Chapter 45 Punishment

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Hao Mengye had a bad feeling.

“Stop the carriage!”

The carriage came to a halt. He was just about to lift the curtain when Yu Shengsheng’s voice came from within.

“Commander Hao, I’m fine. Let’s go.”

Her tone sounded normal, though her voice was somewhat faint.

Hao Mengye frowned slightly and glanced at the palace gates in the distance. “Miss Yu, we’re almost at the palace gates. You’ll have to get down soon. Are you truly all right?”

“I’m fine. Please rest assured, Commander Hao.”

The carriage stopped before the palace gates. When the guards saw Hao Mengye, they saluted and greeted him.

Hao Mengye inclined his head. “Her Majesty the Empress has summoned Miss Yu to the palace.”

The guards quickly stepped aside. Yu Shengsheng climbed down from the carriage and followed behind Hao Mengye with her eyes lowered.

This was her second time entering the palace.

The first had been not long after she returned to the Su household, when she had accompanied Madam Su to meet the Empress.

Back then, she had been nervous yet faintly excited. Everything had seemed new and fascinating. Though she had kept her head lowered, the corners of her eyes had constantly stolen glances at her surroundings.

Now, as she walked along the bluestone path, she had no interest whatsoever in anything around her. Even a tree seemed to exert an oppressive force.

Step by step, she drew nearer to the central palace, each step landing as though upon the very tip of her heart. Her breathing tightened inch by inch.

Hao Mengye glanced back at her. Her head was lowered, and her slender, delicate neck looked so fragile that a single hand could snap it.

The faint scent of yellow fruit still clung to her, though it was much lighter than when she had first left the carriage.

Had she eaten the fruit inside?

Hao Mengye could sense her tension, even her fear. Yet in such circumstances, she had still found the presence of mind to eat yellow fruit.

He truly could not make sense of her.

When they were almost at the Empress’s palace, Hao Mengye said quietly, “Miss Yu, I cannot accompany you inside. I’ll wait for you outside the palace gates.”

Yu Shengsheng swallowed softly. “All right.”

As they reached the entrance, a familiar voice drifted down from above Yu Shengsheng’s head, as sharp and spiteful as ever.

“Miss Yu, we meet again.”

Yu Shengsheng curtsied. “Palace Lady Song.”

Palace Lady Song ignored her and bowed to Hao Mengye instead. “Commander Hao, you have gone to such trouble to make this journey. We are truly unworthy of the inconvenience.”

Hao Mengye’s face remained expressionless, his tone indifferent. “It is nothing. Escorting prisoners without mishap falls within my official duties.”

Palace Lady Song’s smile deepened. “She has been gone only a few days, yet she has already caused trouble again. What a disgrace to Her Majesty. Miss Yu, come with me.”

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Yu Shengsheng followed her inside. As she brushed past Hao Mengye, he could no longer smell the scent of yellow fruit on her. Yet perhaps it was only his imagination, but her lips seemed somewhat redder.

Hao Mengye withdrew his thoughts and his gaze, thinking to himself that he was being utterly ridiculous. Why was he paying attention to her lips?

Inside her sleeves, Yu Shengsheng’s hands clenched soundlessly. A faint prickling pain spread across her body.

Palace Lady Song led the way, her biting voice colder than ice.

“You managed to get into the Tower of Suppressing Treachery. You really are capable.”

“What now? Are you trying to seduce Hao Mengye? Let me warn you: he is nothing like the guards and stable hands at the estate. If you provoke him, you may not even know how you died.”

“You jest, Palace Lady Song. I would never dare,” Yu Shengsheng replied in a low voice.

Palace Lady Song stopped and turned around. Her gaze scraped over Yu Shengsheng’s skin like a thin blade, stripping flesh from bone.

“Never dare? When you were at the estate, you did this sort of thing often enough.”

Yu Shengsheng pressed her lips together and said nothing. What guards and stable hands? How could she possibly have had anything to do with those men? It was nothing more than an accusation imposed upon her.

Palace Lady Song was over twenty-five, yet had never been released from palace service. Her greatest pleasure was tormenting the young palace maids. At the estate, Yu Shengsheng had always been her first target.

Palace Lady Song seized her chin. “Listen carefully. Once you go inside, behave yourself. If you dare upset Her Majesty the Empress—”

“I would never dare.”

The Empress was dignified rather than beautiful, yet every movement and word she made carried the full bearing of the nation’s mother.

She sat upright, drinking iced tea. The weather outside was hot, while the room was cool. The moment Yu Shengsheng entered, she could not help shivering.

“This servant, Yu Shengsheng, pays her respects to Her Majesty the Empress.”

Yu Shengsheng knelt respectfully, her movements flawless. She did not dare make the slightest mistake.

She folded her hands and placed them upon the floor tiles, resting her forehead against the backs of her hands.

The cool tiles beneath her palms sent a chill through her entire body. The faint burning prickles beneath her skin eased somewhat.

But her nerves were drawn taut. Her whole body was like a bow stretched to its limit, and she dared not relax for even an instant.

The Empress did not tell her to rise.

Only after drinking half a cup of tea did she set it down. Her voice was colder than the sound of the cup touching the table.

“Yu Shengsheng, you truly cannot go a single day without causing trouble. We arranged a lotus-viewing banquet for you, yet instead of acquitting yourself properly, you went and got yourself into the Tower of Suppressing Treachery.”

The Empress spoke slowly, every word carrying a heavy pressure that made Yu Shengsheng’s bones ache.

“And you even dared set your sights on the betrothed of the Princess of Rongyang. Who gave you such audacity? It seems you have treated all my admonitions as wind passing your ears.”

She waved a hand. Palace Lady Song brought forward a tray, upon which more than a dozen silver needles gleamed coldly.

“Come forward.”

Yu Shengsheng’s heart trembled. She squeezed her eyes shut, straightened her back, and knelt forward until she reached the Empress.

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The Empress remained seated with perfect composure, her expression unchanged. Her smiling brows and eyes bore a striking resemblance to those of the Crown Prince.

She waved her hand again. Palace Lady Song picked up a silver needle and prepared to drive it viciously into Yu Shengsheng’s earlobe.

Yu Shengsheng’s heart sank. Her hands clenched, but she did not dare evade it.

The needle pierced her skin. A bead of blood welled forth, and the sharp pain nearly made her cry out. She clenched her teeth and endured it, her face flushing red.

Soon, the Empress noticed that the redness covering Yu Shengsheng’s body was not fading. Patches of it spread across her skin like mottled stains.

Her skin was naturally fair, making every flush especially conspicuous.

When the Empress saw those red patches, her heart jolted, and a deep disgust surged within her.

“Back!”

Palace Lady Song was still reluctant to stop, but at the command she could only put away the needle.

“Get farther away!”

Yu Shengsheng retreated and knelt properly again. “Your Majesty, this servant was helpless. The Su family forced me to rescue the Young General. I dared not refuse. The Tower of Suppressing Treachery suspected him, and someone had to be left behind. I was the only one they could abandon.”

The Empress studied her with a deepening gaze. Palace Lady Song looked as though she wished to speak, but the Empress raised a hand to stop her.

What Yu Shengsheng had said was true. The Empress knew perfectly well what sort of people the Su family were.

“What is your relationship with Hao Mengye? He actually brought you here himself.”

That was what the Empress truly wanted to know.

“Your Majesty, how could this servant have any relationship with Commander Hao? He detained me because he still suspects the Young General and wanted someone he could use as leverage. It simply happened to be me.”

“He did not accompany me into the palace. He escorted me here as a prisoner.”

Yu Shengsheng’s face grew even redder. The whites of her eyes were webbed with blood vessels, her throat had grown hoarse, and her lips were red as though she had been drinking blood.

The Empress turned away in disgust. “That is best. I warn you: wait obediently for Kong Dezhao to arrive in the capital. When you meet him, do not mention that you have been to the Tower of Suppressing Treachery. Do you understand?”

Yu Shengsheng endured the discomfort, her breathing somewhat labored. “I understand.”

Palace Lady Song stepped on her fingers. “Say it again.”

Cold sweat gathered on Yu Shengsheng’s forehead. “This servant understands.”

As her words fell, footsteps sounded in the courtyard, followed by the voices of people greeting the Crown Prince.

Palace Lady Song withdrew her foot. The Crown Prince stepped inside, his gaze locking onto Yu Shengsheng.

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