Sitting in an ornate armchair, the Second Princess watched the whip land again and again on Princess Anyang’s body, her face filled with sadistic glee and mockery.
Why should a sickly, simple-minded fool, destined to die young, be the only noble daughter of the Great Zhou? She was born with a face so seductive it stole the souls of every young nobleman in the capital. Even the elegant and peerless top scholar wanted the Emperor to grant them marriage. And yet, despite being superior to her in every way, the Second Princess had suffered one engagement cancellation after another. Was it only because her mother was of low birth and had died young?
*Hmph,* no matter how noble or beautiful that fool was, she had ended up a prisoner. Tomorrow she would be beheaded, and the Empress would be deposed as well!
Listening to Princess Anyang’s wretched screams, the smile on the Second Princess’s face grew increasingly manic, her lips curling into a twisted arc.
"Hahaha... strike her! Beat her to death!"
The jailer lashed out a dozen more times, stopping only when Princess Anyang fainted.
"Second Princess, the fool has passed out."
"Give me the dagger."
Taking the dagger from her maid, the Second Princess stood up slowly and approached Anyang. She used the tip of the blade to brush aside the hair clinging to the girl’s face, revealing the features that fueled her jealousy and disgust.
"What a pathetic, sickly beauty you are."
She gritted her teeth, a vicious light flashing in her eyes, and thrust the dagger down with force.
Instantly, bright red beads of blood trickled down a long, thin laceration. The sharp pain on her face caused the barely conscious Anyang to flutter her eyes open.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
A salty, metallic liquid surged from her throat. Blood splattered onto the Second Princess’s face.
"...Ah! You little bitch... ah..."
In a fit of rage, the Second Princess began slashing wildly with the dagger.
The pain had numbed Anyang completely. Her breathing grew shallow, and those originally clear phoenix eyes gradually lost their focus as the aura of death descended upon her. She missed her mother, she missed her sister, she missed the candied hawthorn sticks her sister used to make for her...
"Second Princess, stop."
The jailer suddenly intervened. "This fool is already disfigured and has suffered enough. We must keep her alive for tomorrow's execution."
"What qualifications do you have to tell Her Highness what to do?" the maid sneered, looking at the jailer with disdain.
The jailer glared at the maid before turning a hostile gaze toward the Second Princess. "Princess, do not forget that I am one of the Empress's people. I am not someone you can boss around at will!"
Under the man's sharp stare, the Second Princess threw the dagger aside, her expression cold. She pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her hands.
"That's enough for today. We’re leaving."
"Leaving? To where?"
A cold, murderous intent instantly permeated the prison cell.
The jailer’s figure jolted. He drew the sword at his waist, scanning the area alertly, and shouted, "Guards!"
But no Imperial City Bureau guards appeared; he suddenly remembered that his superiors had cleared the area tonight specifically to allow the Second Princess to torture the fool. A sense of foreboding washed over him. "Who? Who goes there? Who dares to intrude upon the Imperial City Bureau prison at night?"
The Second Princess turned anxious as well. She had only come to vent her spite; she didn't want to get caught up in any senseless disaster. She turned to bolt out of the cell, only to stumble backward the moment she reached the doorway.
The jailer, clutching his sword hilt, stared toward the entrance with murderous intent. A woman in crimson robes, her long hair tied high and a silver half-mask covering her face, walked into the cell, a short blade pressed against the Second Princess's throat.
"Where did this thief—" The jailer began, but stopped with a "Pfft!"
*Clang.* The sword fell from the jailer’s hand. He stared in disbelief, his eyes bulging as he clutched his throat and collapsed to the ground, dead.
"Ah!" The Second Princess shrieked, collapsing to the floor. The maid huddled in the corner of the cell, trembling violently.
Xie Jiuli threw her short blade, slicing the rope that held Princess Anyang aloft, and caught her in her arms. Seeing the horrific, blood-soaked face and the shredded, mangled body, her phoenix eyes turned blood-red. She quickly fed her a vial of Life Water to ensure her life was no longer in danger.
*Bang!* The cell door slammed shut.
"Where are you trying to crawl to?" A cold, venomous voice dripped from Xie Jiuli’s throat.
The Second Princess, who had been scrambling away, trembled and shook her head frantically. "No... no..."
Under the terrified gazes of the Second Princess and her maid, Xie Jiuli stored the unconscious Princess Anyang into the system. A cold glint flashed in her eyes, filled with bloodthirsty intent. If she had arrived any later, Anyang would surely have died.
The fact that Princess Anyang had vanished into thin air left the Second Princess unable to even breathe; she was chilled to the bone.
"You... you... you witch..."
"Your time is up."
Xie Jiuli’s footsteps were steady; the ground beneath her seemed to tremble from the sheer weight of her killing intent.
The Second Princess was so frightened she became incoherent. "No... I... it wasn't me... it wasn't..." She didn't want to die; she didn't want to die at all. "I am the Second... Second Princess of this dynasty... You cannot... you cannot kill me... no..."
Xie Jiuli glanced at her coldly, her condescending posture radiating a frigid, merciless aura.
"And what of it?" she asked, each word chillingly precise.
Her hand, hanging at her side, moved slightly. An invisible force of inner energy lifted the Second Princess into the air, gripping her throat.
"No... no... don't..." The sensation of suffocation surged from the Second Princess's throat.
"You hurt her—you deserve to die!"
*Bang!*
With a forceful flick, the Second Princess was slammed hard against the stone wall of the cell. Just as she began to slide down, several custom silver needles whistled through the air, pinning her firmly to the wall.
*Whack!*
*Whack! Whack! Whack!*
The crimson Universe Whip lashed out, striking the Second Princess repeatedly. Xie Jiuli’s eyes were cold, like a demon from hell, as she swung the long whip without pause.
Within moments, the Second Princess, who had been shrieking hideously on the wall, became a mass of mangled flesh and ceased to breathe.
The maid in the corner, never expecting the intruder to actually kill the Second Princess, fainted from sheer terror. Xie Jiuli flicked a silver needle to ensure the maid stayed unconscious, then stored her into the system as well.
Without looking back, she walked out of the prison and casually tossed a lighter behind her.
Instantly, the cell was engulfed in a roaring fire.
***
At the foot of the Imperial City.
Yutang looked solemn. "Master, we found that it was Qiao Kun, the Deputy Commander of the Imperial City Bureau, who presented the Emperor with evidence of Princess Anyang's treason. The evidence claims that the Princess used her medical leave as a pretext to raise a private army at her villa outside the city, and that the assassination attempt on the Emperor during the hunt the other day was also orchestrated by her. It was Qiao Kun who dismissed the prison guards tonight and allowed the Second Princess to enter on her own."
Xie Jiuli’s gaze was glacial. Princess Anyang’s intelligence was no greater than that of a toddler; she was pure, kind, and physically frail. When her health was slightly better, she did nothing but eat and play.
*Raise a private army? Assassinate the Emperor? To hell with that!*
She clicked her tongue against her teeth. No rush—there was plenty of time to investigate this thoroughly, slowly. Every single person involved would be sent to hell!
"Tie up Qiao Kun."
"As you command!"
***
In the Imperial Palace, the desolate Cold Palace.
Empress Feng Wan stood by the window in simple, plain white robes, her frame thin and gaunt. Her phoenix eyes—identical to those of Xie Jiuli and Princess Anyang—were dim and lusterless.
Her confidante, Nanny Qin, hurried over with a cloak, her movements frantic and disorganized. Her hands trembled as she draped the cloak over the Empress. "Your Majesty, I have heard that the word outside is that the Princess has been arrested by the Imperial City Bureau for treason. It has already been two days."
"What?"
Feng Wan turned abruptly, her dim eyes filling with coldness. Her voice trembled. "What exactly is Ji Xuan trying to do? I already cooperated and entered the Cold Palace, how dare he use Yuer?"
The Empress was filled with shock, staggering as if about to collapse. "He knows Yuer is born frail—how could she commit treason? The dark prison is cold and damp; how could Yuer's body withstand that?"
The Nanny hurried to support her, tears welling in her eyes. "Your Majesty, please do not get angry. Your health is what matters. We must find a way to get the Princess out as soon as possible. Think of how much she must be suffering and how afraid she must be these past two days!"