The night breeze was chilly, dispelling the suffocating warmth of the incense in Cixi Palace, but it couldn't dispel the bone-chilling cold that lingered in Lin Wanwan's heart.
On the way back to Kunning Palace from Cining Palace, we remained silent.
Xiao Che held Lin Wanwan's hand tightly, and the firm, burning warmth from his palm gradually warmed her icy limbs. But her uncontrollable, slight trembling never stopped.
This is not acting.
This is a shudder that comes from the depths of one's soul after realizing the ultimate destiny of "fighting to the death".
Upon returning to Kunning Palace, before the palace servants could even step forward to pay their respects, Xiao Che issued his order in an unyielding, icy tone:
"Everyone, step back!"
"Without my decree, no one is to approach the bedchamber even a step!"
"Yes!" Ruolan and the others were startled and dared not be negligent in the slightest. They immediately bowed and accepted the order, dismissed all the eunuchs, and closed the door of the bedchamber heavily from the outside.
"Squeak—"
The heavy palace doors shut out all outside noise and all prying eyes.
Inside the bedchamber, only the flickering candlelight and the emperor and empress remained.
"Wanwan!"
The moment the palace doors closed, Xiao Che immediately turned around nervously, put his hands on Lin Wanwan's shoulders, pulled her into the candlelight, and carefully examined her face.
At this moment, he no longer possessed the imperial majesty he displayed in front of outsiders; his eyes were filled only with the purest, undisguised worry and lingering fear.
"What exactly happened? What did you sense?" he pressed urgently. "Was the wine poisoned? Or was there something wrong with the food? Or... was there an ambush by Mother's side?"
Looking at the anxious look in his eyes and the heart pounding with fear, Lin Wanwan felt as if a warm hand had gently soothed her.
She was still shaken and unable to fully recover from the terrifying image of the final boss, a fight to the death. She shook her head, her lips slightly pale with lingering fear.
She couldn't say what she had seen.
That secret was her biggest trump card, and also the only secret between her and him that could not be spoken.
She could only convey this deadly warning in a more direct way, one that was more in line with his understanding.
"I...I don't know..."
Her voice still trembled uncontrollably, a genuine reaction to surviving a disaster.
“I didn’t see anything, I didn’t hear anything. But… Xiao Che, you have to believe me.”
She raised her head to meet his probing gaze, and said, word by word, with an unwavering certainty and an intuitive tone:
"He wants us dead."
"Tonight, or... in the near future."
"He's...lost his patience."
These words lack evidence and logic; they sound more like the ramblings of someone who has been frightened.
However, after hearing these words, the anxious look on Xiao Che's face slowly, little by little, calmed down.
He did not question or pursue the matter further.
He simply stared quietly at Lin Wanwan's pupils, slightly dilated with fear, and at her pale, paper-white face.
He knew that what she said was true.
He trusted her "intuition" more than anyone else. Because this "intuition" had saved them more than once.
He slowly released her shoulder, turned around, and walked to the window.
The windows of the sleeping quarters face the northwest direction of the palace. From here, one can vaguely see the brightly lit Regent's Palace in the distance, which resembles a lurking behemoth...
Xiao Che's eyes became incredibly deep, and his brain began to work at a cold and rational pace.
He began to review every detail of tonight's family dinner.
Uncle Wang's performance... was too perfect.
So perfect it's almost unreal.
How could a powerful minister, whose control of the Imperial Guards had just been seized by him with ruthless methods, resulting in the loss of countless trusted confidants, possibly "bury the hatchet" in just a few days? How could he possibly "repent"?
This perfection itself is the biggest flaw!
It only proves one thing—
That is, he already has victory in his grasp!
He had already devised an absolute, deadly plan that could kill him instantly! That's why he didn't care about the gains or losses of the Imperial Guards, or about his own probing. He was even happy to see himself "suddenly repent," using this to numb himself and lower his guard!
His performance tonight was not about reconciliation, but rather like a cat's final, elegant, and cruel game before catching a mouse!
Having figured all this out, a bone-chilling cold instantly shot from the soles of Xiao Che's feet straight to the top of his head!
He clenched his fist tightly, his nails digging deep into his palm, causing a sharp pain that brought a sliver of warmth back to his body, which had been chilled by lingering fear.
If it weren't for Wanwan...
If it weren't for Wanwan's unusual outburst tonight, which prompted him to leave immediately...
They are probably already two cold corpses!
This realization caused an overwhelming, uncontrollable killing intent to surge wildly from the depths of Xiao Che's eyes!
"Well done... well done, Xiao Yuan!"
He turned around abruptly, his eyes sharp as knives, his voice filled with boiling killing intent!
"He's... pushing us to the edge of a cliff, wanting to watch us be shattered to pieces!"
"He thinks he's got us cornered?!"
"Since he is not leaving me a way out, then I no longer need to consider any uncle-nephew relationship!"
The atmosphere inside the bedchamber instantly plummeted to freezing point!
The iron-blooded aura of an emperor emanating from Xiao Che erupted without reservation! His eyes were filled with murderous intent, clearly showing that he was truly enraged and prepared to confront the Regent head-on at all costs!
He knew that he wasn't without cards to play.
He has the loyal Dragon Scale Guards, the newly acquired Imperial Guards, Wei Xiao's troops in the northern frontier, and the evidence gathered by Lin Wanwan's intelligence network that is enough to convict the Regent!
If we were to confront the Regent head-on at this moment, mobilizing all our forces to wage a bloody battle within the capital, although it would shake the foundations of the nation and cause immense suffering, we might not be without a chance of victory!
It's better to perish together than to sit and wait for death!
However, just as Xiao Che's killing intent surged and he was preparing to immediately issue orders to mobilize all his trump cards for a decisive battle to the death with the Regent.
A slightly cool hand gently tugged at his sleeve.
Xiao Che was startled and turned around, meeting Lin Wanwan's eyes, which had somehow become completely calm.
Her face was still pale, but the fear and panic in her eyes had vanished. In their place was a light that was almost insane, incredibly bold.
"Xiao Che, don't be impulsive."
Her voice was soft, yet it possessed a power that could soothe the soul.
“A head-on confrontation is the worst possible strategy. That’s exactly what he wants to see.”
"His audacity in being so brazen means that he has already laid a trap for us. All the forces we are mobilizing now are probably within his calculations."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Che's murderous intent slowly subsided, and reason returned to his mind.
He knew that Lin Wanwan was right.
Can……
"Then what should we do?" His voice was slightly hoarse. "Are we just going to sit here and wait to die, waiting for him to put the butcher's knife to our throats?"
This is a dead end.
An imminent, almost unsolvable dilemma of death.
However, Lin Wanwan slowly shook her head.
She released her grip on his sleeve, slowly walked to his side, and stood shoulder to shoulder with him, both gazing out the window at the Regent's Palace, a symbol of endless crisis.
Her eyes gleamed with a wild, daring, almost burning light that Xiao Che had never seen before.
She spoke softly, as if talking to herself, or perhaps asking him a question:
"Since he wants to see us fall into the abyss..."
She paused, then slowly turned her head to look at Xiao Che. A breathtaking, slightly manic smile appeared on her lips.
"Then, why don't we... 'jump' to show him first?"
Xiao Che's pupils suddenly contracted!
He stared in shock at the woman before him who had uttered such outrageous words!
Jump?
How do I jump?!
And in his shocked gaze, he clearly saw the familiar area of emojis above his head.
A massive battle map, representing the entire power structure of the capital, is slowly unfolding.
On the map, the red and blue dots representing them and the Regent's forces are intertwined, indicating a perilous situation.
However, the moment Lin Wanwan uttered those words...
At the very center of that incredibly complex battle map, because of her words, a sudden "boom" rang out, and a light appeared... unprecedented, dazzling, enough to illuminate the entire abyss... a light that broke the deadlock!
(End of Volume 3)
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