So what if she's my sister-in-law? You seduced me first.

master?

She was originally a palace maid who swept and cleaned the Changxin Palace. It was only through the leniency of the head maid that she was given the opportunity to serve the Donghu dancers who were sent there.

The palace maid wasn't stupid; she immediately realized who His Majesty was referring to. Her mind drifted back to the conflict she had with that lady at the Imperial Hospital earlier that day, and her face turned pale.

She was completely dazed when she was taken away. What exactly happened between the lady and His Majesty? Were all the rumors in the palace false?

Thinking of his life hanging by a thread, he disregarded the fact that he had offended the lady and, in a pathetic state, wept bitterly as he headed straight for the side hall of Changxin Palace.

She understood His Majesty's meaning: as long as the lady was willing to plead for her, her life would be saved.

Ning Yu was having dinner in the palace. There was only one dish and a few steamed buns. She smelled a strange odor in the dish and didn't let Qing He eat it. The two of them shared the steamed buns and ate a few bites. After a while, the sound of crying and begging for mercy came from outside.

"Miss, I'll go open the door."

Ning Yu frowned. "Ignore it."

She was crying and shouting in the emperor's palace. Soon, a maid would come to deal with her, but she didn't want to deal with it or care. She just let them be.

Qinghe's injuries have healed a lot. Seeing that she was almost finished eating, I offered to help make the bed.

Fortunately, those servants didn't mistreat them over the charcoal fire, otherwise, in the dead of winter, the young lady, who is sensitive to the cold, would have had problems.

She endured the pain and made the bed. When she saw the person coming out of the bathroom to wash up, she quickly said, "Miss, you should rest first."

Ning Yu shook her head, "You sleep on the bed, I'll just sleep on the tatami."

"No, Miss, you're pregnant now, you need to rest properly."

As soon as Qinghe finished speaking, she realized she had spoken out of turn and quickly shut her mouth.

A sense of silence filled the air. Ning Yu sat on the edge of the couch, gazing absently at the moonlight outside the window, without saying a word.

If Xie Xun was determined to find her, she would be found no matter where she ran. After thinking it over, there were not many people who could help her. A bitter taste lingered on her tongue, and a gentle and refined figure appeared before her eyes.

"Madam, please save my life! I shouldn't have been so disrespectful to you. Please forgive my youth and plead my case."

Helpless sobs and cries pounded on the palace doors, interrupting Ning Yu's thoughts. She frowned and looked at the tightly closed doors of the outer palace.

The palace maid knelt before the door, weeping. Her hands, which were pounding on the door, were stiff and red from the winter cold. With a creak, the palace door was opened from the inside, and she looked up to see a pale face.

Suddenly, Ning Yu's clothes were grabbed. She looked down at the palace maid who was crying and had swollen eyes, who was clinging to her. After looking closely, she realized that it was the maid who had caused a scene with her in the Imperial Hospital that afternoon. What happened?

"What did you say?"

The palace maid cried with tears and snot streaming down her face, repeatedly banging her head on the ground until it bled. "Miss Hu Ji has offended His Majesty with her disrespect before the palace. I beg you, Madam, to speak on my behalf and save my lowly life."

Ning Yu looked at her and said, "You should ask the chief steward by His Majesty's side. I can't help you."

Her clothes were tightly gripped by the palace maid. Her forehead was covered in blood, and she looked up at the body that had turned back, her eyes filled with misery.

"His Majesty said that as long as Madam can put in a good word for me, I can live. I beg you, Madam, I will serve you like a slave to repay you---"

She thought that if she pleaded for mercy, the palace servant would be spared. Ning Yu's eyelashes trembled slightly. The dog emperor was doing this on purpose, wanting to see her bow her head and manipulate her, wanting her to take the initiative to make peace, and using other people's lives to force her.

A dull, throbbing pain flowed from her chest to every part of her body, and she couldn't help but bend over.

"I was blinded by greed at noon and disrespected you, Madam. I beg you to forgive my wickedness and spare my life---"

The voice above was filled with sorrow, "I can't save you."

The palace maid's body stiffened as she kowtowed, her face deathly pale with fright. Why? Why wouldn't they save her? It was just a matter of saying a few words.

She clung tightly to the man's clothes, weeping as she crawled forward a few steps, pleading, "Madam, please have mercy! I don't want to die!"

Yes, who wants to die? Why use someone else's life to force her to do this? Why?

Ning Yu hated him so much. She hated how he always used his power to force her to make choices and suffer the torment of pain.

Didn't she hate seeing others die because of her? Then why won't she come to see him now?

Inside the imperial study, Xie Xun had been waiting in the inner hall for almost half an hour, but there was no movement outside. Anger was suffocating in his chest, his brows were downcast, and his aura was terrifying.

Qingfeng, who was serving in the outer palace, glanced at His Majesty's gloomy face and heard the servant's report. He felt that the heavens were going to kill him.

This lady is really stubborn.

"Fine, very well. He'd rather leave that dog of a servant outside the palace than come to see him." The fine white porcelain cups were shattered all over the floor. The man's fingers, which were braced on the table, were twitching and trembling unconsciously. His voice was sinister.

"Drag that servant out and put him to death in front of her door."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The eunuch turned to leave, but Qingfeng frowned, gave him a look, and respectfully said inside, "Your Majesty, the New Year is approaching, and the lady is still injured; it is not advisable for her to be exposed to blood."

A sinister, angry voice quickly came from inside, "Are you speaking up for her?"

"---" Qingfeng felt sweat pouring down his back. "Madam is stubborn. Doing this will probably make her resent His Majesty even more."

Resent him? Anyone can make her go against him. He has already done everything he can to bend over backwards, but it's still not enough, nothing at all.

The hall was completely silent until, after a short while, sounds came from inside.

"Fine, if she wants to die in that side hall, then let her go."

All night long, the palace maid stood guard at the door in fear and trembling. Only when no one came to arrest her in the middle of the night did she leave the side hall with profuse thanks.

Ning Yu was not asleep and heard the voices of the palace servants.

"Miss, that palace servant has left."

Qinghe was also kept awake by the noise. She pressed her wounds and got up to look at the young lady sleeping on the soft couch.

Ning Yu hummed in agreement. "You should go to sleep."

"I thought His Majesty would be furious, and I was too scared to sleep. Did it just pass by like that? I still can't believe it."

There was no movement from the soft couch. Qinghe sighed and lay down to sleep.