The Vicious Female Supporting Character and The Sadistic Heroine Got Together [Through the Book] - Chapter 51

As soon as the banquet ended, Emperor Li hurried back to his palace and ordered his attendants to summon Li Changsheng.

Li Changsheng dared not delay. He quickly changed into formal attire and rushed to meet the Emperor.

Upon entering the palace hall, he found Emperor Li already waiting for him.

After a moment’s hesitation, Li Changsheng raised his hand and addressed the Emperor: “Imperial Father…”

Before he could finish speaking, Emperor Li stormed toward him, his eyes blazing with fury. If looks could kill, Li Changsheng would have been reduced to ashes a thousand times over.

As Li Changsheng tried to explain, Emperor Li struck him across the face with a backhanded slap, snarling, “You wretched creature!”

The blow was delivered with brutal force, snapping Li Changsheng’s head to the side. A crimson palm print bloomed on his fair, pale cheek.

Li Changsheng tilted his head, his expression shifting from stunned disbelief to sorrow, and finally settling into cold indifference.

He calmly raised his head, meeting Emperor Li’s gaze with unwavering composure, as if nothing had happened.

Emperor Li glared at him, his voice laced with bitter disappointment: “How could I have such a son?”

“You don’t have a son like me,” Li Changsheng replied, his dark eyes fixed on the Emperor.

Emperor Li froze at Li Changsheng’s words.

In his memory, this was the first time Li Changsheng had dared to speak to him in such a manner. The Crown Prince had always been so obedient and compliant before.

Unable to believe his ears, Emperor Li pointed at Li Changsheng and demanded, “Li Changsheng, how dare you speak to me like that! I am the Son of Heaven, your Imperial Father!”

Li Changsheng smiled faintly. “Not for much longer.”

Emperor Li could scarcely believe his ears. How could such treasonous words come from the mouth of his ever-compliant Crown Prince?

As if doubting his own hearing, he asked, “Do you even know what you’re saying?”

“Isn’t this what you taught me, Imperial Father?”

Emperor Li couldn’t understand what Li Changsheng was implying. This only fueled his already short-tempered rage. He exploded, “What exactly are you talking about?!”

Li Changsheng met his gaze calmly, completely unfazed by the Emperor’s fury. His voice remained cold and detached as he said, “When facing a powerful opponent, a hunter must sometimes appear as prey. But the prey has been lying in wait for too long. It’s time for the hunter to emerge.”

Emperor Li retorted, “I don’t recall ever saying such a thing.”

“Of course Imperial Father would never say such things to me,” Li Changsheng replied. “But isn’t it all your fault? You taught me these principles through your own actions. Every word I spoke just now, I learned from you.”

Emperor Li stared at the eerily composed Li Changsheng, a sudden fear gripping his heart. “What do you intend to do to me?” he asked, his voice trembling slightly. “I warn you, I am the Emperor, the Son of Heaven! I can have you executed at any moment.”

Li Changsheng regarded him coldly, showing no intention of answering.

Seeing Li Changsheng’s unwavering composure and realizing they were now alone in the hall, Emperor Li felt a chilling dread creep into his bones. He tried to negotiate.

“Are you saying all this because of Tang Yi? I promise you, I will find a way to save her and compensate her handsomely.”

Li Changsheng looked at Emperor Li, puzzled by his words. “It seems Imperial Father doesn’t even know I have no affection for Tang Yi.”

Emperor Li recalled the moment Li Changsheng had requested to take Tang Yi as his secondary consort. “If you don’t care for her,” he demanded, “why did you insist on making her your consort?”

Li Changsheng leaned in close, meeting Emperor Li’s gaze. “To seize the throne, of course,” he replied.

Under the Emperor’s shocked and bewildered stare, Li Changsheng revealed his true motives, his voice smooth and unhurried. “Without marrying Tang Yi, how could I ensure she keeps my secrets? How else could I leverage her father’s influence to become Crown Prince? I couldn’t kill her—that would expose me. So, for now, I had to compromise and take her as my Secondary Consort.”

“You…” Emperor Li pointed a trembling finger at Li Changsheng, then suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground.

Li Changsheng watched coldly, letting the Emperor fall at his feet without so much as a blink.

“Li Changsheng… I’ll kill you…” Emperor Li struggled, his bloodstained hand clawing desperately at Li Changsheng’s trouser leg.

Li Changsheng shifted his leg a few times, but couldn’t shake off the Emperor’s grip. After failing to break free, he slowly crouched down, his gaze fixed on the dying man.

“You want to kill me now?” he said, his voice hoarse. “But this is only the beginning.”

Emperor Li’s eyes flickered, and the hand clutching Li Changsheng’s ankle trembled slightly. In a raspy, aged voice, he cried out, “Guards! Someone, help me…!”

He called out several times, but no one came. Normally, even the slightest sound from him would send the palace staff into a panic, rushing to his side to inquire about his needs.

But now, whether it was due to his suffering or a sudden realization, tears welled in the corners of Emperor Li’s eyes.

Li Changsheng watched him impassively, showing no concern for his life or death. He continued to speak the words he had longed to say to Emperor Li for years.

Tilting his head, a cruel smile twisted his face, sinister and unsettling.

Emperor Li’s lips moved, but before he could speak, Li Changsheng cut him off. “Imperial Father must hate me deeply, wouldn’t you say? To be hated by you is a kind of recognition, an honor I truly cherish. Do you think yourself righteous? I’m merely repaying you for everything you did to me and my mother.”

Li Changsheng rose to his feet, his mind drifting back to his tragic past.

Born to a palace maid, he had spent his entire childhood in the Cold Palace with his mother consort, never once seeing his imperial father. His greatest longing each day was to catch a glimpse of the valiant and divine father his mother consort spoke of so often.

At last, he saw him. But on that very day, his Mother Consort died. He watched helplessly as she was forced to her death, powerless to intervene.

No one wanted to raise him, leaving him nowhere to go. Eventually, he was taken in by the Empress, who had long remained childless. Yet she treated him poorly. She despised the Emperor and longed to escape, so how could she possibly care for him?

Thus, every day, every hour, every moment, he plotted his escape from this hellish Imperial Palace.

To him, this place was a living hell, a constant torment. Its inhabitants were cold and ruthless, their smiles turning to daggers in an instant.

Li Changsheng loathed the Empress. Her madness terrified him. Yet even as a child, he understood one truth: survival depended on having a powerful backer.

The Empress had taken him in only because she lacked children of her own. But what if she suddenly conceived? To prevent this, she became Li Changsheng’s first target for manipulation.

Even Li Changsheng hadn’t expected to succeed in administering a fertility-destroying drug to the Empress, rendering her permanently barren.

Later, he realized Emperor Li and the Empress might have known all along, each harboring their own ulterior motives. The Empress didn’t want to conceive, and the Emperor didn’t want her to either, fearing the rise of powerful maternal relatives who could threaten his authority. Li Changsheng’s actions had merely played into their hands.

Afterward, he and the Empress formed an alliance, each pursuing their own goals. To secure his position as Crown Prince, he ruthlessly exploited his emotions, orchestrating Tang Suan’s rescue and becoming her savior.

He achieved his goal swiftly. Gradually, he found himself genuinely falling for Tang Suan. Their shared experiences had forged a deep bond, making them kindred spirits united by mutual suffering.

Then Shen Chou appeared, and he found himself drawn to her innocent and kind nature. He immediately recognized that this Shen Chou was no longer the arrogant, domineering woman she once was, yet he chose not to expose her.

“The Emperor fell suddenly ill, bedridden and unable to recover. He soon succumbed to inadequate medical care. Even on his deathbed, he chose to pass the Throne to the Crown Prince,” Li Changsheng slowly recounted the events that were about to unfold to Emperor Li.

Emperor Li, finally realizing what was happening, spat out a mouthful of blood, his veins bulging, his eyes wide as copper bells. He trembled slightly as he rasped, “How dare you?”

Li Changsheng ignored him, glanced at the Emperor, and turned to leave the hall. At his command, palace maids and eunuchs swarmed into the hall like a school of fish.

Standing outside the hall, Li Changsheng gazed at the distant azure sky, devoid of even a wisp of cloud. Next, I must visit the Empress, he thought silently.

When Li Changsheng arrived, the Empress was playing chess with a young palace maid.

Hearing the sound of his approach, the maid hastily rose and stepped aside. Noticing the Empress still holding a chess piece, motionless, she urgently whispered a reminder.

At the sound of her voice, the Empress finally turned to face Li Changsheng.

“How did things go?” she asked.

Li Changsheng bowed. “Mother, rest assured, everything went smoothly.”

“Is that so?” The Empress smiled. “Then I suppose I’ll soon be promoted to Empress Dowager?”

As she spoke, she glanced at the young maid with a smile that nearly frightened the girl to death.

The maid desperately wanted to cover her mistress’s mouth, urging her to stop speaking such reckless words.

After delivering the bound Tang Yi, the men turned and hurried away. Only then did Tang Suan approach Tang Yi.

As the saying goes, familiar faces breed extra animosity. Tang Suan’s gaze burned with hatred, and she longed to kill Tang Yi on the spot.

After sizing her up several times, Tang Suan drew her dagger and slashed at Tang Yi. Standing beside her, she taunted, “How does it feel to be abandoned? Does it hurt?”

Tang Yi stubbornly turned her head away, pretending not to hear.

“Why so quiet? In this situation, shouldn’t you say something? You owe it to yourself.”

At this, Tang Yi finally turned her head, her voice icy. “Tang Suan, don’t forget I wasn’t the only one who wronged you. So why are you fixating on me?”

“Because you’re weak.” Tang Suan had expected Tang Yi to remain silent, but her sharp reply struck like a blow.

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