Chapter Forty-Two: An Unexpected Incident

Unable to wait to remove her makeup, Consort Wen gazed into the mirror at her own reflection. She, too, was a peerless beauty, yet fate had denied her even a single chance to shine.

“Huarong, all of this is because of you. If only you hadn’t entered the palace, if only you hadn’t seduced His Majesty… Without you!”

A flash of malice flickered in Consort Wen’s eyes. Her gaze fell upon a pruning knife lying nearby, and a sly, sinister curve appeared at the corner of her mouth. “Huarong, don’t blame me for being ruthless. You’ve only yourself to blame for not knowing your place, for insisting on vying for favor and stealing the spotlight!”

After dismissing her attendants, Consort Wen lifted the heavy hem of her skirt and made her way directly to the place where the swing was controlled. The swing itself was quite high, suspended between the two tallest watchtowers in the palace.

Standing at this lofty vantage, she could see Huarong dancing on the swing below, a vision of beauty seemingly stepped straight out of a painting.

Consort Wen let out a cold laugh. “Very well, since you like flying so much, I’ll send you to fly in the underworld instead!”

As she spoke, a glint of icy determination appeared in her eyes. She slipped the knife between her fingers, crept up to the controlling rope, and began quickly sawing at the coarse cord. Soon, a small notch appeared.

To leave herself an escape route, Consort Wen paused before the rope was completely severed, pocketed the knife, and hurried away. In her haste, a jeweled hairpin fell from her hair.

Not long after, Lady Liu appeared, also clutching a knife, her face twisted with venomous intent. “Huarong, since you love dressing as a fairy to beguile His Majesty, then I hope that after death you will truly become one!”

Without hesitation, she lunged forward, raising her knife to cut the rope. But just as she was about to act, the rope, already weakened, snapped with a sharp crack.

Lady Liu froze in astonishment. “What’s going on? I hadn’t even started yet. Could it be that even the heavens are fed up with that wretch?”

If that was the case, then surely the gods were on her side. She dared not linger for fear of being implicated, and as the attendant who controlled the swing returned from the privy, Lady Liu hurriedly left the scene, thinking, “I did nothing—no one can pin this on me.”

In a matter of moments, the swing high above suddenly gave way.

Huarong felt her body jolt violently, a premonition of disaster seizing her heart and sending it hammering into her throat. “What’s happening? Why did the swing suddenly shake?”

Before she could react, the swing plummeted. With her support gone, she was about to fall.

All composure vanished from Huarong’s face. “This is the end! If I fall from this height, I’ll be smashed to pieces—this was never part of my performance!”

She had hoped to attract attention, but certainly not by such an extreme method. Swallowing hard, Huarong felt her heart pounding in terror, as if the world itself were bidding her farewell.

“Help!”

Her shrill scream split the air.

A crowd immediately sensed something was wrong. Jun Yeli’s pupils contracted sharply, as if his heart had been stabbed, leaving him nearly breathless.

“Something’s wrong—Consort Rong is in danger!” With a furious shout, Jun Yeli leapt to his feet, one foot on the platform, launching himself toward where Huarong was about to fall.

But even the swiftest arrow, loosed from a fully drawn bow, might not have closed the distance in time.

Watching Huarong about to plunge, Jun Yeli felt as though his own heart would leap from his chest, gripped by a terror beyond words.

“No!”

He didn’t know when it had begun, but his heart no longer beat for himself alone. At that moment, he realized his heart now housed two lives. The other, only just budding, seemed already fated for extinction—his very soul felt as if it would die.

“Aah!”

Huarong’s piercing scream drew a collective gasp from everyone present. The vision of a fairy falling from the heavens held the entire crowd in rapt, breathless suspense—a moment of sheer terror.

But in that split second, Huarong’s body was suddenly caught, a swift shadow darting through the throng to catch her around the waist.

As her rescuer spun to absorb the impact, Huarong felt her head spin, but in the next moment she landed safely, entirely unscathed—a harrowing ordeal, but no harm done.

“Are you all right?”

The gentle voice sounded again. Still shaken, Huarong looked up with trembling eyes to see a handsome, familiar face before her.

Still dazed by fear, her surprise gave way to delight and astonishment. “Isn’t this Mister Jun?”

At her words, Jun Yechen smiled and nodded, his eyes glinting teasingly. “I never imagined Her Ladyship would remember me. It is truly my honor.”

“Oh, don’t say that! With your looks, anyone who sees you once would remember you for half a lifetime!”

The words escaped Huarong’s lips before she could check herself, and realizing it, she quickly tried to recover, “Sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it—just a simple truth. Admiring beauty is only natural, whether one’s own or another’s!”

Her awkward explanation made Jun Yechen laugh in spite of himself.

He nodded thoughtfully and, half in jest, replied, “Indeed. Take someone like you, Your Ladyship—so beautiful and ethereal that one glance is enough for a lifetime.”

His words made Huarong blush with embarrassment, but before she could respond, a weighty voice, tinged with a hint of anger, cut through the air. “Ahem… Now that she’s been rescued, do you not intend to let go?”

Reminded of the situation, Huarong realized just how awkward and compromising her position was—the consort locked in the arms of a strange, handsome man.

Thank heavens it was in front of everyone; if someone saw this in secret, they might think she was having an affair!

She quickly straightened herself, offering a sheepish smile. “I’m terribly sorry, and thank you so much for saving me just now!”

With that, she hurried to Jun Yeli’s side.