In the early morning at the end of April, looking up, the magnificent palaces were shrouded in a thin mist, resembling a breathtaking Chinese ink - wash painting.
The early - rising palace servants were busily going about their duties. Ling Shan walked nervously towards the Palace Secretariat.
Yang Qiyuan had told Ling Shan to go to the Palace Secretariat to fetch the rations for the official maids. It was as if she had calculated that this “spy” would surely survive in the Taiji Palace.
It seemed that Ling Shan was allowed to choose what she liked, but in fact, this “trust” was like honey laced with poison.
They all knew very well that the Queen Mother would never miss such a good opportunity.
I'm afraid that as soon as Ling Shan left the Taiji Palace, the Queen Mother would come looking for her.
The Concubine Xian had been quiet for several days. It was impossible that she had suddenly changed her nature and stopped causing trouble. It must be the doing of the Queen Mother.
The dimly - visible rockeries in the faint morning light resembled bottomless beasts. One never knew when they would pounce out and bite.
“Miss Ling Shan.”
A soft voice suddenly came from inside a rockery cave. A fleeting sneer crossed Ling Shan's lips.
The person approaching was dressed in a proper eunuch's uniform. With an ordinary face, he held a jade token engraved with a flying phoenix, indicating his connection to the Queen Mother.
“Greetings to Eunuch Cao. May you be well, Eunuch Cao.” Ling Shan said with a smile as she bowed.
Eunuch Cao sized Ling Shan up and down with a faint smile in his eyes and said in a kind tone:
“May you be well, Miss Ling Shan. I've come on the orders of Her Majesty the Queen Mother. Since you left, Her Majesty has been very concerned about you. When she heard that you were injured, she was so worried that she quickly sent me to bring you something.”
Ling Shan took the porcelain bottle in the shape of a green plum blossom. Her eyes were filled with grateful tears as she said:
“Her Majesty the Queen Mother is so kind. I'm extremely grateful. I will always remember Her Majesty's kindness and will surely do my utmost until my last breath!”
Eunuch Cao closed his eyes in satisfaction. His tone was neither cold nor warm as he warned and tried to win her over, which was in line with the practice of the Cining Palace of hitting someone and then offering a sweet treat.
Ling Shan expressed her loyalty with a touch of panic. Eunuch Cao nodded in satisfaction and then gave her some veiled advice with a fake smile.
Ling Shan's eyes were filled with tears. She was almost ready to raise her hand and swear. After fooling the Queen Mother's lackey, the two were about to go their separate ways.
In the dark rockery, a glaring light flashed.
Ling Shan accidentally stepped on a small pebble and happened to sit down and fall to one side.
The light went straight into a crack in the rockery. The panicked face hidden in the darkness behind her instantly appeared.
“Traitor Cao! How dare you betray Her Majesty the Queen Mother!”
Ling Shan angrily stood up. Her delicate face was full of anger as she quickly kicked Eunuch Cao in the most vulnerable part.
“Ow—”
Eunuch Cao's face instantly twisted in pain. He covered his crotch with both hands and spun around like a headless fly.
Ling Shan angrily drew out her dagger and stabbed it into his chest with a sense of righteousness.
“Thud.”
The sound of flesh being pierced by the blade echoed in the secluded and silent rockery. A fair hand tightly covered Eunuch Cao's lips on his pain - whitened face.
He couldn't even let out a cry of pain. His pupils dilated violently, flickering with fear.
“Fool! How dare you betray the Queen Mother and try to harm me. Let me guess.”
A smile played on Ling Shan's lips, but her eyes were full of coldness. “It was that stupid Concubine Xian, wasn't it? She's really looking for her own death.”
“Uh...”
The dagger was stabbed in even harder. The traitor Cao couldn't even speak. Only an unwilling, painful croak came from his throat.
In just a few breaths, his eyes closed, and he would never have the chance to open them again.
Ling Shan let go of her hand, and the traitor Cao instantly slumped to the ground, no longer looking like the one who had looked down on her with a sense of superiority.
He had been so ill - intentioned, as if he was afraid that Ling Shan was too naive to see through his scheme.
She squatted down and carefully wiped off the bloodstains splashed on her palms one by one.
She unceremoniously took the jade token with the flying phoenix and bent down to carry the dead body to the other side of the rockery.
“Plop.” The body fell into the water, and the evidence was destroyed.
In the distance, Jun Wuyuan, who had left his imperial carriage and climbed up the rockery pavilion to overlook everything, a glint of light flashed across his eyes.
Liang Jiusi stared blankly, opening his mouth and blinking his eyes.
He looked at the beautiful figure that waved her sleeves without leaving a trace of blood and then at the gradually calm lake.
“Your... Your Majesty, is that... is that Miss Ling Shan?” He was a bit dizzy.
Jun Wuyuan glanced at his useless attendant and gave an order to the darkness.
“Go, fish the body out and throw it into the Nine - Bend Pond to feed the fish.”
The wind blew, and the leaves rustled. Liang Jiusi was even more shocked.
“Your Majesty, you... aren't you going to report this to the Cining Palace?”
This was a great opportunity to make the old hag and the little spy turn against each other. Why was he covering it up for her instead?
“What's the fun in that?”
Jun Wuyuan's gaze landed on a certain place, and a smile actually appeared on his lips.
“I originally thought she was a silly goose, but it turns out she's a beautiful snake. Interesting, really interesting.”
Looking at this smile, Liang Jiusi suddenly remembered the brutal kick and stab just now. He inexplicably felt a dull pain in a certain part of his body.
Sure enough, there were some things that an old eunuch like him couldn't understand.
His Majesty was really extraordinary.
Inside the Golden Luan Hall, a group of ministers who had gotten up early and were dizzy with hunger didn't know that their Emperor was not in a hurry to attend the morning court. Instead, he was idly watching a show.
As time passed, they waited and waited. Their vision began to go black, but they still didn't wait for the Emperor to arrive.
Jun Wuyuan watched with great interest as the hidden guards fished out the body. He even observed the angle of the dagger stabs. After pulling out the dagger, he admired the wound for a while before sending the body to feed the fish.
Liang Jiusi estimated the time. The morning court must have been half - over, but his Majesty was still playing with the dagger, enjoying himself and not knowing what he was so happy about.
The leg he had stepped out to remind his Majesty was silently retracted.
Better the other guy die than me.
Even if those ministers fainted from hunger, what did it matter to him, a chief eunuch?
The Nine - Bend Pond churned for a while before gradually returning to calm.
“Set off—” Liang Jiusi got busy.
Jun Wuyuan gave him a faint look. After getting on the imperial sedan chair, he suddenly felt a bit hungry.
“Back to the palace. Have breakfast.”
As for the ministers in the Golden Luan Hall?
That old wretch Wang Yuyao probably wished that he would stay away from government affairs.
If he didn't go, that old traitor would be grinning from ear to ear.
Ling Shan, who had successfully completed her task, returned to the Peach Garden. She sorted out the things she had fetched and sat alone in front of the bronze mirror, gradually lost in thought.
The face in the bronze mirror was still beautiful. She slowly raised her hands, which were fair and delicate.
Just now, she had used these hands to kill a person.
This was her first time killing someone.
However, she didn't regret it.
That old guy surnamed Cao had clearly been bribed to take her life. It was only natural for Ling Shan to strike first.
But how was she going to explain this to the Queen Mother?