Chapter 47: Imperial Sister-in-law, Save Me!

Was the resolve she had finally managed to steel, the mental preparation she had painstakingly built, really going to be dismissed so easily?

Luo Wuyan wanted to protest, to express her deep dissatisfaction. However, knowing full well that her Imperial Sister was a person of questionable character, she ultimately chose to express her gratitude.

“Your subject brother thanks Your Majesty for your grace! Long live the Emperor! Long live, long live, may you live for ten thousand years!”

Her forehead struck the floor with another dull thud.

She didn’t doubt for a second that if she showed even a hint of behavior that displeased her sister, the imperial decree that had just been uttered would be revoked instantly.

Yet, she hadn’t expected that even after showing such humility, her sister still didn’t plan to let her off the hook.

“Very well. I have granted your request. Now, let us discuss your crime of deceiving the Sovereign.”

Detecting the faint killing intent in the Empress’s voice, Luo Wuyan’s heart skipped a beat. Without time for a second thought, she turned directly toward Shangguan Liqian and cried out for help.

“I admit my guilt! Imperial Sister-in-law, save me!”

This plea for help seemed nonsensical on the surface, but Luo Wuyan knew this was the best opportunity to close the distance between herself and her sister. Even if Miss Shangguan didn’t speak up for her, as long as she used the title “Imperial Sister-in-law,” her sister at least wouldn’t take her life immediately.

Having been reborn, she understood her sister’s possessiveness over Miss Shangguan better than anyone.

Shangguan Liqian, who had been spacing out since the moment she saw Prince An, was startled back to reality by this “piercing” cry for help. She subconsciously looked up at Luo Wushuang.

Her clear eyes were filled with confusion, silently asking what was happening.

Luo Wushuang didn’t know whether to be satisfied or annoyed by Luo Wuyan’s bold performance. However, the slight curl of her lips indicated that she was in a reasonably good mood.

It was precisely those two cries of “Imperial Sister-in-law” that made Luo Wushuang belatedly realize that she did, in fact, share a blood relation with this annoying fellow.

The killing intent in her eyes dissipated slightly. Turning to meet the somewhat dazed gaze of her beloved, Luo Wushuang hid the soft light in her eyes and spoke with feigned gravity.

“For the crime of deceiving the Sovereign, how does my lady think it should be handled?”

Shangguan Liqian had been lost in thought and hadn’t paid any attention to the previous conversation. Hearing Luo Wushuang’s question, she spoke instinctively.

“Execute the Nine Clans!”

Luo Wushuang: “…”

I was just asking. Is there really a need to involve me in this?

Luo Wuyan’s mother had passed away early. Aside from their Father-Emperor, it seemed that within those nine clans, she was the one most closely related to the offender.

Sigh… does my lady find me that eyesore?

Luo Wuyan: “…”

In the previous life, didn’t Imperial Sister say Miss Shangguan was the most kind-hearted and gentle woman in the world?

She calls for the execution of the nine clans the moment she opens her mouth. Is this what she calls “kind”?

No wonder her sister was attracted to her; these two were certainly “well-matched” in certain aspects!

Shangguan Liqian, who had stunned the Luo sisters into silence with just a few simple words, looked at their quiet faces and realized what she had just said.

Meeting Luo Wushuang’s shocked expression, Shangguan Liqian quietly averted her eyes.

After secretly condemning herself for being too cold-blooded, Shangguan Liqian changed her tune. “Perhaps… just execute the three clans?”

Luo Wushuang: “…”

Doesn’t that still include me?

Luo Wuyan: “…”

Miss Shangguan was truly kind. So very kind. A saint!

However, the moment she remembered that her three clans still included the Empress, Luo Wuyan suddenly felt that she wasn’t so panicked anymore.

Sure enough, her most… unprincipled sister shot her a fierce glare before her tone instantly turned aggrieved.

“Must I absolutely die today?”

Shangguan Liqian, who had been thinking that if Wushuang really agreed, she would explain it was just a joke, went silent.

Wait… what’s going on?

How did this suddenly involve Wushuang?

After a moment of stunned silence, Shangguan Liqian turned her gaze toward Luo Wuyan, who was kneeling perfectly straight on the floor.

After a moment’s hesitation, she asked, “What did you just say?”

She thought she had heard a cry for help earlier. Could it be that the one who committed the crime of deceiving the Sovereign was Luo Wuyan?

Luo Wuyan, who had nearly caused the “elimination” of her entire family by asking the wrong person for help, replied, “I just said, please save me, Imperial Sister-in-law!”

Shangguan Liqian frowned and inquired, “So, the one who committed the crime is you?”

Luo Wuyan, her forehead bright red from kowtowing, resigned herself to her fate. “Yes.”

Hearing Luo Wuyan’s personal confession, Shangguan Liqian finally realized that in less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, she had committed “regicide” twice in her speech.

Recalling that Wushuang had previously told her Luo Wuyan was a woman posing as a man, and thinking back to the “deception” Wushuang mentioned, she roughly understood what had happened while she was spacing out.

“I’m sorry. I was distracted just now and didn’t pay attention to what you were saying,” Shangguan Liqian said to Luo Wushuang, her voice full of apology as she looked at the Empress’s slightly hurt expression.

Luo Wushuang shook her head, took Shangguan Liqian’s hand, and continued to press the issue.

“If it is Prince An who committed the crime of deceiving the Sovereign, how does my lady think I should handle it?”

Luo Wushuang stared intently at Shangguan Liqian after speaking. She wanted to know what the woman who had reacted so strongly to the mention of Prince An earlier would say now.

Would she plead for Prince An, or…

How to handle it? Shangguan Liqian was momentarily stunned.

Thinking back to how the Shangguan family had conspired with Prince An to plot against Wushuang’s throne in her previous life, and how it had indirectly led to her own death, Shangguan Liqian’s gaze turned toward Luo Wuyan with killing intent of her own.

“Kill her.”

Before, she had no opportunity or reason to let Wushuang remove this disaster. Now that there was a perfectly legitimate excuse, she naturally wanted to go through with uprooting the threat to eliminate any future trouble.

As for why Luo Wuyan rebelled in the previous life or whether she had some unspeakable difficulty, that was not within Shangguan Liqian’s scope of consideration.

She only knew that Prince An was an unstable factor. If she were allowed to grow, she would likely cause trouble for Wushuang—and no small amount of it.

In that case, it was better to remove her early.

Looking at the determined expression on Shangguan Liqian’s face, Luo Wuyan was speechless.

Did I just beg for my life in front of a God of Death?

Just how much does this Sister-in-law dislike me? Must I really die today?

She even felt that her earlier plea for help was somewhat laughable. Had she really begged the person who wanted her dead the most?

Perhaps because too many accidents had happened today, Luo Wuyan, kneeling on the floor with her reddened forehead, felt her expression grow numb.

However, she did not forget to seek mercy for Shen Youran.

“I admit my guilt. I only beg Imperial Sister to spare Shen Youran.”