"Wise and brilliant?"
Hearing the Female Official’s flattery, Murong Wan couldn’t help but sneer.
She rose to her feet, her bare feet padding across the Persian carpet as she slowly walked to the window.
Outside the window, a light snow was falling. The plum trees in the Kunning Palace courtyard had already begun to bud, looking especially stark and cold against the snow.
Murong Wan’s gaze pierced the curtain of snow, looking toward Qianqing Palace as she muttered to herself, ’What I want has never been just a reputation for being wise and brilliant. What I want is to see my Jiu’er on that throne. It’s for the glory of Prince Zhenxi’s Mansion to last for all eternity. It’s for everyone in this world to remember that I, Murong Wan, am the final winner. Whether it’s Empress, Empress Dowager, or Grand Empress Dowager... all those positions belong to me.’
She caressed the exquisite phoenix carvings on the window lattice. Emperor Xia had specially commissioned artisans to carve them for her when she was ennobled as Empress. They were truly priceless.
’Luo Jin, you have already lost. Your son is about to lose as well. The only winners will be me and my Jiu’er.’
The moment Murong Wan’s voice fell, the eighteen palace lanterns within the hall suddenly began to sway in unison, as if a host of demons were dancing wildly.
It wasn’t the wind; the windows were shut tight, and there was no breeze in the hall.
Instead, the lights themselves were trembling, as if some invisible force was disturbing the flames, making them shudder uncontrollably.
Immediately after, all the lights dimmed by thirty percent at once. The hall instantly grew dark, making it difficult to see clearly.
"What’s going on?" Murong Wan frowned, not understanding what was happening.
The Female Official was also startled and quickly rose to check the lanterns. "Perhaps... perhaps the oil is impure. This servant will have someone change it at once..."
Her words stopped abruptly as her eyes widened in astonishment.
The doors to the hall had opened without a sound.
A dead silence fell over the surroundings. It was as if all the Palace Attendants had vanished, leaving only the two of them behind.
There were no footsteps, no sound of the doors being pushed, not even the rush of wind and snow from outside.
The massive doors, crafted from Purple Sandalwood and weighing thousands of pounds, simply slid open a crack, as if pushed gently by an invisible hand.
A figure stood outside the door, having appeared there at some unknown moment.
Dressed in a green robe and a Cloak, their face was hidden in shadow, their features indistinct.
But just by standing there silently, the person caused the spring-like warmth of the hall to plummet to a freezing point, as if the temperature had dropped to zero.
Despite such a major event, there was no sound from outside. The many Military Generals, Grandmasters, Grandmasters... and even the Super Grade Celestial Human standing guard all around were as still as death, not making a single move.
How could such an abnormal scene not inspire terror?
"Who are you?"
Murong Wan shouted, instantly retreating three steps. A short sword, previously hidden in her sleeve, was now in her hand.
The blade was as thin as a cicada’s wing and shimmered with a faint blue light. It was clearly a Low Level Spiritual Artifact coated in a deadly poison.
As expected of the Empress, even her personal weapon was a Spiritual Artifact.
She was the eldest daughter of Prince Zhenxi’s Mansion and had practiced martial arts since childhood. Although her Talent and Qualification was only at the "one in ten thousand" level, she had still reached the realm of First Grade Perfection. An ordinary assassin couldn’t get near her, and it was even possible for her to become a Super Grade Celestial Human in the future, which was quite impressive.
The Female Official shrieked, "Guards! Prot—"
The rest of the word died in her throat, unable to escape.
Her mouth hadn’t been covered. Instead, her entire body had frozen stiff, like an insect trapped in amber. She couldn’t even move her eyeballs, let alone make a sound.
The Palace Maids and eunuchs on duty outside the hall had long since been frozen in place, holding their original poses like lifelike statues, completely oblivious.
Projecting Qi Blood to seal acupoints from a distance.
It was impossible to achieve without sufficient Power.
Murong Wan’s pupils contracted violently, and alarm bells screamed in her mind.
Without hesitation, she crushed the Jade Bracelet on her wrist. It was a distress signal from Prince Zhenxi’s Mansion. Once shattered, several Supreme Guards hidden in the shadows of Kunning Palace would immediately appear to protect her.
The crisp sound of the Jade Bracelet shattering echoed through the hall, clearly audible to all.
One breath, two breaths, three breaths...
The hall remained deathly quiet. There was no movement, and naturally, no Supreme Guard arrived.
Murong Wan’s expression finally changed, losing all its previous arrogance and high spirits.
Those Guards had been handpicked by her father, Murong Ba. Their loyalty was beyond question, and their Cultivation was all in the Super Grade Realm.
If the three of them joined forces, not even someone at Super Grade Perfection would be their match.
But now... the signal had been sent, yet there was no response, as if nothing had happened at all.
Then, there was only one possibility.
They were already dead. They had died so silently that they couldn’t even give a warning.
Cold sweat soaked Murong Wan’s back, and she couldn’t help but tremble slightly.
"Murong Wan, don’t waste your energy. Tonight in Kunning Palace, no one is left to listen to you but yourself."
The figure outside the door finally spoke. The voice was disguised, low and hoarse, making it impossible to identify the speaker.
He stepped slowly into the hall, and the doors behind him shut silently, as if closed by a pair of invisible hands.
His footsteps were light, making not even the faintest sound on the carpet.
But each step seemed to land on Murong Wan’s very heart, making it difficult for her to breathe, as if she were suffocating.
Murong Wan forced herself to remain calm, holding the short sword across her chest as she stealthily drew out a Spirit Talisman. "Trespassing in Kunning Palace is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of your clan. If you leave now, I can pretend this never happened."
The man in the green robe laughed, his expression full of mockery.
It was a very soft laugh, yet it made Murong Wan’s blood run cold, sending a chill down her spine.
"Extermination of nine generations? Oh, I’m so scared!"
Xia Wuyang slowly pulled back the hood of his Cloak, revealing a plain, unremarkable face—the result of a Disguise, which Murong Wan naturally didn’t recognize. "Your nine generations, the Murong Clan of Prince Zhenxi’s Mansion... what great prestige they have. A pity, such a pity..."
He paused, his gaze as sharp as a blade, and swept it across Murong Wan’s beautiful face as if looking at a corpse. "And tonight, you are the one who will be punished."
Before his words had even faded, Xia Wuyang raised his hand and pointed a finger through the air.
Murong Wan felt an irresistible force wash over her. With a DING, the short sword flew from her grasp and embedded itself in a ceiling beam. The Spirit Talisman on her person could no longer be activated in the slightest.
Her entire body was lifted by an invisible energy and thrown heavily onto the Phoenix Couch. All the acupoints and meridians in her body were sealed shut, leaving her unable to move so much as a finger.
Before Xia Wuyang, the Empress Murong Wan was now a helpless plaything. He could do whatever he wanted to her, and she had no way to resist.
Even if he were to kill her by a thousand cuts, she could only endure it. But that would be letting her off too easily.
How could such a venomous woman be allowed to die so easily?

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