Chapter 24: The Crippled Young Lady (Twenty-four)

Chapter 24: The Disabled Young Lady (Twenty-Four)

The layered palace complexes were veiled in the curtain of night. A gentle breeze stirred, casting dancing shadows of trees against the walls. A slender, dark silhouette flashed past with such incredible speed that the palace guards on patrol merely felt a flicker before their eyes; when they rubbed them, there was nothing to be seen.

Deep within the dilapidated Cold Palace, a man dressed in magnificent robes stood with his hands behind his back, gazing up at the moon, which was half-hidden by thick mist, as he fell into deep contemplation.

The slender figure stepped lightly into the hall, knelt on one knee, and bowed her head respectfully. "Master."

The man did not turn around. He stroked his thumb ring, his voice devoid of emotion. "You let her almost get hurt."

She started, the pale moonlight refracting into the hall to reveal that the figure kneeling on the ground was none other than Luyao. Her face turned deathly pale in terror, and she struggled to contain the fear threatening to overwhelm her. "It is my failure to fulfill my duty. I beg for your forgiveness, Master!"

She closed her eyes, offering no rebuttal. It was indeed her hesitation that had nearly caused Su Kui harm. Had she given her all from the start, let alone one Yu Yingying, even ten such women would have been nothing to fear. But a mistake was a mistake. Biting her lip until it turned white, Luyao waited in silence for Jun Mo’s final judgment.

A long time passed—so long that Luyao once thought her heart might stop beating right then and there.

Jun Mo turned around coldly, his sharp, slanted brows knitting together. His thin lips uttered words of extreme cruelty. "Go to the punishment hall and receive fifty lashes. I will spare you today, but if there is a next time..." You will not need to see me again.

Relieved, Luyao kowtowed in gratitude. "Thank you for your mercy, Master!" She naturally understood the implication of what Jun Mo had left unsaid. Yet, escaping with her life tonight was a stroke of fortune. She had come prepared to die, for she had seen a burning emotion in Jun Mo—he had broken his own rules time and again for Su Kui, even risking the exposure of his hidden hand just to ensure her safety.

Jun Mo rubbed his brow and waved his hand. "Go. Remember this: from the moment I assigned you to her side, you are no longer my subordinate, but rather... her servant!"

Luyao’s heart trembled. "Yes!"

Time passed as swiftly as a white horse leaping across a crevice. In the blink of an eye, the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival arrived.

That evening, the Emperor hosted a banquet for all his officials to celebrate together. Red lanterns hung beneath the glass corridors, and the flickering candlelight shrouded the palace walls and green tiles in a hazy glow, intoxicating to the heart.

This day was also a prime opportunity for the palace maids to showcase their talents. For those with ambition, performing before the Emperor and the full assembly of civil and military officials was a chance to command the spotlight. Therefore, well before the festival, the maids had been busy handing out silver to secure favors, and the matrons and nursing women had been bribed until they were stuffed with illicit gains.

However, none of this had anything to do with Su Kui. Not to mention that she was physically disabled, given her pride, how could she ever stoop to debasing herself just to fill the Emperor’s harem?

The protagonist of tonight was not Su Kui, nor the throng of restless maids, but Feng Qingqing. In the original script, Feng Qingqing would wear a dance dress embroidered with golden butterflies to the Mid-Autumn banquet, performing a highly difficult "Startled Swan Dance" that would dazzle the officials and successfully capture the Emperor’s attention. This time, with Su Kui not intervening, the plot unfolded exactly as it should have.

As the daughter of a prominent official, she was permitted to reunite briefly with her family. Su Kui had long since been pushed by Luyao to the side of the Old Madam, where she could not avoid the woman’s sighs and laments about how thin she had become. Even Feng Zheng, seated at the left-hand banquet table, glanced at her several times. Su Kui smiled to herself, returning his gaze with a generous smile, only to accidentally lock eyes with a pair of pupils that seemed to harbor ten thousand years of frost when she turned away.

It was him—