“Shen Shuyan, you vicious woman! Why didn’t you tell me something this important? You ruined my life! Go to hell!”
Xiao Jingyu clamped both hands around Shen Shuyan’s neck.
“Vicious woman! Vicious woman! Die! Die!”
The veins on his hands bulged as he completely lost control.
It was all this vicious woman’s fault.
She had to have done it on purpose.
She wanted to become Empress, so she had joined forces with the Prime Minister’s Residence to deceive him.
In the end, he had lost everything.
His throne.
His National Treasury.
His Private Treasury.
Even his handsome face.
The more he thought about it, the more furious he became.
His grip around Shen Shuyan’s neck tightened even more.
Shen Shuyan’s eyes rolled back as she desperately slapped at Xiao Jingyu’s hands.
She struggled to beg for mercy through gasps.
“L-Let… let go of me… I… can’t… breathe…”
Her eyes rolled back, and she felt deeply wronged.
Could she really be blamed for this?
She had always believed the Abbot’s words were nothing but lies.
What “Born with the Fate of the Phoenix”?
She had assumed the Abbot only said it because he pitied Shen Qingyao and wanted to save her life.
Besides, her parents had also believed that the Abbot’s words shouldn’t be trusted completely.
The whole idea had been her parents’.
She had never dreamed that the Fate of the Phoenix actually existed.
If she had known…
She would have been content to remain an Imperial Noble Consort.
With Xiao Jingyu’s favor, she would certainly have enjoyed more affection than an Empress ever could.
Besides, Xiao Jingyu should be settling accounts with her parents.
They were the ones who came up with the plan.
It had nothing to do with her.
That’s right!
He should go after her parents instead.
She wanted to speak, but she no longer had the strength.
Her eyes rolled upward, and even the hands that had been beating against Xiao Jingyu’s grip became limp.
She regretted it.
She regretted everything.
But it was too late.
At the same time, she thought of Nanny Zhang.
Back then, Nanny Zhang had advised her not to go too far.
She hadn’t listened at all.
Eventually, Nanny Zhang had stopped saying anything.
Could it be…
Could it be that Nanny Zhang hadn’t disappeared at all?
Maybe she had simply fled because she feared heavenly punishment.
Gradually, Shen Shuyan stopped struggling.
She stopped breathing.
Her arms fell limply to her sides, and her legs stiffened.
Her eyes remained wide open.
She died with her eyes still open.
…
At that moment, the atmosphere in the Prime Minister’s Residence was unbearably oppressive.
Too many things had happened recently.
Everyone in the residence was on the verge of collapse.
Suddenly, the Prime Minister’s Wife felt a sharp pain in her chest.
She pressed a hand against it, looking extremely uncomfortable.
“Mother, what’s wrong?”
Her youngest son, Shen Yunyang, looked at her with concern.
Although he was an idle playboy who never applied himself, he was still a filial son.
“I don’t know why… My chest suddenly hurts.”
After speaking, she looked around at the family gathered together.
Other than her eldest daughter, whom everyone despised, only her younger daughter was absent.
The eldest daughter was already dead, so there was no point thinking about her anymore.
But her younger daughter was still in the Imperial Palace.
She had even been disfigured.
She was no longer Empress.
Who knew how she was doing in the palace now?
“Husband… do you think Yanyan might be in trouble?”
She looked anxiously at the Prime Minister.
She wasn’t imagining things.
A mother and daughter shared a special bond.
She was truly worried about her younger daughter’s situation.
“Enough. Stop worrying about things you can’t change.”
The Prime Minister’s expression was gloomy.
“Even if something has happened to her, there’s nothing we can do.”
At this moment, he was filled with regret as well.
He regretted not taking the Abbot’s words seriously.
Now the Prime Minister’s Residence was practically ruined.
The rest of the family also remained silent.
None of them had the energy to care about a deposed Empress.
All they could think about now was how to restore the Prime Minister’s Residence to its former glory.
…
Inside the Imperial Palace, Xiao Jingyu was still consumed by rage.
Shen Shuyan was already dead.
Yet he refused to release her neck.
He continued squeezing it tightly, venting all the hatred in his heart.
After watching such an entertaining spectacle of two enemies tearing each other apart, Xiao Jingchen was in an excellent mood.
A satisfied smile appeared on his face as he turned and walked out of the Cold Palace.
Yes.
This was the Cold Palace.
The room where Xiao Jingyu and Shen Shuyan were being held…
…was the very same room where Shen Qingyao had once lived.
Xiao Jingyu didn’t know that.
But Shen Shuyan knew it perfectly well.
That was why she had been so terrified.
Ever since being locked in this room, she had stayed curled up in the corner.
After Xiao Jingyu and Shen Shuyan were deposed, Xiao Jingchen had arranged for them to be imprisoned here.
Xiao Jingchen was someone who never forgot a grudge.
After his third brother seized the throne, he had stripped the First Prince and the Second Prince of their titles and reduced them to commoners.
Then he had driven them out of Yunjing.
As for Xiao Jingchen himself and the Fifth Prince, one had been imprisoned in the Imperial Clan Court, while the other had been placed under house arrest in his princely residence.
In short, Xiao Jingyu hadn’t spared a single one of them.
Now that Xiao Jingchen was Emperor, it was time to repay every grudge and settle every score.
He actually felt he had been too kind.
He had merely locked them in the Cold Palace.
He hadn’t thrown them into the prison of the Imperial Clan Court.
…
At last, Xiao Jingyu loosened his grip.
He collapsed onto the floor with a thud, looking completely dazed.
His mind had descended into chaos.
Suddenly, he burst into laughter.
“I am the Emperor! I am the Emperor! I command you to get up immediately and attend to me! Help me wash and change my clothes. I have court to attend!”
One look at him was enough to tell anyone what had happened.
The blow had been too much.
He had gone mad.
The two guards standing outside the door exchanged helpless glances and shook their heads.
It seemed the former Emperor was truly finished.
They had heard everything that had just been said inside.
They sighed again, unable to decide whether they should pity the man inside or simply say he deserved it.
He could have remained a good Emperor, but because he mishandled the matter of the Empress, he had been dragged down from the throne.
Meanwhile, Shen Qingyao and Leng Xingchen continued traveling south, stopping whenever they came across beautiful scenery and staying the night before setting off again the next day.
Today, they arrived at a small village.
Their carriage stopped in the center of the village.
Immediately, many villagers gathered around, sizing up the luxurious carriage and the two people riding in it.
The arrival of strangers made everyone in the village nervous.
Their village was tiny, with only twenty or thirty households, tucked away at the foot of a remote mountain.
Strangers rarely came here, and the villagers themselves seldom left.
Life was poor, but at least it was peaceful.
Those capable enough to leave the village never came back.
Those without the means stayed here all their lives, marrying, raising children, growing old, and eventually dying.
To put it simply, no strangers had visited this village for years.
So when two unfamiliar people suddenly appeared, it was only natural for everyone to be on guard.
An old man in his fifties stepped forward and carefully observed them for quite a while before speaking.
“You two, I’m the village chief. May I ask what brings you to our village?” he asked cautiously.
From their appearance alone, the two young people didn’t seem like bad people.
Still, one could never be too careful around strangers.
The other villagers shared the same wary expressions.
“Village Chief, we mean no harm. It’s getting dark soon, and we’d like to borrow a place to stay for the night. Don’t worry—we won’t stay for free. Here’s one tael of silver. Could you help us find somewhere to spend the night?” Leng Xingchen said as he took out a tael of silver and handed it over.
The village chief didn’t accept the silver immediately.
Instead, he studied the pair with his slightly cloudy yet wise eyes.
The two of them were both exceptionally good-looking, but they didn’t resemble each other at all, so they probably weren’t siblings.
The young man handled all the talking.
The young woman hadn’t spoken a single word. She simply stood there quietly with an indifferent expression, as though none of this concerned her.
In reality, the village chief had misunderstood.
Shen Qingyao was simply observing the village in silence.
There were only a little over twenty houses, all built from packed earth.
It was obvious the village was extremely poor.
It wasn’t just because of the houses.
Many of the children were skin and bones, dressed in patched clothes that clearly didn’t fit.
It was obvious the clothes had been handed down from the oldest child to the younger ones.
Once the eldest outgrew them, the next child wore them, then the youngest after that.
As long as the clothes could still be worn, they would continue to be passed down.
Shen Qingyao didn’t sense any hostility from the villagers.
They were simply wary of outsiders.
She could understand that.
After all, the arrival of strangers naturally made them feel threatened.
After observing the two for a while, the village chief concluded that they truly meant no harm.
Only then did he stretch out his weathered hand and accept the tael of silver.
“There is an empty house in the village, but no one has lived there for years. It’ll need quite a bit of cleaning before it’s livable. Why don’t you just stay at my house for the night?” The old chief finally smiled warmly and even invited them into his own home.
“No need, Village Chief. We don’t want to trouble your family. Just find us an empty house,” Leng Xingchen refused without hesitation.
The main reason was that he knew the village chief’s home probably didn’t have any spare rooms.
They would most likely have to share a room with someone else.
He didn’t mind, but he knew his elder sister certainly wouldn’t want to.
He instinctively glanced toward Shen Qingyao.
Sure enough, she was looking at him with approval in her eyes.
Leng Xingchen couldn’t have been prouder.
Just as he thought—his elder sister definitely didn’t want to share a room with strangers.
“That house has been empty for years. Are you sure you want to stay there?” the village chief asked once more.
“Yes, Village Chief,” Leng Xingchen answered immediately.
The village chief nodded, then turned to the villagers.
“Everyone, go on home. Don’t just stand around here.”
The villagers were very obedient.
Since the village chief had decided to let the strangers stay, it meant the two of them weren’t dangerous.
The villagers trusted him completely.
Whatever the village chief said, they followed without question.
As soon as he spoke, everyone obediently turned around and headed home.
It was obvious the village chief was highly respected.
Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been a single objection.
“Come with me.”
The village chief clasped his hands behind his back and walked ahead.
Shen Qingyao followed behind him.
Leng Xingchen led the carriage behind Shen Qingyao.
Before long, the village chief brought them to a mud-brick house at the far end of the village.
The courtyard wall wasn’t very tall—about five feet high.
The original owner of Shen Qingyao’s body was only around the same height.
If she stood on tiptoe, she could easily see over the upper half of the wall.
“This is the place.”
The village chief took out a key and struggled to unlock the rusty padlock.
As soon as the gate opened, Shen Qingyao saw that the courtyard was overgrown with weeds.
It was obvious no one had lived there for a very long time.
Large patches of mud had also fallen away from the walls of the house.
Still, having a place that could at least keep out the wind and rain was already good enough.
Besides, they were only staying for one night.
There was no reason to be picky.
“Thank you, Village Chief,” Leng Xingchen said gratefully.
Shen Qingyao nodded politely and parted her lips.
“Thank you, Village Chief. Sorry for troubling you.”
It was the first sentence Shen Qingyao had spoken since entering the village.
The village chief was briefly taken aback.
Then a warm smile spread across his aged face.
“It’s nothing, it’s nothing. I’ll be on my way now.”
With that, he clasped his hands behind his back once more and slowly walked away.