Chapter 66: Rescuing the Sovereign

"Do I need to report my actions to you, Princess?" Although Anping had already sensed Liaoji's wild ambitions, the two had not yet broken the facade, allowing her to maintain her composure.

Liaoji, still clad in pristine white monk's robes that gave him an ethereal and Taoist-immortal aura, twirled his prayer beads, chanted a Buddhist mantra, and smiled. "I wouldn't dare."

Anping rolled her eyes, grabbed Shen Tubai by the hand, and started walking toward the Taiji Hall when she suddenly heard a sound from not far away.

"Help! Help! Ah—"

Shen Tubai and Anping exchanged glances and followed the sound. They saw an imperial guard in full armor tearing at a palace maid's clothes while dragging her into the bushes.

Princess Anping's eyes flushed red with fury. She snatched a stone from the ground, hurled it with pinpoint accuracy at the man's head, and spun around to demand of Liaoji, "What is the meaning of this?"

Liaoji closed his eyes and chanted a Buddhist verse. "The mortal world is lonely, and it is inevitable that ordinary beings succumb to desires and lust."

Hearing Liaoji's words, the man climbed up from the ground and echoed, "That's right, Master Liaoji is right! The old emperor gathered so many palace maids and hid them in the palace. If they aren't allowed to taste a real man, they'll all grow old for nothing."

Looking at the man before her, Shen Tubai could only sense an air of banditry about him. He looked neither like an educated scion of a noble family nor like a soldier stepped out of military camps; by all appearances, he was a rough-hewn ruffian from the jianghu.

With such a man loose and unconstrained within the palace, who knew how many similar incidents had already occurred.

Shen Tubai's heart grew troubled, and her gaze toward the palace maid carried a heavy sense of worry. What Shen Tubai could deduce, Princess Anping naturally could as well.

"Someone come! Drag this wretch who has thrown the inner palace into chaos down and beat him with staves until he dies!" At Princess Anping's command, many palace maids and eunuchs swarmed forward, yet the surrounding imperial guards remained completely motionless.

Seeing this, the guard who had harassed the palace maid unsheathed the blade at his waist and shouted loudly, "I just wanted to sleep with a woman, you vicious little bint, why are you so hard-hearted that you actually want to beat me to death?"

"I see you're not bad-looking yourself; I might as well break my fast with you today." With that, the man reached out to grab Anping.

Trembling with rage, Anping slapped the man hard across the face. "Are the people in this palace all dead? Why haven't you dragged this treasonous beast down yet?"

Seeing the maids and eunuchs around Anping stir into motion, Liaoji finally stepped forward and said righteously, "Have your eyes grown on a dog? This is Her Royal Highness the Princess. Why haven't you knelt and confessed your crimes to the Princess yet?"

Under the intimidating gaze of Liaoji, the man unwillingly sheathed his saber, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed to Anping, though that was the extent of his submission.

Liaoji blocked the space between the two, clearly determined not to let Anping pursue the matter any further.

The palace maid who had nearly been dragged into the bushes hurried forward a few steps on her knees and kowtowed to Anping. "Save me, Princess! I beg the Princess to save this humble maid; this maid does not wish to be defiled by this villain."

Anping glanced at her, helped her up, and sheltered her behind her back.

As they passed by Liaoji, they heard the ruffian-like guard muttering softly, "Hmph! There are plenty of pretty broads in the palace; I'll just go find another one later."

In a rage, Anping turned around to punish him, but Shen Tubai grabbed her hand, signaled her to look at the restive imperial guards surrounding them, and slowly shook her head.

Shen Tubai led her hurriedly toward the Taiji Hall. Along the way, listening to the young maid recount what those men had done since entering the palace, Anping's face grew paler and paler.

The magnificent imperial palace had been forcefully turned into a den of debauchery for that group of men, and all of this was because she had welcomed the wolf into her own house!

Upon entering the hall, Shen Tubai saw the Empress lying peacefully on the bed, completely unconscious.

Shen Tubai looked around. "Where is Consort Rong? Why is she not by His Majesty's side?"

Anping replied with a trace of guilt, "She helped the Crown Princess and Aning escape the palace. In my anger, I locked her away in the Cold Palace. I will release her right now."

"There is no need." The person lying comatose on the bed suddenly opened her eyes. Supported by a maid's hand, she sat up, her gaze thoroughly clear and sharp.

Anping immediately fell to her knees in despair. "Mother Empress, you... you..."

The Empress sneered. "Want to ask how I woke up? I merely fell ill; I am not senile yet!"

"I have navigated the court and the inner palace for over forty years; what kind of scenes have I not witnessed? You thought a crude poisoning trick like that could leave me paralyzed in bed as a cripple? Wishful thinking!"

"What poisoning? Anping knows nothing, Anping truly knows nothing, Mother Empress!" Princess Anping cried out in sheer panic, pressing her forehead tightly against the floor, not daring to lift her head no matter what.

Watching this scene unfold, Shen Tubai was momentarily at a loss for how to react, and she followed suit by bowing her head to the floor.

Seeing this, the Empress curved her lips with a hint of amusement. "Are you the lady of the Shen clan from the Crown Prince's Manor?"

Shen Tubai hastily answered, "This humble subject is she."

"Good! To have Anping bring you here shows you possess some measure of cleverness," the Empress praised faintly.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Shen Tubai maintained extreme caution, speaking as little as possible to avoid mistakes.

The Empress waved her hand with feigned boredom. "You are pregnant; you needn't kneel alongside this wicked wretch. Take a seat."

"Yes." Carefully, Shen Tubai rose and sat on a nearby chair. Though she kept her gaze lowered, she quietly took in the architecture and atmosphere of the hall.

Everyone inside the hall moved with orderly precision. Despite the rebel forces outside, there was not the slightest trace of panic. If the Empress had not planned for this long in advance, then it meant they had all long since resolved to live and die alongside Her Majesty.

Whichever the case might be, it brought a sense of reassurance to Shen Tubai.

Seeing that her mother empress had yet to speak, the kneeling Anping hurriedly pleaded for mercy. "Mother Empress, this child knows her wrong, but this child was deceived by others!"

"If this child had known earlier that that demonic monk Liaoji was audacious enough to poison Mother Empress, I would have slain him with my own hands and never conspired with him."

The person sitting on the bed remained silent, but Shen Tubai raised an eyebrow.

She had witnessed firsthand how Anping had previously lost her judgment and sanity for love, yet now Liaoji had suddenly become a demonic monk?

Truly, the ways of the world were unpredictable.

Hearing this, the Empress could not help but laugh. "My illness has brought all sorts of monsters and demons out of the woodwork in this palace. I originally wanted to see how many minor ghosts lurked within these walls, but I never expected the first to show its head to be my own flesh and blood."

"Mother Empress..." Anping lifted her tear-filled eyes.

The Empress gently stroked her cheek with a tender gesture. "Do not be afraid. What is a mere rebellion? It is hardly a catastrophe. You haven't gone so mad as to commit regicide, matricide, or slaughter your own kin; your mother will not blame you."

Shen Tubai lifted her gaze slightly. Not just her, but presumably everyone present struggled to discern whether the Empress was speaking the truth or employing sarcasm.

Her Majesty the Empress cared little for what they were thinking. A faint commotion echoed from outside the doors, and with a single glance from her, the two palace maids stationed by the entrance immediately swung the doors wide open.

A well-drilled troop of soldiers clad in golden armor stood guard outside the hall. Her Majesty the Empress leaned leisurely against the bed and murmured, "Who do you suppose will be the first to enter the palace and rescue the sovereign?"