Chapter 34 Imperial Preceptor, can you give me a ride?
In the blink of an eye!
The Scourge Butterfly’s translucent, icy wings turned a deep, inky black.
“Ah!” Wen Jin’An felt her hair being tugged by the butterfly and couldn’t help but cry out in pain.
Her scoundrel father and Fourth Brother’s faces instantly turned pale.
Especially Wen Jingshu.
He remembered his righteous words just now. If the evil spirit turned out to be Jin’An, wouldn’t his words have pushed her into the fire?
Even without seeing the Scourge Butterfly’s transformation, seeing everyone else’s sudden change in expression, Wen Jin’An already had a premonition, and her face instantly lost all color.
She turned to Wen Jinli, her anxious eyes making him wince. He took a deep breath and said, “Your Majesty, this subject is willing to die for my sister!”
“Fourth Brother......” Wen Jin’An seemed touched, but was actually secretly anticipating the Emperor’s decision.
It would be great if Wen Jinli could really die for her. He was the most incompetent of her four brothers. Besides making her laugh, he couldn’t compare to her other three brothers. His exploitable value was the least.
What a wonderful show of sibling affection. Wen Xueling coldly observed the changing attitudes of her scoundrel father and Fourth Brother.
She wanted to see what kind of outrageous words her scoundrel father, who had just vowed to sacrifice family and cast the evil spirit into the alchemy furnace, would utter next.
Wen Jin’An’s eyes welled up, and she sobbed softly, “Father, Jin’An fears she won't be able to fulfill her filial duties by your side.”
Her crying, however, provoked the Scourge Butterfly.
It pulled hard at Wen Jin’An’s hair, chomping away. In the blink of an eye, it had eaten a small bald patch on her head.
Xiaobai: Cry, cry, cry, all she does is cry. Her crying spoils my appetite.
Wenren Yi leaned lazily in the heavily cushioned chair, propping his chin with one hand, watching his hard-earned pet vent its anger on Wen Jin’An’s hair.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the pleasure in Wen Xueling’s eyes, and a faint, almost imperceptible smile played on his cool lips.
Noticing the gaze from the side, Wen Xueling subtly turned her head, once again meeting the cold, placid eyes behind the mask.
After confirming that the Scourge Butterfly was indeed Xiaobai, who used to entertain her in her previous life, she was no longer as wary or nervous of Wenren Yi as before. She even offered him a gentle smile.
Wenren Yi raised an eyebrow. Was she not afraid of him?
At this moment, the heavy stone that had settled in Wen Jingshu’s heart once again floated in the air, several times larger than before, pressing down on him and making him gasp for air.
Her scoundrel father and the others had already said all the good and bad things. Wen Xueling’s silence, far from gloating, was the best rebuttal to their previous words.
It was an invisible slap in their faces.
Even the Crown Prince, who had remained silent later, looked at Wen Xueling a few more times.
Having grown up in the palace, he had seen every kind of scheme. Wen Jin’An’s tearful tricks would not have lasted two days in the palace.
However, this Wen Xueling, who came from the desolate northern region, made him somewhat impressed.
Wen Xueling naturally noticed the Crown Prince’s gaze. She didn’t look up, simply waiting quietly for the Emperor to speak.
The Imperial Study was filled with many warm fire stones, but to Wen Jin’An at this moment, it felt as though she was in a vast, icy expanse, her back breaking out in a sweat from nervousness and fear.
“Your Majesty, Jin’An is still just a child, she would certainly not......”
He hadn’t finished speaking when the Scourge Butterfly, perched on Wen Jin’An’s hair, unexpectedly bit her scalp.
Wen Jin’An cried out in pain, “It hurts so much! Father, save me—”
An agonizing pain, deep to the bone, struck her. She felt as if thousands of needles were piercing her scalp. Her face turned pale, and her body trembled uncontrollably.
“Jin’An!” Wen Jinli’s face was filled with anxiety, and he immediately moved to grab the Scourge Butterfly.
The Emperor roared in fury, “I dare anyone to move!”
The Imperial Preceptor had personally stated that the Scourge Butterfly could distinguish evil spirits. In the Emperor’s eyes, it was a propitious omen that could help Rong Kingdom avoid disaster. How could it be violently slapped and driven away?
Wen Jinli’s heart pounded like a drum. He hastily withdrew his hand and kowtowed, begging for mercy, “This subject was flustered by concern and acted rashly. I beg Your Majesty for forgiveness.”
It was only then that he realized that the Scourge Butterfly he had just tried to grab was the Imperial Preceptor’s treasure.
If he accidentally killed it, let alone Jin’An, the entire Prime Minister’s residence would be buried with it.
Just thinking about it made Wen Jinli feel a wave of lingering fear, his hands and feet turning cold.
Wen Jingshu, who had not spoken for a long time, frowned upon hearing the tremor in his youngest son’s voice.
He bowed and kowtowed, “Your Majesty, there must be another hidden truth to this matter. This subject guarantees with his head that Jin’An is certainly not an evil spirit reincarnated.”
“I humbly request Your Majesty to grant this subject another opportunity. This subject will certainly investigate the truth behind those misfortunes at the Prime Minister’s residence. Those incidents were likely man-made, and this subject......”
“Enough!” The Emperor roared in fury, slamming his hand on the table.
All the eunuchs and guards inside and outside the Imperial Study knelt down, not daring to look at the Emperor’s face.
Only Wenren Yi remained, lazily seated in his chair, propping his chin and watching the show.
The Scourge Butterfly was still chewing on Wen Jin’An’s hair. Seeing the bald spot growing larger, it disgustedly stepped on it with its foot.
No one but Wenren Yi and Wen Xueling knew that the Scourge Butterfly was venomous.
The pain caused Wen Jin’An to fall into a coma. Her pale lips had turned black, and her face grew paler and paler, showing signs of imminent death.
Wen Jingshu’s eyes were filled with heartache, but at present, he was powerless and could only watch his cherished daughter suffer.
He secretly thought to himself: How wonderful it would be if the one suffering was that rebellious daughter, Wen Xueling.
“Wen Jin’An is an evil spirit reincarnated and cannot be tolerated in this world. Come, issue my decree! She shall be put to death in seven days!”
“After her death, she shall be cremated and not buried within the borders of Rong Kingdom.”
These two sentences caused Wen Jin’An, who had already fainted from pain, to almost lose her breath completely, and she immediately passed out.
It almost crushed the Scourge Butterfly, which then finished its last two mouthfuls and flew off her hair.
It hovered in mid-air, flapping its wings for a long time, and golden dust scattered on Wen Jin’An’s face, corroding her skin at a visible rate, leaving pockmarked scars.
It flew around Wen Xueling for a while before slowly returning to its original owner, crawling into the black cloth bag to catch up on sleep.
From its actions, Wen Xueling almost heard it saying: I’ll come play with you again next time.
Things had come to this.
The Emperor was the Emperor, a single word could decide life and death.
Even Wen Jingshu was powerless.
Wen Xueling coldly observed the ashen despair on her scoundrel father’s face, inwardly anticipating her stepsister’s fate of being burned to ashes.
However, just as the imperial decree was about to be completed and the imperial seal was about to be stamped, a guard from outside reported.
“Reporting to Your Majesty, the daughter of the Grand General who Protects the Nation, Xie Siyu, requests an audience.”
The Emperor’s unfathomable eyes darkened with a hint of gloom due to this sudden turn of events. He coldly said, “Let her in.”
Xie Siyu had just entered the door when she saw her unconscious daughter on the ground. Her heart clenched, and then she saw Wen Xueling, completely unharmed, her eyes like cold, glinting blades, as if intending to slice her into a thousand pieces.
She knelt beside Wen Jingshu, “This subject’s wife bows to His Majesty.”
Wen Xueling had long anticipated her arrival. Her gaze fell on the death-exemption tablet in Xie Siyu’s hand, and she lowered her eyes, a chilling frost settling within them.
If she used this tablet, she would have no life-saving charm left.
No matter how sullen the Emperor’s face or how unwilling he was, seeing the death-exemption tablet he had personally bestowed upon the Xie family back then, he could only allow the Prime Minister’s residence to take Wen Jin’An back.
However......while the death penalty could be avoided, punishment for her crimes could not.
From the day Wen Jin’An returned to the residence, she was not permitted to leave the Prime Minister’s residence without an imperial decree.
Additionally, Embroidered Uniform Guards were stationed outside the Prime Minister’s residence.
This was a disguised house arrest for Wen Jin’An.
This experience reminded Wen Xueling of her past self, except she had been confined to the residence by her four biological brothers.
A farce, thus concluded.
But Wen Xueling knew that after today’s events, her scoundrel father would no longer be a trusted loyal subject in the Emperor’s heart.
Henceforth, all his actions would be cast under the shadow of “the father of an evil spirit.”
Wen Jingshu’s official career would end there.
But this was not enough!
Standing outside the palace walls once more, Wen Xueling was enveloped in a sense of daze, a feeling of surviving after having burnt her bridges.
Her scoundrel father had already left with her stepmother and stepsister. Her Fourth Brother had also returned to the academy.
She looked up at the moonlight and smiled faintly. Her gaze suddenly caught sight of a black carriage slowly emerging from the palace. Her eyes flickered, and she quickly walked over to the carriage.
“Your Excellency, Imperial Preceptor, may I hitch a ride?”
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