"Who are you?" Xingxing asked coldly.

"This servant...this servant is just an ordinary palace maid, doing cleaning and sweeping outside. This servant doesn't know what happened. Your Majesty, please spare my life!" The palace maid pleaded pitifully, her voice trembling with tears, her whole body prostrate on the ground, though her eyes were actually dry.

"You won't shed tears until you see the coffin." Zhu Lin stepped forward, pressed down on the palace maid, and reached out to peel off her face. The palace maid instinctively tried to block him, but how could she stop Zhu Lin's actions?

The next moment, their mask was peeled off, revealing their true colors.

"Yokoyama Chiyo? When did you sneak into the palace?" Hoshino was taken aback, then shouted, "Guards! There's an assassin!"

Before the emperor finished speaking, a group of eunuchs rushed in and surrounded Yokoyama Chiyo, while the guards on the roof beams did not appear.

"I'm only giving you one chance. Tell me, what is your purpose in coming to the palace?" Xingxing asked sternly.

Looking at the incomparably noble woman at the head of the table, Yokoyama Chiyo felt a moment of disorientation. She had once dreamed of becoming the most noble empress in the world, ruling over everything, but those were just fantasies. She was nothing at all.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. I don't want to do anything. I just have something to ask of Your Majesty." Yokoyama Chiyo heard her own calm voice echo in the hall.

"You, a female Japanese pirate, come to the palace to beg me, and you even disguised yourself as a palace maid to sneak in. Do you think I will believe your words? You clearly have ulterior motives. No matter how you look at it, you are here to assassinate me." Xingxing sneered in a deep voice.

"No, I really didn't come to assassinate anyone. Your Majesty, I really have something I want to ask of you..." Yokoyama Chiyo revealed all her thoughts to Hoshino.

Originally, she wanted Xingxing to send troops to help her attack Dongyang so that she could become the Queen of Dongyang. After she took the throne, Dongyang would become a vassal state of Dajin. She was willing to be a subject of Dajin, pay generous tribute to Dajin every year, and help find silver mines. She was willing to do anything as long as she could become the Queen of Dongyang.

Xingxing laughed in anger, "You wish! You want the Great Jin to attack the Eastern Ocean for you and help you become the King of the Eastern Ocean? This is clearly a deal where you profit at my expense. I must have lost my mind to agree to this."

"Don't you even consider how many evil deeds you've committed? Back in Anyang Prefecture, you captured thousands of people to work for you. Not only did you order Yokoyama Ichiro to massacre the fishing village, but you also severed the tendons in the hands and feet of the captured young men. Now, those young men have to use crutches to walk. You've caused the deaths of countless citizens of the Great Jin Dynasty. Your crimes are heinous, how could I possibly forgive you? Yet you still dare to dream that I will help you—that's just wishful thinking."

"But...but I'm willing to be your loyal subject, won't you even consider it?" Yokoyama Chiyo was still struggling. In fact, she already knew in her heart that she had made another mistake. She shouldn't have come to the palace, hoping that the emperor would help her according to her ideas. She should have hidden far away and found a place where no one knew her to live a life of hiding.

Ultimately, she couldn't accept defeat and gained the upper hand. By the time she realized what was happening, she had already infiltrated the palace and was captured. Was this truly the end for her?