Chapter 55: Blood Debt, Blood Repayment

We returned to Luoying Gong under the strange, horrified gazes of the gate guards, drove out all the palace maids, and the room contained only me, Wu Ye, and Xiao Yin.

Xin Hui's injuries could only be described as unbearably gruesome; I forced myself to stay calm and continuously cleaned over a hundred wounds all over her body.

No, in fact I was of no help at all, because it was Xiao Yin who truly treated her wounds. Every inch, every wound, every bit of pain was licked away piece by piece by Xiao Yin.

Until darkness fell, all of Xin Hui's wounds were cleared, and she fell into a deep sleep. I watched her furrowed brows and melancholy expression even in sleep, and my heart ached again; the physical injuries could heal, but what of the wounds of the heart? When could they be cured?

The moment I lifted her, I knew Xin Hui's tendons in both hands and feet had been severed. The assailant seemed overly nervous or frightened; nevertheless, a stroke of luck amid misfortune left the tendons in her foot and left hand unbroken.

Under Xiao Yin's "licking therapy," the wounds were slowly healing. As for whether she could walk like an ordinary person in the future, that remained an unknown.

However, Xin Hui's right‑hand tendons were completely severed; in the modern world, ligament repair surgery could save it. Here, lacking advanced suturing and sterilization, no microscope, and with tendons and vessels so fine, could it be… that Xin Hui's right hand must be lost? No! Not just the right hand—I cannot guarantee her left hand or both feet will remain intact.

I stared at Xin Hui's sleeping face, lost in thought, when a sudden itch and pain on the leg I had propped against the bed edge made me realize Xiao Yin was carefully licking my wound.

A pang rose in my chest as I softly said, "Xiao Yin, you've already worked hard treating Xin Hui; I'll just finish bandaging in a moment…"

A sudden warmth behind me—Wu Ye had draped a pearl‑red brocade robe over me, wrapping tightly, his voice tinged with self‑control and anguish: "Lord, your internal injuries…"

I reached to fasten the robe, covering my scar‑ridden body, grabbed a water‑dampened handkerchief, wiped the drying blood from my face, and said lightly, "I'm stepping out; take good care of Xin Hui."

A cold glint appeared in my eyes as I said coldly, "There are still two debts to settle; calculate them carefully."

Having spoken, without waiting for Wu Ye's reply, I pushed Xiao Yin aside and hurried out of the room.

I've never been to Yan Jing's palace, nor ever thought of going. Whether it was unwillingness or fear I still haven't figured out to this day.

In truth, I should have known long ago that Yan Jing was no ordinary person.

When she deliberately let herself be pushed into the river, it wasn't to attract the Emperor's notice but mine. By approaching me unnoticed, she could both aid Wei Lingfeng in smoothly carrying out his scheme and eliminate me.

Yes, eliminate me. From the moment she gave me those gloves, I knew she harbored the intent to kill me.

But why, even though I knew it so clearly, was I unwilling to admit it, refusing to expose it? Because she looked like Xiao Yu, because that one‑in‑ten‑million hope and longing… ended up harming Xin Hui so terribly!

But now, what's the point of saying all this?

When I entered the Jingxin Palace, Yan Jing was sitting dumbfounded in the main hall; before the flustered maidens could report, Yan Jing had already seen me.

Her gaze first widened in surprise, then flickered away, followed by a slightly shy delight that left even me without a hint of doubt.

She hurried over, grasped my icy hand, and chided, "Ying Ruo, why didn't you tell me when you ran here? Seeing how cold your hand is, why aren't you wearing the gloves I gave you?"

I looked at her calmly; my cold indifference made the smile at the corner of her mouth stiffen. I said, "If I had just put on those gloves, would Princess Rong, now gripping my hand, not fear being poisoned by the 'Peach Bamboo'?"

Yan Jing's whole body jolted, she stared at me in disbelief, her luscious lips trembling slightly, her once‑radiant face drained of color.

Yan Jing led me into a finely and elegantly arranged room, fully stocked with all sorts of items, both male and female, looking just like a newlywed's bridal chamber.

"When did you first discover it?"

The room remained silent for a long while; Yan Jing, seeing my prolonged silence, finally could no longer wait and turned around.

"Ah—wu—" Yan Jing's scream was stifled by my hand over her throat; her beautiful, lively eyes, identical to Xiao Yu's, were filled with terror, pain, and pleading as she looked at me.

A sharp pain struck my heart, and without hesitation I drew the dagger lodged in her shoulder, saying coldly, "When you discovered it is irrelevant. What matters is the price I now want you to pay."

I released my hand from her mouth; tears streamed from her eyes, her crimson lips trembling as she tried to call for help, but she suddenly froze in horror, staring at the dagger I had carelessly left near her lower abdomen, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Actually, I'm truly foolish," I pressed the blade's tip firmly against her flat, flesh‑free abdomen and said lightly, "What could make a woman willingly betray her father, become insanely jealous of others, yet gladly bear a child? Apart from falling in love with that man, what else is possible?"

Yan Jing lowered her head, clutching her abdomen tightly with both hands, sobbing, "From the beginning I knew I entered the palace as a spy from Yao Guo; I was never supposed to truly love the Emperor. Yet how can feelings be controlled? When I administered the poison to the Emperor, I was already pregnant, and the Emperor naturally would not suspect me. After the poison succeeded, my father wanted to take me away, saying the Emperor would certainly not return. But I suddenly regretted it, to the point of seeking death; I didn't die, but the child was lost. I didn't expect the Emperor to survive; when he returned he asked only one question: live? die? I chose to live, but not exactly—I chose to stay true to my own feelings, betraying my father and my true country. Later, the Emperor outwardly began to neglect me. I told my father that the Emperor only had doubts, no evidence, giving me an excuse to stop feeding my father information about the Emperor, while I gradually uncovered my father's secrets and reported them to the Emperor. Later, you appeared. On one hand, following my father's instructions, I deliberately approached you to find a chance to abduct Xin Luo; on the other hand, according to the Emperor's plan, I let all the hidden spies from Yao Guo surface. But I truly did not intend to harm you. The gloves I gave you, actually, were the Empress Dowager's will. She feared the Emperor might develop genuine feelings for you, so she wanted to eliminate you. Ying Ruo, I sincerely consider you a friend. You must believe me!" Yan Jing trembled as she recounted her suffering and grief, tears and voice mingling while protecting her belly to prove her innocence and plead. The tears washed away her makeup, and the once‑sweet, cute face had become oddly grotesque.

Back then, which of my eyes was blind that made me mistake her for Xiao Yu?

"Yan Jing, your lower abdomen hasn't risen yet, and you were in the water two months ago, which means your pregnancy can't be more than two months old. So this must be the room where Wei Lingfeng secretly favored you, right?" I looked at her increasingly pallid face, gave a cold smile, surveyed the surroundings, and said, "There should be someone guarding here usually, right? What if someone accidentally breaks in…"

Yan Jing's previously obedient, sorrowful gaze was completely replaced by jealousy, fear, and hatred; her smooth, delicate hands seized my dagger and thrust it back toward me. At the same moment, the murderous aura that had been carefully concealed burst outward.

I raised a crystal‑clear white jade in my right hand, sneering at the continuously retching Yan Jing and the hesitant guards surrounding me, lips pressed together without a word.

"You, what did you give me?!"

Suppressing the throbbing pain and metallic sweetness in my chest, I slipped the dagger back into my sleeve; I casually tossed the "Purple Phoenix" in my right hand into the air and caught it, drawing the straight‑aweful gazes of the guards, their fear wavering up and down.

I gave them no glance, not even at Yan Jing's snarling, twisted face, and as I walked out of the room without looking back, I said lightly, "It could be an intestinal poison, it could be the disfiguring 'Jue Fenghua', or it might just be an ordinary abortifacient."

"I won't let you have the Emperor! He only lets me bear his children; he loves only me! He will always love only me!" Yan Jing's desperate howl echoed in the room, "Someone! Quickly, summon the imperial physician!"

"Bang—clack—" I kicked the door of Wei Lingfeng's sleeping chamber open with force; he, who had been bent over a desk writing something, startled and looked up at me, his handsome brows slightly furrowed, and waved his hand. "You all go down first."

The crowd, originally stunned by the scene, finally snapped out of their daze, hurriedly bowing their heads and exiting the doorway.

I stepped through the palace's main door, and after a few steps, I coldly watched him walk calmly toward me with a composed expression.

The man before me was a true emperor. He was ruthless, decisive, and clever; before him I had no trump cards to play, because he had controlled the whole situation from start to finish. I could find neither a word to strike him nor an act to revenge him. So, given that, I no longer wished to beat around the bush.

"I heard you left the palace today and ended up in a mess…"

His concern abruptly halted at that moment, as I raised my right hand to deliver a hard slap to his peerless handsome face, only to have his warm palm grip my hand in mid‑air, immobilizing me.

His eyes were filled with incredulous shock and angry fury, his alluring, devilish smile poised to speak…

"Bang—" a deafening blast echoed through the spacious sleeping hall; Wei Lingfeng tilted his head slightly, a bruise blooming at the corner of his mouth with specks of blood seeping out.

I retracted my blood‑stained, clenched fist, widened my eyes and stared at him, a moment that seemed endless.

Wei Lingfeng, I never imagined that slap could reach you. This punch is the only thing I can truly give back to you, a pain amounting to one ten‑thousandth of the suffering inflicted on Xin Hui.

Wei Lingfeng's grip on my wrist was so strong it nearly crushed my bones; tightening his arm, he hurled me to the ground and shouted, "How dare you! Did you really think I wouldn't kill you?"

My back slammed into the floor, the wounds beneath the brocade robe burned with searing pain from friction, long‑suppressed internal injuries surged forth, rolling from my chest to my entire body; I braced my hand against my collapsing form, shivered, and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

"Bing Yi—" Wei Lingfeng froze for a moment, then rushed to my side and lifted me. The brocade robe's tie loosened, revealing the blood‑stained plain white inner garment.

He stared blankly at my pallid face and scar‑covered body for a while, his hands supporting my torso clenched into fists, each word he uttered laced with restrained effort: "What exactly happened? Who inflicted these injuries on you?"

"Wei Lingfeng!" I mustered my hazy consciousness and numb body, grabbed his collar, and shouted, "You ask me what happened? How dare you ask me what happened? Wasn't all of this orchestrated by you? Wei Lingfeng, what do you consider a human life to be? You knew full well that using Xin Hui in my place was pushing her toward death; you even promised me you wouldn't touch them…" My chest heaved violently, like a storm‑tossed wave sweeping away my already hazy awareness, yet I couldn't stop the torrent of tears streaming from my eyes, drop by drop, in strings…

It is remorse, it is pain, tangled in my heart, an eternal scar.

I clearly could have prevented all this, I clearly could have protected them…

The hand gripping Wei Lingfeng's collar slowly released; before me, everything turned a dim, yellowish haze, and I could no longer see the surroundings nor Wei Lingfeng's stunned, pained expression.

"I've never… even when I watched my mother die before my eyes, I've never… hated myself so much, hating to the point of only wanting to die…!"

"Bing Yi!" Wei Lingfeng's previously contemplative expression, against the backdrop of the silent tears and blood spilling from the person in his arms, whose snowy, serene face remained calm, gradually turned into a trickle of emerging fear.

That sleeping face, it seemed as if she never wanted to wake, deathly silent and still……

"Someone——" Wei Lingfeng, as if gone mad, tightly embraced the person in his arms and shouted toward the hall's exterior, "Quickly summon the imperial physician!"

Midnight, Evergreen Palace.

"Your subject pays respects to the Empress Dowager."

"Your Majesty, coming to see this old one at midnight, is there something important?"

Wei Lingfeng's smiling eyes swept over the languidly reclining, peerlessly beautiful Empress Dowager on the couch and the pallid-faced Yan Jing standing aside, and he lightly said, "Those who come to see the Empress Dowager at midnight are apparently not just me!"

Yan Jing's whole body trembled; she forced herself forward a few steps, made a bow, and whispered, "Yan Jing pays respects to Your Majesty."

"Yan Jing." Wei Lingfeng's lips curled with an indecipherable smile, he glanced at her left arm wrapped in bandages, and spoke gently, "How did you get this injury?"

"I—I, Your Majesty, this…" Yan Jing trembled with her frail body, a look of wanting to speak but stopping, pitiful.

The Empress Dowager shifted her body, her gaze toward Wei Lingfeng already seated aside, she sat up straight and said lightly, "Consort Rong dare not say it; let this old one speak for her. The one who wounded Yan Jing and attempted to harm the dragon pulse in her womb is none other than the Empress you are about to appoint, Your Majesty."

"Is that so?" Wei Lingfeng's eyes shot out icy light; not only the pallid Yan Jing, but even the Empress Dowager was slightly startled, as he said, "We'll discuss this later." Having said that, he fell silent, picked up the tea just served by the palace maid, and sipped it himself. In the hall, a pin drop could be heard.

This oppressive atmosphere lingered for a while, until he finally said, "I came today merely to ask the Empress Dowager and Yan Jing why the originally planned scheme was carried out half a month early."

Wei Lingfeng slowly rose, his eyes half-narrowed, faintly flashing a dangerous glint, yet his voice remained as gentle as ever: "Yan Jing, didn't I specially warn you not to move Yingruo and those around her?"

"Your, Your Majesty!" Yan Jing shuddered, dropping to her knees, she choked, "Your Majesty, forgive me. Yan Jing, at the time, truly could not find anyone to substitute for the Empress, so I used that maid beside her; absolutely, absolutely not with the intention of defying Your Majesty's orders."

"Your Majesty." Yan Jing lowered her head, tears falling drop by drop to the ground, her pallid, slender hand clutching Wei Lingfeng's robe cuff and not letting go, "Yan Jing never imagined the Empress would care so much about a lowly maid. Yan Jing has also suffered the Empress's retaliation—she stabbed Yan Jing with a knife and even threatened her with an abortifacient… Your Majesty——"

The Empress Dowager lowered her head, looking with some disgust and indifference at the weeping, kneeling Yan Jing, then lifted her head with a face of reluctance and said, "Your Majesty, since Consort Rong knows her fault, spare her. After all, she has already received due punishment. Though she is at fault, the Empress is overly cruel—just for a lowly palace maid, she exacts such vicious revenge, nearly bringing disaster upon the unborn dragon child."

"Empress Dowager." Wei Lingfeng coldly interrupted her, not looking at her slightly contemplative and bewildered face, but lowering his head to gaze at the pitiful, delicate woman kneeling on the floor, his voice indifferent and ruthless: "Yan Jing, haven't I told you? What I hate most is a woman who dares to deceive me behind my back and play tricks. The child in your womb is merely a chip to make you wholeheartedly loyal to me. Now that it has lost its use……" Wei Lingfeng's indifferent gaze fell upon Yan Jing's face, gradually despairing and shocked; the corner of his mouth twitched into a demonic smile, yet his voice grew ever softer: "Why not, then, just remove it."

"Someone!" Wei Lingfeng fiercely flicked his sleeve, sweeping the still-disbelieving, dazed Yan Jing to the floor, and shouted, "Bestow Consort Rong 'Red Flower,' send her to Everpure Palace."

"Yes."

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty——don't kill our child!" Yan Jing, held by two guards, finally realized this was real, no longer bothering to conceal, she struggled desperately, screamed and wailed, "Your Majesty, Yan Jing knows her fault, Yan Jing only wishes to stay by Your Majesty's side, Your Majesty——" A faint voice, mingled with despair and hope, echoed from outside the palace gates: "……All of this is what the Empress Dowager made me do, Your Majesty——"

Wei Lingfeng seemed not to hear the mournful voice from outside the palace; he remained composed, gave a faint smile, adjusted his sleeves, sat down, and gazed at the Empress Dowager whose deep expression did not diminish her peerless beauty, saying nothing.

"Your Majesty……you won't believe Consort Rong's words, will you?"

Wei Lingfeng lifted the tea cup placed at the edge of the table, took a light sip, then said, "I've long wondered: the Empress Dowager resides alone in Evergreen Palace year-round, and besides the first and fifteenth of each month, she does not allow her subjects to pay visits. I wonder, Empress Dowager, what do you do each day in the palace?"

The Empress Dowager's expression changed slightly, then quickly returned to normal; she leaned back against the bed's edge, her voice sensual and languid, saying, "What else can this old one do each day? Just chant sutras, recite Buddha's name, and pray for the Emperor's safety."

Wei Lingfeng lowered his head, his eyes fixed unwaveringly on the tea in his hand, then suddenly said, "The other day I heard that mixing the fragrance of mandala flower, dragon's saliva incense, and cold incense produces an unexpected effect." Wei Lingfeng's lips held an elegant, composed smile as he slowly lifted his head, his eyes flashing with brilliance, "Empress Dowager, do you know what effect that is?"

The Empress Dowager's formerly calm and composed expression finally changed drastically, her eyes flashing with immense shock and complex light.

"Or perhaps I should—address you as Mother Empress? The Empress of the Ice-Spirit Kingdom—Leng Qingya."

Leng Qingya's face, from the shocked pallor, slowly regained color; her eyes shed the initial panic and fluster, turning into an awe-inspiring nobility and composure. Her whole being naturally exuded boundless aura and pressure, as if everything were under her control, and as if no variable could affect her. Her eyes held not a flicker, not a hint of wavering, and she was utterly devoid of the feigned widow's sorrow and ignorance she had just put on.

"How did Xuan'er dispel the Heart-Devouring Technique?"

Wei Lingfeng's hand gripping the chair's side tightened, barely withstanding the fierce, invasive aura pressing from all around, and he let out a faint smile, saying, "Although I call you Mother Empress, please also refrain from calling me that name."

"Oh? And why is that? Xuan'er unwilling to recall it?"

Wei Lingfeng's smile eased, he leaned back casually into the chair, and said leisurely, "There's really no question of willingness or unwillingness. Mother Empress sealed my former memories for six years, and at the same time created for me the identity of 'Wei Lingfeng.' Now, although my memories have returned, I have genuinely become 'Wei Lingfeng' over these six years; Xiao Qixuan…… that person, whatever remains of him within me, is merely a bland memory."

Leng Qingya calmly fixed her gaze on the person before her for a long time, then revealed a bewitching smile and said, "Then Xuan'er, what are your plans from now on?"

Wei Lingfeng glanced at her, but did not answer; instead he continued his previous words: "However, this memory is not entirely useless for me. At least it let me know Mother Empress's and my identities, including some useful information. What else could the Ice-Spirit Kingdom's prince have that would be more advantageous for unifying the world than this identity and the confidential information that comes with it?" Wei Lingfeng gave a light smile, his aura in no way inferior to hers as it emanated from his whole body, "Mother Empress, what do you say?"

"These six years……" Leng Qingya's eyes shone with a gentle light, her voice clear and pleasant, touched with faint affection, "Xuan'er has truly grown up. From the start, I knew you were far more suited than Ran'er to be the king of Ice-Spirit."

"Enough!" Wei Lingfeng interrupted Leng Qingya's words with a neither light nor heavy sentence, his fine brows slightly furrowed, he spoke coldly, "Mother Empress, whether or not I have lifted the Heart-Devouring Technique, I can still help you achieve your wish……"

Leng Qingya paused slightly, then broke into a alluring smile, "Xuan'er, do you know what Mother Empress wants?"

"The world, and furthermore……" Wei Lingfeng slowly rose to his feet, gazing at the person before him who was called his mother, her peerless composure and unfluctuating alluring smile, the corner of his mouth twitched into a cold smile, "My life-and-death struggle with Qi Ran—is that it? Mother, Empress!"

Leng Qingya's hitherto composed expression finally showed a hint of surprise; her captivating phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, her pupils faintly holding surging waves; her cherry-red, alluring lips parted, and the words that came out were especially icy: "Xuan'er, it seems these six years you haven't merely grown, but as you said, you have truly become another person, one more fit to be king and emperor. After all you've told Mother Empress, what exactly do you want to say?" Leng Qingya stared at him fixedly, finally realizing helplessly that at this moment, this son's heart was no longer wholly within her grasp.

Wei Lingfeng flicked his sleeve, the corner of his mouth lifting into a wicked smile: "Please, Mother Empress, do not interfere with my actions, nor——move my people, or else……" He paused, withdrew his smile, gave a slight bow, and said, "It's late; I shall take my leave first, Mother Empress, please rest well."

As he was about to step out of the hall, Leng Qingya's indifferent voice sounded from behind, waveless, without discernible joy or anger: "Xuan'er, you won't also follow Ran'er, disregarding everything for a dead woman, will you?"

Wei Lingfeng's throat let out a low chuckle, his steps not pausing in the slightest: "What does the Empress Dowager think?"

Before his words had finished, he was already outside the hall.

(End of chapter)