Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved-Chapter 522: Eunuch Li, Why Are You Panicking?

Eunuch Li’s forehead was already beaded with cold sweat.

Ever since Madam Lin had directly communicated with him in person, he had only allowed one trusted person among those who left the palace to pass messages to Madam Lin for him, ensuring her of his definite support.

After that, the two had no further correspondence.

But at this moment, he realized, was it that Madam Lin had never sent any more letters into the Imperial Palace, or had all of Madam Lin’s letters actually been intercepted?

His heart was struck with panic, worried about the possibility of compromising information in the letters.

If Madam Lin were just an ordinary person, it naturally would not matter much, merely a ridiculous affair, but Madam Lin was the principal wife of a Fifth Rank official. If the affair of Madam Lin bearing a child for a eunuch were to be exposed, she would likely be drowned in public contempt.

And that would have been bearable, but the fear was that the Imperial Family, in order to placate a Fifth Rank official, might just use a piece of white silk to end Madam Lin’s life and completely erase this affair.

This was not unprecedented – sacrificing a few lives to cover up an official’s scandal was nothing out of the ordinary.

Not only would Madam Lin die, but he would too.

So, in knowing Madam Lin’s situation, Eunuch Li had not thought of immediately appealing to the Emperor and Empress, but rather, after gaining favor from them, he thought to gently sway them to secure a favorable outcome for Madam Lin.

It was only after he had followed Wang Yingluo that he had the ambition to have the child that Madam Lin bore him acknowledged and brought back to his ancestral roots.

Obviously, something like this could never truly be brought to light; there needed to be a veil of decency.

Now, Eunuch Li worried that the Empress might have already found out something, ripping off this veil of decency and leaving him with all his efforts wasted.

Wang Yingluo could protect him, but that did not necessarily mean she could protect Madam Lin.

After all, Wang Yingluo, who had not yet become the new Empress and did not hold any official position, possessed favor but no power.

The more he thought about it, the more Eunuch Li sweat.

He regretted it, wishing he had not so readily turned against the Empress for the sake of Wang Yingluo when the Empress summoned him; he had refused under the pretext of taking care of Wang Yingluo, thus aligning himself with the opposition.

At this very moment, doubts also drummed in Wang Yingluo’s heart, both uncertain about how much the Empress knew.

"Your Majesty the Empress, why not return the letters to Eunuch Li? There is no rule within the Imperial Palace that forbids the exchange of letters among the servants. This represents personal privacy, and even though Eunuch Li is but a servant, he is also a person. Every individual has their human rights and the right to freedom of speech. Your Majesty, this act is a violation of personal privacy and is immoral," Wang Yingluo spoke more and more passionately, her tone rising and falling dramatically.

Eunuch Li was profoundly moved, not expecting Wang Yingluo to chastise the Empress so fiercely for his sake.

Human rights and personal privacy, it was the first time he heard of such things for a servant; he was genuinely grateful.

Murong Jiu nodded in response:

"Your point about human rights makes sense – I respect every individual and never kill without cause. However, Miss Wang, you constantly speak of equality for all and not oppressing the servants, then why did you watch indifferently as several maids were dragged away and beaten to death beside you at the estate outside the palace, yet you did nothing to save them? Sometimes, no matter how loud the slogans are, if they’re not acted upon, they’re just a joke, unworthy to judge others. Miss Wang, do I speak rightly?"

Wang Yingluo’s expression darkened, "This servant did not know they would be beaten to death at the time; I only thought of disciplining them a bit. Had I known they would die, I would have certainly intervened!"

"Oh? Didn’t you say that everyone has the right to free speech? They were merely gossiping about you behind your back, yet you wanted to punish them - doesn’t this contradict what you’ve been advocating?"

These words left Wang Yingluo unable to rebut, so her expression grew even more sullen.

Murong Jiu continued:

"Miss Wang, you pretend to be upright, but your arguments are full of holes. Do you think that with His Majesty’s intelligence, he cannot see through your facade?"

Wang Yingluo clenched her fists.

"Instead of criticizing me here and slandering me, Her Majesty the Empress should think about how she might regain the favor! Oh, but I fear that might be difficult, for ever since His Majesty returned to the palace, he has not once touched the Empress!"

Having said that, Wang Yingluo turned and left.

Eunuch Li hurriedly rose to his feet, but at that moment, Murong Jiu pulled out several letters and threw them onto the ground.

"Eunuch Li, do not wait until you are old to ruin your later years. I am only reminding you this once."

"Yes, this servant will definitely heed the instruction!"

Eunuch Li, slightly panicked, picked up the letters from the ground and scurried out of Kunning Palace.

"Why bother reminding him, Your Majesty? He’s like a villain who has gotten his chance at power; previously he had no opportunity, but now that he has one, he’d love nothing more than to trample his masters underfoot."

After everyone had left, Hong Yi pouted and spoke, feeling extremely dissatisfied with Eunuch Li.

"One need not be too ruthless in dealing with people. By reminding him, if he can change, it shows he still has redeeming qualities. Once the matter with Madam Lin is resolved, I will send someone to tell him the truth."

"And if he does not change?"

Murong Jiu laughed and fanned herself with a folding fan, "If he doesn’t change, then I have done all that humanity and justice require."

"Your Majesty, you should change into a cooler dress; this one with the high collar is too hot."

"Just open it up a bit, no need to change."

Hong Yi giggled and went off to do other things.

Once she had left, Murong Jiu slightly opened her dress and her cheeks also blushed faintly.

Looking in the mirror, she was somewhat shocked—marks all over, like red plum blossoms blooming on snow.

Jun Yuyan really was something, knowing that Wang Yingluo knew about the marks on her body yet intensifying his actions, leaving even more imprints on her, forcing her to cover them up.

Wang Yingluo wanted to look? Not that she couldn’t, initially it was a misunderstanding, but Murong Jiu did not want to expose these private intimacies between herself and Jun Yuyan to others. freewebnσvel.cøm

...

Wang Yingluo did not return to Cining Palace; she had Eunuch Li take her to the Imperial Medical Office to see.

She wanted to see just what kind of man Murong Jiu’s Senior Brother Miao really was.

The man was a devoted follower of Murong Jiu, but hadn’t Lou Zixi once been the same?

In the end, hadn’t he defected to her side?

After all, Murong Jiu’s charm was not that high, not as much as her own personal charisma.

Of course, Wang Yingluo did not intend to recruit Wu Xie, she just wanted to see what this man, who was pivotal to Murong Jiu, looked like, and to see if she could use Wu Xie as a leverage to swiftly dethrone Murong Jiu.

Eunuch Li hurriedly led the way ahead.

Seeing Eunuch Li’s sweating demeanor, Wang Yingluo scoffed lightly:

"Why are you panicking? Those letters didn’t say anything substantial, and there’s no signature from Madam Lin, they were all greetings sent under the name of your godson. The Empress doesn’t even know about Madam Lin’s affairs, otherwise she wouldn’t have spoken so ambiguously just now."