Chapter 25: An Acquaintance

"What?"

The crowd was struck as if by a thunderbolt. The Emperor stood up abruptly, his crimson-rimmed eyes wide, and he lunged forward to seize Fu Linhai by the throat, his voice trembling with fury.

"Say that again!"

Constricted by the Emperor’s grip, Fu Linhai managed to choke out, word by agonizing word, "Concubine Wan... has passed away."

"Impossible!" The Emperor released his grip, causing Fu Linhai to collapse heavily onto the floor, gasping for air.

The Empress Dowager and the Empress exchanged a silent, knowing glance, choosing to remain quiet.

Consort Liang, caught between shock and hidden delight, spoke with feigned disbelief. "Your Majesty, Concubine Wan must have committed suicide out of fear of her crimes! She harmed the imperial heir; she deserves no pity, Your Majesty!" She wore an expression of profound righteousness, as if every word were spoken solely for the sake of the unborn child.

Hearing this, the sorrow on the Emperor’s face froze, replaced instantly by a flare of indignation. How could he grieve for a woman so heartless and cruel?

Fu Linhai coughed violently and rasped, "Your Majesty, Concubine Wan... she died of an illness. I have already dispatched an imperial physician to examine her."

"Your Majesty—"

Before Fu Linhai could finish, the Emperor strode out of the room, heading directly toward Yanxi Palace, where Concubine Wan resided.

Consort Shu’s heart sank. This turn of events was deeply suspicious. Could a healthy woman simply die of an illness? The other consorts stood agape, their jaws slack. The Empress Dowager’s expression remained grim.

"I shall go to Yanxi Palace to see for myself. Empress, you must focus on your recovery. Niannian, come with me."

Su Zhinian, addressed by the Empress Dowager, immediately rose and stepped forward to offer her arm. "Mother, please... take your time."

The Empress felt a flicker of fear. Although she had mentally prepared for this, the Emperor’s rage was as terrifying as a tidal wave. "Yes," she replied in a low voice, sensing the Empress Dowager’s unspoken concern.

At Yanxi Palace, the air was heavy with the sound of mourning. Servants sobbed in the shadows, and the atmosphere was thick with the chill of death. The Emperor walked with heavy, leaden steps, his face deathly pale, his spirit seemingly shattered.

Upon reaching the inner chamber, he was met with the heart-wrenching wails of Erya, Concubine Wan's personal maid. "My Lady, it is all my fault! If only I had brought the imperial physician sooner, you would not have died! My Lady, I have failed you. I shall join you in death!"

With that, Erya stood up and lunged toward a nearby pillar.

"How dare you!" Fu Linhai’s shout stopped her in her tracks. Seeing the Emperor in his bright yellow, dragon-embroidered robes, Erya collapsed to her knees in terror.

"Your servant pays respects to Your Majesty."

Helian Yunhui ignored her. His gaze was fixed entirely on the woman lying on the bed, as still as if she were merely sleeping. Her features remained breathtakingly beautiful; dressed in white, she looked as if no filth of this world could ever touch her. She appeared not like a mortal, but like a celestial being who had descended to earth.

Helian Yunhui instinctively took her hand. The icy touch sent a jolt of agony through his heart.

"Wanwan, I have come to see you." He whispered in her ear, his tone as intimate and gentle as it had always been.

Yet, the small woman lying there did not offer her usual playful smile or coquettish response. Helian Yunhui could bear it no longer. His eyes welled with tears, and he pressed her cold hand against his cheek, repeating over and over again, "Wanwan, open your eyes and look at me! Wanwan..."

He continued his pleas, as if calling her back to life. Erya, unable to witness this any longer, said bitterly through tears, "Your Majesty, my mistress... she is already gone."

But Helian Yunhui refused to hear her.

Fu Linhai sighed heavily. Soon, the imperial physician arrived.

"Your subject, Jiang Wenlong, pays respects to Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty, the physician is here. Shall we allow him to examine Concubine Wan?" Fu Linhai asked, his voice trembling with anxiety.

The Emperor seemed to snap back to reality. He wiped the tears from his eyes and stood up, stumbling slightly as he cleared a path. "Yes, yes, let the physician examine her. Wanwan is surely just sleeping. How could she abandon me? She wouldn't have the heart to."

The Emperor stood to the side, his hands clenched tightly at his sides, his vulnerability laid bare. It was the first time Fu Linhai had ever seen the Emperor in such a state. It seemed Concubine Wan held a place in his heart far greater than anyone had realized.

Ren Xixi, trying to remain unnoticed in the corner, observed the scene with intense envy. Even a man as powerful and arrogant as the Emperor could be brought to tears, revealing his most fragile side for the woman he loved. Was this how Brother Jin had felt for her, too?

The physician’s pulse check grew increasingly grave. He knelt on the floor and reported, "Your Majesty, Concubine Wan suffered from a toxic fever. It seems the illness had long since reached an incurable stage. If only..."

"If only what? Speak!" Fu Linhai urged.

"If only Head Physician Zhang had been brought to administer acupuncture earlier, there might have been a glimmer of hope!"

The physician knelt, trembling, his head bowed so low it nearly touched the floor.

"What?"

The Emperor suddenly recalled that someone from Yanxi Palace had come to Jingren Palace to request Head Physician Zhang’s services. What had happened then? Ah, he remembered. He had personally ordered the messenger to be driven away. It was his own hand that had extinguished the possibility of Wanwan’s survival.

The more Helian Yunhui thought, the more his guilt consumed him. He suppressed his rising fury. "You wretches! Why didn't you tell me sooner that Concubine Wan was ill?"

The Emperor could never admit that the blame lay with him. Hearing his accusations, the servants and maids knelt in a sea of prostration. "Your Majesty, please show mercy!"

Erya summoned the courage to speak. "Your Majesty, it was my mistress. She said she did not want to cause you worry, so she forbade us from telling you."

So, even at the brink of death, she had been thinking of him, unwilling to let him suffer. So, Wanwan had loved him this deeply. Helian Yunhui’s guilt reached its zenith.

"Since these servants chose to hide the truth, I see no use for them. Drag them out and beat them to death!"

The Empress Dowager arrived with a procession of consorts, hearing Erya’s words just as she reached the door.

"Empress Dowager, have mercy!" The servants of Yanxi Palace turned pale, falling to their knees to beg for their lives.

Ren Xixi bit her lip in frustration as she knelt, cursing silently. *That old hag, with her Buddha-like words and snake-like heart, turning her prayer beads while ordering such bloodshed! Is she not afraid of retribution?*

Ren Xixi, huddled in the corner, glanced up hatefully at the newcomers—and froze.

*Su Zhinian!*

Why was she here, completely unharmed? Should she not have been executed for conspiring against the Empress?

"Mother," Su Zhinian murmured, "Wanwan is already gone. Can you not let her rest in peace?"