Chapter 54: The Seductive and Sinister State Preceptor

Lu Yihuan could already vaguely make out the palace gates ahead.

In the vast expanse of the night, everything had fallen into a profound silence. Only the rustling of wind against the copper bells and the patter of raindrops disrupted the quiet.

With every splash of water underfoot, Lu Yihuan’s face grew as dark as ink, her lips pressed into a thin line. As she marched onward, the mere thought of Jiang Li’s face and smile stoked the fury raging in her chest even higher.

Each breath came heavy with anger, her gaze sunk to its darkest depths. The pouring rain crashed down like a blanket, fine streams trickling over her cheeks. The closer she drew to that palace, the harder it became for Lu Yihuan to contain the storm of emotions churning within her.

She could not accept the outcome of Jiang Li’s discussion with the emperor in the Supreme Peace Hall. To think they had agreed—she had agreed—to accept his Marriage Decree!

Betrayal.

An invisible hand clenched around her heart. Lu Yihuan pictured Jiang Li smiling as she consented to the emperor’s proposal, and the agony of that betrayal shredded her heart into fragments.

Tonight’s relentless drizzle fell without end, sorrow rising around Lu Yihuan like mist from the splashed water. She could not escape its grasp.

That was why she had come. She would seize the person who had plunged her into such grief and drag her back.

Her eyes burned red with rage, veins threading through the whites. The scorching heat in those eyes seared straight into Lu Yihuan’s soul—yet she merely smiled.

Raindrops pooled on the ground, forming small puddles that reflected the dim light, heralding the tale about to unfold in this oppressive night.

The soldiers marched in gleaming armor, weapons at the ready, their steps perfectly synchronized.

One puddle after another splashed under their boots as the vast army surged forward like a flood. The wind howled mournfully tonight, but stern resolve etched every soldier’s face.

They advanced on orders toward the grandest residence within the capital.

To seize the empire for their Regent King.

From atop the palace gates, the guards spotted the fierce army charging toward them. When they recognized the icy face of the rider at the forefront, their own faces drained of color.

Endless ranks of troops pressed on relentlessly.

At the same moment, a panicked wail shattered the night’s silence.

“The Regent King is storming the palace!”

Candlelight flickered to life one by one. Messengers dashed through the palace halls. Even those already abed were yanked awake in chaos, scrambling to gather gold and valuables as they fled for their lives—who had time to tend to their masters now?

The imperial palace had descended into pandemonium.

“This is bad! Your Highness!”

Lantern light glowed softly on her cheek as Jiang Li idly traced paintings on the documents before her. Her maidservant burst in, panting in terror, just as the brush tip dotted the rice paper.

The maidservant’s face was ashen, her usual poise shattered.

Jiang Li looked up, puzzled. “What happened? Don’t panic—tell me slowly.”

“The Regent King! She’s storming the palace!” The maidservant’s voice cracked, her throat trembling, her expression one of rare, raw fear.

What?!

The brush in Jiang Li’s hand slipped askew. A smooth stroke on the paper veered wildly upward, ink blooming outward.

Disbelief and utter bewilderment twisted Jiang Li’s features. Had Lu Yihuan really rebelled just like that? Who had provoked her?

All because Father Emperor had blocked them from meeting for a few days? No way!

Jiang Li’s face showed pure shock and confusion. The maidservant took it as proof that her mistress was caught utterly off guard, blindsided by Lu Yihuan’s assault.

Jiang Li tossed the brush onto the table and strode toward the door, barking orders at rapid speed. “Go find out exactly where Lu Yihuan is right now.”

“I need to see her.”

“Your Highness!”

Jiang Li’s steps were swift, her skirts swirling. The maidservant recalled the blood-soaked figure she’d glimpsed just outside the hall and swallowed hard.

“Your Highness, she’s right there beyond the hall gates! You have to go—now!” The maidservant hurried to catch up, shoving aside thoughts of the carnage she’d witnessed, desperately urging Jiang Li to flee.

Word had spread: after breaching the palace gates, Lu Yihuan had carved a bloody path straight toward the Eldest Princess’s Palace. The imperial guards’ desperate resistance had been futile.

And with her own mistress so blissfully unaware, this was clearly about taking her hostage!

Hearing this, Jiang Li quickened her pace, brows furrowing into tight ridges as anxiety gripped her heart.

She had to find Lu Yihuan as soon as possible.

Jiang Li had just crossed the hall’s threshold when she came face-to-face with Lu Yihuan’s back. The Regent King drove her sword decisively into a guard’s chest. The blade emerged trailing blood, whipping through the air.

Strands of hair whipped around as a powerful kick from her long leg sent the guard crumpling aside, blood bubbling from his lips. More attackers closed in relentlessly, but Lu Yihuan’s sword spun in deadly arcs, blood spraying in its wake.

The gruesome scene hit Jiang Li like a blow. Her face paled, a dull ache tightening in her chest.

It was the first time she had witnessed killing with her own eyes.

“Lu Yihuan!”

The figure before her froze. The guards’ chests heaved with ragged breaths as they watched her warily, eyes locked without deviation.

The one before them wasn’t human—she was a madwoman.

But madwoman or not, they would fulfill their duty with their lives: stop her!

That voice cleaved through Lu Yihuan’s blood-red world, piercing straight to her ears. Her dazed mind began to churn slowly once more.

Ah—it was Jiang Li calling her.

She turned her head, and the look in her eyes sent chills racing up the guards’ spines, gooseflesh prickling their skin.

What kind of gaze was it? The guards could scarcely describe it.

It sank into dead stillness. Two pitch-black orbs fixed unmoving on their target, never shifting.

The stench of blood still wafted from her body.

She looked as though she had crawled straight from a pile of corpses.

Layer upon layer of guards hemmed Lu Yihuan in, sealing off every avenue of movement. Yet she showed no concern that they might strike first.

Strands of hair shifted across her face as she hooked her lips into a sinister arc.

“Your Highness, you’ve come to die.”

“But I’m delighted.”

She delivered the first sentence flat and emotionless, merely stating the fact.

The second carried feeling. Amid the clash of drawn blades, Lu Yihuan let out a giggling laugh right there on the spot.

Like a fool—yet no one dared dismiss this fool.

The guards gripped their swords tighter, jaws clenched, eyes unblinking as they tracked Lu Yihuan’s every motion.

She had giggled just like that before the Eldest Princess’s palace gates earlier, and then unleashed a slaughter. Mere seconds later, several more souls lay at her sword’s feet.

She was a madwoman.

Just one person, one blade—she had cut her way from the palace gates. It was as if she felt no pain, feared no death. She charged ahead with relentless fury.

Lu Yihuan’s robes hung in tatters from sword slashes, far from the pristine elegance she’d worn at the Birthday Banquet hours before.

Jiang Li needed only to look to imagine the path of carnage Lu Yihuan had forged to reach here.

Lowering her gaze along that line of sight, she saw blood-soaked clothes dripping low—a ruthless, disheveled specter.

Lu Yihuan tilted her head slightly, ignoring the guards’ terror, and locked eyes directly on Jiang Li in her resplendent red skirts.

Bloodied robes and red skirts—they matched so perfectly.

Lu Yihuan thought: I’m here to marry you, Jiang Li.

Once through the gates, Lu Yihuan had raced ahead, sword in hand, leaving a trail of gore.

Her eyes burned red with bloodlust, her mind fixed on one goal: kick down those ornate doors, drag out the traitor, and then…

A thousand unspoken words tangled in her chest, frustration gnawing endlessly.

Sword stroke after sword stroke hacked away her tangled emotions. Blood mingled with the rainy mist, spattering her face with the faint tang of rusted iron.

Just as fresh blood sprayed once more, Lu Yihuan finally heard that familiar voice piercing through the downpour into her ears.

She halted mid-swing, rooted in place. The onlookers quaked, yet raised their swords all the same.

The two women stood facing each other from afar.

Jiang Li reeled in the sudden malice of Lu Yihuan’s words and gaze, swept into waves of bewilderment. She had no idea where this venom had sprung from.

Just hours ago, they had been chatting and laughing together in the hall. How had it come to this?

Confusion swirled in her heart. When Lu Yihuan spoke again, her words shook Jiang Li’s very memory.

“Do you really intend to marry him?” Her voice was hoarse, reduced to a ragged whisper as turbulent emotions surged before her eyes.

Lu Yihuan stared Jiang Li down, watching panic, confusion, and bewilderment flicker through those eyes in complex layers.

Deep down, she still clung to a shred of hope—the hope that Jiang Li’s explanation would align with what she wished to hear. She would listen.

The instant Jiang Li opened her mouth, Lu Yihuan thought an explanation would come.

Instead, Jiang Li only said in genuine puzzlement, “Marry who?”

A single Marriage Decree bound two people. Ling Yue had already received this Imperial Edict—Jiang Li could not possibly lack her copy.

She still dared to deceive her!

Fury crashed through Lu Yihuan even fiercer. What reason remained instantly crumbled. She tightened her grip on her sword, fire flashing in her eyes as she surged forward through the surrounding cordon.

Her blade rose and fell—more guards crumpled to the ground.

What a bastard Lu Yihuan was!

Jiang Li’s chest heaved with fury. She hadn’t expected a simple question to provoke such a reaction—one word out of place, and violence erupted anew.

Bewilderment mixed with her own anger as Jiang Li marched straight toward Lu Yihuan.

The guards paled in alarm, shouting as one to block her path.

“Your Highness! Back to the palace at once!”

“Danger everywhere—Your Highness, please return!”

“Your Highness, we will hold the line! Fall back!”

Jiang Li shoved the one before her aside, her face darkening as she advanced on Lu Yihuan. She refused to believe Lu Yihuan meant to kill her.

The sword lashed out. Jiang Li pulled a guard away just in time; the tip now aimed straight at the vision in lavish crimson.

Killing intent flared in Lu Yihuan’s eyes. Jiang Li stood firm, staring her down. In the end, the blade halted precisely at the line between flesh and skin.

“Do you want me dead?”

Jiang Li took another step forward, closing the gap to the sword’s edge. She could already feel its razor sharpness kissing her skin.

Lu Yihuan regarded her indifferently, grip steady and sword held true.

Seeing the raw rage and fury boiling in those eyes, something ignited in Jiang Li as well. She shifted her foot—and lunged forward deliberately, as if to seize the blade itself barehanded.

The sword quivered in midair and snapped back behind its owner.

Jiang Li’s sleeve hung torn, but seeing Lu Yihuan hold back enough to draw the line at wounding eased the knot in her chest. At least she wasn’t trying to kill her outright.

“What, having second thoughts about killing me now?” Jiang Li jabbed coldly.

Her teeth gnawed the soft flesh inside her cheek, waves of resentment flooding Lu Yihuan’s body and screaming for her to end the woman before her.

But Lu Yihuan knew if she could truly do it, she would have struck home already.

She dared act this way precisely because she knew Lu Yihuan cared for her.

The iron tang spread in her mouth as Lu Yihuan’s eyes reddened. She ground her teeth. “When this king saw that Marriage Decree, I wanted nothing more than to cut you into a thousand pieces.”

Jiang Li blinked, uncomprehending. “Which one?”