Chapter 531: Chapter 531: They’re Playing Her for a Fool Chapter 531: Chapter 531: They’re Playing Her for a Fool “Your Majesty! Eunuch Li has been loyal and devoted to me, how can you hand him over to the Empress for disposal!”

Wang Yingluo furrowed her brows as she looked towards Jun Yuyan.

“My decision is final.”

Having said that, Jun Yuyan lifted his foot and walked away, not waiting for her.

The calm Wang Yingluo had just regained began to twirl into chaos again.

The look in Jun Yuyan’s eyes was too cold, and it seemed to carry a hint of disappointment in her.

So, he stopped the Empress Dowager from searching her, not because he trusted her, but because he didn’t want her exposed?

He knew everything?!

Wang Yingluo’s heart pounded chaotically like a tangled mess, suddenly remembering how Jun Yuyan had called out her full name earlier. He seldom did so, usually calling her Ah Ying or Yingluo. Clearly, he was truly angry.

She bit her lip, feeling somewhat panicked and unsure what to do.

“Wang Yingluo, His Majesty knows what kind of person you are. His Majesty cannot tolerate a speck of sand in his eyes. Do you think you can be proud for much longer?”

Murong Jiu spoke indifferently, a pair of beautiful phoenix eyes showing only a hint of mockery and scorn, as well as that lofty disdain.

Yes, Murong Jiu looked down on her, from the very beginning, and still did now.

Wang Yingluo thought resentfully, what did Murong Jiu have to be proud of? She was nothing but of better birth and more attractive. When it came to abilities and knowledge, Wang Yingluo wasn’t even fit to carry her shoes!

It was only in a feudal society that Murong Jiu could hold a position of any importance. If it were in modern times, Murong Jiu wouldn’t even be capable of earning money!

She sneered, “How long I can be proud is not the concern of the Empress. At least, His Majesty has only me in his heart right now. As long as His Majesty thinks I have done no wrong, then I am right. The Empress should not even think about bringing charges against me, right?”

Murong Jiu was not the least bit angry, making Wang Yingluo feel as if her punch had landed on cotton. She only heard the other party say, “Indeed, you are correct. I can’t bring charges against you, but dealing with the eunuchs by your side is well within my reach.”

Wang Yingluo turned her head to look at Eunuch Li, who was still kneeling on the ground.

Eunuch Li was old, his back bent from years of bowing, unable to stand up straight, his cloudy eyes filled with pleading, begging Wang Yingluo to save him.

In the hands of the Empress, he would certainly not survive.

But even the Emperor had spoken, so how could Wang Yingluo possibly pull him out?

To prevent Eunuch Li from spilling any secrets, she said sternly,
“Eunuch Li, if you are innocent in your heart, even if you are beaten to death by the Empress, you will die wronged, and someone will remember you and burn paper offerings for you.”

The implied meaning of burning paper offerings was that she would take good care of his wife and children, allowing him to depart in peace. Of course, these words also carried a threat: if he dared to reveal anything he shouldn’t, Madam Lin and the others would also be on the path to death.

Eunuch Li’s face showed a look of complete dejection, slumping to the ground.

Wang Yingluo did not wish to stay any longer, for she had to catch up with Jun Yuyan and explain things to him clearly.

She turned her head, giving Murong Jiu a provocative look, performed a perfunctory curtsey, and quickly walked out.

Eunuch Li naturally saw this; he understood that Wang Yingluo was deliberately provoking Murong Jiu to kill him quickly in her anger, to avoid further interrogations.

He regretted it more than he could bear; he had thought Wang Yingluo was a good master, yet he didn’t expect that the first person to be discarded would be him.

Wang Yingluo even wanted to hasten his death.

But he, as Wang Yingluo expected, didn’t dare utter a word against her, because he valued Madam Lin too much. No, it wasn’t so much Madam Lin, but the son she bore for him, and the grandchild his son had borne.

His own Li Family had been struck by sudden calamity, leaving him, a eunuch with no descendants, without any offspring.

But heaven had eyes; on the eve of joining the palace, Madam Lin gave herself to him, giving him a successor, the hope of the Li Family.

Having lived to such an age, he would have no regrets, even in death.

He was especially unwilling to accept that he had almost helped Madam Lin escape her plight, only to see his efforts amount to nothing in the end.

He closed his eyes, what use was there in being unwilling? To the victor belong the spoils; having chosen to devote himself to Wang Yingluo, he should have anticipated the possibility of meeting his death at the hands of the Empress.

To his surprise, Murong Jiu did not even glance at him, nor did she interrogate him. She simply yawned, waved her hand, and had Hong Yi take him away.

Eunuch Li felt disbelief; he carefully lifted his head to look at the Empress, only to see her face bore none of the expressions one might expect from a resentful wife. Instead, she seemed utterly languid and casual, with even a smile beginning to form on her lips.

What was the Empress smiling about?

In the blink of an eye, Eunuch Li remembered the Emperor’s upturned lips when Wang Yingluo had been slapped just before.

He had thought he was mistaken, or that his eyes were deceiving him, but now it seemed the smiles of the Emperor and the Empress were strikingly identical.

Eunuch Li’s heart began to pound like a drum, as if he had stumbled upon some alarming secret.

When Hong Yi ushered him into a side room for the eunuchs, he was still in a daze.

“The Empress says you should die knowing the truth, so tomorrow she will let you see Madam Lin,” she said.

After speaking, she did not wait for Eunuch Li’s reaction. She closed the door, locked it, and after having the eunuchs stand guard, she briskly walked away.

Madam Lin!

The Empress knows about Madam Lin!

The Empress knows everything!

Eunuch Li was both shocked and afraid, anxiety consuming him.

He dared not scream, dared not commit suicide; his eyes filled with reluctance, hatred, and a deep fear.

He had underestimated the Empress’s tactics.

No, not just he, but also Wang Yingluo; perhaps the Emperor never loved Wang Yingluo at all. Otherwise, why would he have idly watched as Wang Yingluo was struck without intervening?

He recalled how the Emperor used to look at the Empress with such affection, a look he had never once seen the Emperor give to Wang Yingluo. He had never noticed anything odd because he had only served the Emperor for a short time.

The Emperor… he was putting on a play with the Empress, toying with Wang Yingluo!

It was Wang Yingluo who was the monkey being made a fool of, while he, he was not even worthy of being a monkey.

Wang Yingluo had abilities that others did not possess–moveable type printing, the papermaking technique, and so on–all things the Emperor and Empress wished to exploit!

That was why they would be happy to play Wang Yingluo for a fool.

But Wang Yingluo was oblivious, even smugly satisfied, believing that she alone occupied the Emperor’s heart!

Eunuch Li covered his face, thudding to his knees on the ground. He was filled with hate and regret. Perhaps everything he had done was already well known to the Emperor and Empress!

So the Empress did not even bother to interrogate him, because there was no need to.

He was left with but one path–a road to death.

He truly wished he could just bash his head and die, but the Empress had commanded him to see Madam Lin tomorrow, to “die with his eyes open.”

He couldn’t die, not at least until he had seen Madam Lin and his grandchildren, and then he could die without regrets.

Madam Lin was innocent, and the Empress had always been kind-hearted. He was willing to beg for death in exchange for the Empress granting Madam Lin a chance to live!

With this thought, Eunuch Li leaned against the wall, letting tears streak down from his cloudy eyes.

“Brother Yan, wait for Ah Ying!”

Wang Yingluo caught up with Jun Yuyan.