“You dare?”
The Empress waved her hand, and several black-clad figures silently slipped in through the window, standing before her bed, guarding the Empress.
The atmosphere instantly turned grim and deadly; both sides were dressed in black, and the room was a sea of darkness.
Among the black, Xia He was a lone splash of green, her face pale as a sheet and mind heavy with anxiety.
No one knew what she had gone through to end up like this.
Could she have been threatened?
The Empress had the same thought. She gestured to her black-clad subordinates.
“Zheng——”
The blades in the leaders’ hands clashed, producing a metallic clang.
The Empress’s black-clad men surged forward, entangling in a fierce struggle with the black-clad figures claiming to be Jinyiwei.
Xia He was terrified, tears streaming down her face as she desperately retreated to the side.
Suddenly, someone grabbed her collar, yanking her toward the Empress’s bedside.
Xia He nearly jumped out of her skin, but seeing it was the Empress’s own subordinate behind her, she finally let out a sigh of relief.
The black-clad men calling themselves “Jinyiwei” quickly called to their companions,
“Let’s go!” With the hostage gone, it was time to flee.
“Go?”
“You think this Palace… is a place you can come and go as you please?!”
The Empress’s aura shifted; in that instant, she was no longer a sickly beauty plagued by illness, but the cold, distant moon hanging high in the sky.
Xunian watched her, her blood boiling and heart pounding faster.
After all, who wouldn’t want to pluck that distant moon from the sky…
Her heartbeat thundered like a drum, and she couldn’t deny her heart was moved.
She really was too easily swayed.
Xunian secretly sighed—this bizarre world gave her no time to examine her body before throwing her back in for another trial, and now her old habit of falling for beauties at first sight was acting up again.
But this time, she wouldn’t make the same mistake of thinking she was a heartless scoundrel.
Even though she couldn’t yet tell if the Empress was truly the Duke’s Daughter, she was sure there was something fishy going on here.
With a slender hand, the Empress drew a sword from her subordinate, her foot lightly tapping the ground. In the next second, the person who had been sitting up in bed was gone.
“Puchi——”
The sound of a sword piercing flesh rang out, and the scent of blood filled the air.
The Jinyiwei’s eyes widened, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, confusion in his gaze. “You…”
Was their intel wrong?
Weren’t they told the Empress was already gravely ill…
The Empress drew her sword from his body, moonlight shining on her, white robes fluttering behind her, ink-black hair cascading over her shoulders.
Ignoring the blood streaming down the blade, she looked every bit like a fairy descending to the mortal world.
Add in the blood, and she was nothing less than a Goddess of War.
Only at the moment of his death did the man realize—this was the very woman who had once single-handedly defeated all the strongmen in the barracks.
Even sick, she could take his life with ease.
The black figure, losing the sword’s support, slowly collapsed.
As he fell, the rest of his companions were cut down by the Empress’s elite, the air filling with a suffocating stench of blood.
Overcome by exhaustion and the stronger smell of blood so close to the corpse, the Empress leaned aside and coughed into her hand,
“Cough, cough, cough, cough…”
Xunian stepped forward, wanting to pat her back to help, but the Empress turned away to avoid her.
The sorrow in the Empress’s eyes was almost overflowing; looking at Xunian, a hint of pain seemed to struggle beneath her gaze.
Xunian felt burned by that look, awkwardly pulling back her hand, guilt blooming in her heart.
She had misjudged the Empress so many times. The Empress was just gentle by nature—perhaps gentle to everyone, never thinking any differently of her.
The Empress turned away, unwilling to look at Xunian, her long, thick lashes casting shadows on her face, making it impossible to guess her thoughts.
“Everyone, withdraw. Allow this Palace some peace.”
Xunian understood her meaning, and left the Main Hall with the others.
Taking advantage of the candlelight, Xunian quietly memorized the figures of the Empress’s subordinates, recognizing one as the person who had followed her last time.
This guy had claimed to be Cao Noble Consort’s man…
But wasn’t it obvious he worked for the Empress…?
The moment they stepped out, those black-clad figures vanished into the night.
Inside, the Empress knocked on the table, and the black-clad men reappeared at the window.
She looked at the corpse on the floor and ordered,
“Go, find out who he serves.”
“Yes.”
“Continue following Xunian, and report her every move.”
“Yes.”
“The corpses are useless now. Clean them up.”
“Yes.”
The black-clad men carried the bodies out of the Main Hall, wiping away all traces of blood.
With the bloody stench gone, the Empress felt much better and sat on the bed, breathing softly.
She glared with disgust at her trembling hands and flung the sword to the ground.
“Clang——”
The silver blade fell with a crisp sound.
She was becoming more and more like a weakling.
Who knew how long she could hold on.
Before that, she had to take care of all her targets.
Once that was done, there would still be a little time.
If, by then, Xunian could watch the sunrise and sunset with her, it would be enough.
She wouldn’t ask for more. Since Xunian so hated being close to her, she would let her go.
Let her go, huh…
The Empress nearly laughed at her own thought.
When had she become so forgiving?
For the first time, she realized that being smitten with someone could soften even the most resentful soul.
A cold smile curled at her lips.
Before she died, there was no way she would let Xunian go.
If Xunian was unwilling, she would simply use a little trickery to have her willingly sink with her.
If Xunian chose willingly, everything could be discussed.
……
Xunian was questioning Xia He,
“When did you find that corpse?”
Terror had yet to fade from Xia He’s eyes. She nervously tried to recall, and told Xunian,
“It was during the Hour of the Dragon. I pass by there every day, but today, for some reason, I came upon a hanging corpse.”
Xunian pressed, “Was there a scar on the dead person’s face?”
“I think… there was.”
Xia He had been so frightened at the time that she had no chance to look closely at the body.
But that scar had been so obvious, she remembered it clearly.
Xunian’s gaze darkened. It really was that Palace Maid who had framed her for murder.
Most likely, Cao Noble Consort had wanted to take this opportunity to get rid of Xunian—and in doing so, deal with the Empress.
If luck was on her side, she’d get rid of the Empress; if not, Xunian would die. Either way, she didn’t lose.
Otherwise, would the real Jinyiwei dare to barge into the Empress’s room in the Palace, holding her Palace Maid hostage at any time?
They were clearly fake Jinyiwei.
Besides, she had only been in the Palace for a few days and had met very few people.
As for who had taken that handkerchief embroidered with the character “Nian” and slipped it to those people as evidence, the answer was obvious.
It seemed that from beginning to end, Cao Noble Consort had never let her off…
Not since her very first day here.