CHAPTER 537: CHAPTER 536: A MAN’S POSSESSIVENESS, SCAR

The half-black mask fell from Mei’s hands and eventually landed on the ground.

The last trace of warmth in Chu Qi’s eyes vanished the moment the mask hit the ground.

Su Bai wore a smile that was not quite a smile, looking at Mei as if viewing a fool.

It seemed she had underestimated Chu Qi quite naively.

"Enough!" Chu Qi spoke coldly.

Mei, confused, "Your Majesty—"

"Get out!" he raised his hand.

Mei, bewildered, "Your Majesty, your concubine..."

"I said," Chu Qi was very impatient, his brow furrowed, his eyes filled with a killing aura, "get out!"

The eunuch immediately stepped forward and said to Mei, "Your Highness, you should leave first."

Initially expecting Chu Qi would simply dismiss Su Bai, she was surprised to be the one driven out without any sentimentality.

Mei was utterly baffled.

Isn’t the Emperor fond of beauties?

Why was Su Bai always the exception?!

Seeing that the Personal Guards were about to escort Su Bai away, Mei quickly stepped forward.

"Stop." She stood in front of Su Bai.

"What do you want to do now, Consort Mei?" Su Bai asked calmly.

Mei stared at the horrific scar on her face, suddenly having an idea; she was just about to touch it when Su Bai stepped back.

"Your scar is fake," Mei blurted out urgently.

Su Bai looked at her and clicked her tongue twice, "Does it matter?"

"Of course it matters, if His Majesty knew about this scar..." Mei suddenly fell silent, almost blurting out all her cunning plans.

"Consort Mei, this is the Imperial Family of Chu Kingdom, the most prestigious place in Chu. Why do you think I can wander around in front of His Majesty wearing a mask? Do you think he, as the Emperor, has no curiosity at all?" Su Bai spoke in a lowered voice, her tall figure slightly leaning forward, whispering in Mei’s ear, "Even the most noble men are still men, it’s just that bit of possessive desire acting up. With your wit, how can you not understand this."

Having said that, she straightened up, her peach-blossom eyes ambiguous.

She did it on purpose.

Misleading Mei to think in the direction she desired.

And indeed, Mei’s face nearly turned purple with rage.

She stared hard at the scar on Su Bai’s face.

"So this scar is the Emperor’s doing..." she clenched her fists, disbelieving.

Such a noble person, yet capable of such actions.

Indeed, Su Bai’s beauty was completely marred by that scar. Without it, her beauty could overshadow the whole Imperial Palace, making all other Palace Maids pale in comparison. Who could rival her then?

Therefore, having her appear in the military camp was worrying for the Emperor, so he let her wear the mask and even added a scar beneath it.

Realizing this, Mei staggered backwards.

She couldn’t accept that the man she deeply loved harbored such deep scheming for another woman.

"Consort Mei, please step aside; do not delay this General’s journey to the dungeon. It’s getting late, and I would like to rest," Su Bai kindly reminded.

Mei’s teeth itched with hatred.

"You’re going to be locked in the dungeon, yet you still act so arrogant!"

When they reached the dungeon, she would make that fake scar a real one!

Then she would see if Su Bai could still be so arrogant in front of her.

Su Bai had already read her petty schemes from her eyes.

Sighing to herself.

Indeed, only women and petty men are difficult to maintain.

The harem truly was a place that could completely transform a person.

"Excuse me, please step aside." Su Bai didn’t want to say another word.

The sins Mei Fei had committed would soon be fully repaid by her father.

Su Bai was not in a hurry at all.

Usually, she treated people kindly, so even after entering the dungeon, some of the prison guards, whom she had helped before, did whatever they could to make her stay more comfortable.

She settled down without any worry, treating it almost like her own home.

One stay turned into three days.

The guards, observing that she showed no urgency to leave, couldn’t help but feel suspicious.

What had caused such a response from General Su?

Inside the dungeon, all was calm, but outside it was anything but peaceful.

Typically, the troops trained according to Su Bai’s methods and were well-disciplined.

Even though Su Bai was absent, the Deputy Generals could maintain some basic training, but without her, after only three days, they were barely functional, and complaints filled the air.

The military camp sent so many petitions that Chu Qi’s desk was inundated.

They fervently requested Chu Qi to release their General Su.

Chu Qi, weighed down with petitions, remained silent.

This truly frustrated the soldiers.

"General Su has always been good to us, and now that she is wronged, we, as her subordinates, naturally cannot stand by as if nothing is wrong. Everyone, isn’t that right!"

At night, in the military camp, a Deputy General holding a torch addressed his soldiers.

The crowd raised their arms and shouted, "Yes! Rescue General Su!"

"Let’s storm the prison!"

A naive young man spoke up, and the Deputy General immediately warned him, "If you want to wipe out nine generations, don’t drag us all down."

"Then how can we save General Su?" Most of us are simple soldiers, uneducated, only trained to follow orders and fight.

We’re all novices when it comes to court intrigues.

The Deputy General thought for a moment, "General Su often mentioned an old saying, ’the ringer must untie the bell,’ meaning that whoever caused the problem should be the one to solve it."

"That must be that old scoundrel Mei Changfeng then," the soldiers clamored, "Why don’t we just tie him up and beat him?"

"We can’t resort to violence, General Su always says we are civilized. How can civilized people strike an old official? We must use civility."

"And how should we employ it?"

The Deputy General beckoned with his hand.

The crowd gathered around.

Consequently, over the next few days, whether Mei Changfeng was attending morning court or socializing, he always found several soldiers watching him with unfriendly eyes, their glares so explicit they seemed to wish to devour him.

The old official was terrified to the core.

However, for several days, these men simply stared at him without making any further movements.

But as the number of people increased, Mei Changfeng became so frightened that he wouldn’t even leave his home, and even claimed to be too ill to attend the morning court.

He didn’t want to go, but Chu Qi insisted that he come.

An Imperial Edict was issued, appointing Mei Changfeng as a military advisor to resolve all issues within the military camps.

The eunuch had not even reached the door after reading the Imperial Edict when Mei Changfeng, holding the edict, collapsed on the ground.

Just a few men staring at him had been enough to overwhelm his old heart; being in the military camp with hundreds of thousands of such stares would surely send him straight to heaven.

After much deliberation, Mei Changfeng entered the palace overnight.

At that time, Chu Qi was indulging in the pleasures of the court.

Upon hearing from the eunuch that Mei Changfeng was seeking an audience, he waved dismissively, "No audiences."

After speaking, he continued to indulge in his affairs with the beauty.

Rejected, Mei Changfeng had no choice but to visit his daughter’s chamber to seek a solution.

Mei Fei had not expected to receive her distressed father instead of the Emperor in the middle of the night.