Jiang Yiyun was startled. Turning around, she saw that the window had been opened, and the man was sitting beside the table, leisurely savoring fine wine.
“No wonder your swordsmanship looks as though you are dancing. Do all the women here use swords like that?”
Though his question was gentle, his words were laced with mockery and teasing.
She struck again. “So what? Villainous traitors must all be put to death.”
Yet after only a few moves, she was restrained in his arms.
“Let go, villainous traitor! Shameless!” Unable to move, she cursed him furiously.
He breathed a faint, orchid-scented breath beside her ear.
“Miss, your skills are impressive. I wonder what you look like?” He reached out to remove the veil from the person in his arms.
She hurriedly dodged, but she was still not faster than him.
Hooking the veil with his hand, he carefully admired the beauty before him, unaware that she had already used a disguise.
With disguise paste, Jiang Yiyun had acquired many faces and multiple identities. She had grown used to it over the years.
“You are quite beautiful.” He kept feeling as though they had met before. “Have we ever encountered each other?”
“If we had met before, I would have subjected you to death by a thousand cuts.” She had no desire to waste words with him, possessing only overwhelming rage.
Whenever she saw him in the imperial palace, she wished she could rush forward and kill him with a single stroke. Yet each time, she could only endure with all her might, until her heart ached and the space between her brows throbbed painfully.
“I truly cannot bear to kill you. Why not join this seat’s underling? This seat…” He suddenly stopped halfway through his words, sensing that his breathing had become somewhat unsteady.
It worked!
Jiang Yiyun was overjoyed. She had thought the poisonous substance had failed because it had taken so long to take effect, but it turned out it was still effective.
Gu Hanjue’s eyes turned scarlet, and all the blood in his body seemed to boil.
“Eunuch, this medicine is not poison. It is the most potent aphrodisiac in the world.” She spoke triumphantly.
Gu Hanjue furrowed his brows deeply and stared at the woman before him.
“Save your breath! Your cultivation technique cannot expel it. To dispel it, you must find someone to break its effects; otherwise, you will surely die from the body-burning sensation. However…” She gazed at him wistfully, her eyes filled with amusement and mockery. “However, it seems you have no hope of being saved.”
Both of Gu Hanjue’s pupils were red, yet his gaze was cold as ice. As he looked at the beautiful woman before him, the waves of heat grew even more intense, and he could no longer endure them. He moved toward her.
“Woman, you are playing with fire.”
Jiang Yiyun was tackled to the ground, and the man began pulling at her clothes. Seeing that she could not struggle free, she stopped resisting.
“You are an eunuch. How could you possibly have sexual function? I advise you to kill yourself; it would be less painful. Being able to see but unable to touch—would that not make you suffer even more?”
She was now certain that he would die without a doubt. It was time to reveal her identity before death, denounce how he had plotted to harm her entire family, and let him die knowing the truth.
Gu Hanjue gave an alluring smile and pinned her down tightly. “Who says this seat cannot have sexual function?”
When she heard this, she froze for a moment. Before she could fully comprehend his words, she sensed something strange, and a bad feeling arose in her heart.
“Could it be, you…” At that moment, her mind buzzed, going completely blank.
“You are not an eunuch!!”
The waves of pain answered her: Gu Hanjue was not an eunuch. He was a complete man.
She suddenly began struggling violently, resisting this fact she found impossible to accept, only to discover that it was all futile.
No matter how she kicked, struck, or twisted, it was useless. In the end, she could only give up, drowning in the waves of heat.
She had never expected the situation to spiral so far out of control. She nearly sobbed aloud, but she endured stubbornly, refusing to let him hear even a single signal of surrender.
Jiang Yiyun tried to commit suicide by biting one's tongue, but the man reacted in time, suddenly gripping her chin and preventing her from circulating her qi or exerting force.
What a disgraceful humiliation!
She had actually done such a thing with the enemy who had annihilated her clan. If she reached the Yellow Springs, how could she face those relatives of hers?
And there was also Chu Yinheng—the young man by the banks of the xiang river, and their oath, that last remaining thread of hope…
As the medicinal effect gradually faded, Gu Hanjue looked at the delicate beauty before him. Her expression was despairing and her eyes hollow, so he turned the last trace of clarity in his mind into tenderness and gentleness.
After the storm.
“Tell me your name,” the man said in a deep voice. Intoxicated, he forgot that he should call himself “this seat.”
When she remained silent, he gently kissed her lips, while the acupoints on her body gradually released.
Taking advantage of this moment, she raised her hand and struck downward with all her strength.
“Mmph~” Gu Hanjue shuddered and nearly fainted.
Jiang Yiyun pushed the man off her and quickly put on her clothes. Then she heard a commotion downstairs.
“Good sir, what are you doing? We do not have the assassin you are looking for here!” the madam downstairs cried out.
“Move aside. We are here to find director Gu. Someone spotted the director’s whereabouts here.”
The madam saw that she could not stop them and had no choice but to let them search. Inwardly, she was baffled. Was Prince Bianjian not an eunuch? Could it be he enjoyed that sort of thing too?!
Seeing the embroidered uniform guards head upstairs, the madam muttered, “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Even Prince Bianjian has this kind of preference.”
Upstairs, Jiang Yiyun sensed that something was wrong and turned to look at the man on the bed. The man suddenly shook his head, regaining some clarity.
She had intended to deliver a fatal blow while he was unconscious, but who could have known he would be so resilient that he had not completely passed out?
She gritted her teeth. Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, she hurriedly opened the window and prepared to flee.
His hand suddenly caught the hem of her clothing. “Wait. Who exactly are you?” Gu Hanjue clung to her and refused to let go.
Jiang Yiyun’s eyes were filled with disgust. She flung herself away with all her strength, shaking him off before vanishing into the distance.
The people of the Eastern Depot searched room by room. When they reached one room, they smashed through the door and entered, finding no unusual signs inside—only Gu Hanjue, impeccably dressed, coldly glamorous, and imposing.
He was sitting beside the table, playing with a silk handkerchief covered in blood, completely absorbed in it.
“Director, that assassin…”
“There is no need to pursue her. Let them go.” Gu Hanjue signaled for them to stop.
The Embroidered Uniform Guard glanced at the silk handkerchief and asked, “director, this was left behind by the other party. Should we investigate from here?”
“There is no rush. Take it slowly.” Gu Hanjue lightly raised his slender finger, his playful smile deepening.
His gaze never left the bloodstained silk handkerchief. It had been left behind by that woman.
He gently folded it and slowly slipped it into his sleeve…
Jiang Yiyun quietly infiltrated back into the imperial palace. Seeing that several shadow guards had not yet returned, she felt somewhat worried.
But greater than her worry were her resentment and grief. The events of that night had turned so drastically, leaving her trapped in another tragedy.
She wanted to end her own life, but her great vengeance remained unavenged and she had gained a new grudge as well, so she suppressed the impulse.
The room was quiet as usual. Only silent tears flowed slowly.
She sat alone on the floor, as motionless as the furnishings around her.
Fortunately, she had not revealed the enmity between herself and the other party at the time. Otherwise, he would surely have uncovered the truth.
Gu Hanjue had fabricated a false identity to deceive the emperor and commit deceiving the emperor. Such a grave crime might have been an excellent opportunity to control him, but now she had also become an involved party.
Who could testify against him? She absolutely could not come forward herself! Should she let everyone know that she was no longer perfect chastity? What would Chu Yinheng think?
Even if she found someone else to expose the matter on her behalf, the other party might follow the trail and discover that she had once shared such an outrageous encounter with him.
Perhaps there were other methods, but she refused to think about the matter for now.
At dawn, An Luo and the others returned.
“Princess, are you all right?” An Luo asked.
Jiang Yiyun had used disguise paste to restore the empress’s face and composed herself before rising to ask, “I am fine. How are An Jue’s injuries?”
A man behind An Luo said, “I am fine. Thank you for your concern, princess.” The man had a resolute face, a deep voice, and a powerful, sturdy frame.
His wounds had already been bandaged, though a faint redness still showed through.
“It is good that you are fine.”
“That eunuch was difficult to deal with. If we want to eliminate him in the future, I am afraid it will take considerable effort,” another man sighed.
At the word “eunuch,” Jiang Yiyun’s gaze immediately darkened.
An Luo, however, misunderstood and hurriedly nudged the man who had just spoken with her elbow.
“An Xiao, stop speaking so negatively. Do not bring up what should not be brought up.” After saying this, she consoled her, “princess, we will have more opportunities in the future. Do not lose heart.” She thought her master was sorrowful because the attempt had failed.
Jiang Yiyun recovered her composure and clenched her delicate fists. “Next time, I will definitely kill him.”
“Princess.” A voice suddenly came from outside. A moment later, Lian Ying pushed open the door, only to see Jiang Yiyun sitting there drinking tea. There was no one else in the room.
Jiang Yiyun said gently, “What is it? You look so flustered.”
After catching her breath several times, Lian Ying said, “princess, I heard that Consort Chun is pregnant.”
Lian Ying’s words made Jiang Yiyun’s mind buzz.
She truly had not expected that Consort Chun, rather than Jia Yinger, would be the first to become pregnant.
Consort Chun belonged to Jia Yinger’s faction. Prompted by Jia Yinger, she had often Tried to trip someone up Jiang Yiyun.
“The emperor clearly often stays overnight with Noble Consort Li, so how did Consort Chun become pregnant first?”
“The emperor looks so devoted, so how did he suddenly become involved with Consort Chun?”
“Consort Chun’s older brother is no good either. After being made young marquis, he often lingers in the imperial palace and always leers at us palace attendants. He is obviously a lecherous scoundrel.”
Jiang Yiyun let Lian Ying chatter beside her, but not a single word reached her ears.
Only after a long while did she instruct Lian Ying to leave and attend to her own duties, then she sat in the hall for a long time.