When that person, dressed in the uniform of an Imperial Physician, bowed to the Empress seated on the phoenix throne, Xiao Jin finally understood where the familiarity came from.
The head of the Yao Imperial Medical Bureau was Marquis Fengcheng’s youngest daughter.
The woman on stage looked young, but when facing the Empress of Yao, she showed not a trace of timidity or fear.
She bowed and said, “This humble official, Su Tan, pays respects to Your Majesty, the Empress.”
It had to be said, the Blood Rain Pavilion’s people were indeed very good at picking actors.
The actress standing on stage had an elegant, upright bearing, filled with purity and tranquility, looking as if she and Doctor Su of Hidden Brocade Alley had been cast from the very same mold.
Xiao Jin truly hadn’t expected that Su Tan had a role in this story as well.
Sure enough, Doctor Su was a brick, moved wherever there was a gap.
A thorough tool person, nothing more.
The Empress wore her phoenix robe, her face like spring blossoms and autumn moon.
She took a few steps and helped Su Tan rise. Her smile was warm and pleasant, looking like someone adept at social maneuvering.
The Empress returned to her seat and said to Su Tan, “I have heard that Imperial Physician Su is not only skilled in medicine but also adept in the use of poisons.”
Su Tan’s reputation as a divine physician had long spread throughout Great Yao.
But very few knew she was equally passionate about researching toxicology.
Before the Empress, Su Tan dared not admit it. She only said, “Your Majesty, this humble official, as an Imperial Physician, only knows how to prescribe medicinal formulas. I would never dare to dabble in poisonous substances.”
The Empress raised her eyes, smiling yet not smiling. “Before me, you need not hide. Although I reside in the deep palace, I am one who cherishes talent. I admire your talent, Doctor Su, and hope you can be of use to me.”
“Creating poisons is far more difficult than creating medicines. Not to mention you, Doctor Su, even I myself have a bit of interest in those poisonous things.”
Su Tan looked at the Empress, a trace of unreadable emotion appearing in her eyes. “Your Majesty also takes an interest in toxicology?”
The Empress knew Su Tan had already taken the bait.
She waved her hand, summoning a white-bearded old man from behind the screen, and said with a smile, “This is Imperial Physician Baili Dan of Qi, also one deeply devoted to the study of poisons. You may exchange much with this senior.”
At this point, the sung narration began to explain.
For Su Tan, while practicing medicine was her profession and she took joy in it…
Even something that brought supreme happiness would eventually hit a bottleneck and breed weariness.
To alleviate this state of mind, Su Tan found another pleasure, turning instead to the study of toxins. And she found a suitable justification for her actions.
No matter how exquisite medical skill was, it couldn’t cure all the poisons in the world.
Su Tan was convinced that only by thoroughly understanding toxicology, by unlocking the hundred poisons of the world, could she better practice medicine and save lives.
Xiao Jin picked up her teacup and took a sip.
As she set down the cup, on stage, Imperial Physician Su’s eyes seemed to have gained a trace of fervent zeal.
Xiao Jin’s face remained unmoved, but inwardly, she was somewhat alarmed.
Since Baili Dan was an Imperial Physician of Qi yet appeared in the Yao Imperial Palace… that meant the Empress of Yao was very likely colluding with Qi.
As Xiao Jin expected, what unfolded next on stage was a scene of the Empress exchanging secret letters with the Qi royal family.
The Empress secretly leaked Yao’s military intelligence to her correspondent.
Her actions, naturally, were for the sake of developing the most agonizing poison in the world to kill the treacherous Imperial Preceptor.
In Xiao Jin’s view, this move was the height of stupidity.
The Imperial Preceptor might be a treacherous minister, but to collude with a foreign state and leak military secrets just to kill one treacherous minister…
Wasn’t that killing eight hundred of your own to take down a thousand of the enemy?
However, the Empress was likely insane.
Her desire to kill the Imperial Preceptor was too strong. She knew using poison to kill the inherently paranoid Imperial Preceptor was virtually impossible.
So she decided to pick the one person least likely to be suspected by that treacherous minister and order her to deliver the poison.
On stage, the Empress looked at Rong Lian and said gently, “Consort Rong, I know you entered the palace against your will. You must hate the Imperial Preceptor to the bone.”
Rong Lian knelt, her expression as bland as water.
“Yes.”
The Empress didn’t seem to mind Rong Lian’s coldness. The gaze she directed at her even carried a hint of tenderness.
“Although I am but a woman of the deep palace, I have also heard the news of Qi’s army pressing at the borders. Today at court, His Majesty appointed the Imperial Preceptor as State Guardian General. Tomorrow is her day of marching to war.”
Saying this, she took an intricately carved box from a secret compartment. “This is a Gu worm developed at my behest, named Endless Sorrow.”
“If you wish for revenge, before she departs for war, plant this Gu on the Imperial Preceptor. Once she ingests it, Great Yao can sever its eternal sorrows.”
Rong Lian didn’t speak.
The Empress looked at Rong Lian, yet smiled gently. “Little Sister Consort Rong, I know of the Shen Manor disciples. I am also very clear on your true identity.”
“You should be the one who most wants to kill the Imperial Preceptor. So, you won’t refuse me, will you?”
After a long pause, Rong Lian nodded, accepting the box from the Empress’s hands.
The night before the campaign, the Imperial Preceptor indeed came to the Glazed Palace.
However, she only stood outside the wall.
Rong Lian did not follow the Empress’s orders to go out and greet the Imperial Preceptor, to seize the chance to plant the Endless Sorrow Gu.
She leaned against the peach tree in the courtyard, quietly listening to the flute music beyond the wall, and the sound of rain.
The melody ended. The flute’s notes gradually faded.
But the heavy rain, as if the heavens themselves were enraged, poured without pause through the night.
The next day, the Imperial Preceptor marched to war.
The Empress looked at Rong Lian kneeling on the ground. Her brows furrowed slightly, as if uncomprehending. “Why? Why didn’t you kill the Imperial Preceptor?”
Rong Lian said, “The Imperial Preceptor goes to war for Great Yao. Yet Your Majesty, as the mother of the nation, disregards the lives of millions for personal vengeance.”
“Planting Endless Sorrow on the Imperial Preceptor is equivalent to personally destroying all of Great Yao. Even if it meant my death, I could not do such a thing.”
The Empress seemed stunned.
Then she laughed loudly several times, a crystalline glint appearing at the corners of her eyes.
Looking at Rong Lian, she said softly, “Shen Ronglian, your entire life is truly laughable.”
“In the past, Horizon Sect only accepted male disciples. It’s hard to fault Eldest Young Master Shen for doting on you. To let you learn martial arts, he even gave you his name.”
“You completed your training and descended the mountain. You could indeed wield a very swift sword. It’s a pity your brain has only one track. You’d listen to the commoners and righteous warriors pour out their grievances, shed a few tears, and then want to rely on your own strength to assassinate the Imperial Preceptor.”
“Result? You not only failed but were retaliated against by that madwoman, the Imperial Preceptor, implicating Shen Manor in a bloody massacre. Only Eldest Shen and Second Shen escaped.”
On stage, the dan actress’s face was now pale as snow. Her lips moved but no words came out.
Xiao Jin, sitting below the stage, couldn’t help but frown.
What did she mean, Eldest Young Master Shen gave Rong Lian his name so she could learn martial arts?
Pondering these lines, a flash of inspiration struck Xiao Jin’s mind. A somewhat absurd speculation slowly surfaced in her heart.
Could it be… Consort Rong is the legendary Shen Lang?
If so, the enmity Chu Shao mentioned that day wasn’t with the man in black, Shen Lang, but… with her own birth mother, Shen Ronglian?
Xiao Jin turned her head to look at Chu Shao.
But the Empress on stage did not pause her speech for Xiao Jin’s movement.
The Empress said, “Third Miss Shen, before I was entered into the Ning clan registry, I was also a member of the Shen family’s branch line. According to clan rules, upon seeing a young master or miss of the main line, I should still respectfully address you as Third Miss Shen.”
“But I do not understand. Even after you were gravely wounded and lost your memory, saved by the Reed Pavilion run by the Imperial Preceptor… after recovering your memories, entering the palace, and having so many opportunities, why didn’t you kill the Imperial Preceptor and avenge the Shen family?”
“I am merely a branch member of the Shen family, yet I still wished to kill the Imperial Preceptor and avenge our clan. And what of you?”
“You are indecisive, accomplishing nothing. Empty of a heaven-reaching skill, yet your actions are no different from a useless waste.”
With every word the Empress spoke, the smile on Chu Shao’s lips grew deeper.
At the end, the Empress looked at Rong Lian and spoke with a smile.
“Let me guess. You used your feelings for Shen Lang as an excuse to repeatedly reject the Imperial Preceptor’s goodwill. Could it be that it wasn’t because you hated the Imperial Preceptor, but rather…”
“Enough.”
Only then did Rong Lian interrupt the Empress, saying coldly, “Before, I went to assassinate the Imperial Preceptor for the sake of the people under heaven. Now, not killing the Imperial Preceptor is also for the people under heaven.”
“The massacre of Shen Manor’s entire family was originally due to my naivety and foolishness, naively believing that matters of the world were always black and white.”
“It was also because my swordsmanship was not refined enough, that I missed by that single inch, leading to utter ruin beyond redemption. Only by suffering a thousand cuts, dying without a burial place, would I dare to face the ancestors of the Shen family.”
The Empress parted her lips lightly. “Then why don’t you die now?”
Rong Lian said, “To me, living is the torture of a thousand cuts. Death… is merely release.”
“But whether Your Majesty seeks to kill the Imperial Preceptor for personal vengeance or for the Shen clan, I believe you know better than I.”
The Empress fell silent for a moment.
Then, a gentle smile bloomed on her face. “Little Sister Consort Rong, since you wish to atone through the slow torture of living, then I can only follow your wishes… and have you ingest the Endless Sorrow Gu in the Imperial Preceptor’s place.”
