Chapter 3

Chapter 3

What happened that day began with Leju Palace being sealed off.

Everyone was dismissed.

In the vast Leju Palace, only the six of us remained.

Empress Mother, half-mad with rage, hurled things at my three imperial brothers.

When the objects struck them, they simply endured it in silence, not daring to make the slightest sound for fear of angering Empress Mother further and becoming the one singled out.

She cursed them as beasts, saying they had not even spared their own cousin.

Then Empress Mother walked up to Song Lianwei. Her voice was low and heavy, carrying the oppressive stillness before a storm.

“Song Lianwei, We believe We have treated you well. Is this how you repay Us?”

“Aunt, I…”

Song Lianwei wept, overwhelmed by shame.

I supposed she wanted to say she had been forced, but she did not dare. She was afraid of offending my three imperial brothers.

She had always been like this, timid and hesitant, forever waiting for someone else to step forward and voice her grievances for her.

In the past, that person had been me.

But now, my three imperial brothers would not care about her.

Empress Mother waited for a long while, but when Song Lianwei failed to give any real explanation, she flew into a rage and kicked her.

“We raised you in the palace for so many years, yet you have not the slightest bearing of the imperial family. So cringing and petty-you have wasted all Our painstaking efforts.”

Song Lianwei crashed heavily to the floor. Her cry was piercing, but she desperately swallowed it back down, no longer daring to sob aloud.

Perhaps only now did she remember.

Empress Mother had seen far too many tears in the depths of the palace, and she loathed them.

Her tears had only ever worked on me.

Perhaps they worked on my imperial brothers as well.

The Danmaku said they liked hearing her cry?

They were downright sick.

Empress Mother turned to my imperial brothers.

“And you? Do you have anything to say? Eldest, you speak.”

In the darkness, I somehow heard First Imperial Brother’s body trembling.

“Empress Mother, this son was wrong. This son was possessed by a moment of madness and committed a grave mistake. This son is willing to accept any beating or punishment. I only beg you to calm your anger and not harm your imperial health. This son will never dare do it again.”

“That is what you have to say? We thought you would ask to take Song Lianwei as your wife.”

First Imperial Brother shut his mouth.

The great hall filled with an indescribable awkwardness.

One line of Danmaku after another flashed rapidly before my eyes. I had to focus with all my might to make them out.

[Men are all like this. It’s fine for him to sleep with any number of women, but the moment a woman has slept with several men, he doesn’t want her anymore.]

[Song Lianwei ended up like this because of him! If he hadn’t taken off Song Lianwei’s clothes, how could Second and Third have seen everything? When Second wanted to join in, he clearly could have objected, so why didn’t he? Isn’t it because he thought Song Lianwei had been seen by someone else, that she was dirty now and no longer worth cherishing?]

[Song Lianwei wanted to pick one of them as her husband, but never in her wildest dreams did she expect that not one of these three wanted her as his wife.]

[She deserves it. She stabbed the princess in the back for a man, and seeing her end up like this is so satisfying.]

[The princess was the one who set her up. If the princess hadn’t called Second and Third over, how could no one be willing to marry her? With her family background, she’d be a proper principal consort for sure.]

[The princess only called people over. Did the princess make those men join in? Did she make those men strip off her clothes?]

The corner of my lips curved faintly.

Exactly.

I had only wanted to watch a joke.

I had only called people over.

How could I have known the people I summoned would be such scum, capable of doing something so filthy?

After a long silence, Empress Mother looked toward Second Imperial Brother and Third Imperial Brother.

“Do either of you wish to marry Song Lianwei? Whoever marries her will be spared punishment by Us. Otherwise, your crimes will be treated as even more severe!”

I listened carefully.

Song Lianwei’s breathing was very heavy. Right now, she was probably looking at them with tear-filled eyes, pleading piteously.

But my three imperial brothers’ breathing was very light. They held their breath in utter stillness, as if afraid of being noticed and forced to take over this mess.