The mad princess forces love upon him, and the aloof imperial advisor trembles every night.

She rushed to Chu Qingyao's side, her hands trembling as she pulled her from the pool of blood, holding her tightly in her arms, her voice broken.

"How are you? Where are you hurt? Imperial Physician! Quickly, summon the Imperial Physician!"

Chu Qingyao—Mei Shiliu—was held stiffly and motionless in the Empress's arms. She was feeling it. Feeling the trembling of her "mother's" body, feeling the ambergris incense emanating from the magnificent robes.

After a long silence, she slowly raised her head. "Mother..." she began, her voice hoarse as sandpaper, each word dripping with venom.

"It was... the Ash Snow Pavilion... the Ash Snow Pavilion killed all my guards... I don't know who hired them... but... I want Chu Qingyue dead... I want Chu Xuanjing dead..."

The Empress froze. 'Chu Qingyao' grabbed the Empress's sleeve, her nails digging almost into her flesh: "I want Chu Xuanjing and Chu Qingyue to suffer a fate worse than death... I want to repay them a thousandfold, ten thousandfold for everything they inflicted upon me..."

She leaned close to the Queen's ear, her breath cold and sharp like a viper's tongue: "I want them... to go to hell."

The Empress looked at her, at this daughter whom she had cherished and pampered since childhood, whose face was now twisted like a demon. A sharp pain shot through her heart, which was then covered by an even deeper chill.

"Don't worry." The Empress hugged Mei Shiliu even tighter, gently patting her back as if comforting a child.

But when those phoenix eyes were raised, their cold light was chilling, like ice in the dead of winter; each word was both a vow and a curse.

"Chu Qingyue and Chu Xuanjing won't live much longer. Your mother assures you."

Mei Shiliu lowered her eyelids, concealing the fleeting sarcasm in her eyes. She gently pushed the Empress away, struggling to get up, but a "just right" pain in her leg made her frown.

"Mother, I want to see my eldest brother." Her voice was soft, carrying the vulnerability of someone who had survived a calamity, and a hint of barely perceptible urgency. "The tiger's Mad Bone Powder... I was the one who put it there."

The Empress's eyes widened suddenly.

Mei Shiliu met her shocked gaze, her tone urgent yet clear: "I originally planned to have that beast tear Chu Xuanjing apart and then frame Chu Qingyue... I wanted to help my brother."

Tears welled up in her eyes, blurring the coldness in them just right. "But I never expected... that it would harm my brother. But assassination was not my doing! Mother, we must unite and discuss a plan."

The Empress staggered back half a step, grabbing the table beside her to steady herself. Looking at her "daughter" before her, she felt a chill run from her feet to the top of her head. Her own son's severe injuries and disability were the work of her own daughter?!

What a terrible thing... what a terrible thing!

She opened her mouth, wanting to question and rebuke, but looking at her "daughter's" pale, blood-stained face and her frightened, tearful eyes, all the words stuck in her throat.

In the end, it all turned into a sigh of utter exhaustion.

"You..." The Empress closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again, having regained some composure. "You must never let your eldest brother know that you fed the tiger the Mad Bone Powder. He... cannot withstand such stimulation right now."

"Your subject understands." Mei Shiliu nodded obediently, a glint of light flashing in her eyes as she lowered them.

Servants carried a sedan chair and escorted her to a side hall of the Phoenix Palace. The First Prince, Chu Xuanche, was too badly injured to move and was temporarily residing there. The moment she entered the side hall, an overwhelming stench of blood and medicine assaulted her senses, almost nauseating.

The Empress had arrived earlier and was now sitting by the bed, holding Chu Xuanche's hand tightly. Her phoenix crown had been removed, her hair was slightly disheveled, her eyes were red and swollen, and the makeup on her face was washed away by tears, leaving faint lines, showing a rare look of haggardness and old age.

On the couch, Chu Xuanche lay on his back, his face as pale as waterlogged paper, his lips devoid of color. His lower body was wrapped in thick gauze, still seeping with dark red blood, like a broken doll hastily bandaged.

His eyes were tightly closed, his brows were furrowed in excruciating pain, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead, trickling down his temples and soaking his pillow. Every now and then, he would let out a suppressed groan of pain.

Mei Shiliu was gently lowered into the sedan chair.

She lowered her eyes and quietly observed the once spirited eldest prince, who was only one step away from becoming the crown prince.

Now, lying in this filthy place, his dream of becoming crown prince shattered, his glory faded, even his most fundamental dignity and future as a man torn to shreds by the tiger's claws. Truly... what goes around comes around, retribution is swift. A barely perceptible curve appeared at the corner of her lips, a smile as cold as a blade.

"Mother," she began, her voice soft and hoarse, carrying just the right amount of weakness and concern from someone who had survived a close call, "how is my eldest brother's injury? Is he still holding on?"

The Empress turned her head at the sound, saw it was her, and a complex and unreadable emotion flashed in her eyes, which finally turned into a long sigh.

She raised her hand to wipe her eyes, her voice choked with sobs: "My life... is saved. The imperial physician used the best medicine, and the bleeding has barely stopped, but... but the tiger claw wound was too deep, damaging internal organs and severing meridians... The imperial physician said that I'm afraid... I'm afraid I'll have difficulty having children in the future..."

Chu Xuanche, lying on the bed, suddenly opened his eyes! What kind of eyes were they? They were bloodshot, the eyeballs almost bulging out of their sockets, the pupils shrank to the size of pinpoints, and inside they churned a torrent of hatred, despair, and a madness that wanted to destroy everything.

"Chu Xuanjing——!!!"

He roared, his voice broken and hoarse, "I want him dead! I want him to be torn to pieces! I want his entire family wiped out! I want to tear him to shreds and grind his bones to ashes—!!!"

He struggled to sit up, but the movement aggravated the wound in his lower body, and excruciating pain instantly swept through his entire body, making his face contort like a demon, veins bulging on his forehead, and cold sweat pouring down his face.

"Che'er! Calm down!" The Empress rushed forward and pressed him down, her voice trembling with tears. "Don't move! The wound will reopen!"

"Calm down? How can I calm down!" Chu Xuanche's eyes were bloodshot as he gripped the Empress's arm tightly. "He ruined me! He ruined my life! I'll haunt him even as a ghost! I'll make sure he never reincarnates—!!!"

He roared and cursed, his words a mixture of profanity and vicious curses, tears streaming down his face, looking like a madman. Where was even a trace of the gentle, refined, and courteous eldest prince he once was?

Mei Shiliu watched the scene of mother and son embracing and weeping hysterically, her eyes devoid of any emotion, only a cold indifference. Only when Chu Xuanche's roars gradually weakened, turning into painful gasps and sobs, did she slowly speak.

"I understand how my eldest brother feels."

Chu Xuanche turned his head sharply, his scarlet eyes fixed on her.

Mei Shiliu met his gaze and sighed softly:

"We are siblings born of the same mother, connected by blood. Third Brother's methods this time..."

She shook her head slightly, her eyes flashing with heartache and indignation. "He is truly vicious and utterly depraved. He wants to seize your position as crown prince and sever your royal bloodline. It's pitiful that my brother only has two princesses... He is trying to drive you and our entire lineage to the brink of extinction."