I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 271: Repaying a favor
Chen Xing held down the helpless Cai Luoyu with one hand and stepped on Qi Mama, who was crying out in pain from burning her hand, with the other. She looked up at the two of them, feeling slightly bored.

After looking around, when will we finally be able to leave?
Don't you want to sleep?

A cry of pain drew Chu Liuzheng's attention away from comparing heights. She looked down at Chen Xing, or more precisely, at Cai Luoyu, whom Chen Xing was holding down.

Cai Luoyu's arms were tied behind her back, and Chen Xing used so much force that it hurt so much she felt like they were about to break.

She had been clenching her teeth tightly, but seeing the emperor staring intently at Chu Liuzheng, she couldn't help but loosen her grip, letting out a cry of pain.

Xiao Jingfan glanced down at her and said to Chen Xing and Chu Liuzheng, "Go out first."

Chu Liuzheng eagerly stepped forward to help Chen Xing catch the person, but Chen Xing glanced at her floor-length cloak and shook her head: "I can do it myself, sister, be careful not to fall."

Seeing that she was indeed capable, Chu Liuzheng didn't want to make things worse, so he bent down, picked up the floor-length cloak, and followed Chen Xing out.

As Zhou Yuande watched the emperor emerge, he noticed with his sharp eyes that the emperor's cloak was missing.

Just as he was about to ask, he suddenly saw Chu Liuzheng, who was the last to come out.

That dark cloak embroidered with silver threads and subtle patterns looked all too familiar.

His eyes widened slightly, and he was incredibly excited.

Finally, there's some progress!
It's comforting that His Majesty the Emperor, who doesn't act secretly, is called the Grand Eunuch.

Xiao Jingfan had no idea what his chief eunuch was thinking. It was snowing outside, and he was too lazy to bother with anything. He ordered people to clean up Chengbi Hall and then interrogated Cai Luoyu and her servant there.

He glanced at Chu Liuzheng beside him, finding the two bruises on his fair chin quite unsightly, and ordered Zhou Yuande, "Summon the imperial physician."

Zhou Yuande immediately asked with concern, "What is wrong with Your Majesty?"

Xiao Jingfan glanced at him, then stepped into the house.

Zhou Yuande understood the look in her eyes and felt a slight disdain.

Just then, Chu Liuzheng walked past him, carrying the hem of a cloak.

Because the emperor had arrived, the lanterns were lit brightly, and because her skin was fair and delicate, the two bluish marks on her chin were particularly noticeable.

Zhou Yuande immediately understood and asked Xiao Anzi to fetch the imperial physician.

Inside the room, Chu Liuzheng felt pain in his neck and chin. He raised his hand to touch them and hissed coldly.

Chen Xing took out a small mirror for her to see, and only then did she realize that her chin had been pinched and bruised.

She suddenly felt extremely unlucky.

[I remember I was talking to an imposter, how did I end up at Chengbitang? I almost got burned on the face by Cai Baolin, and I haven't offended her recently.]

She looked at Cai Luoyu kneeling down, her eyes filled with utter confusion.

Cai Luoyu was also looking at her, her eyes filled with a mixture of mockery and hatred.

He said he didn't want to climb into the emperor's bed, but look at him now? He's still wearing the emperor's cloak.

She actually believed it, and just thinking about Chu Liuzheng's condescending and lecturing face made her want to vomit.

Both were seducing the emperor, but their methods differed, and who was more noble than whom!
Seeing her unfriendly gaze, Chu Liuzheng ignored her and looked away to Qi Mama, who was bound hand and foot to the side.

Granny Qi lowered her head as if resigned to her fate, and her expression was not visible under her hair.

Xiao Jingfan glanced at the two of them and asked, "Why did you kidnap Chu Liuzheng?"

Granny Qi remained silent, but Cai Luoyu's eyes darted around before she kowtowed to the ground: "Your Majesty, I am innocent! I beg you to see the truth!" Xiao Jingfan raised an eyebrow: "What injustice have you committed?"

“It was all done by Granny Qi, and has nothing to do with me,” Cai Luoyu said. “This lowly servant is so arrogant and domineering, I can’t even order her around. Just now I happened to see her going to the storeroom, and out of curiosity I followed her, but I didn’t expect to see her torturing Miss Liuzheng.”

When I went in to stop her, I accidentally burned that lowly maid's hand, and then His Majesty arrived.

[Frog! I clearly dodged the fire myself, but you claim it's because I saved you? How can you be so shameless?]

Chu Liuzheng immediately bowed to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, please allow me to explain. When I woke up, this old woman was holding me tightly, and Cai Baolin was holding a piece of red-hot charcoal close to my face with fire tongs. If I hadn't woken up in time, my face would have been in a similar situation to what this old woman did to her hand."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingfan glanced at Granny Qi's scalded hand, which was covered in blood and flesh, and his eyes grew even colder.

Chu Liuzheng knelt down: "This servant dares not utter a single falsehood, I beg Your Majesty to do justice for this servant."

"I kindly saved you, why are you slandering me?" Cai Luoyu looked at Chu Liuzheng beside her, her tone both sad and distressed, as if Chu Liuzheng were some kind of heartless person.

Chu Liuzheng said coldly, "This servant does not have Baolin's sharp tongue that can distort the truth. His Majesty will make his own judgment on right and wrong."

Cai Luoyu gritted her teeth secretly, but said with a wronged expression, "I know you're still angry that Granny Qi bumped into you that day, but I've already ordered her to apologize to you. Why are you still not satisfied? Why do you have to drag an innocent and kind person like me into this?"

Chu Liuzheng: "..."

[Ugh~ I'm sick of hearing this! How can someone's skin be so thick? You could tear it off and use it as a shield.]

She was too lazy to argue with Cai Luoyu and waited for the emperor's decision.

"Your Majesty, I am truly innocent." Cai Luoyu looked at the emperor with tearful eyes.

Because the recovery process was so arduous, her once fleshy face quickly became gaunt, leaving only skin clinging to her bones. This made her eyes appear even larger, and when contrasted with her white face covered in thick powder, it added to her sinister aura.

Xiao Jingfan already knew the truth. Seeing that Cai Luoyu not only showed no remorse but also cleverly twisted the truth, he immediately ordered with a stern face: "Drag her away, give her thirty strokes of the cane, and throw her into the cold palace. She shall never come out again."

"Your Majesty!" Cai Luoyu frantically reached out to grab Xiao Jingfan.

How could Granny Qi convict her without even asking her a single question?
Why does Your Majesty trust that vile woman, Chu Liuzheng, so much?
Why be so biased?!

"Your Majesty, I saved your life!" Cai Luoyu roared unwillingly as she was being lifted up by two nannies.

Xiao Jingfan scoffed coldly: "I don't need your help."

He could have dodged the arrow anyway, and even if he hadn't, the guards would have taken care of it; there was no need for this woman to interfere.

Moreover, if this woman hadn't suddenly rushed out to block the arrows, the two Imperial Guards wouldn't have been distracted to save her, resulting in them being shot and killed by hidden weapons, wasting two lives in vain.

They didn't have to die.

He rewarded Cai Luoyu out of consideration for her genuine intention to save the emperor. If she wanted to enter the harem, he would bestow upon her the title of Baolin and support her; he wasn't short of money.

It's truly laughable that this woman was still mentioning "life-saving grace" even as she was about to die!

[Tsk tsk, daring to try and repay the emperor's favor? You think you're so clever? Do you want to die too soon?]

Chu Liuzheng shook his head inwardly as well.

[For a self-centered creature like an emperor, when he is in danger, not rescuing someone is a sin, while rescuing them is his duty. What is there to it than gratitude or favor?]

[If the emperor wants to remember your kindness, then that's true kindness; if he doesn't want to, and you keep bringing it up, then it becomes enmity. Even if you succeed in blackmailing him, it won't last long; you'll just be cannon fodder sooner or later.]

Xiao Jingfan: "..."

Although the logic is sound, why does it sound so unpleasant to the ear?