Chapter 76 A single glance can ruin a lifetime

Meng Huanyan suddenly remembered many things.

She remembered a fortune teller who had stopped her on the street when she was a child and offered to tell her fortune for free. The fortune teller said that she was proud and arrogant, and if she didn't change this personality, she would likely have a short and tragic life. From then on, her mother always taught her to be gentle, obedient, and compliant. Although she didn't believe in these things, she eventually began to suppress her nature and was willing to compromise and make do in everything.

She recalled the day she first met Guan Yi'an, from which she had fallen for him. Later, when Guan Yi'an came to the manor to propose marriage, she, along with her elder sister and third sister, hid behind the artificial hill in the park to watch. She slipped and nearly fell into the lake. Guan Yi'an's gaze fell upon her from afar, and the instant he saw her, a blush spread across his face. In that instant, she made up her mind to win this man's heart.

Then, on the day of her elder sister's wedding, she successfully seduced Guan Yi'an and ruined their marriage. Although she was taken as a concubine by Guan Yi'an and was humiliated that night, and her mother-in-law was difficult to deal with, she was still happy.

Even after being imprisoned by Guan Yi'an for more than half a month and beaten from time to time, despite Guan Yi'an's obvious disgust and disdain for her, she never thought of leaving. If she really wanted to escape, it wasn't entirely without a chance.

Then came yesterday. She learned that Guan Yi'an had given her to Eunuch Wan. Suddenly, she felt that life was meaningless, and she wanted nothing more than to strangle Guan Yi'an. The grudge between her and her elder sister became irrelevant; she just desperately wanted to take revenge on Guan Yi'an.

So she resorted to any means necessary, even suppressing her disgust once again, to seduce Eunuch Wan into doing to Guan Yi'an the same thing she had done to her. She had her revenge, but she was still not happy. When the soldiers came, she knew she should stay away from Guan Yi'an, but she still couldn't bear to.

Meng Huanyan belatedly realized that she had long harbored romantic feelings for Guan Yi'an, which was why she had married him against all odds and why she could not accept being betrayed by him.

Because of love, the hatred is especially strong when betrayed.

Unfortunately, she only realized this when she died, and the man she chose was so cruel that he didn't give her a chance to speak again.

She is not afraid of death.

But she couldn't accept that Guan Yi'an was still smearing her after her death. He was still trying to smear her by accusing her of having an affair with a eunuch.

If she could, she wished she could go back to the day Guan Yi'an came to the Meng residence. She would have locked herself in her room beforehand and never looked at him.

That one glance ruined her life.

As Meng Huanyan closed her eyes, two clear tears slid down her cheeks. Guan Yi'an didn't even look at them before throwing her body on the ground.

Lord Chen of the Censorate was shocked once again. "Vice Minister Guan, how dare you kill someone in front of us! Guards, seize him!"

Feng Ziyi felt a pang of guilt. He was closest to Guan Yi'an and Meng Huanyan. If he hadn't been so busy gossiping that he hadn't paid close attention to Guan Yi'an's movements, he would have been able to save Meng Huanyan's life in time.

It's such a pity that this young girl, who was also the best witness, was killed right in front of him.

Guan Yi'an offered no resistance; Feng Ziyi and Lord Chen had come prepared, and he was no match for them.

"I'll go with you, but let me get dressed first."

Guan Yi'an's current attire is indeed offensive to others, and this request is reasonable and cannot be refused by Lord Chen.

He pointed to the screen beside him, "Go and change it, hurry up! Don't try anything funny, it's not just your courtyard, the entire Guan mansion is surrounded, you can't escape!"

Guan Yi'an nodded, put away his clothes, and went behind the screen. The screen wasn't high, so people outside could still see his upper body while he was changing. But now that he was a criminal, there was nothing to complain about. He carefully changed his clothes, even tidying up his loose hair, before slowly walking out.

Guan Yi'an surrendered without resistance.

Feng Ziyi glanced at Meng Huanyan on the ground, tore off a bed sheet to wrap her up, and then had the guards take both bodies away.

What was originally thought to be a mere exchange of power and sex has now resulted in two deaths, including the Emperor's most trusted eunuch, Eunuch Wan. Lord Chen and Feng Ziyi unanimously decided to first escort Guan Yi'an to the palace for the Emperor to determine the crime, while the two of them, as eyewitnesses, would personally explain the situation to the Emperor.

The group arrived at the palace around 3 PM.

The Emperor had already sent someone to find Eunuch Wan. He was getting old and had been suffering from back pain lately. Only when Eunuch Wan gave him a massage could he feel more comfortable. Usually, Eunuch Wan would have returned by this time, but today he was late, and the Emperor felt something was wrong.

Just as he was thinking of sending someone to search Wan Gonggong's courtyard outside the palace, Lord Chen and Feng Ziyi brought Guan Yi'an to see him.

The Emperor was troubled by Eunuch Wan's matter, and his back was also a little sore, so his tone was somewhat impatient.

"What's the point of seeing him? We can talk about it at the morning court tomorrow."

These ministers would report nothing during the morning court session, but after the session, they would come to him in droves. It was because of these ministers' many problems that he was exhausted and suffered from various ailments.

The young eunuch said with difficulty, "But Lord Chen said that he came precisely for Eunuch Wan."

"What? Let them in!" The Emperor rose from his reclining chair and sat in the main seat, his face grave.

He guessed that Eunuch Wan had gotten into a conflict with someone outside the palace, and these people had come to complain.

The Emperor is well aware of the mistakes Eunuch Wan has made over the years.

But he really didn't want to get involved. Firstly, he was used to using Eunuch Wan, and he felt a little uncomfortable when he wasn't by Wan's side for a while. Secondly, although he was the emperor, he was suspicious and sensitive.

In public, he presented himself as a benevolent emperor who cared for the country and its people, but in private, he committed numerous cruel and ruthless acts to preserve his throne and maintain his reputation. Of course, he wouldn't do these things himself; a mere glance was enough for Eunuch Wan to understand his meaning.

Eunuch Wan has solved too many problems for him over the years, and is more important than his right and left hands. Playing with a few palace maids and eunuchs is a trivial matter to him.

But now that three officials have come to his door at the same time, he has a feeling that this matter must be serious. It seems that he will have to punish Eunuch Wan a little to get rid of them.

When the three entered the hall, the Emperor sensed something was wrong. Minister Chen and Feng Zhiyi sandwiched Guan Yi'an between them, and there were still traces of bright red blood on Guan Yi'an's face.

The three knelt down and shouted "Long live the Emperor!"

Feng Zhiyi spoke first, “His Majesty is very benevolent and appoints talented people. He has granted Guan Yi’an the position of Vice Minister of Rites and bestowed upon him a mansion. However, Guan Yi’an is not ambitious and has even tried to seduce people with his beauty and engage in a power-for-sex transaction with Chief Eunuch Wan. Today, he was even more audacious and killed Chief Eunuch Wan and his concubine. Lord Chen and I have captured him and will let His Majesty decide his fate.”

Lord Chen was equally indignant: "When Lord Feng and I arrived, Vice Minister Guan had already murdered Steward Wan. Then, he even killed one of the concubines in the mansion right in front of us. He was utterly audacious and outrageous!"

The Emperor's expression grew increasingly grave. He stood up, supporting his back, and asked, "You're saying that Chief Eunuch Wan is dead?"