Proofread by Men Shunde
It is just a start. Li Wanrou sneers with the corners of her mouth perking up. It is only the beginning of her harvest.
Besides, if Li s.h.i.+fu didn"t take the initiative to hurt her, she will not have done it. After all, those who make the mistake will have to take the blame.
Now that her resentment is released, Li Wanrou feels relaxed, saying to Furong, "Go and get the hot water ready! I would like to have a bath."
After getting the hot water ready, Furong withdraws. Li Wanrou lies down in the bath tub filled with hot water in which there are some medical herbs. With dense water vapor covering her body, she feels ineffably pleased.
Whenever she thinks of the picture of Li s.h.i.+fu"s delicate face turning ferocious because of the incident, she couldn"t help sneering with her lip corners rising. It is a long way to go and Li Wanrou will never stop before she reaches her goal.
Suddenly, she hears a sound of "hiss" approaching her. She listens with alarm, and finds the sound coming from all directions towards her. But when she looks back, there is nothing in sight.
Then she suddenly realizes something and leans forward from the wooden bath tub to look down. There, the ground of the bathroom is thick with poisonous scorpions crawling, which makes her hair stand on end.
When she looks to the door, there she sees some snakes rise to their full height with their venomous eyes looking at her up and down, as if they were about to swallow her in the next minute. But who the h.e.l.l has put the snakes and scorpions in her room in the deep night?
The first madam does not seem to play such naïve tricks. Is it Li s.h.i.+fu who releases her resentment by doing harm to Li Wanrou due to the whole night"s panic?
It is really ridiculous! It is Li s.h.i.+fu who has lifted a rock only to drop it on her own feet, which is irrelevant to Li Wanrou.
It is seldom for Li Wanrou to show panic, but she has a natural fear and aversion to snakes and scorpions. It is to her limit of capacity that she manages to clarify her mind in such a situation.
It is natural for her to scream for help if she wants to be alive. However, if the snakes and scorpions are arranged by Li s.h.i.+fu, she must have prepared something else. If so, when Li Wanrou begins to scream, the attendants lurking outside the door will rush in and see her naked body in bathing. Only a glimpse of her body will ruin her reputation.
But if Li Wanrou remains there doing nothing, Li s.h.i.+fu will be happier, for Li Wanrou will be killed by the snakes and scorpions without the effort of a soldier.
If Li Wanrou dies, her father, Prime Minister Li, will give all his love to the surviving daughter, Li s.h.i.+fu. For the sake of Li s.h.i.+fu"s safety, her father will have to whitewash the case of Li Wanrou"s death.
It is really a dilemma for Li Wanrou to decide what to do. With her teeth clenched tightly, Li Wanrou can do nothing but stares at the snakes and scorpions approaching her. The flicking scarlet tongue of the snake is particularly dazzling.
Suddenly, just as one of the snakes leaps up with its tail rising in the air, a black shadow flashes in front of Li Wanrou, frightening her almost to death.
With a tearing sound, something splashes into the water of the bath tub. When Li Wanrou opens her eyes again, the snakes and scorpions are all wiped out by a sword flas.h.i.+ng swiftly. A big snake, which is as thick as a man"s arm, is stabbed in the heart by the sword, collapsing on the ground with its open eyes, which seem to have lost its aggressiveness forever.
In front of her is a man with a sword, whose hand is as white as a jade with calluses due to years of holding a sword. Dressed in a dark black robe, the man looks tall and handsome with extraordinary elegance. It is Nangong Chengde! How could he come here? It is his second visit here. Maybe there are more visits than Li Wanrou knows.
His frequent and secret visits to the Prime Minister"s Mansion may have two explanations: he is entrusted by the Emperor with a secret task or he has an ulterior motive. However, it is known to all that the Emperor trusts Prime Minister and has entrusted him with higher responsibility. Then it must be the latter.
It only takes a second for Li Wanrou to figure out everything clearly. Therefore, with her heart at ease, she lies down quietly in the water of the bath tub, fumbles for the half body of the dead snake cut by the sword, throws it out of the bath tub, and continues her bath.
Her health is not so good nowadays. If she wants to survive those villains, she has to take hot bathes for at least half a month before she recovers completely.
Nangong Chengde has never heard of such a woman who could remain calm in her bathing when a man comes in abruptly, which seems absurd to himself. However, it seems to her as if there is nothing unusual and she doesn"t take it seriously.
He glances indifferently at the corpses of the snakes and scorpions on the ground, asking with his raised brows, "Don"t you want to know why I am here?" "If Your Highness does want to tell me, you would have told me earlier. If Your Highness does not want to tell me, it is not good for me to ask you. Why do you sound me out? In fact, I should thank you for your consideration of not making me embarra.s.sed besides you saved my life. I take this as your kind return for me saving you last time.I will give your jade pendant back to you as soon possible," says Li Wanrou. In this case, Nangong Chengde should have been relieved for both of them call it even. Somehow, he finds that there is a sincere feeling for her in his mind, but he does not say anything.
When things being over, she comes out of the bath tub, and there is n.o.body else in the room. She puts on her clothes indifferently and walks over the corpses of snakes and scorpions with a placid look on her face.
She is grateful to the Crown Prince, but that"s all. The members of the Royal family are birds of a feather. She will not get herself involved in the dangerous relations with the Palace again. The handsome face of the Crown Prince consistently reminds her of a deadly enemy in the Palace, i.e. Nangong Rongji. If she wants to kill Nangong Rongji, she must be colder and harder than him.
For days, the Prime Minister"s Mansion is covered with an atmosphere of deathly stillness. Outside a rumor goes that a monster in the Mansion has eaten the legitimate son of the Marquis Mansion with no bones left, which makes the Prime Minister Li burst into anger. Therefore, everyone in the Mansion is so careful in his or her work, for fear that they would be caught in doing something wrong and be driven out of the Mansion.
Li Wanrou is convalescing in meditation in her house, meanwhile, each day brings her all kinds of news from outside, which make her fully at ease. The more abnormal Li s.h.i.+fu becomes in her anxiety, the more indifferent Li Wanrou is, for Li Wanrou knows clearly that only in this way can she get rid of her rival at the critical moment.
Several months have pa.s.sed and Li Wanrou has recovered her health to such an extent that her face has a fair healthy complexion with rosy cheeks, and her eyes have a determined look as if nothing could stop her.
Furong comes in with an invitation card in her hand. With a cautious look, she sees Li Wanrou taking her health tonic while peacefully fiddling with herbs on the ground.
After a moment"s hesitation, Furong cannot help speaking, "Miss, it"s almost the end of the year, and a Palace Banquet is to be held tomorrow. The Lord gives an order that you join them to the Palace Banquet.
Receiving no response from Li Wanrou, Furong becomes more anxious, "Miss Li s.h.i.+fu got things ready long before everybody else, such as gorgeous clothes and jewelry of step shake, which are all made according to the rules of the Palace. Even Miss Nuanyu of the Second Madam"s house got things ready long ago. It is a matter of great importance to go into the Palace, for one may have his or her head cut off if he or she makes a mistake in the Palace," continues Furong.
Li Wanrou glances at Furong with a smile. Furong is more and more worried about things with her. But it is not her responsibility to worry about such things as these. Going into the Palace is of great importance, of which the first madam should be in charge.
If she, Li Wanrou, makes a mistake in the Palace, it is the first madam who would be laughed at, showing her incapability in educating her children. Therefore, it is a shame to the Mansion. If Li Wanrou behaves so well in the Palace that she could be on a par with Li s.h.i.+fu, the first madam would burst into fury, for Li s.h.i.+fu is her only natural daughter.
As expected, luxury clothes and jewelry are sent to Li Wanrou"s house one after another as it is getting dark.
The luxury clothes and jewelry are so good that Furong couldn"t decide which ones are better. Meanwhile, Li Wanrou is busy with her herb medicine which she fiddles with the whole day without giving a glimpse at the luxury clothes and jewelry.
"Tomorrow we"ll have harder work to do. Today is just the beginning. You may go and have a rest first," says Li Wanrou to Furong.
It is more and more difficult for Furong to read the mind of Li Wanrou, so Furong has to put down the jewelry reluctantly and goes out.
Throwing down the herbs violently on the ground, Li Wanrou could not make herself calm down. Tomorrow she is certain to meet with Nangong Rongji when Li Wanrou goes into the Palace, for which she can do nothing now. Now she needs someone powerful to rely on. It is only by relying on each other and supporting each other, can she proceed on her road and finally to get her revenge.