Chapter 48: Saving the Exiled Crown Princess Consort (20)

The heavy doors creaked open under the force of Luo Xu’s push. The vermillion panels swung back slowly. The courtyard within was completely silent. A breeze blew in, carrying a faint fragrance that now seemed nauseating.

Within the breeze, there seemed to be an ambiguous, indistinct female voice, but it was scattered by the wind before it could be heard clearly.

Luo Xu swayed, nearly losing her footing.

The past became painfully vivid in her mind: the meeting on Barren Mountain, Tang Qi’s tender care, the exhausting effort to help her return to the Capital. Everything morphed into images, ballooning in her mind before shattering into fragments and vanishing.

The guards’ expressions were indescribable. Could Princess Hele really be with someone else?

But then they reconsidered. Tang Qi was a princess; keeping a few dozen male concubines was common. Replacing a male concubine with a woman… wasn’t that… going too far? So was this… the primary wife catching the mistress?

And this mistress was the Secondary Consort of the Prince of Leisure? The guard felt his own head was about to roll.

“Commandery Princess?” The guard called softly, cautiously. Luo Xu closed her eyes to compose herself, steadied her emotions, and when she opened them again, only determination remained. “Break the door down for me.”

She didn’t believe Tang Qi would betray her. Though they hadn’t known each other long, she trusted Tang Qi unconditionally. There had to be a reason for this.

The attendants looked at each other, hesitant to step forward, afraid of interrupting Tang Qi’s “good affair.” Luo Xu’s anger flared. “I said break the door down for this Commandery Princess! If any trouble arises, I will bear full responsibility!”

Only after Luo Xu’s outburst did the guards dare to move.

The bedchamber door was made of fine mahogany, exquisite in design and very sturdy. After several rams, a tiny crack appeared, through which sounds emerged—something between sobs and moans of pleasure.

No, this situation is wrong!

Gritting her teeth, Luo Xu stepped forward and issued a ruthless command. “If you can’t break it down, this Commandery Princess will have your heads.”

With a surge of desperate effort, the guards finally broke through with a loud boom. The two heavy doors slammed against the walls. Luo Xu was the first to enter. The guards exchanged glances, hesitated for a moment, and then waited outside the door.

Even having mentally prepared herself before entering, Luo Xu was still horrified by the scene inside the room.

There was no romantic atmosphere, no evidence of intimacy. Instead, the floors and walls were covered in splashes of fresh crimson blood. Some of it was still dripping, while other streaks had already dried to a dark brown.

Having been shut tight, the stifling room amplified the metallic stench of blood, making several guards outside retch dryly. Realizing something was terribly wrong, they rushed into the room.

The room was dim. A guard hurriedly lit the candles. In the candlelight, they followed the trail of blood to find a person—Luo Ping, cowering in a corner, trembling violently.

She was terrified. When she saw the guards, she only shrank further into the corner, her body shuddering uncontrollably. The light, sheer fabric of her dress was long soaked in blood and hacked into ribbons by a sword, hanging off her in shreds.

But the guards were too distracted to admire any “scenery.”

Her body was crisscrossed with countless wounds, large and small, like a fish that had been scored with a knife to reveal the raw, red flesh beneath. These wounds were long and narrow, clearly sword cuts.

Some had stopped bleeding; others looked freshly inflicted, blood still flowing out. Even her face had been slashed several times, an obvious attempt to disfigure her.

“Little Seven!” Ignoring Luo Ping completely, Luo Xu spotted Tang Qi first, seated on the chaise lounge. Tang Qi had one knee bent, her foot resting on the lounge, her head leaning against it. Her other leg hung down to the floor to steady her body.

She clutched her longsword tightly, the blade resting beside her, still stained with traces of blood. Her eyes were vacant, like a doll without its divine sense.

It was clear the wounds on Luo Ping’s body had been made by the sword in Tang Qi’s hand.

“Little Seven, don’t scare me!” Luo Xu was on the verge of tears. Seeming to hear her call, Tang Qi slowly turned her head. A flicker of life returned to her pearl-like eyes.

“Luo… Luoluo?” Tang Qi’s jaw seemed rusted, struggling to form the word. After a long pause, she managed a hoarse whisper.

“It’s me, Little Seven, it’s me!” Luo Xu embraced her. “Are you alright? What happened to you? What did Luo Ping do to you?” She frantically checked Tang Qi for injuries, only relaxing slightly when she found none.

The guards looked on, stunned. What do you mean, what happened to Tang Qi? Clearly, it’s what happened to Luo Ping!

But what had really occurred? Why had Tang Qi locked Luo Ping in the room and wounded her so grievously?

Just then, as Tang Qi reached out to embrace Luo Xu, her hand suddenly froze. As if hit by an attack, she curled in on herself with a muffled groan of pain and fell straight off the chaise lounge.

“Little Seven, what’s wrong?” Luo Xu went to support her. As she reached out, she realized Tang Qi’s body was burning hot to the touch, as if set aflame.

Luo Xu started to panic, but Tang Qi seemed almost accustomed to it. She struggled to her feet, scrabbled for the treasured sword that had fallen nearby, and staggered toward Luo Ping.

“Don’t come near me! Please, don’t come near me!” Luo Ping’s eyes were filled with sheer terror, as if she was looking at a horrifying monster. The guards moved to stop Tang Qi, but Luo Xu’s cold voice cut through. “Hold! See what the Princess intends to do.”

She stayed close to Tang Qi, her eyes filled with worry for her, paying no attention to the nearby Luo Ping.

Tang Qi stumbled to Luo Ping’s side and swung her sword.

With a light flick of the longsword, a fresh wound appeared on Luo Ping’s body. Luo Ping screamed in pain, the piercing sound tearing through everyone’s eardrums.

She tried to flee, but Tang Qi’s expression remained wooden as she struck Luo Ping’s leg with another sword stroke. Luo Ping collapsed to her knees. She tried to crawl away, ignoring the flesh and blood she left trailing behind her.

There was barely an inch of unblemished skin on her legs; they were covered in wounds. Through the deepest gashes, one could see the bone beneath the flesh.

“I was wrong! I won’t ever do this to you again! Spare me!” Luo Ping cried out, but it garnered not a shred of pity from Tang Qi, whose expression didn’t change.

At that moment, Tang Qi was like a devil, reveling in Luo Ping’s blood and screams, as if the cries brought her some kind of relief or pleasure.

A drop of blood splattered onto Tang Qi’s face. She reached up and wiped at it, a bloodthirsty smile actually forming on her lips. Luo Ping shrieked in terror, too scared to even crawl anymore, just shrinking into herself, hoping Tang Qi wouldn’t see her. Even the guards retreated several steps in fright.

“Little Seven!” Luo Xu called out tentatively.

The sword in Tang Qi’s hand hesitated. Luo Xu called again, testingly, “Little Seven, it’s me, I’m Luoluo!”

With a clear ring, Tang Qi’s sword dropped to the ground. She looked at Luo Xu, studying her carefully for a long moment. Her gaze finally settled on the dimples at the corner of Luo Xu’s smile. As if confirming that the person before her was indeed Luo Xu, her eyes closed and she fainted. Luo Xu quickly caught her.

“Summon the Imperial Physician!” Luo Xu was frantic. The guards were also panicked. This was the Crown Princess! If anything happened to her, their heads would roll.

As guards rushed to find the Imperial Physician, Luo Ping was forgotten in the corner. Watching Tang Qi pass out, she broke down, screaming. “Devil! She’s a devil!”

She clutched her face, frantically repeating the word “devil.” Luo Xu looked at her with disgust. “Lock her up!”

“You can’t imprison me! I am the Secondary Consort of the Prince of Leisure! I am the daughter of the Minister of Works! You can’t…” As the guards approached, Luo Ping struggled and stepped back.

In the past, the guards might have shown some tenderness towards a beautiful woman, but right now, she was just a blood-soaked mass of wounds.

“Right, go inform His Majesty and the Grand Princess,” Luo Xu gave orders methodically. “Also, summon the Prince of Leisure and Lord Luo.”

Held back by the guards, Luo Ping continued to wail. No one knew that she was not the original Luo Ping at all. She was originally a wandering ghost, drifting through the mortal world. One day, something called a “System” had bound itself to her.

This System said it could help her start a new life, a program called “Background Character Counterattack.” She could choose a person to possess, to take over their body and live their life.

Luo Ping was the first person she possessed. Through the System, she learned everything that was originally supposed to happen in this world. Luo Xu was the protagonist of this world. She would meet the Prince of Leisure during his time of hardship and use her hidden weapons to help him amass wealth.

The Prince of Leisure, ruthless to everyone else, would only be gentle and soft-hearted with her.

Later, Luo Xu would become the Crown Princess Consort, and then the Empress. The Prince of Leisure would even empty the entire imperial harem for her, loving only her.

He would love her and respect her. Her parents, though not overly affectionate, would still hold some fondness for her. And she would have a sister who admired and loved her deeply.

The ghost couldn’t understand. Luo Xu was just an ordinary woman; why did she deserve such fortune? She decided to change everything, to replace Luo Xu as the lead.

First, she stole the parents’ affection, schemed to make them think Luo Xu was scheming and deep. Then she met Zhao Chengfeng even earlier than Luo Xu, gained his trust, and whispered slander about Luo Xu into his ear, causing his feelings for Luo Xu to plummet.

She encouraged Zhao Chengfeng to depose Luo Xu, marry Nalan Xue, and then plotted to eliminate Nalan Xue.

Step by step, everything went smoothly, until Tang Qi appeared. Zhao Chengfeng became a Commandery Prince, a far cry from his former status. Nalan Xue went mad.

And she herself was about to be driven out of the Capital, sent off to a fief.

She refused to accept it. Why! Why, even after being beaten into the dust, could Luo Xu stand back up and become a Commandery Princess? Why did a Tang Qi—a person who shouldn’t exist—mysteriously appear?

She made Luo Xu lose everything once; she could do it again. The jealousy in her heart became unbearable. She exchanged points with the System for a mind-bewitching drug. She was the antidote to this drug; only closeness to her would ease the pain and burning.

This drug was colorless and odorless, undetectable by anyone. At the banquet, she hadn’t gone to offer a toast at all; she’d smeared the drug onto Tang Qi’s clothes. Using Zhao Chengfeng’s plan as cover, while he was committing arson and murder to draw away most of the guards, she bribed the remaining ones and walked right in.

Just as she expected, Tang Qi was poisoned and mistook her for Luo Xu. Everything went perfectly up to that point. She was gloating, but for some unknown reason, Tang Qi suddenly seemed to regain awareness after entering the room. Then, she had turned her blade on Luo Ping.

Every time the drug’s effect flared, Tang Qi would hack at her with the sword. Sometimes the pain was so intense, Tang Qi would act out in a frenzy, and the wounds on her body only multiplied.

On top of that, she had instructed the System to tamper with the path leading to the bedchamber, lengthening it so the wait for help was agonizingly prolonged. Trapped in this room, she faced the devil Tang Qi and her unending brutality.