Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 931: The Pinnacle of Life

When Wanyan Zongxian received the Emperor’s oral decree summoning him to the palace for an audience, he felt no suspicion whatsoever. Recently, the Emperor had repeatedly hinted, in a roundabout way, at his intention to depose Empress Pei Man and install Lady Taohua, the wife of Prince Changsheng, as the new Empress.

To Wanyan Zongxian, this was, of course, highly inappropriate. In truth, simply taking one’s sister-in-law into the harem, while shocking, wouldn’t be such a big deal if done discreetly. After all, Wanyan Zongxian himself was the kind of man who had once forced Emperor Gaozong of Song’s birth mother, Empress Dowager Wei, and his wife, Empress Xing, to serve him t0gether in the same bed. How could a man like him be a prudish old scholar?

His opposition stemmed from the fact that the Emperor’s execution of Prince Changsheng had already sparked considerable controversy. To publicly take his wife as Empress would not only cause an uproar among the common people but would likely be difficult for the nobles and aristocracy to accept as well.

He had been pondering how to persuade the Emperor to change his mind and had just thought of a clever method. Confident it would work, he was planning to seek a private audience with the Emperor after the next morning’s court session when the imperial summons arrived. Entering the palace without a hint of suspicion or any precautions, he was completely off guard.

Upon entering the palace, he was immediately arrested and executed by Wanyan Liang’s men. Until his dying moment, he remained unaware of the drastic changes that had taken place in the palace, believing instead that his opposition to replacing the Empress had angered the Emperor. With his last breath, he said to those around him, “Who will speak for me? My death is of little consequence, but I worry only that our master will be left without support!” He hoped these words would reach the Emperor’s ears and make him see reason.

As for Left Chancellor Wanyan Zongmin, the summons he received was not from the Emperor but a secret decree from the Empress. Due to years of marriage alliances, he was intricately connected to Empress Pei Man’s clan. Over the years, he had been her powerful ally in court, and together they had controlled the Jin Dynasty’s governance for a considerable period. Although their influence had waned after Emperor Xizong assumed personal rule, their alliance remained unbreakable.

Thus, when he received word from Empress Pei Man from within the palace, he, like Wanyan Zongxian, harbored no suspicions and walked unprepared into the palace, where he was executed on Wanyan Liang’s orders.

This demonstrates how meticulous Wanyan Liang’s plan was, accounting for even these intricate relationships. Effortlessly, he eliminated the first and second-in-command of the Jin military and government, leaving no one in the entire court who could pose any threat to him.

When Wanyan Liang received news from his subordinates confirming that these two men had been dealt with, his last trace of worry finally dissipated.

The situation was now firmly under control. With some time still before the morning court session at dawn, Wanyan Liang felt a stir of desire and glanced toward the Hall of Benevolent Governance. ‘I might as well take this opportunity to savor the tender b0dies of those beautiful w0men,’ he thought.

Earlier, while busy issuing orders to control the situation, Wanyan Liang had sent people to escort Empress Pei Man and Daiqisi to the Hall of Benevolent Governance. The two women now sat on the dragon bed, holding hands and gazing at each other with tear-filled eyes. After a long silence, Empress Pei Man sighed with regret. “To think we fought against each other, only to end up giving that dog Wanyan Liang the advantage.”

Daiqisi frowned. “I never fought with you over anything. You were the one who unilaterally saw me as an enemy.”

Stung by her retort, Empress Pei Man couldn’t contain her anger. “Never fought over anything? I wonder who it was that regularly went to tempt the Emperor? Even making him recently consider replacing the Empress.”

“Replacing the Empress?” Daiqisi looked astonished. After learning the details, she exclaimed, “If I had known he actually intended to make me Empress, why would I have been in such a hurry to act?”

The thought that she and her companions had taken immense risks to control the Emperor, only to have someone else reap the benefits, filled her with regret. Had she known about this, she would never have chosen such radical methods. With her beauty and charm, a little planning would have been enough to make Emperor Xizong make up his mind. Once she became Empress, she could have legitimately influenced the Jin Dynasty’s policies. She wouldn’t have ended up in such a desperate situation.

“You shameless woman, how can you say that?” Empress Pei Man said bitterly. “If you hadn’t ambushed the Emperor, with Da Xingguo here, how could traitors like Wanyan Liang have so easily succeeded in regicide?”

“Who are you calling a shameless woman?” A flash of killing intent appeared in Daiqisi’s eyes. She had always prided herself on her chastity and could not tolerate being repeatedly insulted with such demeaning words.

“What if I am calling you that?” Empress Pei Man snorted coldly. “Stop putting on this act of a chaste and noble woman. Given Wanyan Liang’s nature, none of us will escape being vi0lated by him later. What’s the point of pretending now?”

Daiqisi’s breathing became rapid. If she weren’t currently restrained, she would have already killed the woman before her. But the thought that what Empress Pei Man said was likely to happen filled her with a deep sense of helplessness.

All these years, she had navigated between Prince Changsheng and the Jin Emperor, managing to preserve her purity. Was she destined to be vi0lated today? ‘Qianye, my husband, if your spirit watches over me, please tell me what I should do!’

Suddenly, an idea flashed in Daiqisi’s mind. She looked directly at Empress Pei Man. “Why are you so calm? I can’t sense any worry from you at all.”

Empress Pei Man’s expression changed. “Is that so?”

Daiqisi’s thoughts became clearer. “Of course! You’ve been acting strangely since you appeared earlier. Falling into our hands, you showed no fear at all and instead threatened us in various ways. Then Wanyan Liang appeared, and I subconsciously thought you were in league with him. But now it seems your reliance is clearly on someone else.”

Empress Pei Man’s face shifted through expressions of conflict before she finally snorted. “So what if it is? But that person is my support, not yours. You can obediently wait to serve Wanyan Liang in bed. If you please him well, he might even grant you the title of concubine.”

“Shut up!” The thought of Wanyan Liang doing those disgusting things to her made Daiqisi turn pale. “Tell your backer to save me as well. Otherwise, when Wanyan Liang comes in, I’ll tell him everything. Then no one will get away.”

Empress Pei Man was furious. “You shameless woman!”

At that moment, Wanyan Liang’s voice sounded from the doorway. “What are you two beauties doing? So much anger. It seems this prince needs to help you cool down.”

Daiqisi ignored him and continued staring at Pei Man. “Last chance!”

Empress Pei Man bit her lip and finally nodded. “You win.”

“What exactly are you two beauties discussing?” Wanyan Liang was baffled, but his attention was quickly captured by the figures of the two w0men. 

Daiqisi sat there with a delicate blend of annoyance and anger, like a exquisitely carved jade statue—smooth, crystalline, every part of her inviting the impulse to caress and explore. Though not as devastatingly beautiful as Daiqisi, Empress Pei Man was also a famous beauty of the Jin Dynasty, and the added allure of her lofty status as Empress made her just as irresistible to men.

Wanyan Liang looked from one to the other, unable to decide whom to start with. 

Finally, he steeled his heart: ‘How foolish of me. Why choose? I’ll have both women at once!’