Chapter 47

The Grand Tutor had been away from the residence for many days, and wave after wave of bad news came from the Shang Residence.

By the time it reached the Grand Tutor’s manor, the versions had already changed several times over.

Shang Yunxiang wanted to send one of the young attendants from her own courtyard to the Shang Residence to inquire, but Steward Liu of the Grand Tutor’s manor was especially strict,he held the boy down and beat him right in front of her.

The beating left Shang Yunxiang’s face ashen with fury, her whole body trembling with rage.

Since childhood, she had been the legitimate daughter of the Shang family.

She had always been the one to make others suffer. When had she ever been slapped in the face like this?

But ever since entering the Grand Tutor’s manor, first her maidservant had been beaten to death on the Grand Tutor’s personal orders, and now the attendant she had entrusted with errands had been publicly thrashed by a lowly steward in the courtyard.

Shang Yunxiang was so furious she nearly charged forward to slap Steward Liu in the face.

But Steward Liu shut her down with a single sentence:

“Fourth Madam, your elder brother and elder sister’s ashes are still placed on the memorial table at the Shang Residence. I advise Madam to cool your anger, lest the departed siblings feel unsettled, don’t you think?”

Shang Yunxiang mulled over the meaning behind those words and instantly understood—her brother and sister’s deaths were surely tied to Wei Lenghou.

Her heart plunged into an ice cellar, and all she could feel was the cold reality that her own life might also hang by a thread.

What she didn’t know was—how on earth had her brother offended the Grand Tutor enough to bring about such a catastrophic disaster?

Now that the Grand Tutor had finally returned to the manor, she waited nervously by the door, watching his expression.

The Grand Tutor didn’t even spare her a glance and went straight into the inner hall.

Steward Liu quietly reported to him, saying the Shang Residence had already begun setting up the mourning hall for Shang Ningxuan.

The Grand Tutor nodded.

“This lord is not suited to attend. You take Fourth Madam to offer condolences. She has long been estranged from her family—if she is willing, let her stay at her natal home for a while.”

Now, because of Shang Ningxuan and Shang Yunchu’s vicious nature, Wei Lenghou also looked upon Shang Yunxiang with utter disgust.

Using this as an excuse, he would simply send her back home.

When Steward Liu relayed the message to Shang Yunxiang, she gritted her teeth and said to him,“Please inform the Grand Tutor that Xiang’er wishes to speak with him.”

Steward Liu glanced at her, then turned back to report.

Once Steward Liu had left, Shang Yunxiang dismissed her personal maid and opened a glazed box containing her nourishing pills.

From it, she took out one dark, foul-smelling pill.

Her brother had given it to her in secret, saying that if the Grand Tutor continued to treat her coldly, she could take it.

The pill hailed from the southern Miao region and once consumed, would cause her lower belly to swell as if she were more than four months pregnant.

Even pulse-reading wouldn’t reveal the truth.

Once she received the Grand Tutor’s pity and affection, and the drug’s effects faded, she could find an excuse to blame some concubine for a miscarriage.

If all went well, the Grand Tutor might grow fond of her—and if she could truly bear a child, then, a mother rises in status through her son.

One day, when the Grand Tutor ascended the throne, she could become the official Empress.

She had initially hesitated, finding the pill too wicked, but now, with the Grand Tutor trying to send her back to her maiden home, she feared the concubines of humble birth would be watching her downfall with delight.

Even if she were to die, she would die in the Grand Tutor’s manor and never let those low-born creatures get what they wanted.

Thinking this, she no longer hesitated and swallowed the pill in one gulp, preparing to meet the Grand Tutor.

After a while, Steward Liu returned with word.

She tidied her clothing and went to the study.

Along the way, her belly truly began to swell slightly.

Since she had intended to take the pill anyway, she’d deliberately eaten her fill these past few days, causing her lower belly to store some extra flesh.

As long as it could mask the pulse, she might just get away with it.

Entering the study, Shang Yunxiang couldn’t help but feel her heart flutter at the sight of the Grand Tutor’s cold and handsome face.

After a graceful curtsy, she spoke with a hint of coyness:

“Grand Tutor, my monthly flow has always been irregular, and it hasn’t come for some time now. I believe I may be with child. So, while you were accompanying His Majesty on the sacrificial rites, I invited a physician to take my pulse… He said… I’ve already been pregnant for four months. If I return to my family home now, I fear I might clash with the mourning of the white event…”

The Grand Tutor looked up and gave her a strange glance.

“You’re certain you’re pregnant?”

Shang Yunxiang, inwardly nervous, clenched her hand slightly and then calmly nodded.

She believed in her brother—he wouldn’t harm her.

The Grand Tutor had been reading a book, but now he put it down and looked at her closely, then coldly asked,“Do you want to know why your elder sister and brother died?”

Shang Yunxiang was filled with fear, dreading that the Grand Tutor might say it was his doing.

“Your sister, unable to bear the loneliness of the palace, seduced a palace guard. Your brother happened to catch her. Fearing the scandal would leak, he personally tied her to stones and drowned her in a well. That very night, perhaps stricken by guilt for killing his own sister, he went out alone and drowned while taking a ferry…”

Shang Yunxiang was dumbfounded.

Never in her wildest dreams did she expect that it was her brother who killed Shang Yunchu.

Wei Lenghou looked at the woman before him and could only feel an overwhelming sense of loathing.

Originally, since she had once lain with him, he’d thought to show her mercy after her siblings died, especially since their deaths were linked to him.

Perhaps she saw the Grand Tutor’s manor as a dragon’s lair or a tiger’s den.

He’d thought that if she behaved after the mourning period and kept to her place, he might give her a stable life.

But he never imagined that the Shang family’s obsession with scheming was already etched into their very bones—something they could never rid themselves of, even in death.

“At first, I thought only your sister was restless and promiscuous in the palace. Who would have guessed all daughters of the Shang family are cut from the same cloth… If I remember correctly, since you entered the manor, you and I only slept together once—and that was four months ago. But afterward, Steward Liu personally delivered contraceptive soup to you, and I watched you drink it. So tell me, after drinking that contraceptive soup, whose bastard are you carrying now?”

At these words, Shang Yunxiang collapsed into a nearby chair.

She had never expected that the soup she drank back then was for severing offspring.

What kind of intentions did the Grand Tutor harbor? Why wouldn’t he allow anyone to bear his child? She had always wondered why the previous concubines hadn’t had any children despite years in the manor.

Now she vaguely understood—it wasn’t that they couldn’t; it was that the Grand Tutor refused to leave behind any heirs.

With such carefully laid plans, wasn’t she just tying herself up in her own web?

“Gra… Grand Tutor… perhaps the soup didn’t work properly…”

Wei Lenghou no longer saw the need to waste words on this foolish woman.

His disgust was so great he didn’t even want to look at her.

“You are a concubine, not a wife. Even if you’ve strayed from virtue, this lord doesn’t need to waste ink drafting a divorce letter. Steward Liu will escort you back shortly. He will explain everything to your mother. You are not to return again.”

Shang Yunxiang, upon hearing this, burst into tears, pleading with the Grand Tutor.

But the guards in the manor dragged her away before she could even pack her belongings and forced her onto the carriage.

When Grand Tutor Wei returned to his residence, Shang Ningxuan’s ashes were also placed into a jet-black sandalwood coffin and carried into the Shang household.

He had died from poisoning—had the corpse been seen by outsiders, it would have stirred up unnecessary branches from the main affair, so they simply used the excuse of warm weather and long distance to cremate him on the spot.

Shang Ningxuan’s wives and concubines, along with his children, threw themselves onto the coffin, wailing and weeping.

Relatives and stewards were thrown into a frenzy as they hurried to set up the mourning hall and prepare for the burial rites and follow-up matters.

He had been the Deputy Minister of War—an esteemed pillar of the Great Wei court.

According to the usual customs of the Wei dynasty, the mourning hall would remain up for five days.

Other than officials of seventh rank and below, court ministers and colleagues were, by rule, expected to come and offer their condolences.

Yet three whole days passed, and only a sparse few paid their respects.

At first, Madam Shang had been wholly consumed by sorrow at her husband’s passing.

But after a few days, seeing that not a single one of the court officials who once flattered and fawned over them had appeared, her heart was filled with both pain and fear.

Her tears, which had just barely stopped, began streaming down again, pit-pat-pat like rain on banana leaves.

The biggest blow was that her husband’s younger sister, having angered the Grand Tutor for faking a pregnancy and violating proper conduct, had been driven straight back home.

This was a clear sign that the Shang family was being cleanly severed from all ties! The faces of their clan relatives turned darker than ink.

Even the servants could sense something was off—gone was the mourning they showed in previous days.

When no one was watching, they gathered in corners, whispering in hushed tones.

The court ministers were all shrewd—who would dare not cut ties with the Shang family?

The court had grown tense in recent days.

Grand Tutor Wei made no overt moves, yet suddenly announced that His Majesty had recently received a painting from a renowned master and invited the ministers to come admire it.

Those invited were all former allies of the Shang faction.

Before heading to the palace, each of them wrestled inwardly like a man facing life and death.

After all, Grand Tutor Wei’s troops were stationed just outside the capital, and several regional generals had recently been dismissed.

While each had a stated reason, none had been openly branded as part of the Shang clique.

But how many among them, after years in office, were truly spotless and without blemish?

When they forced themselves into the palace, they discovered that the young emperor was nowhere to be seen.

It was Grand Tutor Wei himself who sat at the head of the feast.

The painting was there, but hardly looked like the work of any famed master—the subject was “Returning to the Countryside to Dwell in Fields and Gardens.”

Cup after cup was passed, and each word from the Grand Tutor’s lips carried a hidden blade.

Sweat beaded at the temples of the attending ministers.

By the next day, resignation memorials flooded in—requesting retirement to the countryside, to “return to fields and gardens.”

Where there was grief in one household, there was joy in another.

With so many old ministers resigning, a number of lucrative posts were left vacant.

Many young and steady officials were promoted to fill the gaps.

When Nie Qinglin sat again in court and met Ge Qingyuan face-to-face, Lord Ge had already been transferred from the Ministry of Works to the Ministry of Revenue, now serving as Deputy Minister.

In court, the Grand Tutor suddenly announced that in a few days’ time, His Majesty would be visiting Tianyou Temple to offer incense and pray for blessings upon the people.

That very day after court was dismissed and lamps were lit, Nie Qinglin had already gone to bed when the Grand Tutor unexpectedly came to her bedchamber in the night.

He merely instructed Nanny Shan to help the emperor change into casual clothes, then quietly led her out of the palace.

Inside the carriage, Nie Qinglin asked, “Where is the Grand Tutor taking Us?”

The Grand Tutor replied coolly, “Isn’t Your Majesty planning to renounce the throne and become a Nun? This marquis wishes to fulfill Your Majesty’s wish—with a trip to Tianyou Temple.”

Tianyou Temple was a monastery funded by the imperial family of Great Wei.

It had long served as the royal place of worship to Buddha across generations.

The temple was located on Mount Youyun, just outside the capital.

Behind the mountain, there was a secluded nunnery—not open to incense offerings, but reserved for imperial women who were sent to take vows, as well as a retreat for noble ladies who came to pray.

Nie Qinglin was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, unsure of the Grand Tutor’s true intentions.

But once the carriage arrived at the base of Mount Youyun, they transferred into a sedan chair—and sure enough, they were carried all the way to the rear nunnery on the mountainside.

The Grand Tutor alighted first.

The mountain air at night was thick with dampness, and moisture glazed the flagstones.

The Grand Tutor turned back, and without a word, lifted Nie Qinglin into his arms and carried her horizontally through the nunnery gate.

Only once inside a small bedchamber did the Grand Tutor gently set the young emperor down onto a coarse-covered bed.

It was only then that Nie Qinglin realized the Grand Tutor hadn’t been exaggerating.

Glancing around at the sparse and plain furnishings, she understood that this was where she would be living from now on.

A calmness settled over her, and she smiled, saying, “The night wind is strong. Grand Tutor, you’d best head back and rest.”

But to her surprise, the Grand Tutor picked up a grey nun’s robe that had been set beside the bed and said, “Your Majesty should try this on, so this humble servant can see whether it fits.”

Nie Qinglin was a little dazed and hesitated before asking, “Would the Grand Tutor mind stepping outside for a moment?”

The Grand Tutor half-reclined lazily on the bed, drawling, “When I think about how Your Majesty’s delicate figure will soon spend its days beside a flickering lamp, and how I’ll no longer be blessed to see it again, I feel a deep sorrow. Might Your Majesty grant me this one mercy—allow me a final glimpse of the beauty hidden beneath the dragon robes?”

The Grand Tutor’s shameless behavior was the hardest to contend with.

Nie Qinglin thought of it as the last time, and once she had seen off this plague god, she would at least be left in peace within this secluded nunnery.

So, she pressed her lips together and slowly began to undo the sash.

The oil lamp in the temple was somewhat dim, yet it couldn’t conceal her snow-white complexion.

Nie Qinglin had gained a bit of weight recently, her slender figure becoming even more exquisitely curved.

The soft fullness within her peach-pink bodice swelled high, only to narrow again at her waist, truly making her a captivating beauty with full breasts and a slender waist.

Bathed in the lamplight, her slightly exposed skin seemed to glow as if illuminated by moonlight.

Nie Qinglin reached out to take the grey robe, but unexpectedly, the Grand Tutor grabbed her slender wrist.

With just a pull, she fell back onto the bed.

“Grand Tutor…”

Nie Qinglin was pressed down onto the bed.

The hairpin in her hair was also pulled out by the Grand Tutor and tossed onto the floor.

In an instant, her long hair cascaded down like a waterfall, spreading all over the mat.

Wei Lenghou lightly inhaled the sweet fragrance emanating from her loose hair.

He smiled as he watched the small figure weakly struggle beneath him.

What a pity for that delicate skin; even a slight rub against the somewhat rough coarse cloth caused patches of pink to appear.

Such a precious little thing, usually accustomed to being wrapped in silk, actually had the audacity to make a fuss about becoming a nun? Truly willful and reckless, utterly ignorant of the consequences.

“They all say that those who renounce the world are the most compassionate, saving all living beings—yet I wonder if this little nun, now shaved and robed, would be willing to offer a taste of flesh and skin to save me?”

Nie Qinglin couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed seeing the Grand Tutor still behaving so wantonly in such a serene place.

“Grand Tutor, enough with the nonsense. What exactly do you want of Me?”

“If I must go several days without seeing Your Majesty, I ask Your Majesty to have mercy, and soothe this humble subject’s parched lips and tongue.”

As he spoke, his hand reached behind the dragon pearl’s neck and began untying the sash of her bellyband…

In an instant, soft moans escaped the small woman’s lips in the quiet room: “Grand Tutor, please let go… how can you lick there… Grand Tutor…”

As dawn faintly broke, a tall and upright figure emerged from a secluded clean room within the temple.

He turned back to look at the small person sleeping soundly in the bedding, thinking that he had exhausted her just now, the tender skin on her chest almost sucked raw.

But this little Guo’er was truly one to pity and obsess over, every inch of her skin soft and sweet-smelling, almost causing him to lose control and take this little girl right there within the temple gates.

After he came out, he instructed the nanny, who was waiting outside the door, to take good care of the young master inside.

Then, he added, “Tomorrow, the wife of the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Rites and the wife of the Marquis of Fu’an will come together to offer incense on the mountain. I will instruct the temple’s abbot to arrange things cleverly, ensuring that those two ladies see the Emperor’s face, but they must not be allowed to approach and speak to His Majesty.”

Nanny Shan had already been thoroughly instructed by the Grand Tutor, so she understood immediately.

She simply awaited the arrival of the next day.