Chapter 21: Rescuing Qingdai from the Shangguan Manor

“I will be with you from now on, Sister. I will… always be by your side…”

Before Luo Wushuang could finish her sentence, a faint sound of sobbing drifted from inside the room.

Her dark eyes instantly grew cold. Her brow furrowed as she demanded in a chilling voice, “Who is there? Come out!”

Ling Yun, who had been standing guard outside the courtyard, appeared soundlessly at the summons. She moved cautiously toward the source of the noise.

A moment later, the door creaked open.

A frail woman stepped out of the room. Her hair was a tangled mess, and her face was streaked with tears.

When Shangguan Liqian saw the woman’s face clearly, her expression darkened.

The Shangguan family was notoriously harsh toward their servants. At this hour, they would never allow a maid to rest as she pleased. It didn’t take a genius to realize that Qingdai had been bullied again.

Liqian took a deep breath, fighting to suppress the rage bubbling in her chest. “Qingdai, why are you here?” she asked softly.

Qingdai, who had been trembling with fear, looked up. When she realized it was her former mistress, her expression relaxed, only to be replaced by a fresh wave of grief. She fell to her knees with a heavy thud, sobbing, “Miss!”

Luo Wushuang narrowed her eyes, quickly deducing the maid’s identity.

This must be the servant Sister wanted to take with her.

Noticing the worry and anger etched on Liqian’s face, Wushuang’s frown deepened.

Liqian reached out as if to comfort her, but then hesitated and pulled her hand back. Only after she had re-established her grip on Wushuang’s hand did she speak.

“Get up. Were you mistreated?”

Qingdai nodded, then quickly shook her head. Looking at her mistress’s concerned face, her tears flowed even faster.

She desperately wanted to beg her mistress to save her, but she knew all too well that Liqian’s life had been no easier than her own. She feared that if she spoke up, she would only cause trouble or put her mistress in a difficult position. Caught in a whirlwind of indecision, she remained silent.

Seeing that Qingdai was still kneeling, Liqian couldn’t lean down to help her up. She could only repeat, “Whatever it is, get up first.”

Qingdai gave a small sob of acknowledgement and stood, hurriedly wiping the tears from her face. She kept her head low. “I am fine. I was just… overwhelmed to see you again, Miss. Please forgive my lack of composure.”

The words of her grievance hovered on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed them down.

Her mistress’s life was already hard enough; she couldn’t add to her burdens. It was nothing more than the masters making things difficult and the other servants being sycophants.

She… she could endure it.

Besides, she hadn’t seen her mistress in so long. She wondered how she was faring in the Palace. Was the Empress treating her poorly?

Qingdai felt a pang of uselessness. She was nothing, unable to help her mistress in any way.

While Qingdai was lost in her self-pity, Liqian turned to Wushuang to consult her.

“Wushuang, this is the maid I mentioned. Can we take her back to the Palace now?”

She was about to add that if it wasn’t possible, they could find another way, but Luo Wushuang didn’t wait for her to finish. The Empress gave a cold, expressionless order to the guard behind them.

“Take her back to Xuanguang Hall!”

When Leng Yu heard “Xuanguang Hall,” she shot a look of profound sympathy at the poor little maid. However, she didn’t dare delay for a second.

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Leng Yu turned and led the girl away immediately.

Qingdai panicked slightly at Leng Yu’s icy demeanor, but her faith in Liqian kept her moving. She suppressed her anxiety and followed the guard out.

Liqian hadn’t expected Wushuang to agree so readily. All the arguments she had prepared were now useless.

After a long pause, Liqian regained her senses. Looking at the still-stony face of the Empress, her eyes filled with gratitude. “Thank you, Wushuang.”

However, Wushuang didn’t seem particularly pleased by the thanks. She glanced at Liqian and said stiffly, “She is merely a servant. You don’t need to thank anyone for her sake, and you certainly don’t need to thank me.”

Liqian blinked, slowly realizing what was going on in Wushuang’s head. She quickly corrected herself. “Fine, I won’t thank you.”

Seeing that Wushuang was clearly annoyed, Liqian patiently coaxed her in a soft voice. “You and I are as close as can be; there should be no ‘yours’ or ‘mine’ between us. It was my mistake.”

Only then did Wushuang’s brow relax slightly. Her expression remained as cold as frost, however, as she stared intensely at Liqian.

She stared so long that Liqian began to feel a bit uneasy. Finally, Wushuang asked in an unreadable tone, “Do you truly think so?”

Liqian’s heart skipped a beat at the sudden interrogation.

Think so? Think what?

She quickly realized what Wushuang was asking and answered without a hint of hesitation. “Of course!”

In that moment, her gaze was clear and resolute.

She laid her heart bare. In this life, our hearts are one. We shall walk together until our hair turns white.

We are husband and wife in spirit—there is no ‘mine’ or ‘thine’.

Wushuang stared at her fixedly, as if trying to peer through her eyes into the very depths of her soul.

Liqian didn’t back down, meeting her gaze head-on.

After a long silence, Wushuang finally turned her head away, breaking eye contact. However, the slight upward curve of her lips betrayed her good mood.

Liqian caught a glimpse of the Empress’s reddening earlobes and realized she was shy.

Her Wushuang really was quite adorable sometimes.

Suppressing the urge to reach out and pinch that exquisitely beautiful face, Liqian smiled warmly. “Let’s leave the rest of the belongings for Ling Yun to bring later. Shall we return to the Palace?”

Wushuang pushed down her lingering awkwardness and nodded slightly. Then, with a hint of cheer, she reached forward and took Liqian’s hand.

In that moment, the atmosphere between them was exceptionally harmonious and warm.

However, as soon as they stepped out of the small courtyard’s gate, they ran straight into Shangguan Qingyun. He had come looking for trouble after hearing the complaints of Madam Shangguan and Shangguan Wanqing.

Wushuang cursed their rotten luck internally. She was about to speak when she saw the aggressive Shangguan Qingyun’s knees go weak. He dropped directly to the ground in front of her.

Beside him, Shangguan Wanqing was stunned. She instinctively reached out to help her father up. “Father, you—”

Before she could finish, Shangguan Qingyun pushed her away.

He straightened his posture while remaining on his knees and performed a formal kowtow. “This subject, Shangguan Qingyun, pays his respects to Your Majesty. Your Majesty…”

When Shangguan Wanqing heard how her father addressed the “official,” her face turned deathly pale.

The lady official standing beside that wench was actually the reigning Sovereign? Then what she had said earlier…

Wanqing’s legs gave out, and she collapsed into a heap on the ground.

Wushuang spared a contemptuous glance for the pair of spineless cowards before her. Her words were sharp and merciless.

“Lord Shangguan, you truly have married a fine wife and raised a fine daughter. Your family’s ‘morals’ are certainly… pure.”

As the Prime Minister, Shangguan Qingyun was no fool. He could tell his wife and daughter had provoked the Empress. He opened his mouth to beg for mercy, but Wushuang’s chilling voice cut him off.

“You have two hours to pack every single item I gave to my sister and hand them over to Ling Yun. If you do, I may overlook the Shangguan family’s Crime of Deceiving the Sovereign. If not…”

“Yes, yes! Of course! I will have them organized immediately!”

Wushuang watched Shangguan Qingyun’s fawning, sycophantic display with disgust. She curled her lip, turned her back on him, and led Liqian out of the Shangguan Manor.