Chapter 74

The clear sound of the slap echoed around the deadly quiet chamber, and Lengmei’s face was burning with pain. With her face still tilted to one side, she stared at Tang Xia’s phoenix pattern gold embroidered shoes.

“She slapped me? She slapped me!”

The very idea of her getting slapped was repeated in her mind, and she shook her head unbelievingly.

“When did I ever suffer such humiliation? When was I treated like this before?”

She was filled with rage and abruptly raised her head, her hand about to slap Tang Xia on the face.

“Your Grace! No!” Her maid was almost scared to death and leapt over to hold her arm, “No! Your Grace! You can’t do that! She is the Queen! She is the Queen!”

“Stay your hand! Leave me alone! Stay your hand!” Lengmei glared at Tang Xia with blood-red eyes and struggled in an attempt to pounce on her.

“Calm down, Your Grace! If you slap back, you will be in great trouble!” The maid turned deathly pale and dared not look Tang Xia in the eyes.

“Lengmei,” Tang Xia raised her eyebrows and gave a smile, looking at Lengmei with her shiny eyes.

“Your maid is really loyal to you. You’d better follow her advice and give up the idea of ever touching me, even after I slapped you.”

“Haha, because I’m the Queen, and my slap is a reward for you. You can’t slap back, and you must thank me for the reward.”

“You!” Lengmei almost bit silver teeth to pieces and glared at Tang Xia, her fingernails buried in the flesh of her palms. “Don’t be so superior!”

“Ha, you amused me. Why can’t I be superior? I am at the right position to be superior!” Tang Xia narrowed her eyes and tilted her head, putting up a look of innocence.

“Haven’t you ever heard from His Majesty? He favors me and protects me, and won’t let anyone harm me. This is my status. This is my achievement. Who are you to judge me?”

Lengmei could barely hold the surging blood phlegm in her throat and green veins throbbed intensely on her forehead.

“So what? Do you think you can do anything as you wish? Time changes fast. No one knows for how long you will remain the Queen.” Lengmei said in a sinister tone, as if the words were squeezed out through the slits between her teeth.

“Anyway, it’s none of your business! Haha!” Tang Xia said, laughing proudly, “I remember a sentence most suitable for this situation.”

“As long as I’m here, you’re always an ordinary concubine.” Tang Xia bent over and said at Lengmei’s ear, “Don’t you agree with that? His Majesty loves me so much.”

“…Nothing lasts forever, not even love. He who laughs last laughs best!” Lengmei snapped, glaring at Tang Xia as if knives were shot from her eyes.

“Hahaha, I believe life is to be enjoyed while you can, you know,” Tang Xia replied, breathing air as gentle as an orchid fragrance and wearing a wild smile, but her eyes were not smiling at all.

“Don’t forget it was you who made trouble with me first. You spread rumors in the harem, dropped me in the gossip and made me the target of public denunciation. You deserve to be slapped in the face!”

“Hmmpf! Always remember who you are and never forget your status. If you don’t stop devising meaningless schemes and framing others, you will one day lose everything you have, even your own life.”

After finishing venting her anger and lecturing Lengmei as her superior, Tang Xia left for her own chamber at a steady pace.

“Your Grace,” Lengmei’s maid finally came back to herself and let loose Lengmei’s arm before kneeling on the floor and kowtowing like a hammer, “Please forgive my insolence. I should be punished by death.”

“Stand up,” Lengmei’s voice was extremely cold and scary, as if her words were ejected as cold vapor.

“Yes, Your Grace.” The maid stood up slowly, shivering.

“I lost my composure every time I saw that bitch. I will keep you at my side in the future, and I need your reminder.”

“You’re flattering me, Your Grace. I will always serve you whole-heartedly as you wish.”

“Hmm,” Lengmei mulled for a while quietly and asked, “I told you to spread the gossip, and did you notice anything strange when you were doing it?”

The maid racked her brain for a while, shook her head while frowning, and then replied hesitantly.

“It went smoothly throughout. If there was anything to be called strange, I wonder if it was going too smoothly, and I was surprised at it myself.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not sure, but it went so smoothly as if it was god-blessed, and every step of the plan was perfectly carried out.”

“You mean someone was helping us in secret?”

“I’m not sure, but I feel there is someone in the harem who wants to see it done by us.”

“Who do you have in mind?”

Before the maid replied, Lengmei raised her hand, suggesting her not to speak it out, and said, “I know. You may go now.”

“Yes, Your Grace.” The maid bowed and stepped out respectfully.

Later, when it was dark outside, Lengmei left her chamber alone and went to Zui Linglong’s place.

“Concubine Leng, you’re really bold. His Majesty hasn’t repealed the order to confine you, yet you left your chamber.” Zui Linglong greeted Lengmei upon her arrival, not a bit surprised. She was half lying on the bed in white pajamas, reading a book.

“Ah, frankly speaking, I fear being seen by anyone else but you.” Lengmei was a little displeased at Zui Linglong’s sarcasm, and she made no more effort to hide it.

“Oh? What do you mean?” Zui Linglong cast a sidelong glance at her while leaning on a cushion with her hair bun loosely bound.

“Let’s be honest with each other, shall we? Do you admit that you were helping me in secret?”

“Oh? You confused me, Lengmei. You were confined to your chamber, and I have always been staying indoors these days.”

“We didn’t see each other, and we didn’t exchange letters. What on earth made you think I helped you? And what did I help you with?”

“Hehe, you’re still feigning ignorance with me?” Lengmei said, her eyes full of contempt.

“You really misunderstood me. I didn’t help you with anything. But please forgive me for not interceding with His Majesty on your behalf. I was not feeling well these days, so I didn’t seek an audience with His Majesty.” Zui Linglong replied with a bit of uneasiness in her tone.

Then she abruptly raised her head and asked, seemingly perplexed, “But could you explain for me what ‘feigning ignorance’ means?”

“…” Lengmei was almost amused despite her fierce anger at Zui Linglong’s affectation and said, “I’m treating you with honesty and good will, yet you’re not speaking frankly with me. I thought you would be disappointed and angry after your nuptial night was sabotaged, and perhaps I could give you a hand now that we’re sisters. Maybe it was all my wishful thinking. Carry on with your reading then!”

Lengmei stood up, poised to leave.

“Please stay, my dear sister.” Zui Linglong stepped down from her bed and grabbed Lengmei’s hand warmly. “You rarely came to my place, and if you leave without even drinking a cup of tea, you will think me as inhospitable and impolite, right?”

“No need for tea. Let’s talk without beating about the bushes!” Lengmei abruptly pushed her hand away and said, looking straight into her eyes.

“The gossip spreading in the harem these days came from me. That’s right. It was my plan.”

Lengmei ignored Zui Linglong’s surprised look and continued, “But I don’t believe there was no one out there offering help. And the secret helper is you.”

They looked at each other straight in the eyes quietly for a long time.

Zui Linglong remained silent, and Lengmei took her silence for acquiescence.

“We’re fully aware of each other’s position and attitude. A straightforward person should never resort to insinuations. That’s smart people’s strategy. I dislike Tang Xia, and she sabotaged your nuptial night.

“So to speak, she’s our common enemy. So why don’t we be honest with each other and join hands against her?”

“Well, it seems we’re indeed in the same camp. But she’s favored by His Majesty, and your plan is in progress. So what do you want to discuss with me?”

“Hmmpf! You underestimated her! My plan is merely able to obstruct her for a short time, but unable to trap her forever. And it turned out it didn’t do any harm to her,” Lengmei said, her eyes burning with coldness.

“You had a great reputation long before you entered the palace, so I wonder if you have any good idea to deal with the current situation.”

“Don’t worry, my dear sister. Public clamor can melt even metals. How can she withstand the pressure from the gossip?”

“You’re wrong! That sly siren has enchanted His Majesty and made him obsessed with her. My rage will not be eased until she is smashed to ashes!” Lengmei punched the table heavily and said, her entire body shrouded in coldness and cruelty, making her forbidding to behold.

Zui Linglong looked at Lengmei with a vague expression and said after a long pause, “The altar.”

“What do you mean?” Lengmei was confused.

“Hehe, please be careful on your way back. Sorry I can’t walk outside with you.” Zui Linglong smiled and said goodbye to Lengmei all of a sudden.

Lengmei didn’t catch on even after she walked out of Zui Linglong’s chamber. She looked back at the shut windows, gave a sneer and stamped her foot before turning on her heel.

After returning to her chamber, Lengmei mulled for a long time and figured Zui Linglong should not be saying that without purpose. She sent for Nian and asked her about the altar, but she had no idea either.

“Your Grace, perhaps it’s better to ask an old maid.”

“Go and bring one to me.”

“Yes, Your Grace.” Nian went outside immediately to carry out the order.

Shortly afterwards, she brought an old maid back.

“Granny, you have been living in the imperial palace for a long time. Have you ever heard of an altar?”

The old maid knelt down immediately.