The next morning, in Zhong Cui Palace, Consort Xi ordered several palace maids and eunuchs to divide into two groups and enter the sleeping quarters of the Eleventh Prince and Twelfth Princess to help them wake up.
In the Eleventh Prince's chambers, after the palace maids and eunuchs entered, they immediately tied up the bed curtains. They then saw the Eleventh Prince, whose head was covered by the quilt. A palace maid thought the Eleventh Prince was playing hide-and-seek with them again.
So, she smiled and slowly moved her head closer to the Eleventh Prince, calling out to him softly several times. However, the Eleventh Prince showed no reaction. The palace maid had no choice but to lift the quilt. But when the quilt was lifted, she almost died of fright. She saw that the Eleventh Prince inside the quilt was nothing but a horrifying, skin-and-bones corpse.
The other palace maids and eunuchs in the chambers, hearing the palace maid's cry, immediately came over. They also glanced at the Eleventh Prince on the bed and were so frightened that they quickly ran out of his chambers.
The Twelfth Princess, just like the Eleventh Prince, had also become a corpse, her blood seemingly sucked dry by something. The palace maids and eunuchs assigned to help the Twelfth Princess wake up were also so frightened that they immediately fled her chambers.
At this moment, Consort Xi, who was taking a stroll in the small garden of Zhong Cui Palace, heard the palace maids and eunuchs report the situation in the Eleventh Prince's and Twelfth Princess's chambers. She completely broke down. Stumbling, she went to take a look at her two children's chambers. After seeing them, she fainted on the spot.
Immediately, the head governess of Zhong Cui Palace ordered someone to inform the Emperor.
---
In Yue Rou Palace, Noble Consort Rou slowly got up from the bed, checked the wound on her arm, and then walked to the dressing table to sit down and tend to her long silver hair. She gazed at her face in the bronze mirror, which had already returned to its former flawless perfection, and a smug smile involuntarily curved her lips.
Last night, she had been hit by hidden weapons shot by those two people and had been chased by them all the way to the river. This had prevented her from absorbing the blood of the virgin boy and girl to restore her appearance. She was extremely panicked, terrified of being seen with her ghastly appearance.
However, as she, Wen Yuerou, returned to the imperial palace, she suddenly remembered that her rival, Consort Xi, had a pair of nine-year-old children. So, she secretly sneaked into Consort Xi's Zhong Cui Palace. Taking advantage of the night, when the palace maids and eunuchs in Zhong Cui Palace were all asleep, she stealthily went to the chambers of the Eleventh Prince and the Twelfth Princess and sucked their blood dry. Her face and body then recovered to a baby-like delicate white skin. Finally, she returned to her palace before the Emperor forcefully entered Yue Rou Palace.
The Emperor, however, was completely unaware of Noble Consort Rou's actions. At this moment, the Emperor was still snoring in her bed.
Noble Consort Rou felt a look of disgust upon hearing the Emperor's snoring. She truly wished to kill this incompetent ruler immediately, but unfortunately, her objective had not yet been achieved. For the time being, he still had some value.
As she was thinking, there was a hurried knocking sound outside the palace gates.
"Your Majesty, Noble Consort, are you awake?" Eunuch Yu, who was guarding the door, said anxiously in his sharp, reedy voice.
However, after Eunuch Yu finished speaking, Yue Rou Palace remained quiet, with no response. Just as he was about to knock again, a gentle female voice came from Yue Rou Palace.
"Eunuch Yu, His Majesty is still sleeping. Is there something you need?" Noble Consort Rou asked softly.
"Your Ladyship, something has happened in Zhong Cui Palace. Please inform His Majesty." Eunuch Yu said.
"All right, I will wake His Majesty now. Please have someone prepare washing water for His Majesty," Noble Consort Rou replied, casually opening the palace doors of Yue Rou Palace to let the palace maids and eunuchs enter.
She then turned around and gracefully walked to the bedside, softly calling out twice, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty."
However, the Emperor, who was sleeping soundly on her bed, continued to snore like thunder.
Seeing that she could not wake the Emperor, Noble Consort Rou raised her hand and gently shook the Emperor's arm. The Emperor mumbled sleepily, "Rou'er, don't be naughty, let me sleep a little longer."
"Your Majesty, you can't sleep anymore. Eunuch Yu said something happened in Zhong Cui Palace. You should get up quickly and go take a look," Noble Consort Rou whispered into the Emperor's ear.
"Zhong Cui Palace? What happened in Zhong Cui Palace?" The Emperor's mind cleared considerably upon hearing Noble Consort Rou's words.
"Your subject is not entirely sure. Your Majesty, please get up quickly and go to Zhong Cui Palace to see." Noble Consort Rou replied solicitously.
Upon hearing this, the Emperor asked Noble Consort Rou to help him up and then nodded slightly.
"Very well, I will go immediately. Someone, come and help me change."
As soon as he spoke, Eunuch Yu, followed by a group of young palace maids and eunuchs carrying towels, willow toothpicks, basins of water, and dragon robes, gradually approached the Emperor.
"Your servant (your humble servant) will assist Your Majesty in washing and changing!" Eunuch Yu flicked his whisk and, along with the young palace maids and eunuchs, knelt beside the Emperor's bed, calling out respectfully.
The Emperor waved his hand at Eunuch Yu and the others, and Eunuch Yu, along with the young palace maids and eunuchs, stood up. Then, Noble Consort Rou, along with the palace maids and eunuchs, first helped the Emperor wash and dress.
It took the group about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to get the Emperor's attire in order. Afterward, the Emperor sat aside, waiting for Noble Consort Rou to finish her makeup. Then, the two of them, leading a throng of people, grandly arrived at Zhong Cui Palace.
At this time, Consort Xi of Zhong Cui Palace, the mother of the Eleventh Princess and the Eleventh Prince, had already fainted multiple times. Each time she was awakened by the head governess, she would remember the sight of her two children having their blood sucked dry, and her heart couldn't bear it, causing her to faint again.
When the Emperor and Noble Consort Rou arrived at Zhong Cui Palace, Consort Xi was still unconscious. The Emperor could only directly bring Noble Consort Rou to the Eleventh Prince's chambers. From a distance, he saw a group of palace maids and eunuchs kneeling outside the chambers of the Eleventh Prince and the Twelfth Princess. He immediately frowned.
So, he angrily roared at the palace maids and eunuchs kneeling outside the two chambers, "What happened to your Eleventh Prince and Twelfth Princess?"
As soon as he spoke, the heads of the palace maids and eunuchs kneeling on the ground lowered even further.
The Emperor could only walk into the Eleventh Prince's chambers himself. He strode to the Eleventh Prince's bedside, lifted the bed curtain with his hand, and looked into the bed. A withered, skin-and-bones corpse met his eyes.
"Ah—"
The Emperor immediately let out a startled cry and stumbled backward.
If it weren't for Noble Consort Rou behind him catching him, the Emperor would have likely fallen directly to the ground. Noble Consort Rou, looking at the Eleventh Prince's corpse on the bed, curved a sinister smile on her lips.
Eleventh Prince and Twelfth Princess, do not blame me, Wen Yuerou, for my wickedness. Blame yourselves for your misfortune.