“Lin Jingyi, if you and Jun Nansheng had not schemed against me back then, would I have married you?” The Emperor’s usually stern face curled into a cold smile.
“Yes, I did scheme against you back then.” The Empress admitted readily. “Do you know how much I loved you back then? I racked my brains to marry you, but you, you were always too stingy to give me even a little love.”
“I never loved you, it was all your own doing.” The Emperor retorted mercilessly.
“Hah! You are so heartless and unjust! Then let’s cut all ties from now on!” the Empress said sharply.
With that, she drew the dagger in her hand and rushed towards the Emperor with all her might. As she ran, she attempted a feint, trying to sprinkle the knockout drug she clutched tightly onto the Emperor. But the Emperor had long seen through her intentions. He quickly dodged the Empress’s attack, sidestepped behind her, raised the sword in his hand, and thrust it into the Empress’s back. The Empress, with a look of disbelief on her face, slowly turned to face the Emperor.
“You… you… really… hate… me… that much…?”
This was the Empress’s final question to the Emperor. After speaking, she fell to the ground and closed her eyes forever.
The Emperor glanced at the lifeless Empress, his mood still complex.
“Guards, drag this madwoman out and dispose of her. Then, summon the imperial physicians to examine Jian Feng,” the Emperor roared at Eunuch Li, who had just rushed in.
At this moment, Eunuch Li was feeling extremely dejected. When the Empress had sneaked into the imperial study to assassinate the Emperor, he had just been sent by the Emperor to Changshou Palace to pay respects to the Empress Dowager.
He had not expected the Empress to use this opportunity to assassinate the Emperor. He was truly infuriated.
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Immediately, he ordered a young eunuch to summon the imperial physicians to treat Jian Feng, and then had others brought in to carry the Empress out.
The Empress died just like that. Although she was unwilling, and her heart was filled with resentment, she could no longer be arrogant at this moment.
Meanwhile, at the Cold King’s Manor.
After finishing the surgery on Yin Chen, Leng Ruo Li walked out of the spatial realm with Jun Mo Han.
Jun Mo Han called over the guards who had accompanied Yin Chen. These guards also bore injuries on their hands and faces.
“What happened today?”
Jun Mo Han’s sapphire-like eyes flashed with a chilling light that made people tremble.
“Your Highness, we were escorting Madam Wen back to the capital smoothly with Commander Yin. However, about five hundred li outside the capital, a group of individuals of unknown identity suddenly appeared. They outnumbered us by dozens. They drew their sabers and attacked us…”
“Later, those people attempted to abduct Madam Wen. Commander Yin fought them to the death to protect Madam Wen… Following that, we were surrounded and attacked. Commander Yin risked half his life to carve out a path for us to bring Madam Wen out of the encirclement. In the end, we managed to escape those people, but Commander Yin was seriously injured,” Yin Yi replied with a solemn expression.
“What were the characteristics of those people?” Jun Mo Han asked after a moment of thought.
“The leader was a tall and portly man. Their attire did not belong to our Tianwu people,” Yin Yi truthfully replied.
“Ye Ying, go investigate who these unidentified individuals are. The rest of you may withdraw,” Jun Mo Han commanded.
After everyone dispersed, the Cold King and his consort went to the courtyard that Ye Ying had arranged for Madam Wen.
As they entered the room, they saw a plainly dressed, frail woman with delicate features. The wrinkles on her face were deeply etched, and she had a few sparse white hairs on her head. However, none of this could hide the nobility emanating from her.
At this moment, Madam Wen’s eyes were red, as if she had just been crying.
“You are Madam Wen, aren’t you?” Leng Ruo Li asked with a smile as she stepped into the doorway.
“Yes, you two must be the masters of this manor, the Cold King and the Cold King’s Consort, right?” Madam Wen also stood up and slowly bowed to them.
“Madam Wen, please rise!” Leng Ruo Li smiled and helped the woman up.
Afterward, the few of them sat down in the room.
“Madam Wen, we have brought you to the capital this time. You should understand our intentions by now,” Leng Ruo Li said directly.
“Yes, the guard named Yin Chen explained the situation to me clearly when he escorted me to the capital. Since Wen Jiaxuan (Lin Zhenfan) has been heartless towards me and caused my family’s ruin, I will absolutely show him no mercy,” Madam Wen replied, her voice slightly hoarse and her eyes red.
From the tone of her voice, Leng Ruo Li and Jun Mo Han could tell how much Madam Wen hated that Lin Zhenfan.
“Then, the King and I thank you, Madam Wen.” Seeing that Madam Wen was not in good spirits, the Cold King and his consort stood up and took their leave.
However, as they reached the doorway, Madam Wen suddenly called out to them.
“Your Highness the Cold King, Your Highness the Cold King’s Consort, this humble woman just remembered something. After some thought, I still feel I should inform you. The stout man who intercepted my guards entering the capital tonight is a confidant of Wen Jiaxuan (Lin Zhenfan) named Gao Dazhuang. He is extremely loyal to Wen Jiaxuan,” Madam Wen suddenly said to the Cold King and his consort.
Upon hearing this, Leng Ruo Li exclaimed, “Oh no! Those people know we’ve brought Madam Wen to the capital, so they’ll definitely inform Lin Zhenfan about this. Will Lin Zhenfan leave the capital overnight then?” Leng Ruo Li voiced her speculation with a worried expression.
“Yes!” Jun Mo Han nodded with certainty.
“Then let’s quickly order the guards to notify the soldiers guarding the city gates to tightly secure the gates and not let Lin Zhenfan leave the city,” a hint of urgency flashed in Leng Ruo Li’s eyes.
“It’s too late!”
With that, the light in Jun Mo Han’s eyes dimmed slightly.
“Sigh… we were truly careless about this matter,” Leng Ruo Li said with a touch of helplessness.
As a result, the moment they walked out of Madam Wen’s small courtyard, Ye Yi rushed over to find them.
“Your Highness, Your Highness’s Consort, it’s not good! Your subordinate heard from our informants at the city gates that Lin Zhenfan has left the capital with a group of people, braving the torrential rain,” Ye Yi said in a hurried tone.
“Sigh, that old fox has indeed escaped. It will be even harder to lure him back to the capital next time,” Leng Ruo Li muttered, hitting her forehead in frustration.
“Don’t worry, he won’t be able to cause trouble for much longer,” Jun Mo Han said, a hidden, unreadable flicker of emotion in his eyes.
Leng Ruo Li glanced at Jun Mo Han’s expression and then asked him curiously.
“Jun Mo Han, do you have another plan?”
“I can’t say for sure yet. You’ll know in the future.” With that, Jun Mo Han’s thin lips curved into a mysterious smile.