Shen Ling was slightly taken aback when she saw Gu Mu's expression.
For some reason, a sudden, inexplicable panic gripped her heart.
She clutched her handkerchief tightly. This panic came so inexplicably that she couldn't even express it, and she could only suppress it.
Then she looked up and gave Gu Mu a polite smile in response.
She saw that Gu Mu still had a furrowed brow, and his eyes were full of pity as he looked at her.
Shen Ling's fingernails dug into her flesh.
The feeling of panic was getting stronger.
Even though her skin was pinched until it bled, she didn't feel anything for a moment.
All I know is that feeling of panic is extremely uncomfortable.
She actually prefers physical pain to alleviate her inner turmoil...
But why did this happen all of a sudden?
Her family is living a good life, with power, wealth, and the emperor's trust. She is the empress, and in the vast harem, the emperor only has her.
She's suffered so much for so long, and finally found happiness. She should... be happy...
Gu Mu saw that Shen Ling's left hand was holding a clean white handkerchief.
In a mere instant, the pristine white handkerchief was stained with mottled blood.
Although Shen Ling was smiling, her eyes revealed panic.
For the first time, Gu Mu felt that the world's malice was not directed at him, but at the female protagonist whom it had been cultivating.
As the saying goes, the deeper the love, the harsher the criticism. This world wants the female protagonist to become stronger, so it keeps giving her more challenges. But it wants her to become stronger so much that it forgets about her feelings...
In her previous life, Shen Ling was born in the sunlight, but was pushed into the endless darkness at the bottom of the valley.
In this life, Gu Mu finally managed to pull her out of the sunlight a little bit.
When the first rays of sunlight fell upon Shen Ling, she thought she had once again found precious happiness.
But the same person who brought her out of the abyss pushed her back down.
But Gu Mu had to do it.
He wants to control the world and make it submit to him; he must eliminate all threats.
"Ling'er, just consider this the rule of the game. You had a nightmare in this game."
Gu Mu turned around with a cold face.
The first order was issued: "Lock down the entire city and find the arsonist."
"Thoroughly search the residence of the Minister of War. Investigate all those who have close ties with the Minister of War or who have any vested interests with him."
At this moment,
Gu Mu trusted only his loyal followers.
Although Eunuch Cheng has always been loyal, even in his memories from his previous life, there was no information about Eunuch Cheng being disloyal.
But, after all, Eunuch Cheng was only human.
Even the minor characters here are more or less influenced by the will of the world.
For example, Gu Mu originally wanted to marry Empress Shen Ling and spend his life with her, but he was forced to kill Shen Ling's family.
There will always be so many unexpected twists and turns in this world.
Therefore, Gu Mu no longer trusts people.
He only trusted emotionless assassins.
"Shadow will lead the team, searching each residence one by one. Eunuch Cheng will assist. Before searching other residences, people will be sent to keep watch. Everything must remain as it is and no one is allowed to move it."
"Those who defy the imperial edict shall be punished for treason!"
"Shadow" is what others call the assassins, because they always follow Gu Mu around and appear and disappear unpredictably, just like a shadow, hence the nickname.
Gu Mu was originally too lazy to name the assassin, but after hearing people talk about it so much, he naturally started calling him Shadow Assassin.
Gu Mu had his back to the others.
The officials, palace maids, and guards behind him could only see his cold, black-robed back as he stood amidst the ruins of a fire.
In front of him lay a charred corpse.
Even just a glimpse of his back, coupled with Gu Mu's identity and the murderous aura emanating from him, not to mention the gloomy atmosphere, was enough to send chills down one's spine.
When they heard Gu Mu's cold words, it was as if they were blown from the northernmost snow-capped mountains, sending a chill down their spines for no reason.
They immediately knelt on the ground and respectfully said, "Yes, Your Majesty."
The people quickly dispersed.
The body on the bed was also taken away.
Gu Mu stepped out of the palace, which had been burned to ruins, and Shen Ling was still standing outside the door.
She clutched the handkerchief tightly in both hands, which was stained with countless mottled bloodstains, but she hadn't noticed.
Gu Mu grabbed her hands.
On her slender and beautiful hands, her fingernails were stained red with blood, and her palms were also covered with large patches of blood.
"Ah!" Shen Ling didn't realize why Gu Mu suddenly grabbed her hand. After seeing the bloodstains on her palm, she finally snapped out of her daze.
"Your Majesty, I... was just lost in thought..."
Shen Ling lowered her eyes and said softly.
"Look up at me," Gu Mu said in a hoarse voice.
Not understanding what he meant, Shen Ling raised her head and stared intently at Gu Mu with her extremely beautiful eyes.
His dark pupils seemed to hold only Gu Mu.
She frowned slightly, and parted her lips slightly: "Your Majesty?"
"I ask you, if either I or your family member must die, and I kill your family member, will you hate me?"
Gu Mu did not hide anything.
He believed that Shen Ling was intelligent and had already guessed what was going on.
Otherwise, how could she, who is usually so composed, lose her composure in front of so many people, not even realizing that she had clenched her fists until they bled?
Therefore, he might as well just ask directly for clarification.
He saw that Shen Ling's eyes trembled, a trace of panic appearing in her usually calm eyes. For the first time, a hint of vulnerability flashed across her usually aloof and distant face.
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