"Thank you," he said, reaching out to take the Hua Clan's secret蛊 from the phoenix-adorned desk and offering it to Qingyao. She walked towards him slowly, but a troop of elite soldiers behind her cried out, "Marshal, you cannot!"
Mo Chou also blocked her path, "My lady, be careful this man is playing tricks."
Qingyao smiled faintly and reached out to take the secret蛊. Hua Wenbo's face lit up, a glint of excited darkness flashing in his eyes.
This did not escape Qingyao's notice. In the quickest possible time, she swung her sword and severed the jade-like hand holding the secret蛊.
A pained cry echoed in the imperial study. A hand, along with the Hua Clan's secret蛊, fell to the ground. Blood permeated the study.
After Hua Wenbo cried out in pain, he moved swiftly, attacking Qingyao with ferocity. Qingyao took a step back, preparing to counter. Suddenly, someone darted out from behind her, directly intercepting his attack. Their sword, like a dancing snowflake, carried an unstoppable cold radiance, striking directly at Hua Wenbo. Hua Wenbo, missing a hand, was wracked with pain. His face contorted, and beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks. He could no longer withstand Yin Xuan's sharp assault. He staggered back, and his sword pierced his chest.
His face, pale with pain, showed deep eyes like a sea of clouds, making it impossible to discern any color. Yet, his eyes were wide open. Unwillingly, he knelt on the ground, turning to look at Qingyao, "Why did you make me meet you? In this vast sea of people, are you my destiny? Ever since you appeared, you disrupted all my plans. I am not reconciled, truly not reconciled."
Qingyao stepped forward coldly, her commanding gaze fixed on him, "It's not that someone is another's destiny, but that you have committed too many wicked deeds. This is heaven punishing you. If you had shown a little more compassion and given him the antidote back then, all of this would not have happened. Ultimately, your own narrow-mindedness led to your death."
Hua Wenbo gasped for breath, his eyes wide. He struggled, and finally collapsed to the ground with a thud, his eyes wide open in death.
Even so, Qingyao felt no pity for him. Such a man deserved his fate. She turned and commanded sternly to those behind her, "Drag him out and hang his body at the city gate for three days, to commemorate the souls of the departed."
"Yes, Marshal."
Immediately, soldiers carefully approached, dragging Hua Wenbo's corpse out. At the same time, pained cries erupted outside the imperial study. Qingyao raised an eyebrow in surprise. Yin Xuan, standing beside her, spoke coldly, "It's Ji Xue. I have found her."
"Mm," Qingyao nodded, turning to Mo Chou, "That Hua Clan secret蛊 is poisonous. Wrap your hands with something, pick it up, and package it well. Send it to the Hua Clan. It belongs to them. As for the poison, I imagine the Hua Clan people can neutralize it. If not, let them store it."
"Yes, my lady."
Mo Chou took her orders and went to handle the matter. Meanwhile, Qingyao and Yin Xuan turned to leave. The moonlit night was clear. In the vast open space outside the imperial study, Ji Xue was struggling in agony, clutching her chest, convulsing and rolling on the ground. Her hair was disheveled, a tragic sight. Her wails echoed repeatedly in the night.
"Please, give me a swift end, just give me a swift end."
Qingyao didn't know what had happened before her, but seeing her in such pain, and connecting the dots, she deduced that Hua Wenbo must have done something to her.
Why should women make things difficult for women? Although this woman deserved to die, she was different from Hua Wenbo. She was forced by imperial power, growing up in the royal court, always craving imperial authority. As a person faced with death, why make things difficult for her? With that thought, Qingyao drew her sword from a nearby soldier and thrust it directly at the woman in mid-air. The sword landed, piercing her chest. Ji Xue immediately calmed down, her eyes scanning the surroundings before settling on Qingyao's face. She slowly uttered, "Thank you."
Then, her head tilted, and she died.
Thus, Danfeng truly perished. There was no need to slaughter the royal family, as there were hardly any people left. The Empress's children had been completely wiped out by Hua Wenbo. All that remained were some aging concubines. Qingyao ordered that all concubines without children be dispersed and sent home...
Outside the magnificent and solemn Golden Phoenix Hall, Qingyao and Yin Xuan stood side by side, gazing into the night sky together.
"You cured my蛊, why didn't you say so?"
Yin Xuan was taken aback, not expecting her to know. His eyes were deep, and a gentle smile curved his perfectly carved features. "Actually, it was nothing major. It was very simple."
Qingyao was startled. Simple? That man had said that in this world, besides Wuqing, there was also a man who loved her to death. The thought brought a pang of pain to her heart, for herself, for Wuqing, and even more for Yin Xuan. He was a high and mighty emperor, so dominant and fierce, yet he was solely devoted to her. But they had missed each other at the right time. Could they still turn back now? The mere thought of Wuqing created an insurmountable chasm between them. Although she and Wuqing had never discussed anything related to love, in her heart, accepting another man felt like being unfaithful to Wuqing.
Therefore, she could not reciprocate his feelings. This only deepened her guilt. She wished he could remain as unrestrained and dashing as before.
Now, she could only keep certain things to herself. With this thought, she relaxed her entire mood and spoke in a light tone.
"We have finally conquered the Danfeng Kingdom and recovered vast territories. The Emperor has ordered everything here to be reorganized. This place will be Xuan Yue Kingdom's from now on. We must manage it properly. A country may be large, but its ruler's task is even harder."
She spoke from her heart. The larger a country, the harder it was to manage. This was the reason for the rise and fall of empires. With too much territory, there were always places beyond reach, so they would inevitably break apart soon after uniting.
The Danfeng Kingdom was finally breached. Qingyao and her entourage did not stay in the Danfeng royal palace; it was too desolate and filled with resentment.
They resided in the post-house outside Fenglian City. They would not encroach upon any country for a short period. Now, they needed to plan carefully for their next moves.
Inside the post-house, guards were stationed every three steps, and a leader for every five soldiers. Everyone was diligently guarding the surroundings, fully aware of how important their Marshal was. At this time, they knew others might target the Marshal, so they had to protect her safety at all costs.
This guarding duty was flawlessly executed by An Dingfeng, without the slightest error.
Out of the more than a hundred thousand elite soldiers, while a portion resided within the post-house, the rest had set up camp in the dense forest, hidden among the trees.
Three days later, when everyone had rested sufficiently, Qingyao issued an order. All generals were to assemble in the post-house's main hall for a military meeting to discuss potential future actions.