Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 179: Confinement

   Wei Yingluo, who had been furious beyond measure, gradually calmed down.

She finally realized it—the woman before her was extraordinarily dangerous.

Innocent and guileless, warm and generous, always seeming to stand on your side, speak for you, consider your feelings… but when you thought back carefully afterward… was she really thinking of you?

   Was the one who truly benefited from her actions really you?

   “Yingluo.” Chenbi stepped closer step by step, smiling as she pressed the golden scissors into Wei Yingluo’s hand. “If you refuse to forgive me, then use these scissors to stab me.”

An indescribable sense of crisis surged over her. Wei Yingluo struggled hard: “Let go! What are you all standing there for? Stop her!”

Only then did the palace maids snap out of their daze. They rushed forward in a flurry, reaching out with many hands to try to wrest the scissors away.

Chenbi gave them a cool glance, then directly seized Wei Yingluo’s right hand—along with the golden scissors—and stabbed them straight into her own right shoulder…

“Ah!!”

The palace doors burst open amid a chaotic rush of footsteps.

Clearly having heard Chenbi’s scream of pain, the Empress Dowager—supported by Aunt Liu’s arm and without even waiting for an umbrella—hurried into Baoyue Tower. When she saw the scene inside, her face changed dramatically. She let go of Aunt Liu’s hand, rushed to Chenbi’s side, and pressed her own hand over the wound: “Quickly summon the imperial physician!!”

Another wave of frantic chaos ensued.

The Empress Dowager held Chenbi protectively in her arms, like a mother cow shielding her calf, allowing no one to come near.

“Chenbi, tell me.” The Empress Dowager looked around warily. “What exactly happened? Who had the audacity to injure you like this!”

Under countless watchful gazes, Chenbi slowly raised her head. Her tear-filled eyes swept across the crowd before finally settling on Wei Yingluo’s face. With a look of aggrieved fragility, she said in a trembling voice, “Yingluo… why would you do this to me?”

Wei Yingluo’s face gradually drained of color.

“What are you waiting for?” The Empress Dowager thundered in fury. “Seize Consort Ling at once!”

When Hongli received the news and hurried over, the first thing he saw was the Empress Dowager’s face, still burning with residual anger.

“Empress Dowager.” After paying his respects, Hongli quickly asked, “How is Consort Rong?”

“The imperial physician has just left. The Empress is inside keeping her company right now.” Seeing that Hongli was about to head straight into the bedchamber, the Empress Dowager called out to stop him. “Don’t go in yet… speak!”

Kneeling on the ground was the senior palace maid Yizhu. At the sharp command, she hurriedly spoke up: “Yes, yes! Today Consort Ling stormed in aggressively and accused Consort Rong of having something to do with the death of Ming Yu. But heavens know, Ming Yu was already terminally ill and beyond any cure. Out of pity, Consort Rong had concealed the true severity of her condition—and for that she was greatly blamed! Consort Ling became too agitated and, in a moment of impulse, stabbed Consort Rong!”

Hongli frowned deeply and asked in a low voice, “Empress Dowager, have the others been questioned?”

The Empress Dowager cast him a sidelong glance. “Aside from Yizhu, only the palace maid Zhenzhu remains. I’ve already ordered her sent to the Shixing Division for interrogation. As for Consort Ling, I leave her to be dealt with by Your Majesty!”

Hearing the implication in her words, Hongli fell silent for a moment before saying, “Empress Dowager, I thought you had always been fond of Yingluo…”

Before he could finish, the Empress Dowager cut him off angrily: “But I cannot tolerate anyone who harms He’an!”

Hongli replied quietly, “Empress Dowager, Consort Rong is not He’an.”

“She is!” The Empress Dowager insisted firmly. “Your Majesty, whether it was an accident or deliberate, Consort Ling’s action was far too arrogant. She must be taught a lesson!”

The commotion outside was too great to be concealed from the Step-Empress.

She soon arrived at Chenbi’s side under the pretext of visiting the injured consort, and smiled slightly. “Impressive.”

Chenbi’s arm was wrapped in a thick layer of white bandage. The blood loss had left her face somewhat pale, yet that pallor did nothing to diminish her beauty—instead it made her appear even more delicate and pitiful, arousing an instinctive desire to protect and cherish her, to shield her from any further harm. She blinked innocently at the Step-Empress like a child: “What are you talking about?”

Admiration and wariness flickered in the Step-Empress’s eyes. “Consort Ling served the Empress Dowager with utmost devotion. Three years in the Yuanmingyuan earned her an affection few could match. In the Forbidden City, the Empress Dowager was her greatest backer! Yet you—you stepped directly on Wei Yingluo to climb up. In less than three months, you’ve made the Empress Dowager regard you as her own flesh and blood, protecting you at every turn. Truly… eye-opening.”

Chenbi gave an innocent smile. “You flatter me.”

But the Step-Empress did not take her innocence at face value.

Wei Yingluo had been an extraordinarily capable woman—yet she had been toyed with like a monkey in Chenbi’s hands. Her most trusted palace maid was dead, she had lost the Empress Dowager’s favor, and now she had also lost Hongli’s trust. Everything she once possessed had been taken from her, piece by piece, by Chenbi.

…All because she trusted her once.

   How could the Step-Empress possibly dare to trust her after seeing such an outcome?

   “Empress.” Chenbi patted the space beside her on the bed and shifted inward slightly, leaving room for someone to sit—intimate and familiar, just as she had once been with Wei Yingluo. “Would you be willing to work with me?”

The Step-Empress, however, had no intention of following in Wei Yingluo’s footsteps. She kept a safe distance, remaining at the edge of the bed, and said coolly, “You and I are mortal enemies. How could we possibly cooperate?”

“We should become friends,” Chenbi said earnestly, looking straight at her. “Because we share the same enemy.”

—The name of that enemy was Wei Yingluo.

   The Step-Empress slowly curved her lips into a smile. “Consort Rong, I find myself liking you more and more.”

She was right—the two of them could indeed be friends… at least until Wei Yingluo’s death.

Chenbi raised a single finger to her lips and made a soft “shh”: “The Emperor is coming.”

The two women exchanged a knowing smile; everything was understood without words.

Footsteps approached from afar. Hongli entered with a heavy heart. He casually raised a hand, excusing Step-Empress from performing the formal greeting, then sat down beside Chenbi and asked with concern: “Chenbi, the imperial physician said your old injuries haven’t healed yet, and now you’ve added new ones. You mustn’t be willful anymore—you have to stay in bed and rest properly.”

Chenbi nodded with a gentle smile.

“The Empress Dowager demands severe punishment for Consort Ling. You’ve always been close to her, so I want to ask you—what do you think should be done with her?” Hongli gazed at her, his eyes carrying a deeper meaning.

This was not an easy question to answer.

Even if an answer had to be given, it shouldn’t come from her. So Chenbi pretended to think it over, while her peripheral vision flicked toward Step-Empress. Receiving the glance, Step-Empress immediately spoke up: “Your Majesty, Consort Ling lost her dearest friend and loyal servant, and she was provoked by others—her feelings are pitiable. But she let her emotions get the better of her and accidentally injured someone; that crime cannot be overlooked. In my opinion, the servants who whispered and instigated her must be severely punished. As for Consort Ling… let her reflect behind closed doors.”

The arrangement wasn’t particularly good, but it wasn’t terrible either. A faint smile finally appeared on Hongli’s face: “Chenbi, what do you think?”

Chenbi gave a soft, tender smile, looking as though her only concern was for Wei Yingluo’s well-being: “I believe Consort Ling truly did not intend to hurt anyone. I beg Your Majesty to show her leniency.”

Hongli let out a breath of relief: “Then let her reflect behind closed doors properly. You just focus on recovering—don’t overthink things.”

The decision regarding Wei Yingluo had been made, but the actual handling of the matter did not fall under Hongli’s direct control. Even if he wanted to intervene, he couldn’t—every move he made was watched by everyone. If he showed too much favoritism toward Wei Yingluo, how would the Empress Dowager react? She would likely be even less willing to spare her.

The person in charge of dealing with Wei Yingluo was Step-Empress.

Using the pretext that palace servants had instigated Consort Ling to commit violence, she replaced every single servant in Yanxi Palace in one sweep. Old-timers like Xiaoquanzi vanished overnight. Those who remained were all new faces. Rather than being there to serve Consort Ling, they were clearly there to monitor her.

An unfamiliar young palace maid placed a food box on the table: “Please have your meal, Consort Ling.”

Wei Yingluo coughed heavily several times: “Just leave it there.”

The young maid handed her a pair of chopsticks. Wei Yingluo reached for them, but her vision suddenly doubled. It took several moments before she managed to grasp them.

“Are you alright, Your Ladyship?” the maid asked worriedly. “Have you caught a cold? This servant will go and—”

Her words cut off abruptly.

Because Yuan Chunwang was standing right behind her.

Like a snake flicking its tongue, he ordered: “You may leave first.”

After dismissing the maid and closing the door behind her, he sat down naturally in front of Wei Yingluo, reached over, and took the chopsticks from her hand: “The Empress has already joined forces with Consort Rong.”

Wei Yingluo stared straight at him.

Step-Empress hadn’t skimped on her meals. Though not as lavish as before, there were still three meat dishes and two vegetable ones. Yuan Chunwang picked up a lion’s head meatball and popped it into his mouth, saying as he chewed: “The Emperor’s favor, the Empress Dowager’s trust, your closest friend’s company, your personal freedom—one by one, you’ve lost them all. If I were you, I’d seriously think about why you’ve ended up in this situation.”

Wei Yingluo remained completely silent.

Seemingly provoked by her demeanor, Yuan Chunwang suddenly slammed the chopsticks onto the table, stood up, and looked down at her coldly: “Because of Ming Yu—for the sake of a mere servant, you actually went to confront Consort Rong, and that’s how you fell into the trap.”

“Ming Yu was my best friend,” Wei Yingluo finally spoke. “No—not just a friend. She was the only family I had left in the Forbidden City…”

“Family?” Yuan Chunwang suddenly seized her chin, forcing her to lift her head and look at his face—a face both beautiful and twisted, both alluring and terrifying. “Little sister, isn’t your only family member me?”

Wei Yingluo struggled and said, “Let go!”

“What is Ming Yu to you? Has she done more for you than I have?” Yuan Chunwang refused to release her. His fingers clamped onto her face like iron pincers as he pressed aggressively, “I’ve protected you like an older brother, giving up chance after chance to climb higher for your sake, even abandoning everything to accompany you in the Yuanmingyuan. And how have you treated me in return, Yingluo… Answer me!”

Wei Yingluo struggled even harder. In their pushing and pulling, they accidentally knocked over the food box. The dishes shattered into several pieces, and one sharp fragment sliced across Yuan Chunwang’s hand.

He lowered his head to look at his hand—blood was dripping freely.

“I’m sorry to you,” Wei Yingluo said. Her voice drew his attention back. The light in his eyes had just begun to brighten when she continued coldly, “But you have also wronged me. From now on, we are strangers. Don’t ever mention brother and sister again.”

“Is that so?” The light in Yuan Chunwang’s eyes dimmed. He let out a laugh.

While laughing, he picked up the remaining plates one by one and dumped all the food onto the ground.

“Starting from today,” Yuan Chunwang announced with a smile after emptying the last plate, “in Yanxi Palace, there will be no one else besides you. Enjoy it well. I hope you can persist without a single grain of rice or drop of water… and never come begging me.”

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