They were just about to soften their expression, but then they saw the smirk on the man’s face as his eyes glanced Yin Zhi Shu up and down. They immediately felt that the man’s words were even more unpleasant than if he had said something derogatory.
“How dare you!” a guard shouted angrily.
The man’s eyes flickered, but he simply shook his head, not even bothering to glance over at the guards who outnumbered him dozens of times over, as if to say, “You all are just postering with your master’s authority. I don’t even think you are worth wasting my breath with.” There was an equal amount of arrogance and ridicule in his smile.
Yin Zhi Shu, however, was already smiling— the man’s tone was arrogant and direct, and his accent was mildly stiff, clearly not someone who often speaks the language of Han Chinese. Therefore, if he wasn’t the person he had guessed, then who else would he be?
He pushed aside his guards, stepped forward, and offered a deep bow. “I did not expect the King of Wild Grassland to grace us with your presence. Truly an unexpected honor!”
Helian’s eyes flickered. Only now did he finally spare a glance to look at Yin Zhi Shu. This time, he returned the greeting matter-of-factly, “Zha Delan Yin’erji greets the Regent of Xiliang.”
Before Yin Zhi Shu could offer polite remarks or make polite inquiries, Helian gave a wave of his hand, signaling to his Braves behind him to leave. The two immediately bowed and strode out without hesitation, planting themselves at the entrance of the Flower Goddess Temple. They stood straight, facing the Xiliang guards that outnumbered them a thousand times. The spears and blades were so close that they almost touched their eyelashes. Yet, they didn’t move at all, standing like carved stones.
Yin Zhu Shu’s eyes flashed at the sight.
On the other side, Helian was already speaking bluntly, “Your Highness, I have traveled thousands of miles to get here. Of course, it has been hard. Difficult? Of course, it was that as well. I still need to hurry back to my Wildgrass Land, so no need to waste time making polite talk. Now, I need to speak with you alone. Have you people leave quickly. I don’t like it when it’s noisy.”
Hearing his words, Xiliang’s guards’ faces turned purple with anger. They had never seen anyone this outrageously arrogant!
But Yin Zhi Shu only laughed.
“I have long heard that the Mighty King of Shunyi is bold and heroic, and after meeting you, I am truly impressed.” he chuckled and said with a wave of his hand, “Since Your Majesty dares to meet me alone, how could I, as the host, not dare to meet with Your Majesty alone.”
His guard captain called out in a low voice, “Your Highness!” Yin Zhi Shu’s eyes turned cold, causing the guard captain to bow his head and lead his men away hurriedly.
There was already a rising anger inside of Yin Zhi Shu— the other side only brought two people to force their way into his guard formation. His every command was obeyed instantly, his presence overpowering. Yin Zhi Shu felt that he had already lost the initial momentum. If he continued negotiating while still surrounded by his own guards, then Xiliang would lose face completely.
Only then did a smile appear in Helian’s eyes. Facing Yin Zhi Shu’s questioning gaze, he waved his hand and said bluntly, “Your Highness, I have come today to gift you a favorable wind, to send you soaring straight to the clouds!”
———————
Here at the Flower Goddess Temple, someone came on the wings of the wind to send someone to the clouds. Over here at the Hanyuan Hall, the Empress Dowager had already been sent to the Western Paradise by a three-year-old child.
Inside the palace, Gu Zhi Xiao was still a bit dazed, leaning against Feng Zhi Wei’s shoulder, pointing her hand toward the front, seemingly having no intention of leaving the palace. After the moment of heartache and agitation had passed, Feng Zhi Wei had calmed down by now. With the killing of Empress Dowager Dong, the situation can no longer be salvaged. At this point, the throne had to be seized, whether they wanted to or not. Or else, once Yin Zhi Shu found out, no one would be able to leave Jin City.
Once you kill the first person, then you have to keep killing endlessly— either kill others or be killed.
She took a breath, quickly caught the owl, and put it back in the cage. She still returned the cage to Gu Zhi Xiao to hold. She placed Empress Dowager Dong’s body on the couch, propped it up with a blanket, and supported her arms on a small table on the couch. Her blood-covered face was turned to the side. Seen from a distance, it looked like she was drinking tea. Feng Zhi Wei then tore off the curtains and wiped the bloodstains on the ground, before turning her attention to the nanny.
“Accompany us out. Do whatever I say.” Without wasting a single unnecessary word, she waved the cage in front of the old woman’s face, causing the old woman to tremble and quickly answer with a nod.
“Before leaving here, convey the Empress Dowager’s decree. Say that the palace servants have been neglecting their duties lately, and their gossiping and slandering have become increasingly outrageous, so they should be properly disciplined according to the ancestral laws. All eunuchs, maids, and palace servants of the sixth rank and above in all palaces, except those who are tied up with duties in the front hall, must immediately kneel in front of Jianxi palace to be reprimanded. The rest will receive their reprimand tomorrow after their shift ends, no mistakes will be tolerated.” Feng Zhi Wei listened to the old woman repeat the decree accurately, nodded, flicked a pill into her mouth, and smiled, “Heart Piercing Pill. If you miss a single word, the antidote is gone. If your expression is the slightest off, the antidote is gone too.”
The old woman’s face was ashen as she kept on saying, “This servant would not dare, would not dare.”
Feng Zhi Wei lowered her head and walked out with Zhi Xiao in her arms. As she walked, she raised her voice into a sharp, eunuch-like tone, “Yes, this servant will now take Miss Gu to the front hall.”
Nanny Li accompanied her out. When they reached the doorway, Nanny Li repeated the words as she was instructed. The eunuchs all looked at one another in confusion— kneeling in the palace courtyard to receive reprimands was nothing new, but it had always been punishment for eunuchs who made mistakes in their respective palace halls. There had never been a precedent where all eunuchs of the sixth rank and above must be present to be reprimanded. Besides, nothing big had happened. Could it be that His Majesty had made too big a fuss today and finally angered the Empress Dowager, causing her to want to take action to clean up the back palace a bit?
The Empress Dowager did not specify which palace servants the sixth rank or above were exempt from attending, that meant that all the head servants in charge of each palace and department were required to go. No matter how one thinks about this, this imperial degree seems rather strange. Some people were already speculating whether something might happen to some unknown imperial member.
No matter how they speculated, no one thought to question the authenticity of this imperial edict— it was delivered by the Empress Dowager’s most trusted nanny, while the Empress Dowager was still inside the hall!
No one, no matter how bold or imaginative they might be, could possibly guess that the Empress Dowager Dong was already dead and the person sitting in the hall was merely a corpse. The back palace, at this moment, is without a master.
Feng Zhi Wei used Gu Zhi Xiao’s body to cover her face, and accompanied by Nanny Li, they boarded the palaquin the young emperor had ordered to wait for them. She did not plan to go to the “Cold Palace” (the palace reserved for all the consorts who had fallen out of favor with the emperor) to find Consort Mi. There wasn’t enough time. In any case, she had already diverted the chief eunuchs from their posts. According to human nature, once the supervisory person is gone, the long-oppressed servants beneath will take the opportunity to relax. That would surely apply to those watching Consort Mi as well, so she will leave that task to the hidden shadow guards.
The two eunuchs standing guard at the door looked at Feng Zhi Wei’s departing figure with suspicion, wondering didn’t all the servants already leave? So where did this kid come from? But this was not the time for them to ask questions— they had to hurry to go kneel at the gates of Jianxi Palace and “receive reprimand”.
Now, it’s 7:45.
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