Chapter 120: Ruthless and Merciless

As a venomous curse escaped her lips, Lu Xiyan already thrust the dagger concealed in her flowing sleeve toward Xue Xue. Her eyes seemed to glint with poison, glaring fiercely at Xue Xue.

However, just as she struck, Miao Jian beside her seized her wrist firmly with one hand, twisting her arm with the other until she gasped in pain.

“Did you think I would let this go so easily?” Lu Xiyan smiled strangely, a cold sneer curling her crimson lips.

She had come prepared.

Barely had the words left her mouth when the sharp whistle of hidden weapons filled the air, all aimed directly at Xue Xue’s position. At the same moment, assassins emerged, their sights also set on Xue Xue.

Sensing the shifting energies around her, Xue Xue stood unmoved. Ling Yin swiftly appeared at her side, brandishing a long sword in a blur of motion. With such speed, how could the assassins and their concealed weapons harm Xue Xue in the slightest?

“Come on! Kill her! I’ll reward you handsomely!” Lu Xiyan shouted recklessly, excitement surging as she watched the assassins she had summoned. Was this blind woman not doomed enough yet?

With that thought, she struggled fiercely. Miao Jian did not hold her tightly, and this struggle allowed her to slip away. Yet the hidden weapons were merciless. Whistles of flying blades sounded, and Lu Xiyan clutched her shoulder, collapsing to her knees.

Her face registered disbelief as she glanced at the unharmed Xue Xue, hatred undiminished.

Soon after, the assassins were completely dealt with.

The heavens were unkind that day, drizzling fine rain in a misty gray sky, exuding an ominous and eerie atmosphere.

Clutching her wounded shoulder, Lu Xiyan felt a sharp sting on her cheek. Something trickled slowly down her face and chin. Drip, drip—the dark blood fell to the wet earth, slowly spreading like ink.

“My face! My face…” she gasped in terror, hastily covering her cheeks. Her once pale face was now smeared with blackened blood.

Her face was ruined.

“There’s poison on the hidden weapons. Do you have an antidote?” Xue Xue asked calmly upon hearing Lu Xiyan’s panicked cries.

“Antidote? Yes, antidote!” Lu Xiyan seemed to recall something and, disregarding everything else, scrambled to stand as if to fetch it. “I must find her for the antidote—it's definitely with her, it must be!”

But the poison took hold again. Black blood spilled from her mouth. She appeared unaware, struggling to rise, desperate to find the cure.

“Tell me where the antidote is, and I’ll send someone to retrieve it,” Xue Xue said, unsurprised by Lu Xiyan’s answer. She knew well that despite her hatred, Lu Xiyan would not act recklessly. Such a dangerous move was beyond her foolishness.

Thus, the mastermind behind this was not hard to guess. Yet she could not bear to see Lu Xiyan die so pitifully.

“Your Highness! Save me! It was her who incited me! Those assassins were all her men! I knew nothing!” Lu Xiyan seemed to realize something as she crawled toward Xue Xue, blood streaming from her mouth and staining her chin black, looking horrifying.

Especially the small wound on her cheek, which appeared festering and grotesquely enlarged.

“Tell me, where is the antidote?” Xue Xue knelt before her.

“Your Highness, be careful…” Yu Zhi, worried, stepped closer to Xue Xue, assuming a protective stance.

“Heh…” Lu Xiyan laughed bitterly, a harsh sound. “Lang Hua, don’t worry… I no longer have the strength to harm anyone…” People near death often gain clarity about their situation and past deeds.

Thinking that even upon death she had no loyal guard nearby—how utterly desolate…

Seeing Lu Xiyan’s state, Yu Zhi frowned; once mistress and servant, she felt sorrow.

“Your Highness, it was Noble Consort Yu… that treacherous villain… I, Lu Xiyan, even as a ghost, will never forgive her…”

Though she despised how easily Xue Xue obtained all that the palace women desired, Xue Xue had never wronged her or abused her status as queen. It was that vile Yu Xiao who had manipulated her.

Despite her self-perceived cleverness, this was her bitter end.

The rain fell gently as the sky blurred.

Noble Consort Yu, umbrella in hand, left the Hui Hall, a faint smile playing on her lips. She wondered how matters had turned out. If Lady Yan’s plan failed, she was likely already a lost soul.

Such a waste of life—dying without value.

“Consort, the Queen requests your presence.”

By the time Noble Consort Yu arrived in her sedan chair, Lu Xiyan had already breathed her last. She lay quietly on the ground, covered by a long white cloth. Her disheveled posture was hidden, but her eyes, wide open with blackened irises, were chilling. Her wounded cheek was festering, grotesquely decayed.

Yu Xiao stepped down from her sedan and glanced over, catching sight of Lu Xiyan’s terrifying gaze.

The woman appeared to be staring directly at her, an eerie curve at the corner of her mouth.

“What… what happened here?” Noble Consort Yu gasped, legs weakening. A palace maid supported her; otherwise, she might have fallen.

“As you see,” Xue Xue replied calmly, expression unreadable.

“Who was she? How did she die like this…” Yu Xiao clutched her chest, turning away, unable to bear the gruesome sight.

“Lady Yan died tragically. Consort, you almost could have saved her,” Xue Xue sighed, crouching to conceal Lu Xiyan’s corpse completely.

“Your Highness, what do you mean? Could it be that I am involved in her death?” Noble Consort Yu asked with feigned confusion, her delicate face showing sorrow and puzzlement. “And why call her Lady Yan? How could…”

“Yes, I’m puzzled too. Why would Lady Yan meet such an end?” Xue Xue responded, standing as curiosity stirred within her.

Yu Xiao blinked, uncertain of Xue Xue’s implication. Had she heard something from Lu Xiyan? But that no longer mattered. Lu Xiyan was dead, unable to testify.

“There seems to have been a fight here. Could Lady Yan have led assassins to kill you, Consort? Such audacity! It’s only right you had her executed. She deserved this fate,” Yu Xiao said nervously, speculating. In her mind, Xue Xue had ordered Lady Yan’s death.

In the aftermath of a kingdom, executing a palace consort was not impossible. Yet a brutal death would stir rumors and suspicion.

“Consort, please spare the pretense. Lady Yan had a sudden realization before dying and revealed a shocking truth to me,” Xue Xue said softly, showing a flicker of emotion. “She told me you were the mastermind behind this. Do you think I believe it?”

“Your Highness, you wrong me. I have no grudge against you. Why such cruelty?” Yu Xiao protested.

“I’m curious just how much you hate me,” Xue Xue said deliberately, clearly steering the conversation.

“The Queen’s words are unacceptable. Now that Lady Yan is dead, how can this be pinned on me? How do you know she wasn’t framed?” Noble Consort Yu smiled lightly, confident Xue Xue could not touch her.

“Your words have merit. But if I could make the dead speak, would you then dare to admit your deeds?” Xue Xue slowly approached Yu Xiao, her voice laced with subtle temptation, misty as if veiled by fog.

What if she could make the dead speak? What then?

“Your Highness… such talk is improper,” Yu Xiao faltered, overwhelmed by Xue Xue’s presence, losing some confidence.

“Would you like to try? Hear Lady Yan speak of your deeds herself,” Xue Xue softly said, raising a hand and waving it gently before Yu Xiao’s eyes.

Yu Xiao recoiled in shock. She saw the white cloth covering Lady Yan stir. The blood-stained hand emerged, pulling back the cloth to reveal that horrifying face, eyes seemingly soaked in poison, staring straight at her.

“Didn’t expect me to still speak to you, Yu Xiao?” Lady Yan lifted her head, dark blood staining her chin, her eyes seeming to regain life.

“Impossible…” Yu Xiao was speechless, whispering fearfully, her gaze filled with terror.

“Yu Xiao, whether the assassination of the Queen succeeded or not, you never wished me alive, did you? You truly are the most venomous woman!” Lady Yan accused.

“Not me, you’re just stupid!” Yu Xiao forced calm, her beautiful face turning vicious. “I merely spoke casually about the Queen, and you took the bait. I was just prescribing the cure. You were the one who first planned to kill the Queen, I only helped you succeed…”

Indeed, she was not the murderer. Blame the foolishness and the palace mercilessness instead.

“Master, what have you said?” Yu Zhi’s voice broke through.

At that moment, Yu Xiao snapped back to reality. How could Lu Xiyan have come back to life? Her body lay peacefully covered on the ground, only the rain falling silently.

She looked at Xue Xue’s calm expression, recalling her own words. Had she gone mad? Had she really said what she did?

“Yu Xiao, do you know your crime?” Xue Xue’s voice was cold. She had only used a slight soul-control technique to induce an illusion, yet Yu Xiao’s true face was exposed. “Seize Yu Xiao at once! She has harmed the consorts and attempted to assassinate me. Her crimes are unforgivable. Detain her immediately and deal with her later!”

If so, then she would join Lady Yan in her fate. That was her end.

The matter of Noble Consort Yu naturally caused an uproar. No one expected the usually gentle consort to be the mastermind behind the Queen’s assassination and the true killer of Lady Yan.

Suddenly, every palace consort lived in fear. Judging by the Queen’s recent actions, it seemed she intended to cleanse the harem. What final fate awaited Noble Consort Yu remained unknown — detained now, whether she would live or die was uncertain.