Knowing her memories are very good, Ling Yue concluded the maid must be working for Consort Luo. Becoming aware of the problem, she quickly masked her vigilance in order to not alarm the foe.
âThank you aunty, here is an appreciation gift from me. I hope you can say some more kind words to her highness in the future when Iâm not around.â At that, she pulls out a piece of gold for the maid. Making sure to wipe something onto the surface when the woman wasnât looking.
As predicted, the greed in the maidâs eye was easy enough to expose. Leaving a few pointless words, the two went their separate ways. The maid returning to the old queen while Ling Yue headed down the path prescribed for her.
âThatâs what you get for offending Consort Luo. There are no rooms for the likes of you in the palace.â Towards Ling Yueâs disappearing backside, the maid viciously spat a mouthful at the floor. Then squeezing the gold in her hand and biting down to make sure itâs authentic, the maid then left to carry out her business of reporting back to Consort Luo.
Unbeknownst to Ling Yue, the palace wing sheâs currently heading for was called the âMorning Flower Wingâ, and it belongs to the queen herself. Ever since the sixth prince went through his drastic personality change years ago, this place has been under constant lockdown. If an intruder were to trespass, only âdeathâ awaits those who dare.
As a newcomer to the palace, Ling Yue naturally wouldnât know any of these hidden secrets.
Back over at the Hundred Phoenix Wing, her highness the dowager was currently lying on the couch with her eyes closed while a maid hands her a cup of freshly brewed tea.
âThis tea?â The fragrant flavor causes the old queen to snap open her eyes in surprise.
âYour highness, these tea leaves and water were brought into the palace by Princess Yue today. According to her words, they are from her hometown and has a special flavor. Since the tea leaves looked nice, I made the decision to accept them.â The old maid currently serving her has been around for many years, therefore she knew very well what the dowagerâs preferences are.
âThe tea is good, and the person is skilled too,â she ponders, her gaze fixated on the floating leaves in the cup.
Compared to the tea inside the palace, this one can only be better and not worse.
âYour highness, then why leave the task of leading Princess Yue to someone like Qiaoyun? That lass belongs to Consort Luo.â The old maid didnât understand why the dowager would do this. Itâs no secret that Consort Luo holds a prejudice look at Princess Yue.
âThe palace is a place of survival. Itâs either you die or they die. As a clever child, Iâm certain nothing would happen to her. Besides, itâs about time someone tamed Consort Luoâs arrogance.â As she says this, the old queen gulps down the last remnant of the tea and returns to her frail appearance.
âYou are saying you personally saw Princess Yue entering the Morning Flower Wing?â Consort Luo asks this while fiddling with a jade ruyi (scepter) on the coach.
âYes your grace, I saw everything clearly, thereâs no doubt about this. However, the dowager seems to have taken a liking to the girl and awarded her with a token for entry. If she dies so suddenly, wouldnât her highness the dowager be upset?â From the part of keeping the young girl for dinner, to the praising words, the maid didnât leave out a single detail.
âThatâs exactly what I want. I need the old woman investigating, otherwise I canât implicate the queen in the matter. Unless that expired bitch is dragged down from the position as the queen, I will never ascend to her post and become the true ruler of the inner palace.â From that enchanting face, Consort Luoâs laugh radiated success for she can already see herself in the phoenix robe reserved solely for the queen.
Just as sheâs enjoying her moment, the servant girl currently kneeling in front of her suddenly released a scream of horror.
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âYour graceâ¦â The maid known as Qiaoyun abruptly falls to the floor and started to roll around. Festering in the flesh, it didnât take long for the girl to dissolve into a puddle of foul blood. What remains now was but the clothes and the two eyeballs still swimming in the fluid. The stench absolutely nauseating to the nose.
âAHHH~!!!â Frightened to the point of turning ghastly pale, Consort Luo couldnât stop her body from trembling in shock.
âYour grace, Qiaoyun sheâ¦â In order to figure out the reasoning for the sudden death, several of the maids went up to investigate. But as soon as they came into contact with the foul fluid, their own bodies also started to fester. In no time at all, they too melted away into nothing but blood and bones due to the contamination.
Thatâs when all hell broke loose in Consort Luoâs residence.
How can all these people just suddenly die like that!
âYour grace, Qiaoyun was poisoned.â One of the more thoughtful maids beside the consort managed to inspect Qiaoyunâs carcass to determine this much, âbut itâs not certain what sort of poison it was.â
âDamn it. Hurry and throw these carcasses out and clean up the mess. Make sure none of this getâs out tonight.â After ingesting a calming pill, Consort Luo then breaths a sigh of relief.
This matter relating to Qiaoyun was far too serious and Consort Luo didnât want to blow it out of proportion. Her suspicion mainly fell upon the dowager and the queen, but never once did she point the arrows at Ling Yue because no one could imagine a fourteen-year-old girl capable of carrying out such a deadly attack.
By now Ling Yue have entered the Morning Flower Wing. According to her internal clock, she figured the poison shouldâve activated by now in front of Consort Luo. Itâs not hard for her to image the woman having a sleepless night tonight.
Indeed, the poison used on Qiaoyun was from her. Ling Yue had intentionally wiped some of her newly concocted poison onto the gold she gave away. By mixing the fire viper egg she bought from the auction house with the ice grass concentrate, the effects are lethal once it comes into contact with the skin. In half an hour, not only will the flesh rot away, even the bones will be corroded, leaving nothing but rotting blood.
I wonât harm others if they donât harm me, but if they scheme against me then I will make sure they are at least a cripple if I donât kill them.
Coldly sneering, Ling Yue made a turn around the corner and entered a dark corridor. In front, thereâs no movement whatsoever.
From the outside things didnât look so big, but after entering, only then did she realize how grand this place was. Compared to the dowagerâs Hundred Phoenix Wing, this strange place wouldnât lose out in any way in terms of size.
Just that, why thereâs no one around in such a huge palace? Itâs like a ghost town here. No guard, no maids, even the trees are withering away. Itâs absolutely lifeless like an entity ready to devour those who comes inside.
âIt canât be, this isnât the âCold Palaceâ right?â A bit depressed at the thought, Ling Yue was ready to turn back whenâ¦
Note: âCold Palaceâ is like the banishment wing for the unfavored consorts of the king. Once in here, these women are usually stuck for life and things usually donât end well for them. Itâs like a fancier version of a prison without the bars.
Poof- Poof- Poof- Poof-
Towards the multiple bursts of whistling sound tearing through the air, all alarms were going off in Ling Yueâs head. Almost instantaneous, she activated her blink shield to block off her vital areas for safe measure.
In coherent with the sniping arrows coming her way, multiple dark figures also dashed out of the shadows. To think there would be so many upper celestial martialists waiting in ambush.
Seeing itâs impossible to avoid anymore, Ling Yue inhales deeply and mobilized all her powers. Activating the Yuan energy in her body to the maximum level, she fires out the dragon needles with a wave. Under the disguising darkness of the corridor, only sparks of metallic light and impacting sound of the arrows gave proof to their fight.