Chapter 89
Xu Heming followed Zhu Hanyu all the way to the gates of the Cold Palace.
Xu Heming was puzzled—could Xu Qingshi really not be inside the Cold Palace?
"Prince An, hurry and go in through here to save Qingshi! Any later, and that wicked woman might beat him to death!" Zhu Hanyu pointed urgently at a dog hole barely large enough for a child, speaking with grave seriousness.
Prince An: ???
Was he understanding this correctly?
Xu Qingshi was inside a dog hole?
"Third Prince, is Qingshi behind this wall?" Xu Heming asked uncertainly.
"Yes! Just go through here, and you’ll see him. Prince An, why hesitate? Hurry!" Zhu Hanyu urged, his face filled with anxiety.
He was genuinely worried—if they delayed any longer, would Xu Qingshi be silenced by that madwoman?
Hearing this, Xu Heming immediately used his qinggong to leap onto the wall.
Sure enough, inside the courtyard, he saw a palace woman in ornate robes directing a group of eunuchs and maids to administer punishment to Li Zhiwei and Xu Qingshi.
Zhu Hanyu’s jaw dropped. So... it could be done like this?
This was incredible!
Why hadn’t he thought of it?
He’d actually followed Xu Qingshi through a dog hole—what a blunder!
"Beat them! Beat them to death!" Liu Ruyan commanded the eunuchs and maids.
The glee in her eyes was impossible to hide. Once these two obstacles were dead, Xu Heming would be hers.
Imagining Xu Heming’s muscular frame, Liu Ruyan waved her hands as if he were right before her, her fingers tracing invisible lines over his body.
"Mmph!" Xu Qingshi struggled desperately. He hadn’t expected this madwoman to actually try to kill him.
Regret gnawed at him—he should have gone for help earlier. Now, he was trapped too.
Why hadn’t the Third Prince brought reinforcements yet?
Wuwuwu...
Was he really going to die here?
Li Zhiwei wanted to shield Xu Qingshi, but in this situation, she could barely protect herself, let alone him.
At this moment, despair filled her heart, and she cursed Xu Heming a thousand times in her mind.
What kind of terrible romantic entanglements had he brought upon them?
If he didn’t come soon, not only would Xu Qingshi be done for, but so would she.
After all, women in the palace were ruthless—far beyond anything she’d encountered in Li'an County.
Thinking of this, Li Zhiwei felt the heavens were unfair. Just when she thought she had changed her fate, was she really going to die here?
If she were gone, her parents would surely grieve.
At least this time, the Lin family wouldn’t be able to harm her loved ones again.
Just as the eunuch’s rod was about to strike Li Zhiwei, Xu Heming swooped in with qinggong, kicking the eunuch three zhang away.
Beside her, Xu Qingshi, gagged and bound, tried to cry out for help.
But before the eunuch next to him could land a blow, Xu Heming spun mid-air and kicked him away too.
"Mmph!" Xu Qingshi continued to writhe.
Li Zhiwei had shut her eyes, but the expected pain never came.
Instead, a large hand gently helped her up. Xu Heming carefully untied her bonds and removed the cloth from her mouth.
Only then did Li Zhiwei realize—Xu Heming had finally arrived.
"Who dares—" Liu Ruyan began to berate the intruder, only to freeze when she saw Xu Heming standing before her.
"Heming, you’ve finally come to see me?" Liu Ruyan gazed at him with adoration, her voice dripping with shy sweetness.
To an outsider, it might seem like the two shared an intimate history.
Li Zhiwei, who had been relieved moments ago, immediately turned away to help Xu Qingshi instead.
Hmph! So they really were involved!
Her mind raced with ways to annul her engagement to Xu Heming.
But if he was entangled with the Emperor’s concubine, perhaps that could help her case.
Poor Xu Qingshi, though—that woman was clearly malicious and would never treat him kindly.
"Mother, I’ll protect you!" Xu Qingshi, though just a child, sensed the danger in the woman’s words.
The way she looked at Xu Heming filled him with dread.
If his father really married that evil woman, what would happen to him?
"It’s alright," Li Zhiwei reassured him. Once they escaped the palace, her fate would be rewritten.
Heaven had given her a second chance—not to suffer, but to live freely.
Meanwhile, Emperor Zhu Jingchen and the Empress, led by the maid Cai’er, arrived just in time to hear Liu Ruyan’s words to Xu Heming.
Xu Heming’s face darkened. He had tried to convince himself that the rumors about him and Concubine Liu might be misunderstandings.
But now, seeing was believing.
Zhu Jingchen’s expression turned stormy. After all the trust he had placed in Xu Heming, was this how he repaid him?
Fine!
"Your Majesty, perhaps we should hear Prince An’s explanation first?" the Empress suggested, unwilling to believe Xu Heming would betray the Emperor’s trust. After all, Concubine Liu’s words could just be wishful thinking.
The eunuchs and maids behind them bowed their heads, terrified of having overheard something that might cost them their lives.
"Hmph!" Zhu Jingchen scoffed. Wasn’t the evidence clear enough? What more was there to ask?
The two were practically flaunting their affair right before him.
The servants beside Liu Ruyan trembled at the sight of Xu Heming, quickly lowering their gazes.
They had carried out Concubine Liu’s orders in secret, knowing that exposure meant more than mere punishment.
"Who are you?" Xu Heming demanded coldly. "How dare you lay hands on my son and my betrothed? By whose authority?"
He didn’t recognize Liu Ruyan, but this woman had attacked his family—did she have a death wish?
"Father, she said she wants to marry you and kill me and Mother!" Xu Qingshi, being a child, saw no issue with tattling to his parent.
His words sent a jolt of panic through Liu Ruyan. Even Li Zhiwei scrutinized Xu Heming, silently warning him—if his answer displeased her, the engagement was over.
The Emperor and Empress, standing nearby, also fixed their gazes on Xu Heming.
But Xu Heming’s eyes held no affection for Liu Ruyan—only the cold detachment of a stranger.
This realization eased Zhu Jingchen’s fury slightly.
He couldn’t bear the thought of his most trusted official coveting his concubine—especially not Xu Heming.
Yet, without hearing Xu Heming’s side, his heart remained unsettled.
