Ink Burns

Chapter 268 Shake
Empress Dowager Fang asked in return, and after a moment, the wife of this newly powerful and influential official in the court was stunned and stood there dumbfounded, as if struck by lightning.

On Empress Dowager Fang's soft, white face, a knowing yet equally gentle smile appeared: "Madam Xue, please rest well. Lord Xue is the Emperor's right-hand man, and I will naturally stand by your side."

Shan Yue hurriedly nodded in agreement.

The old woman beside Empress Dowager Fang lifted the curtain, and the two went straight outside.

Shan Yue raised her eyes, and Shui Guang quickly followed Empress Dowager Fang to take her leave.

Shui Guang walked quickly and hurriedly out of Qinghui Palace. After looking around to make sure no one was there, she disappeared into the shadows and pulled out three pieces of paper from her sleeve. These were the ones that Shan Yue had slipped into her palm at the beginning while she was crying.

Shui Guang squinted and, taking advantage of the moonlight, skimmed through the three sheets of paper. After silently reciting them three times to confirm that she had memorized them, she immediately opened the lampshade she had lifted with the bamboo pole, rolled the three sheets of paper into the shape of a cigarette, and held it to the flame.

The flames instantly engulfed the thin paper, while the candlelight flickered before Shan Yue's eyes in the Qinghui Palace.

The green gauze curtains are drawn; the tea has gone cold since the person left, and the silence is so profound that even the sound of the wind is crystal clear.

Shan Yue's gaze shifted from the candlestick and landed precisely on the clivia in the window frame on the right.

At this moment, the branches and leaves of the orchid are swaying and moving in the autumn wind outside the window.

Huang Zhi leaned closer and lowered her voice: "Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is truly kind-hearted, benevolent, and easy-going."

The mountain moon remains silent.

In this cannibalistic harem, could the Sheng family, who survives to the end, be a good person like a clay figure?
Shan Yue shifted her gaze from the orchid branches and leaves.

easy going?

kindly?

If he were truly a naive and innocent person, why would he have hidden in the dark room from the beginning, secretly observing what kind of relationship she had with Shui Guang?
Three pots of orchids were in front of the window. The left and middle pots swayed in the wind, but the rightmost pot remained completely still.

There is a dark room behind the window frame, which is naturally not well ventilated.

The orchid leaves wouldn't move because of the lack of ventilation—Empress Fang initially placed Shui Guang alone behind the beaded curtain to test their relationship.

Shan Yue wasn't sure if Empress Dowager Fang was still observing her, but she would never reveal any of her true feelings in an unfamiliar place.

Shan Yue's voice remained mournful: "If it weren't for the Empress Dowager, how could someone like me have received treatment at the Imperial Hospital? I'd probably be bleeding to death by now! — It's already a miracle that others haven't schemed against me; have they ever shown me any consideration whatsoever?!"

As Shan Yue spoke, she sat up straight, filled with deep resentment and indignation, her eyes brimming with tears as she slowly made her way through the inner room.

My gaze finally settled on the shrine in the southeast corner.

This Buddhist shrine is rather strange.

"Help me up! I was saved by the grace of the Empress Dowager and the protection of Guanyin! Help me up, I want to kowtow and offer incense to the Bodhisattva."

Shan Yue struggled to get up.

Huang Zhi, half persuading and half helping, led Shan Yue to the Buddha shrine.

Shan Yue took incense with both hands, knelt on the prayer mat, and devoutly offered incense, but her peripheral vision fell on the ever-burning lamp in front of the Guanyin statue.

After seeing the painting on the ever-burning lamp clearly, Shan Yue narrowed her eyes slightly, then lowered her head and looked down. Her long but somewhat flat eyelashes were illuminated by the light from the high-hanging oil lamp and projected onto the gilded blue bricks.

Shan Yue's eyes flickered, and in her quiet gaze, the rising doubts were perfectly dissolved in tears of resentment and gratitude.

***
Empress Dowager Fang, ever so benevolent, allowed Shanyue to rest in Qinghui Palace for two or three days. Shanyue complied and only took his leave of Empress Dowager Fang on the morning of the third day, driving back to his residence through the Fangzheng Gate of the Forbidden City.

Within five days of entering the palace, Shan Yue had already made a great harvest: Liu Bozhu was flogged by Consort Qiao; Liu's fake parents, who were planning to monitor Shan Yue while also profiting from her, were also dismissed for their role in helping their second daughter poison her; even the child in her womb that never existed was now out in the open and she no longer had to worry about being used against her.

Of course, there are even greater benefits.

Before the victory is achieved, there is still one hurdle to overcome.

The carriages sent off by the imperial palace were always dispatched by the Imperial Guards' Carriage and Horse Division, which is now under the control of Consort Qiao.

Xue Nanfu was located southeast of the Forbidden City. It was just a left turn after exiting Xizhimen. However, the carriage, after going straight, suddenly changed direction and turned right into Changle Hutong, which was home to the imperial relatives and nobles.

Shan Yue leaned against the carriage wall, lifted the curtain with one finger, and peered through the gap at the increasingly magnificent mansion gate in the alley. Finally, he went straight through a side door that was just big enough for a horse carriage to pass through and entered a splendid mansion.

"Madam Xue, please get off the carriage." An old woman's voice came from outside.

Shan Yue lowered her head and dismounted. Huang Zhi wanted to follow, but was stopped by the old woman: "This young lady shouldn't go, right? Even if Madam Xue goes to see His Highness, it would be an overstepping of the bounds. This young lady should stay here and wait."

Shan Yue lowered her head and answered, "Yes."

The old woman then moved with lightning speed, entering several doors before bowing and announcing her arrival through a screen. A moment later, a woman's hoarse, muffled voice came from inside: "Let her in."

The mountain moon lowered its head and entered.

Just as I stepped across the threshold, I heard a "bang" as the door slammed shut.

Immediately following, "Bang—Spit!", a white-glazed Ru kiln teacup was thrown and shattered at her feet!

The teacup lid wasn't broken. It spun around twice on its side, finally coming to rest at the foot of the mountain moon.

Shan Yue's feet were soaking in that pool of tea.

The tea cooled down completely and soon seeped into my shoes, making them wet, sticky, and uncomfortable.

"It's all my fault." The woman at the head of the table spoke in a voice like tattered silk, tearing and shimmering: "Our Lady Xue just had a miscarriage, and I gave her cold tea to wash her feet. If she gets chilled and her body is injured, she won't be able to have another child. It's all my fault."

As soon as the Grand Princess finished speaking, Shan Yue lowered her head, calmly took a step to the left, stepped over the teapot, and bowed to the Grand Princess Jing'an: "This concubine, Liu, greets Your Highness. May Your Highness be blessed with good fortune and peace."

"The Liu family?"

Jing'an reclined on the chaise longue, a muffled laugh escaping her throat: "You drove the entire Liu family out of the mansion, what kind of Liu family are you now? I never knew you had such a magnanimous heart. You orchestrated this scheme, dragging Empress Dowager Fang and Consort Qiao into it all, killing three birds with one stone, eliminating all trouble—the Liu family moving into the Xue mansion was my decree. How dare you disobey!"

Shan Yue kept her head down the whole time.

She curtsied, and though Jing'an did not rouse her, she calmly and independently straightened up: "I have not framed Liu Bozhu. Liu Bozhu truly intends to replace me. How can I allow another to sleep soundly beside my bed—"

Shan Yue slightly raised her eyelids, her gaze calm: "The Liu family is greedy and insatiable. At first, they were afraid of Xue Xiao's reputation for madness and dared not marry a daughter of the clan, so they chose me to fill the pit. Now that they see Xue Xiao entering the cabinet and becoming prime minister, and his momentum is great, they regret asking me to fill the pit. If they were to stay by my side, given Xue Xiao's vigilance, he would notice something amiss sooner or later. Then my good days would be over. 'Qing Feng' is already in a state of continuous defeat. Once it is fully exposed to him, wouldn't its situation be even worse?"

Shan Yue remained calm throughout: "Everyone should consider their own interests. I don't think there's anything wrong with this action."

Jing'an was taken aback by Shan Yue's consistently aloof and calm demeanor.

In her memory, Liu was always a timid and weak maid who had never spoken much in front of her.

Although she was somewhat beautiful, she was timid and hesitant in her actions. If it weren't for Zhou's fondness for her, she wouldn't have met this girl so many times and given her so much kindness.

Now this girl seems to have changed completely. Her former timid demeanor has vanished, and her words and actions have been replaced by a composed and self-assured manner.

"What about the Imperial Hospital? You're not pregnant, so why would Physician Lin help you lie?" Jing'an slowly sat up, his hands, with prominent veins like a zombie's, pressed against the armrest. "Money can corrupt people's hearts." Shan Yue didn't even blink. "Physician Lin has been honest his whole life, and now that he's taken on a great responsibility, people aren't afraid of a life of hardship, but of rising to power in their later years. Now that he has power, he naturally understands the benefits of money and power. It just so happens that his eldest son is getting married, and he's in dire need of money. Secretly helping the wives of court officials avoids palace intrigues and offending powerful figures, so he's naturally willing to do it."

Jing'an gripped the rosewood armrest for a long time, his spine involuntarily tilting to the left. The old woman next to him tried to help him, but Jing'an just shook his hand, indicating that she didn't need to come forward.

"You were always like this."

After scrutinizing Shan Yue from head to toe, Jing An spoke in a low voice, his bright red lips curving upwards: "Does Madam Zhu know that she herself has chosen a dog that bites?"

Shan Yue smiled, pursing her lips: "Whether it's a dog or a person, as long as it can accomplish things for you and for 'Qing Feng,' isn't that enough?"

Shan Yue stared directly at Jing An: "When nobles have been in power for a long time, they easily forget a principle—how could someone who is qualified to stand before a noble be truly harmless, timid, and cowardly?"

"Your Highness, I rose from a lowly forger to enter the Liu family, marry into the capital, wear silks I never dared to dream of before, and stand before the most honorable person in the world. Your Highness, my journey has not been easy. Liu Bozhu cannot replace me. If I were to say that if you send me one such fool, I would kill one; if you send me two, I would kill both; and I could still escape unscathed after killing them, would you believe me?"

As soon as Shan Yue finished speaking, the old woman behind Jing An immediately reprimanded her sternly: "Insolence! How dare you speak so presumptuously in front of His Highness—"

Before the old woman could finish speaking, Jing'an raised his hand to stop her.

Jing An narrowed his eyes slightly. The thick powder he had applied to make himself look healthy was falling off in a flurry. The sharp light that shone from under his drooping eyelids was like a blazing fire.

"Clap clap-"

Jing'an raised both hands above his nose, laughing and clapping.

The lingering applause echoed on the beams, resonating with her subsequent words.

"Good—very good—excellent—" Jing'an seemed to be in a good mood, having not laughed so heartily in a long time due to the torment of illness: "When I, 'Qingfeng,' was suffering a great calamity, a heroine suddenly appeared out of nowhere! Heaven has not forsaken me. Heaven has not forsaken me!"

Jing'an burst into laughter, the phlegm in his throat seeming to be sucked up by a siphon, his laughter thick and indistinct.

After a moment, Jing'an's laughter gradually subsided.

Jing'an raised his right hand again, as if plucking a non-existent feather from the air.

Before long, a maidservant carrying a tray in both hands walked respectfully and carefully in front of them.

The lacquer tray was covered with a red silk cloth.

Jing'an leaned forward, stretched out his hand, and the back of his hand trembled involuntarily, like the thin wings of a butterfly blown over by the wind.

She sensed Shan Yue's gaze fixed on her hand, and with her left hand she gripped her right wrist tightly. She quickened her pace and suddenly ripped off the red silk cloth on the wooden tray, revealing a gleaming dagger, a long needle, and a tightly sealed blue-and-white porcelain bottle.

"A dagger is sharp enough to pierce flesh in an instant; arsenic is certain death; and a poisoned needle is concealed and easy to strike."

"Madam Xue, as you know, I have never liked people who disobey me."

Jing'an raised the corners of her lips, revealing a cryptic smile. "But today, I find you to be quite right."

"These were originally meant for you. Since you are so capable and ambitious, you should choose one of these items and give it to Xue Xiao when you return home."

Princess Jing'an smiled and said, "Ten days. I'll give you ten days. Within ten days, news of a death must spread in the Xue Nan residence. It will either be yours or Xue Xiao's. If it's Xue Xiao's, after you return to the Liu family as a widow, I will personally arrange for you to become the most honored woman in the Great Wei Dynasty. If it's yours, I will urge the Liu family to give you a grand funeral—Madam Xue, what do you say?"

"Qingfeng" has reached a critical moment of life and death.

Normally, she would never use such a risky tactic, one that could easily lead to her being implicated and implicated.

It's no longer possible to proceed slowly.

The Chang family was defeated, and Xue Xiao took control of the Xishan Camp. The Xishan Camp was responsible for the security of the three prefectures of Beijing, Ji, and Xishan. It was the largest military force in the Beijing area and the last line of defense for the capital under the "Qingfeng" plan.

She still had time.

She thought that even if the Xishan Camp was no longer under the control of the Chang family after years of operation, there must still be members of the Chang family hiding behind the scenes. Who would have thought that once the Chang family fell and Xue Xiao took over, the Chang family's spies in the Xishan Camp were uprooted one after another. In the camp, all officials above the fourth rank who were related to the Chang family were completely eliminated by Xue Xiao in less than a month using various iron-fisted methods!

The military is a place where strength speaks.

Chang Lin, relying on the Chang family's record of achievements, her support, and the tolerance of the imperial power, has only managed to accomplish a little bit over the decades.

I heard that as soon as Xue Xiao entered the Xishan camp, he took off all his official robes and armor, revealing himself in a simple linen outfit, and declared war on everyone: "Soldiers, let's fight with real swords and spears! I'll set up a arena, you come and fight, swords, spears, halberds, horseback riding, archery, anything goes! If you defeat me, I will report to the Emperor, and you will be the captain!"

Once Xue Xiao left, he set up a life-or-death arena.

Before going on stage, both parties signed a life-or-death contract, stipulating that on the stage, life and death were irrelevant, and the fight would continue until the loser admitted defeat.

Of the twenty-eight challengers, one died and twenty-seven were wounded. Xue Xiao was unharmed, and from then on, he was the only one left alive in the Xishan camp.

Chang Lin closed the door and ran his business for decades, only to see it fall apart.

She didn't know whether to curse Chang Lin as a good-for-nothing or praise Xue Xiao, this mad dog, for being too strong. In any case, the current situation was that the Xishan Camp had fallen into disuse, and "Qingfeng" no longer had any protection. If the emperor wanted to eliminate her and "Qingfeng," she would have no other trump cards except for a trace of blood left to support the emperor's ascension to the throne.

The moment has come when she will reveal her true colors.

Xue Xiao must die.

The woman before me, who displayed such a magnanimous heart, was highly suspicious. Although there was no evidence, she was undeniably suspicious—and she had no room for error.

"Madam Xue, why don't you choose one?" Princess Jing'an urged with a light laugh.

Shan Yue's gaze swept back and forth between the three items on the lacquer tray. After a long while, she finally raised her head with an inscrutable expression: "Ten days? To kill Xue Xiao?"

"Ten days." The smile on Princess Jing'an's face remained unchanged.

Shan Yue lowered her head, slightly raised her chin, and stared at the dagger: "I choose this one."

Princess Jing'an's smile deepened: "Then I wish you good luck."

As Shan Yue took her leave, Grand Princess Jing'an watched her departing figure until it completely disappeared. The smile on Jing'an's face vanished as well. She endured for a long time before finally coughing. The violent and continuous coughing made her face turn red, her throat constricted, and her chest and back trembled wildly as she gasped for breath.

"Make arrangements. Arrange for people to be ready."

Jing'an, panting, urgently rebuked!

The old woman behind her hurriedly bent down to help her mistress catch her breath, her brows furrowed with worry and her voice trembling with tears: "Isn't there still ten days? Why don't you wait until ten days later to say it! If you can't kill this Liu woman, it's not too late for you to take the risk! The emperor is afraid that he won't be able to find a way to use you against him!"

"I'm not waiting anymore!"

Jing'an glanced at the remaining long needle and arsenic in the lacquer tray, his eyes flashing with a sinister light: "Even if Liu hasn't betrayed us yet, she must be wavering! Of the three items in the tray, the poisoned needle and arsenic leave no room for retreat once they're used, while the dagger is the only one that could be used unintentionally. Perhaps Liu has already fallen for Xue Xiao, or perhaps she's weighing the pros and cons, but the fact that she chose the dagger shows that she's not entirely resolute in killing Xue Xiao!"

"Grandma, we can't afford to gamble."

"I don't have much time."

"I can't leave this mess to Linniang!"