Chapter 83
"Your Majesty, should we send someone to rescue Miss Li?" Eunuch Liu asked cautiously, observing Zhu Jingchen's prolonged silence.
"Is Miss Li in any danger?" Zhu Jingchen turned his gaze to the shadow guard.
"Your Majesty, the perpetrator has only locked her in the Cold Palace and has not harmed her further," the shadow guard replied earnestly.
"Then we shall wait a little longer." Zhu Jingchen wanted to uncover the identity of the audacious individual who dared to abduct someone right under his nose.
If the mastermind behind this wasn’t exposed, today they could take Li Zhiwei—what if tomorrow they could effortlessly eliminate him as well?
At this thought, Zhu Jingchen's expression darkened further.
"Dispatch guards to protect Miss Li. Ensure she is not harmed under any circumstances." Still, his conscience prevailed, and he issued the order.
"Your Majesty, Prince An... may not agree to this..." Eunuch Liu hesitated, knowing Prince An would never allow Li Zhiwei to be placed in danger.
"Do not inform him yet." Zhu Jingchen shot a cold glare at Eunuch Liu and the shadow guard below.
---
Cold Palace
Liu Ruyan frowned as she watched Mo Yu rush back in a fluster.
"What has you so panicked?"
"My lady, the eunuch I sent to deliver the message has been captured," Mo Yu reported anxiously.
"How could you be so incompetent? Even such a simple task is beyond you?" Enraged, Liu Ruyan slapped Mo Yu across the face.
"Forgive me, my lady!" Mo Yu immediately dropped to her knees, swallowing her grievances. She knew better than to plead—Consort Liu’s temper only worsened with excuses.
"Enough. This isn’t entirely your fault. Were you seen?" Liu Ruyan dismissed the matter, reasoning that a mere eunuch posed little threat.
But if Mo Yu’s identity had been exposed...
Her icy stare sent a chill down Mo Yu’s spine.
Mo Yu knew—Consort Liu now contemplated killing her.
She was Mo Yu, but not the first Mo Yu.
She had replaced the previous Mo Yu to serve by Liu Ruyan’s side.
"No, my lady. I disguised myself as Miss Li and wore a mask," Mo Yu lied, though uncertainty gnawed at her.
"Good." Liu Ruyan smirked before stepping into another chamber within the Cold Palace.
Inside, a woman cowered in fear at her approach.
"Don’t hit me! Please don’t hit me!"
The woman trembled, begging pitifully.
"Useless wretch!" Liu Ruyan sneered but refrained from striking her.
"Consort Liu, my mistress is Consort Jing!" A maid named Cai'er shielded the woman, her voice laced with warning.
"A disgraced consort rotting in the Cold Palace? ‘Consort Jing’? Who still respects her? The Emperor has long forgotten her existence." Liu Ruyan’s tone dripped with disdain.
"It was you! If not for your schemes, my mistress would never have been condemned to this place!" Cai'er’s eyes burned with hatred.
This vile woman had thrown herself into the lake and falsely accused Consort Jing of pushing her, leading to a miscarriage. The Emperor, in his fury, had banished Consort Jing to the Cold Palace for three years.
Three years of torment—Liu Ruyan visited often, subjecting her to beatings and abuse.
And now, she had even abducted another woman.
Cai'er didn’t know what this madwoman planned, but she refused to let her harm Consort Jing again.
After all, while the truth of Liu Ruyan’s lost child remained unclear, it was this very woman who had beaten Consort Jing until she miscarried.
"So what if it was me? Your mistress is the one in the Cold Palace now. The entire palace knows how much I despise her. Even the Emperor turns a blind eye when I vent my anger on her. If you’re so dissatisfied, why not beg His Majesty for justice? Do you think he’d believe you now? Hah!"
Liu Ruyan laughed triumphantly.
Consort Jing hadn’t pushed her—but so what?
She had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Besides, that child... she had never wanted it.
Only the child of the man she truly loved was worthy of being born. So she had devised a way to rid herself of it.
And in doing so, she had ensured the child’s final act was one of value.
The Emperor’s wrath had condemned Consort Jing to the Cold Palace, where she languished in obscurity.
Even Liu Ruyan’s frequent visits to torment her went unchallenged.
And out of guilt, the Emperor had even promoted her rank.
See? That child had served its purpose.
A pity it hadn’t been Prince An’s. Otherwise, she might have let it live.
"You’re a monster!" Cai'er’s eyes reddened, but she stood firm, shielding Consort Jing behind her.
She couldn’t let anything happen to Consort Jing.
"Don’t worry. I’m in a good mood today—I won’t lay a hand on her." Liu Ruyan paid no mind to Cai’er’s terror.
Her thoughts were elsewhere—how could she make Li Zhiwei give up marrying Xu Heming?
After all, Xu Heming belonged to her.
How could she allow another woman to lay claim to him?
At the thought of Xu Heming, the obsession in Liu Ruyan’s eyes deepened.
Remembering his imposing figure earlier that day, she wished she could drag him into her chambers and hide him away.
She even wanted to gouge out the eyes of everyone present—such a magnificent sight should be hers alone.
When she learned that the Emperor had arranged a marriage between Xu Heming and Li Zhiwei, jealousy consumed her.
Back then, she had been the first to set her sights on him, yet he had chosen that detestable Madam Zhou instead.
Fortunately, fate had been cruel to that woman. During childbirth, Liu Ruyan had someone slip her something she shouldn’t have consumed, leading to a fatal hemorrhage.
The only regret was that the unwanted child had survived.
For three years, there had been no news of Xu Heming remarrying.
She had assumed he was waiting, just like her, for the right moment.
She had even planned a way to fake her death and escape the palace.
But then came the Emperor’s decree—betrothing him to some insignificant merchant’s daughter.
How could she let such a thing happen again?
She had imagined countless ways to make Li Zhiwei vanish from this world.
Originally, she thought she’d have to wait until after her staged death to carry it out.
Yet the Emperor had delivered the perfect opportunity straight to her.
She wasn’t foolish enough to let it slip away.
Xu Heming stood outside the cold palace, frowning at the guard beside him. "Are you certain she was brought here?"
He couldn’t fathom it—the cold palace housed discarded consorts. What power could they possibly have to abduct the woman who was soon to be his princess?
Were the people in the palace all just for show?
