At the third quarter of the Mao hour, the gilded bronze mirror refracted the morning light into fine, golden threads that danced upon Shen Mingyue’s wedding gown of silk and gold phoenix embroidery. The thousand pearls sewn into the gown pressed heavily against her collarbone, each one concealing a lethal secret—the hollow cores were filled with the "Nether Poison," a substance she had meticulously concocted by mixing the last half-bottle of antidote left by her father with highly toxic herbs. She had spent three days and nights guarding the furnace, watching the herbs churn as they transformed from verdant, venomous smoke into dark crimson crystals, every stir of the ladle fueled by a bone-deep hatred for her enemies. She tucked a poisoned silver needle into her hair; its tip shimmered with an eerie blue light, mirroring the rubies on her phoenix coronet like a datura flower blooming in the dark. Hidden in her sleeve was a modified nine-shot repeater crossbow, pressed against her forearm. The cold metal touch reminded her of the Northern Di secret letter she had seen in the study’s hidden compartment the night before. The words seemed to burn before her eyes, searing her heart. The cinnabar seal on the paper looked exactly like the Second Prince’s thumbprint under the candlelight, a mark of shame branded upon her soul.
The rouge box on the dressing table wobbled slightly, and Shen Mingyue caught a glimpse of the gap in the false bottom. Inside were the blueprints Shen Qingy…
Chapter 62