Everyone watched Wen Zhaorong quietly.
Wen Zhaorong snapped back to her senses, realizing her reaction had been too extreme.
She instinctively looked at the Emperor and met his calm, dark eyes.
In that instant, Wen Zhaorong felt as if he could see right through her.
She broke out in an involuntary cold sweat, her heart pounding with anxiety.
"I truly, truly never said such a thing. I beg Your Majesty, you must believe me."
The Emperor calmly retorted, "Doctor Liu has no grudge against you. Why would he lie to frame you?"
Wen Zhaorong stammered, "I-I don’t know either. Maybe... maybe someone bribed him."
Doctor Liu kowtowed with all his might.
"Your Majesty, please see the truth! Every word I have spoken is true, I would never deceive you! Nor was I bribed by anyone!"
Wen Zhaorong muttered, "Of course you wouldn’t admit to being bribed."
Doctor Liu was so frantic he was on the verge of tears.
"Wen Zhaorong, that’s a vile accusation!"
The Emperor’s expression darkened. "Enough! All of you, shut your mouths!"
Doctor Liu’s face went pale with fright. He sullenly shut his mouth, not daring to speak another word.
Wen Zhaorong gingerly tugged at the Emperor’s sleeve, pleading through her tears.
"Your Majesty, you must believe me. I have already lost a child, I can’t lose you too."
However, the Emperor’s earlier tenderness and consideration were now gone.
He flung her hand away, rose to his feet, and said coldly.
"I am no fool, and no one in this room is a fool. I imagine everyone here is already quite clear on what the truth is."
Wen Zhaorong’s hand froze in mid-air. Her lovely eyes widened as she stared blankly at the Emperor.
Doctor Liu remained prostrate on the floor, trembling and not daring to utter a word in his own defense.
The Emperor looked down on Wen Zhaorong.
Tear stains still marked her face, the corners of her eyes were red, and her complexion was pale. She looked utterly pitiful.
But the Emperor could no longer muster even a shred of pity for her.
"A moment ago, you were hell-bent on having Doctor Liu examine you.
I merely thought it was because this was your first time facing such a situation, leaving you at a loss.
Now, however, it seems I underestimated you.
You had it all planned from the start—to use the child in your own womb to frame Hua Zhaorong.
How could a woman with a heart as vicious as yours ever be at a loss?"
Every word he spoke was like a harsh slap across Wen Zhaorong’s face.
All the color drained from Wen Zhaorong’s face.
She stood there, stunned, unable to utter a single word for a long time.
"Pass on my decree. Wen Zhaorong is to be demoted to the rank of Beauty and confined to her quarters for three months."
Wen Zhaorong... no, it should be Lady Wen now. She stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
"No, you can’t do this to me! I was the one who was pushed! I am the one who has been wronged!"
The Emperor’s mood had soured completely.
Unwilling to listen to any more of her excuses, he flicked his sleeve and strode out with a grim expression.
He paid no mind to the shrill cries that followed him.
The attendants the Emperor had brought with him all followed, and in the blink of an eye, the bedchamber was empty.
Lady Wen collapsed onto the bed, sobbing uncontrollably.
A palace maid stepped forward to comfort her. "My Lady, please don’t cry. You’ll harm your health."
The word "Beauty" was like a needle piercing Lady Wen’s ears.
In the blink of an eye, she had fallen from a Zhaorong to a mere Beauty. All her scheming had been for naught, and she had become nothing but a complete joke.
She lifted her reddened eyes and snarled viciously.
"Get out!"
The palace maid scrambled back, not daring to say another word.
Hua Qingqing said nonchalantly.
"Lady Wen, do take care. I have other matters to attend to, so I shan’t stay any longer."
Lady Wen glared at her, her expression nearly savage.
"Do you think the Saint truly likes you? Stop dreaming! You’re just like the rest of us, nothing more than a plaything for the Saint’s amusement!
If the Saint can treat me like this today, he can do the same to you tomorrow!"
The palace maid was scared to death and hastily knelt. "Lady Wen, please be careful what you say!"
’Slandering the Emperor is a crime!’
Hua Qingqing didn’t get angry. Instead, she offered a gentle smile.
"You can debase yourself by calling yourself a plaything, that’s your own business. But don’t drag me into it. I’ve never considered myself a plaything for anyone.
I am a human being. Even in this harem, I am still a living, breathing person."
’No one can crush my dignity or trample on my humanity.
Not even if he is the Emperor!’
Lady Wen froze.
Her tone had been perfectly gentle, with no hint of aggression.
And yet, to Lady Wen’s ears, it carried an inexplicable strength.
This was completely at odds with the gentle, fragile image Hua Qingqing usually projected.
Lady Wen murmured.
"Don’t you love the Saint dearly?"
It wasn’t surprising she thought so. Hua Qingqing’s daily demeanor was one of deep, affectionate love for the Emperor. It was as if he was her entire world, and she couldn’t possibly live without him.
By all rights, a woman who valued love above all else should have been furious to hear that the Emperor didn’t care for her at all.
Yet Hua Qingqing showed no sign of anger whatsoever.
She spoke slowly, perfectly calm and composed.
"You’re right. I do love the Saint. I love him very, very much."
...
It wasn’t until they had left Agarwood Pavilion that Hua Manman finally processed what had just happened.
She looked at Hua Qingqing beside her and couldn’t help but ask.
"Do you really love the Saint?"
Hua Manman had thought that Hua Qingqing had given up on her love for the Saint. But after seeing her openly profess her love for him just now, she began to waver.
’Has Hua Qingqing still not managed to escape the great web of love and romance?’
Hua Qingqing raised a hand. The palace maids and eunuchs following behind understood the gesture and obediently slowed their pace, putting some distance between themselves and the two ladies.
Once they were out of earshot, Hua Qingqing’s lips curled into a small, low laugh.
"Love him? Am I a fool?"
Hua Manman was dumbfounded.
Hua Qingqing gazed at the layers of palace eaves ahead and spoke at an unhurried pace.
"In this Imperial Palace, anyone who falls in love for real rarely meets a good end.
Look at those splendid palace walls.
They look grand and magnificent, but who knows how many skeletons are buried at their foundations.
I don’t want to become one of those skeletons. I want to survive.
Love and romance are luxuries I can’t afford."
Hua Manman had mixed feelings.
On one hand, she was relieved by Hua Qingqing’s clear-headedness. On the other, she lamented her fate.
If Hua Qingqing weren’t the protagonist of a palace drama, if she could have married a husband of her choosing, she surely could have lived a happy and fulfilling life with her intelligence and disposition, instead of being trapped within these palace walls.
Hua Manman snorted. "Stop acting so profound. You make it sound as if you can’t survive in this palace."
Hua Qingqing gave her a gentle look.
"Of course I can survive. But there are many ways to do so.
Some people live on their knees. Others live on their feet.
I want to be the latter."
’The higher you stand, the greater your power.
With power, I can protect everyone I want to protect.’
Hua Manman pouted. "If it were me, I’d choose to live lying down."
Hua Qingqing was taken aback for a moment, then let out a soft laugh.
"Then I’ll work hard, so that you can live lying down in the future."