Concubine Yun stepped forward and grabbed the An King’s leg, “Your Majesty, no, no, no…”
The An King kicked Concubine Yun away and raged, “Yun Duanhai has committed the offense of insubordination, his crime is unforgivable. Anyone who pleads for him will be punished alongside him.”
“Your Highness…” The palace maid helped Concubine Yun up. Concubine Yun pushed the maid away and walked step by step towards the An King, “What crime did Duanhai commit? His greatest crime is defiling the person you’ve longed for day and night.”
“Presumptuous…” the An King roared.
“Ashamed and angered? But I will still speak, still speak. You think you like her, no, you don’t. You only like the benefits she brings you. After all, she doesn’t like you, she likes…”
“Silence, I want you to be silent…”
“Why should I? You don’t care about our past affections, why should I care about your reputation? Ask yourself, who do you care about? Aren’t they all tools for you? Both my children have been used by you. One is imprisoned in the capital, with no return date, and the other, a bandit slayer, is presumed dead. What else do I have to fear?” Concubine Yun roared heartbreakingly.
“Concubine Yun has gone mad. No one is allowed to enter or leave Ping An Palace without my permission.” The An King flicked his sleeve and was about to leave.
A hint of desperation flashed in Concubine Yun’s eyes. She turned, took something from the inner chamber, and rushed towards the An King. No one could see clearly what she was holding.
By the time they saw clearly, it was too late. Concubine Yun’s dagger attempted to pierce the An King’s body, but before she could get close, his guards discovered it. The guards stepped forward and knocked the dagger from Concubine Yun’s hand.
The dagger fell to the ground. The An King’s face was extremely grim. He slowly bent down, picked up the dagger, and then looked at Concubine Yun, saying word by word, “You wanted to kill me?”
Concubine Yun laughed, her laughter desolate, “I have nothing left. Since I’m going to hell, why not drag you, the prime culprit, to hell with me?”
The An King chuckled softly, his smile filled with coldness, “Unfortunately, you cannot kill me. Yun Gui Xiu, since you wish to die, I will grant your wish…”
With that, he thrust the dagger in his hand towards Concubine Yun’s neck.
“You will go to hell. I will wait for you in hell…” Blood flowed from the corner of her mouth as she screamed hoarsely.
The An King pulled out the dagger and said, “Find a place to bury her.”
“Your Majesty, Yun Duanhai has been rescued.”
The An King was stunned, frowned, and said coldly, “Chase him. Search every corner of the earth to find him.”
Ping An Palace returned to its peaceful state. The lock was fastened outside. Madam Yun Guo, crying heartbrokenly, had experienced the tragic death of Concubine Yun and her son being executed all within one day. What could be more tragic than this?
The noise outside finally ceased. Someone jumped down from a tree and scrambled to the pool of blood, crying uncontrollably, “Aunt, Duanhai has failed you, failed you…”
Xue Zi Ning leaped down. Although her landing was a bit shaky, she managed to hold on. She hadn’t expected so much to happen just because she left. It was good she returned, otherwise, her conscience would never be at peace.
Concubine Yun, you died because of me. I have nothing to repay you with, except a promise: as long as An Ping does not court death again, I will let her be.
She stepped forward and said, “Yun Shizi, if you stay any longer, you will be discovered.”
Yun Duanhai wiped away his tears and knelt to kowtow, “Aunt, Duanhai will avenge you.”
Xue Zi Ning stepped forward to help Yun Duanhai up. Yun Duanhai resolutely said, “You are still with child. You don’t need to worry about me. I am fine.”
“You should go back. Your family is worried,” Xue Zi Ning said.
Yun Duanhai looked at her and asked, “What will be your next move?”
Xue Zi Ning replied, “I want to see what the An King and Han Xi Chen are up to.”
“No, that’s too dangerous, especially since you are pregnant,” Yun Duanhai disagreed.
“I have already sent a message to Wen Yu Xi. I expect to receive news soon, and then it will be safe.”
Yun Duanhai shook his head, “Then let’s wait until they arrive. You should come back to the Guo Gong manor with me first.”
Xue Zi Ning wanted to refuse, but her belly suddenly moved. She slowly looked down at her stomach. She could see her belly moving. It was her child, moving.
“Alright.” She nodded. She did not fear death, but she could not let her child live in fear.
The Yun Guo Gong manor was now a sea of white, draped in mourning. Madam Yun Guo cried as if her heart would break.
Yun Wei Shu also couldn’t help but shed tears. Although she wasn’t very close to her brother, he was still her brother, how could she remain unmoved?
“Eldest Miss, Bai Mei is looking for you.”
Bai Mei was the head maid in her brother’s chambers. She asked the maid, “What does she want with me? My brother is gone, she can leave if she wants to.”
Bai Mei had once been the daughter of a prominent family, but her family had fallen into decline, and she ended up in a brothel. When her brother brought her back, their father and mother were strongly opposed. However, unable to resist her brother’s persistent pleading, their parents agreed to let Bai Mei enter the manor, but only as a maid, not a concubine.
She looked down on Bai Mei. If Bai Mei was looking for her now, it was probably because she wanted to leave, especially since her brother was gone.
“Bai Mei said she has something important to tell you, something about the Shizi.”
Yun Wei Shu froze. Although she knew it was just a ploy by Bai Mei to get her to come, she still didn’t refuse. She stood up and said, “Tell her to wait for me in my room.”
“Bai Mei requests you to go to the Shizi’s Yun Zhu Xuan.”
Yun Wei Shu gritted her teeth, “She better have an urgent matter, otherwise, I will not spare her.”
She got up and walked towards Yun Zhu Xuan, but stopped at the entrance. Tears involuntarily flowed down. Her brother was truly gone.
She wiped her tears, stepped into Yun Zhu Xuan, and saw Bai Mei. She said, “You wanted to see me? Now that you’ve seen me, shouldn’t you tell me what it’s about?”
Bai Mei moved aside and said, “Please follow this servant to the inner chamber.”
Yun Wei Shu frowned, “Bai Mei, what are you doing? Do you know you’re testing my patience?”
Bai Mei repeated, “Please follow this servant to the inner chamber.”
Yun Wei Shu suppressed her temper and said, “Lead the way.”
Bai Mei led the way. This was Yun Wei Shu’s first time entering her brother’s inner chamber. She thought it would be like her own, a small place for resting and sleeping, but she discovered her brother’s was different.
It could only be described as a hidden world. The inner chamber was another independent small courtyard. Upon opening the courtyard gate, Bai Mei said to the maid behind Yun Wei Shu, “Please wait outside, Eldest Miss can come in with me.”
“Miss.”
Yun Wei Shu nodded, “Wait for me.”
Bai Mei pushed open the door and said, “Eldest Miss, please.”
Yun Wei Shu looked at Bai Mei for a long time before stepping inside. The door closed behind her. Bai Mei whispered, “Young Master, Eldest Miss is here.”
Yun Wei Shu shivered. The young master Bai Mei spoke of…