Looking at the deathly pale face of the Qin woman, Xia Wuyang continued, "It wasn’t just my mother. You’ve harmed me many times over the past decades, too. I’ve remembered every single instance."
He took a step forward, forcing the Qin woman to back away repeatedly until she stumbled and fell onto the Imperial Consort’s Couch, barely able to get up.
The Qin woman was trembling all over, unable to speak a word.
’She had indeed done these things; it was undeniable.’
"Of course, there’s one more, very important thing," Xia Wuyang said with a cold smile, his face filled with hatred. "You are Xia Shengming’s Chief Wet Nurse and one of the people closest to him now. If you were to die, Xia Shengming would surely not take it well."
Sprawled on the couch, the Qin woman stared at Xia Wuyang in disbelief. From his words, she naturally understood his meaning.
’It seems he knows the truth about Empress Luo Jin’s death back then, and the truth about his own deposition. Otherwise, why would he be taking revenge on Emperor Xia?’
’He even dares to take revenge on the Emperor and depose an Empress. What chance does a mere wet nurse like me have?’
"Your Highness... Your Highness, spare me..." She suddenly scrambled off the couch, knelt at Xia Wuyang’s feet, and clung to his leg, crying and begging, "I was wrong back then. I was bewitched! But... but I held you in my arms, too! When you were sick as a child, I took care of you, I gave you medicine... For the sake of that small bond, please spare my life! I’ll never do it again."
She looked up, her tears smudging her makeup, which only added a tragic, pitiful beauty to her face.
Her devastatingly beautiful face, now tear-streaked like a pear blossom in the rain, would make anyone’s heart soften, inspiring an urge to pull her into an embrace.
But Xia Wuyang’s gaze remained as cold as iron, devoid of any emotion.
He gently pulled his leg back and leaned down to look at her. "A bond? If you truly valued that bond, you wouldn’t have harmed Nanny Sun, you wouldn’t have framed my mother, you wouldn’t have kicked me while I was down so many times after my deposition, and you certainly wouldn’t have hidden the truth all these years, leaving me in the dark for so long."
"I..." The Qin woman was speechless.
Xia Wuyang straightened up, his gaze sweeping over to Li Changfeng, who was already scared stiff. "And that’s not all. How many others have you harmed in Jinxuan Palace over the years? Those handsome young Guards, you threatened and bribed them, turning them into your playthings. Those who refused, you found excuses to have them beaten, killed, or exiled. And those who complied? You cast them aside like worn-out shoes once you were tired of them, and none of them met a good end."
He walked over to Li Changfeng. "Your sister’s illness never required any Imperial Secret Medicine. The medicine the Qin woman gave you was just an ordinary supplement mixed with a slow-acting poison. She was using your sister’s life to control you, that’s all."
Li Changfeng looked as if he had been struck by lightning. "Wh-what?"
"Don’t believe me? This is a real Antitoxic Pill. Give it to your sister. The poison will be purged in three days. As for the so-called Imperial Secret Medicine, your sister never needed it at all." Xia Wuyang casually tossed him a small porcelain vial.
Li Changfeng caught the vial, his hands trembling so violently he could barely hold it.
He looked at the Qin woman, who was collapsed on the floor, and a bone-deep hatred gradually swelled in his eyes. From her expression, he could already tell that Xia Wuyang hadn’t been lying. It was all true.
Xia Wuyang turned back to the Qin woman. "Alright. All debts have been tallied. Now it’s time to pay them back."
He raised a hand, his fingers spread wide.
The Qin woman felt an invisible force grip her throat, lifting her entire body into the air!
Her feet left the ground. She struggled desperately but couldn’t move an inch. The might of a First Grade Grandmaster was as feeble as an ant’s before Xia Wuyang.
"Years ago in the Eastern Palace, a Little Palace Maid I was fond of was drowned by you. Today, I’ll let you taste what it’s like to drown," Xia Wuyang said, his voice calm.
As his voice fell, he made a grasping motion in the air with his other hand.
From the dressing table, a bronze basin filled with clear water flew up on its own and hovered above the Qin woman’s head.
The water in the basin seemed to come alive, forming a water serpent that snaked down and forced its way into the Qin woman’s mouth and nose, pouring in relentlessly.
"GLUG... GLUG..."
The Qin woman’s eyes bulged as she shook her head frantically, but the water serpent was insidious, forcing its way into her throat, her windpipe, her lungs... sparing no part of her.
She felt the cold water fill her chest, and a sense of suffocation washed over her like a tidal wave. Her vision began to blacken, but Xia Wuyang refused to let her die just yet, determined to make her suffer to the fullest.
Whenever she was on the verge of fainting, he would withdraw some of the water, allowing her a moment to gasp for air before pouring it in again.
Again and again, while fully conscious, the Qin woman experienced the agony of drowning, the same despair that the Little Palace Maid must have felt. Over and over, time and again, as if it would never end.
At the same time, some techniques of the Southern Barbarian Hundred Races were also unleashed upon her.
"AGH... AGH..." She let out strange, guttural sounds, her limbs twitching uncontrollably. Her once devastatingly beautiful face was now twisted like a demon’s, all traces of its former delicacy gone.
Li Changfeng, watching from the side, felt a chill run through him. He didn’t dare to move or make a sound. His fear of Xia Wuyang had reached its absolute peak.
’This was the Emperor’s Chief Wet Nurse, one of the people closest to him! And Xia Wuyang, a mere Crown Prince, dared to do this to his own father’s Chief Wet Nurse. He was completely lawless.’
After a full fifteen minutes of torture, Xia Wuyang finally released his hold and looked indifferently at the Qin woman before him.
The Qin woman collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath, with water seeping from her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. She was a wretched mess. But it wasn’t over. A little torment wasn’t nearly enough.
He hadn’t come to find the Qin woman merely to torture her. His most important goal was to use her to strike at Xia Shengming, to get his revenge on Xia Shengming, and to make Xia Shengming continue to pay the price.
"You’ve had a taste of drowning. Now, it’s time to taste betrayal," Xia Wuyang said faintly.
He turned his head to Li Changfeng. "She harmed your sister, bullied and humiliated you, and even used you as her concubine. I’m giving you a chance now. Kill her, and both you and your sister will live."
Li Changfeng froze, his body trembling slightly.
Xia Wuyang raised an eyebrow. "What’s wrong? Can’t bear to do it? Still attached to her body, or to that so-called ’kindness’ she showed you?"
Li Changfeng looked at the Qin woman on the floor. ’This woman... she used poison to control my sister, forced me to do those filthy things, and nearly killed my sister...’ He hated her. He wanted to slice her into a thousand pieces.
But they had shared many intimate moments, after all, and the Qin woman was undeniably a peerless beauty. To just kill her like this... he found he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
"I..." Li Changfeng was still hesitating.
"Not going to do it?" Xia Wuyang sneered. "Then you can die with her. You can be a pair of tragic lovers."
As he spoke, he raised his hand, and Qi Blood gathered at his fingertips.
Li Changfeng’s expression changed. He hardened his heart and drew the Waist Knife from his belt.
’Better to kill her than to die with her.’
"I’m... I’m sorry, my lady..." his voice grew hoarse. "You shouldn’t have... you shouldn’t have touched my sister... you shouldn’t have tormented me like that!"
The Qin woman looked at him in terror. She wanted to beg for mercy, but suddenly found she couldn’t make a sound.

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