Chapter 178: The Mournful Sound of the Xiao
Chapter 178: Chapter 178: The Mournful Sound of the Xiao
Liang Wan looked away, lowering her eyes to pry at the hand clamped around her waist.
’How is this any different from the behavior of a nation-toppling demoness?’
’An illegitimate one at that!’
’Like this, we’re nothing more than a contemptible pair.’
A mocking smile touched Liang Wan’s lips.
An icy glint flashed in Gao Qian’s eyes. "Empress, how dare you barge into Taiji Palace without a summons! Do you have no fear of being deposed?"
"Your Majesty!" The Empress, her eyes brimming with tears, pointed at Liang Wan in disbelief. "She is the Grand Commandant’s concubine! How can you favor a woman from a courtier’s household, especially when the Grand Commandant is your own maternal uncle—"
"This entire world is mine. Is there anyone I cannot have? Besides, this is Taiji Palace, not Renshou Palace!" Gao Qian finally released his grip, his voice low and deep. "Get out!"
Liang Wan kept her head bowed, playing dead.
But upon hearing his words, her brow twitched. ’So my guess was right. The one who tampered with the incense in Renshou Palace that day, intending to frame us, really was the Empress.’
’But judging by Lu Xiu’s reaction, the Empress Dowager wasn’t completely ignorant, either. Perhaps she planned to use the plot to her own advantage and eliminate me, this calamity.’
’The Empress Dowager was one thing. After all, very few in the Lu Family actually liked me.’
’But when did the Empress become so hostile toward me?’
Liang Wan shook her head in silence. ’Why did I ever think the Empress genuinely felt a connection with me from the start?’
’Looking back carefully now, the signs were there all along.’
"Your Majesty—" The Empress’s lips were pale, her voice hoarse. "I was married to Your Majesty as Empress at sixteen. It has been eight years. Not for a single day have I forgotten my duties as Empress—"
Gao Qian cut her off with a cool smile. "Truly? You haven’t forgotten for a single day?"
The Empress stared at him, stunned and motionless.
"Guards!"
At his sharp command, a squad of men strode in from behind the curtains.
It was the imperial guard.
A chill ran down Liang Wan’s spine. ’Just now, if I had actually tried to knock him unconscious with the hairpin, it would have been all or nothing. If I’d failed, all he would have needed to do was shout, and I’d probably be heading for my next life.’
’I’m glad my reason won out over impulse, and I didn’t just recklessly throw my life away fighting him.’
’So, Gao Qian doesn’t trust me. He’s been testing me from the very start.’
’The old Gao Qian was highly suspicious, but this one is even worse!’
’Why is he so guarded?’
Surprised by this strange side of Gao Qian, Liang Wan couldn’t help but study him secretly.
Gao Qian’s eyes darkened, his gaze becoming bleak and cold. "From this day forward, anyone who barges into Taiji Palace without a summons will be treated as an assassin and beheaded on the spot. Considering this is the Empress’s first offense, escort her back to Zhaoyang Palace. She is confined for one month."
The imperial guard did not touch the Empress. They merely stood respectfully to the side and said, "Empress, if you please."
With trembling hands and a look of utter heartbreak, the Empress cried, "Demoness! This is all your fault, you demoness—"
Liang Wan kept her head bowed, her lips moving without a sound.
However reluctant, the Empress was escorted away.
’If I’m not mistaken, I’ve just been used as his human shield again.’
’If he truly didn’t want anyone entering the hall, how could anyone possibly get in? He must have been deliberately looking for an excuse to find fault with the Empress and place her under confinement.’
Liang Wan squeezed her eyes shut, not daring to dwell on it. She would rather believe she had overestimated Gao Qian than accept that today’s events were a trap he had orchestrated.
’Because this was so unlike Gao Qian!’
Perhaps because she had been silent for too long, Gao Qian lifted her face and studied her for a moment. "What are you thinking, my lady?"
Liang Wan’s long lashes lowered as she offered a faint smile. "I was just wondering what reward I should ask of Your Majesty."
"Oh?" His earlier iciness vanished, replaced by a brash, unrestrained smile. "And have you decided, my lady?"
Liang Wan smiled, suppressing her discomfort as she took his hand and led him out from behind the curtains.
She stopped only when they were in front of a massive display rack.
The corners of Liang Wan’s lips lifted as she blinked up at him. "Why doesn’t Your Majesty choose a reward for me?"
Gao Qian cupped her face, a ceaseless smile on his lips. He found her amusing, truly unable to fathom how she had suddenly wised up and become so perfectly attuned to his tastes.
’Compared to those cookie-cutter women who only know how to urge me to drink and giggle coquettishly, she’s so much more interesting!’
Liang Wan raised an eyebrow. "Is Your Majesty feeling reluctant?"
"You and I are kindred spirits, my lady. How could I be reluctant? If you truly like them, I’ll give them all to you. Why wouldn’t I?"
Gao Qian shook his head and laughed, his chest vibrating, as if she had asked the most foolish question.
’That’s right,’ she thought. ’As long as he keeps killing people, he’ll never be short of things to make. Why would he worry about running out of gifts?’
"Your Majesty is so good to me!"
Liang Wan’s face bloomed into a smile, but her heart was a frozen wasteland.
’Thinking about it now, it’s a miracle he even left my body intact last time!’
The moment the words left her mouth, Gao Qian pulled her into a fierce embrace, his grip so tight it felt like he wanted to crush her.
An indescribable joy welled up in his heart. ’She’s finally becoming what I wanted her to be.’
Liang Wan bit her lip and held her breath.
Gao Qian didn’t linger. He released her, then turned to look at the display rack, earnestly and meticulously examining the objects one by one.
His wandering gaze suddenly fixed on something. He took a few steps forward and grabbed a flute. It was made of stark white bone, exuding a piercing chill...
He lowered his head to caress it, unable to put it down. "This wasn’t supposed to appear so soon—"
He paused, then looked over at her. "Do you know what I excel at, my lady?"
Without a moment’s hesitation, Liang Wan replied, "Your Majesty is a master of music, proficient with the pipa, the se, the sheng..."
Gao Qian watched the woman before him list his skills as if she were counting family treasures. His smile deepened. Before she could finish, he placed the flute to his lips, closed his eyes, and began to play.
A mournful melody, choked with sobs and swallowed sorrow, filled the air.
In the dim, empty inner hall, Liang Wan watched the macabre scene unfold. A chill seeped from her very marrow, and it felt as if ice shards were flowing through her veins.
She felt as if she were standing all alone on a vast, snowy night...
Liang Wan suppressed her terror as she watched and listened.
’To think that a piece of bone could produce a melody so full of lingering, heart-rending sorrow... It’s truly inconceivable!’
When the song ended, Gao Qian looked over at her. The light in his eyes was like a will-o’-the-wisp, faint and spectral.
"Did you enjoy it, my lady?"
Liang Wan suppressed her fear and nodded lightly. "I did. To hear Your Majesty play is the highest honor and reward in itself. How could I dare take this flute? It would be better to leave it here. In the future, should Your Majesty wish to reward me again, perhaps you could play a song for me on it instead. Would that be acceptable?"
Using the same hand that had just held the bone flute, Gao Qian stroked her head, his voice trembling slightly. "Alright."
His gaze no longer held the previous desire to snap her neck, yet it was somehow even more terrifying to behold.
His stare made Liang Wan deeply uncomfortable. Feigning shyness, she lowered her head. "Your Majesty, I really must be going now."
A cold glint flashed through Gao Qian’s eyes. He was silent for only a moment before letting out a low laugh. "I won’t keep you waiting for long, my lady."
"Yes," Liang Wan answered sweetly.
Before she left, Liang Wan re-fastened the jade hairpin in her hair.
She raised her hands to the level of her eyebrows in a formal salute, preparing to take her leave.
"Wait," Gao Qian called out.
Liang Wan lowered her hands and looked up, puzzled.
Gao Qian drew closer and took her hand. Something cool and hard was pressed into her palm.
"Since you’re acting on my behalf, how could I give you nothing in return?"
Liang Wan stared blankly at the hairpin in her hand. It was carved with a dragon motif—the very one she had pulled from Gao Qian’s hair moments ago.
After speaking, he leaned in and placed a kiss on her cheek.
Liang Wan’s stomach churned. She was going to be sick.
She didn’t get far from Taiji Palace before she actually threw up.
"Are you with child? But I wonder, whose child could it be?"
The voice from behind her was bone-chillingly cold.