When the Emperor frowned, his ministers knelt in nervous haste. When the Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord frowned, many collapsed to the ground in terror.
A single wrathful command from the Imperial Seal Holder could drown rivers in blood.
Jiang Yunshu had long heard tales of how terrifying Xie Lin’s rage could be, but this was the first time she witnessed it firsthand.
From her perspective as his beloved, she was forced to endure the full spectacle of his fury—an experience she never wanted to relive.
Most people flushed red with anger, but Xie Lin turned deathly pale instead.
His dark pupils grew eerily hollow, while crimson veins spiderwebbed across the whites of his eyes.
His expression was frigid, like a vengeful ghost clawing its way up from the underworld.
The faint smirk curling his lips made him even more terrifying, as though this demon couldn’t wait to turn the mortal realm into a blood-soaked hell.
The Xie Lin before her now bore no resemblance to the gentle man she knew—the one who dined with her, shared her bed, played the qin, and danced with her. This was a beast, poised to tear throats.
"Dislocate their jaws," Xie Lin hissed through clenched teeth, his voice dripping with venom.
Two eunuchs at his side lunged forward, swiftly wrenching the maid's jaws out of place.
Jiang Yunshu assumed this was punishment for the palace maid daring to gossip about him.
But then Xie Lin ordered the eunuchs to inspect their teeth. Only then did she realize—he feared they might bite down on hidden poison, choosing suicide over interrogation.
"Agh—!" Screams turned to agonized, garbled wails.
The two palace maids, who had whispered secrets of Xie Lin’s origins, were dragged before him.
Xie Lin stomped on one palace maid's fingers. "Who sent you? Who is your master?"
The palace maid whimpered through broken sobs, "This lowly one... serves in the Laundry Bureau..."
"Still playing dumb?" Xie Lin sneered, grinding his heel until her fingers snapped one by one.
"Who fed you these lies? Who ordered you to speak them here?"
"No... no one," the palace maid choked out.
From the moment she saw Xie Lin, she had been petrified—face bloodless, body trembling, froth bubbling at her lips...
Wait.
Jiang Yunshu’s eyes darted to the other palace maid—also foaming at the mouth!
"They took poison beforehand!" Jiang Yunshu was the first to understand.
By the time their jaws were dislocated, it was too late. They hadn’t needed to bite anything; they’d swallowed the poison long before arriving, before uttering a single word.
The toxin worked fast. By the time the imperial physicians arrived, both palace maids' lips had turned black, blood trickling from their mouths as they gasped their last.
Premeditated poisoning meant even a fool could see this was a trap—timed perfectly to lure Jiang Yunshu, spill their secrets in her presence, then draw Xie Lin’s rage when he discovered it.
A chill seeped into Jiang Yunshu’s bones. This scheme wasn’t just for Xie Lin.
Someone wanted him to kill her.
If the venomous snake at Black Mountain could’ve been coincidence, today’s plot was undeniably deliberate. Who would go to such lengths to end her life?
The physicians examined the palace maid's eyes and pulses before shaking their heads. "Beyond saving."
Xie Lin’s voice was steel. "Forget saving them. Is there any way to prolong their last breath? I need answers."
A physician skilled in acupuncture stepped forward. "This one will try."
The palace maids were hauled to the torture chamber, where the physician’s needles forced a final burst of consciousness.
The interrogator seized his chance. "Who ordered you? Speak!"
Xie Lin watched, chest heaving, eyes burning crimson.
Now he knew—the snake at Black Mountain hadn’t been an accident. If he hadn’t sucked the venom from Jiang Yunshu’s wound himself, she would’ve died there.
And now, another attempt on her life, designed to make him her executioner...
The Black Mountain incident had already ignited his fury. But this? In the palace—his domain!
As Xie Lin stormed into the chamber, the Weiyang Palace steward moved to seize all of Jiang Yunshu's palace maids.
The palace maids shook like leaves, some collapsing in terror.
Jiang Yunshu blocked their path. "Are you taking my palace maid—or me as well?"
The steward bowed hastily. "Young Lady Jiang jests. Only the palace maid."
She glanced back at Taoye and Zhezhi, their faces ashen. "These two were saved by the Imperial Seal Holder himself. Will you take them too?"
The steward hesitated. "Then... these two may stay. But the others—"
Jiang Yunshu cut him off. "The others stay as well."
"If the Imperial Seal Holder questions it, tell him it was my decision. Let him come to me."
After a brief pause, the steward yielded. "As you wish."
Had anyone else defied Xie Lin’s orders, the steward would’ve refused. But this was Jiang Yunshu. One thought of how the Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord doted on her, and he didn’t dare oppose her.
Sure enough, when the steward reported to Xie Lin, the lord wasn’t surprised.
"Let her have her way."
Xie Lin looked monstrous now—eyes bloodshot, face corpse-pale.
He’d watched the two palace maids die before him.
The physicians had stretched their final moments, allowing torture during their death throes, yet nothing was revealed.
The interrogator knelt, explaining: torture worked for two reasons—fear of death, or inability to endure pain.
But these palace maids knew death was imminent. They feared nothing, and their suffering would soon end.
Even with the cruelest methods, no truth spilled forth.
Yet Xie Lin wasn’t without leads.
The snake at Black Mountain could’ve been coincidence—or any number of schemers.
But today’s brazen plot required knowledge of Xie Lin’s past and influence within the palace...
Few fit both criteria. His suspicion crystallized into one name.
"Watch the northern borders," he commanded, voice like ice. "Watch the Prince of Yanbei."
—
In Fengyi Palace, the Empress Dowager didn’t dare inquire about the chaos outside.
Night deepened, yet lanterns blazed across the palace.
The two palace maids who’d served her were dead. The remaining palace maids in Fengyi Palace knew nothing.
The palace staff knew something significant was about to happen, though none could guess what it was. Empress Dowager Wu had ordered the servants of Fengyi Palace to stay indoors, leaving everyone trembling in fearful anticipation.
"Your Majesty, the Chief Eunuch has commanded that the entire palace be searched tonight..."
When the Eastern Depot arrived with torches to conduct the search, Empress Dowager Wu dared not delay even for a moment, immediately opening the gates—though she pretended ignorance, her fear was genuine.
After combing through Fengyi Palace and finding nothing, the Eastern Depot moved on to the next residence.
Empress Dowager Wu watched the flickering torches fade into the distance, her gaze lingering before she finally turned away. She instructed her servants to shut the palace gates tightly and forbade anyone from leaving without reason.
Lying in bed, she stared into the darkness at the canopy above. Though her eyes could no longer discern the intricate patterns embroidered there, she could trace every line of the longevity motifs from memory.
Her thoughts drifted to the letter she had burned.
She still didn’t know who had sent it, but she believed every word written inside.
The letter claimed that Xie Lin was the late Emperor’s own brother.
And that the late Emperor had committed atrocities against him—murdering his mother and maiming him.
Empress Dowager Wu shuddered at the thought. Xie Lin, born of the Empress, should have been the rightful heir to the throne... Yet his mother was killed, and though he survived, he was castrated, forever barred from the imperial seat...
With such a blood feud between them, how could Xie Lin ever allow her son, the late Emperor’s child, to grow up safely and rule the empire?
The mere idea made her heart race. She couldn’t fathom why Xie Lin had let them live this long...
After much deliberation, she concluded that death would be too merciful for them.
Xie Lin wanted his enemies to suffer something worse than death.
No matter what, Empress Dowager Wu knew she and her son stood on the opposite side of an irreconcilable vendetta.
And yet, the letter’s sender had promised that once his plans succeeded, she would remain Empress Dowager, and Tai An would keep his throne... All he wanted was the title of Regent.
---
Late at night, a fierce wind howled as torrential rain poured down.
Servants rushed to close the windows. Jiang Yunshu stood by the last half-open window, her brow furrowed as she watched lantern after lantern being extinguished by the storm.
Amid the downpour, the palace grew dim. Jiang Yunshu frowned—with the lanterns drenched, Xie Lin would have a harder time conducting his search.
Clues and evidence could easily be washed away in such a storm.
She shut the final window, shaking droplets of rain from her hand.
"What soups does the kitchen have ready? Whatever’s available, have them send two kinds—preferably something sour and spicy to whet the appetite. And have them slice some meat and fresh vegetables to go with it."
Jiang Yunshu’s words left Taoye momentarily stunned. "My lady... wants hot pot?"
Zhezhi sounded incredulous. "My lady still has the heart to eat supper at a time like this?"
Jiang Yunshu corrected her sternly. "This isn’t supper. It’s the dinner I never got to eat."
Zhezhi: "...My lady still has the heart to make up for missed meals?"
Jiang Yunshu: "If I don’t eat, I’ll be too hungry to sleep."
Zhezhi’s voice cracked. "And if my lady eats, she’ll be able to sleep?"
Jiang Yunshu nodded.
"You two should take turns eating as well. The nights are cold—sleeping on an empty stomach makes one prone to chills."
Zhezhi: "...We won’t be sleeping tonight."
Jiang Yunshu reassured them. "It should be fine."
Taoye and Zhezhi still looked uneasy. They had overheard the Chief Eunuch’s greatest secret—would he really let them live?
After a moment’s thought, Jiang Yunshu offered another perspective. "If the Chief Eunuch intends to kill us, then tonight is all the more reason to eat well and sleep soundly."
Taoye and Zhezhi: "......"
They had come to realize that nothing could deter their lady from good food and rest.
The kitchen sent two pots—one with a rich bone broth, the other the sour-spicy soup Jiang Yunshu had requested.
The golden sour broth, flecked with red chili, released an aroma so tangy and pungent it instantly roused the appetite.
Jiang Yunshu dipped slices of meat into the sour-spicy pot, the flavors cutting through the richness. Vegetables went into the bone broth, absorbing its savory depth until they became even more delicious than the meat.
Halfway through her meal, Xie Lin returned.
He had intended to head straight to the bathhouse, but the scent of the hot pot was impossible to ignore. Drawn by the aroma, he found Jiang Yunshu eating with gusto.
Xie Lin regarded her with a complicated expression.
"You’ve got quite the nerve," he remarked.
Jiang Yunshu glanced up. "Join me, Chief Eunuch. The kitchen has extra broth ready, and the meat and vegetables are fresh."
She knew Xie Lin was hungry too—and fastidious enough to insist on his own pot.
Feeling guilty about eating alone, she had arranged for a separate serving for him.
"Perfect timing," she said cheerfully. "No sooner do I start eating than you return."
Taoye and Zhezhi had retreated silently the moment Xie Lin entered. At Jiang Yunshu’s words, they exchanged a glance, sharing the same thought.
If their lady had only been eating for a quarter of an hour, then running into Xie Lin might have been coincidence.
But she had been at it for half an hour already—by the time she finished, it would be a full hour!
At that rate, it wasn’t strange that Xie Lin had walked in on her meal—it would have been stranger if he hadn’t.
Xie Lin, of course, had noticed the same thing. His gaze swept over the empty plates on the table.
"Do you truly not fear that I’ll kill you?" he asked.
Jiang Yunshu blinked. "Someone else is the one trying to harm me. You’re helping me uncover the culprit—why should I fear you killing me?"
When Xie Lin had first entered, she had discreetly studied him. His expression had returned to normal, the redness in his eyes gone.
The crisis had passed.
Xie Lin chuckled, refusing to let her play dumb. "Those maids’ scheme was to make you overhear my secrets, ensuring I’d silence you."
"Those so-called secrets they spoke of..." Xie Lin’s voice darkened.
Jiang Yunshu cut him off. "I suddenly went deaf—didn’t hear a word."
Xie Lin: "Oh? But later, this servant repeated them to you..."
Jiang Yunshu interjected: "I don’t believe a single word!"
Xie Lin: "It’s all true."
Jiang Yunshu: "......" This conversation was going nowhere!
