Jiang Xingyan rushed out of the tent in an instant.
The first thing she saw was Yun Chunfeng hanging from a large tree in front of the tent, making no effort to struggle at all.
His slender frame swayed back and forth, a terrifying sight to behold.
Bang—
Jiang Xingyan’s mind went completely blank.
Her heart twisted in a fine, tight ache.
Yun-ge, don’t die!
On pure instinct, she struck out with a palm. A surge of profound inner energy shot forth, shattering the entire tree trunk into pieces.
She leaped forward and swept Yun Chunfeng into her arms.
At that moment, she couldn’t care less that she was still in Huo Ci’s body.
Panicked, she cried out: “Yun-ge!”
In her arms, Yun Chunfeng’s face was deathly pale, his eyes tightly shut. He didn’t even seem to be breathing anymore.
“I was wrong, Yun-ge.
I shouldn’t have doubted you or kept my guard up against you.
Yun-ge, please wake up. Don’t leave me and Little Ya—”
“Cough, cough.“
Yun Chunfeng’s eyelashes fluttered. Before he even opened his eyes, a tear rolled down from the corner of one.
“Milady, I ran into the State Preceptor earlier. He shoved all his belongings into my hands without a second thought.
He told me to take good care of you from now on, and to never let anyone break your heart again.
He also said he was useless, that he couldn’t give you peace of mind, so he might as well just go.”
As Qiu Yan spoke, her eyes darted nervously toward Yun Chunfeng.
“His tone didn’t sound right, so I followed him.
I never thought he would—he actually—”
Qiu Yan clutched her chest, clearly terrified out of her wits.
Yun Chunfeng lowered his gaze and struggled to sit up from Jiang Xingyan’s embrace.
“A useless wretch like Yun-ge is nothing but a burden by Milady’s side. I might as well go. That way, Milady can be at ease.”
Even as he said this, tears streamed down his face in a steady, silent cascade.
Jiang Xingyan’s heart ached—sour and sharp.
How could I hurt Yun-ge the same way Huo Ci hurt me?
“I’m sorry, Yun-ge.
Give me some time. I’ll try to rely on you. Alright?”
Yun Chunfeng lifted his gaze inch by inch, looking through Huo Ci’s body and into Jiang Xingyan’s very soul.
“Milady, I want your soul to tell Yun-ge that herself. Alright?”
That single look pierced straight into Jiang Xingyan’s heart.
How could I ever doubt Yun-ge?
If Yun Chunfeng had held back even a little, he would never have abandoned his identity as a cultivator and willingly descended into the mortal world.
“Alright. Tonight, for sure.”
——-
Huo Ci held the tent flap aside with one hand, his gaze soft and pitiful as he watched the two reconcile.
He was now filled with regret.
Deeply filled with regret.
If he’d known Yun Chunfeng was such a good actor, why had he sacrificed so much to sing his praises?
It was completely unnecessary—gilding the lily!
From now on, if he ever helped Yun Chunfeng again, he was a dog!
Huo Ci let the tent flap fall shut and turned to go inside. Out of sight, out of mind.
Yun Chunfeng glanced at his retreating figure, his thoughts churning.
This man… actually spoke well of me just to make Milady happy?
Hard to understand.
Had he really learned to let go and step aside?
That doesn’t seem right.
Then why haven’t he and Milady switched back yet?
None of them realized that the person most baffled by everything happening right now was Xiao Mi.
He had come storming over, full of indignation, wanting to ask the general to seek justice for Xin Zhui and demand an explanation from His Majesty.
But as he turned the corner, he saw the State Preceptor hanging from a tree—and then the general rushing out to save him and holding him in his arms.
Crack!
Crash!
At that moment, a pure-hearted young man’s world developed cracks, then shattered completely, desperately needing to be rebuilt.
He had only just forced himself to accept the legitimacy of a male-male relationship.
Fine, if Xin Zhui had feelings for the general, so be it. At least the waters hadn’t flowed outside—it was all within their own camp, behind closed doors where outsiders wouldn’t know.
But what he hadn’t expected was that this was somehow a three-person story?
From what he could see now, Vice Commander Xin was pining alone with no one to reciprocate, while State Preceptor Yun, with his “first a tantrum, then a suicide attempt, and finally winning the general’s favor” routine, had captured the general’s heart?
What on earth is going on!
While he stood there dumbfounded, soldiers of the Huo Family Army had already begun gathering spontaneously in front of the general’s tent.
When Jiang Xingyan helped Yun Chunfeng inside to rest and then came back out, the soldiers stared at her in heavy, solemn silence, their expressions grim.
She knew they were angry.
And honestly, so was she.
“Commanders of each battalion!”
“Here!”
“Follow this general into the palace. We’re going to demand an explanation!”
“Yes, sir!”
——-
Xiao Mi and Old Man Zhang carried Xin Zhui on a spring bench. She was bandaged in layers so thick she looked like two rolls of cloth. They followed the commanders all the way to the Gate of Great Harmony.
The Imperial Guards stationed at the gate were startled.
Seeing that the newcomers clearly meant business, the captain of the guards signaled to one of his men.
A young guard took off running toward the inner palace.
The captain braced himself and stepped forward nervously, forcing a grin as he tried to ease the tension:
“General Huo, you never come to the palace without good reason. What brings you here today?”
Jiang Xingyan clasped her fists in salute—courtesy before force:
“Huo only wishes to ask His Majesty for justice. I want to question the eunuchs of the Justice Department.
Just when did my Huo Family Army ever offend them, that they would secretly strike so viciously and try to have Vice Commander Xin killed?”
The captain’s heart sank. He silently lamented his bad luck.
He was supposed to be relieved of his post in just one incense stick’s time—so why did he have to be the one stuck with this impossible task?
Both His Majesty and General Huo were people he absolutely could not afford to offend!
“What! Such a thing happened?!
General Huo, please calm down. This humble official has already sent word. Someone should arrive shortly to escort you in.
But this matter sounds strange. They’re just eunuchs—how would they have the audacity to plot against an imperial officer?
And the general’s own vice commander, no less? That’s just asking for death!”
Jiang Xingyan stepped aside, revealing Xin Zhui lying unconscious on the spring bench.
Even the hardened guard captain couldn’t help but gasp when he saw the miserable state she was in—wrapped in over twenty layers of banding that were still seeping blood from within.
“Vice Commander Xin… wh-what happened to her?”
“The boards used in the beating last night were smeared with gold liquid!”
At those two words, the captain’s face changed drastically.
That stuff was strictly forbidden!
He had heard that in the previous dynasty, palace intrigues had reached sophisticated heights.
A wandering alchemist had presented a secret recipe: take the waste produced after a person’s three urgent needs, and slowly boil it down into a bottle of golden-yellow liquid.
If even a tiny drop touched someone’s wound, they would rot all over and die.
No medicine could save them.
Fortunately, after the current emperor took the throne, he had severely punished those who made such things and completely banned the appearance of gold liquid—a substance that harmed both the user and the victim.
So how had it appeared in the palace again now?
The captain wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and wanted to go report this personally.
But just as he turned around, he saw Su Sheng hurrying out with the young guard.
“Oh my! General Huo, if you have business, you should have just come straight to the palace.
His Majesty has always allowed you to appear before him in armor at any time, day or night!”
Jiang Xingyan had no time to exchange pleasantries with Su Sheng. She clasped her fists and headed straight inside.
“In that case, sorry for the intrusion.”
Jiang Xingyan led her group in a flurry toward the Imperial Study. Su Sheng chased after her, shouting:
“His Majesty is in the Imperial Garden! General Huo, don’t go the wrong way!”
Jiang Xingyan stopped in her tracks and turned back, sweeping Su Sheng with a cold glare.
“Lead the way!”
Su Sheng was thoroughly frightened. The look in General Huo’s eyes made his heart race.
He had already noticed something was off from Xin Zhui’s condition—more breath out than in.
Could it be that his men had been reckless last night and beaten Xin Zhui too severely?
“General Huo, Vice Commander Xin—”
Jiang Xingyan didn’t answer. She followed him in silence as he twisted and turned through the palace paths until they finally reached the Imperial Garden.
Xiao Ao was strolling with the empress and the envoy from the Great Xia, admiring the new lotus flowers that had already covered the pond in early summer.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a dark, imposing crowd approaching with unmistakably hostile intent.
He quickly signaled to Su Sheng, hoping to have Su Sheng lead “Huo Ci” to a side hall to wait.
Once he had sent off Shangguan Luoyue, he could deal with their matter.
That way, he wouldn’t lose face in front of Princess Huaiwan.
But to his surprise, one moment “Huo Ci” was striding forward with bold, sweeping steps, and the next, he dropped straight to his knees before the emperor.
The officers behind him also knelt in a dark, pressing wave.
“Your Majesty, please grant your servant justice!”
Xiao Ao gritted his teeth in silent fury.
What a wonderful way to “honor” me!
Sure enough, Shangguan Luoyue turned to look at “Huo Ci,” covering her mouth in surprise. “General Huo, what’s happened?”
Xiao Ao forced a sheepish smile. “Even I don’t know.
My dear General Huo, won’t you rise and answer?”
Jiang Xingyan didn’t move. She clasped her fists, neither servile nor overbearing:
“The boards used during Vice Commander Xin’s punishment were smeared with gold liquid.
She now hovers between life and death. I only ask Your Majesty for justice.
Who exactly wants to see a great general of the Huo Family Army crippled or killed?
If it weren’t for Imperial Physician Sun’s miraculous skills, what would have been carried here today would be Vice Commander Xin’s corpse.”
“Gold liquid?!”
The empress couldn’t help but cry out in shock.
Xiao Ao’s brow furrowed deeply.
It had been years since such filthy, vile things had appeared in the palace. Why were they surfacing again?
His expression darkened immediately, his bearing radiating an unspoken authority:
“Someone bring the men who carried out the beating last night!”
Su Sheng hadn’t expected things to escalate so far.
Forgetting all decorum, he stumbled and staggered his way toward the Justice Department.
Before long, two corpses were carried back.
The empress turned deathly pale, clutching her heart and hiding behind Xiao Ao.
Su Sheng dropped to his knees with a thump: “Your Majesty, the two eunuchs who administered the beating in the Justice Department had their necks snapped. They were found in the firewood shed in the back courtyard.
Parts of their bodies have already softened. There are large lividity patches beneath them, with some areas turning greenish.
This servant deduces that both men have been dead for at least ten hours!”
Boom!
Shock rippled through everyone present.
And yet, barely eight hours had passed since last night’s welcoming banquet!