Lin Wanwan's chilling words were like a thunderclap, instantly shattering the dark cloud of fear that shrouded the warehouse.
All the female officials who were kneeling on the ground suddenly raised their heads and looked at their Empress in disbelief.
Sending the prince on his way?
Faced with such irrefutable evidence of treason that could have brought the sky to a halt, the Empress showed no fear whatsoever, and instead... uttered such treasonous words.
Their minds were blank.
But Qin Zheng understood Lin Wanwan's meaning in an instant. Looking at her mistress's calm, almost cold profile, the fear in her heart was miraculously replaced by a more intense excitement called "sharing the glory".
This is the master she is willing to follow to the death!
Faced with a shocking conspiracy that could overthrow a dynasty, she is not a pawn, she... is the one wielding the chess pieces!
"Your Majesty, rest assured," Qin Zheng's voice, no longer trembling, was filled with unprecedented determination, "We servants swear to follow Your Majesty to the death and will never divulge a single word!"
"We swear to follow Your Majesty to the death!" The other female officials seemed to be infected by this momentum and followed suit in making the same oath.
Lin Wanwan nodded and handed the heavy bag of "death warrants" to Qin Zheng.
"Keep a close eye on it. Before tonight, anyone who dares to come within three feet of it will be killed without mercy."
"yes!"
...
Night fell once more.
This time, Lin Wanwan stepped into the secret passage leading to the Imperial Study alone once again.
Her steps were steady and firm. In her arms, she carried the brown paper bag that could decide the lives of countless people.
When she pushed open the hidden door to the secret room, Xiao Che was still waiting there.
Unlike last night, tonight he didn't look at the map. Instead, he sat quietly in an ordinary chair, resting with his eyes closed. The entire secret room was lit by only one lamp, its dim light outlining his handsome profile in half light and half shadow.
He seemed to have anticipated her arrival.
Hearing the door open, he slowly opened his eyes.
There was no surprise in those deep eyes, only a bottomless, deathly calm, like the calm before a storm.
"Did you get it?" His voice was soft and hoarse.
Lin Wanwan didn't say anything, but walked up to him and gently placed the bulging brown paper bag on the table in front of him.
This simple action seemed to have exhausted all her strength.
Xiao Che's gaze fell on the paper bag, and he remained silent for a moment.
He didn't open it immediately, but instead looked up at Lin Wanwan and asked, "Was the process smooth?"
Lin Wanwan then succinctly recounted how she had broken into the warehouse under the pretext of "checking the accounts" during the day, and how she had used the Phoenix Seal and her secret guards to swiftly subdue all the guards.
She spoke calmly, as if she were talking about something trivial that had nothing to do with her. But how could Xiao Che not hear the danger and decisiveness in her words?
When she said that she personally led the team to confront those desperate criminals, Xiao Che's hands, which were resting on his knees, clenched tightly.
After Lin Wanwan finished speaking, the entire secret room fell into a long silence once again.
Xiao Che did not comment on her actions, nor did he reprimand her for her risky behavior as she had expected.
He simply gazed at her silently, a ripple finally appearing in the deathly calm of his eyes. It wasn't anger, nor surprise, but a... extremely complex emotion, a mixture of admiration, heartache, and a lingering fear.
He slowly reached out and took her hand, which was slightly cold from nervousness.
His palms were warm and dry, carrying a reassuring power.
"Your hands are so cold," he said, gently stroking the back of her hand with his fingertips, his voice hoarse. "Were you startled?"
A simple sentence caused Lin Wanwan's tense nerves to relax instantly. All her strength and coldness seemed to crumble at that moment.
She shook her head and didn't say anything.
Xiao Che didn't ask any more questions; he simply held her hand even tighter.
"From now on, let the secret guards handle these matters," he said in a low voice. "My empress doesn't need to risk her life personally."
Lin Wanwan felt a warmth in her heart and nodded.
After confirming that she was unharmed and safe, Xiao Che slowly released her hand.
He turned his gaze back to the paper bag on the table containing the devil.
His eyes regained that suppressed calm.
He reached out, unsealed the container, and took out the contents one by one.
The first item was the map of the capital's defenses, covered with vermilion markings.
Xiao Che glanced at it, and a cold, emotionless smile appeared on his lips.
He didn't look at it much before setting it aside.
The second item was the ledger that recorded the details of privately manufactured weapons.
He turned the pages one by one, reading with extreme care. With each page he turned, the chill that gripped him intensified.
When he saw the number of heavy crossbows recorded on the record—enough to arm an army—the temperature in the entire secret chamber seemed to drop several degrees.
He calmly closed the ledger and, likewise, set it aside.
Finally, he picked up the stack of the most deadly letters.
He opened each letter one by one, and read them one by one.
In the sealed room, only the rustling sound of papers turning could be heard.
Lin Wanwan stood quietly to the side, watching him.
She saw that Xiao Che's face showed no anger, shock, or sadness from beginning to end.
He was like an emotionless judge, reviewing files whose fates were already predetermined.
Cold, calm, oppressive.
But Lin Wanwan knew that beneath this extreme calm lay a volcanic killing intent that was already churning and about to erupt!
The deeper he suppresses his emotions, the more terrifying his outburst will be!
Finally, he finished reading all the letters.
He neatly refolded all the evidence and placed it on the table.
Then, he pulled out the most explicit letter from among them, in which he wrote a personal letter agreeing to launch a coordinated attack on the capital on the Emperor's birthday.
He didn't say anything.
He simply held the letter and slowly reached out towards the candlelight of the solitary lamp on the table.
The orange flame licked the edge of the letter and soon ignited it.
The firelight flickered on his face.
He watched silently as the letter, filled with betrayal and conspiracy, curled and turned black little by little in the flames, eventually turning into a handful of powerless ashes.
He remained silent throughout the entire process.
It was as if what he burned was not an irrefutable piece of evidence of treason that would shake the world.
Instead, he was personally burying the last thread of blood ties between him and that royal uncle.
As the letter burned to its last breath, and the last wisp of smoke dissipated into the air, Xiao Che finally slowly raised his head.
Lin Wanwan's heart skipped a beat!
She saw that his eyes were now a shocking, blood-red mass!
That wasn't the red of anger, nor the red of sorrow.
It was a pure, cold color devoid of any human emotion... the color of slaughter!
At that very moment, Lin Wanwan habitually looked at the emoji area above his head.
To her astonishment, she discovered that the cartoon images there were no longer any of the ones she was familiar with.
There's no more silliness, no more吐槽 (tu cao, meaning to criticize or complain), and no more scheming.
It was completely empty there.
Instead, there was a line of large, chilling characters composed of viscous, seemingly still dripping blood—
【You're choosing the path to heaven!】
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