Chapter 37

Lyuyou froze for a moment with her pretty eyes full of surprise.

“Your Grace!” As if she has thought of something, Lyuyou went back to the wooden door, but then began to vomit forcefully.

Tang Xia fiddled with her fingernails and wore an indistinct smile in her mouth, with haughtiness in her big eyes.

“Your Grace… Why…” Lyuyou asked with a pale face. As Tang Xia looked at Lyuyou, she just raised her hair on her bosoms, showing her fair skin.

“Why did I poison the Magnolia denudate cakes? Why did I hatch a plot to murder you, right?”

Tang Xia squinted her phoenix eyes with beautiful sparks shining like stars in her eyes, but she wore a poker face when she looked at Lyuyou’s face.

“Lyuyou, tell me, have you ever treated me sincerely?”

Lyuyou remained silent with her pale thin lips and obscure emotional waves rolling over in her eyes, then knelt on the ground giving Tang Xia kowtows constantly.

“How can Your Grace doubt my loyalty? My faithfulness to you is clear!”

She kowtowed so hard with tears in the bottom of her eyes that Tang Xia could see clearly the blood on the floor after Lyuyou raised her head.

The blood on the floor was as pretty and coquettish as the Equinox Flower creeping on the slate, touching the softest place of Tang Xia’s heart.

As Lyuyou’s mournful cry came to her ears, Tang Xia shifted her eyes hesitantly.

“I beg for your forgiveness. I don’t know what I have done to upset you, but I promise I never felt sorry for anything I did for you. Please trust me!”

As she thought of what Lyuyou had done to her, Tang Xia bit her lips so hard that her cherry lips became a little distorted under her fair teeth. She would not know how she would have died without Chu Tiankuo’s warning.

Then a trace of determination slipped into the bottom of her eyes.

As Tang Xia leaned forward, she raised Lyuyou’s chin with her slender fingers imprinting on Lyuyou’s delicate face, “Lyuyou, you said that you had done nothing bad to me, is that true?”

Tang Xia pinched Lyuyou’s chin mightily and asked with an extremely cold voice.

Lyuyou did not dare to not respond, but Tang Xia’s mighty hand on her chin made her voice ambiguous, “Please trust me, I have never betrayed you!”

“In that case,” Tang Xia paused for a second, then wore a cold curve in her mouth, and said with mocking, “Just eat the Magnolia denudate cakes on the table.”

As she said that emotionlessly, Tang Xia withdrew her fingers from Lyuyou’s chin and straightened her body, whisking her green gauze sleeve in front of Lyuyou.

“Your Grace… Do you want to put me to death…” Lyuyou asked with a slight tremor in her voice, as her petite body trembled, wearing a panicked expression on her face.

Tang Xia went back to her seat and turned around, spreading her dress hemline out on the floor, then raised her fair chin slightly, “It is not I who want to put you to death, but you who brought upon your own destruction.”

“Lyuyou, have you ever thought about me? The emperor has ordered me to find out the real murderer, but you still tipped Yi Jiazi off although you surmise that she may be the mastermind.” Tang Xia said with a poker face, as if it was none of her business.

But the hate in her voice scared Lyuyou anyhow.

“The whole Jiaofang hall would be gone if I did not find out early that you had done such a thing to me!” Tang Xia raised her voice suddenly with dense hate flickering in her delicate eyes, “And yet you told me shamelessly that you had done nothing bad for me and you were loyal to me.”

“Lyuyou, are you taking me for a fool?”

As Tang Xia finished her sentence, Lyuyou was still dumbfounded with two lines of tears falling from her delicate big eyes.

“Your Grace…” Lyuyou puckered her thin lips without saying anything for a moment, “I beg for your forgiveness. Please give me a chance, Yue Ji, Your Grace.”

Lyuyou shrunk into herself with chattering teeth, “Please forgive me, Your Grace. I’m sorry. I will never lie to you anymore.”

Tang Xia frowned her eyebrows, feeling fatigued.

“Is this the strife among the imperial harem?”

Tang Xia didn’t know if she should feel lucky or disappointed.

She felt lucky that she was not living in such an age, but truly felt disappointed that she just experienced the intrigues completely.

Tang Xia adjusted her look but could not wear a smile, “I will trust you if you eat those Magnolia denudate cakes.”

Tang Xia fixed her eyes on Lyuyou, gambling that Lyuyou would be loyal to her.

Lyuyou’s eyes were full of tears as her exquisite face was filled with fear.

“I am at your disposal.” Lyuyou stretched her slender fingers out and took a piece of cake from the gold redwood table, remaining kneeling with a bitter smile in her mouth.

The Magnolia denudate cakes owned a slight but easeful fragrance.

Lyuyou just took up the cake but could not put it into her mouth after several attempts.

“What? Do you need me to help you?” Tang Xia asked in a cold voice. In the light of the candles, Tang Xia’s forehead appeared clear and fair, wearing no expression on her extremely charismatic face.

After shaking her head, Lyuyou put the cake into her mouth in one go, then wolfed it down with cold sweat filling her forehead.

With a shimmer in her eyes, Tang Xia buried her delicate face in the dark so that her feelings could not be seen.

After munching on the cake for a while, Lyuyou covered her mouth suddenly with an obvious resistance in her eyes, then could not help but throw it up on the floor.

Lyuyou raised her head showing a paler face after coughing violently for a long time.

“Please forgive me, Your Grace…” Lyuyou herself could not say any other words by then.

Tang Xia remained indifferent, tapping regularly on the table with her slender fingers. Then Anran pushed the door and came in as Tang Xia waved her slim hand.

“Lock her up in the woodshed. Keep strict watch over her.” Tang Xia raised her chin haughtily with fearful coldness in her eyes.

“Yes.” Anran obeyed her order while Lyuyou kowtowed on the floor gently.

“Thank you for sparing my life, Your Grace.” Lyuyou said, bending over her body so that Tang Xia could not see her real thoughts hidden in the bottom of her eyes.

At last, Tang Xia became tired, but the coldness remained in her eyes.

Before Anran took Lyuyou away, Tang Xia said with a colder voice, “Lyuyou, there is no poison in the Magnolia denudate cakes in my Jiaofang hall, let alone poison enough to put someone to death with the cake.”

As Tang Xia finished her sentence, Lyuyou felt slightly surprised with her cherry lips open but said nothing, then left after bowing to Tang Xia.

Tang Xia watched the window that had been set up in the inner hall from which the bright and clear moon hanging in the sky with flickering light could be seen.

Tang Xia was all at a loss suddenly, “Am I making Lyuyou more guilty that I told her the truth before she left?”

As a breeze swept Tang Xia’s cheeks, the shimmer in her eyes slowly flickered from afar.

When Tang Xia woke up the next morning, she felt like a fish out of water, as Lyuyou was not in Jiaofang hall anymore.

Tang Xia got up, then poured a cup of tea for herself with her eyes fixed in the dark, wearing no emotions.

When she got out, the sun shined brightly, sprinkling warmth on her shoulder.

“You are awake.” A cold voice came from behind. Tang Xia did not turn around this time and replied to him.

“Why are you around Jiangfang hall?”

As Chu Tiankuo stood in front of Tang Xia, what Tang Xia saw was his handsome face in the silver armor.

“This is the third day. I came here to discuss something about the murderer with you and…” Chu Tiankuo said with an obscure look, “And to check if everything is alright with you.”

Knowing what he meant, Tang Xia nodded wearing a trace of a smile in her eyes again, “I am alright.”

“Do not pretend to be brave. How can you fight back if you are so tenderhearted?” Chu Tiankuo said with an unprecedentedly soft voice standing in front of Tang Xia.

“I am not pretending to be brave.” Tang Xia shook her head slightly, “I’ve locked Lyuyou into the woodshed.”

Chu Tiankuo raised his thick eyebrows but said nothing.

They walked along the road, one after the other.

Suddenly, Shun Decai’s voice arose.

“Hold on, please.”

Knowing roughly what he came for, Tang Xia turned around then bent her knees slightly, “What are you doing here, Eunuch Shun?”

“Your Grace, I come here because of the imperial edict given three days ago.” Shun Decai paused for a while then looked at Tang Xia’s face worriedly, “Do you remember that?”

Tang Xia raised her chin with a bit of mockery in the bottom of her eyes. The sunlight shined on her forehead through the leaves, casting a mottled shadow.

“Of course I do.”

Shun Decai bent his body slightly and said, “Then come with me, please.”

When they arrived, a lot of imperial bodyguards were waiting in front of Hecheng hall. Tang Xia surmised that she would suffer as she just contradicted Helian Jue, who owned the evil but charismatic face and capricious mood several days earlier.

Tang Xia looked at Chu Tiankuo for help, but Chu Tiankuo just gave a comforting smile to her with a bit of mockery.

Tang Xia saw the unwillingness in his eyes but remained silent.

“Here come Yue Ji and Guard Chu.” Shun Decai raised his voice a little bit. Helian Jue in the high platform dropped the bamboo slip in his hand with a trace of a smile in his mouth.

“My beloved imperial concubine, I have someone make a fur cape. Come and check it out.” Helian Jue’s pleasant voice came into Tang Xia’s ears, then she raised her head and saw that Helian Jue in the high platform took a pink cape in front of Lengmei.

With her long hair tied up, Lengmei bent her body slightly with coldness in her eyes and followed Helian Jue’s wish, “It is fabulous.”

Helian Jue smiled with satisfaction, then noticed Tang Xia who had just entered into the hall. He put down the fur cape in his hand, fixing his eyes on Tang Xia.

“Here you are.”

He said in a deep voice that did not show his happiness nor anger.

“I heard that you wanted to talk something about the executioner with me, Your Majesty.” Tang Xia planned to out the whole story of Huangye which was her only life-saving straw, although she had no proof.

Helian Jue declined her offer with a wave of his hand, “We will talk about it later.”

In the light of the candles, Helian Jue’s handsome face appeared more coquettish. He strode down the platform with a voluptuous smile, “My beloved imperial concubine, check out this fur cape.”

Tang Xia stepped backward then bowed to him, “It must be fabulous as it is in your hand, Your Majesty.”

What an insincere compliment! Tang Xia did not put her heart into the comment, let alone look at the fur cape directly. What she referred to was that anything in Helian Jue’s hand would be pretty. Otherwise, her evaluation would be totally different.

In the end, Helian Jue did not say ‘This is specially made for you’ with an obscure light flickering in his eyes.