"Yang, receive the imperial decree!"
As soon as Eunuch Tang arrived, he held up the imperial edict, looked at Yang Guifei, and shouted!
"Your Majesty, I accept the imperial decree!"
Consort Yang excitedly kowtowed to receive the imperial decree. Before kneeling down, she looked at Li Zhu triumphantly, as if to say: "See? The Emperor favors me the most. You're going to die!"
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Yang has been blinded by greed and has interfered in state affairs. She is hereby ordered to return to Yuanshu Palace to reflect on her mistakes in seclusion. This is the imperial decree!"
Consort Yang, kneeling on the ground, was stunned and didn't realize what was going on. Why was she being ordered to return to Yuanshu Palace to reflect on her mistakes in seclusion?
Shouldn't the emperor have issued an edict to execute Li Zhu? This was something the emperor had promised her! She couldn't accept this outcome, and even the eunuchs and maids beside her looked incredulous, wondering if their mistress had fallen out of favor. If that were the case, they, the servants, would be the most pitiful. If they were lucky, they could serve the next master; if they were unlucky, they might be executed or banished from the palace!
"Receive the imperial decree, Consort Yang!"
Tang Gonggong said without any emotional fluctuation, "I have no intention of guessing what Yang Guifei is thinking. I'm just here to deliver an imperial decree!"
He had no liking for Yang Guifei's reckless behavior. If she hadn't come to cause trouble for Nangong Qing, he wouldn't have been here. So many things had happened when he came before, yet he still didn't know how to restrain himself. Did he really think that accidents could happen to one person so easily?
She couldn't even see such obvious signs of being forced to leave. A concubine like that is practically dead. If it weren't for the Yang family behind her, this time, her collusion with the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard would have been enough to kill her several times over...
"Eunuch Tang, there must be a mistake. Didn't His Majesty promise me to execute Li Zhu? You were there at the time, so this imperial edict can't be fake, can it?"
The slap in the face came too quickly. The happier she was just now, the more her face hurt now. She never expected this outcome. Thinking of Li Zhu's words, a chill ran down her spine. The struggles in the harem were no less intense than those in the imperial court, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they were fraught with danger. If she really fell out of favor, given her usual arrogant and domineering behavior, she didn't know how many people would kick her when she was down!
"Your Highness, watch your words. I'm just following orders. If I were you, I'd be obediently returning to Yuan Shu Palace right now. It's very dangerous outside; the Crown Prince almost died on the way just now..."
Eunuch Tang said meaningfully, "This is a clear message to Yang Guifei, telling her that your plan to send the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard to intercept and kill the Crown Prince has been exposed. If you don't want to die, you'd better get back now..."
But how could Yang Guifei accept this result? She had gone to so much trouble to come to Nangong Qing's side today, and before she could even vent her anger, she was punished and sent back to reflect on her mistakes behind closed doors. No one could accept this!
"Impossible! His Majesty must be mistaken. You're all lying to me. You're all in cahoots! I must find His Majesty and get to the bottom of this. My brother cannot have died in vain. I must kill Li Zhu to avenge him..."
Consort Yang slumped to the ground, muttering her innermost thoughts. This made Li Zhu and Eunuch Tang's faces turn ugly. After all, they were still there, and she had spoken so bluntly, putting them in a difficult position...
If they were willing, they could relay her words to the Emperor verbatim, and her best outcome would be being banished to the Cold Palace!
"Yang Guifei, I'm giving you one chance to rephrase your words, or don't blame me for not warning you—your fate won't be as simple as being confined to your room to reflect on your mistakes..."
Li Zhu did not want to turn against Yang Guifei now. The Yang family still had considerable influence, and if they harbored rebellious intentions, it would still cause great trouble for the new Tang Dynasty. He needed to weaken the power of these powerful families first before taking action against them.
The people he killed all had ways of dying, and even these powerful families didn't dare to really turn against him on this matter. The evidence was irrefutable, and they couldn't deny it even if they wanted to!
Moreover, he currently has an understanding with his adoptive father that he will not be in any danger at all until the fundamental problem is resolved!
"Li Zhu, do you think you've won? My Yang family is a prestigious clan. This matter of you killing my brother won't just end like this. Even if I reflect on my actions in seclusion, someone will avenge me..."
Yang Guifei said fiercely, her eyes filled with hatred and malice!
"Your Majesty, please don't get angry with these people. They are insignificant figures who are not worthy of your anger. You are of noble birth; if you get upset, His Majesty will be distressed..."
Seeing his master so angry, the eunuch beside him quickly tried to comfort him.
Pfft!
Glug glug!
A sharp weapon pierced his body, and his head rolled to the ground...
This eunuch has such a foul mouth. He has repeatedly tested Li Zhu's patience to the limit, and even dared to call him a nobody to his face? He is the Crown Prince Regent, how could he tolerate such humiliation?
Yang Guifei was stunned for a moment, then she pointed at Li Zhu and roared like a madwoman.
"Li Zhu, I'm not finished with you! Even if you're the Crown Prince, you can't act so recklessly! I'm going to tell His Majesty about your evil deeds. A scoundrel like you deserves to be torn to pieces..."
She was angry not only because this eunuch was her confidant, but mainly because of his nimble fingers and attentive service; such a personal eunuch was not easy to train…
"Hmph, if you don't get out of here, believe me, I'll kill you too. You need to understand that although I'm going to Xiliang as a hostage, my father won't allow me to suffer any mishaps before I leave. Even if I kill you, he won't do anything to me. But you're different. If I kill you, no one will avenge you. You'll die in vain. Everything is for the greater good, understand?"
Li Zhu brandished the knife in front of Yang Guifei, frightening her so much that she turned pale and stared intently at him, as if she wanted to kill him with her eyes…
But this was ultimately just wishful thinking. She could sense Li Zhu's murderous intent, and she had no doubt that Li Zhu might actually kill her...
"Li Zhu, you just wait..."
Before leaving, Yang Guifei, feeling resentful, did not forget to threaten Li Zhu with words, which could be considered as a way of saving face for herself. She left through gritted teeth, ignoring even the corpse on the ground. Even though that eunuch was his most favored eunuch, it was meaningless at this moment. How could she put herself in danger for the sake of a servant?
"Take care, don't bother seeing me out... Be careful on the road. There was an archer ambushing me from the rooftop when I came here. You have no idea how skilled that archer was; he could hit a target from a hundred paces away, and his aim was incredibly accurate. I just don't know who slapped him down. If you happen to run into him, don't blame me for not warning you..."
Even at the very end, Li Zhu didn't forget to mock and humiliate Yang Guifei. She'd gone so far as to bully her own mother; if he didn't teach her a lesson, she wouldn't know when to stop. She was even confined to her quarters, yet she remained so arrogant…
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