Starting from the imperial palace guards, his clones spread all over the world.

Chapter 628 Speaking the Truth
cold……

The bone-chilling cold was like a million icy steel needles.

They burrowed into Mu Congshuang's limbs and bones without leaving a trace, piercing through his magnificent phoenix robe and reaching deep into his marrow.

Each weak breath felt like inhaling ice shards, scraping sharp pain through my lungs.

She seemed to be drowning at the bottom of an icy sea, her consciousness floating and sinking in the biting cold, blurred and indistinct.

In a daze, she felt as if she had returned to that cold, bone-chilling winter of her childhood.

Is he five years old? Or six years old?

Fragments of memory are like a frozen lake, blurry and indistinct.

The vast Zhenguo Duke's Mansion, with its carved beams and painted rafters, exudes an undeniable iron-blooded majesty.

On that day, all fourteen girls of their generation, regardless of whether they were legitimate or illegitimate, were summoned into the ancestral hall, where ancestral tablets were enshrined, sandalwood incense swirled, and the atmosphere was so somber it was suffocating.

The air seemed to freeze, with only the girls' suppressed breathing, carrying the instinctive unease of children.

Then, she saw the man—her grandfather, the mighty ruler of the Great Qian Dynasty, the Duke of Zhenguo, Mu Canglong, who held immense military power and was a formidable figure in the northern frontier.

Mu Canglong is very busy.

Busy as Mu Congshuang was only seeing this legendary grandfather twice since she could remember.

She should have been excited, after all, she had been exposed to the stories of her grandfather leading his iron cavalry to conquer enemy countries and strategizing to win battles from afar—an epic tale of heroes.

Little Mu Congshuang secretly harbored a desire that no one else knew: to be like her grandfather, clad in armor and wielding weapons, and to become a female general who galloped across the battlefield!
however.

When her grandfather's towering, mountain-like figure truly loomed over her, and when his sharp, hawk-like eyes, devoid of any warmth, swept over her, Mu Congshuang felt a chill run from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head, colder than the wind and snow outside the ancestral hall.

That's not the look you give your grandchildren!
It's more like examining a pile of items waiting to be sold, assessing the condition, use, and value of each piece.

Grandfather's cold voice echoed in the ancestral hall, each word like an icicle striking the bluestone slabs, sealing the trajectory of their lives:

"Youngest son, his appearance is a bit lacking, but his physique is exceptional; he's a fine prospect. Send him to the martial arts academy for rigorous training, and he'll join the army in the future to serve my Mu family on the battlefield."

A small, thin girl trembled slightly.

"The eleventh daughter is of average build, but her appearance is acceptable. Let her study literature, delve into the rules and teachings for women, poetry, books and etiquette, and in the future... marry her into the Li family of Huaixi, thus strengthening the alliance through marriage."

The light in the other girl's eyes vanished instantly.

"Sixth son, talented and handsome, but unfortunately born out of wedlock... his social status is ultimately inferior. Betrothing him to the Wang family of Longyou as a daughter-in-law is a good match."

The girl whose name was called turned pale, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes tightly.

……

Finally, that icy gaze fell upon Mu Congshuang.

Mu Canglong's gaze seemed to become more serious, and even carried a hint of barely perceptible satisfaction.

"Fourth brother, Mu Congshuang."

His voice rose slightly:

"Her beauty surpasses all her peers, she has been intelligent since childhood, possesses a gentle and virtuous nature, and her physical attributes are also of superior quality. Most importantly—"

Mu Canglong paused, his tone resolute:
"She is my own granddaughter, of noble blood and illustrious status! How can I give her away so easily, thus disgracing this honor?"

The ancestral hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, and all eyes were focused on little Mu Congshuang.

She felt as if an invisible hand was squeezing her heart, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.

She opened her mouth, wanting to shout out the desire in her heart: she wanted to learn marksmanship, wanted to ride a horse, and wanted to see the vast battlefield that her grandfather had described!
Instead of being confined in the boudoir, learning those complicated etiquettes and skills to please others!
But her grandfather's next words completely shattered her faint hope:

"This woman possesses an innate grace and is of immeasurable nobility! Judging from her appearance, she has the bearing of an empress!"

A glint of power and ambition flashed in Mu Canglong's eyes:

"From this day forward, we will dedicate the entire clan's resources to nurturing them with utmost care! Court etiquette, needlework, music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and prose... they must all reach the pinnacle of excellence!"

"Furthermore, we must be well-versed in the Crown Prince's temperament and preferences, and all standards should be based on the demeanor of the future Empress!"

He abruptly waved his hand, as if delivering a final verdict:
"My Mu family will surely produce another empress! She will bring glory to our family and benefit future generations!"

Mu Congshuang felt an overwhelming sense of despair and coldness instantly engulf her.

Her small body froze on the spot, as if all her strength had been drained away.

Grandpa's decision was like a royal decree to the Mu family; even Father dared not utter a word of objection.

I've heard that even the supreme emperor in the palace sometimes has to yield to my grandfather's will...

She couldn't resist; even the courage to express her dissent froze under that cold gaze.

cold!
it's too cold!
It's not just the chill of the ancestral hall, but also the cold shackles imposed on us by fate!
"Well……"

In reality, Mu Congshuang trembled violently in the biting cold, her consciousness abruptly pulled back to reality by the familiar, bone-deep chill.

She laboriously, little by little, opened her heavy eyelids.

In front of me...

It was an endless darkness.

It was as thick as ink that couldn't be dissolved, without a trace of shine.

"Is it...dark?"

She murmured unconsciously, her voice dry and hoarse, carrying the confusion of just waking up:
"Why... haven't any palace servants lit the lamps yet? These damned lackeys..."

Her habitually authoritative tone came out as if she were still the empress sitting high on her throne.

She tried to move her stiff body and call someone in.

However, a sharp, intense friction pain suddenly shot through my entire body!
She was horrified to discover that her limbs and torso were tightly bound in an extremely humiliating way by rough, spiky hemp ropes!

Bound up tightly!

The rope dug deep into her delicate flesh, and every slight struggle brought sharp pain as the barbs scraped and embedded themselves into her skin.

She was like a lamb to the slaughter, lying helplessly on the cold, hard ground, unable to even turn over.

The floodgates of memory burst open!

Qingluan Peak! Dafosi Temple! Assassins! A chaotic escape! A cliff! A bittersweet embrace—a seemingly protective but actually confining one!

and also……

That woman at the bottom of the cliff, wearing the same phoenix robe as her and with the same face as her!

"what!"

Mu Congshuang gasped, her heart sinking to the bottom as if gripped by an icy hand!

The bone-chilling cold was even more intense than the icy chill of the cave!
"Kidnapping! It's kidnapping! They...they want to replace me with that fake!"

Overwhelmed by immense fear and boundless rage!
She realized that this was no simple assassination attempt, but a meticulously planned and earth-shattering conspiracy!

She, the true empress, became the biggest obstacle to the plan and had to be imprisoned, or even... eliminated!

"No! We can't let them succeed!"

Mu Congshuang roared inwardly.

She tensed all her muscles, trying to break free of the damn rope with sheer willpower!

She comes from a military family, and the indomitable spirit of the Mu family flows in her blood!
But as soon as he exerted his strength, a strong feeling of numbness and exhaustion instantly swept over his entire body!

My limbs felt as if my bones had been removed, leaving me limp and powerless.

"Acupuncture points!"

Mu Congshuang instantly understood her predicament, and a sense of despair, like an icy tide, overwhelmed her once again.

The other party's methods were ruthless and thorough.

With no hope of escape, she forced herself to calm down, widened her eyes, and tried to make out her surroundings in the absolute darkness.

The chill was biting, and it seemed to come from all directions.

The air carried a dull, cold smell, a mixture of dust and some strange mineral.

Is it an ice cellar?

she guessed.

Autumn has just begun in Beijing; it's far from being this cold.

Only in the deep cellars of the palace, where ice is stored, could one find such chillingly low temperatures.

at this time!

Mu Congshuang's pupils suddenly contracted!

My heart was about to jump out of my chest!
In the deep, impenetrable darkness, just a few feet away from her, stood a blurry human figure!

He remained motionless, like a demon lurking in the darkness, silently staring at her!
She could even feel the cold, emotionless gaze directed at her from that silhouette!

"Who?!"

Mu Congshuang was horrified and cried out, her voice sharp and distorted with fear.

laugh--

A tiny flame suddenly ignited in the direction of the human-shaped silhouette.

Immediately following was the sound of an old-fashioned oil lamp being lit.

The dim, flickering light spread rapidly like ripples, instantly tearing through the suffocating darkness and illuminating the entirety of this eerie space.

Mu Congshuang finally saw it clearly.

She was in a huge, clearly man-made cave.

The ground and walls were not ordinary rocks, but a dark, almost inky black-gray mineral with a rough surface covered with chisel and pry marks left by mining, clearly indicating its antiquity.

What's even more chilling is that these ores themselves are constantly emitting a cold, eerie aura!

It is these ubiquitous minerals that have transformed this cave into a natural, enormous ice cage!

Directly opposite her, on a relatively flat rock, sat a man.

His face was covered by a strange mask, revealing only his hard-lined jawline and a pair of eyes that looked as deep as an ancient well under the dim light.

Masked men... The assassins on Qingluan Peak also wore masks to cover their faces.

An invisible sense of oppression, with the arrival of light, only grew heavier, enveloping Mu Congshuang's heart.

Having assessed the surroundings and identified the enemy, Mu Congshuang's inherent pride and queenly majesty instantly overwhelmed her fear.

She forced herself to straighten her back, which was bound painfully, raised her chin, and used all her strength to maintain the dignity that belonged to an empress. Her voice was cold and clear, carrying an unquestionable authority:
"Bold maniac!"

"What you have committed is a heinous crime punishable by the extermination of your entire family and condemned by Heaven and Earth! Rebellion and treason, theft and usurpation, are unforgivable crimes!"

Her gaze was sharp, trying to pierce through the pale mask, her tone carrying a deliberately softened, seductive quality:

"Judging from your appearance, you are not like those heartless and heinous villains! You must have been misled by treacherous people or driven by profit, which led you astray!"

"It's not too late to pull back from the brink!"

She took a deep breath, enduring the excruciating pain from the tightening ropes and the biting cold, and threw out the bait:

"If you repent now and help me escape this predicament and capture the real culprit, I swear on my honor as Empress and in the name of the Mu family!"

"Not only will you be pardoned from all your crimes and your life be spared, but you will also be granted a thousand taels of gold, fertile land, and a beautiful mansion! Promotion and honor to your family will not be difficult!"

Her voice carried a condescending tone, as if she were bestowing a favor:
"My word is law, and I will never go back on my word!"

"Quickly untie me! Don't make another mistake and bring about your own destruction!"

The masked man was none other than Liang Jin.

He quietly watched the empress before him, who, even as a prisoner, in a wretched state, still tried her best to maintain that ridiculous yet pitiful noble demeanor.

Listening to her self-righteous attempts to persuade and promise to surrender, Liang Jin's lips curled into a contemptuous and mocking smile beneath his mask.

This place is the secret chamber beneath Ma Rang's residence where he created the Yin Bone Puppet.

After killing all the people who had kidnapped the Empress, Liang Jin did not stay any longer but brought the Empress back with him.

As long as the real empress is firmly controlled, it is equivalent to grasping the fatal loophole in the plan of the tragic and joyful to steal the sky and change the sun.

Now all we need to do is wait for the right moment, and when the crucial moment arrives, we can bring out the "True Queen" card, which will surely be able to turn the tide of the battle.

However, Liang Jin was not yet clear about Bei Huan's intentions, so he could only settle the Empress here for the time being.

At this time, Liang Jin still needed to learn some things through the Empress.

He slowly stood up, his tall figure casting a huge shadow under the flickering lamplight, completely enveloping Mu Congshuang.

He didn't speak, but simply strode towards the queen, who was bound to the ground like a sacrifice.

Footsteps echoed in the silent, cold cave, each step like a tread on Mu Congshuang's taut heartstrings. "Your Majesty, don't be afraid, I'll untie you first."

As Liang Jin spoke, he squatted down in front of Mu Congshuang, reaching out to help her untie the ropes and release her pressure points.

As the other party approached, a hint of panic flashed in Mu Congshuang's eyes, but her dignity as the Empress forced her to maintain her composure and shout sharply:
"stop!!"

"I am of noble birth! How dare you, such a lowly person, approach and touch me?!"

"Put away your filthy hands and get out of my way!"

She was all bark and no bite; her voice trembled slightly with fear and anger, yet it still carried an imperious, commanding tone.

She was used to scolding palace maids and eunuchs, and used to everyone groveling at her feet.

Even if they are now reduced to fish meat, they cannot change this deeply ingrained habit.

After all, she was the Empress, and there could only be one man in the world who could touch her: the Emperor!
Apart from these, the only other options were castrated eunuchs and palace maids.

Liang Jin's hands, which were about to untie the Empress, suddenly stopped the moment she uttered the words "lowly person."

Through the cold, pale mask, Mu Congshuang could almost see the chilling light in those eyes, as cold as polar ice.

"Ah……"

A low, hoarse laugh came from behind the mask, carrying a chilling, playful tone:

"how?"

Liang Jin tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping across Mu Congshuang's dust-covered, disheveled phoenix robe and her sorrowful face with an almost tangible intensity:

"If the emperor can touch it, why can't I?"

The words have not yet been spoken!

"Snapped--!!!"

A crisp, loud slap echoed like thunder in the cold cave!

Liang Jin's arm moved with lightning speed, carrying a merciless force, and slapped hard across Mu Congshuang's well-maintained, fair and jade-like right cheek!

That slap was powerful and heavy!
Mu Congshuang's head was suddenly slapped to one side, and half of her cheek swelled and became congested rapidly at a visible speed.

A clear, purplish-red handprint, like a brand of shame, appeared instantly!

A few stray strands of hair clung to her swollen, red skin, making her look utterly disheveled.

Severe pain!

A searing, excruciating pain!

The immense impact caused her to see stars and her ears to ring!

However, what she found even more unbearable than the pain was the overwhelming sense of humiliation she had never experienced before!
She is the Empress!

She is the most noble woman in the world!
actually……

To think that he was slapped like a lowly servant by a lowly assassin!
Mu Congshuang was completely dumbfounded.

My mind went blank, as if my soul had been ripped out of my body by that slap.

She stared blankly at the side, still in the position where she had been slapped. The lingering sting on her swollen cheek and the clear feel of the handprint were frantically reminding her of this unbelievable and humiliating reality.

Liang Jin's icy voice rang out again, like a spell, waking her from her reverie:
"Your Majesty, even your precious body... feels pain?"

The mockery in that tone was more hurtful than the sharpest knife.

Next!

"Snapped--!!!"

Another, even more vicious slap landed precisely on her other, intact left cheek!
The same force, the same humiliation!
"what!"

Mu Congshuang finally couldn't help but let out a short cry of pain.

Both cheeks were swollen and burning painful, and a trace of salty blood even seeped from the corner of his mouth.

The symmetrical, swollen palm prints, like two humiliating seals, completely shattered her dignity as an empress.

Excruciating pain, fear, shame, anger... countless emotions crashed against her already fragile mental defenses like a tsunami.

"Woo..."

The immense grievances and unprecedented pain finally shattered her feigned strength.

Tears flowed like a burst dam, instantly blurring my vision.

She wanted to raise her hand to wipe away the weak tears and cover her burning cheeks.

But with his body tightly bound, he couldn't even make such a simple movement!

She could only lie helplessly on the cold ground like a fish out of water, her body trembling violently from crying and the cold. Tears mixed with the dust and blood on her face, flowing into her disheveled hair and onto the cold, rocky ground.

Snot streamed down her face uncontrollably, and she couldn't wipe it away, forced to endure the stickiness and coldness with humiliation.

"So, even your precious body can tremble."

Liang Jin coldly looked down at the Empress, who was collapsing and crying at his feet, his voice devoid of any emotion.

He slowly lifted his foot—a boot covered in dust, possibly even muddy from the outside.

Under Mu Congshuang's horrified, dilated pupils, the sole of that boot, a symbol of humility, filth, and violence, slowly and steadily... stepped onto the top of her head, adorned with a phoenix crown, with a slow-motion, extremely humiliating sense of oppression!
"Ugh!"

Immense pressure struck instantly!
The pearls and jade on the phoenix crown were digging into her scalp, and the cold soles of her boots were grinding hard against her forehead and hair!
Liang Jin's feet were slowly and irresistibly increasing their force!

Mu Congshuang felt as if her head was being squeezed into an ever-tightening iron hoop, and her skull groaned under the unbearable pressure!

The excruciating pain felt like a steel needle piercing through the top of my head, heading straight for the depths of my brain!
She could even clearly hear the "crackling" sound of her cervical vertebrae being compressed!

The feeling of suffocation and the shadow of death instantly enveloped her completely!
"Oh, noble Queen..."

Liang Jin's voice was as if it came from the deepest hell, cold and devoid of emotion. Every word struck Mu Congshuang's already collapsing nerves like a heavy hammer.

"Weren't they also trampled underfoot like ants by the 'lowly people' you speak of?"

The force under their feet was increasing!
Mu Congshuang felt like her eyeballs were about to burst!

Her vision began to darken, and the excruciating pain almost made her faint.

An unprecedented fear of death, like a cold, venomous snake, coiled tightly around her heart, making it impossible for her to breathe!

"I just don't know..."

Liang Jin's voice, like the whisper of a demon, clearly entered her buzzing ears:
"Can this so-called invaluable body... also die?"

The force under his feet suddenly increased even more!
Mu Congshuang felt like her skull was about to crack!
Extreme fear completely destroyed her last shred of sanity!
"No! No! Please! Don't kill me!!"

She screamed desperately, her voice shrill and piercing, filled with the most primal instinct for survival.

What about the dignity of an empress, what about the glory of a herdsman's family?

Faced with the absolute terror of death, they vanished in an instant!
All she wanted was to live!

"Please! Let me go! Let me go! I'll give you anything!"

"Gold! Jewels! Fiefdoms! Official positions! Anything you want! I can give you!"

"Please don't kill me! Don't crush my head!!"

She was incoherent, tears streaming down her face, desperately pleading, twisting her bound body with all her might, trying to break free of the boot that felt like the foot of death.

At this moment, she was no longer the empress who ruled the world.

She was just a woman terrified of death, willing to give anything to survive.

As if hearing her desperate cries, the terrifying pressure above her head finally slowly, little by little, receded.

"Ho...ho..."

Having regained her breath, Mu Congshuang gasped for air like a dying fish, each breath aggravating the pain on her face and the tightness in her chest.

The exhaustion from surviving the ordeal left her limp, with only uncontrollable violent trembling and suppressed sobs remaining.

Liang Jin withdrew his foot, looking down at the empress who lay on the ground like a lump of mud, completely collapsed. His eyes behind the mask were filled with cold scrutiny and undisguised contempt.

"turn out to be……"

His mocking voice rang out again, like a whip lashing at the last vestiges of Mu Congshuang's self-esteem:
"Even the most precious body fears death and will wag its tail and beg for mercy like the lowest beggar, with tears streaming down its face."

He paused, his contempt reaching its peak:

"Your Majesty, in my eyes, you are not even as good as a common woman in the marketplace who knows how to fight back and has backbone."

These words, like the last straw, completely broke Mu Congshuang's already crumbling defenses.

Unable to maintain any semblance of dignity any longer, she curled up on the ground and burst into tears.

The cries were shrill, desperate, and filled with self-loathing.

The noble shell she had built up over twenty years with power, status, fine clothes, and the awe of countless people was shattered and trampled into the mud by Liang Jin in the most brutal and direct way!

She finally realized, nakedly and clearly, that stripped of her empress aura, she was nothing more than an ordinary woman who felt fear, pain, and would kneel and beg for mercy to survive.

The disillusionment and shame brought about by this realization are a hundred times worse than physical pain!
Liang Jin watched indifferently as she completely broke down, crying until she was almost suffocating, knowing that the time was right.

He then slowly took something out of the inner pocket close to his body.

It wasn't some kind of magical weapon, but rather a root about the size of a thumb with an irregular shape.

It has an unremarkable appearance, is dark brown in color, has a wrinkled surface, and emits an indescribable, strange smell that is a mixture of earthy and slightly sweet fishy odors.

“Deep within the secret caves of the Western Regions Demonic Sect's Star Demon Sea, some strange and bizarre creatures grow.” Liang Jin's voice sounded exceptionally clear and cold amidst Mu Congshuang's desperate cries:

“Take this ‘True Word Root’ in my hand, for example. It won’t kill you, Your Majesty, quite the opposite…”

He crouched down, ignoring Mu Congshuang's body trembling violently with fear, yet his movements were exceptionally precise.

He pinched the strange root with two fingers and released a slight amount of internal energy.

Click.

The rhizome shattered into several small pieces.

Without hesitation, Liang Jin grabbed Mu Congshuang's chin, forced her to open her mouth, and stuffed all the strangely smelled fragments into it!
To prevent her from spitting it out, he quickly pressed an acupoint on her throat!
"Woo..."

Mu Congshuang was forced to swallow, and a bitter, cold liquid with a strange numb sensation slid down her esophagus.

"It will only help you 'relax' a bit..."

Liang Jin released his grip, took a step back, and, like a calm physician observing the effects of the medicine:
"It's to make you... say some things that you usually keep to yourself, things you're unwilling or afraid to say."

Liang Jin was fully aware of the principle of this "True Word Root" from the Star Demon Sea.

It is essentially a potent psychostimulant and nerve depressant, similar to the "truth serum" he knew from his previous life used during interrogations.

It can act rapidly on the central nervous system, strongly inhibiting active areas of the cerebral cortex, especially those responsible for rational judgment, logical thinking, and vigilance.

At the same time, it can induce a state of light hypnosis in users, making them feel relaxed, less responsive to external stimuli, and extremely vulnerable to psychological defenses.

In this state, a person's reactions become sluggish and their thinking ability is severely impaired; at the same time, the body is in a very relaxed state, and vigilance or defensiveness towards various questions is greatly reduced.

Hidden truths often slip out uncontrollably.

Of course, medicine is not a panacea.

If the target's willpower is as strong as steel and their psychological defenses are as solid as a rock, the drug's effectiveness will be greatly reduced.

Therefore, Liang Jincai needed that cold and cruel prelude beforehand:
Destroy all of Mu Congshuang's pride, dignity, and pretense as empress, plunge her into the abyss of fear and despair, causing her to completely collapse mentally and her psychological defenses to crumble!
At this moment, Mu Congshuang had completely collapsed, which was the best time for "True Word Root" to exert its maximum effect!
Sure enough, the medicine took effect very quickly.

The intense expressions of fear and crying on Mu Congshuang's face gradually subsided, and her eyes began to become empty, confused, and unfocused.

The body, which had been tense and struggling, gradually relaxed and collapsed onto the cold ground, leaving only a slight, unconscious tremor.

Her rapid breathing became long and even, as if she had fallen into a kind of half-asleep, half-awake, chaotic state.

Liang Jin watched her transformation with satisfaction, his deep, clear voice piercing the chill of the cave and reaching Mu Congshuang's numb ears:

"Your Majesty, please don't misunderstand. I didn't mean to humiliate or abuse you."

"I'm not that bored or perverted."

His tone was as calm as if he were stating a fact:
"But how can I break down your layers of defenses without completely crushing your ridiculous pride and fragile self-esteem?"

He leaned forward slightly, his icy gaze like a scalpel, as if to dissect Mu Congshuang's chaotic consciousness:

"Now, tell me everything I want to know."

"About the Mu family, about the emperor, about joys and sorrows, and... what exactly were you plotting on Qingluan Peak?"

The dim glow of the oil lamp danced on the chilling walls of the mineral cave, illuminating Liang Jin's icy mask and the dazed face of the Queen on the ground.

Only Mu Congshuang's faint, irregular breathing and Liang Jin's questioning voice, which sounded like it came from the underworld and left no room for doubt, echoed inside the cave...

(End of this chapter)