Chapter 84:- His Highness Was Truly Fierce, Tangling in the Palace

Bang!

Xiao Hong crashed heavily onto the bed, but what he touched was not the soft body of a woman.

It was only the hard surface of the bed.

The next second, his vision went dark, as if something had suddenly shrouded him.

Then came a storm of fists raining down on him.

“Ah… mm…”

Xiao Hong’s cries of pain were smothered beneath the quilt, leaving only faint, muffled sounds.

The ones beating him, of course, were Xie Yao and the others.

Alongside them was Lin Xia.

Lin Xia’s fists were solid and merciless, beating Xiao Hong until he could hardly make a sound. Trapped under the quilt, he could only cover his manhood instinctively.

Gradually, his consciousness slipped away.

Outside the hall, the lookout could only faintly hear some noises.

Unable to resist glancing back, he whispered with admiration, “His Highness is truly fierce…”

Just then—

He suddenly caught a strange smell. He twitched his nose, but when he realized something was wrong and tried to hold his breath, it was already too late.

His head spun, and with a heavy thud, he collapsed onto the ground.

The doors of the hall opened.

Xie Yao and the others walked out. Lin Xia dragged Xiao Hong behind him like a dead dog, letting him scrape along the ground.

Without a word, Lin Xia grabbed the fallen eunuch with his other hand and dragged the two of them outside.

Xie Yao followed by his side.

They went straight toward the Second Prince’s palace. The path was unguarded, clearly, Xiao Hong had already dismissed the attendants.

That only made things easier for them.

Dumping the two men casually into the roadside bushes, Xie Yao took out two pills from her pouch.

She stuffed one into each of their mouths. Looking at the few pills still left, she thought for a moment, and then decided to use them all, feeding the rest to the two of them.

Hadn’t Xiao Hong always tried to plot against her?

Then let him taste the bitter fruit himself.

After finishing, Xie Yao and Lin Xia silently returned to their lodging palace.

Zhuxin and Zhuqing had already cleaned away all traces inside and outside the hall.

Only then did Xie Yao rest easy and go to sleep.

—-

The next morning—

Xie Yao was woken by a commotion.

“Crown Princess! Crown Princess, something happened!” Zhuqing’s expression was twisted, though she was suppressing a smile. “At dawn, the patrolling guards discovered the Second Prince tangled together with a eunuch outside the palace hall.”

“His Majesty was furious and ordered a full investigation at once.”

“Noble Consort and the Second Prince both claim they were framed. Noble Consort has summoned you.”

As expected.

Others might not know, but Noble Consort surely realized it must be connected to her. At this moment, she probably wanted nothing more than to eat her alive.

“Let’s go.”

Everyone gathered at the Second Prince’s palace.

When Xie Yao arrived, Noble Consort’s murderous glare instantly locked onto her, as if she wished she could devour her whole.

“Your daughter-in-law greets Father Emperor.” Xie Yao first saluted the Emperor, then exchanged greetings with Noble Consort, Consort Shu, and the others.

“Crown Princess.” Noble Consort’s tone was sharp and aggressive. “Where were you at midnight last night?”

Xie Yao blinked in slight surprise. “At midnight? Naturally, I was resting.”

“Is there anyone who can testify?”

It must be her. It must be this wretched woman who ruined her Hong’er!

And yet she still dared to act innocent in front of her… utterly damnable.

“What does Your Highness mean by this?” Xie Yao frowned.

“In the past, whenever Hong’er stayed in the palace, he was perfectly fine. Only last night, when you alone stayed in the palace, such a thing happened!”

Noble Consort’s eyes blazed red as she slapped the table, trying to crush Xie Yao with sheer force. “Speak! Was it you who harmed him?”

Unfortunately for her, Xie Yao was not so easily cowed.

“Noble Consort, I can understand your worry since the Second Prince has met with misfortune. But why would I want to harm him?”

Xie Yao replied calmly, neither humble nor arrogant.

Noble Consort could not answer.

Could she say that Xiao Hong had intended to violate Xie Yao, only to fall victim himself?

“Your Majesty,” Consort Shu spoke at this moment, “the Crown Princess has only three frail maids at her side, and she has never been in the palace before. How could she harm the Second Prince?”

She added softly, “Just now, was it not said that the night patrols were lured away by someone? This concubine is so frightened.”

“If someone could divert the guards from the Second Prince’s palace, could they not also divert those guarding Yanxi Palace?”

Her brows furrowed delicately as she bit her lip, appearing pitiful.

“Since the Noble Consort manages all palace affairs, how could such a grave lapse occur? If blame must be placed, should it not be upon the Noble Consort…”

“Consort Shu!” Noble Consort immediately fixed her bloodthirsty gaze on Consort Shu, nearly exploding with fury at those words.

“Do not be afraid.” The Emperor cast Consort Shu a soothing glance. “The one who dismissed the guards was the Second Prince himself.”

His gaze shifted to Noble Consort, now carrying a warning. “Since you are ill and cannot manage the palace properly, then rest for a time. Consort Shu will temporarily oversee the Six Palaces.”

“Your Majesty…” Noble Consort had never expected that instead of gaining justice for Xiao Hong, she herself would be stripped of power!

The Emperor flicked his sleeve and turned to leave, not sparing a single glance at Xiao Hong, who still lay in the inner hall.

Consort Shu gave Xie Yao a look and also withdrew.

Just as Xie Yao was about to leave, Noble Consort suddenly cried out, “Stop!”

She rushed straight to Xie Yao, her manner half-crazed, half-deranged. “It was you. It was you, wasn’t it!”

Her eyes were bloodshot as she clutched Xie Yao’s arms tightly.

“Noble Consort, I don’t understand what you are saying.” Naturally, Xie Yao would never admit it.

“Stop pretending!” Noble Consort’s voice nearly broke with hysteria. “There’s no one else here but us two. Tell me, was it you….”

Xie Yao firmly denied, “It was not me.”

Finally breaking free of Noble Consort’s grip, Xie Yao turned and left.

Behind her, the “mad” Noble Consort instantly returned to calm. She nodded to the maid beside her.

What a deeply scheming Xie Yao.

When Xie Yao exited the palace hall, she saw that the Emperor and Consort Shu, who had left before her, had also just come out. At once, she understood.

Of course.

How could the woman who held the reins of the inner palace lose her composure so completely, raging like a madwoman?

It had been another performance, another scheme.

But Xie Yao felt no sense of relief.

From the start, she had resolved that she would never admit, this matter had nothing to do with her.

—-

After such an incident, it was inappropriate for Xie Yao to remain in the palace any longer.

“Crown Princess,” Zhuqing reported as soon as she got into the carriage, “on my way back, I heard that last night… that man was actually played to death by the Second Prince.”

“And… and I heard that His Highness’s place was… penetrated with a stick…”

Zhuqing’s face twisted with disgust, nearly retching.

The victim had been a eunuch, without manhood. Naturally, she had thought he could only lie submissively beneath the Second Prince.

But who would have thought…

Clearly, her experience had been too shallow.

Xie Yao also looked revolted, clutching her chest as if to vomit, yet unable to bring anything up.

—-

…In Nanzhou.

Xiao Ji braced himself against a wall, retching violently.

Pei Chen stood beside him, brows knitted in concern. “Your Highness, what is the mat….”

Before he could finish, Xiao Ji quickly took several steps back.

Only by putting distance between them did he feel somewhat better.

Pei Chen was drenched in sweat, and the stench made Xiao Ji nauseous.

Pei Chen’s face darkened. “Your Highness…”

Suddenly, Xiao Ji frowned. “There’s something foul clinging to you. Not just sweat, but other revolting smells as well.”

“What?” Pei Chen looked incredulous. He raised his arm and sniffed himself. “There’s nothing.”

Xiao Ji forced himself to smell again, then lowered his face, his voice cold. “Summon a physician.”

Cultural Notes:

• Yanxi Palace: Residence of Consort Shu, mentioned here.
• Six Palaces: Refers to the collective management of the Emperor’s harem, the inner palace.