Chenming Palace was where the emperor and empress had lived on the day of their grand wedding. Ever since Jiang Yiyun married into the imperial family, Chu Yinheng had never allowed her to enter. Even the palace attendants who came to clean could enter; she alone was forbidden.
By Chu Yinheng’s imperial decree, Jiang Yiyun came before the palace the next day and knelt there for an entire hour. What sarcasm!
Her knees ached and had begun to tingle numbly. The scene before her grew hazy, and she seemed to see seven years ago: on the banks of the xiang river, peach blossoms burned brightly as a young couple confided in each other and made their vows...
“Where do you live?” the young man asked, a hint of probing in his voice.
“Why are you asking that?” the young girl asked, puzzled.
“We’ve known each other for so long. It’s fine that you won’t tell me your name, but can’t you even tell me where you live? If I miss you in the future, how will I find you?”
“Meeting here will be enough.”
The young man grew anxious. “This place won’t do.”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“I... If I ask your family for your hand one day, how can I do that if I don’t know where you live?”
The young girl’s fair, rice-paper-white face seemed to have been touched by a sparse stroke of watery cinnabar, which instantly spread into a blush.
“Who says I’ll marry you? Father still wants to keep me at home for a few more years. He doesn’t want me to marry so soon.”
“That’s fine. I’ll wait.”
“Hmph, I don’t believe you. In a few years, you’ll definitely forget me.”
The young man hurriedly said, “I never will. I definitely won’t forget you.”
The young girl turned away and secretly smiled. “What if I forget you?”
“You can’t. I saved your life, so you should repay me by marrying me.”
“Who said I’d marry you?”
The young man grasped the girl’s hand and said firmly, “Once my foundation in the clan is secure, I will come to marry you. I will never leave or abandon you...”
What a fine vow—never to leave or abandon her!
The memories, at times deep and at times faint, were like a dream or illusion, but the dream did not last long.
Jiang Yiyun awoke to find herself in the palace chambers. Seeing her regain consciousness, Lian Ying hurried forward and said, “princess, are you feeling better?”
“How did I end up here?”
“Perhaps you knelt before Chenming Palace until you were exhausted and fainted from weakness.”
“So that’s what happened.” Jiang Yiyun had not expected herself to faint. Perhaps her heart and mind had simply been too burdened.
“The emperor is truly too much. Under this scorching midday sun, how could the princess’s body possibly endure it?” Lian Ying spoke bluntly.
Jiang Yiyun slowly rose. The moment she moved her legs, pain and soreness surged through them.
Lian Ying said worriedly, “princess, you should rest a little longer.”
“Lian Ying, I want some peace and quiet now.”
Lian Ying understood her mood, so she obediently withdrew.
Silence settled over the room. Jiang Yiyun’s heart was filled with desolation. How she wished she could tell Chu Yinheng her true identity.
By then, she wondered whether he would treat her a little better.
But before that, she first had to eliminate the eunuch official who held great power and had destroyed her clan, Gu Hanjue, and then reveal the truth to the world.
Facing the empty palace chambers, she said, “An Luo.”
A graceful woman in black-clad attire appeared lightly before her. “Princess, do you have an order?”
“Are all our people still in place?”
“There are five shadow guards in the imperial palace; the rest are scattered throughout the streets. Two others are undercover under that eunuch’s command, and they remain safe.”
Jiang Yiyun closed her eyes tightly, then slowly opened them. “I want to deal with that eunuch as soon as possible.”
An Luo pondered for a moment before saying, “Even the emperor cannot shake that corrupt official. Taking him down will be no easy task.”
“If we denounce him at the court assembly, we need a justified cause for war. The troublesome part is that he has many allies. After several clashes, I have been unable to harm him in the slightest, while he has repeatedly driven me to the brink of death. How are we supposed to strike?”
An Luo spoke up. “My subordinate discovered that the bastard has mastered a technique that wards off poison. He is immune to a hundred poisons, so even poisoning him would probably be useless.”
“He isn’t afraid of poison?!” No wonder her repeated assassinations had all ended in failure.
Framing him, setting traps, sowing discord... None of it could harm him in the slightest.
Although neither side had gained the upper hand, she vaguely felt that her opponent was toying with her, stringing her along simply for amusement.
If that was truly the case, then the situation was unbearably hopeless.
Jiang Yiyun fidgeted with the hem of her skirt, her heart troubled and vexed, with no idea what to do.
Her enemy was right before her eyes, yet she was powerless to do anything.
Jiang Yiyun sighed softly. “It seems we can only fight him head-on. But that method is the most difficult. His martial arts are Number One Under Heaven, and we know very little about his cultivation.”
An Luo was troubled as well. “No wonder the man is so arrogant. If there were some colorless, odorless medicine that was difficult to detect and could also prevent him from expelling it, I’d put it in his bowl every day and feed him to death.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yiyun instantly thought of a method.
“I have a plan. It might work.”
With that, she discussed the details with An Luo...
The fourth watch had arrived, and night had fallen. Within the gilded towers and jade pavilions, music and singing continued without pause.
Gu Hanjue, whose power dominated the realm and who maintained his own army, sat or reclined in the main seat, lazily raising his cup as he accepted toasts from court officials and guests.
Yet his eyes kept glancing toward the roof. At last, he sighed and then smiled faintly. “Guest on the roof, why not come down and share a drink?”
The banquet music abruptly stopped. Everyone was utterly confused. Before they could react, a silver flash shot straight at Gu Hanjue.
The man in the main seat remained languid and showed no intention of striking. A Shadow guard had already intercepted the deadly attack for him.
The tables and chairs in the room had long since been thrown into disorder—some overturned, some askew—while cups, dishes, and fine food lay scattered everywhere.
The guests had vanished without a trace. Only the man on the collapsed couch remained unmoving, appreciating the blades and sword flashes before him.
The dozen or so Men in Black were all experts, and the battle had reached an impasse.
Gu Hanjue realized that his enemies had paid a heavy price for this assault. They could actually hold back his elite troops.
He drawled, “Ah,” then slapped the table and rose. In an instant, heaven and earth dimmed...
The once lively streets suddenly descended into chaos. The Eastern Depot had emerged in full force, determined to capture the fugitives who had attempted to assassinate Prince Bianjian.
At the scene, there was no one left except Gu Hanjue. He had just broken the deadlock with a single move, instantly forcing back the Men in Black.
Even Jiang Yiyun, who was on the roof, could not help exclaiming in admiration. This man’s martial arts had reached such an astonishing level.
“Excellencies, what a fine lure the tiger away from the mountain. Since you’ve drawn them away, why not show yourselves and share a drink?” Without even lifting his starry eyes, he already knew their location.
The moment his voice fell, the four stood inside the palace hall. Besides Jiang Yiyun, there were An Luo, An Xiao, and An Jue, whom she had brought with her.
This breathtakingly beautiful man was Prince Bianjian, who possessed power over life and death, and the brutal and murderous Director of the Eastern Depot;
the demon feared by the emperor and dreaded by court officials; and also the lifelong “nightmare” of Jiang Yiyun.
Yet this “nightmare” truly had the appearance of a “beautiful dream.”
He had countless achievements to his name. At sixteen, he became the Director of the Eastern Depot and repeatedly eliminated treacherous officials for the former emperor, purging the imperial court.
At nineteen, he led One Hundred Thousand Troops, defeated two hundred thousand troops, and rescued the former emperor from the blades of the enemy forces.
At twenty-one, he was made Prince Bianjian. Though he remained an eunuch official, no one could rival him for a time.
Now only twenty-four, he already wielded overwhelming power and had become a grave concern to the new emperor, Chu Yinheng.
At that moment, his face looked as though it had been dusted with powder and sculpted from creamy jade. His peach-blossom eyes shimmered with every glance, carrying a hint of allure. Without any affectation, he possessed a naturally captivating charm.
His thin lips seemed lightly tinted with rouge. His brows and temples appeared cut by a blade, while his sharply defined features outlined a trace of cold beauty. Within that cold beauty lay an additional three parts of domineering power, yet the dominance was restrained perfectly, hidden beneath manners as warm and polished as jade.
Jiang Yiyun could not help sighing in amazement. A person’s appearance could truly be described as a work of divine craftsmanship.
Yet a man with such an exquisite physical appearance was actually an eunuch—and her mortal enemy at that.
“You may as well speak plainly. Are you people from the chancellor, the grand general, or perhaps... the emperor and empress?” Gu Hanjue asked with a smile, his melodious voice resembling enchanting music.
Seeing that Jiang Yiyun remained silent, he continued, “this seat should also thank your masters. Without them constantly providing me with a little entertainment, how could I endure standing alone at the top?”
Every gesture he made resembled that of a refined gentleman with a slight feminine softness. His beautiful eyes were warm and gentle, but the gaze they cast was icy and sinister.
Even with such gentleness, he gave others a sense of aura pressure. Though he was an eunuch, it was difficult for anyone to show him the slightest disrespect.
She did not want to waste words on the man before her. She raised her hand, sending a silver flash toward him. “Eunuch dog, enough nonsense. Hand over your life.”
The other three coordinated perfectly with her, their dense sword intent weaving a vast net.
Enveloped within it, Gu Hanjue’s smile did not diminish as he responded calmly.
Midway through the battle, he drew a soft sword from his waist, shifting from evasion to offense.
After only a short while, the four began to struggle. If this continued, they would certainly lose.
In Jiang Yiyun’s eyes, the smile on the opponent’s handsome face was a form of sarcasm. She attacked with increasing force, nearly becoming frantic.
“Do I have some grudge against you?” he probed.
Jiang Yiyun’s eyes reddened with murderous fury. “Ha, a deep and bitter hatred. We fight until one of us dies.”
“I see.” While parrying, he assessed her. “Your swordsmanship is not bad, but your mastery is still lacking.”
Hearing his taunting words, Jiang Yiyun became furious. The more unable she was to injure him, the more frenzied she grew.
When she grew stronger, he grew stronger; when she weakened, he weakened. His deliberate actions kept the battle at an impasse, but he had underestimated her explosive power...
A silver flash swept past, and blood struck the ground.
The breathtakingly beautiful man gently caressed the slender wound on the left side of his neck with his fair, delicate hand. His slightly raised little finger evoked an air of elegance and seduction.
He was still smiling, but the smile was cold.
After a moment of silence, Gu Hanjue suddenly struck directly at Jiang Yiyun, showing no mercy.
Seeing that something was wrong, An Jue stepped forward to deflect the attack. Gu Hanjue’s sword edge veered and slashed his left arm.
Jiang Yiyun asked worriedly, “Are you all right?” An Jue shook his head slightly.
Their opponent now held an absolute advantage. The group had no choice but to try their final method before making their escape.
Jiang Yiyun waved her hand and threw out a handful of white powder, then turned and fled at top speed.
Gu Hanjue remained confident. He raised his hand and waved it gracefully, but inhaled a considerable amount of the powder.
If it had been poisonous substances, he could have dissolved them within his body with a little circulation of his power.
The crucial point was that this was not colorless, odorless poison powder, but an aphrodisiac more terrifying than poison. Completely unaware, he sneered and chased after them.
The four fled separately in four directions—east, west, south, and north. Jiang Yiyun’s qinggong was extraordinary. She crossed one rooftop after another, flying toward the place with the brightest lights.
Perhaps disturbed by the Eastern Depot search parties, the main street was brightly lit, yet not a trace of human presence remained.
Jiang Yiyun leaped through a window into a building, then carefully surveyed her surroundings.
Looking at the furnishings inside, she realized this did not seem to be an inn.
The gaudy style and furnishings seemed to belong to... a brothel.
Suddenly, a voice came from behind her. “So you’re one of the women from this place. This seat does not recall ever taking up the trade of a procurer.”