The hall fell silent.

Both Consort Shu and Liang Wenhao were taken aback, unsure why Wen Yuesheng suddenly spoke in such a manner.

Liang Wenhao, confused, asked, “What does the Princess mean?”

Before Wen Yuesheng could answer, a palace servant rushed in frantically.

“Your Majesty, something has happened!”

Without paying any attention to the others in the hall, the servant, panicked, spoke urgently.

At the same time, news reached the Taihe Hall.

The Emperor, who had been questioning his two sons, was already in a foul mood. Upon hearing the commotion outside, his expression darkened further.

Gao Quan hurried in, sweating profusely, and immediately spoke without regard for the others present, “Your Majesty, someone has struck the Dengwen drum!”

The Dengwen drum was a device set up by the Emperor at the beginning of his reign, used by the common people to report grievances or injustices.

It had originally been struck when citizens wanted to appeal to the Emperor, but as many people began to use it, the system was reformed.

Now, only those who first received forty lashes were allowed to approach the palace to present their case.

Forty lashes were so harsh that those with weaker constitutions might even die from the punishment.

For this reason, the Dengwen drum had rarely been struck in the years since its establishment.

After the Emperor ascended the throne, the frequency of its use was minimal, making the drum’s strike today especially rare.

First, King Hengguang had fallen from his horse and been severely injured, and now, after so long, the Dengwen drum had been struck.

One incident after another sent chills down Gao Quan’s spine.

At the main gate of the palace, a woman knelt on the ground, and behind her lay twenty-three corpses.

The stench of decay filled the air.

Upon seeing this, Gao Quan was horrified.

The woman, noticing someone approaching, cried out loudly, “I am Ye Qiuyun, and I accuse Liang Wenhao, the son of the Assistant Minister of Rites, Liang Ji, of forcibly taking me, disregarding human life, and wantonly slaughtering the innocent!”

“He killed my entire family of four—my grandmother, my parents, and even my young brother—and kidnapped me into his residence! Inside his house, he raised vicious beasts, feeding them innocent people and treating us as playthings, humiliating and tormenting us!”

“Please, Your Majesty, show mercy and seek justice for me!”

The palace was bustling with activity, and outside, in a simple carriage, Zhou Manniang watched the scene with a tightening grip.

The woman was Ye Qiuyun, the one Wen Yuesheng had saved and brought back from the royal hunting grounds to treat her wounds.

But Ye Qiuyun showed no will to live. Her legs and arms were permanently damaged, making death a normal desire.

However, what Zhou Manniang did not expect was that Ye Qiuyun’s desire to die was not caused by her personal suffering alone.

It was the fate of her family that had shattered her will.

She had been toyed with like an animal for several days, merely surviving to escape in order to return home.

But when she arrived, she found her entire family—her elderly grandmother, her parents, and even her young brother—had all died.

The villagers claimed that they had all died by suicide, but Ye Qiuyun was certain that Liang Wenhao had been the one to kill them.

Liang Wenhao, who was fond of women and pleasure, had already harmed the maidservants in his household.

He then turned his attention to common folk like Ye Qiuyun.

She was a good, innocent girl, forcibly taken into his house and made to sign a servitude contract with her parents before being held captive.

After only a few days of novelty, Liang Wenhao lost interest in her, and she became the target of abuse.

After biting him several times, she had angered him and was punished by being sent to the firewood room.

It was there that she became a plaything for Liang Can, another of Liang Wenhao’s associates.

Liang Wenhao had many such women in his courtyard, and losing one was hardly worth his attention.

Liang Can, however, used her to amuse the wild beasts, treating her like an animal locked in a cage, kept alive only by scraps of food.

She survived for as long as she did only because of her strong will to live, even though her body had been broken. She endured until the royal hunting day, where she met Wen Yuesheng.

When she learned that her family had been slaughtered by Liang Wenhao, she lost all desire to speak.

The only words she had said were to Wen Yuesheng, vowing that no matter what, Liang Wenhao must die.

Wen Yuesheng did not respond, but Ye Qiuyun knelt and begged her to allow her to go out and accuse Liang Wenhao.

Ye Qiuyun was determined.

No one could dissuade her, and she refused to use any other means.

She had lived a lifetime as a good, law-abiding citizen. She could not accept that her parents had been brutally killed and falsely accused of suicide.

She was determined to ruin Liang Wenhao’s life and make him admit to the horrors he had inflicted upon her family.

Out of compassion, Wen Yuesheng helped her remove her lowly status and gave her a pill that Zhou Manniang prepared.

This pill would ensure that she would not die from the brutal punishment she was about to endure.

Zhou Manniang watched as Ye Qiuyun was beaten within an inch of her life and then dragged into the palace.

She quietly hoped that Ye Qiuyun would get her revenge.

At this moment, Consort Shu’s palace received the news.

When she learned that the other person had come to file a complaint with the bodies of twenty-three corpses, her expression nearly cracked.

“Bitch!” The Empress Dowager was fuming with rage inside the palace, suddenly recalling what Wen Yue Sheng had said earlier.

She exclaimed in shock, “How did she find out about this?”

But as soon as the words left her mouth, she knew the answer.

That Ye Qiuyun, a lowly commoner, had no ability to come here to file a complaint.

Clearly, someone was helping her from behind.

And that person just happened to be the Princess of Sining, whom she had wanted to speak to about Liang Wenhao today.

For a moment, the Empress Dowager’s face darkened to the extreme.

At first, she couldn’t be certain whether Liang Can had fallen victim to Wen Yue Sheng’s hand, but today’s events made it almost certain that Wen Yuesheng was behind it.

Otherwise, how could that lowly woman appear by Wen Yuesheng’s side so easily?

“Aunt, Aunt… please save your nephew!” Liang Wenhao’s face had gone pale as he kneeled before the Empress Dowager, wailing in desperation.

“How dare you still speak!” The Empress Dowager smashed the tea set on the table into pieces.

“How many women are there in your courtyard? You don’t even know that!? How could you let this woman into Liang Can’s courtyard!”

“How could you be so stupid, doing things without cleaning up the mess!”

The Empress Dowager’s anger wasn’t just because of what Liang Wenhao had done. In her eyes, those were just lowly people, who could die for all she cared.

The one to blame was Wen Yuesheng, who had sent this complaint to the palace, and that lowly woman, Ye Qiuyun, who tried to drag the Liang family down.

The Empress Dowager took a deep breath and said coldly, “Get out of the palace immediately.”

“Aunt?” Liang Wenhao heard her words and thought she was abandoning him.

But the Empress Dowager’s voice was firm as she added, “Just because she says it’s you, does that mean it’s you?”

Liang Wenhao felt a lot more at ease and quickly bowed, “Thank you, Aunt! Nephew is deeply grateful.”

The Empress Dowager waved her hand, adjusted her court attire, and prepared to leave the hall.

When she stepped outside, she saw Wen Yue Sheng standing at the door.

She looked exactly the same as before, her expression unchanged, just standing by the pond watching the round koi swimming lazily.

The Empress Dowager loved these colorful fish, and so the Emperor had allowed her to have a pond in front of her palace, filled with koi.

The koi here were well-fed and quite plump, stretching lazily in the water.

Wen Yue Sheng lowered her head, not looking at anything in particular.

The Empress Dowager sneered coldly as she approached, “Princess, your methods are impressive.”

Without a sound, you’ve caused such a big stir.

The Empress Dowager knew she could protect Liang Wenhao’s life for now, but she also knew that, for at least the next six months, she and Prince Jingkang would have to tread carefully.

Because that lowly woman had struck the warning bell—during the time when foreign envoys were in the capital.

“Since the Princess has made such a choice, you’d better not regret it in the future.” The Empress Dowager mocked.

She had already blocked off the path to Prince Yongan for Wen Yuesheng, and she had also offended Prince Jingkang.

Could she really think that Prince Hengguang would save her? Ridiculous.

Just as the Empress Dowager was about to leave, she paused, as if thinking of something, and looked at her. “By the way, you probably don’t know yet, do you?”

“Today, Prince Hengguang’s fall from his horse was planned by himself.”

After all these years of rivalry, the Empress Dowager knew exactly what kind of person he was.

Stirring up trouble in her stable, targeting the Lu family siblings, and the real opponent being Prince Wei Yangwang.

What he was trying to do was so obvious.

Prince Wei Yangwang was a cowardly fool with thieving intentions but no guts, and Xiao Jin had lost face and could not leave his palace.

Neither she nor Prince Jingkang were foolish enough to cause trouble at a polo match they were hosting.

Who else could have done this?

But Prince Hengguang was so stupid that his plans were easily foiled.

Today, his intention was just to fall from the horse.

The Empress Dowager had added an extra step, causing him to break his leg.

Unfortunately, his horse had probably been drugged in advance, so even when it stepped on him, it didn’t leave him crippled.

“He tried to involve the Lu siblings, but it was all just to deal with Zhang Yulin.”

The Empress Dowager glanced deeply at Wen Yuesheng: “From this perspective, the Princess will have to rely on herself now.”

“Or go see if Prince Wei Yangwang, that useless fool, can protect you.”

With a sneer, she turned and walked away.

Wen Yuesheng might have talent, but she had no favor or backing.

As a woman, in the end, she had to marry someone.

Unless she married Zhang Yulin today, otherwise, the Empress Dowager would make sure to exact a hundredfold revenge for this grievance.

But don’t forget, even Zhang Yulin couldn’t override the Emperor’s authority.

After the Empress Dowager left, Wen Yuesheng continued to watch the koi in the pond.

Gu Yu watched for a while and couldn’t help but ask, “Princess? Shall we go to the palace?”

“No need.” Wen Yue Sheng lifted her head.

The sky above was covered with dark clouds, though it was clearly midsummer, it was a dark, oppressive mass.

She coldly said, “Tell Zhang Yulin to save Ye Qiuyun’s life.”

“Understood.”

The Empress Dowager hurried to the Taihe Hall, but was stopped outside.

Her expression changed slightly, and she angrily ordered, “Move aside.”

At that moment, she heard the Emperor’s furious voice coming from inside: “Drag Liang Wenhao out, execute him at Wumen Gate, and display his head!”

The Empress Dowager stood frozen in place.

Execute him in public!?

Meanwhile, Wen Yuesheng had donned a cloak, got into the carriage just before the rain started, and sat with her hands on her prayer beads, her face expressionless.

The Empress Dowager’s pride lay in the imperial power, the royal family, and the status of the aristocracy.

Let her see for herself how Liang Wenhao would be destroyed by these very things.

The carriage moved slowly, and Gu Yu opened the window. Suddenly, a piece of rice paper fluttered in front of him.

On the paper were written large blood-red characters—“Liang Wenhao’s blood debt shall be repaid in blood.”

Behind it was a list of the names of the women in his courtyard.

Every word seemed to cry out in blood.