"Don't kill me... I know where the Supreme Emperor is... I'll take you there..."
Li Yuangui, clad in black with his face covered, turned his head toward Wei Shufen as if just noticing her presence. Across the flickering flames and the pervasive aura of bloodshed, their eyes met for a brief moment. Suddenly, the heavy stone lodged in Wei Shufen's throat seemed to drop, and her breathing became easier.
Li Yuangui's eyes weren't particularly large—narrow with slightly upturned corners—very much resembling those of his elder brother, the current Son of Heaven, Li Shimin. His sharp, clear gaze darted about, exuding a reassuring sense of confidence. He knew exactly what he was doing and was fully capable of controlling the situation—at least in that fleeting moment, Wei Shufen was certain of it.
"Lead the way!" a black-clad man roared, his hoarse, furious voice startling Wei Shufen. She turned and hurried down the corridor toward the palace. Chai Yingluo followed, dragging Consort Yin along, while the remaining palace maids were hacked down by the foreign assassins, their screams and wails filling the air as they fled in panic.
Wei Shufen had no idea where she was going, only that she had to keep moving swiftly down the hallway. Before long, imperial guards blocked their path from both ends. She took a deep breath and, with a trembling voice on the verge of tears, pointed toward the rear palace: "The Supreme Emperor is still back there..."
The black-clad men ordered the group to retreat into the garden, hiding among the rocks and foliage. In the chaos, Consort Yin began to wail. Seizing the opportunity, Chai Yingluo bound her hands and gagged her. Wei Shufen hurried over to help, not daring to look at the favored consort's expression.
The attacking assassins still tried to maneuver through the garden toward the rear palace, but the flood of guards made it impossible. Finally, the group signaled for everyone to retreat to the garden's painted wall and climb over. One of the black-clad men, annoyed by Consort Yin's presence, raised his blade to kill her, but Li Yuangui intervened just in time.
Wei Shufen struggled to climb the wall herself, but Chai Yingluo gave her a boost from below, and Li Yuangui caught her arm on the other side, pulling her over. By then, the Great Peace Hall was engulfed in flames, but the area outside the wall was free of guards. The group dashed into the woods, stumbling up the slope until they reached the steep watchtower at the top.
Earlier, Wei Shufen had heard Chai Yingluo and others mention that this small peak beside the Great Peace Hall was called "Emerald Cloud Peak," with a watchtower built atop it to monitor the palace grounds. Since the assassins had chosen to retreat here in desperation, they must have already taken control of the tower and its surroundings. So when she saw the first floor filled with black-clad assassins and the second floor littered with the corpses of Great Peace Palace guards, she wasn't surprised—only unable to bear the sight, closing her eyes in sorrow.
She, Li Yuangui, and Chai Yingluo all had the blood of these innocents on their hands. They could have chosen differently, avoided this night of bloodshed.
A cold snort came from behind a stifled mouth.
Wei Shufen opened her eyes just as Li Yuangui removed the gag from Consort Yin's mouth. The bound middle-aged beauty immediately erupted into a torrent of curses:
"You little wretch! You and that Chai bitch put on quite the show! I don't plan on leaving here alive tonight, but when I die and become a vengeful ghost, I'll make sure your entire family is exterminated—men as thieves, women as whores, your line cut off forever!"
Wei Shufen had never in her life heard such vile, vulgar curses from a market shrew, and for a moment, she was stunned. But Chai Yingluo smoothly fired back with her own stream of insults."You vile, wicked woman! Do you think your three ethereal souls and seven corporeal spirits can escape the Fengdu underworld to harm others? May you suffer eternal heavenly punishment in the realm of rabid dogs, Mengpo's Village, the Flaying Pavilion, and the Pool of Filthy Blood!"
Though the retort was satisfying, Wei Shufen didn't feel any relief. She disliked listening to quarrels, especially since Consort Yin's insults weren't entirely unfounded—from dusk till now, Wei Shufen had been actively and maliciously deceiving and tormenting the mistress of Great Peace Palace through various words and methods. A few curses were hardly unjust.
Participating in tonight's scheme had been her own choice, and she didn't regret bearing all the consequences. But she never liked these tactics, even though she would do her utmost to execute them.
Glancing once more at the corpses strewn across the second floor, Wei Shufen shook her head with a sigh and tugged at Chai Yingluo's sleeve.
"Ying-jie, stop arguing with her—it's exhausting. I want to go up for some air. Come with me."
The watchtower had three levels. The first and second floors were enclosed by rammed earth walls without windows, as dark and stifling as the bottom of a well, now filled with the stench of death. Li Yuangui had also ascended to the second floor with the three women, sitting cross-legged on the wooden planks, his gaze burning into Consort Yin with a heavy heart.
It would be good to temporarily escape the tangled grievances between this "mother and son" pair. Chai Yingluo said nothing, and the two women climbed the tall, steep wooden ladder one after the other, reaching the third-floor observation deck.
Someone was already on the deck—another black-clad assassin, standing at the edge to monitor the situation below. When Wei Shufen's head emerged first, the lookout turned to glance at her, seemingly surprised, then aimed his crossbow at her and barked a question in a foreign tongue.
She, of course, didn’t understand.
But this foreigner likely knew these women were hostages captured by his comrades and wouldn’t harm them lightly. Once on the deck, Wei Shufen immediately raised her hands to show she was unarmed and harmless. Chai Yingluo, climbing up right behind her, mimicked the gesture.
There were no lights on the deck, and the thatched eaves above the central opening blocked much of the starlight and moonlight. The foreign assassin watched them warily for a moment before grumbling and turning back to his surveillance, clearly in a foul mood.
The wind was strong at this height, needling through Wei Shufen's thin frame. It was bitterly cold, but she still walked to the edge, leaned against the railing, and took a few deep breaths, exhaling the foul air from her chest. She felt much clearer-headed.
Looking back at Chai Yingluo, the Taoist priestess sat hugging her knees by the ladder entrance, calm and composed, as if guarding their retreat.
After tonight's charade and reuniting with Chai Yingluo, Wei Shufen felt strangely different. Before, her feelings toward this benefactor who had sheltered her had been mainly gratitude and affectionate reliance. Now, they were mixed with deep awe—perhaps like a soldier about to go to battle, following an undefeated general. Though there was blind confidence, unease was inevitable.
Nearly every detail of their scheme to deceive Consort Yin had been devised by Chai Yingluo alone. Especially the claim that "the Master of the Purple Void Monastery was having an affair with Fourteenth Uncle"—when the priestess first proposed it, Li Yuangui, who was present, had shouted "What?!" and nearly flew into a rage. Though Wei Shufen was also startled and blushed crimson, seeing Li Yuangui's flustered and furious expression, she couldn’t help but laugh.The one laughing the most heartily was actually the "adulterous" woman. This young Female Taoist Priest seemed utterly unconcerned about her reputation, joining Yang Xinzhi in teasing the young uncle with winks and suggestive remarks. Her sheer delight made Wei Shufen suspect she was doing this more for amusement than to save anyone... Of course, that thought was unreasonable—every participant in this conspiracy was risking their lives.
If they could disregard their lives, what did a little damage to their reputations matter? Wei Shufen tried to rationalize the mindset of the "adulterous couple," but she couldn't shake the feeling... that Li Yuangui had only agreed to the plan because he had seen her smile... Was that too narcissistic of her?
As Chai Yingluo continued explaining the next steps—filling all the medicine containers with stinking powder, having Wei Shufen find an opportunity to knock them over, and so on—Wei Shufen listened distractedly. Her gaze occasionally drifted toward Li Yuangui, and almost every time, she caught the young prince silently watching her. Their eyes would meet for a fleeting moment before darting away, as if nothing had happened.
It was just a well-intentioned and necessary lie, she reassured herself. To make the lie convincing, she took the time to vividly imagine the scenario in her mind, surprised to find that she could easily cry over it.
Even though she knew it was fake, that it had never happened, the thought of "Fourteenth Young Master entangled in passion with the High Truth Master" still tore at her heart, bringing forth a flood of tears.
What a fool she was.
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