Quick Transmigration: The Female Supporting Character's Counterattack, A Guide to Cunning Strat

The moment Liu Quan was stopped at the door, he wanted to curse.

After Liu Shuwan went inside and the door was closed, he could no longer see what was happening inside, and all he felt was anxiety.

The Empress Dowager really knows how to cause him trouble. If Consort Chen gets into trouble, even his life wouldn't be enough to pay for it.

Fortunately, on the way here, he secretly instructed the sedan chair to travel slowly and even took a longer route. Given the Emperor's high regard for Consort Chen, they should arrive soon.

Finally, when Liu Quan had circled the door for the 176th time, Li Shangxun strode over.

Liu Quan's heart immediately relaxed. The emperor arrived even faster than he had expected. He hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Empress has been summoned by the Empress Dowager and has been inside for half an hour."

Li Shangxun glanced at him briefly before stepping into the inner room without stopping.

Liu Quan dared not utter a sound and hurriedly followed.

As soon as he entered, he heard the Empress Dowager's angry shout. Liu Quan was immediately jolted, feeling a sense of relief that he had escaped a disaster. Fortunately, the Emperor had arrived, otherwise he would have really lost his life.

When Liu Quan saw Liu Shuwan again, a person who never had to kneel before the Emperor, now kneeling on the ground with a pale face, he felt that he was bound to get a beating today. But it was alright, he had survived, so he might as well let her beat him.

Li Shangxun pulled Liu Shuwan along and carefully examined her from head to toe.

After being pampered in the Qianqing Palace for more than ten days, the person who had a smile on her face before leaving the palace now had no color in her face and her eyes were filled with unease and panic.

He wrapped her in his cloak and held her close, feeling her trembling body. He felt a surge of anger rising within him, but he suppressed it and smiled at the Empress Dowager.

"What mistake did Consort Chen make that angered the Empress Dowager so much that she is to be punished with a cane? Why don't you tell me, Empress Dowager?"

Li Shangxun's voice sounded gentle, but Liu Quan knew that this was a sign of the Emperor's extreme anger. He subconsciously followed Li Shangxun's gaze to look at the Empress Dowager.

Upon seeing the person, I was startled. In just over a month, the Empress Dowager had aged considerably.

The last time I saw him, his once jet-black hair now had several silver strands in the parting, and his smooth face had a few fine lines. He had also lost weight and didn't look as energetic as before.

When the Empress Dowager saw Li Shangxun's gentle smile again, she began to have second thoughts. The last time he smiled like that, she was forced to kneel for three days; the time before that, he smiled like that and killed several of her close maids with a single sword stroke, splattering her with blood...

Seeing it again now, she felt a surge of fear, and the Empress Dowager was at a loss for how to react.

"Hmm? Why isn't Mother saying anything?"

Li Shangxun seemed to be in a fairly good mood and asked again, showing great patience.

Deceived by Li Shangxun's expression, she assumed he didn't value Liu Shuwan's quiet grace. Seeing the Empress Dowager remain silent for a long time, she took it upon herself to speak up: "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager believes that Consort Chen is morally flawed, behaves improperly, and is a bewitching scourge..."

"How dare you! How can a mere palace maid like you interrupt when the Emperor and Empress Dowager are speaking?" Eunuch Liu roared.

Liu Quan knew that the Empress Dowager had recently been showing great favor to a palace maid, and he had heard that this incident was instigated by her. Seeing her words and actions now, he could only think that the Empress Dowager had truly aged, surrounded by all sorts of scoundrels.

After Liu Quan finished speaking, Li Shangxun said quietly, "Mother, is that what you think?"

Without waiting for the Empress Dowager's reply, Li Shangxun continued, "Mother, you have been staying in Cining Palace for many years and are devoted to Buddhism. How could you know these things? You must have been deceived by the villains around you. Mother, you should not keep such villains around."

Jingwan was so frightened that she knelt down with a thud. She finally realized the extent of the Empress Dowager's favoritism and kowtowed repeatedly, begging for mercy: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, save Jingwan. Jingwan knows she was wrong, Your Majesty."

The Empress Dowager didn't say anything more. It was just a funny little thing, and although it was somewhat liked, she didn't really care about it.

Seeing Jingwan being dragged away, the Empress Dowager did nothing, and even seemed pleased with it. Using a lowly maid to quell Li Shangxun's anger was a worthwhile deal.

Li Shangxun, however, felt his clothes being gently tugged by the person in his arms. Remembering Liu Shuwan's personality, he spoke again:

"I almost forgot that the Empress Dowager is so soft-hearted that she is unwilling to kill. Very well, let's spare her life and take her to the imperial prison."

Liu Quan silently complained to himself, "Being dragged to jail is worse than being beaten to death. Sometimes, it's better to die than to be spared from death."

"I observe that the Empress Dowager's illness has almost fully recovered, and she should be able to worship Buddha again. The key to this is to persevere. It is getting late, so I will not disturb the Empress Dowager's enjoyment any longer and will take my leave now."

After saying that, Li Shangxun left with Liu Shuwan, leaving the Empress Dowager behind, filled with fear and anger, repeatedly scolding her as a "wicked child".

After leaving Cining Palace and getting into the sedan chair, Liu Shuwan fell into Li Shangxun's arms again.

Li Shangxun buried his head deeply in her neck, his breath deliberately hitting the small mole on her right ear, watching it tremble and sway, his eyes growing darker, the emotions within almost blatant.

Liu Shuwan was about to struggle to get up when she was stopped by the vulnerability in Li Shangxun's voice:

"Ah Wan, I'm so scared."

“When I heard that you were summoned away by the Empress Dowager, I was really scared. I was afraid that this time, it was too late again. That’s how wet nurses die. The only wet nurse who was kind to me when I was a child was now lying wet and cold on the riverbank, never to wake up again.”

The stiff body of the person in his arms slowly relaxed, and she gently placed her hand on his back, probably to comfort him.

His Ah Wan is always so soft-hearted, making him want to take advantage of her even more.

Li Shangxun tightened his grip on Liu Shuwan's hand again, his lips casually kissing the small mole. Feeling her stiffen again, a blush creeping up her earlobes, he slowly spoke:

“I know, I know she hates me so much because of this broken eyebrow. But it’s one thing for her to dislike me, but why, why does she always want to take away the only people who don’t hate me? First it was my wet nurse, and now it’s you.”

At this point, Li Shangxun paused, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes. He had indeed been too lenient with the Empress Dowager in the past, preventing her from understanding that some people were untouchable.

"And that palace maid, the first time I saw her, I knew why the Empress Dowager favored her. She looks somewhat like my sixth brother. The Empress Dowager once had a daughter, but she unfortunately died young. If she had grown up, she would probably be about the same age as that palace maid."

“Ah Wan, I’m jealous. She can even soften her heart towards people with whom she has no blood relation, but when it comes to me, all she’s left is harshness…”

He was long past the age of jealousy, and he no longer harbored any affection for the Empress Dowager. He spoke these words only to win the favor of the moon in his arms; he'd heard that some things, if said too often, could come true.

"So, Awan will always be with me, right?"

Surprisingly, after saying this, Li Shangxun did not hear Liu Shuwan's affirmative answer, and she even broke free from his embrace.

Li Shangxun restrained himself from pulling the person in front of him back. The sudden separation from the embrace made his heart leave as well, leaving his chest empty and painful. He had to lower his eyes to hide the violence in them.

But the next moment, a warm object touched his forehead and then left. When he looked up again, the bright moon was in his arms, and Liu Shuwan's gentle yet firm voice rang in his ear:

"Yes, I will always be here, always by A-Xun's side."