Actually, once she accepted the inevitable outcome, there was nothing left to fear.
Now that she was the Imperial Noble Consort and had just given birth to the imperial son and daughter, she was in high favor—no one dared stop her.
When she arrived at Huifeng Hall, eunuchs were already stationed there, with palace ladies and nursemaids present.
Ordinary people could not enter easily. Â
A wu commanded, “I have imperial orders to see the Empress.”
Everyone was surprised and exchanged glances.
A eunuch asked if she had a written imperial command. Â
A wu lifted her chin, her eyes cold as she scanned them.
“What? Do I need a written order just to see the Empress?”
In their hearts, no one dared to defy her.
Everyone knew that this young Imperial Noble Consort was already several months pregnant and rapidly rising.
With the Empress faltering, this Consort was close to stepping onto the phoenix throne herself. Â
Who dared offend her?
Moreover, she said she came under imperial orders…
No one dared to block her and they moved aside.
A wu was not afraid.
She thought clearly: if she survived this ordeal, then the emperor must have tolerated her feigning imperial orders. But if she could not, then death was the only outcome. Â
She straightened her slender back and boldly entered.
Huifeng Hall was no longer the glorious place it once was.
There was a desolate melancholy as if the performance had ended and the crowd dispersed. Â
Yet incense still burned in the bronze censer, its smoke curling and drifting—the same fragrance A wu had smelled the first time she entered Huifeng Hall.
When she saw the Empress, she barely recognized her.
Stripped of her luxurious attire, the Empress looked haggard and gaunt, with faint lines appearing at the corners of her eyes.
Her complexion was pale, her expression blank as she sat on the soft couch, staring ahead like a withered tree, lost in thought.
Sensing movement, she slowly raised her eyes and saw A wu.
The moment she saw her, a sharp hatred flashed in her eyes.
A wu approached, looking down at the Empress with disdain.
She was a resentful person and still remembered that day when Lu Yunjian had carried her, disheveled, into the Empress’s carriage.
Their siblings looked at her with humiliating eyes—not like they were seeing a person, but an object to be used.
Time flew by.
In less than two years, the Empress seemed to have reached a dead end. Â
The Empress sensed A wu’s schadenfreude and said, “You came here just to gloat over my misfortune, didn’t you?”
A wu said, “Yes, I came to see your downfall.”
Tilting her head, she examined the Empress carefully, then said sincerely, “Seeing you looking like you’re about to die makes me quite happy.”
The Empress’s face darkened instantly.
Her gaze slowly swept over A wu’s beautiful face. Â
It was this very face that once intoxicated Lu Yunjian, then confused the Imperial Son, and even dragged a generation of emperors down.
Jealousy, hatred, and all kinds of complicated emotions surged wildly in her eyes.
She stared fiercely at A wu.
“Do you think you’ll have a good ending?”
A wu replied, “I don’t know about my ending, but I know yours.”
Her tone paused, and the Empress instinctively glanced over.
Suddenly, A wu raised her hand and with all her strength slapped the Empress squarely across the face.
The Empress, already weak and gravely ill, was caught off guard and staggered, gasping for breath.
A wu said, “It was you—you couldn’t stand me. So you had Lu Yunjian give me to the Imperial Son, didn’t you?”
Mentioning this, she felt little hatred.
The Imperial Son was better than Lu Yunjian, but following the Imperial Son was when her troubles truly began. Â
She especially hated the feeling of being casually handed over like an object.
Of course, she would never forget that day when she was half undressed.
Thinking of that, she said coldly, “I still remember when you were the Empress, your grand procession and imposing dignity. You were a noble empress. Now you’ve been trampled underfoot. How does it feel? Feels good, doesn’t it?”
The Empress struggled weakly but had no strength.
She gripped the embroidered quilt tightly and stared at A wu. Â
“Do you think that if I’m gone, you can just step onto the phoenix throne?”
A wu replied, “Why can’t I?”
The Empress barely lifted her eyes, full of indescribable malice.
“Don’t you know?”
A wu took a breath.
“What should I know?”
The Empress suddenly sneered.
“Lu Yunjian’s identity is no ordinary one. The emperor hates him with a passion. He will never tolerate him!”
A wu clenched the edge of her sleeve tightly.
The Empress said, “You had relations with Lu Yunjian. Do you think the emperor will let you go?”
A wu’s heart tightened but she stared coldly at the Empress without reaction.
The Empress’s almost exhausted eyes gleamed fiercely.
“The emperor won’t spare you. Once he knows about you and Lu Yunjian, he’ll suspect you and think you have ulterior motives!”
A wu looked at her coldly.
The Empress said, “Do you think he’ll spare you? He is the emperor; he cares about his reputation! And he’s ruthless enough!”
Madness flashed in her eyes.
“You don’t know, do you? For the throne, he killed his own elder brother, the Northern King of Feng, and exterminated his entire family of over two hundred people without mercy. Do you know how ruthless he is?”
A wu said, “I don’t need you to tell me what he’s like.”
The Empress sneered coldly.
“You’re scared. You’re really scared. From the start, you were destined for this end. When the Marquis of Zhen’an’s Manor falls, you will die.”
A wu replied, “So what? If I’m going to die, you’ll die before me.”
The Empress sneered, “Who dies first is uncertain. Yong Tianze must keep me alive to threaten Lu Yunjian, you know? He’ll probably interrogate me soon. When that time comes, what do you think I’ll say?”
Suddenly, A wu took a hairpin and stabbed the Empress. Â
She tried to dodge but there was no time.
A sharp object pierced the Empress’s throat, and blood splattered, dripping onto the embroidered quilt.
The Empress, stunned by the pain, widened her eyes in disbelief as blood gurgled from her throat.
She rasped, “You, you…”
A wu’s dark eyes were unnervingly calm.
“Yong Tianze wants to interrogate you? Fine. Then I’ll kill you. Kill you so you can’t say a word!”
She pulled out a hairpin from her hand, and blood gushed even more.
The Empress stared unwillingly with wide eyes.
A wu said coldly, “I’ve killed many fish before. Killing a person is no different from killing fish!”
The Empress looked at A wu in disbelief.
Her gaze was innocent yet cruel—seemingly naive but terrifyingly shrewd. Â
If she appeared delicate, how could she have this strength at this moment?
The Empress twitched and blood poured from the corners of her lips, her vision blurring.
She had lived a life of wealth and luxury, scheming endlessly.
She knew Emperor Jingxi would never spare her and had thought about how to face him in the end, how to secure one last chance for the Marquis of Zhen’an’s Manor.
But… she never expected to die like this, killed by a fisherwoman who killed fish in the same way…
A wu did not expect the Empress to twitch and cling to life so stubbornly.
She gripped the hairpin, examined it, then stabbed again a few times.
The awkward motions still caused serious injury.
The sound of metal piercing flesh was sharp, but A wu did not care. Â
The Empress stared in despair, full of unwillingness, her eyes bloodshot and bursting.
But in the end, she breathed her last.
A wu looked at the Empress, still with eyes wide open—a pair of dead eyes.
She surveyed for a moment, then suddenly felt fear wash over her, trembling all over.
A bone-chilling cold and terror swept through her—she had killed someone.
The Empress deserved to die, but A wu had never imagined she would kill.
Panic gripped her heart, and her hands began to shake.
She hid the hairpin in her sleeve, hastily pulled the embroidered quilt over the Empress, then calmly walked out and ordered the palace ladies and eunuchs,  “The Empress is asleep and resting. Do not disturb her. If anyone disobeys, they shall die!” Â
The palace ladies and eunuchs were shocked by the chilling aura radiating from the Imperial Noble Consort’s face.
None dared disobey and knelt, acknowledging her command.
A wu hurriedly left and returned to her Langhua Hall.
Once inside her chambers, she nearly collapsed on the spot.
Had the Empress reported to Emperor Jingxi?
Even if she hadn’t, the emperor probably already knew. Â
At least now, the father and son had likely uncovered her involvement with Lu Yunjian.
They must have traced from Lu Yunjian to his arrangements and found out she had been assigned by him to the Imperial Son.
If they continued digging, they would discover even more!
A wu’s heart was filled with anxiety and dread.
She felt certain she would die. Â
At the same time, she thought of her pair of children.
The Crown Prince’s position was out of reach.
She would instead struggle to survive.
Emperor Jingxi cherished those two children—at least they wouldn’t die. Â
Fortunately, she had become pregnant after entering the palace, so Emperor Jingxi would not doubt the children’s bloodline.
He would surely kill her—maybe strangle her and say she fell ill, and then this matter would be buried.
The children would then be raised directly by the Imperial Elder Grandmother.
A wu could almost foresee the future.
Emperor Jingxi would kill her, yet feel reluctant, sad, and melancholic, remembering her fondly.
But none of that would change his heart—he would still kill her!
A man so passionate yet so ruthless!
A wu was utterly drained, collapsing to the floor, bowing her head, covering her face as she sobbed quietly.
The Empress was dead, and she didn’t have many days left either.
She hadn’t gained anything. Â
She really didn’t want to face Emperor Jingxi or be questioned by him.
He would surely rage, withdrawing all past affection and mercilessly killing her.
Perhaps she would die even more miserably than the Empress.
Her pain was suffocating, and she thought maybe she should end it herself.
Reaching for the hairpin, she aimed it at her throat, ready to stab.
But just then, Princess Dening arrived.
Entering, she was startled by the scene.
“You… what are you doing?”
A wu ignored her and tried to stab herself.
Princess Dening rushed forward and snatched the hairpin away.
“You’re crazy! What are you doing?”
Tears streamed down A wu’s face.
She realized that killing the Empress had taken all her courage, but she didn’t have the guts to kill herself. Â
Killing others just required stabbing hard and repeatedly, but killing herself—how painful that would be!
She couldn’t do it! Â
Seeing A wu’s pale, bloodless face, Princess Dening grew even more worried.
“What’s going on? What happened?”