Chapter 131: Ways to Die — So Many, Never the Same
Cui Huan swallowed nervously and quietly edged closer to her mistress, whispering a reminder, “My lady, this doesn’t seem very appropriate. If these loose-tongued servants spread the word, what will happen to your reputation? If you truly dislike Consort Li, this servant can secretly go and kill her next time. We can’t dirty Your Ladyship’s hands.”
Hearing this, Nan Xun let out a puff of laughter, then reached out and patted the little maid’s head. “It’s fine, it’s fine. I know what I’m doing.”
What a lovable little girl—at a moment like this, she was still only thinking of her.
Nan Xun rested one hand on the corridor railing and shifted into a relaxed, scenic-viewing pose. Her long hair fluttered, her robes billowed, beautiful as a painting.
She yawned and looked at Consort Li struggling endlessly in the water, smiling as she said, “Oh, little sister, I hear you’re a strong swimmer. If you don’t come up soon, even if you don’t drown, this water is icy to the bone—what if you catch a chill?”
Although the imperial capital of Great Yan enjoyed springlike weather year-round, winter was still cold—damp, bone-chilling cold.
After falling into the water like this, Consort Li would definitely be left with lingering ailments.
The eunuchs and maids waiting nearby were dumbfounded upon hearing this.
If what Consort Qin said was true, then what was Consort Li putting on here? A frame-up?
“Cui Huan,” Nan Xun asked casually, “how long has Consort Li been in the water?”
Cui Huan first let out an “Ah,” then suddenly understood. She broke into a mischievous grin and replied, “Reporting to Your Ladyship, Consort Li has been in the water for about the time it takes to burn two sticks of incense.”
Nan Xun let out a long “Oh.” “Well, I’ve really broadened my horizons today. Someone falls into the water and can’t drown even after two sticks of incense.”
Consort Li’s senior maid grew so anxious that she burst into tears and hurriedly shouted toward the water, “My lady! My lady, are you all right? Don’t panic—try kicking a bit and swim toward the shore!”
Nan Xun swept her a glance, then continued admiring the spectacle of the beauty struggling in the water.
After hearing her maid’s words, the Consort Li who had been struggling for so long suddenly seemed to learn how to swim. She paddled all the way to the shore.
The senior maid immediately ran over and pulled Consort Li up.
Consort Li spat out several mouthfuls of pond water, shot Nan Xun a hateful look, and then fainted on the spot.
The maid hurriedly cried out for help, and servants immediately carried Consort Li back to Chenxi Palace.
Having finished watching the show, Nan Xun returned to Punyue Palace in high spirits with little Cui Huan.
“Ah, today I finally got to experience palace scheming for myself. One word: satisfying.”
Little Eight couldn’t help but look at her with new respect. “You really have the makings of a villainous consort.”
Nan Xun replied, “You flatter me, you flatter me. If you hadn’t told me that Consort Li could swim, I wouldn’t have been able to play the villain at all.”
Little Eight thought about it and mused, “I always feel like Consort Li still has a backup plan.”
Nan Xun immediately perked up. “Great, great! Having a backup plan is good. If she were too easy to deal with, it wouldn’t be fun.”
Little Eight snorted. “You’re just relying on Yan Mohan doting on you. If it were anyone else openly fighting palace battles like this, they’d have died who knows how many times already!”
The news that Consort Qin and Consort Li had clashed—and that Consort Qin had pushed Consort Li into the water—quickly spread throughout the harem. The emperor soon heard of it as well.
Everyone waited eagerly for the drama to unfold, but to their surprise, instead of rushing to Chenxi Palace to see the unconscious Consort Li, the emperor hurried straight to Punyue Palace.
“Yaoyao, are you all right? Did that poisonous woman Consort Li hurt you?” Yan Mohan grabbed Nan Xun’s hand, spinning her around and inspecting her several times over.
Only after confirming that she was unharmed did the tightly wound tension in his heart finally ease.
Nan Xun smiled faintly. “I’m fine. The one who met with trouble was your fair and understanding Consort Li. Your Majesty, aren’t you going to check on her? I hear this fall into the water injured her badly.”
Yan Mohan pulled her into his arms with some displeasure and scolded softly, “Didn’t I tell you to stay away from those women? Why won’t you listen? I only care about you. I don’t care whether other women live or die.”
Nan Xun let out a skeptical “Oh?” “Then which woman was it that made Your Majesty throw me into the Cold Palace back then? For her sake, Your Majesty even slapped me flying with one palm—my bones were broken at the time, and I’ve had lingering problems ever since. My waist still aches when I sleep at night. My memory isn’t very good; I wonder if Your Majesty still remembers which consort it was that made you fly into a rage for her beauty?”
Yan Mohan swallowed.
Whether this little troublemaker’s waist was actually bad or not—he knew very well from personal experience. But it was indeed his fault that he had slapped her away back then. He had only just reincarnated at the time, with fire burning in his heart. Not strangling someone to death on the spot already counted as restraint.
How could he have imagined that the person he once hated to the bone would one day become the treasure of his heart?
Yan Mohan pressed his lips together, his tone softening with compromise. “Yaoyao, can we stop bringing up the past? I’ve already turned over a new leaf. I was the one who wronged you before. You can do whatever you want. This Consort Li dared to bully you—how about I go teach her a lesson for you?”
Nan Xun shot him a sideways glance. “Teach her a lesson? May I ask how Your Majesty plans to do that?”
Yan Mohan thought for a moment and probed, “Pull out her tongue? Sever the tendons in her hands and feet?”
Nan Xun was instantly stunned.
Seeing her reaction, Yan Mohan thought he had been too lenient toward that woman and displeased his beloved. He immediately added, “Throw her into a pit of snakes? Or dig out her eyes and deafen her ears?”
As he spoke, he shook his head himself. “No, still not enough. Better to make that poisonous woman into a human swine and throw her into the pigsty. Then I’ll accompany Yaoyao to admire her, shall I? Or I could destroy her looks and toss her into a den of beggars. Or maybe send her to the military camp to reward the soldiers—she’s still a woman after all, it’d be a waste to discard her so easily.”
When he said all this, his gaze toward Nan Xun was full of indulgence, his tone gentle and tender.
Nan Xun shuddered. “Little Eight, I take back what I said about the big boss looking normal. How is this normal at all? Just look at these ways of dying—he’s a pervert…”
Little Eight replied calmly, “With a darkening value already at 90, what kind of normalcy or mercy are you expecting?”
Nan Xun couldn’t help asking a question that had long puzzled her. “Little Eight, you said that in the end, all these villain big bosses’ malevolence values drop to zero. But why doesn’t the darkening value drop at all? Isn’t that contradictory?”
Little Eight answered, “Not contradictory. The darkening value is often caused by specific factors. The big boss himself is unconscious of it—it’s already become part of his personality. Once a personality is formed, do you think it’s that easy to change?”
When the darkening value reaches 100, that’s a full-blown lunatic.
Little Eight didn’t dare say it—but the reason the big bosses in these worlds turned dark was entirely because Nan Xun had provoked them.
