Gu Jiangli was wide awake. He propped himself up on the bed and listened to the sudden downpour outside.
Tonight is destined to be a turbulent night.
Lotus closed the door and thoughtfully brought her a glass of water.
"Your Highness, won't you go and see? Consort Shu must be in a very awkward situation tonight."
Gu Jiangli took the tea and sipped it lightly. "There's no need to watch such an occasion that would make the emperor feel extremely humiliated. The fewer people who see the emperor's embarrassment and disgrace, the better."
Lotus nodded; no matter what her master said, she would find it reasonable.
However, she thought for a moment, "But Your Majesty, if His Majesty finds out the truth about that child, will he also suspect you? I'm a little worried, after all, Master Liu did appear in your room that night."
Gu Jiangli: "Are you worried that if the emperor finds out that Consort Shu's child isn't his, he'll also suspect that the child in my womb isn't his either?"
Lotus nodded gravely, "Yes, Your Majesty, aren't you worried?"
Gu Jiangli smiled faintly, like a blooming white lotus flower, "No, His Majesty will not doubt me. Given his character, he might even love and cherish me more."
This was the only thing Gu Jiangli wasn't worried about.
The emperor's affection for her far exceeded his own definition of love.
Lotus breathed a sigh of relief. "Phew, that's good. I was worrying for nothing. Since Your Majesty is making plans, you must have thought of these things."
Gu Jiang remained noncommittal. After a long pause, he asked Hehua, "Are you sure all the palace maids and eunuchs in Cheng'en Hall have been dismissed?"
"Don't worry, Your Highness. When Consort Shu wants to do that kind of thing, she won't keep anyone by her side."
"The two remaining palace maids guarding the gate have also been ordered away by this servant. When His Majesty arrives at Chengen Hall, there will only be two people left in the hall."
One is Shu Ziming.
The other one is Liu Bufan.
Gu Jiangli let out a long breath.
There are some things that are unrealistic to tell the emperor verbally.
Only by letting him see it with his own eyes and interrogate him personally can the results be truly accurate.
The rain outside was getting heavier and heavier, and Chengen Hall was destined to be anything but peaceful.
————
Inside the Chengen Hall, a man and a woman, dressed in rags, knelt on the ground, their bodies trembling like leaves.
"Hmph, Consort Shu, Daoist Liu, you have truly given me a wonderful surprise!"
The emperor's deep, angry voice was like that of the King of Hell, and the two men immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
They never expected to be interrupted just as they were enjoying themselves.
And the one who will interrupt them will be the emperor himself!
When the emperor walked in from outside the hall, both of them were so frightened that their faces instantly turned pale.
Liu Bufan rolled off the bed without even getting dressed properly.
Consort Shu stammered, trying to figure out how to explain the situation in order to avoid death.
"Your Majesty...Your Majesty...your concubine..."
Before she could finish speaking, the emperor grabbed her by the neck and lifted her off the ground.
She was only wearing a thin shirt, her skin faintly visible beneath it.
The emperor's cold, sharp eyes calmly swept over every inch of her skin, his gaze gradually moving downwards until it settled on her flat stomach.
At that moment, the emperor's eyes were filled with an unprecedented killing intent.
Consort Shu's face instantly turned bright red from being unable to breathe.
"Consort Shu, do you know what crime you have committed?"
"Your Majesty... I beg you..."
"No, you are not worthy to beg for mercy." With a forceful movement, the emperor tossed Consort Shu aside like a kite, where she landed on the ground with a dull thud.
Even though his whole body ached as if it were falling apart, he still had to get up and kneel down.
The emperor approached her step by step, saying as he went, "You are not pregnant, yet you lie and say you are. This is deceiving the emperor."
"As a concubine in the harem, you are not content to stay at home and have an affair with outsiders. This is a crime that deserves to be punished."
"Your Majesty, spare my life! Your Majesty, spare my life!"
The emperor crouched down, pinched Consort Shu's tear-streaked chin with one hand, and asked sternly:
"Shu Ziming, every night I don't come to your palace, do you make love with this Liu Bufan?"
"Your Majesty, no, no!" Consort Shu cried out, trying desperately to shake her head, but the emperor's hand gripped her chin tightly, making it impossible for her to move her head.
"It was Liu Bufan! It was him! He broke into my palace tonight, and he forced himself on me! I couldn't resist him, I'm innocent, Your Majesty!"
Consort Shu no longer cared about anything else; she pushed all the blame onto Liu Bufan, which was better than both of them dying together.
Upon hearing this, Liu Bufan pushed himself up from the ground and began to hurl insults:
"You shameless woman, you clearly seduced me! You said His Majesty hadn't favored you in a long time, and you couldn't stand the loneliness! It was clearly you who seduced me!"
He knelt on the ground, approached the emperor on both knees, then hugged his legs and wept:
"Your Majesty, you are wise! Even if I had the guts of a bear and the gall of a leopard, I would never dare to covet your woman! It was she who bewitched me!"
The emperor's sinister eyes swept over him.
His hair was disheveled, and his body was covered in red and purple hickeys. A sinister smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
"Is that so?" the emperor asked coldly.
Seeing that the emperor was inclined to believe him, Liu Bufan immediately nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, as if he had been granted a pardon.
"Yes, yes, yes..."
But the emperor never gave him another chance to explain.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
