Xue Yunlan clutched her wound, her face etched with disbelief, "Feng Yu… you actually injured me?"
Feng Yu's face was a mask of coldness she had never seen before, devoid of any warmth. It was as chilling as the deep autumn frost, slowly seeping into her body and every bone.
And his words sent a shiver from her head to her heart, "For every wound inflicted on Your Majesty, I will return one."
Xue Yunlan stared in astonishment at the man who had once shared her bed, entwined with her day and night, the closest person to her. Now, he was a stranger she had never known.
Only now did Xue Yunlan understand. Looking at this stranger, she asked, word by word, "Feng Yu, were you with me because Xue Zining ordered you to?"
Feng Yu shook his head. Xue Yunlan's eyes brightened slightly, but his next words plunged her into an abyss, "It was my own will."
"Your own will to fall into my snare of tenderness? Your own will to leave Feng Yin?" she questioned, each word laced with accusation.
Feng Yu looked at her and said, "Yes."
That single word cast her into a bottomless chasm. A腥甜 sensation rose in her chest, and she coughed up a mouthful of blood. She looked at Feng Yu, desperately trying to discern any flicker of change in his expression, but found none. Unable to contain herself, she cried out in anger, "Why? Why are you doing this to me?"
"I apologize," Feng Yu said.
Xue Yunlan threw her head back and laughed, tears streaming down her face. So, from beginning to end, it had all been her wishful thinking. She believed she could conquer Feng Yu, believed he would be devoted to her. How laughable it all was!
Her gaze fell upon the young girl standing there, and the fury in her heart erupted. She pushed Xue Wenjie aside, rose to her feet, drew her long sword, and pointed it at the girl standing so calmly.
"Why? Why are you doing this to me?" she roared, like a cornered beast, her reason completely lost.
Xue Zining looked at the girl who was once so lively and adorable, now standing before her, utterly devoid of her former spirit, like a raving madwoman.
"Speak, speak…" Xue Yunlan shrieked, hysterical.
"Yunlan, I'm sorry," was all Xue Zining could say.
Xue Yunlan faltered, then threw her head back and laughed, tears flowing again. She roared, "Is one apology enough? Xue Zining, you truly have a cunning plan."
Hearing this, Xue Zining raised her eyes and said faintly, "And what about you?"
Xue Yunlan froze.
The girl stared at her coldly, her voice chilling, "You seduced Feng Yin, wasn't it to make him betray me and do your bidding? Since the process is the same, does the outcome matter?"
Xue Yunlan took a step back. Was this what they called lifting a rock only to drop it on one's own feet?
She bit her lower lip and said coldly, "In that case, let's have a fair contest."
"Very well!" the girl agreed without hesitation.
"Your Majesty…" Feng Yu turned to look at the girl, clearly disapproving.
Xue Yunlan's heart turned to ice. Only now did she realize that the past blissful days, the passionate entwining, had merely been an equal measure of deception between her and Feng Yu.
She seduced him; he deceived her.
Good, very good indeed!
"Then die!" Xue Yunlan lunged with her sword towards the girl.
"Yunlan…" Xue Wenjie hadn't expected Xue Yunlan to act so quickly.
But his attempt to intercept was a moment too late.
Xue Yunlan moved like a drawn bowstring, incredibly swift. Feng Yu was about to intervene when a clear, cold voice stopped him, "Feng Yu need not act."
The girl dodged Xue Yunlan's attack, and the two figures clashed. After a few exchanges, Xue Yunlan's heart sank to the depths. She was no match for Xue Zining.
Her clothes were now torn and bloodied. Suddenly, the sword was pointed directly at her chest. If she moved, the blade would pierce her body.
"Yunlan, I don't wish to harm you," the girl said coldly.
Xue Yunlan sneered, her face contorted with rage, "What's the use of saying that now?"
"Yunlan," Xue Wenjie grabbed Xue Yunlan.
"Let go of me…" Xue Yunlan struggled to break free from Xue Wenjie, but his grip was too strong.
Xue Wenjie brought his hand down like a blade towards Xue Yunlan's neck. Xue Yunlan's body went limp, and she collapsed onto the ground.
He looked up at the girl and said coldly, "Xue Zining, don't forget, outside this palace, there are my fifty thousand Xi Ling Pass soldiers."
"Is that so?" the girl raised her eyes, her gaze as clear and placid as water.
For some reason, Xue Wenjie felt an indescribable unease.
"General Gu," he called out sharply towards the outside.
After a long moment, a man in armor entered. He did not bow to Xue Wenjie but slowly lowered his head towards the girl standing there, "Greetings, Your Majesty."
"General Gu, you…" Xue Wenjie was stunned.
The girl slowly walked towards General Gu, removed his helmet, and said faintly, "Feng Wu, welcome home."
Xue Wenjie's eyes fixed on the general whose helmet had been removed. No, where was General Gu? It was Xue Zining, Feng Wu, the leader of Feng Yin.
He took a step back, disbelief etched on his face, "How… how is this possible?"
Where had the plan gone wrong?
The girl looked at him calmly and said slowly, "Because General Gu has long been gone."
"No, I…"
Xue Wenjie looked into the girl's placid eyes and froze. "This was your doing?"
The girl looked at him calmly, her gaze colder than ever. "Xue Wenjie, you probably never knew that General Gu was my Grand Tutor, Gu Yung Ge. You likely never imagined that the Grand Tutor, suffering from an incurable illness, deliberately exposed himself to hand over the Xi Ling Pass token to me."
Xue Wenjie swayed, shock giving way to disbelief. He shook his head, "Impossible, impossible."
The girl's face was filled with sorrow, her voice laced with frost, "What is impossible? The Grand Tutor lost his life for this token."
"Then the token I received was fake?" Xue Wenjie finally understood. Everything, all of it, was orchestrated by this female emperor he had always underestimated.
One step followed another, intricately linked.
"Yes, I placed it under my pillow deliberately." As she spoke, the girl turned her gaze towards the small young boy standing in the corner.
The small boy's eyes flickered.
"Haha…" Xue Wenjie burst into laughter, then sneered at the girl, "After all these years, I have truly underestimated you."
The girl walked towards him step by step, her bearing regal, her beauty delicate and enchanting, exuding an aura of noble coldness, as if she were born a sovereign.
"Xue Wenjie, you have harmed loyal subjects, murdered your brother and sister-in-law, and even committed regicide. Your crimes are heinous, and I will never forgive you," the girl stated, each word chillingly precise.
Xue Wenjie sneered, a fierce killing intent radiating from him. "So what? With you as you are now, you cannot kill me."
Suddenly, he felt his body being pierced. He looked down and saw a sword protruding from his chest.
He slowly turned and saw a pair of eyes, devoid of any emotion.
"Feng Yin cannot assassinate the royal family," he gritted out, forcing the words through his teeth.
Feng Yu looked at him, his expression as indifferent as frost, "Regent, have you forgotten? I am no longer Feng Yin."