Chapter 2 – The Lowly Servant

Murong Zhining’s expression was utterly calm, not a trace of fear could be seen on her face. “Your Majesty, if you only give me a chance, I can prove that I’m not the Zhuang family’s daughter-in-law. If Your Majesty insists on punishing me because of my offensive words to you earlier, then I have nothing more to say.”

Yan Feng had never intended to give Murong Zhining a chance to prove her innocence at all. After all, if this girl called him a fatuous ruler, what else would she dare to do?

However, what she just said left Yan Feng with no other choice. If he sentenced her to death now, it would prove that the emperor was a petty person who took advantage of his position to carry out personal revenge. Would he be any different from a fatuous ruler then? Watching as Murong Zhining remained calm in the face of this crisis and recalling the sharpness hidden in her words, Yan Feng was shocked. This girl, she wasn’t simple at all!

Yan Feng impatiently waved his hand. “Put these three servants in the prisons. I am tired. I’ll question them another day when I have the time.”

The emperor’s quarters – Wan’an Palace, inside the Imperial Study.

At his desk, Yan Feng read through a variety of reports. Zhuang Cheng’s corruption case still had some loose ends as its scope was far too large. All six ministries had personnel involved, and even two members of the Imperial clan were a part of it. Dealing with this case gave Yan Feng an unending headache.

He had executed Zhuang Cheng in order to hide some details that were too sensitive to be made public. However, as he thought of a way to punish all of the other corrupt scoundrels, the usually decisive emperor had never felt so tired in both body and soul. Especially when remembering that he still had to deal with the Imperial members involved in this mess.

Yan Feng pinched the spot between his brows and leaned back in his chair. He was truly exhausted. At this moment, a pair of small, soft hands reached out from behind and began to rub his shoulders. Yan Feng squinted his eyes in extreme pleasure and he smiled. “Thank you for your trouble, my beloved consort.” Even with his eyes closed, he could tell who was behind him.

Chiyun Ping’s charming face was all smiles as her hands gently massaged, trying to ease up Yan Feng’s exhaustion. She was the only person that could appear next to the emperor at any time without making an announcement first.

This sometimes displeased Yan Feng, but the position of her family clan could rival that of the Imperial clan’s power due to their meritorious deeds. Her brother, Chiyun Yuexuan, had even risked his life to save Yan Feng once. Based on this alone, Yan Feng had to favor Chiyun Ping. He gave her unique privileges that made her the target for envy and admiration of every woman in this world.

Yan Feng pulled the hard-working Chiyun Ping to sit in his lap. As he gazed at her beautiful face, there was absolutely not a single ripple of emotion in his heart. He knew that Chiyun Ping was very beautiful, but for some reason, he never once felt any love for her.

His feelings for Chiyun Ping were so dull that even Yan Feng himself felt apologetic towards her. He could only provide Chiyun Ping his favor. He married her only to increase the Chiyun clan’s glory. It had nothing to do with love!

Yan Feng recalled his past empress. She was betrothed and married to him when she was only a 14-year-old girl and he, merely a common prince. The empress wasn’t beautiful and charming like Chiyun Ping; she looked plain and was always forbearing, but Yan Feng liked that very much. Even though the empress didn’t possess a beauty capable of swaying a nation, he still liked her more.

To compete for the emperor’s favor, the women of the Imperial Harem would often do things that greatly annoyed Yan Feng. Compared to Chiyun Ping, the empress had always shown herself to be magnanimous. This helped avoid many harem issues that could ensue, sparing Yan Feng a lot of troubles.

Unfortunately, the empress had passed away from illness two years ago. Using the grief over her death as his excuse, Yan Feng had been holding off appointing a new empress.

Chiyun Ping dreamed of being Yan Feng’s empress, but not because she coveted the glory that came with it. She was already the most favored woman in the Imperial Palace; wealth and fame meant nothing to her. The only thing she wanted was Yan Feng’s heart. By gaining the title of “Empress," Chiyun Ping thought she could confirm his love for her.

At night, the palace maids silently retreated to wait at the door after serving Yan Feng and Chiyun Ping in bed. The entire Wan’an Palace fell silent. The faint smoke from the burning candles as well as the fragrance of burning sandalwood incense drifted around the chambers.

On the Dragon Bed, Yan Feng was in no mood to make love, and soon fell asleep.

Chiyun Ping, on the other hand, wasn’t sleepy at all. She lay on her side with one hand propping her cheek and gazed at the man sleeping next to her. The emperor’s face was illuminated by the gentle candlelight, and the shadows moving around enthralled Chiyun Ping.

She only wanted things to stay as they were now. She absolutely refused to share his love with any other woman. After the empress finally died, Chiyun Ping considered herself the only one who could firmly grasp Yan Feng’s heart.

Too busy with other national matters, Yan Feng forgot about the servant girls. Today was their fifth day inside the cold and wet underground prison cells. Every day, their meals had been smelly buns. Even water was rationed. There was not enough to drink, let alone wash their faces. After living in these conditions for several days, the three girls were miserable.

They were kept in three separate cells. The three quietly looked at one another, then each sank into their own thoughts.

Suddenly, Cai Sang angrily pointed at the maid who had reported Murong Zhining. “Cai Qin, you have only been known to harm others, bet you didn’t think this time you would harm yourself as well, did you? People like you will come to no good in the end!”

Cai Qin scoffed, “So what if I hate her arrogant face? So what if I hate her for no reason? So what if I just want her to suffer? What can you do to me?”

Cai Sang furiously glared at Cai Qin. “We are all daughters of poor peasant families, yet you always try to corner others to death. Who knows what you think about?! You isolated Zhining and planned to become the family daughter-in-law yourself. Now that the family has collapsed, you vent all your rage on her.”

The two girls broke into an argument and started exchanging verbal blows back and forth.

Murong Zhining leaned in the corner of her cell. She looked as calm as ever, as if everything that was happening here had nothing to do with her.

Murong Zhining knew from a very young age that the human heart was the most unpredictable thing. During her life of constant roaming with bad luck, she soon developed a mind of steel.

In her memories, there was only endless fleeing and the miserable experience of being sold from one person to another. However, some vague but warm scenes would appear in her dreams from time to time:

A beautiful and well-dressed noble woman held a little girl and walked towards a handsome and imposing man. The man gently took them in his embrace and used his chin to nudge the little girl’s soft face, his eyes full of love and smiles. In turn, the little girl let out a bell-like and babyish giggle.

Every time Murong Zhining woke up from that warm dream, she felt an intense desire to know: Who am I really? Where are my parents? Why were there always people chasing after me and my nanny?

The entrance gate of the prison opened with a creak. Thanks to his guard’s reminder, Yan Feng had finally remembered the unfinished business from five days ago at the Zhuang Estate.

Today was a rare day that he had some free time to spare, so Yan Feng decided to get to the bottom of this. Recalling the girl who had called him a fatuous ruler, a shadow flashed across his handsome face. “Bring those servants, I will question them myself.”

The three girls were taken to the back garden of the Imperial Palace. Dressed in a normal outfit, Yan Feng sat in the pavilion above the lotus pond and gazed out into the distance. On the stone table next to him were dishes of beautifully arranged fresh fruits and delicate pastries.

Yan Feng fluttered a folding fan as he savored the tea and enjoyed the beautiful scenery before him. His attention seemed to be attracted by some unfamiliar birds flapping their wings at the edge of the pond. He completely ignored the three prostrating girls.

Cai Qin furtively raised her head a little. Through the corner of her eyes, she gazed at the pastries on the table with greed. The girl swallowed her saliva, having been driven nearly insane by her hunger.

Back in the Zhuang Estate, Cai Qin was in charge of serving Madam Zhuang. Madam Zhuang was a formidable and ruthless woman. Because she was the main wife and she had her rich and powerful parent’s family behind her, she trained her man to be well-behaved. Even the servants didn’t get to a single peaceful day when she was around.

Having been by Madam Zhuang’s side for a long time, Cai Qin figured out her personality and knew just how to cater to her whims. Madam Zhuang loved flattery, so Cai Qin buttered up to her every day. When Madam Zhuang loathed a maid for growing too beautiful, Cai Qin would help her think of a way to handle that maid. That was why Madam Zhuang considered Cai Qin to be her trusted confidant.

Serving the madam, Cai Qin had never lacked delicacies to enjoy. However, since she had spent the past several days in prison eating smelly moldy buns, the sight of the tasty pastries inevitably aroused an intense desire for food in her. Cai Qin hated that she couldn’t just snatch them and eat to her heart’s content.

Yan Feng retracted his gaze and glanced at the prostrating girls on the ground, his slightly furrowed brows clearly showed his contempt. Then, the emperor’s cold imposing voice resounded, “Which of you was the lowly servant that called me a fatuous ruler that day?”

“It was I.” Murong Zhining kept a straight face. “That day, I only spoke out of despair and did not mean to offend Your Majesty at all. The Heaven’s Son of our Huayan Country is a wise emperor. I am terribly ashamed of my mindless words back then.”

The corner of his lips curved up a little, as Yan Feng scornfully growled, “Don’t think that I will let you off just because you apologize. That day, you called me a fatuous ruler in front of many people. That is not something that can simply be written off with just some nice words.”

Murong Zhining was neither overbearing nor servile. “That wasn’t an apology. I only wanted to explain myself.”

Hearing this, Yan Feng’s expression, that had only just softened instantly, turned frosty again. At his temples, green veins could be seen throbbing.

The surroundings suddenly lapsed into a dead silence. The palace maids and eunuchs were so nervous that they all drooped their heads, knowing full well that the emperor’s fury was going to explode.

Yan Feng’s eunuch-in-waiting shouted in a high-pitched and shrill voice, “Audacious servant! Just how many lives do you think you have? How dare you offend His Majesty again? This crime of yours deserves the nine familial exterminations!”

Murong Zhining’s expression remained unchanged, calm as ever, “If so, Your Majesty would be disappointed. Since I have no parents and have been an orphan since I was little, I have no such thing as nine families. From the start, Your Majesty has refused to give me a chance to explain for myself, so it doesn’t matter how many more crimes I am charged with in the end.”

Yan Feng’s rage had reached its peak. Never before had he seen such an outrageous woman. He was the Son of Heaven. He never needed a reason to kill someone, but he never knowingly harmed an innocent life either. Yet, this girl repeatedly doubted his sagacity and criticized him as if he were a cruel murderer of a king.

Yan Feng pointed at Murong Zhining with a shaky finger, “I will give you a chance to die a justified death. I actually want to see how you will prove that you are not the Zhuang family’s daughter-in-law!”