The punishment of the female imperial court

Chapter 287 Within Reach
"Everyone says that Jade Rakshasa is cold-hearted and heartless, but in my opinion, Lord Jade is the one who likes to act on emotion the most."

Shang Fu chuckled, stood up, and took a gilded incense burner from the display shelf. Inside, sandalwood was burning slowly. He deliberately brought the burner close to the iron chain, and the smoke condensed into fine water droplets on the black iron surface. "We can talk about one topic every day, after all," the ash suddenly fell and shattered into tiny specks on the blue bricks, "there's plenty of time ahead."

"Why not just kill me?" Yu Qiansi looked directly into his eyes.

Only the dead can keep secrets.

But what she knows now is not just Yun Zhongjun's secret.

"Lord Yu, you misunderstand. Whether it's Ya Yin or the Dark Room, I'm doing it all to help you." Shang Fu suddenly leaned down, the scent of sandalwood wafting towards him. "Now that I've trapped you, it's naturally also to help you." His fingertips brushed past Yu Qian Si's ear, creating a soft rustling sound.

Yu Qian Si turned her head away from his touch and sneered, "Then I should thank you?"

“There’s no need to thank me now,” Shang Fu straightened up, his tone ambiguous.

Just as he was about to speak, hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the door. Shang Fu frowned and turned around. The person whispered a few words in his ear, and Yu Qiansi keenly caught the name "Bo Yi".

Her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down, and the corners of her mouth involuntarily curled up slightly.

Her smile was faint, yet it felt particularly irritating to Shang Fu.

"Did you order him to set the fire last night?" He waved for the messenger to leave, and sighed, "No wonder we couldn't find the arsonist last night; he actually went to the Ghost Market for you."

He's no ordinary person; he's willing to take any kind of road.

Yu Qiansi stared at his left hand, which was constantly rubbing the thumb ring: "Sure enough, the reason you didn't let Boyi go to Yunzhong City was because his nose is so sensitive. You were afraid that the scent of the sandalwood wooden table in that small hall would betray you," her smile grew brighter and brighter, "but unfortunately, no amount of sachets can fool his nose."

Shang Fu's expression stiffened slightly, and a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.

Such a large, solid piece of sandalwood table was something that even the palace had never seen before.

It is a symbol of Yun Zhongjun's identity and proof of the omnipotence of the King of the Night.

But it is also his biggest weakness.

Shang Fu slowly turned around, the dark patterns on his robes flowing like ripples in the candlelight.

“Lord Yu,” he looked down at Yu Qian Si, a meaningful smile curving his lips, “you think you’re stalling for time, waiting for reinforcements to come to your rescue, but little do you know, I’m also stalling for time.”

Yu Qiansi frowned, her eyes filled with vigilance.

From the moment she woke up, she was extremely vigilant. She was certain that the tea she tasted and the aroma she smelled were not poisonous.

What is he delaying?
Seeing Shang Fu's increasingly eerie smile, she suddenly felt a pang of fear, only then realizing that her internal energy was converging towards her heart like a receding tide.

“Internal energy is something that’s really hard to disperse.” Shang Fu saw her curled up, bent down and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, twirling it between his fingers. “I can’t break your limbs for now, so I had to ask Yu Qianshan for help. Who would have thought he would be so clever this time, refusing to make that terrible medicine again. And I didn’t really want to cripple you. So I told him that this medicine was to save a bandit with a damaged heart meridian, and he finally agreed. This medicine can draw all the internal energy in your body to protect your heart meridian.”

Yu Qiansi felt her limbs gradually weakening and losing strength. She tried to clench her fists, but she couldn't.

Cold sweat dripped down his face, and the chains on his feet felt incredibly heavy.

His skills were acquired later in life, and he was barely passable.

Unexpectedly, everything vanished overnight.

There was a knock at the door, three long and two short.

Shang Fu turned and took the ebony box handed to him by the servant. The mechanism clicked softly as he opened the box. The black stone necklace he took out gleamed eerily in the candlelight, each stone engraved with intricate runes.

Under the light, the pattern shone with a familiar glow.

Yu Qiansi's pupils contracted sharply, "This bead..."

“If Lord Yu waits patiently for my return,” Shang Fu put on the necklace and hid it inside his outer robe, the black stone around his neck making him look even more eerie against his pale skin, “I will tell you everything you want to know.”

Yu Qian Si collapsed to the ground, closing her eyes and feeling the chill seeping from the stone slab beneath her seep through her thin clothes, piercing her back like countless needles. The rapid beating of her own heart echoed in her ears, exceptionally clear in the empty stone chamber.

She tried to circulate her internal energy, but found that the true energy that she used to be able to control with ease was now like a dried-up stream, exhausted and powerless.

Only a warm feeling gathered in my chest, pulsating slightly with each breath.

That was because the medicine had locked all of his internal energy in his heart meridian.

She would never admit her mistake.

Although the material of the black stone is not visible, the patterns on the beads around Shang Fu's neck are exactly the same as those on the locust wood beads.

Unexpectedly, after years of searching, it came so easily.

Shang Fu knew that even if she lost all her martial arts skills, she would not sit idly by and wait for death, but he deliberately showed her the necklace, so that she would have to choose between the truth and freedom.

Yu Qiansi opened her eyes, a resolute glint in them.

Bo Yi stood before the bluestone steps, his gaze cold and indifferent.

His slender fingers unconsciously caressed the jade pendant at his waist, his knuckles turning white from the force.

What if I'm wrong?
This thought weighed heavily on his chest, making it difficult to breathe.

The mottled wooden door creaked open, revealing that the white veil wrapped around Shang Fu's forehead was soaked with blood, turning a dark red in the twilight.

He stood by the door, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes: "How did Brother Boyi know I moved here?"

His voice carried just the right amount of surprise, as always.

Bo Yi's gaze was like a knife, scrutinizing him from head to toe: "Where is Lord Yu?" His voice was as cold as ice.

Shang Fu's smile froze for a moment.

He remembered that Bo Yi used to be good at maneuvering, so when did he become so direct?

"Isn't Lord Yu in the palace?" Before the words were finished, Boyi had already taken a step closer, his boots crushing the withered leaves on the steps.

“The way the sedan chair is swaying is wrong. You’re not that heavy, but those two palace servants seem to be struggling to lift you.”

This is a statement of affirmation.

Shang Fu's pupils contracted sharply, and just as he was about to speak, a deafening explosion suddenly rang out in the courtyard.

The ground trembled violently, and tiles from the eaves fell and shattered on the bluestone slabs.

Amidst the billowing smoke, someone screamed, "Fire!"

The firelight illuminated Bo Yi's profile, and he strode forward but was stopped by Shang Fu's outstretched arm.

The moment their sleeves brushed against each other, Bo Yi caught a whiff of the familiar sandalwood scent from the other's wrist.

"Your skills are impressive, Shaoqing," Boyi sneered, his whole body radiating murderous intent, the long sword at his waist already drawn three inches from its sheath. "Not going to keep up the act any longer?"

Shang Fu's wide sleeves fluttered, revealing a steel cable hidden on his wrist: "Even the Chief Justice can't trespass on private property, can they?"

Bo Yi wrestled with him, saying, "This is the South City. I'm just like everyone else, a kind-hearted person who came to help put out the fire."

No sooner had Boyi finished speaking than the crowd of people rushing to help put out the fire arrived, even before the people from the fire station.

The sounds of buckets clattering and shouts mingled together. Shang Fu took a half-step back with a grim face, watching Bo Yi dash into the thick smoke like an arrow released from a bow.