Shangguan Wanqing had been waited on hand and foot her entire life; this was the first time she had ever been glared at so fiercely by a mere servant.
Feeling deeply insulted, Wanqing trembled with rage. She turned her glare toward Shangguan Liqian, hurling veiled insults and sharp rebukes. “You truly are an uneducated creature! Even the lowly maids by your side have no sense of propriety!”
The moment she heard Wanqing include Luo Wushuang in her insults, the distant, faint smile on Liqian’s face vanished. Her eyes turned ice-cold as she let out a chilling laugh.
“Third Sister, I suggest you mind your tongue. The… people by my side were all personally bestowed by Her Majesty. They are not for any random stray cat or dog to point fingers at.”
Caught in the middle of her tantrum, Shangguan Wanqing met Liqian’s expressionless face and the blatant killing intent swirling in her eyes. Subconsciously, she flinched and looked away.
Her gaze then collided with Luo Wushuang’s. The Empress was looking at her as if she were already a corpse. Wanqing’s heart skipped a beat, paralyzed by a sudden, suffocating fear.
In the next moment, realizing she had been intimidated twice in a row, Wanqing desperately wanted to glare back. However, remembering those two sets of eyes, she didn’t quite dare. She remained frozen in place, the atmosphere turning excruciatingly awkward.
Naturally, her resentment toward Shangguan Liqian—the source of this humiliation—only deepened.
Meanwhile, the bloodlust in Luo Wushuang’s eyes began to fade from the corners of her lids the moment she heard Liqian defending her. She reverted to her previous harmless, innocent appearance.
Having finished scaring the girl, Wushuang began to silently and repeatedly chew over her sister’s words in her mind.
Sister is protecting me. She’s defending me in front of the family she used to cherish like treasure.
The feeling was so wonderful that she almost feared it was a hallucination. She stopped thinking about anything else; her mind was entirely filled with the fact that her sister had spoken up for her.
Shangguan Liqian, however, had no intention of letting Wanqing off the hook just yet.
“Or perhaps… is it that Third Sister, or the entire Shangguan family, harbors dissatisfaction toward Her Majesty?”
Her tone was soft and her smile ethereal, yet the question made Shangguan Wanqing shudder violently.
Why did she feel like Shangguan Liqian was different than before?
The old Shangguan Liqian had been easy to handle and even easier to bully. To the Shangguan family, she had been a perfect tool. Why was she so different now? It was as if she were covered in soft needles; she looked gentle, but the moment anyone touched her, they would be left bloodied.
Seated at the head of the room, Madam Shangguan’s brow furrowed even tighter upon hearing the interrogation.
This wench… where did she get such audacity today?
Madam Shangguan’s inquisitive gaze swept over Liqian before turning to her own daughter. With a rare flash of sternness, she barked, “Wanqing! Do not speak nonsense!”
If those words were overheard by someone with ulterior motives, it would spell disaster for the Shangguan family, who had already lost the imperial favor.
Hearing her mother’s rebuke, Wanqing felt a wave of indignation, but she was forced to suppress her anger. She lowered her head. “I understand, Mother.”
Madam Shangguan nodded. When she looked back at Liqian, her expression took on an unearned air of maternal authority. “As a member of the Shangguan family, you should know that your honor and disgrace are tied to the clan. You must never utter such rebellious words again.”
It was clearly Shangguan Wanqing who had been rebellious, yet the one receiving the lecture was always Liqian.
Liqian was long used to this.
However, she had forgotten that today, she was accompanied by Luo Wushuang—a woman who could not tolerate her suffering even a hint of grievance.
Wushuang had been struggling to endure for the sake of the “night of whatever she wished” that her sister had promised. But hearing this old woman twist black into white once again, she finally snapped.
Nearly exploding with rage, Wushuang disregarded everything else. She stepped forward, her gaze as cold as a blade as she stared directly at Madam Shangguan.
“Madam Shangguan, you shouldn’t lie through your teeth. Everyone present knows exactly who was being rebellious. Sis—Miss Shangguan is someone Her Majesty values highly. By favoring the Third Miss so blatantly, do you truly act as if Her Majesty does not exist?”
Madam Shangguan’s face turned ashen with rage at such blunt words. She hissed, “You, a mere lowly maid, dare to speak to me like this!”
After her rebuke, she turned her gaze toward Liqian. But before she could use her seniority to lecture her, Wushuang cut her off again.
“I may be a maid, but the person standing behind me is the current Empress. Madam, do not think that just because this is Shangguan Manor, you can cover the sky with one hand.”
Watching Luo Wushuang play the part of a maid—a part she was failing at miserably while using herself as her own backing—Liqian could only offer a helpless smile.
She knew Wushuang wouldn’t stay obedient for long.
However, she didn’t stop her from venting on her behalf. Only after Wushuang finished speaking did Liqian gently tug at the edge of Wushuang’s sleeve, signaling for her not to ruin her mood over such people.
Liqian’s original plan was to handle these troubles herself, not wanting Wushuang to step in for such trivialities.
But now…
Before the thought could finish, Liqian met Madam Shangguan’s furious glare.
“I have heard your request. If there is nothing else, return to the palace. I imagine Her Majesty is waiting anxiously for you.”
Hearing the underlying threat in Madam Shangguan’s tone, Liqian merely chuckled.
“I want to return to the palace as well! It’s just that this morning, Her Majesty suddenly asked about several sets of jewelry gifted last year. I lied and said I had left them at home, which is why Her Majesty gave me the opportunity to leave the palace.”
Liqian’s words contained an equally blatant threat.
The implication was clear: If you don’t give them back, I won’t return. When Her Majesty sends people to find me, let’s see how panicked you get.
Madam Shangguan was nearly fuming, but she couldn’t let it show on her face. She couldn’t understand how a pawn she had once controlled so well had suddenly become so brazen.
Seeing the situation, Shangguan Wanqing opened her mouth to speak, but she was immediately silenced by a sharp glare from her mother.
“Since you are valued by Her Majesty, you should serve her with all your heart. You must not…”
Madam Shangguan’s lecture had barely begun when it was hijacked by Wushuang’s airy remark: “…must not easily lose items bestowed by the Empress!”
Looking at the incredibly arrogant Wushuang standing behind Liqian, Madam Shangguan was furious but didn’t dare speak out.
Liqian was almost moved to laughter by Wushuang’s directness.
Truly, it took a “wicked” person to grind down a wicked person.
Seeing that Wushuang had rendered Madam Shangguan speechless, Liqian prepared to seize the moment to reclaim the treasures. But then, Madam Shangguan asked, “Other than this matter, does Little Six have any other business for coming home today?”
Watching Madam Shangguan quickly adjust her emotions and return to her facade of “maternal love,” Liqian refused to let her change the subject.
“Her Majesty sent people with me today specifically to bring back those imperial gifts. To avoid any mistakes, it would be best for Madam to settle the count face-to-face with the lady official by my side.”
Luo Wushuang, currently acting as the “lady official,” nodded solemnly.
She had hand-picked the gifts for her sister herself. She remembered every single item vividly; there was no way she would make a mistake.
Her sister could rest easy—she would definitely handle this task perfectly without a single error.
Observing Wushuang’s serious expression, Liqian laughed inwardly.
She suddenly realized that when Luo Wushuang wasn’t being “mad,” she was actually quite cute…
I’m glad Liqian realizes! The empress is adorable in this!