Chapter 106: A Shocking Secret — Unable to Perform
Yan Mohan reined in the disgust in his eyes and deliberately made his footsteps heavier as he walked toward Morning Glow Palace.
The eunuch on night duty at the palace gate saw the emperor arrive and immediately knelt, shouting at the top of his lungs, “His Majesty has arrived—”
By the time Yan Mohan stepped into Morning Glow Palace, Consort Li had already put on what she believed to be her most alluring pose to welcome the man.
“This concubine greets Your Majesty.” Consort Li gave a slight curtsy. As she lowered her head, a stretch of fair neck was revealed, and her sheer, light garments outlined her graceful figure.
Yan Mohan waved a hand and sat down to one side. “Beloved consort, rise.”
Consort Li froze for a moment. Usually at this time, the emperor would personally help her up. Today, he didn’t?
Was His Majesty in a bad mood tonight?
“Your Majesty, why didn’t you send someone to notify this concubine first? That way I could have been prepared. What if I were to behave improperly in your presence?” Consort Li complained coyly.
If he hadn’t overheard her earlier words, Yan Mohan might have been happy to play along with her act. But now, he couldn’t be bothered.
“What, beloved consort—are you not welcoming me?” Yan Mohan asked coolly, his gaze resting on her.
“How could that be?” Consort Li replied at once. “Your Majesty’s visit to my Morning Glow Palace makes this concubine happier than anything.”
After speaking, she served him tea and then began to massage his shoulders.
But as she kneaded, her hands gradually slipped inside the man’s robe.
Yan Mohan’s eyes narrowed slightly, a flash of cold light passing through them.
He suddenly grabbed her wrist, squeezing hard enough to make Consort Li frown.
“Your Majesty, you’re hurting this concubine,” she said in a plaintive tone.
Hearing this, Yan Mohan did not lessen his grip. A mocking smile curved his thin lips. “Beloved consort, is it that you want me to hurt you?”
Consort Li’s face flushed, and she called out shyly, “Your Majesty~”
“In the past, I was afraid of hurting you. Since you like it, then tonight I shall grant your wish.” With that, Yan Mohan swept his sleeve, and the lights in the inner chamber went out instantly.
The next moment, Consort Li was pulled into the embrace of a strong man.
Without a word, the man began stripping her clothes and then pressed her down onto the bed, taking her.
Consort Li cried out in pain. After quite some time, those cries changed in tone.
After roughly half an hour, Consort Li fell unconscious. The dark figure atop her quickly rose and leapt out the window.
The black-clad man knelt on one knee, awaiting instructions from the person before him.
And the man standing in front of him was none other than Yan Mohan himself—the very man who was supposed to be inside with Consort Li, indulging in passion.
“Shadow One, at this moment only you know, I know, Heaven knows, and Earth knows. If a third person learns of this, you know the means I have at my disposal,” Yan Mohan said expressionlessly.
The man in black hurriedly kowtowed. “This subordinate would never dare!”
Yan Mohan let out a cold laugh. “I know you don’t have the guts. If you obediently follow my arrangements, you can keep this ‘fine assignment’ indefinitely. But if—”
The man lowered his head even further. “This subordinate’s life has long belonged to Your Majesty. No matter what you command, this subordinate will do it willingly, even if it means climbing a mountain of blades or plunging into a sea of fire.”
In truth, compared to this so-called fine assignment, he would rather go with Shadow Two and Shadow Three to do tasks that involved licking blood from the edge of a blade.
Ever since he had received this secret mission, he hadn’t slept a single night in peace. What he was sleeping with now were the emperor’s women—this was a crime punishable by decapitation. Even more terrifying was that he knew the emperor’s earth-shattering secret.
That was: the emperor… was unable to perform.
Shadow One lived in constant fear. He had heard that during a mission, Shadow Five had had his manhood cut off by Beauty Qin, and now he would rather that the one who lost his manhood were himself.
“Shadow One, I’ll warn you of one more thing,” Yan Mohan said coldly. “It was I who ordered you to touch the women of the harem. Although it is you who have relations with them, you must remember that they are still, in the end, my women. Therefore—”
Yan Mohan paused, his voice turning icy. “Do not develop feelings you shouldn’t. If I discover it, I will kill you… Forget it. You’ve always handled things to my satisfaction. I won’t take your life over a single mistake. When the time comes, I’ll simply cripple your manhood.”
Shadow One shuddered. He desperately wanted to tell the emperor: those venomous women of the harem are more than I can handle—why not just cripple me now, really.
But he didn’t have the courage to say it. He could only continue to pledge his loyalty repeatedly.
Yan Mohan cast him a dark glance, clasped his hands behind his back, and left.
It was laughable—this lifetime, he was unable to perform and was personally putting a green hat on himself, yet he felt no humiliation at all. As long as he could kill off, one by one, those who had once kicked him while he was down, and watch their miserable ends, he would feel indescribably exhilarated.
That day, Yan Mohan was in an excellent mood, because after visiting no fewer than twenty concubines’ chambers in the harem, he finally obtained the answer he wanted.
The women of the harem were full of schemes, and women understood women best. So he asked them all the same question: what must be done to make a woman wish she were dead.
At first, in order to appear pure and innocent, they answered cautiously—poisoned wine, a length of white silk, execution by dismemberment.
Later, when one concubine suggested destroying a woman’s chastity, and Yan Mohan rewarded her with large amounts of gold and jewelry, the others began to offer suggestions as well.
Some said to disfigure her and turn her into an ugly monster.
Some said to let the ugliest, filthiest beggar in Great Yan violate her.
Some said to poison her with something that flared up periodically, leaving her in unbearable agony.
Others said that a woman’s greatest suffering was being unable to become a mother—just give her a bowl of infertility potion so she could never bear children.
Each suggestion was more vicious than the last. Yet the answer Yan Mohan was most satisfied with came from Consort Li.
When she said it, her tone was very gentle: “The most painful way to torment a woman is to make her love a man with all her heart and soul. When she loves him so much that she’s willing to die for him, then cruelly abandon her and heap ridicule and humiliation upon her.”
To reward Consort Li for offering such a good idea, Yan Mohan stayed in her palace that night, letting Shadow One “love her fiercely.”
Listening to the woman’s wanton, cloying cries, Yan Mohan’s eyes were full of mockery and disgust. But soon, the corners of his thin lips lifted.
His mood suddenly became very good.
In such a good mood, Yan Mohan was unusually mild during the morning court and did not pick fights with the civil and military officials.
The officials thought the sun must be rising in the west today, because the emperor hadn’t found fault with anyone.
Something was very wrong.
In recent months, the young emperor had become increasingly ruthless and seasoned in his actions. Everyone could see that he was quietly replacing people—finding pretexts to remove old officials and install his own men. Especially the Qin family’s influence, which he was gradually uprooting.
The emperor intended to destroy the Qin family.
