your crimes outrage heaven and earth. Since you refuse confession, this court sentences you to flogging to appease the people’s fury."
As the words fell, a sharp arrow cut through the air, hurtling straight toward Zhao Zhi.
