Chapter 33

Ling Zhouli struggled to sit up, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, and roared, "You unfilial son! What...what have you done?!"

Ling Zhouling seemed to have just remembered, gently tapping his forehead as if in annoyance: "Oh dear, I forgot to mention? What I presented to Consort Li that night wasn't just an abortifacient... it also contained the Southern Frontier's secret treasure, the 'Soul-Melting Pill'." He admired Ling Zhouli's instantly pale face, slowly adding, "I spent a fortune to buy this from that Young Master Qin, especially... as a tribute to the Consort."

Looking at Ling Zhouli's face, contorted with extreme anger and fear, Ling Zhouling's eyes gleamed with a morbid excitement: "This Soul Fusion Pill, taken alone, is not particularly harmful. However..." He deliberately dragged out his words, his gaze sweeping towards the inner room, each word distinct and clear, "...the most taboo thing is to engage in that...sexual pleasure!"

Ling Zhouli trembled violently, as if struck by lightning!

Ling Zhouling's smile grew even brighter, with a childlike innocence and cruelty: "Once they have intercourse, their yin and yang will combine, and the effects of the medicine will clash. The man and woman who took the medicine... will both die!"

"Pfft—!" Ling Zhouli could no longer hold back and spat out a mouthful of scalding blood, which splattered onto the cold ground, a shocking sight!

Ling Zhouling then feigned concern, quickly walked to Ling Zhouli's side, squatted down, and gently, even with a touch of filial piety, wiped the blood from her father's mouth with a clean white silk handkerchief.

His voice was gentle, as if coaxing a child: "Father, don't worry, I meant well. I specially prepared the antidote, intending to present it to Her Majesty after her miscarriage, and then everything would be fine..." A malicious glint flashed in his eyes, and his tone suddenly turned helpless, "Who would have thought that Your Majesty, who 'loves' Her Majesty so much, would suffer the same fate on this escape... Alas! There's only one antidote in the world, and now, I don't know what to do..."

As he spoke, he slowly and deliberately took a finely embroidered purse from his waist and gently placed it in Ling Zhouli's trembling hands. Then, he gracefully rose, flicked his sleeves, and sat back down at the table as if nothing had happened, and leisurely picked up the cup of coarse tea that had long since gone cold.

"Crack—!"

A sharp, piercing sound of porcelain shattering suddenly came from the inner room.

Ling Zhouli's heart skipped a beat. He couldn't care less about confronting Ling Zhouling. He turned around abruptly and slammed open the half-closed door!

Yao Yanfu stood frozen behind the door, her face ashen, with shattered teacups and spilled water at her feet. When Ling Zhouli burst in, a fleeting look of panic crossed her eyes, but it vanished in an instant, replaced by her usual pitiful expression, as if she were wearing an exquisite mask.

Ling Zhouling leaned against the door frame, coldly watching the couple's almost touching posture, a mocking smile curling at the corner of her lips.

Sure enough, before Ling Zhouli could ask, Yao Yanfu had already rushed into his arms like a startled butterfly, her slender hands tightly clutching his clothes, her small face looking up with tears in her eyes, her voice trembling with just the right amount of dependence: "Your Highness, you are all I have left..." Tears hung on her long eyelashes, teetering on the verge of falling, she was so pitiful that she could melt even the hardest heart.

Ling Zhouling grew tired of looking at it and impatiently straightened up. His gaze swept across the deep twilight outside the window, and he reminded her meaningfully, "It's getting late."

Ling Zhouli ignored him, taking it as a threat from his unfilial son. He suppressed his unease, gently stroked Yao Yanfu's trembling hair, and half-carried, half-supported her back to the dimly lit bedroom. He lowered his voice, reassuring her, "Don't be afraid. That unfilial son is good at spreading alarmist rumors. You can't trust his words or the things he gives you."

He took a deep breath, as if making a decision, and took out an antique-looking, jade-like pendant whistle from his bosom. He solemnly placed it in Yao Yanfu's cold palm and forcefully closed her fingers. "This is my last trump card. It can summon the leader of the hidden guards. Take it and set off for Beijiang immediately. I will settle things here and then go to find him..."

The word "you" hadn't even been uttered when the sound abruptly stopped!

Ling Zhouli's pupils suddenly dilated. He looked down in disbelief. A dagger gleaming with a cold, eerie light was deeply embedded in his chest, its icy blade piercing through his warm flesh.

He stiffly raised his head and met a pair of eyes. Those almond-shaped eyes, which had been filled with tears and looked pitiful not long ago, were now filled with a bone-chilling coldness and resentment, fixed on his face. Where was there any trace of weakness? They were clearly looking at an irreconcilable enemy.

Yao Yanfu parted her red lips slightly, and the words she uttered were as delicate and melodious as they had been back then, but they were filled with a bone-deep hatred: "Ling Zhouli... why did you come to ruin my life?!" She suddenly exerted force on her wrist, and the dagger went in a little deeper, and blood instantly stained her front.

"If you hadn't started your rebellion, I would still be a concubine of the late emperor, living a peaceful life until the new emperor ascended the throne, becoming a noble imperial concubine. If I had given birth to a prince, I would have been the empress dowager, above all others. It was you!" Her voice suddenly rose, sharp and piercing. "You made me a dissolute concubine in the palace, pregnant with your traitor's bastard child. And it was you who brought this to the hands of your good son, afflicting me with this incurable disease. Now there's only one antidote... and I have to live! This is what you owe me!"

The last few words were almost squeezed out between her teeth. Before she finished speaking, she ignored the shattered grief and despair in Ling Zhouli's eyes and used all her strength to push the dagger forward fiercely!

"Uh..." Ling Zhou let out a short, muffled groan. His tall body swayed, filled with endless resentment and disbelief, before he crashed to the ground. Blood quickly seeped out beneath him, like a blooming flower of hell.

Without even glancing at the still convulsing body on the ground, Yao Yanfu swiftly bent down and snatched the blood-stained purse from Ling Zhouli's waist. Her fingers trembled as she almost violently tore it open, took out the only scarlet pill inside, stuffed it into her mouth without hesitation, and swallowed it with a hurried and disheveled motion.

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

A crisp clapping sound rang out abruptly as Ling Zhouling pushed open the door and entered, her face adorned with an undisguised smile of appreciation, as if she had just finished watching a wonderful drama. "Brilliant, truly brilliant! I knew it! Your Majesty is the wisest person in the world who knows how to assess the situation."

Yao Yanfu was still panting, but her eyes had already regained their cold composure. She took out a silk handkerchief and slowly wiped her blood-stained fingers. When she looked up again, there was no trace of her former weakness in her eyes, only naked ambition and a cold command: "Send me back to the palace!"

Ling Zhouling's gaze swept over Ling Zhouli's gradually cooling corpse on the ground, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes, but it vanished in an instant, as quickly as an illusion. He quickly turned his face away, his tone returning to its usual indifferent and distant manner, even carrying a hint of perfunctory regret: "Your Majesty, please forgive me, I still have important matters to attend to and am unable to spare the time. On your journey back to the capital... please take care, Your Majesty. Farewell."

He casually raised his hand. Two obsequious but nimble servants immediately slipped in from outside the door. The two silently lifted Ling Zhouli's body, as if dragging away a piece of discarded junk, and quickly disappeared into the deep twilight outside the door.

Yao Yanfu's gaze inadvertently swept over Ling Zhouli's face, which was frozen in pain and astonishment. Her heart felt as if something had ripped it out, and a sharp, brief pain shot through her.

But in an instant, that wavering was replaced by a deeper chill. She turned expressionlessly to the dressing table, and before the blurry bronze mirror, began to tidy her disheveled hair and the bloodstains on her clothes. Outside the window, the last rays of sunlight had completely faded, leaving only the flickering candlelight inside, illuminating her beautiful but lifeless face in the mirror.

*

Three days later, the imperial carriage set off from the county magistrate's residence. Before departing, the county magistrate, with a fawning smile, led his men in bowing to see them off. Behind them followed several carriages covered with thick cloth, their wheels deeply mired in the mud, clearly indicating they were heavily loaded.

The county magistrate, his belly protruding, stepped forward, intending to say a few more intimate words to the imperial carriage, but saw that the dark curtains had already been drawn tightly shut. He awkwardly fell silent, then approached He Ying, who was standing to the side, with a knowing, ingratiating smile on his face, his voice deliberately lowered but still loud enough for those nearby to hear.

"Lord Heying, the rest... are just some local specialties spontaneously offered by the people of Yunmeng in gratitude for the Emperor's grace. They are very crude and not worth much, but I dare not fail to present them on their behalf!" This was followed by a string of flowery praises, elevating Pei Yun to the status of a savior descended to earth. If Heying hadn't timely raised his hand in a gesture of restraint, the county magistrate could have continued his rambling on and on until the end of time.

Inside the car, because the dosage of the sleeping pills had been reduced over the past few days, or because they were far from the Medicine Valley, Pei Yun felt that she was unable to escape, or perhaps because the effects of the drug needed to be controlled after prolonged use, Xi Xiao finally recovered some strength.

She glanced coldly through the curtain at the "heavy sentiment" and couldn't help but let out a very soft snort.

What local specialties? Underneath that thick cloth, it was clearly gleaming, heavy silver. How could a mere county magistrate have such a fortune? It was nothing more than exploiting the people to the bone, squeezing every last drop of their wealth, and yet he had the audacity to claim it was the people's will. It was utterly ridiculous!

Upon hearing the soft hum, Pei Yun was not annoyed at all; instead, he curled his lips into a smile with amusement. He reached out and, with remarkable ease, picked up a strand of Xi Xiao's hair that had fallen over her shoulder, twirling it between his long, slender fingers, feeling the silky, slightly cool touch as if he were handling a precious object.

He leaned forward slightly, almost touching her, his breath brushing against her temple, their posture as intimate as mandarin ducks entwined.

"The way of being an official," he said in a low voice, with a languid air of worldly wisdom, "is to seek a pure and innocent life in this turbid world, as difficult as ascending to heaven. The world operates, and connections are made, always requiring some 'lubricant.' The price of this 'lubricant' is the power or wealth in one's hands." He ran his fingertips along a strand of hair, his gaze deep and unfathomable. "If you insist on being a white lotus rising from the mud, you are blocking others' paths and cutting off their wealth. Tell me... who will tolerate you?"

Xi Xiao turned her head away, avoiding his approaching breath, her voice hoarse: "So, those corrupt and greedy parasites who prey on the people have become the ones in the right? They've become the heroes who maintain the 'running of the world' you speak of?"

Pei Yun stared at her eyes, which shone with an astonishing brilliance due to anger. Far from being offended, a strange interest flickered in his eyes. This vibrant and prickly appearance was far more interesting than the lifeless puppet she had been a few days ago.

He chuckled softly, with a hint of mockery: "Corrupt officials seek nothing more than to secure their livelihood and consolidate their power. Though their actions are despicable, their intentions... are nothing more than to go with the flow."

Xi Xiao seemed to be spurred on by his twisted logic. She raised her chin slightly, a cold, sarcastic smile playing on her lips, and asked, word by word, "Where did all this 'opportunistic' silver end up? Did it go into public funds? Or did it fill private pockets?"