Chapter 12 The Struggle: Use Yourself to Exchange
Zhou Ling's arms were still around her, not a full embrace, but with an undeniable sense of control.
His gaze swept across the scene. Li Zuo had already subdued the assassin and ordered the accompanying imperial physician to immediately check on Zheng Yu and Su Wanqing's injuries.
Zheng Yu had a gruesome wound on his shoulder and back, and had fallen into a coma due to excessive blood loss, but the imperial physician confirmed that his life was not in immediate danger after examination.
Su Wanqing's condition was much more serious. The knife wound had injured her spine. Although the imperial physician tried his best to stop the bleeding and bandage her, he reported with a heavy expression: "Your Majesty, this young lady's life should be safe, but... her legs may never be able to stand again."
Upon hearing this, Fangru was struck dumb, and tears instantly welled up in her eyes.
Wanqing suffered this calamity while saving her!
Zhou Ling frowned. He glanced at Fang Ru, who was pale as a ghost, and then at Su Wanqing, who was unconscious on the bed. He said in a deep voice, "Use the best medicine, send the best imperial physicians, and do everything you can to save her life."
In the following days, Fangru was exhausted.
She had to force herself to handle the aftermath of the Dali Temple's affairs, and also visit the seriously injured Zheng Yu and the bedridden Su Wanqing every day.
Despite the Imperial Medical Academy's best efforts, Su Wanqing's injuries were extraordinary, and the rare medicinal materials and resources required for her continued recovery were almost beyond what an individual could afford.
Just as Fangru was deeply worried about this, Zhou Ling summoned her to the palace.
Inside the Zichen Palace, he did not sit on the throne, but stood by the window with his hands behind his back.
The setting sun gilded his figure with a golden edge, making him appear even more unfathomable and profound.
"I have consulted the imperial physicians about Su Wanqing's injuries." He got straight to the point, his voice devoid of emotion. "She needs to be nourished with rare medicinal herbs for many years, supplemented by acupuncture, which may offer a glimmer of hope for improvement. However, the cost of this treatment is something even noble families would find difficult to sustain."
Fangru's heart sank: "Your Majesty..."
Zhou Ling slowly turned around, his gaze falling on her face as if it were a physical object, interrupting her words: "I can provide her with the best imperial physicians and all the rarest medicinal herbs in the world, so that she can receive the most comprehensive care until the end of her life."
Just as a glimmer of hope ignited in Fangru's eyes, he continued, his tone calm yet carrying the undeniable, irresistible pressure of an emperor:
"But I have one condition."
He approached her step by step until they could hear each other's breath.
He raised his hand, his cool fingertips gently brushing across her chin, forcing her to lift her pale face and meet his deep, all-consuming eyes.
"Enter the palace and stay by my side." His voice deepened, carrying a fatal allure and absolute possessiveness, "Be my Consort Chen."
Fangru trembled and instinctively tried to back away, but his gaze held her firmly in place.
"Didn't you want to save Gu Zhou?" He leaned down slightly, his warm breath almost burning her earlobe, but his words were like the sharpest knife. "Didn't you want to give Su Wanqing a peaceful life?"
"Promise me, and I will give you all of this." His fingertips traced the corner of her lips, with an almost cruel tenderness. "Use yourself in exchange."
The air inside the hall seemed to freeze.
Fangru could clearly hear her own frantic heartbeat, as well as the steady and controlling breathing of the man in front of her.
Looking into his eyes, she saw the determination and hidden desire surging within them, and knew she had no way out.
For Wanqing's chance of survival, for Gu Zhou's slim hope... she closed her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling violently. When she opened them again, only a silent resolve remained in her eyes.
She slowly bent her knees and knelt down, her voice dry but clear: "This humble woman... thanks Your Majesty for your grace."
...
From then on, Fangru became the most eye-catching Consort Chen in the harem of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Rewards poured into her palace like a flowing river, bestowing upon her unparalleled favor and making her the center of attention, strikingly similar to her circumstances in her first life.
The palace servants all say that Consort Chen is the most favored concubine in the six palaces, and His Majesty stays in her palace almost every night.
Only Fangru herself knew what kind of undercurrents were surging beneath this dazzling glory.
Every act of intimacy, every seemingly tender moment of close companionship, is a silent contest and exchange.
She moaned beneath him, responding to his burning desires, but her gaze would occasionally drift to the window, carrying a melancholy that went unnoticed by anyone.
Zhou Ling could always keenly detect her distraction, and what followed was an even more forceful and even punitive invasion, as if he wanted to completely imprint his mark on her body and soul.
"What are you thinking, my beloved?" In the dead of night, he would often hold her waist and whisper in her ear, his voice tender yet laced with sarcasm.
Fangru always lowered her eyelashes, concealing all her true emotions, and responded in a carefully practiced, gentle tone: "Your Majesty is thinking... Your Majesty treats me so well."
Zhou Ling chuckled softly, the meaning of his laughter ambiguous, his fingers casually twirling her hair. He knew she was acting, and she knew he knew too.
But this play must continue.
The days in the inner palace passed by amidst outward favor and covert power struggles.
On this day, in the Imperial Garden, Fangru was leaning on the railing, gazing at the fish swimming in the pond, but her thoughts drifted to Wanqing's illness outside the palace and Guzhou's situation in prison.
A tinkling sound of jade pendants accompanied by unhurried footsteps came from behind.
Fangru did not turn around, but she already knew who it was: the Empress, the late Emperor's designated consort for Zhou Ling. She had a weak relationship with the Emperor, but valued power and face the most.
"Consort Chen, you're in quite a good mood." The Empress's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a natural air of superiority. "Now that the Emperor's favor is so great, even the scenery in the Imperial Garden is probably more beautiful than others see, isn't it?"
Fangru turned around and curtsied slightly, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress."
The Empress did not immediately make her rise. Her gaze swept critically over her, from the nine-phoenix gold hairpin with pearls newly bestowed upon her by Zhou Ling to the cloud-like silk robe she wore. Her tone grew increasingly bitter: "I think you are even more beautiful than when you first entered the palace. Indeed, His Majesty stays at Yilan Palace every night, and the favors he bestows upon you are naturally different."
If it were her previous life, Fangru would have refused to back down, either by clever rebuttal or by secretly setting a trap, determined to make this unfavored empress suffer.
At this moment, however, she had no desire to compete for the emperor's favor. In fact, she was even hoping to anger the empress by taking this opportunity. If she could be demoted or even banished from the palace as a result, it would be a relief.
She maintained her curtsy, her voice calm and even: "Your Majesty flatters me. It is my blessing that His Majesty has shown me such favor. All my sisters in the palace are blessed by His Majesty, and I dare not claim such honor alone."
This almost submissive attitude only angered the Empress, who felt it was a pretentious act with veiled sarcasm. "So you dare not be proud of yourself!" the Empress sneered. "I see you as arrogant and disrespectful, relying on the Emperor's favor! Today, I will teach you a lesson in palace etiquette on behalf of His Majesty!"
Just as the Empress raised her hand, and the maid beside her was about to step forward, a cold and solemn voice suddenly rang out:
"I had no idea that the Empress had the power to set rules on my behalf?"
Zhou Ling had arrived unnoticed, standing with his hands behind his back under a flowering tree not far away. His face was calm, but his gaze was as cold as ice, shooting straight at the Empress.
The concubines and palace servants were so frightened that they hurriedly knelt down on the ground.
The Empress's expression changed drastically, and she quickly curtsied, saying, "Your Majesty..."
Zhou Ling didn't even look at her, but walked straight to Fangru and helped her up himself.
His fingertips were warm, and the strength with which he gripped her arm carried an undeniable authority.
He looked down at her, his tone unreadable: "Have you been wronged?"
Fangru lowered her eyelashes and gently shook her head: "Your Majesty, I dare not."
Zhou Ling then slowly turned to the Empress, his gaze sharp as a knife: "The Empress seems to have been quite idle lately. Since you have the mind to interfere in how my concubines receive favors, you should think about how to manage the Empress's palace. Don't let me see the harem in chaos due to unwarranted disputes."
These were extremely harsh words of reprimand. The Empress's face turned deathly pale, her lips trembling: "Your Majesty, I only..."
"But what?" Zhou Ling interrupted her, his voice not loud, but full of authority. "Consort Chen is gentle and does not contend with others, which pleases me greatly. But that is not a reason for others to bully her at will. Issue my decree that the Empress's words and actions were improper, and she is to be confined to Fengyi Palace for one month to reflect on her mistakes. The affairs of the palace will be temporarily handled by Consort Xian."
These words shocked everyone present.
Confining the empress to her quarters and stripping her of her palace power was a severe punishment.
The Empress stared at Zhou Ling in disbelief, and finally bowed her head in despair under the Emperor's cold gaze. She was helped away in a disheveled state.
Zhou Ling's gaze then swept over the kneeling concubines and finally landed on Fangru, who stood beside him with her head bowed and eyes lowered.
He naturally didn't miss her deliberate nonconfrontational attitude, even her desire for punishment, and a nameless anger rose in his heart. Did she really want to leave him like that?
He suddenly reached out and, in full view of everyone, naturally picked Fangru up in his arms!
Fangru gasped and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.
"My beloved concubine has been frightened," Zhou Ling said, carrying her in his arms as he strode toward Yilan Palace. His voice was not loud, but it was enough for the kneeling crowd behind him to hear clearly. "I will take you back."
The concubines knelt on the spot, their whispers filled with disbelief, amazement, and envy.
"His Majesty actually punished the Empress for the sake of Consort Chen!"
"He even carried her back himself... This favor is truly unprecedented!"
"What kind of magic does Consort Chen possess...?"
Fangru leaned against Zhou Ling's chest and could feel his uneven heartbeat and the strong force of his arms.
She knew that his actions were both a defense and a declaration, using an almost domineering approach to completely cut off any possibility of her wanting to keep a low profile or withdraw.
As night deepened, the flickering candlelight in Yilan Palace cast entangled figures onto the gauze curtains, like the struggle of trapped beasts.
Zhou Ling's embrace was forceful and burning, carrying an unyielding imperial will.
Fangru's struggles were like an ant trying to shake a tree, futile and ineffective in the face of his absolute power.
Finally, she collapsed from exhaustion, closed her eyes, and let the punitive invasion sweep over her, crushing her dignity and will inch by inch.
She was almost swallowed up by the wave of humiliation and powerlessness when the man's movements on her suddenly became slow and deep, with a strange, almost obsessive tenderness.
His heavy breaths landed on the side of her neck, and the soft whispers that escaped his lips carried a hint of vulnerability.
"Fangru..."
Fangru suddenly realized that this was an opportunity!
Despite her physical discomfort and inner disgust, she stretched out her slightly trembling arm and climbed onto his sweaty back, her fingertips seemingly tracing the marks of those old wounds unintentionally.
Her voice, broken and hoarse with emotion, tentatively asked, "Your Majesty... why are you always so insecure? As if I might disappear at any moment..."
Zhou Ling paused for a moment, then his possessiveness deepened, as if he wanted to meld her into his very bones.
He buried his face in her neck and chuckled softly, but there was little joy in his laughter: "A sense of security? I have never known what that is since I was a child."
Fangru's heart suddenly raced. She softened her voice, like the gentlest trap: "Your Majesty is the ruler of the world, how could you..."
"The ruler of the world?" He interrupted her, his tone suddenly turning cold, carrying a self-mocking malice, "I was once an ant who couldn't even afford a full meal or a roof over my head!"
He seemed to have touched a deep chord, his movements slowed down, but his grip on her remained as firm as an iron clamp.
Driven by lust and a certain need for catharsis, he bit her earlobe, his voice low and dangerous, as if he were trapped in a distant nightmare:
“My mother was once an insignificant palace maid in the late emperor’s palace… forgotten in the temporary palace, with me, a prince who could not be seen in the light of day… We were like rats in a sewer, and being alive was the greatest blessing.” His breathing became heavy. “I remember that winter, it was bitterly cold… We were three months behind on rent, and that dog-like landlord… He beat my mother to death right in front of me… all for a few copper coins…”
Fangru felt the intense killing intent emanating from him and froze in fright.
Zhou Ling seemed to be trapped in that bloody night, his voice icy cold and devoid of any warmth: "...Then, I used the scissors that my mother knocked down when she fell...to kill him."
He tightened his grip on her arm, making it almost impossible for Fangru to breathe, as if he wanted to draw some kind of support from her, or as if he wanted to drag her down into that boundless darkness: "That was the first time I killed someone... I remember the blood... it was hot, viscous, and so foul it made me want to vomit... but it also taught me a lesson..."
He suddenly raised his head, his deep eyes still burning with lust, but now filled with a twisted ruthlessness and a desire for control, his gaze fixed on Fangru's face, which had turned deathly pale: "In this world, only power and absolute control can allow people to live, to obtain everything they desire, and to... never lose anything again."
Fangru felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave, her whole body chilled to the bone.
She had only intended to test his weaknesses, but she was caught off guard and glimpsed what kind of soul, torn apart and reborn amidst bloodshed and despair, was hidden beneath his overwhelming power and doting affection.
So young... and he killed someone...
A tremendous fear gripped her, causing her to tremble uncontrollably beneath him.
Zhou Ling keenly sensed her fear. A complex and unreadable emotion flashed in his eyes, seemingly regretful, yet also a deeper madness.
He suddenly sealed her lips with his, kissing her almost suffocatingly, swallowing her trembling and sobs. His subsequent possession took on a more predatory quality, as if he wanted to use the most primal method to erase everything she had just heard and re-imprint his indelible mark on her.
That night, Fangru felt as if she had walked on the edge of an abyss.
Not only did she fail to find a weakness that would allow her to escape unscathed, she also gained a deeper understanding of the dangerous and powerful force that bound her.
A note from the author:
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