Hua Zhiyun was awakened by heart-rending screams.
The moment she opened her eyes, she found herself in a strange, shabby room that reeked of blood, mold, and the nauseating stench of urine and feces. A man was sprawled on top of her, and the disgusting sensation made her beautiful brows knit together.
A man’s vulgar whisper sounded in her ear.
“Your Highness, Princess Consort of Chu, enjoy yourself. Since Prince Chu’s become a cripple, we’ll be the ones accompanying you on your wedding night.”
“Third Brother’s right. Her Majesty the Empress ordered us to serve you well. We’ll make sure you’re thoroughly satisfied.”
“Prince Chu, open your eyes wide and watch how your princess begs for pleasure beneath us…”
Hua Zhiyun’s consciousness snapped fully into place, and murderous intent flashed across her eyes.
Ever since the apocalypse began, anyone who dared molest her had never lived to see another day.
These men were courting death.
Her soft, delicate hand slid up the coarse man’s neck.
Thinking she was responding to him, the man grinned lecherously.
Instead, a sharp pain shot through his neck.
Crack!
His neck snapped cleanly, and his head lolled to one side as he died instantly, collapsing onto her body.
The others hadn’t noticed anything unusual.
To them, the delicate Princess Consort was nothing more than meat on the chopping block, free for them to carve up as they pleased.
Little did they know that the Princess Consort before them was no longer the same person.
She was now Hua Zhiyun from the apocalypse—a woman who possessed an infinite spatial dimension and miraculous healing abilities.
Coincidentally, she even shared the original owner’s exact name.
Perhaps it was fate.
She had died…
Only to live again.
She had become the cannon-fodder supporting female character from a political intrigue novel she’d once read—a character who appeared for only a single chapter before becoming nothing more than a stepping stone for the heroine.
The heroine…
Was the very empress these vulgar men had mentioned.
Jealous of the original owner’s beauty, the heroine had ordered these men to violate her after she was convicted of a crime.
Unable to endure such humiliation, the original owner had bitten off her own tongue and committed suicide.
Hua Zhiyun felt a sting on her tongue.
The original owner had possessed remarkable integrity.
Very well.
She would protect the chastity the original owner had died defending.
Her gaze shifted to the man being forced to watch nearby.
His entire body was covered in blood, his face hideously mangled, and only his deep, dark eyes revealed that he was still alive.
Their gazes met.
This man, known as Prince Chu, possessed strikingly handsome eyes and brows.
Within them, Hua Zhiyun saw despair, helplessness, fury, and unwillingness to accept his fate.
As the men punched and kicked him, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Yet he stared at her without looking away.
His eyes brimmed with guilt, self-reproach…
And an indescribable heartache.
He feels sorry for me?
What a joke.
Did Hua Zhiyun need anyone’s pity?
The corners of her lips curled upward.
The chill in her eyes spread throughout the prison cell.
Seeing the man lying motionless atop Hua Zhiyun, one of the others impatiently shoved the corpse aside.
“Third Brother’s useless. If he can’t do it, let your little brother have a turn. A beauty like this deserves to be thoroughly enjoy—AARGH!”
A flash of cold steel.
The man’s face twisted in agony as he clutched his crotch.
Blood poured through his fingers.
He stared at Hua Zhiyun in disbelief, her clothes disheveled, and stammered,
“Y-You…”
“Die.”
Her blade rose and fell.
The man collapsed.
Fresh blood sprayed across Hua Zhiyun’s face, yet she didn’t even frown.
After years of battling grotesque, flesh-eating zombies in the apocalypse, she had long since become utterly ruthless.
The remaining three men were so terrified that they instinctively loosened their grip.
With only his last breath remaining, Chu Linzhang collapsed to the floor.
His limbs had been crippled, leaving him powerless to do anything except watch as the seemingly frail woman before him slaughtered the three men one after another.
As if killing them weren’t enough…
She even severed every one of their manhoods.
Her strikes were merciless.
Her movements swift and efficient.
Even the elite death guards he had trained were not as ruthless as she was.
Three seconds later…
Hua Zhiyun was the only person left standing in the prison cell.
She glanced at the fallen Chu Linzhang before walking over.
Looking down at the dying man, her gaze lingered on the severed tendons in his hands and feet, reducing him to a cripple.
“Need me to send you on your way?” she asked.
With what little strength he had left, Chu Linzhang slowly shook his head.
Hua Zhiyun didn’t mind.
Whether she acted or not, he was going to die anyway.
Although she possessed extraordinary medical skills, she had no intention of wasting them on someone who had nothing to do with her.
Having received his answer, she stopped meddling, rose to her feet, and walked away.
Since she had inherited this body…
She ought to avenge its original owner.
The Empress, was it?
Perfect.
She would pay her a visit.
Hua Zhiyun walked out of the prison without encountering any obstacles.
It was night, and there weren’t many guards stationed around the prison.
Catching them completely off guard, she knocked every one of them unconscious before they even caught a glimpse of her face.
Phoenix Ceremonial Palace
A palace maid was combing Su Wanmei’s hair.
“Have the men been sent?”
The maid nodded.
“They’ve probably succeeded by now. Once her chastity is ruined, even if His Majesty still cares about her, the thought of her being violated by several death-row prisoners will disgust him.”
“Well done. You’ll be rewarded.”
Su Wanmei smiled smugly.
Before the smile could fully reach her eyes…
A sharp pain shot through her scalp.
The palace maid let out a muffled groan before collapsing unconscious.
Sensing something was wrong, Su Wanmei turned around—
Pain exploded across her neck.
Everything went black.
She fell straight into Hua Zhiyun’s waiting arms.
Looking at the flower-like beauty before her, Hua Zhiyun hadn’t expected such a lovely face to conceal such vicious intentions.
In that case…
She wouldn’t be showing any mercy.
She retrieved a pair of hair clippers from her space.
Strands of silky black hair drifted to the floor one after another.
Before long, the ground was covered with severed locks—a heartbreaking sight for anyone who loved long, glossy black hair.
Hua Zhiyun, however, felt no pity whatsoever.
In an excellent mood, she shaved Su Wanmei into an uneven yin-yang hairstyle.
Satisfied with her masterpiece, she smiled before storing the unconscious woman inside her space.
Her infinite space could hold living beings.
Anyone placed inside would simply remain asleep.
Originally, Hua Zhiyun hadn’t planned to leave just yet.
Since she was already here…
Her space wasn’t exactly well-stocked.
The imperial palace seemed like the perfect place to replenish her supplies.
With a wave of her hand, the red sandalwood, fragrant rosewood, and golden nanmu furniture inside Phoenix Ceremonial Palace vanished.
Tables.
Chairs.
The dressing table.
The folding screen.
Wardrobes.
The canopy bed.
Even Su Wanmei’s chamber pot wasn’t spared.
After all, she had unlimited storage space.
Whether she needed the items or not didn’t matter.
She could always take them first.
By the time she left Phoenix Ceremonial Palace, aside from the unconscious eunuchs and palace maids lying on the ground…
The palace was nothing more than an empty shell.
The ornamental fish in the courtyard disappeared together with their pond.
Every decorative flower and potted plant vanished as well.
Even the trees rooted in the courtyard were uprooted entirely.
Not so much as a single leaf was left behind.
Looking at the neatly laid stone tiles in the courtyard, Hua Zhiyun found them rather pleasing.
She casually raised her hand.
Every single paving stone disappeared.
Only uneven patches of bare earth remained.
Leaving Phoenix Ceremonial Palace, Hua Zhiyun wasn’t in a hurry to leave the palace grounds.
She opened her resource map.
Numerous small red dots appeared across it.
This was one of her space’s built-in functions—a resource detection map.
Anywhere marked in red meant abundant supplies.
One location was the emperor’s private treasury.
Others included the storehouses of the imperial consorts throughout the Six Palaces, the Imperial Kitchen, and the national treasury.
Hua Zhiyun narrowed her eyes.
She decided to start with the nearest target—the Six Palaces.
Like a whirlwind sweeping through, she emptied every private treasury while their owners slept soundly, completely unaware.
Gold.
Silver.
Jewels.
Silks.
Porcelain.
Decorative antiques.
Ginseng.
Deer antler.
Tea.
Anything Hua Zhiyun fancied…
She took it all.
After looting the Six Palaces, she headed straight for the Imperial Kitchen.
The Imperial Kitchen was excellent.
It was filled entirely with food.
Rice.
Flour.
Cooking oil.
Soy sauce.
Vinegar.
Tea.
Hams.
Chicken.
Duck.
Fish.
Meat.
Dried scallops.
Seafood.
Even the steaming pots still bubbling on the stoves disappeared into her space.
Not a single pot, bowl, ladle, piece of firewood, or lump of charcoal was left behind.
The spotless stoves remained…
But everything on them was gone.
Not even a crumb.
The strings of garlic and dried chili peppers hanging beneath the eaves vanished.
So did every jar of pickled vegetables hidden away in the corners.
A drowsy palace servant finally woke up.
He wandered into the kitchen…
Then froze.
Was this…
Really the Imperial Kitchen he knew?
He blinked several times.
Then slapped himself hard across the face.
It hurt.
Realizing this wasn’t a dream, he let out a terrified scream.
“Godfather! This is terrible! The Imperial Kitchen’s been robbed!”