After swallowing six pieces of osmanthus cake, Master Hua and Madam Hua didn’t even have time to secretly take the antidote before a violent cramp twisted through their stomachs.
Their faces instantly contorted in pain.
“The poison… it’s taking effect?”
“The… antidote!” Master Hua gasped, reaching frantically toward his wife.
Madam Hua hurriedly pulled a small porcelain bottle from her robes.
Her hands trembled so badly from the pain that the bottle slipped from her fingers.
It rolled across the floor…
Stopping right at Hua Zhiyun’s feet.
With a smile, Hua Zhiyun bent down and picked it up.
She removed the cork.
“How many pills?”
Madam Hua’s face had already turned ashen.
“One…”
“One is enough…”
Hua Zhiyun poured out a pill for each of them.
Seeing the antidote in her hand, the couple almost thanked her out of reflex.
Then they remembered—
She was the one who had forced them to eat the poisoned cakes in the first place.
What was there to thank her for?
They hurriedly swallowed the antidote and waited for it to work.
At the same time, they continued cursing her.
“You unfilial daughter!”
“You dare murder your own father and mother!”
“Hurry up and release your little brother!”
“As you wish.”
Hua Zhiyun obediently let go.
Thud!
The little boy crashed heavily onto the floor.
She shrugged innocently.
“You told me to let him go.”
“Y-You…”
Madam Hua became so enraged that she coughed up a mouthful of black blood.
Fortunately, Hua Zhiyun stepped aside in time.
Not a drop stained her skirt.
Master Hua’s expression darkened.
“Why isn’t the antidote working?”
“My stomach… it hurts so much!”
“Should we take another one?”
The husband and wife exchanged a glance.
Each swallowed another antidote.
The pain only worsened.
Then black blood began pouring from their noses.
Thinking they had been poisoned too deeply for two pills to work, they swallowed a third.
This time…
Blood started flowing from their ears.
When they reached for a fourth pill—
The bottle was empty.
All six antidote pills were gone.
Meanwhile…
Bloody tears slowly trickled from their eyes.
Only then did they realize…
The antidote wasn’t working.
Madam Hua suddenly understood.
“You…”
“You tampered with it?”
Hua Zhiyun snapped her fingers cheerfully.
“That’s right.”
“I thought your poison wasn’t vicious enough.”
“So I added another toxin.”
“It causes agonizing stomach cramps…”
“…followed by bleeding from all seven orifices.”
The couple’s legs gave out beneath them.
They dropped to their knees.
“Please spare us!”
“We didn’t want this either!”
“We were forced!”
“It was the Emperor who ordered us to poison you!”
Master Hua tried another tactic.
“I’m your father!”
“Can you really bear to poison me?”
Madam Hua added tearfully,
“This wasn’t what we wanted.”
“If you must blame someone…”
“Blame the mastermind behind it.”
Hua Zhiyun remained unmoved.
“I’m the type who repays every grudge.”
“If you’ve stained your hands…”
“You don’t get to escape.”
She wasn’t about to be fooled by a few pitiful words.
They deserved to die.
And she had never shown mercy to those who deserved death.
Did she have the antidote?
Yes.
Would she give it to them?
Not a chance.
Ignoring their desperate pleas, she kicked them both away.
The impact sent them tumbling across the floor, coughing up even more blood.
Realizing begging was useless, the husband and wife struggled toward the courtyard gate.
If they could find a physician—
Or even an imperial doctor—
Perhaps they could still be saved.
They crawled desperately.
Black blood streamed from their mouths, noses, ears, and eyes, leaving long trails behind them.
But before they even reached the courtyard entrance…
Both breathed their last.
After confirming they were truly dead…
Hua Zhiyun began emptying the Hua estate.
Not a single supply remained.
By the time the servants realized something was wrong…
The Hua residence had become nothing but an empty shell.
The young master awoke after being knocked unconscious.
Seeing his parents lying motionless on the ground, he repeatedly shook them.
“Father…”
“Mother…”
“Wake up…”
No matter how hard he pushed…
Neither moved.
Soon, the steward arrived after hearing reports that the family’s property had mysteriously disappeared.
The moment he saw the couple lying in pools of blood, he screamed,
“Master!”
“Madam!”
The Hua family possessed a considerable amount of wealth.
Thanks to the map, every hidden storehouse appeared clearly, no matter how well concealed.
At the same time, the system repeatedly issued warnings.
[You have deviated from the exile route for thirty minutes.]
[Please return to the designated route within thirty minutes.]
[Failure to comply will result in the complete deletion of your dimensional storage.]
Hua Zhiyun merely frowned.
After emptying the Hua residence, she even collected all their carriages, horses, and mules.
Nothing was left behind.
One handsome yellow horse especially caught her attention.
She took a crystal core from her space and held it before its mouth.
The horse sniffed.
Licked it.
Then curled its tongue and swallowed it whole.
Moments later—
The horse let out a thunderous neigh.
Its hooves pawed the air as it proudly tossed its mane.
Then it affectionately rubbed its large head against Hua Zhiyun.
“Pretty little miss…”
“Want to ride this handsome horse?”
“Come ride your Horse Brother!”
It even lowered its front legs and knelt before her, grinning so broadly it looked downright lecherous.
Hua Zhiyun stared.
“…”
Her fists clenched.
She’d thought it was some shameless pervert.
Turns out…
It was a shameless horse.
Without another word, she swung herself onto its back.
Pulling on her invisibility raincoat, she vanished from sight.
The yellow horse galloped toward the South Gate.
Prince Chu’s exile party had left the capital through the South Gate earlier that day.
If Hua Zhiyun failed to return to the designated route within twenty minutes…
Everything inside her dimensional storage would be erased.
All the supplies she’d painstakingly gathered…
Gone.
She had believed she was free.
Now she finally understood.
She had no choice but to complete the entire exile journey.
As soon as the horse’s path overlapped with the exile route…
The warning disappeared.
What should have taken nearly an hour took less than twenty minutes.
The crystal-enhanced horse was far faster than even the legendary thousand-li steeds.
Before reaching the exile convoy, Hua Zhiyun dismounted and stored the horse inside her dimensional space.
Even then, it continued babbling.
“Wasn’t my riding comfortable?”
“Aren’t I amazing?”
Hua Zhiyun silently produced a surgical scalpel.
“Should I geld you?”
The horse instantly clamped its hind legs together protectively.
Hua Zhiyun laughed and put it away.
Then she casually walked toward the convoy.
Just then, one of the escort officers blew a whistle.
“Everyone assemble!”
“We’re moving!”
As Hua Zhiyun walked along, someone suddenly slammed into her.
She sidestepped effortlessly.
The woman completely missed her target.
Instead, she stumbled forward and fell heavily.
The dagger hidden in her hand plunged into her own body.
She let out a muffled cry.
“Help…”
The nearby exiles all turned.
“What happened?”
“Isn’t that Third Brother’s wife?”
“She’s bleeding!”
“Someone’s been murdered!”
Their shouts quickly attracted the escort officers.
The injured woman pointed accusingly at Hua Zhiyun.
“She…”
“She tried to kill me!”
Hua Zhiyun’s lips curved slightly.
Her eyes turned icy.
“Are you sure?”
“It’s you!”
The woman shouted.
“You’re a murderer!”
The others immediately glared at Hua Zhiyun.
Especially the woman’s husband.
He raised his hand to slap her.
Before his palm could land—
Bang!
Hua Zhiyun kicked him flying.
He crashed to the ground like a sack of garbage.
She looked around coldly.
“Anyone else?”
Those who had been eager to rush forward immediately hesitated.
That single kick had frightened them badly.
The woman herself hadn’t expected such a delicate-looking girl to be so ruthless.
An escort officer barked,
“Enough!”
“Princess Consort Chu!”
“Come here!”
The others dared say nothing under the officers’ fierce gazes.
Watching Hua Zhiyun being led away, they all secretly gloated.
Surely…
She was about to suffer.
Meanwhile…
The wounded woman gritted her teeth and slowly approached the prison cart.
That person had promised her…
If she killed one of them…
One of her children would be spared.
She didn’t mind being exiled.
But her two young children were still so little.
Following the exile convoy would only condemn them to endless suffering.
If she succeeded…
They could return to her parents’ home and grow up safely.
She slowly crept toward the cart.
Inside, Chu Linzhang, who had been resting with his eyes closed, frowned slightly.
He opened his eyes…
Just in time to see her stabbing toward him.
“Don’t blame me…”
She whispered through tears.
“They said…”
“If I kill you…”
“They’ll spare my younger son.”
“He’s only seven.”
“I can’t watch him suffer.”
“Besides…”
“Your limbs are crippled.”
“Your martial arts are gone.”
“You’re already a cripple.”
“It’s better to die sooner.”
The dagger hadn’t even pierced his prison clothes—
When vines suddenly shot out.
They wrapped tightly around the woman’s neck.
She struggled desperately.
Her eyes bulged blood-red.
Her breathing became impossible.
She stared at Chu Linzhang in disbelief.
Until the very moment she died…
She had never imagined…
That even a cripple still possessed the power to kill.
Sadly…
She still failed to save her son.