The old steward rushed over at the sound, carrying a lantern. Its dim glow revealed half of Baili Jun’s bloodstained face. He recoiled in horror, the lantern crashing to the ground with a *snap*. Flames instantly devoured the silk covering.
The fire in the bridal chamber spread with the wind, quickly engulfing the entire main courtyard.
The steward’s pupils contracted. Regaining his senses, he screamed hoarsely: “She’s gone mad… Princess Zhaohua has gone mad! Someone, hurry! Save the master!!”
Baili Jun sneered, stepping forward to seize his throat. A hairpin from her sleeve pressed against his neck.
“Mad? Am I mad?” Her voice was ghostly, yet cold enough to pierce bone. “I am perfectly clear-headed.”
“Y-Your Highness… spare me…” The steward trembled, teeth chattering.
“I’ll ask only once,” Baili Jun said icily. “Where are Qingwu and Qingluan?”
His clouded eyes darted wildly. “I… I don’t know…”
The hairpin pierced his skin, blood trickling down his neck. He nearly fainted from pain, but her voice drifted to his ear like a phantom: “Your home is in Willow Alley, northwest of the city. I hear you have a seven-year-old grandson—the only heir. If I send someone now…”
“The woodshed! They’re in the woodshed behind the western courtyard!” the steward broke down, sobbing. “The young master ordered them drugged and chained there, to be dealt with after everything was finished…”
Baili Jun’s lips curved faintly. She drove the hairpin deeper, and blood spurted from his throat. He collapsed, eyes wide with terror.
At that moment, the mansion’s bronze gong sounded. Footsteps thundered from all directions.
Baili Jun cast a cold glance around, then swiftly slipped into the shadows.
…
The rear courtyard woodshed was deserted.
A rusty lock sealed the door. Baili Jun steadied her breath, then kicked it open. A heavy stench of mold mixed with blood rushed out.
In the corner, Qingwu and Qingluan lay chained hand and foot, dried blood at their lips—clear signs of violent struggle after being drugged.
“Qingwu, Qingluan.” Baili Jun hurried forward, checking their pulses. Finding them merely unconscious, she exhaled in relief. She quickly broke the chains, retrieved a porcelain vial from Qingwu’s hidden pouch, and poured out two pills. Forcing open their jaws, she fed them the medicine.
Moments later, Qingluan’s eyes fluttered open. Her gaze blurred, then snapped into focus.
“Your Highness?” She tried to rise, but Baili Jun pressed her shoulder down.
“Don’t move. The drug hasn’t fully worn off yet,” Baili Jun murmured.
Qingluan forced herself upright, pulling silver needles from her hair.
“The drug still lingers… but I can fight.”
“No need.” Baili Jun’s lips curved into a cold smile. “Ji Huai’an is dead. As for the one behind him—sooner or later, I’ll make him pay in blood.”
“Your Highness…” Qingwu awoke beside her, eyes instantly reddening. Her voice rasped: “Forgive us… we failed you…”
“Silence. Save your strength.” Baili Jun cut her off coldly, yet reached out to wipe the blood from her lips.
“I am not dead. And neither of you are allowed to die.” Her gaze swept over their wounded wrists, her eyes hardening. “Ji Huai’an drugged you? What about Nanny Lan and the others?”
Qingluan gritted her teeth. “Last night, after sending Your Highness into the bridal chamber, Prince Consort dismissed Nanny Lan and the attendants back to the princess’s manor. Qingwu and I feared for Your Highness’s safety, so we insisted on staying to guard. Prince Consort pretended to reward us with nuptial wine. But it was laced with Knock-off Powder. We were caught off guard, and then…”
Baili Jun let out a cold snort. “As expected.”
It wasn’t only her attendants who were caught off guard. In her past life, had she not also trusted her “bedside man,” only to be betrayed and killed with her heart carved out?
If Qingwu and Qingluan hadn’t been ambushed, not just one Ji Huai’an—even ten of him—wouldn’t have been their match.
“Can you walk?” Baili Jun asked.
The two exchanged a glance and nodded together. “We can.”
Qingluan wiped the blood from her lips and forced a smile. “Do not worry, Your Highness. This injury is nothing.”
“Good.” Baili Jun rose, her sleeves sweeping, eyes blazing with murderous intent. “Then tonight we’ll destroy Ji Huai’an’s lair.”
Ji Huai’an was a fourth-rank court official. Tonight, she had not only killed him but also intended to bathe the entire Prince Consort’s mansion in blood. Tomorrow, the court would erupt in uproar. She needed to give her father and the assembled ministers an *account*—one that would strike fear into all.
More pressing still was the memory of Baili Yue’s words before her death in the previous life: “Tomorrow, news will come from the northern frontier that your uncle and cousin have betrayed the realm.”
Now it was too late to send a warning by a fast horse. So tonight, whether by digging three feet into the earth or fabricating evidence, she would deliver a grand “gift” to her dear Crown Prince brother.
Qingluan suddenly looked up and whispered: “Your servant once saw Ji Huai’an entering the study late at night. His behavior was suspicious—there must be something hidden.”
Baili Jun arched a brow. “When did you see this? Why did you never report it?”
Qingluan bit her lip, hesitating, then spoke softly: “Half a year ago, just after the mansion’s renovations were complete. One night, as I returned from errands, I passed by and saw Ji Huai’an slip inside. I followed and found him entering the study. After that, there was no sound. At the time, I thought he was merely inspecting the repairs, so I dismissed it.”
Her voice dropped further. “As for not reporting… it was because then, Your Highness and the consort were… inseparable. I dared not speak rashly.”
Inseparable? Baili Jun’s lips curled in a mocking smile. Yes, in her past life, she had been blinded by Ji Huai’an’s false tenderness, only realizing the truth when her heart was carved out. She even suspected now that he had bewitched her. Otherwise, how could she have believed his honeyed lies so easily?
She would have to return to Mount Cangwu and ask Aunt Yun whether she had truly been cursed.
But in truth, Ji Huai’an had long lived in his family’s old estate. This consort’s mansion was only granted after the marriage, at the Crown Prince’s urging.
At the time, the Crown Prince had joked: “Ji Huai’an was once a general. Now, as your consort, he’s reduced to a mere lieutenant. Surely we can’t have him ‘marry into’ your princess’s manor—it would be laughable.”
Yet now, it seemed this mansion concealed secrets far darker than a mere joke.
“Qingwu, send the signal,” Baili Jun ordered coldly. “Tell Qingxian to bring the Crimson Feather Guard and seal the consort’s mansion. Tonight, not even a mouse is to escape.”
Qingwu obeyed and departed swiftly.
The Crimson Feather Guard was the elite force of the Xiao clan, entrusted to her mother on her deathbed. Her grandfather had given this hidden army to his daughter upon entering the palace, but her mother had never used it. Later, it passed to Baili Jun, who let it gather dust while she indulged in illusions of a “happy life.”
In her past life, she had died without ever wielding this power. Now she realized—her mother’s hesitant gaze at the end had been full of worry.
Reborn, Baili Jun knew: this blade hidden in its sheath was finally ready to drink blood.
“Let’s go.” She turned from the woodshed without another word. “Tonight, I will see what shameful secrets lie hidden in this consort’s mansion!”