Just a Wet Nurse, Just a Plaything? Everyone Wept After My Death - Chapter 82

Chapter 82

Night fell. The wind and snow over the Northern Compound had stopped, but the bone-deep chill lingered.

Shen Yingyue had spent half the day pressing ice water against her face. The swelling had gone down somewhat, but the dark purplish-red finger marks remained stark against her deathly pale skin.

She did not dare let Xiao Ze see her like this, so she kept a veil over her face, revealing only her eyes.

“His Majesty has arrived!”

The announcement crashed through the silent Northern Compound like a clap of thunder.

Shen Yingyue nearly dropped the bowl of medicine in her hands. She scrambled to her feet, but before she could compose herself, a figure in imperial yellow had already strode through the doors.

Xiao Jingheng was dressed in informal robes, having clearly come without fanfare once again. The moment he entered, his gaze settled on Shen Yingyue, who was just lowering herself to her knees.

“I… pay my respects to Your Majesty.”

Shen Yingyue prostrated herself, her head bowed so low that she wished she could bury her face between the floor tiles.

Xiao Jingheng did not tell her to rise. He merely walked over and stared at the thin veil covering her face. After a moment, his brows drew together.

“Why are you wearing a veil for no reason?”

“Your Majesty… I have broken out in a rash. I feared the sight might offend Your Majesty, and even more that I might pass it to His Highness.” Shen Yingyue’s voice trembled as she told the clumsy lie.

“A rash?”

Xiao Jingheng gave a soft laugh, but no amusement reached his eyes. Bending slightly, he reached out and hooked one finger beneath the edge of her veil, brooking no refusal.

“Take it off.”

“Your Majesty…” Shen Yingyue instinctively tried to shrink away.

“I said, take it off.”

The sovereign’s voice hardened, carrying an authority that allowed no argument.

Shen Yingyue stiffened. In the end, she did not dare defy an imperial command. With trembling hands, she slowly removed the veil.

Under the candlelight, her once exquisitely beautiful face was laid bare. The left side was badly swollen, with bruising at the corner of her mouth. Five distinct finger marks marred her beauty like a brand of humiliation.

Xiao Jingheng’s pupils contracted.

A surge of inexplicable fury rose within him.

She was prey he had set his sights on, and before he had even had the chance to toy with her, someone else had already beaten her into this state?

“This is what you call a rash?”

Xiao Jingheng reached out, brushing the pad of his finger lightly over her swollen cheek.

“Ah…” Shen Yingyue flinched from the pain, her lashes quivering.

“Who struck you?” Xiao Jingheng’s voice was cold as ice.

Shen Yingyue bit her lip and averted her gaze. “I… I accidentally bumped into something…”

“You bumped into something and came away with a handprint?”

Xiao Jingheng caught her chin and forced her to look at him. “Lying to me within this palace is the crime of deceiving the sovereign. Lady Shen, think carefully before you answer.”

Shen Yingyue looked into the unfathomable eyes of the man before her, her heart filled with bitterness.

Should she complain to him?

Noble Lady Li was currently in favor. Shen Yingyue was merely a wet nurse without any rank or status. If she complained now, others would only accuse her of growing arrogant because she had gained imperial favor, inviting even worse retaliation.

“Please forgive me, Your Majesty…” She lowered her head, choosing to remain silent. “I did not understand the rules and required a Noble Lady’s correction.”

“Correction?”

Xiao Jingheng gave a cold snort and released her. Naturally, he could guess who had done it. He had seen more than enough of the harem’s petty schemes born of jealousy and rivalry.

He pressed her no further, but his displeasure only deepened. Part of it came from someone daring to lay hands on what belonged to him, and part from the forbearance and cowardice of the woman before him.

He rose and swept his gaze around the cold, desolate palace before suddenly speaking.

“Li Dequan.”

“I am here.”

“Prepare the water. I will spend the night in the Northern Compound.”

The entire room was stunned into silence.

Li Dequan was so shocked that he nearly dropped his fly whisk. His eyes widened into circles.

What sort of place was the Northern Compound? It was a dilapidated dump even worse than the Cold Palace! The bed was hard enough to dig into one’s bones, while the bedding was stuffed with old cotton and reeked of mildew. How could the Emperor, whose person was worth ten thousand pieces of gold, possibly lower himself to stay here?

But one look at His Majesty’s cold, forbidding expression silenced him. Even if he had ten times the courage, he would not dare utter a word of objection.

“Yes… yes! I will see to it at once!”
Li Dequan scurried out of the room. Once outside, he lowered his voice and barked urgent orders at several young eunuchs.

“Quick! Go back to Qianqing Palace! Bring the Emperor’s usual bright yellow cloud-dragon satin quilt, his soft pillows, and all the prepared Silver Frost charcoal!

“And carry over the golden-thread nanmu bathtub as well! Hurry! If His Majesty catches a chill, I’ll skin every last one of you!”

The Emperor’s decision to spend the night threw the previously deathly silent Northern Compound into chaos.

Palace servants hurried in and out carrying brocade quilts, golden basins, and incense burners, transforming the shabby inner chamber with a touch of imperial luxury and warmth.

Inside the chamber, Shen Yingyue jerked her head up, terror filling her eyes. “Your Majesty?! But… this place is so crude. How could you possibly…”

“What? You don’t want me to stay?” Xiao Jingheng looked down at her, a dangerous gleam in his eyes.

“I would not dare!” Shen Yingyue kowtowed again.

Xiao Ze had awakened on the bed. He looked at Shen Yingyue kneeling on the floor, then at his imposing imperial father, and called out softly, “Nurse… I’m scared…”

Shen Yingyue’s heart ached. She quickly comforted him. “Don’t be afraid, Your Highness. The Emperor has come to see you.”

Xiao Jingheng glanced at his frail son and said indifferently, “Carry the Ninth Prince to the side chamber and have a matron coax him back to sleep. Tonight… Lady Shen will remain here to serve me.”

…

Half an hour later, steam filled the humble washroom. Flower petals floated in the newly delivered bathtub as Shen Yingyue washed herself with warm water.

She stared at her reflection in the water: her swollen face and the body that had once belonged to Huo Xiao but would now be offered to another man.

Humiliation. Fear. Disgust.

The emotions churned together until she nearly retched.

But she could not run.

This was imperial power. It was the only path that could save Ze’er and help her exact revenge.

Shen Yingyue closed her eyes and drew a deep breath before putting on the thin nightgown.

When she returned to the inner chamber, the bed had already been made with a soft, bright yellow brocade quilt. Xiao Jingheng reclined against the headboard with a book in hand, though his gaze was nowhere near its pages.

When she entered, he set the book aside.

“Come here.”

Shen Yingyue lowered her head. Like a lamb awaiting slaughter, she inched toward the bed one step at a time.

“Kneel.”

Shen Yingyue obeyed, sinking to her knees on the brand-new wool carpet.

Xiao Jingheng reached out and hooked a finger beneath the collar of her nightgown. The tantalizing glimpse he had caught through the crack in the window that night was now laid entirely bare before him.

“You truly are an exquisite beauty.”

Xiao Jingheng’s voice was slightly hoarse. He pulled her onto the bed and pinned her beneath him.

“Ah…”

A startled cry escaped Shen Yingyue as the welts on her back struck the mattress, sending a sharp stab of pain through her.

Xiao Jingheng ran a hand over her back, his fingers brushing the raised scars one after another.

“Were these the Huo Family’s doing as well?” he asked.

“Yes…” Shen Yingyue closed her eyes as a tear slipped from the corner of one.

“Huo Xiao is a fool. What a waste of such beauty.”

Xiao Jingheng gave a cold laugh and lowered his head to kiss her swollen cheek. The kiss held no tenderness. It was possessive and domineering, an act of plunder and a declaration of ownership.

“Don’t be afraid,” he whispered in her ear, his breath scorching hot. “Now that you’re mine, no one in this palace but me will dare lay a finger on you again.”

“Your Majesty…”

Shen Yingyue opened her eyes and stared at the bright yellow canopy overhead.

Amid the tearing pain and humiliation, she stopped resisting. Instead, she raised both arms and willingly wrapped them around the neck of the man who held the power of life and death over all beneath heaven.

She told herself silently:

Shen Yingyue, endure it.

This is the first step in your climb to the top.

The red candles flickered, casting the shadows of their entwined bodies against the walls.

The cold wind continued to howl through the Northern Compound that night, but Shen Yingyue’s fate had changed forever.

She was no longer the lowly wet nurse from the General’s Manor.

She was the Emperor’s woman.

And in the depths of this palace, she was a poisonous flower about to break through the soil.