He Fulin quietly slipped out.
Ning Ywan was lying on the small couch, her figure exquisitely graceful.
Even though only half of her face was visible, her peerless beauty was still apparent.
A realization dawned on him. He now understood why in ancient times there were foolish emperors willing to abandon the world for a bewitching beauty.
Ning Ywan was truly a rare beauty, charming and unparalleled.
If he were a normal man, he would surely be at her feet.
But alas, he was just a eunuch.
A useless eunuch who only followed orders.
There was an unfathomable look in He Fulin's eyes as he mumbled the word "foolish emperor", which seemed to correspond to the Emperor Chu behind him.
He carefully lit the sleeping incense and waved it under Ning Ywan's nose for a while.
Then he gently wrapped her in the quilt, carried her on his shoulder, and entered the hidden compartment.
Beyond the compartment was a secret tunnel.
In the middle of the tunnel was a spacious area carved into the shape of a large room.
There was a bed, a wardrobe, and a stone table. Everything was there.
The Emperor Chu was impatient and rushed back into the room first.
Even though He Fulin was walking quickly, the emperor still frowned impatiently. "You useless fool! I've been waiting for you for ages!"
The emperor had nothing in his hands, while He Fulin was carrying a living person on his shoulder. Beads of sweat had already formed on his forehead.
But the emperor was the master, so He Fulin suppressed all his thoughts. "Your Majesty, please forgive my rudeness."
He carefully placed Ning Ywan on the bed and then stood obediently by the side.
The emperor's eyes sparkled with desire as he was about to undress and get on the bed.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw He Fulin and two expressionless imperial guards. "Get out and wait!"
The three of them didn't dare to disobey and immediately left the tunnel the way they came.
There were only two people left in the room.
One was the awake Emperor Chu, and the other was the unconscious Ning Ywan.
The emperor let out a low laugh, his tongue licking his lips.
"Madam De Shizi, you finally belong to me."
During the incident in the palace, the emperor had mistaken someone else for Ning Ywan and had slept with Song Yiran a few times.
Now, under the candlelight, he carefully examined the person in front of him and was sure that it was indeed Ning Ywan, the wife of De Shizi.
His fingers couldn't help but caress her face. The emperor laughed wickedly and proudly.
But his slightly cool fingers made Ning Ywan frown slightly. He couldn't help but whisper soothingly, "Don't be afraid. I'll make you feel good."
With such beauty in front of him, how could he resist his desires any longer?
He immediately undressed without hesitation and pounced on Ning Ywan.
He closed his eyes and leaned in, eager to kiss her.
Unexpectedly, his nose suddenly touched something cold. The chill ran through his lips and into his heart.
The emperor shivered. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself hugging a familiar woman.
It wasn't Ning Ywan, of course.
It was Lady Yao, the wife of the former Minister of Rites whom he had once forced and humiliated.
"Your Majesty."
Lady Yao's limbs were ice-cold, but she tightly wrapped her arms and legs around the emperor's neck and body.
"I'm here to serve you."
The cold air from her mouth wafted towards the emperor's chest, making the hairs on his chest stand on end.
"Let go!"
The emperor stared at her with wide eyes. "Aren't you dead!"
Yes.
Lady Yao had died a long time ago.
During the emperor's humiliation, she had unexpectedly woken up.
She found that the person on top of her was the emperor, but his actions were like those of a vulgar man.
Even though he knew she was resisting, he still threatened her with her family to be obedient.
Lady Yao was a strong-willed woman. She bit her tongue and committed suicide when he continued his actions.
But it didn't scare the heartless emperor. He calmly got up.
He even let out a soft "tsk". "Bad luck!"
At that time, his personal eunuch was Wang Fuhai, who skillfully dragged the body away.
As for where the body was buried?
Wang Fuhai sneered. Why were the flowers in the imperial garden so red every year?
Wasn't it because of the fertilizer?
The Minister of Rites suspected something, but he never imagined that it was the emperor who was behind it.
He only thought that Lady Yao had disappeared for no reason.
After a while, the emperor found an excuse to demote the Minister of Rites and send him far away from the capital.
Before the Minister of Rites, there were many others who had also been exiled for no apparent reason.
But no one knew that the real culprit was their most respected master.
"Your Majesty."
The emperor was struggling to break free from Lady Yao's embrace when he suddenly heard a familiar yet strange voice behind him.
It was also a woman, another official's wife whom he had once humiliated.
Most of the women endured and lived on, pretending to be sick and never entering the palace again.
But there were still a few who valued their honor more than their lives and committed suicide on the spot.
"Your Majesty, take a look at me. Didn't you like me back then?"
The cold fingernails dug into the emperor's neck. He suddenly leaned back and was shocked by the woman's appearance.
It was Lady Wang, the wife of Vice General Song Han.
She was good at martial arts and had a strong personality.
The emperor remembered that she had tried to fight back in her anger.
She was hit on the head by an imperial guard and died on the spot.
Of course, she was the only one who didn't commit suicide.
There was still a bloodstain on Lady Wang's forehead from the sword strike, but her eyes were extremely charming.
It was these eyes that had tempted the emperor to act on her.
Seeing that the emperor was still staring at her, Lady Wang sneered as if she could see through his thoughts. She suddenly dug out her eyes and held them in front of the emperor.
"Your Majesty, don't you love my eyes the most? I'll give them to you!"
"Ugh!"
The emperor couldn't take it anymore. His face turned pale as he pushed Lady Yao and Lady Wang away.
"Get out! All of you, get out of my sight!"
He had risen from a prince to an emperor. He had seen all kinds of strange phenomena.
He also knew that there was a strange poison in the Great Wilderness called illusion powder, which could make people see the dead in their illusions.
Now he naturally thought that he had been poisoned by the illusion powder.
But...
The illusion was so real that it made him nauseous.
As he waved his hands, a look of suspicion flashed in the emperor's eyes. When had he been poisoned by the illusion powder?
For a moment, he suspected that it was Ning Ywan.
After all, there were only him and Ning Ywan in the room.
But a cool breeze blew, and the emperor looked at the bed again.
Ning Ywan was still lying unconscious on the bed.
But Lady Yao and Lady Wang had disappeared.
Had they really disappeared?
Soon, the increasing coldness behind the emperor gave him the answer.
Two cold hands touched his back, and soft voices called out, "Your Majesty, take a look at me?"
"I've been buried in the soil for so long. I'm so cold!"
"Your Majesty, please warm me up, okay?"
Behind him were not only Lady Wang and Lady Yao but also all the women who had been buried under the imperial garden.
Each of them showed their most miserable appearance before death and reached out their hands towards the emperor.
Even though it was terrifying, the emperor's initial resistance gradually disappeared.
He couldn't help but reach out his hand and hold Lady Wang's bloodstained hand.
A silly smile spread across his lips as he followed Lady Wang and Lady Yao out of the room.
"Your Majesty!"
Outside the tunnel, He Fulin didn't wait long before he saw the Emperor Chu wearing only thin underwear.
"It's cold today, Your Majesty. Why are you dressed like this?"
He unfolded his cloak and wanted to put it on the emperor, but the latter frowned and scolded, "Get out of my way!"
Then he stumbled forward, following the Lady Wang in his eyes.
Behind him, He Fulin shouted in surprise, "Your Majesty, where are you going?"
Where was he going?
The Fairy Lake in the snow had gradually formed a thin layer of ice.
With a "crack", the ice broke, and it seemed as if a heavy object had fallen into the water.