Chapter 8: So Biased It Reaches the Pacific Ocean

Su Zhen had barely stepped through the doors, without even having time to put on the full display of an emperor’s fury, when a tiny figure shot out from behind the golden-thread nanmu pillar in the center of the hall like a cannonball from the barrel of a gun.

“Waaah! Father Emperor! Save me!”

Su Yaoyao’s eight-year-old legs pumped furiously as she tore across the polished golden-brick floor with an utterly reckless swagger.

When she was half a meter away from Su Zhen, she expertly let her knees buckle.

Riding the momentum, she slid forward and latched onto Su Zhen’s leg, hugging the one clad in black dragon boots without missing by an inch.

Her exquisitely delicate little face was buried hard in the expensive fabric of his dragon robe.

With her eyes squeezed shut, Su Yaoyao threw back her head and wailed at the top of her lungs, as if her heart had been torn apart.

The thunder was deafening, but there was hardly any rain. Not a single tear fell.

While no one could see, she secretly rubbed her reddened eyes—reddened from pretending to be pitiful—against the dragon robe.

[That scared the life out of me! This old witch is a dancing genius!]

[My titanium-alloy eyes are practically blinded!]

[Father Emperor, you have to stand up for me! The emotional-distress compensation alone should be at least a hundred or two hundred thousand taels, don’t you think?]

Her bright, cheerful thoughts, brimming with undisguised gloating, crashed into Su Zhen’s mind.

The taut line of Su Zhen’s jaw nearly gave way.

Forcing down the corners of his mouth, which were trying desperately to rise, he lowered his head and looked at the little head that was pretending to tremble against his leg.

“Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. Father Emperor is here. No one can hurt you.”

Su Zhen extended his broad hand and patted Su Yaoyao’s fluffy head soothingly twice.

Then he raised his head.

His deep, icy eyes swept toward the center of the hall.

Noble Consort Jing was still sitting on the cold golden-brick floor in a particularly gruesome split.

The once-luxurious crimson peony palace dress had been torn into strips of rags.

Her elegant coiffure was in complete disarray, and several strands of hair were still clenched in Nanny Gui’s hand.

When she saw the emperor descend like a god from the heavens, a burst of wild delight flared in the depths of Noble Consort Jing’s despairing eyes.

The emperor was here!

Her savior had finally arrived!

She would make her complaint!

She would appeal directly to the emperor!

She would make him see just what kind of bold, cruel demon this wild child picked up from the black market truly was!

Noble Consort Jing trembled all over with excitement, desperately trying to wipe the strange smile from her face.

She wanted to replace it with an aggrieved, helpless expression, like a pear blossom streaked with tears.

Her trembling hand reached toward Su Zhen in desperation.

“Your... Your Majesty...”

Noble Consort Jing opened her mouth, ready to accuse Su Yaoyao.

But the instant her vocal cords vibrated—

“Hahahahaha... Your Majesty, save me... geese, geese, geese!”

A loud, barbell-like burst of manic laughter erupted from her throat.

Noble Consort Jing’s eyes widened in terror.

No!

She didn’t want to laugh!

Her inner thighs were aching terribly, and her scalp hurt from being yanked.

She wanted to cry!

“Your Majesty... I didn’t... Hahahaha... It was her... geese, geese, geese!”

Noble Consort Jing shook her head frantically. Tears mixed with her smeared cosmetics, washing two muddy streaks down her face.

No matter how hard she tried, every word she spoke was interrupted by her crazed laughter.

To anyone watching, it looked exactly like she was provoking the emperor.

Beside her, Nanny Gui was tugging on the consort’s hair while rolling around on the floor, laughing hysterically.

“Hahahaha... Long live Your Majesty... This old servant can’t stop... Hahahaha!”

Su Zhen looked down at the mistress and servant from above, his eyes devoid of warmth.

He gave a cold snort.

“How dare you, Noble Consort!”

Su Zhen’s voice was deep, dignified, and commanding.

“As the head of the imperial harem, you should be dignified and virtuous, serving as an example to the entire harem!”

“And yet here you are, in front of the Crown Princess’s residence, with your clothes in disarray, disgracing yourself and acting like a madwoman!”

“You even brought a servant here to dance like a demon and make a racket. What kind of conduct is this?”

Su Zhen stepped forward, his imperial authority bearing down like Mount Tai.

“Are you trying to show defiance toward Me? Or did you deliberately barge in on My precious daughter?!”

Noble Consort Jing was struck dumb as if by a thunderbolt.

She had been poisoned by that little demon!

Could the emperor not see that she had been forced into this?!

“No... It wasn’t... Hahahaha... I’ve been wronged, Your Majesty... geese, geese, geese!”

Noble Consort Jing waved her hands frantically, trying to explain.

But Su Zhen did not give her the chance to plead her case. He pronounced judgment on the spot.

“Wronged? I saw everything with My own eyes. You were laughing so wildly—where is the injustice in that?”

“The Crown Princess has only just returned to the palace. She is young and timid.”

“As her elder, instead of showing her care, you came here to play the ghost and frighten her into fleeing in panic!”

The more Su Zhen spoke, the harsher he became, painting Noble Consort Jing as though she had committed one of the ten unforgivable crimes.

Hearing the words “young and timid” and “fleeing in panic,” Su Yaoyao, who was clinging to Su Zhen’s leg, nearly burst out laughing.

[Oh my goodness, my tyrant father is such a phenomenal actor!]

[His talent for twisting right and wrong and his eloquence at calling a deer a horse are incredible. What a waste that he isn’t writing storybooks!]

[This is favoritism on a continental scale! I love it!]

Hearing his daughter’s praise, Su Zhen straightened his back even further.

Naturally. If he was going to protect his child, then he would protect her to the very end. What need was there to talk about reason?

Throughout the world, the emperor’s word was the greatest reason of all!

Su Yaoyao poked half of her little head out and cooperated with Su Zhen’s performance.

“Father Emperor, Noble Consort Jing is so scary. She even tried to hit me. Boo-hoo-hoo...”

“She also said I wasn’t worthy of being the Crown Princess and that she was going to teach me a lesson...”

Su Yaoyao pretended to cry while continuing to hand Su Zhen ammunition in her thoughts.

[Father Emperor, this old witch bullied me. You can’t just let her off.]

[I heard that her Palace of Gathering Beauty is piled high with gold, silver, and precious treasures, all gifts from people trying to curry favor with her.]

[Those red corals and luminous pearls tributed from the Western Regions are all stored there, too.]

[Since she frightened me, taking a few things to calm my nerves shouldn’t be too much to ask, right?]

Not too much at all! It was perfectly reasonable!

Su Zhen silently nodded in agreement.

Although father and daughter exchanged no words, they had already completed the most harmonious joint operation of plundering the plunderers.

Su Zhen’s gaze sharpened as he delivered the final verdict.

“By My decree!”

“Noble Consort Jing has disgraced herself before the Crown Princess and shown disrespect toward her. Her virtue is wanting, and she is unfit to serve as an example to the imperial harem!”

“Effective immediately, she is stripped of her authority to oversee the harem and confined to the Palace of Gathering Beauty for three months of reflection!”

“Without My permission, no one is to visit her!”

The moment these words were spoken, Noble Consort Jing felt as if five thunderbolts had struck her at once. Her vision went black.

Confined to the Palace of Gathering Beauty for three months?!

What difference was that from being sent to the cold palace?!

Once she lost the power in her hands, wouldn’t the consorts she had oppressed all this time tear her apart?

“Your Majesty... Hahahaha... No! Please don’t! I know I was wrong... geese, geese, geese!”

Noble Consort Jing reached out desperately, trying to grab Su Zhen’s leg.

But the commander of the Imperial Guards kicked her away.

“She’s still laughing? It seems Noble Consort Jing has no intention of repenting!”

Su Zhen coldly brushed off his sleeve.

“The Crown Princess has suffered a terrible fright today and been wounded in both body and spirit.”

“To calm the Crown Princess’s nerves and punish Noble Consort Jing...”

“Guards! Proceed to the Palace of Gathering Beauty at once!”

“Take every piece of gold, silver, jade, antique, and painting in Noble Consort Jing’s palace, as well as those rare treasures tributed from the Western Regions.”

“Leave not a single item behind. Clear the entire palace!”

“Move everything to the Crown Princess’s residence and bestow it all upon Her Highness for her amusement!”

Those words were the final straw that broke the camel’s back.

They struck Noble Consort Jing right in the heart.

Empty out the Palace of Accumulated Elegance?!

That was everything she had amassed over more than a decade in the imperial palace through painstaking scheming, deceit, and ruthless plunder!

Priceless jewelry and rare treasures so extraordinary that she had never even dared to touch them.

And now she was expected to give them all to this little wretch who had ruined her?!

That was a thousand times more agonizing than killing her!

Noble Consort Jing was overwhelmed by rage. Her chest heaved violently.

The immense despair and humiliation, the excruciating pain of her torn muscles, and the forced laughter brought on by the drug—

Her body could no longer endure such torment.

“Ha-ha-ha-ha... My fortune... My money... Guh-guh-guh... Ah!”

Noble Consort Jing rolled her eyes dramatically.

Amid her shrill, deranged laughter, her head lolled to the side, and she fainted on the golden floor tiles.

Even unconscious, the muscles in her face continued to twitch from time to time, pulling her features into an eerie smile.

“Master! Master has fainted!”

Several palace maids who had been affected by the drug laughed hysterically as they crawled and stumbled toward Noble Consort Jing.

“Take them away! Throw them all into the Palace of Accumulated Elegance. Don’t let them stand here and offend the Crown Princess!”

Su Zhen waved his hand in disgust, as if shooing away flies.

The Imperial Guards immediately stepped forward.

They paid no heed to the propriety between men and women. Grabbing Noble Consort Jing and Nanny Gui by the ankles, they dragged them out of Zhaoyang Palace like dead dogs.

Their shrill, maniacal laughter grew more distant, until it finally vanished altogether.

The chaotic Zhaoyang Palace at last returned to peace.

Several quick-witted eunuchs hurried forward and cleaned up the water and broken porcelain scattered across the floor as swiftly as possible.

Su Yaoyao stood in the middle of the great hall, gazing at the spacious, spotless palace.

Then she thought about all the belongings from the Palace of Accumulated Elegance that would soon be delivered to her.

Her beautiful peach-blossom eyes curved into two adorable little crescents.

The imperial harem?

No, no, no!

This was her cash machine!

Just then, Su Yaoyao’s inner voice rang out cheerfully in Su Zhen’s mind once again.