poisonous wine
Her arms and forehead hurt from hitting the window, but luckily the wind blew past and soothed the heat. The jade-white petals fell onto the table. Gillian picked up a withered yellow petal, pinched it into it, and dark juice oozed out.
She looked up at the white flowers on the treetops and sneered.
Flower fertilizer...
Aren't the flowers here made of human blood and bones? Wei Yun had shown mercy and didn't cut them down. At night, smelling the fragrance of the flowers and watching the shadows swaying on the branches, wouldn't she, such a devout believer in gods and Buddhas, feel guilty and afraid?
Perhaps he knew that gods and Buddhas could not touch her, so he let her make the decision, knowing that there are gods above her head, cause and effect, and reincarnation for eternity.
Gillian staggered a little when she got on the horse. At night, she boiled water for a bath. Changqing took off her shoes and socks for her and saw that her knees were bruised. While complaining about her carelessness, he massaged her knees and applied medicine to them.
After turning off the lights and going to bed, the man's head rested on the woman's soft shoulder. His long eyelashes and fair, tender face made Gillian vaguely think of that man.
The same is true for a boy of seventeen or eighteen, except that his gaze is deeper, darker, and endlessly dark.
She then shook off these thoughts in annoyance. The news from the palace had not yet arrived, and the matter of Wei Yun would most likely be suppressed.
Indeed, Wei Qing had made great military achievements and his influence was still there. How could he possibly abandon Wei Yun over such a trivial matter? Liu Che always prioritized personal gain. To him, women were merely the icing on the cake. It didn't matter if there were flowers or not; as long as the brocade robe beneath them was warm and thick, he could tolerate anything.
Having offended him today and taken away Wei Yun's favor, she could consider it a small treat for the Wei family. But it wasn't enough, far from enough. She wanted Wei Yun to fall from that position, and she wanted the entire Wei family to be buried with her...
"Your Majesty, His Majesty has decreed..."
The palace maid reported to A Jiao tremblingly that the woman was sitting in front of the mirror, without any makeup, with long satin-like hair falling vertically to her waist.
Although she lowered her eyes, her pair of light and slender eyebrows and delicate and tall nose bridge all revealed the woman's arrogance and coldness.
"I told you I won't see anyone. Tell him to get lost."
"But……"
Gillian raised her eyes slightly, and the palace maid saw the indifferent eyes in the mirror. She didn't dare to say anything more and ran out in a hurry.
The heavy door opened slightly, and the palace maid shook her head at the people guarding the door. She said to the eunuch outside, "The queen is ill and is currently sleeping. I'm afraid she won't be able to receive the decree."
The person who came was an unfamiliar eunuch. His face could not be seen clearly through the crack in the door, but he seemed very angry at being locked outside.
"How dare you! How can you disobey His Majesty's order? Open the door and receive the order!"
The eunuch led a group of people into Changmen Palace and went straight to the inner hall. Ah Jiao looked at the group of people who came in aggressively and frowned.
"Didn't His Majesty say he wanted to depose the Empress? I've already obeyed his orders and moved out. What else does he want?"
The eunuch sneered, "Your Majesty has decreed that Princess Chen is guilty of moral corruption, practices witchcraft, and defiles the palace. I grant her a cup of poisoned wine and execute her immediately."
As soon as the eunuch said this, everyone was greatly alarmed, with horror and disbelief on their faces. Gillian slowly stood up, her slender figure now exuding the aura of an emperor, especially her eyes, which bore a resemblance to the emperor's.
"You said Liu Che gave me poisoned wine and asked me to commit suicide?"
As if she thought this was too ridiculous, there was a hint of mockery in her arrogant expression.
"Call Liu Che over here. I want to ask him in person if he has the guts and the nerve to force me to commit suicide!"
It can be said that Liu Che's empire was given to him by her Chen family. He dared to ask her to commit suicide. If the Empress Dowager was still alive, she would not have been able to kill even a hundred Wei Zifu, let alone one. She would not have been reduced to the point where she left the harem and was troubled by this villain.
As if knowing what Ah Jiao was thinking, the eunuch said, "I know your Highness doesn't believe me. You still think you're the arrogant queen you once were. But you've forgotten that His Majesty originally married you because of the Grand Empress Dowager. Now that the Grand Empress Dowager has passed away, you're old and faded, and you've secretly met with court officials, practiced witchcraft and curses, and repeatedly offended His Majesty. How can His Majesty still care about the little love you had as husband and wife? The mere fact that you defiled the harem is enough to be executed. Now, this cup of poisoned wine was obtained by the Queen on your behalf. It's already saved your dignity. Please stop acting like a queen and making things difficult for me."
Gillian sneered, "Where did this bitch come from? He's full of foul language, slandering the royal family, and even dares to forge an imperial decree. Come, kill him on the spot."
"Since you disobey the Holy Order, don't blame me for being rude. Capture Princess Pingkang and execute her!"
At Guo An's command, the dozen or so guards he led drew their swords and the two sides engaged in battle. Seeing her guards fall one by one, Ah Jiao gradually realized that something was wrong.
——They weren't the Changle Palace's guards, but Jinwu Guards who had been on the battlefield! Their attacks were ruthless, one man could defeat ten, and ordinary palace guards couldn't withstand them at all.
Seeing the situation was bad, she hurriedly pulled the palace maid to run away. The eunuch saw me and quickly caught up with me with a guard, blocking my way. Ah Jiao was forced to the wall. While watching Guo An approaching, she grabbed the candlestick as tall as a person on the right.
Guo An bowed before her solemnly, "Princess, please obey my command."
The guard behind him stared at her with undisguised murderous intent and cold impatience in his eyes.
Ah Jiao pointed at them and threatened, "This eunuch's master has a grudge against me. If he kills me today, he will be torn to pieces by the emperor tomorrow. It's a life for a life, revenge for revenge. But you have no grudge against me. If you kill me today, he will be innocently executed in the future, and your relatives will be implicated. It is truly an unexpected disaster. Generals, think carefully!"
He suddenly stood up and grabbed her neck, reaching for the poisoned wine. Without giving them time to think, he said, "Your death is His Majesty's decree. How could he change his order overnight? Princess, please drink the imperial wine and avoid suffering."
He poured the poisoned wine down her throat. Gillian struggled and hit his back with the candlestick. The candle rolled to the edge of the curtain and instantly ignited the main hall of Changle Palace.
She got up and called for help, but no one responded.
As she left the main hall, she noticed corpses scattered along the path. The main hall was deserted. She stumbled to the door and found it locked. A sharp pain began to flare up in her stomach, she couldn't tell if it was in her stomach or intestines, but it felt like it was on fire. Through the door, she heard the panicked sounds of the palace servants: someone banging on the door, someone pouring water inside.
She opened her mouth to scream, but suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. The two sycamore trees at the palace gate fell down, and the fire licked the wavy hem of her skirt along the sycamore leaves. There was a burst of flames in front of her eyes... She was unwilling to accept it. She, Chen Ajiao, the most noble woman in the world, died like this.
A breeze blew by, and the shadows of the trees outside the window swayed in the wind, looking like a Nuo witch covered with feathers.
Witchcraft, the mysterious art that once shocked Liu Che...
She laughed mockingly, remembering how they had once danced with the witches outside the palace, plucking the feathers from their fans for her amusement. He said he believed that man could conquer nature, that everything depended on human effort.
But power could actually change a person like this. When he saw her palace puppet again, he was almost furious. For the first time in his life, he looked at her with such violent and cruel eyes, as if he wanted to devour her skin and bones.
She was his wife and the emperor's empress, but she was also his cousin, the elder sister of Liu Che's Azhu.
Since he could sever their love because of this, he could naturally sever the love between husband and wife, and father and son because of this mysterious witchcraft.
She understood Liu Che better than anyone else, better than his mother, his father, and his grandmother. She also knew better than anyone what to do to make him angry.
Throughout history, the love between husband and wife, the deep affection between mother and child, has never been stronger than the ambition to conquer the world...
In the darkness, Huo Changqing turned over, opened his eyes in a daze, and was startled.
"What are you doing?"
The woman, her hair loose, sat beside his bed, stroking a shorter sword carefully. A cold light flashed, and a chill almost emanated from her.
"The sword beside my husband's pillow is quite unique."
"I made this for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. He's been pestering me for my sword lately, wanting to learn swordsmanship from me, and I promised to make him a new one myself. I just got it from the blacksmith shop today. This new sword needs to suppress the evil spirits so it won't harm a child."
"Your Highness, I haven't seen him yet. He should look very similar to Your Majesty..."
Chang Qing yawned. "He looks like His Majesty, but even more like my aunt. He will come to me tomorrow to get the sword, and you will see him then."
Gillian seemed to be lost in thought. She smiled and put the sword back into its sheath. "Tomorrow? My husband made a fine sword. As his cousin-in-law, I must prepare a good gift for him."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
