Cold.
Bone-chilling cold.
The dagger pressed against her throat seemed to be no ordinary iron, but a piece of mysterious ice brought from the deepest hell, carrying a chill that could freeze the soul, instantly solidifying all of Lin Wanwan's blood.
Never before had the shadow of death loomed over her so vividly and unreservedly.
Her heart seemed to stop beating for a moment.
My mind is blank.
It's over.
Only those two words remained in her mind.
She calculated everything meticulously, accurately predicting the patrol routes, the shift changes, and even the lock cylinder structure, but she failed to anticipate...
In this seemingly empty imperial pharmacy, there was actually... another person hiding!
A top-tier...assassin, whose speed was so fast that she couldn't even react?
Who is it?
Were they working for the Empress Dowager? Realizing they'd been exposed, they set up an ambush here, waiting to silence them?
Or was it sent by that mysterious "Regent"?
Countless thoughts flashed through Lin Wanwan's mind like lightning.
Her strong will to survive allowed her to maintain a sliver of clarity amidst extreme fear.
She knew that she absolutely could not scream at this moment.
If she makes any sound and alerts the guards outside, then whoever is in front of her, in order to protect himself, he will immediately and without hesitation slit her throat.
She must stay calm!
You must identify the other party's identity and intentions in the shortest possible time!
"who?"
That deep, slightly hoarse voice rang in her ears once again.
His voice was filled with vigilance and murderous intent.
Lin Wanwan could clearly feel that the man's hand holding the dagger was as steady as a rock, without the slightest tremor. If he wanted, he could easily end her life at any time.
He restrained her tightly from behind, one arm was tied behind her back, and the other hand was gripping her throat, rendering her unable to move.
His skills were terrifying.
Lin Wan-wan was completely suppressed by a powerful, irresistible force. She could even smell a faint, chilly scent emanating from him, mixed with the night wind and dust.
This aura...
For some reason, Lin Wanwan felt a slight sense of familiarity.
In the darkness, the two were locked in a deadly and eerie standoff.
No one dared to make any rash moves.
Lin Wanwan's brain was working at lightning speed.
What should she do? Reveal her identity? Claim she is the Empress?
No, that won't do. The other party's origins are unknown; if they are an enemy, revealing my identity will only hasten my death.
Resistance? Even less likely. Given his skill level, her rudimentary martial arts were no different from a lamb to the slaughter in front of him.
Just as she was frantic, thinking that she was really going to die here today, she suddenly felt that the man who was restraining her behind her seemed to... stiffen very slightly.
The hand that was gripping her throat seemed to have loosened its grip slightly.
Immediately afterwards, she heard the other person's nostrils twitch slightly, almost imperceptibly.
It's like... smelling something.
smell?
Lin Wanwan's heart skipped a beat!
She remembered!
To conceal her whereabouts, she deliberately did not wear any sachet before going out tonight.
But she stayed in Kunning Palace every day, and her body had long been permeated with the "soothing fragrance" unique to that place, made from dozens of rare spices.
It was an extremely subtle, yet unique flavor.
It's a flavor unique to... the Empress of Kunning Palace.
Could it be...?
An absurd, almost impossible idea began to grow wildly in Lin Wanwan's mind!
Just then, a thick, dark cloud finally began to slowly move away.
A sliver of cool, bright moonlight shone obliquely through the small window that Lin Wanwan had pried open.
The faint moonlight, like a sharp sword, instantly cleaved through the thick darkness.
This brief moment of light allowed Lin Wanwan to finally see the face of the person behind her.
She saw it through the reflection of the dagger's smooth, mirror-like blade.
What a face it was.
Sharp, angular features, a straight nose, and tightly pursed thin lips...
And those unfathomable phoenix eyes, which shone like cold stars even in the darkness.
That face...
That face, which she had seen every day for the past month or so, was so familiar to her!
It turned out to be...
It turned out that she, who should have been recuperating in her palace, was now dressed in a sharp black night outfit, just like her...
Emperor Xiao Che!
"boom--!"
Lin Wanwan's mind completely exploded in that instant!
She was completely stunned, frozen in place as if struck by lightning, her eyes filled with extreme, unbelievable shock and astonishment!
It was him?!
How could it be him?!
Wasn't he a sickly man with a weak constitution?! Didn't he get dizzy and weak even when reviewing memorials?!
But now...
Who is this top-tier expert who is so agile, composed, and capable of subduing me in an instant?!
He'd sneak into the Imperial Pharmacy at night too?!
What... what on earth is going on?!
Just as Lin Wanwan's worldview was being turned upside down, Xiao Che, by the light of the moon, clearly recognized her completely.
In his eyes, which were always cold and scrutinizing, a clear trace of the same... astonishment and shock flashed across them.
He seemed completely unprepared for the fact that the "assassin" who had sneaked into the forbidden area in the dead of night was actually the Empress, whom he remembered as someone who only knew how to make pastries, massage shoulders and necks, and occasionally use her cleverness...
The atmosphere instantly became incredibly awkward and eerie.
The dagger pressed against Lin Wanwan's throat was instantly withdrawn as if it had been burned.
The arms that had been restraining her body released their grip in a flash.
Xiao Che took a step back, creating distance between himself and her.
He didn't ask her "How did you get here?" or "What are you doing here?"
He simply gave her a deep, complicated look.
Then, he raised his hand, placed a long, slender index finger in front of his cold, thin lips, and gave her a universally recognized gesture—
The gesture of "shushing".
Lin Wanwan nodded subconsciously, still in a state of great shock and unable to come to her senses.
Her gaze, habitually and uncontrollably, drifted toward that familiar area.
In this eerie, deathly darkness, above Xiao Che's head...
A brand new, incredibly cool emoji pack is slowly emerging.
It was a pixelated figure wearing black sunglasses with a slight upturn at the corners of its mouth.
【Cool.jpg】
Next to the emoji, a line of small, shimmering text appeared in a very flamboyant way.
"She is indeed extraordinary."
"My Empress is quite interesting."
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