Miss Handicap (24)

The undulating palace was shrouded by night, and as the breeze drifted, the trees' shadows whirled.

A slender shadow flitted by. She was moving so fast that a palace servant on patrol only saw something flash past his line of sight. He rubbed his eyes and found nothing in front of him.

In the depths of the cold, shattered palace, a man in fine clothes stood with his hands behind him. He looked up at the moon, which was covered by the fog outside the window. He was lost in his thoughts.

The slender figure then entered the palace. She kneeled on one knee and lowered her eyes in respect. "Master."

Without looking back, the man rubbed the thumb ring on his right hand and spoke with little emotion. "She almost got hurt because of you."

A sudden refraction of the bright white moonlight revealed the figure that was kneeling on the ground. It was clearly Lu Yao.

Her face was pale from fear as she restrained the horror that was about to erupt. "I have failed my duty. Please forgive me, Master!"

She closed her eyes and said nothing to defend herself. It was true that Su Kui almost got harmed because of her reservation. 

If she had tried her best earlier, there could have been ten other enemies like Yu Yingying but none of them would have been able to hurt Su Kui. 

With that said, a mistake was a mistake.

Her lips were white from her biting, and Lu Yao waited for Jun Mo's final verdict in silence.

The silence lasted for a long time, long enough for Lu Yao to believe that her heart was going to stop.

Finally, Jun Mo looked back coldly. His eyes were stern, and cruel words escaped his thin lips. "Bring yourself to the torture hall and receive fifty lashes. I'll spare your life today, but if it happens again…" 

'...There will be no need to see me next time.'

Relieved, Lu Yao kowtowed in gratitude. "Thank you for your forgiveness, Master!" Of course, she knew what Jun Mo's unspoken words meant.

However, it was already a blessing that her life was spared tonight. She had witnessed Jun Mo's infatuation, hence she had arrived with the certainty of death. He had made one exception after another for Su Kui, just to protect her despite the risk of showing his hand.

Jun Mo pinched his brows and waved his hand. "Go on. Remember, the moment I send you to her side, you are no longer my subordinate but... her servant!"

Lu Yao shuddered. "Yes!"

Time flew like an arrow.

In the blink of an eye, it was the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

At night, over a hundred officials were invited to the royal banquet. The glazed corridor was filled with red lanterns, while the palace walls were covered in flickering candlelight.

People's hearts were enchanted…

It was also a good day for the preparative concubines to perform, especially those ambitious ones. Being able to perform once in front of the emperor and the officials was a great opportunity to showcase themselves.

Therefore, even before the Mid-Autumn Festival, a group of preparative concubines had been bribing off palace maids and old maidservants, with the latter making a great fortune of it.

All of this just had nothing to do with Su Kui. Not to mention, there was her disability. With her pride, she would never willingly be part of the emperor's harem.

The star of the show tonight was not Su Kui or a bunch of zestful preparative concubines; it was Feng Qingqing.

In the original plot, Feng Qingqing was clad in a dance dress with golden embroidered silk butterflies when she performed an incredibly difficult Jing Hong Long Sleeve Dance routine during the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. She impressed the officials and captivated the emperor.

This time, the plot unfolded as it should without Su Kui's interference.

As the daughter of an official, she was allowed to reunite with her family for a short while.

Lu Yao wheeled Su Kui over to the old madam. Inevitably, the old madam heaved a sigh and kept pointing out that she had become skinny.

Even Feng Zheng, who was seated at the banquet table to the left, glanced at her a few times. Su Kui snickered and returned a smile. When she looked away, she bumped into a pair of cold eyes.

It was him.