Marrying a playboy? She turned the tables and used a magical talisman to become famous throughout th

Yin Liuli's decisive "I'm not going" was like a bucket of cold water being poured over her head.

The Empress stood by the pond, the hem of her phoenix robe soaked by the splashing water, yet she seemed oblivious. Her usually majestic phoenix eyes were now bloodshot. She had lived for over fifty years, navigating the treacherous waters of the palace for most of her life, witnessing countless storms and trials, but now, she felt as if someone had grabbed her by the throat.

"Liuli..." Her voice was dry, like an echo in a dry well, "You...you think about it again."

Yin Liuli carefully wrapped the broken jade pieces and handed them to the nanny. She dusted off her hands and turned to leave. Her back was slender and upright, and her steps were unwavering.

Gu Jinyan panicked and rushed after her, grabbing her sleeve and whispering, "Liuli, can't you just..."

"No." Yin Liuli turned to look at him, her eyes clear and bright, like snowmelt just melting in a mountain stream. "Gu Jinyan, don't go around spreading rumors. Walking the underworld is no joke. My master once walked the underworld and lay in bed for three whole months afterward, his hair turning half white."

Gu Jinyan felt a tightness in his heart when he saw her gaze, and his grip on her hand loosened slightly.

Yin Liuli added, "Besides, this is a matter for the Xiao family. Xiao Huanjia brought this karma upon himself; why should I get involved? The Book of Life and Death in the Underworld isn't something anyone can just flip through."

As soon as he finished speaking, the surroundings fell into dead silence.

Xiao Huanjia, whether from the cold or from fear, was trembling like a leaf, his teeth chattering. But his eyes, those murky eyes filled with a fierce light, remained fixed on Yin Liuli, as if trying to etch her image into his bones.

The Empress felt more than just heartache upon witnessing this scene.

She was indeed the Empress of the Great Chang Dynasty, but in the end, she was the daughter of the Xiao family. The Xiao family had only one son for three generations, and it wasn't until her nephew Xiao Heng's generation that he had this one son, after he was over forty years old. The entire household doted on him like the apple of their eye, and in doing so, they raised this little devil.

But Yin Liuli is right, this child has been strange since birth.

She still remembered seven years ago when Xiao Heng entered the palace with a beaming smile to announce the birth of a healthy baby boy. Overjoyed, she immediately rewarded him with a pair of jade ruyi scepters and ordered the Imperial Medical Academy to send the best physicians to help her niece-in-law recover.

Who knew that the next day news came that his niece-in-law had suffered a postpartum hemorrhage and almost lost her life.

Her heart skipped a beat, but she only thought of it as the danger of childbirth and didn't think of anything else.

Later, as the child grew up, one thing after another happened in the mansion.

First, the old steward was patrolling the courtyard at night when he suddenly tripped and fell, hitting his head on the steps and dying on the spot.

Then there was one of Xiao Heng's old aunts, who was usually very healthy. That day, after hugging Huan Jia, she developed a high fever and didn't survive three days.

Over the years, at least seven or eight elderly people in the family have passed away. All of them died suddenly and unexpectedly.

At first, the Empress thought it was just bad luck, but after hearing what Yin Liuli said, the hairs on her body stood on end.

"Liuli!" she suddenly spoke, her voice carrying a desperate resolve, "If you are willing to take this trip, I... I will give you half of the Xiao family's fortune as a reward."

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Yin Liuli paused for a moment, but still didn't turn around. She just glanced at the Empress and said, "Your Majesty, I don't lack money."

"Then what do you want? Just ask, and I'll give you whatever I can decide!" The Empress's voice was already choked with sobs.

Yin Liuli shook her head: "I don't want anything. I just don't want to."

After saying that, she turned and walked away.

"Yin Liuli!" the Empress suddenly shouted.

This shout was not an order from the empress to her concubines, but a stern rebuke from an elder to a junior, filled with despair and madness.

Yin Liuli finally stopped.

The Empress took a deep breath, pushed away the nanny's support, and walked step by step to Yin Liuli. She was half a head shorter than Yin Liuli, but when she raised her head, the surging emotions in her eyes made Yin Liuli's heart tremble.

"Liuli, I know you are capable, and I also know your temper." The Empress's voice was very low, so low that only the two of them could hear it. "You are not short of money, you are not greedy for power, and you are invincible because you are without desire. I can't persuade you with anything."

She paused, then suddenly changed the subject: "But have you considered this? Gu Jinyan is the Emperor's own grandson. His position in court is not yet secure, and how many people are eyeing his position? Although I am the Empress, do you think I am unaware of the open and covert struggles within the harem?"

Yin Liuli frowned slightly.

Seeing this, the Empress continued, her voice growing increasingly low: "If, as you say, Hai Jia is truly here to collect a debt, is he only collecting debts from the Xiao family? I am also a daughter of the Xiao family! If the Xiao family falls, can I still stand firm in the harem? If I cannot stand firm, who will protect Gu Jinyan?"

Upon hearing this, Yin Liuli's expression finally changed.

Gu Jinyan was standing not far away and vaguely heard his own name. He wanted to go forward but was stopped by the nanny.

The Empress stared intently into Yin Liuli's eyes: "Liuli, do you think I'm using my status as Empress to pressure you? No, I'm begging you. You protect Gu Jinyan, and I protect the Xiao family. But if the Xiao family is dragged down by this debt, I'll be in trouble myself. Who will protect Gu Jinyan then? His position is surrounded by wolves, and behind him lies a precipice!"

Yin Liuli fell silent.

For the first time, a look of hesitation appeared on her usually aloof face.

The empress touched her weak spot.

She owed nothing to the Xiao family, nothing to the Empress, but she owed Gu Jinyan. From the moment that young man met her, he entrusted his life to her.

"Liuli," the Empress's tears finally rolled down her cheeks, her voice hoarse and almost inaudible, "I know you are a person of deep affection and loyalty. You don't care about my sake, you don't care about the Xiao family's sake, you... you only care about Gu Jinyan's sake, is that acceptable? He is still young, his position in court is unstable, and many people want to bring him down. If I fall, he will be the first to be implicated! Liuli, can you bear to do this?"

Yin Liuli closed her eyes.

A cool breeze blew from the poolside, carrying moisture and chill.

Gu Jinyan finally couldn't hold back any longer and ran over, grabbing Yin Liuli's hand and saying urgently, "Liuli, don't listen to your maternal grandmother! What use is all this talk about traveling to the underworld if something happens to you?"

Yin Liuli looked down at his hand holding hers. His fingers were long and slender, with distinct knuckles, and he gripped her so tightly, as if he wanted to embed her into his bones.

She suddenly laughed and flicked his forehead: "Are you stupid? What could possibly happen to me?"

Gu Jinyan was stunned for a moment by her flick, but his eyes reddened: "Didn't you say that walking through the underworld is not a joke? Didn't you say that your master walked through the underworld once, lay in bed for three months, and half of his hair turned white? If anything happens to you, I...I..."