Chapter 61 - 1#

Did Concubine Kang want to rebel?

Not at all.

When a foreign tribe invades another country, it is aggression. How can it be considered rebellion?

Everything she did, in her eyes, had its own reasons.

So, when Qiu Lian said that something was strange outside, Concubine Kang still had a faint smile on her face.

She asked Qiu Lian to comb her hair.

Qiu Lian looked a bit frightened, but she still knelt behind Concubine Kang and skillfully put up her hair.

Concubine Kang had been in bed for days, and her face still carried a faint sickly look. However, under Qiu Lian’s exquisite skills, she was made up to look ruddy and bright.

Qiu Lian whispered, “Your Highness, look.”

In the mirror, Concubine Kang looked so beautiful.

Qiu Lian was a maid Concubine Kang brought from outside the palace. After becoming Concubine Kang’s head palace maid, Qiu Lian had always been loyal.

A pair of cold hands touched Qiu Lian’s face, and a soft voice said, “Qiu Lian, when you discovered I had switched places with your master back then, why didn’t you say anything?”

These words were no less terrifying than a female ghost pouncing on one’s face in a midnight dream.

Qiu Lian shuddered, her eyes revealing fear.

If a person’s personality changed, who would be the most likely to notice?

Not parents, not family, but the servants who waited on them day and night. Only they were by their master’s side every single day. Even a slight change could be noticed by them, let alone someone like Concubine Kang who had been completely replaced.

Several years ago, just before Concubine Kang entered the palace for the selection, she went on an outing and accidentally fell into the water from a cliff. She had a high fever for several days after returning. When she woke up, her brain was a bit damaged from the fever, and she had forgotten most of her previous memories.

Looking at the little girl who looked the same but had completely lost her memory, her mother washed her face with tears all day long. But her name had already been reported to the palace. In half a year, she was definitely going to enter the palace.

So, all the training had to start over.

Perhaps due to fright, the perfectly fine young lady never spoke. She just silently underwent training until one day, she looked at the birds calling outside the window and slowly revealed a smile.

Then, facing the woman who entered the door, she called out “Mother.”

From that day on, she could speak.

Her voice was exactly the same as before.

Then came the selection, entering the palace, until she was titled Concubine, and later given the title Kang. Qiu Lian had always been by Concubine Kang’s side.

She said nothing.

Just because someone looks the same and says the same things, it doesn’t mean they are the same person.

Qiu Lian’s face was pale, and she stammered, “This servant didn’t dare. You just bumped your head, it’s not like…”

The cold sensation on her neck made Qiu Lian abruptly stop speaking.

She was timid, she was cowardly.

When she sensed something was wrong, she would only cover her ears.

As long as she said nothing and pretended not to notice anything, even if something happened in the end, so what?

As long as Qiu Lian could survive.

She wouldn’t look that far ahead; she just wanted to keep her own life.

This wasn’t wrong.

In the beginning, it indeed saved Qiu Lian’s life, until today.

Concubine Kang said softly, “Anyway, thank you, Qiu Lian. Without you, I couldn’t have come this far.”

She said this sentence in the Gaonan language.

The cold, soft fingers mercilessly broke Qiu Lian’s neck, giving her no chance to escape.

Qiu Lian’s body fell to the ground. Concubine Kang lowered her hands and began to arrange her clothes herself.

She stood up. The magnificent clothes on her body were in colors Concubine Kang had never tried before.

Concubine Kang actually liked bright and beautiful colors. She didn’t like being reserved, didn’t like being weak, and certainly didn’t like that frail, helpless, pitiful virtue. But this disguise of weakness would make everyone let down their guard against her.

Concubine De was like this, and the high-and-mighty Empress Dowager was also like this.

No one discovered that Concubine Kang was actually a cold, venomous scorpion, lying in wait in the dark, silently plundering.

Over these years, only a few messages had passed through Concubine Kang’s hands.

But every single one was enough to glimpse the changes in this decaying dynasty.

Concubine Kang did very well.

Originally, she could have done even better.

Thinking of the last message she sent out, she sighed softly in her heart. Holding such a big secret but being unable to tell anyone was truly lonely.

“Clang—”

The tightly closed palace doors were kicked open. The howling cold wind rolled in from outside the hall, blowing Concubine Kang’s clothes into a wild dance.

“Your Majesty, this must be the first time you’ve stepped into this concubine’s palace late at night.”

Concubine Kang faced Emperor Jingyuan outside the door and spoke slowly.

“I wonder, Your Majesty, do you have no interest in the beauties of the harem, or do you actually have more peculiar preferences?”

Unlike other concubines’ attention to Emperor Jingyuan, Concubine Kang’s concern for the Emperor was far closer than anyone else’s.

As long as one put in the effort, one could always see some secrets.

Emperor Jingyuan seemed to have no interest in women.

To Concubine Kang, this was undoubtedly good news.

A monarch of a country having no offspring, no heir, was undoubtedly something that could shake the foundation of the state.

Even if a brother could succeed him, without Emperor Jingyuan, it would still be different.

Different emperors had different external policies.

Almost all foreign tribes hoped that the Emperor on the Central Plains would be as weak as the late Emperor. Even the weakest small tribe could lie on the decaying body of the Helian Dynasty and suck blood.

Thinking of this, the smile on Concubine Kang’s face deepened.

Just as she wanted to continue speaking, she saw Emperor Jingyuan move. He stepped over the threshold and walked out from the darkness. That immense aura that parted the night carried the scent of blood. Even Concubine Kang, who already had the will to die, couldn’t help but tremble.

Why would someone seeking death be afraid?

Concubine Kang steadied her mind, but saw Emperor Jingyuan carrying a bundle in his hand.

It was wrapped in cloth strips, carrying the scent of fresh blood.

Blood was still seeping down incessantly, dripping patter-patter.

It had dripped all the way from outside.

Very fresh.

Concubine Kang suddenly had an ominous premonition in her heart. Her gaze unconsciously stopped on that… head.

Yes, even though it hadn’t been untied, it was indeed a head.

The snow outside, in the howling cold wind, crazily froze all warmth, as if even bones were to be frozen stiff.

Emperor Jingyuan finally spoke.

“How nice. You love your father, and your father loves you very much too.”

His voice was even colder than the snowy night.

Accompanying the sound of the head being thrown at Concubine Kang’s feet with a crisp thud.

“Truly, a deep bond between father and daughter.”

Concubine Kang’s eyes widened, full of disbelief.

…Impossible. She had requested early on that the diplomatic mission must leave.

Long before she sent out the last message, Concubine Kang had taken the risk to use the message channel just to let the diplomatic mission leave early.

Staying in the capital was the most dangerous thing.

Even if what happened to the Shanyou people was already in her speculation, as long as they acted according to the plan, there was still a possibility of escaping alive.

No matter how crazy Emperor Jingyuan was, many things couldn’t be done openly!

Concubine Kang looked at that head but refused to bend down to untie it.

As if this way, she wouldn’t see that familiar face, nor be forced to look directly at that terrible conjecture.

The wind became fiercer, beating against the inner hall.

The wrapped cloth strips were already loose. Under that howling wind, they finally couldn’t hold up anymore. The loose knot was blown open violently, with a crisp snap—

The cloth strips were flung away ruthlessly.

A familiar pale face stared at Concubine Kang with eyes wide open in anger.

In the silent palace, a woman’s miserable scream suddenly rang out, as terrifying as a ghost from hell.

Outside the palace chamber, Ning Hongru rubbed his hands, feeling that today was much colder than before.

He heard Concubine Kang’s scream but remained indifferent.

Concubine Kang was actually a very smart person. Many of her actions in the palace, at least in the early stages, were indeed almost invisible and hard to fathom.

The fire in Yongning Palace was set by Concubine Kang.

It was a ruthless tactic like a gecko shedding its tail when sensing danger. Everyone who might leak information died in the fire.

Actually, even if she hadn’t done that, Emperor Jingyuan might not necessarily have acted.

Might not.

This was Ning Hongru’s guess.

Qianming Palace had known about Concubine Kang’s identity for some time. Even if Concubine Kang’s traces were silent, as long as Qianming Palace wasn’t dead, they would always detect traces.

Just no action.

When would there be action? When to strike? Or even whether to intercept those messages?

Ha, none of that.

When exactly it would start depended entirely on Emperor Jingyuan’s mood.

This was the only rule of Qianming Palace.

Who knew what the Emperor wanted to do?

He could easily kill someone because of a slight mood, or he could casually give away precious things because he was happy. No one could accurately know… what kind of person the Emperor really was.

Otherwise, why say he was crazy?

Before that, he had never cared.

Concubine Kang chased clues all the way to the North Room, investigated Talented Lady Yao, learned about the Empress Dowager’s matters, and even dug deeper into the secrets hidden by Chen Mingde. Unfortunately, before she could know, Chen Mingde died.

He could have died not so quickly, but sensing the unclear situation, after outliving Nanny Ming, Chen Mingde chose his own way of death.

Concubine Kang was a step slow here.

She failed to dig out the secret from Chen Mingde’s mouth, but following Sanshun, she targeted Jingzhe.

Then through Jingzhe, she caught Rong Jiu.

She didn’t see through Rong Jiu’s identity, but keenly knew something was wrong with him.

Ning Hongru sighed deeply. If Concubine Kang just wanted to plot against Rong Jiu, it would have been normal, but she just had to drag Jingzhe along.

Why did it have to be Jingzhe?

I wonder if Concubine Kang likes this scene of flesh and blood meeting?

…

Jingzhe didn’t sleep all night.

He originally wanted to sleep, but Yunkui, who climbed in through the window, didn’t allow it. He even lit a lamp and woke up Huiping, who had just fallen asleep, vowing solemnly:

“We can’t sleep. We don’t know if that person will come back. If we really just sleep like this, maybe we’ll wake up tomorrow to find two corpses.”

Hearing Yunkui’s words, Huiping was also afraid in hindsight.

“After the keys are locked, who can still walk around freely? Do they really think this palace is a place where they can come and go as they please?”

Jingzhe asked Yunkui, “Did you see any movement from him just now?”

Otherwise, just seeing someone standing outside from afar, how could he be scared enough to rush over immediately?

Yunkui: “I looked from afar, and it seemed like he was holding something in his hand, and he was lying by the window in a strange posture.”

He mimicked that posture, twisting his body to show the other two.

Jingzhe paused slightly. This was a strange and twisted posture.

It was like the person outside the window wanted to listen to the movement inside but didn’t want to be discovered by the people inside—if not careful, a shadow would fall on the window—so, they were peeping into the room from bottom to top.

Huiping rubbed his arm: “Let’s not sleep.”

Two votes vetoed Jingzhe’s one vote, so a Jingzhe was dragged up and turned into a Jingzhe who sleepily watched the other two chat.

The next morning, the three of them successfully cultivated dark circles under their eyes.

Jingzhe felt he suffered a huge loss.

That person yesterday, if they really had evil intentions, seeing Yunkui appear, would definitely know that their plan had been seen through. The possibility of returning tonight was almost nil.

But Yunkui and Huiping were very careful and directly stood guard all night.

Just as Yunkui yawned incessantly and went back to the Miscellaneous Duties Office, and Jingzhe and Huiping were yawning incessantly while washing up, they saw Shi’en swiftly dart in from outside the main gate, moving just like a monkey.

Jingzhe vaguely spat out water while biting the willow twig: “Early in the morning, why are you coming back from outside?”

The sky wasn’t even bright yet. Even for the Palace Sanitation Department, they had just woken up.

Shi’en grabbed Jingzhe’s arm, his eyes full of strange colors.

“Something happened in the palace last night.”

Jingzhe’s movements stopped. He looked at Shi’en and said slowly, “Concubine Kang?”

“How did you know?!”

Shi’en’s intention to keep them in suspense was defeated by Jingzhe’s calm attitude. He pawed at Jingzhe: “How did you know? Do you have connections I don’t know about? Is it Rong Jiu?”

Little did he know, Jingzhe was also shocked in his heart.

Last night, Jingzhe was still talking to the system about Concubine Kang’s identity. He was planning to be cautious and careful with his words before meeting Rong Jiu next time, and absolutely not be alone.

When he saw Rong Jiu, he would tell him all his guesses about Concubine Kang.

Perhaps, even the person sent to spy last night might have been Concubine Kang’s person?

…But how did Concubine Kang get into trouble overnight?

Those who were also washing outside heard Shi’en’s words and gathered around.

“What do you mean? How do you know Concubine Kang is in trouble?”

Shi’en hummed and said, “Last night, guards surrounded Concubine Kang’s new palace. You tell me, what could have happened?”

In this palace, anywhere could have internal strife, and there could be people from all sides, but Qianming Palace and the Imperial Guard Office were the exceptions.

Enough people had died in Qianming Palace. The more who died, the less likely secrets would leak. Although the rotation speed was fast, those who could serve closely rarely violated prohibitions.

As for the Imperial Guard Office…

Don’t look at Wei Haidong as a man who looked honest from afar. In fact, this man had deep thoughts. How could one know that the appearance he showed outside wasn’t one of his masks?

He was loyal to Emperor Jingyuan and was a blade that would absolutely never betray the Emperor.

The mobilization of the guards only meant that it was an order from Emperor Jingyuan himself.

While shocked, Jingzhe also felt relieved.

If Emperor Jingyuan made a move, there should be no future trouble. After all, he was a person who didn’t act unless necessary, but when he did, it was like thunder. Rooting out the problem was his character.

The matter concerning Concubine Kang quickly reached the ears of Shoukang Palace.

The Empress Dowager had just gotten up. Hearing this news, she revealed a strange expression.