Chapter 58: Regret

The carriage gradually receded into the distance, its wheels crushing two dark streaks of blood under the cover of night.

The streets, once filled with shouts of battle, fell silent, leaving only the mute corpses sprawled haphazardly across the ground as their blood seeped into the soil.

The Capital City’s defenses were under the Prime Minister’s control. The mastermind behind this assassination knew they couldn’t afford delays. When no signal came for the successful killing of the Prime Minister within the expected time, they had no choice but to grit their teeth, light the signal fireworks, and order the main forces in the city to withdraw.

Those who had luckily survived without catching up to the carriage immediately directed their subordinates to retreat. However, at the exit of their secret passage, they ran straight into another force that had been waiting there all along.

At the foot of the mountains outside the Capital City, another slaughter unfolded, the bloodshed staining the woods red.

The Little Emperor knew nothing of this. Even as rivers of blood flowed through his Capital City, his Imperial Palace remained a scene of song and dance.

Although the Prime Minister had kept the Little Emperor far from the center of power, she had never stinted on his food, clothing, housing, or transport. She lived quite frugally herself, yet allowed him a life of extravagant indulgence.

The Little Emperor was nearly fourteen this year. Emperor Wen had few heirs, and this was the only son who had survived to adulthood. The Pro-Emperor Faction ministers, fearing the imperial bloodline would die out, had long since begun arranging matches with daughters from various ministers’ families.

When news of the assassination attempt on the Prime Minister reached him, the Little Emperor was still in some beauty’s bed. He himself had no hand in the matter, but his Old Eunuch did.

The Old Eunuch held no military authority and couldn’t interfere in court politics, but he had the Emperor’s “verbal decree,” which he could use to connect King Su and General Zhao.

He had been the one to make those connections for this assassination plan. King Su devised it, General Zhao provided the men—they thought it foolproof. Yet the Prime Minister had escaped this dragnet. The Old Eunuch was so furious he nearly spat blood. In his heart, he cursed General Zhao for assembling a bunch of useless trash! And what good were King Su’s so-called martial arts experts from the jianghu? Worthless!

The assassination had failed. Perhaps the Prime Minister couldn’t touch King Su or General Zhao, but she would certainly tear him limb from limb!

The Old Eunuch paced frantically, racking his brains for half a day before deciding to make use of the Little Emperor. Thus, before the morning court session the next day, he rushed into the Little Emperor’s bedchamber and woke His Majesty from his tender embrace with snot and tears.

Upon hearing the news of the assassination attempt on the Prime Minister, the Little Emperor bolted upright in bed and anxiously asked the Old Eunuch if she was dead. When he learned she wasn’t, he let out a heavy sigh and then shooed the consort off the dragon bed.

“Since she didn’t die, why are you telling me? Do I have to go visit her or something?” The Little Emperor was utterly annoyed. He hated seeing the Prime Minister most of all, yet he always had to put on that disgusting fawning act.

“No, Your Majesty…” The Old Eunuch delivered the bad news: this assassination had been carried out by two of his “staunchly loyal” ministers to slay the treacherous Prime Minister and restore order to the court. But it had failed. The Prime Minister lived, and she would surely retaliate against the Emperor.

The Little Emperor turned pale with fright and plopped down onto the floor.

“They… they…” His face was ashen. When the Old Eunuch tried to help him up, he couldn’t even pull him to his feet right away.

“W-What should I do? The Prime Minister will surely depose me! No—she might just poison me outright! Before this, when I summoned the imperial clan’s descendants from across the land to the Capital City under the pretext of celebrating my birthday, was she plotting this all along?!” The Little Emperor panicked completely, growing more terrified with every thought until he was on the verge of tears. He clutched at his dog-head military advisor, the Old Eunuch, hoping for some idea.

This was exactly the reaction the Old Eunuch wanted. He immediately leaned in and whispered his plan into the Little Emperor’s ear.

…

At the Prime Minister’s Mansion.

A Jiu and the others who usually attended Meng Congyun were all driven away, leaving only the Doctor to tend to the Chancellor’s wounds under Nian Zhi’an’s intimidating gaze, wiping away cold sweat.

“The Chancellor’s wound isn’t deep. With proper medication and rest—avoiding overexertion—she’ll recover in no time at all,” the Doctor said. Only then did the young woman’s expression soften.

“Thank you, Doctor.”

“No need to thank me. It’s what I should do.” The Doctor let out a sigh of relief. That girl’s gaze had seemed to say that if anything happened to the Chancellor, she’d make her pay with her life—terrifying.

After Yu Ji was poisoned, this same Doctor had treated her. Though she didn’t know the exact nature of the relationship between this girl and the Chancellor, she could tell the Chancellor treated her differently from others. So she added a few extra words of advice: “These days, make sure the Chancellor rests properly. She never listens to me, so you must persuade her this time.”

“Yes, I’ll keep a close eye on the Chancellor and make sure she rests well.” Nian Zhi’an saw the Doctor out of the room, then gently closed the door amid A Jiu’s murderous glare.

This act of taking charge left A Jiu with an odd sense of being challenged. How dare Yu Ji steal her job?! Had she forgotten she served the Little Emperor? No way! She had to drag that woman out!

A Jiu paced back and forth outside, fuming. But just as she resolved to barge in, her sister A Shuang yanked her back.

“Sister?” A Jiu looked at her puzzled. “That Yu Ji is taking advantage of the situation—shameless! I need to drag her out! The Chancellor is unconscious; we can’t let her get close!”

A Shuang knocked on her foolish little sister’s head. “You… silly girl. I’m afraid the one who’d get thrown out would be you.”

“Me?” A Jiu pointed at herself. Under her sister’s affirmative look, she wore an indescribable expression. “Her? Sister, have you lost your mind?”

With Yu Ji’s frail and delicate appearance, she could toss her out with one hand!

As the only Dark Guard who had stayed in the carriage and remained ignorant of the chaos outside, A Jiu received “caring” looks from her sister and comrades.

“Yu Ji… she’s not as simple as we thought.” With a complicated expression, A Shuang recounted the heroic feats of that killing goddess to her sister.

Those Top 10 Martial Arts Heaven Ranking experts, those reclusive old monsters—they were no match for the frail Yu Ji in their eyes. In the instant of clash, heads rolled or hearts were pierced. That woman in white danced through the blood like a butterfly, her blade shadows weaving elegantly, as casual as a stroll through the woods.

A Jiu’s jaw nearly dropped. “Sister, you’re joking, right?”

“When have I ever joked with you about serious matters?”

A Jiu glanced at her sister, then at the room. “Yu Ji… is that dangerous? Then shouldn’t we keep her even farther from the Chancellor?!”

A Shuang poked her sister’s forehead and called her “silly.”

“Yu Ji harbors no ill intent toward the Chancellor. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have helped this time. Our Chancellor may even know the full story.” This explained the Chancellor’s odd behavior lately. A Shuang saw through it all and decided not to meddle in the matter between the Chancellor and Yu Ji.

But her silly little sister wasn’t as quick on the uptake, so A Shuang had no choice but to drag her away and explain slowly.

Inside the room, Nian Zhi’an sat by the bed, cradling Meng Congyun’s cold hand in her own palms. Her eyes drifted slightly, as if lost in a daze.

【Host… I-I have something I didn’t tell you before.】 The Little System sidled up to Nian Zhi’an and admitted its mistake in a low voice. 【I was afraid you’d worry, so I didn’t dare mention it until I had some leads.】

【I wanted to help you track Mu Yixuan’s lingering traces in that world. That way, if you ever retire, you could go find some emotional comfort or whatever… But I couldn’t detect Mu Yixuan’s presence in that world at all!】

After hearing the Little System’s explanation, Nian Zhi’an came back to herself a little. She reached out and touched Meng Congyun’s pale cheek. The strange emotions she had once deliberately suppressed poured out the moment she saw that Red Carp Birthmark.

From the instant she laid eyes on Meng Congyun, she had felt a strong aversion to harming her. Was that instinct?

“Can’t the System analyze soul data? It should be easy to tell if it’s the same person, right?” Nian Zhi’an asked the Little System.

【For anyone else, yes. But not for your wife! I’ve never gotten her data right once! Meng Congyun’s the same—most of their data is just garbled code!】 This had once been a huge blow to the Little System, making it wonder if it was some defective prototype.

“Then doesn’t that give us our answer?” Nian Zhi’an’s heart melted into a puddle, twinging with pain. If only she had realized sooner—Meng Congyun wouldn’t have been hurt.

【Answer? What answer?】

“Souls that can block the System’s scans being the same—that explains everything. Of course, for a definitive answer, we might have to ask the Main System.” The Main System surely knew something, but Nian Zhi’an figured it would just play dead and secretly chuckle at her floundering.

There was another method, though.

【Right, who else but your wife could block the system? But I wanted to say it earlier—she really is… Host!!!】 The Little System saw a shimmering white light suddenly emanate from Nian Zhi’an’s body, and its face instantly turned pale. Its Host had once again mobilized her Soul Power, then fused together with Meng Congyun’s soul.

The System understood what the Host wanted to do. Even as a mere bystander, it couldn’t help but grow tense.

Her soul trembled, because what resonated with it was her most familiar beloved.

“Why are you crying?” When Meng Congyun regained a bit of consciousness, she felt cool droplets falling onto her neck. She struggled to open her eyes and saw Nian Zhi’an, whose face was streaked with tears like a raccoon.

“Don’t be afraid—I’m fine.” Enduring the pain, Meng Congyun raised her hand to wipe away Nian Zhi’an’s tears. This time, she didn’t dodge; she even subconsciously nuzzled into the palm of her hand. The Chancellor arched her brows slightly.

Nian Zhi’an bit her lip and buried her face deeper into Meng Congyun’s palm, crying even harder as regret and self-reproach filled her for not recognizing her wife sooner.