Chapter 184 Hell

By the time the carriage arrived at the gate of Princess Yaoyang's residence, it was already completely dark.

The cold wind swirled snowflakes and lashed against the carriage curtains, making a rustling sound.

Li Yuanshu wrapped her fox fur coat tighter around herself, the sense of peace that her mother's promise had brought her was once again disrupted by a strange unease.

When the carriage stopped in front of the princess's residence, the gate was open, and even the guards were nowhere to be seen.

However, she was somewhat absent-minded, her mind preoccupied with the "grand plan" her mother had mentioned, so she didn't notice anything unusual and went straight inside.

The maids following behind her felt that the mansion was somewhat eerie and strange today.

The red lanterns hanging under the eaves swayed gently in the night breeze, but their red light seemed even redder than usual, illuminating the courtyard in a vibrant crimson hue.

Seeing that the princess had not spoken, they could only suppress their fear and silently follow behind.

As Li Yuanshu walked through the corridor toward the main hall, he finally noticed something was amiss.

This princess's residence has more than a hundred servants, in addition to thirty or forty advisors and assassins.

But when she returned to the manor tonight, the steward did not come to greet her as usual.

Moreover, in the vast princess's mansion, not a single person could be seen in sight.

"What happened? Where did everyone go?" Li Yuanshu frowned, his tone slightly displeased.

She was already in a bad mood today, and seeing the neglect from the household only added to her frustration.

The personal maid was also somewhat flustered: "Your Highness, this servant... this servant didn't know either. At this time on ordinary days, the servants would have already been waiting with lanterns."

She looked around nervously and said in a low voice, "And I have a feeling that something is amiss in this mansion tonight."

Li Yuanshu hated this kind of supernatural nonsense the most, and upon hearing it, he couldn't help but scold, "What nonsense are you talking about?! It's just the servants being lazy and shirking their duties, where did all this supernatural talk come from? If you dare to spout nonsense again, watch your tongue!"

The maid turned pale from her scolding and quickly lowered her head, saying, "This servant knows her mistake and will not dare to speak nonsense again. Please forgive me, Princess."

Li Yuanshu took a deep breath, suppressing his agitation, and continued walking towards the main hall while ordering, "Go, call the steward! And Cao Dongyang, tell them to come see me immediately!"

The maidservant quickly replied, "Yes, I'll go right away!"

As she spoke, she turned and ran toward the housekeeper's room, but after only two steps, she tripped over something on the ground and fell to the ground with a thud.

Just as Li Yuanshu was about to reprimand her, he heard the maid suddenly scream, her voice so shrill it sounded like she had seen a ghost.

"Ah—! Blood! It's blood!"

Li Yuanshu's heart tightened, and he quickly walked over, looking down by the light of the lanterns in the connecting corridor.

Where the maid had fallen, dark red blood seeped into the snow. The blood had already partially congealed, leaving a long trail in the snow.

She followed the trail of blood, eventually landing at the entrance of the main hall.

There, a dark stain could be vaguely seen, slowly spreading out from the crack in the door.

The other maids also saw the bloodstains and were immediately terrified, retreating while screaming.

"Ah! Someone's dead! Someone's dead!"

"A ghost! There's a ghost in the mansion!"

Many people were so frightened that they couldn't even stand up and fell directly into the snow.

As the north wind swept through the empty courtyard, Li Yuanshu belatedly realized that a strong stench of blood had already permeated the air.

It's Li Yuanzhao!

She found out!

She knew that she had sent someone to assassinate her!

...

Countless terrifying thoughts exploded in her mind, her teeth began to chatter uncontrollably, and she turned to run away.

But the next moment, with a creak, the two heavy wooden doors of the main hall slowly opened outwards.

The main hall was brightly lit. Li Yuanzhao, dressed in red, leaned lazily against the main seat, his right hand supporting his forehead, his index finger lightly tapping his temple.

At her feet, the princess's steward and advisors lay scattered on the ground, clearly already dead.

Many people still had their eyes open, looking as if they had died with their eyes wide open.

The blood flowed from these corpses, spreading along the cracks in the paving stones all the way to the door, staining the snow in the courtyard red.

On the main beam of the main hall, more than a dozen figures were suspended in mid-air with their hands tied behind their backs by thick ropes.

These people were the remaining assassins who survived the last assassination attempt on Li Yuanzhao.

Their clothes were stained with blood, their heads hung low, and it was unclear whether they were dead or alive, though their bodies would occasionally tremble.

The entire main hall was like hell.

The only one who was still "intact" was Cao Dongyang.

He was bound hand and foot, kneeling in the center of the hall. There were no obvious wounds on his body, but his face was as pale as paper, and his eyes were filled with fear.

Li Yuanzhao looked up at Li Yuanshu at the door, a slow smile spreading across his lips.

"Third sister, why are you back so late? I... have been waiting for you for quite a while."

Upon hearing the sound, Cao Dongyang abruptly looked up at Li Yuanshu.

His mouth was gagged with a strip of cloth, so he couldn't speak. He could only frantically signal with his eyes for Li Yuanshu to run away!

But how could she possibly escape?

Behind her, Ru Mo led dozens of fully armed guards who quickly surrounded her from the shadows, blocking all her escape routes.

Li Yuanshu staggered back a step before barely managing to steady himself.

Looking at the horrific scene in the main hall, at Li Yuanzhao in the main seat, and at the guards surrounding her, she felt as if her blood had frozen.

She wanted to shout, to run, but found that she couldn't move at all. It felt like something was blocking her throat, and she couldn't utter a single word.

He could only watch helplessly as Ru Mo, unable to move, dragged him step by step toward Li Yuanzhao.