CHAPTER 544: CHAPTER 543: SPEAK, FINISH AND GET DOWN TO BUSINESS

The Imperial Study was very quiet.

Only the two of them were present.

Chu Qi could always smell the faint fragrance coming off her; the maps became somewhat hard to concentrate on as his mind wandered.

"What’s wrong?" Seeing Su Bai look up, Chu Qi asked gently.

Su Bai shook her head, "I’m a bit hungry since I didn’t have lunch."

Chu Qi was about to raise his hand, "Let me have someone send something over."

Su Bai stepped forward and tugged at his sleeve, "There’s no need, Your Majesty."

Chu Qi looked at his sleeve under her delicate grip, the smile on the corner of his lips rippling delightfully, "You’ve been working for me; how could I let you go hungry? You’ve suffered in the dungeon these days. Rest assured, I will certainly not let the Mei Family off easily."

"I didn’t undergo any physical torture, just a bit of grievance, I am unharmed," Su Bai let go of his hand, her peach-blossom eyes clear and watery.

At her words, Chu Qi felt even more remorseful, "I’ve made you suffer."

"Last night, Chen Jieyu already explained the situation to me. The slap was Mei Fei’s doing, not yours. Once I’m done with the government affairs, we’ll go to Chen Jieyu’s palace together and have her apologize to you in person."

When Chu Qi brought up Chen Jieyu, Su Bai’s peach-blossom eyes flickered slightly.

"Then let’s go now, I’m also feeling hungry. I’ve heard that Chen Jieyu’s cooking is quite astonishing. I wonder if I could have the chance to mooch a meal with you."

Yan Li’an’s plans—according to Mei Fei’s persona, she would definitely strike at Chen Jieyu.

However, to Su Bai’s complete surprise, this time Mei Fei’s actions were so vicious!

When she and Chu Qi arrived, it was eerily quiet outside, with not a soul to greet them.

A look of displeasure crossed Chu Qi’s face as he pushed open the palace doors himself. Stepping over the threshold, he saw a Palace Maid lying on the ground, a steady stream of blood pouring from the back of her head and pooling on the floor.

Chu Qi’s foot retracted.

Su Bai immediately stepped forward, her fists clenched, "Your Majesty, be careful."

"Protect the Emperor—! There’s an assassin!" the eunuch yelled out. The Emperor’s Personal Guards instantly surrounded the palace, cautiously checking the surroundings.

Su Bai walked over, bent down to examine the Palace Maid, who was already lifeless.

"Your Majesty, she’s dead."

Chu Qi’s expression darkened, "Go see where Chen Jieyu is."

The Personal Guards immediately began searching the entire palace. Unable to find anyone inside, they eventually discovered Chen Jieyu at the corner under the window, her blood nearly drained.

She lay like a discarded ragdoll on the ground, unconscious, her complexion deathly pale. Her light blue gown was soaked dark with blood, and had it not been for her faint breathing reminding everyone, they might have thought she was already dead.

After discovering the Palace Maid was dead, Su Bai had the eunuchs call for the Imperial Physician.

By then, Chen Jieyu had been carefully lifted onto a soft couch, and the out-of-breath Imperial Physician had just arrived at the door.

"Your—"

"Forget the formalities, save her," Chu Qi said impatiently, gesturing for the Imperial Physician to hurry inside.

Bent over, the Imperial Physician immediately walked in.

Only then did Su Bai come out from inside, her white clothing stained with the blood of Chen Jieyu, a truly frightening sight.

After a while, the Imperial Physician came out pale-faced, kneeling in front of Chu Qi.

"Your Majesty, Chen Jieyu’s child cannot be saved."

"What?" Chu Qi frowned.

"Chen Jieyu’s body has been tortured in multiple places. It is a miracle she has survived, but without proper care, her life is still at risk."

The Imperial Physician stammered out Chen Jieyu’s condition, only to see Chu Qi kick over a small tea table beside him.

The teacups from the tea table fell to the floor and shattered.

Everyone was silent, startled by the outburst.

Su Bai stood with her head lowered to the side.

Chu Qi paced inside the room, "Unbelievable! Broad daylight under the heavily guarded Imperial Palace, yet such a horrendous act occurs! Chen Jieyu is a Concubine personally honored by me. Whoever had the courage of the bear and leopard to hurt my woman and kill my child—"

He gestured broadly, "Investigate! Investigate thoroughly! If this person is not found, I will strip you of your official hats!"

The news about the lockdown of Chen Jieyu’s palace by the Emperor’s Personal Guards quickly spread.

At this moment.

Mei Fei’s bedchamber was dim, all the windows tightly shut.

She sat on the bed, garbed in a white undershirt.

Time passed unknowingly.

Soft footsteps approached from within the chamber.

A man clad in black entered and knelt down.

"Is everything taken care of?" the voice of Concubine Mei trembled slightly as she spoke.

The man was like a machine devoid of emotions, "Hmm."

"This is the remaining reward." Concubine Mei threw out a purse.

The purse was drab but filled with gold and silver treasures.

The man picked up the purse from the ground, weighing it, "It’s a little short."

"I have given you all my jewelry, what more do you want?" Mei’s silhouette was extremely blurred behind a layer of curtain.

Dissatisfaction flashed in the man’s eyes.

"You should pay what was agreed upon. I have already killed the person for you, I expect you won’t deny the debt," his tone had become threatening.

Attempting to maintain her composure, Concubine Mei said, "The part that’s short, I will give to you later."

"No." The man refused, "The work I do involves licking blood off the blade’s edge, I don’t know when I’ll die; I don’t do credit."

"Then what do you want?" the volume of Concubine Mei’s voice rose, "I have given you everything I can."

A trace of greed passed through the man’s eyes.

"I can return the money to Your Highness. After all, I am just going to seek pleasures with it. If Your Highness can satisfy me, let alone a nursemaid, whoever Your Highness detests next, I will kill them for you."

The women of the Emperor, dignified in status, and always attentive to their upkeep, naturally have cleaner and more delicate skin than the girls in the brothel.

If he could be so fortunate to enjoy their company, his existence in the world wouldn’t be in vain.

Hearing his reckless words, Concubine Mei’s complexion turned from pale to flushed, the insult stuck in her throat, but she ultimately swallowed it silently.

That sentence,

"Whoever Your Highness detests next, I will kill them for you..." Echoed in her ears like a haunting spirit.

As if possessed, she lifted her foot and lifted the corner of the curtain.

The man kneeling on the ground, dressed in a drab overcoat, was robust, clearly quite strong.

His face was covered with a black cloth, and those eyes revealed a ruthless, wolf-like ferocity, making her heart quiver.

"Truly?" she heard her own voice.

The man looked up at the glimpse of her white jade foot, his Adam’s apple involuntarily moving up and down.

His voice was hoarse, "Of course, people in the underworld all know that I, Thirteen, keep my word."

Thirteen, a notorious villain of the Chu Kingdom known for valuing money over life.

Concubine Mei had committed similar vile deeds before, so she had ways to contact these assassins and villains.

This time was urgent, so she paid a high price, not expecting that such an expert would come.

The nursemaid was already dead beyond recognition.

No one would ever know that it was she who had acted against Chen Jieyu.

"I agree to your proposal, but you have to do one more thing for me," she said.

Thirteen’s gaze fixated on that patch of white, and he crawled towards the direction of the bed, "As long as Your Highness keeps me satisfied afterward, any command will be followed."

His words were direct and crude.

Yet inexplicably, Concubine Mei’s face turned red.

At that moment, Thirteen directly grabbed her foot into the palm of his hand.

Concubine Mei’s foot, petite and pale, pleasantly plump and adorable, made Thirteen’s whole body boil with desire.

"Release me!" Concubine Mei ordered in a delicate scold.

"I won’t let go," Thirteen held on tight, "Speak up, Your Highness, so I can get to work."

Unable to free herself, Concubine Mei steadied her heart and her eyes hardened further, "Catch a man for me, then chop off his fingers and present them to Chen Jieyu."

Thirteen knew at once what she wanted done, and he chuckled,

"Worthy of being a noblewoman, Your Highness’s cruel and ruthless side is to my liking."

With that, he yanked at her foot, pulling Concubine Mei down.

Concubine Mei caught off guard, fell along with the bedding, half her body dragged out of the curtain.

"Ah!" she exclaimed.

Just as she was about to see Thirteen’s face clearly, her eyes were covered by his rough hands.

"Remember, Your Highness, you must not see my face. Whoever sees it must die."

The next second, her undergarment was torn apart.

Her whole body flushed, she was pressed against the steps before the bed. As Thirteen pulled the curtain in front of them, with the fluttering curtain between them, she could only see Thirteen’s silhouette, and feel that indescribable sense of fullness and burning heat...