Chapter 68: Soul-Broken
"Your Majesty, please spare my life. I just woke up and don't know what happened."
Wang Zhiyan's voice was trembling so much that it was almost out of tune. She knelt on the ground, her forehead pressed against the cold tiles.
Jing Siye, who had fallen to the ground, was quickly helped up by the emperor's guards.
The guards called out "Second Prince" several times, but there was no response from Jing Siye.
One of the guards quickly reached out to feel his breath, but as soon as his fingertips touched it, he pulled back as if he had been electrocuted, and his face suddenly changed.
"Your Majesty, the Second Prince..." The guard's voice trembled a little and he didn't dare to continue.
The emperor said in a deep voice: "Speak——"
The guard swallowed and whispered, "The second prince's breathing is weak and he seems to be seriously injured."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Decheng's eyes flashed with a hint of coldness, but his tone remained calm: "The Second Prince is a skilled martial artist. This injury won't kill him. Just stop the bleeding. Now, do your best to find Concubine Chen and bring her back safely."
"Yes, your servant obeys your command." The guards responded in unison and then took quick action.
Emperor Decheng's gaze slowly turned to Wang Zhiyan who was kneeling on the ground, with a bit of scrutiny and coldness in his eyes. He said coldly:
"Also, lock her up. Don't let her go until Concubine Chen is found."
"Yes, I obey your command." The eunuch on the side responded quickly, took a few steps forward, and reached out to pull Wang Zhiyan.
Wang Zhiyan did not dare to resist and could only let the eunuch pull her up from the ground.
Her legs went weak and she secretly glanced at the queen standing beside her, her eyes full of pleading and fear.
The queen glared at her coldly, a sarcastic smile appeared on her lips, and she said inwardly:
"You can't even handle such a small matter, you deserve it!"
Wang Zhiyan knew from her eyes that she could only wish for the best.
She was taken to a small room in a side hall. The door was slammed shut. Then there was the sound of chains. She collapsed on the ground. It was over now. No one in the palace would save her.
The atmosphere in the palace was so solemn that it was almost suffocating. Emperor Decheng stood in place, looking out of the palace with a deep gaze, as if he was thinking about something.
The queen stood aside with a cold expression and a hint of disdain in her eyes.
The guards were busy trying to stop Jing Siye's bleeding. The imperial physician also rushed over and the hall was in chaos.
Emperor Decheng turned a blind eye to all this, his mind was completely focused on finding Concubine Chen.
The palace was almost turned upside down, but there was no sign of Concubine Chen. The only hope was to wait for Jing Siye to wake up and ask him what he saw last.
——
The cold wind was howling in the grove outside the city.
A carriage driving out of the palace slowly stopped, and the wheels rolled over dead branches and leaves, making a slight cracking sound.
Several men dressed as servants jumped off the carriage, opened the cargo box with swift movements, and carried out a pregnant woman in luxurious clothes.
The pregnant woman was Concubine Chen Guifei. Her eyes were closed and she seemed to have lost consciousness.
Several men carried her to the edge of the pit that had been dug long ago, and one of them whispered:
"Are you really going to bury Concubine Chen alive? If the emperor knew about this, he would tear us into pieces."
Another person sneered, "Since the Queen has asked us to do this, we will die if we don't complete the task. Do you think we have any choice?"
"Alas, poor unborn child..." The man who spoke earlier sighed, with a hint of pity in his tone.
As they were talking, several people were about to throw Concubine Chen into the pit. Suddenly, Concubine Chen's eyes suddenly opened and a sharp cold light flashed in her eyes.
Her expression suddenly turned gloomy, like a beast awakening from a deep sleep.
Before the men could react, Concubine Chen had already made her move at lightning speed, moving among them like a ghost.
After a few muffled sounds of "crack" and "bang", the few people who were still alive just now had fallen into the pit. Only one man was left standing there, staring at everything in front of him in amazement.
After a while, the man finally reacted, his legs went limp, and he collapsed to the ground:
"Concubine Chen... Concubine Chen, you... you actually know martial arts?"
"You...you...is your pregnancy all fake?"
The man looked at Concubine Chen, who had just moved as fast as a swallow, and asked stutteringly.
Concubine Chen smiled coldly: "Yes, it is fake."
Hearing this, the man's face turned even paler and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He said in a trembling voice:
"You were clearly drugged, how could you..."
Concubine Chen interrupted him, her tone full of disdain: "You dare to show off your skills in front of me with just a drug?"
Before he could finish his words, the man felt his chin being pinched by a cold hand, and then something like a pill was forced into his mouth.
His eyes widened in horror and he tried desperately to pick the pill out, but it was too late.
"You...what did you give me to eat?" The man's voice was hoarse and his face was as pale as paper.
Concubine Chen said calmly: "It's just the Soul Shattering Powder."
“Soul-shattering powder?” The man trembled all over, his eyes full of fear, “What…what is that?”
Concubine Chen spoke calmly, as if she was talking about something very ordinary:
"It attacks on the 15th of every month. I have the antidote. If you don't take it, you'll die of a broken heart."
The man's face turned pale when he heard this:
"You...how did you get this?"
Concubine Chen's eyes flashed with a hint of coldness: "That's not what you should worry about. What you should worry about is what to do next - whether to live or die."
The man's face turned even paler when he heard this, and he pleaded in a trembling voice:
"Your Majesty, I... I am only following your orders. Please have mercy on me and spare my life!" The man quickly knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly.
Concubine Chen looked down at him with a look of scrutiny and indifference in her eyes:
"You're smart. What's your name?"
The man quickly replied: "My name is Xiao Guizi, and I am the eunuch beside the Queen."
Concubine Chen nodded, with a tone of command and warning:
"Okay, Xiao Guizi, from now on it depends on your performance. If you dare to have second thoughts, you should know the consequences."
Xiao Guizi nodded repeatedly, her voice full of fear and respect:
"Yes, yes! I understand. I understand!"
Concubine Chen said no more and turned to look in the direction of the imperial palace in the distance. The corners of her mouth curled up in an arc that made people's backs chill.
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