Chapter Thirty-Four Concluded

When the Emperor arrived at the Palace of Prolonged Happiness, the coffin was empty.

Helian Yunhui was furious, his eyes bloodshot with rage. "Search the palace!" he roared. "Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, find them!"

In an instant, the entire palace was thrown into chaos. Ren Xixi, supporting the now-conscious Bai Wanwan, hid in a secluded corner and gritted her teeth in hatred. "Damn it! How could we have been discovered so quickly?"

With the palace now heavily fortified, they had no way to escape.

"Xixi!" A familiar male voice called out. Ren Xixi stiffened; she turned her head, her pupils shrinking in shock. "Brother Shijin..."

Gu Shijin glanced at the weakened Bai Wanwan and instantly understood everything. His expression complex, he bit his lip and said, "I will get you out of here." He was deeply conflicted, knowing that if the Emperor discovered this, Ren Xixi would be ruined. He could not bear to see that happen, so he had decided to risk everything to help them.

"Where are you going?" Su Zhinian appeared unexpectedly, watching them with a mocking smile.

"Su Zhinian! How are you here?" Ren Xixi shrieked in disbelief.

Gu Shijin’s face changed. "Niannian, don't be impulsive. If Xixi is caught, our entire General's Mansion will be implicated!"

Ren Xixi glared at Gu Shijin, clearly dissatisfied with his wavering attitude. Su Zhinian wore a cryptic expression as a palace maid behind her suddenly dashed forward, brandishing a gong.

"Oh no!" The color drained from their faces.

A harsh, rhythmic clanging erupted, accompanied by the maid’s loud cries: "Help! The Noble Consort is here! Come quickly!"

Before Gu Shijin could intervene, the maid’s clamor had already attracted a crowd. "Look everyone! The great General is trying to steal the body of the Noble Consort!"

"How dare you spout such nonsense!" Gu Shijin’s face darkened with rage; he longed to rush forward and silence her.

A group of guards arrived, led by an officer with a stern expression. "Seize them!"

"It’s a misunderstanding!" Ren Xixi cried out, desperate to salvage their plan. "The Noble Consort is not dead! We saved her!"

Bai Wanwan, though frail, managed to speak. "I am not dead yet!"

The crowd gasped. The Noble Consort had risen from the dead!

***

The head guard remained unmoved. "Take them all away!"

The guards escorted them to the Palace of Prolonged Happiness. The Emperor sat on his high throne, his face turning ashen the moment he saw that Bai Wanwan was alive.

"What is the meaning of this?" the Emperor barked, his gaze sweeping over the three of them.

Gu Shijin was filled with regret. If he had known this would happen, he never would have gotten involved in this mess! But there was no medicine for regret in this world.

Ren Xixi gathered her courage. "Your Majesty, I found a folk remedy and saved the Noble Consort!"

The Emperor’s eyes were full of suspicion. Su Zhinian, who had followed them in, asked innocently, "If you saved her, why were you trying to flee? Could there be some ulterior motive?"

*Su Zhinian!* Ren Xixi hated her to the core.

"It is because the lingering poison in the Noble Consort’s system had not been cleared, so we were taking her to see the imperial physician," Ren Xixi explained, though anyone could see she was grasping at straws.

The Emperor’s expression was cold, his fury burning. "Someone, summon Physician Jiang."

Soon, Jiang Wenlong arrived. He was startled to see Bai Wanwan alive. "Your Majesty, I am here."

"Jiang Wenlong, check the Noble Consort’s pulse."

Bai Wanwan’s heart sank; her face was paler than it had been when she faked her death. The drug she had used to fake her passing was potent, designed to give her a vibrant, healthy appearance, but now, she had no choice but to submit.

After checking her pulse, Jiang Wenlong was stunned. "Your Majesty, the Noble Consort’s health is perfectly sound! There is no sign of any ailment whatsoever. It is truly bizarre!"

The Emperor’s heavy gaze fixed on Bai Wanwan, making her skin crawl. She forced herself to speak. "I suppose the medicine Xixi found was miraculous and cured all my illnesses."

Su Zhinian couldn't help but chuckle.

"What are you laughing at?" the Emperor demanded, his face darkening.

"Your Majesty, I once heard of a ‘death-feigning drug.’ One who takes it will lose all signs of life, appearing dead, which seems to match the Noble Consort’s symptoms perfectly!"

"You lie!" Ren Xixi shrieked, losing her composure.

"Audacious!" Fu Linhai shouted. "How dare you be so insolent in front of His Majesty! Guards, slap her face!"

As soon as Fu Linhai gave the order, a young eunuch rushed forward to strike Ren Xixi. Gu Shijin watched with a pained expression but dared not intervene.

Jiang Wenlong, as if enlightened by Su Zhinian’s words, knelt and kowtowed. "Your Majesty, there is indeed a pill called the Tortoise-Breath Pill; after taking it, one will exhibit all the symptoms of death!"

"How dare you play such a fool of me!" The Emperor now realized he had been toyed with. He looked at Bai Wanwan with chilling indifference. "My decree: Bai Wanwan, for faking your death to deceive me, your life is spared, but your crimes are grave. You are to be cast into the Cold Palace, never to emerge again!"

It was over. Everything was over. Bai Wanwan collapsed to the floor, her eyes filled with despair.

Ren Xixi and Gu Shijin trembled as they knelt, awaiting their fate.

"As for you two, you are accomplices! Gu Shijin is stripped of his rank as General and demoted to a minor official. As for Ren Xixi, for deceiving the Emperor, you shall be beaten to death immediately!"

"What?" Ren Xixi looked up in disbelief, screaming in terror. "Brother Shijin, save me! I don't want to die! You said you would sacrifice everything for me, save me!"

Gu Shijin could barely save himself, let alone her. He had worked so hard to climb to the rank of General, only to lose it all in a single day. How could he not harbor resentment?

"Get away from me!" Gu Shijin shoved her aside.

He watched helplessly as she was dragged away. The dull thud of heavy wooden staves echoed through the room, accompanied by Ren Xixi’s screams, which grew weaker and weaker until they finally ceased.

After this farce, the Emperor’s fury remained. From then on, any concubine who attempted to use such tricks was either cast into the Cold Palace or executed on the spot.

With Bai Wanwan gone, the Empress and the Virtuous Consort held the most power in the inner palace. Even in the Cold Palace, Bai Wanwan clung to the fantasy that the Emperor would one day come to rescue her, constantly seeking news of his whereabouts.

But in the end, the person who came for her was an old acquaintance. The Virtuous Consort arrived with a bowl of hot soup.

Bai Wanwan died with her eyes wide open, never understanding why she, a person from the modern world, had lost so miserably.