Xue Xingyue looked at Consort Wan, a sudden shock gripping her heart. "Your Highness, are you with the Crown Princess..."
Consort Wan smiled, a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "They all say Miss Xue is intelligent, and I see it's true."
"Your Highness flatters me, but it's a pity your scheme didn't harm me in the slightest." The thought of Consort Wan attempting to ruin her reputation made her gaze grow cold.
Consort Wan snorted, "If it weren't for that unexpected interference midway, you would have already fallen into the trap."
"Your Highness, I am standing here perfectly fine before you. Thus, your scheme was, at best, futile. If Your Highness has no other matters, then I shall take my leave!"
She looked at Consort Wan, a hint of icy sharpness appearing in her clear eyes.
Even Consort Wan, who had engaged in countless struggles within the deep palace, was startled by such a gaze. A mere butcher's daughter possessed an aura that seemed more majestic than royalty.
This butcher's daughter was somewhat mysterious.
"Did I tell you you could leave?" Consort Wan waved her hand, and several figures in black appeared before Xue Xingyue.
"Your Highness, what is the meaning of this?" She turned to look at Consort Wan.
Consort Wan sneered, "I believe you are also troubled by the Emperor's favor towards you. I can help you. As long as after this matter is settled, you leave Song Xiuyuan, then..."
"Your Highness, I am truly sorry, but I cannot trust you." Having colluded with Zhao Xiuzhu to harm her, how could she possibly trust her? Unless she had lost her mind.
"Is that so? Then, it seems you may not be leaving my presence today." Consort Wan's gaze turned icy. She looked coldly at Xue Xingyue and continued, "Therefore, I advise you not to refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit."
Xue Xingyue smiled. Her beautiful face bloomed into a smile, like a budding flower suddenly unfurling, her radiance momentarily flowing.
"Is that so? But I do rather enjoy the forfeit."
"You are ungrateful." Consort Wan looked at her, her temper rising.
"Thank you for your compliment, Your Highness. But, Your Highness, are you sure you want to keep me here?" Xue Xingyue looked at Consort Wan, her gaze devoid of any panic or fear.
Consort Wan felt a flicker of unease. What kind of courage gave this butcher's daughter such composure, unfazed by flattery or disgrace?
"Is it not permissible for me to detain someone?" She was, after all, one of the four imperial consorts.
"Of course, it is permissible. However, Your Highness may not be begging me to leave later."
Consort Wan sneered, "Begging you? You are too arrogant. Guards, slap her!"
Xue Xingyue looked at Consort Wan and said coldly, "Your Highness, acting without authorization is not permitted."
"Dealing with you is like crushing an ant," Consort Wan scoffed.
Xue Xingyue suddenly moved closer to Consort Wan. Her eyes were like a clear spring, her face as white as angelica, emanating a chilling aura as pure and cold as a mountain god on a snow-capped peak, as noble as a celestial being from on high. She exuded an extreme coldness from every pore, making it impossible to meet her gaze directly.
Consort Wan instinctively took a step back. "You... what do you want to do? I am..."
"I know what you are. However, if Your Highness is foolish enough to court death, then I do not mind showing you a taste of my power." She said coldly.
"You dare!" Consort Wan was furious.
"What is there that I dare not do?" Xue Xingyue's lips curved into an unusually sinister smile.
Consort Wan faltered, stepping back a few paces. She ordered the men in black, "What are you standing there for? Seize her!"
The men in black attacked in unison. Consort Wan sneered, "Let's see how arrogant you can be now."
"Arrogance for a moment is not my style. I only wish to be arrogant for a lifetime." With that, she moved swiftly. After a few exchanges, the men in black lay sprawled on the ground.
Consort Wan was aghast. She had never expected this butcher's daughter to possess such martial prowess. "You... you are definitely not a butcher's daughter. I will tell the Emperor that you are..."
Xue Xingyue placed her index finger on her lips and whispered, "Your Highness, now that you know, please do not speak of it. Otherwise, I cannot guarantee that Your Highness will see tomorrow's sun."
"You..."
"Your Highness, you know my secret now, and I know yours. We are even." She smiled slightly at Consort Wan.
Consort Wan sneered, "My secret? Do you think I would let you live if you knew my secret?"
"What do you mean?" Xue Xingyue asked.
Consort Wan smiled and showed her a handkerchief. "Do you know why I was holding this handkerchief as soon as you entered?"
"Why?" she asked.
Consort Wan smiled and said, "Because it has medicine on it."
"What medicine?" Xue Xingyue's heart skipped a beat. Had she overlooked something?
"Do you feel a bit hot all over?" Consort Wan's smile was exceptionally radiant.
"You drugged me?" But when had Consort Wan administered the drug? Why hadn't she known?
Consort Wan sneered, "I know you escaped from the Crown Princess, and I know you are skilled in martial arts. Therefore, I thought that if I put the medicine on their clothes, then when you fought them, the moment they sweated, the medicine on their clothes would be released, and you would be drugged without realizing it.
However, this medicine is negligible. Moreover, you are very agile, so I dared not put too much, fearing you might discover it early. Therefore, I also put a lot on my handkerchief. Thus, with all this, the amount of medicine in your body now is sufficient."
Xue Xingyue stumbled back a few steps, trying to escape, but found she had absolutely no strength left in her body.
"You, although clever, are unfortunately a bit weak when it comes to battling me."
She knelt on one knee, looking coldly at Consort Wan, her voice exceedingly icy. "I warn you, if you dare to touch me, I will make you pay the price."
Consort Wan sneered, "You? Very well! I will wait for your revenge, but by then, perhaps it will be a done deal."
Xue Xingyue heard this and asked, "What do you mean?"
"What do I mean? Of course, I mean to ruin you. Zhao Xiuzhu is too stupid. She had such a good plan, yet she couldn't make you admit defeat. Don't you think I would feel comfortable?"
"I am, after all, the Prime Minister's fiancée. Aren't you afraid the Emperor will blame you for doing this?"
"Blame me?"
Consort Wan coldly smiled. "By then, you would no longer be pure. Do you think Song Xiuyuan would still want you?
Young lady, you still don't understand. Men value a woman's chastity above all else. Once your chastity is gone, even if they like you very much, they will not be able to have you."
"So, from beginning to end, you intended to ruin my purity?" Xue Xingyue's gaze gradually grew colder. How could she not know how important a woman's purity was? Yet they intended to take it away from her.