Chapter 84
"Your Highness, someone reported seeing a palace maid assisting a person whose figure resembled Miss Li heading inside. It’s not confirmed yet whether it was truly her," the guard said nervously.
Xu Heming frowned and was about to push open the door to the cold palace when he spotted Eunuch Liu rushing toward him.
"Prince An, His Majesty requests your presence," Eunuch Liu said, relieved to see that the prince had not yet entered the cold palace.
Thankfully, he had arrived in time—otherwise, the emperor would surely have blamed him for incompetence.
Xu Heming’s expression darkened.
"Prince An, His Majesty has news regarding Miss Li. Please come at once," Eunuch Liu added with an ingratiating smile.
"Guard this place. No one is to enter or leave," Xu Heming ordered his men before following Eunuch Liu to the imperial study.
Inside the cold palace, Li Zhiwei had been shouting for help for what felt like an eternity, but no one came. Despair crept into her heart.
Who had she offended to be abandoned here?
Was Heaven displeased that she hadn’t met a tragic end at the Lin family’s hands and now intended for her to perish in this ruined place?
"Someone! Anyone! Is there anyone here?" she cried out angrily, pounding on the dilapidated door.
Dust rained down from the force of her strikes, making her cough violently.
Just as she began to fear that she would die here unnoticed, a waterskin and some food were slipped through a crack in the door.
"Is someone there? Hello?" Li Zhiwei called out eagerly at the sight of the provisions.
But the person outside remained silent, offering no words in response.
The one who had delivered the supplies was a shadow guard sent by the emperor. Hearing Li Zhiwei’s incessant knocking and shouting, she had worried that the young woman might grow thirsty or hungry and thus brought her sustenance.
The emperor had ordered that the mastermind behind this scheme be uncovered, so Miss Li would have to endure her confinement a little longer.
But the guard could not reveal herself.
Li Zhiwei frowned. If someone was kind enough to bring her food and water, why wouldn’t they speak?
Unless… they were trying to poison her?
"Did you sneak these to me?" she whispered cautiously.
Silence.
"You don’t have to answer. If it’s you, just knock once on the door," she pressed, gritting her teeth.
She didn’t expect a response, but she couldn’t just sit here forever.
Knock.
A soft tap echoed faintly, but Li Zhiwei heard it clearly. Her heart leapt with hope.
"Does Prince An know I’m here?" she asked next.
This time, there was no knock.
Li Zhiwei bit her lip in frustration. That damned Xu Heming still hadn’t found her.
"Someone will come to save me, right?" she asked again, uncertainty creeping into her voice.
If Xu Heming didn’t even know where she was, who else could rescue her?
Knock.
The sound reassured her. Someone would come—just not yet.
Having lived two lifetimes, Li Zhiwei was far from naive.
This was likely a ploy to lure out the person behind her abduction.
"You can guarantee my safety, can’t you?"
Now that she was certain of her eventual rescue, her anxiety eased.
Knock.
The response came without hesitation, and Li Zhiwei relaxed further.
But if this person wasn’t sent by Xu Heming… was it the emperor’s doing?
---
Ruyan Palace
"Let’s go. It’s time to face that wretched girl," Liu Ruyan declared, finally deciding to confront Li Zhiwei.
Though Li Zhiwei had been granted a marriage decree by the emperor, how dare she so effortlessly obtain the man Liu Ruyan had longed for in vain?
"My lady, the cold palace is heavily guarded today. Perhaps you should postpone your visit?" Mo Yu suggested uneasily.
"What is there to fear? Everyone knows I visit the cold palace regularly to vent my hatred on that woman," Liu Ruyan sneered, utterly dismissive of the guards.
"But what if they discover Miss Li’s presence…?" Mo Yu fretted, her voice trembling.
If things went wrong, she would be the one sacrificed as the scapegoat.
"What are you so afraid of? If anything happens, I will take responsibility," Liu Ruyan retorted, shooting her a disdainful glance.
Useless creature.
But her words were empty. If Mo Yu proved troublesome, she could always be replaced.
Servants were disposable—as long as they obeyed.
With her head held high, Liu Ruyan strode toward the cold palace.
"Halt! Who goes there?" one of Xu Heming’s guards demanded, frowning at her approach.
"How dare you, you blind fool! Do you not recognize Consort Liu?" Mo Yu immediately stepped forward, berating the guard without waiting for her mistress’s order.
"Greetings, Consort Liu!" The guards bowed hastily, though they couldn’t fathom why a consort would visit the cold palace.
Liu Ruyan ignored them and marched straight inside.
When a guard moved to block her, a eunuch quickly intervened.
"Forgive us, honored guard. My lady has suffered greatly. That vile Consort Jing caused her to lose her unborn child. Though the wicked woman was banished to the cold palace, she still lives, while my lady’s imperial heir is lost forever. Whenever the grief overwhelms her, she comes here to vent her anguish on that murderess," the eunuch explained mournfully.
The guard hesitated. The story was true, but Prince An had given strict orders—no one was to enter.
"Honored guard, this is the imperial palace. Even His Majesty turns a blind eye to this matter," the eunuch added pointedly.
Realizing he had no authority to refuse, the guard reluctantly allowed them passage, though he sent word to Xu Heming immediately.
Liu Ruyan swept past Consort Jing’s quarters and headed straight for the room where Li Zhiwei was held.
"Open the door," she commanded imperiously.
Consort Jing and Cai'er, who had braced themselves for another beating, watched in shock as Liu Ruyan bypassed them entirely and approached the neighboring room.
"The murderess is at it again! The murderess is at it again!" Consort Jing muttered fearfully.
"My lady, don’t be afraid. Heaven will punish the wicked," Cai'er soothed, though her own heart pounded.
She had heard noises earlier but dismissed them as hallucinations.
Yet now it seemed someone truly had the audacity to hide a person in the cold palace.
