Chapter 477

She did not mention how her younger brother was doing, but Jiang Xinyue could tell from her shattered gaze that he must have been tortured terribly and had lost his life.

That was why the Southern Court Prince had promised to kill the Eastern Court Prince to avenge her brother.

“He won’t avenge your brother.”

Jiang Xinyue expressed sympathy for her plight, but no matter how tragic her life had been, being deceived by a scoundrel was no justification for harming innocent people.

Especially when those innocent people were her children!

Jiang Xinyue shattered her illusions and coldly revealed the truth: “The Jin Kingdom’s emperor has committed such disgraceful acts that the kingdom’s credibility among the nations is now nonexistent. The emperor has been forced by his ministers to abdicate in favor of the Southern Court Prince, who married your Jin Kingdom’s Holy Maiden at the beginning of this month. He will soon ascend the throne, and the Eastern Court Prince was the first to support him. They are now as close as family. Do you think… he will avenge you?”

No, he wouldn’t!

She knew her teacher well—he was someone who treated wealth as dirt and was content with just two taels of fine wine a day.

But all of that was a lie!

The Southern Court Prince of the Jin Kingdom—she had never truly known him, so how could she claim to understand him?

Why had he deceived her?

Wuma Jianli’s hands clenched tightly, crumpling the portrait in her grip. “Ha! Good! Very good indeed!”

She had been deceived into willingly serving as his spy in Great Yan, passing on accurate information and deliberately misleading the Jin Kingdom’s emperor, only for him to abandon their vows of eternal love and grow old with another woman.

Suddenly, as if struck by a realization, tears the size of beans fell from her eyes. “What did you just say? The Holy Maiden and the Southern Court Prince married at the beginning of this month?”

Jiang Xinyue didn’t understand why she reacted so strongly but nodded nonetheless.

“Hahahaha…”

No wonder… no wonder…

No wonder he had given such an order, commanding her to find a way to kill all of Jiang Xinyue’s children.

She had thought her teacher wanted to ensure Great Yan had no heirs, but it turned out… it was the Holy Maiden’s command!

If it had just been about passing on information, Wuma Jianli would never have exposed herself. She could have continued to play the role of the Empress Dowager’s close friend, transmitting Great Yan’s secrets back to the Jin Kingdom without harming anyone.

But at the beginning of the month, her teacher had insisted that she must kill all of the Empress Dowager’s children, forcing her to take this risky step.

She knew there was a chance of failure because Jiang Xinyue was not an easy person to deceive, nor was she someone who would stand idle and take a beating without fighting back.

She just… just didn’t want to disappoint her teacher!

But her teacher knew full well that such a dangerous mission, if discovered, would mean certain death. Yet he still allowed the Holy Maiden to issue such a secret order.

Even knowing she would die.

Wuma Jianli wept silently, her tears flowing uncontrollably, but her voice remained calm. “Empress Dowager, out of gratitude for the kindness you’ve shown me during this time, I must warn you to be wary of the Jin Kingdom’s Holy Maiden. She seems… to harbor a special hatred for you.”

Soon, she would become the Jin Kingdom’s queen.

A queen who, unbeknownst to Jiang Xinyue, was filled with hatred and malice toward her—that was an extremely dangerous thing.

Jiang Xinyue liked to prepare her defenses when others despised her the most.

But…

Jiang Xinyue frowned. “But I have never met your Holy Maiden, nor do I know her. Why would she hate me?”

“The Jin Kingdom’s Holy Maiden is not from the Jin Kingdom. I only know her surname is Su, and if I’m not mistaken, she is likely from Great Yan.”

Moreover, the Jin Kingdom’s borderlands were harsh and cold, with snow covering the mountains year-round. Great Yan often exiled criminals to these borderlands, where they roamed.@@novelbin@@

Perhaps this Holy Maiden Su was the descendant of a criminal who had offended the Empress Dowager and was subsequently exiled.

Jiang Xinyue also considered this possibility and asked Wuma Jianli, “Was it her who ordered you to kill my children?”

“It was her!”

It had to be her!

Her teacher’s beloved was the Jin Kingdom’s Holy Maiden.

She had once overheard him murmuring “Holy Maiden” in his drunken stupor. He adored his goddess with such devotion, yet he deceived her feelings and manipulated her like a fool.

Wuma Jianli wiped her tears, her eyes blazing with hatred. “Jiang Xinyue, if you let me go, I’ll return to the Jin Kingdom and kill those two scoundrels for you. How about that?”

“You have no right to bargain with me.”

Jiang Xinyue scoffed. “How do I know if what you’re saying is true or not?”

She gestured for Jiang Chuan to place the poisoned wine on the table. “You’re quite cunning, but I won’t take that risk. Once you’re dead, I’ll kill that pair of traitors for you. Every word I say is not empty, so you can rest in peace. Soon, you’ll reunite with them in the underworld. There, as an early ghost, you can settle your grudges.”

She would not cooperate with someone who had tried to kill her children. The thought disgusted her.

Wuma Jianli chuckled bitterly. “Could you kill the Eastern Court Prince as well?”

Her younger brother was only twelve years old, her own flesh and blood. They had been abandoned together and brought to the Shuliu Pavilion together.

Her brother was even more beautiful than she was, which was why that perverted Eastern Court Prince had taken an interest in him.

Her ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‍brother was kind-hearted and struggled to adapt to life in the Shuliu Pavilion, so she had always helped him complete his tasks. But on the day of the assessment, with so many overseers watching, she was powerless.

Naturally, her brother failed the assessment, and she never imagined that the glimpse of him during the assessment would be their last.

When she next saw her brother, Wuma Fengche, his body was covered in wounds, his face swollen beyond recognition, and his intestines spilled out—he had died in agony.

When the Eastern Prince’s men dumped his body back at the Shuliu Pavilion, they sneered, “He was too fragile. Our prince hadn’t even had his fill of fun before he died. Send us better stock next time.”

Wuma Jianli wanted to kill them all, but her teacher had told her it wasn’t worth risking her life for such people. He promised to find the right moment to avenge her brother.

He had promised! So why had he lied?

“You can die in peace. I’ll wipe out the entire Jin Kingdom’s royal family, leaving none alive.”

She would also make Wuma Jianli’s confession public, ensuring the world knew the price of daring to assassinate the descendants of Great Yan’s royal family.

The Empress Dowager was as ruthless as ever.

Wuma Jianli smiled faintly. “You might not believe it, but my time in the Great Yan palace was the happiest and most fulfilling period of my life. You, the Noble Consort, and the Virtuous Consort treated me so well, making me feel like a human being. I was the one who destroyed it all. I don’t hate any of you. Empress Dowager, I’m sorry… I never… I never truly wanted to kill the two young princes.”

She had been wrong!

But it was too late now. What had happened could not be undone.

If it hadn’t been for Nanny Xiang and Nanny Lü risking their lives to protect them, Rou Rou and Yuanyuan would already be dead. Wuma Jianli wouldn’t be sitting here repenting—she would have fled back to the Jin Kingdom long ago.

So, she had made her choice, and Jiang Xinyue would never forgive her.