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

Si Chen remained silent, but a pale golden spiritual energy condensed at his fingertips. He lightly touched Bai Chuan's shoulder, and the spiritual energy flowed in like a warm current. The wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the blood dried and fell off.

Bai Chuan looked up in astonishment: "Grand Preceptor, weren't you already in control of the previous group of Blood Blade Sect men in black? How come there's a second group? And they..."

"She used a triple scheme." Si Chen withdrew his hand, his gaze still fixed on the direction where Chu Qingyue had disappeared, his voice devoid of emotion.

"Firstly, she will send Chixiao with ordinary elites to abduct the prince, testing whether I will intervene. If I do not intervene, she will successfully throw the First Prince into the Pavilion of Relief, both humiliating her opponent and sowing discord between the First Prince and the Third Prince—killing two birds with one stone. If I intervene—"

He paused.

"She then appeared in person, using old feelings, resentment, and a martial arts contest as bait to stall me. At the same time, a second group of truly elite troops had already been lying in wait, specifically to intercept and kill you and the Crown Prince."

Shirakawa gasped, "How...how did she know you would definitely intervene? And how did she know which path her disciple would take?"

Si Chen finally withdrew her gaze and looked at the edge of her wide sleeve—there was a very faint crimson stain there, though she didn't know when. It wasn't blood, but lip rouge, carrying her unique cool fragrance.

"She was intelligent from a young age," he said softly, as if stating a fact, or perhaps reminiscing.

"She has a photographic memory and can grasp concepts instantly. When I taught her astrology and divination, she could deduce the celestial phenomena of three days by the age of ten, and by the age of twelve, she could decipher the simple destinies of others."

Bai Chuan remained silent. He had followed the Imperial Advisor for many years and knew well the special place the princess held in his heart. The secret chamber on the highest floor of the Star-Picking Tower was sealed off year-round, accessible only to the Imperial Advisor.

He once glimpsed it by chance, and found that the room was filled with a girl's paintings of the Imperial Preceptor from childhood to adulthood, the starry sky of the Star-Picking Tower, calligraphy practice, annotations on the sword manual... until the day she turned thirteen, when it came to an abrupt end.

"Now..." Shirakawa asked cautiously, "Isn't the Crown Prince in grave danger now that he's in her hands?"

Si Chen looked up at the night sky. The stars were dim, and a menacing aura surrounded the Ziwei star, foreshadowing an impending storm that would sweep through the court.

Meanwhile, the "Black Dragon's Fallen Star," which should have perished seven years ago, is now emitting an eerie red light, gradually approaching the orbit of the Emperor Star.

"She won't kill him." Si Chen turned around, his purple robe sweeping across the blood-stained ground, yet remaining spotless.

"The dead are worthless. The living, humiliated, and deeply resentful First Prince is her best pawn."

"Return to Zhaixing Tower." Bai Chuan bowed in agreement, then rose and followed.

Chu Qingyue returned to the manor, but instead of going to her bedchamber, she went straight to the study. Chi Xiao was already waiting there; upon seeing her return, he knelt on one knee.

"Your Highness, the second batch of men has succeeded. The First Prince was left at 'Mulang Residence' in the south of the city, where four men served him for a full hour. The Pavilion Master set fire to the place as you ordered, and now... the news has spread throughout the entire capital."

He paused, lowering his voice even further: "When the First Prince was rescued, his body was covered in gruesome marks. Now everyone in the streets is talking about it, saying that the First Prince has homosexual tendencies and slept with four men in one night..."

Chu Qingyue didn't stop walking. She just hummed softly and walked to the bookshelf. She pressed the mechanism, and the wall slid open silently, revealing a stone staircase leading down. She climbed the staircase, followed closely by Chi Xiao and Liu Yun. The secret room was hidden three zhang underground. The four walls were inlaid with luminous pearls, making the room as bright as day.

A man in black stood with his back to the entrance, his posture as straight as a pine tree. Hearing footsteps, he turned around, and the candlelight illuminated his face—his eyebrows were deep and sculpted, his nose was straight, and his thin lips were pressed into a cold, hard line. This face did not look like that of an assassin at all, but rather like that of a noble young master carefully cultivated by some aristocratic family.

But his eyes betrayed him; they were unfathomable, as cold as an ancient, unyielding pool, devoid of any warmth when they looked at people.

"Your subordinate greets Your Majesty." Cangming knelt on one knee, his voice deep and resonant.

"Get up." Chu Qingyue walked to the huge map hanging on the wall of the secret room.

The map marked the territory of the Great Chu, the borders of neighboring countries, and the spheres of influence of various princes. Her fingertip swept across the capital and landed on one spot—"Blood Blade Sect, how are the arrangements?"

"Eighty elite members from four groups of demons and monsters have infiltrated the main altar. We will strike at midnight and leave no one alive."

Cangming's eyes flashed with a cold light, "As instructed by the master, two people will be spared—the sect leader's two children."

Chu Qingyue walked to the huge map of the territory, her fingertips tracing across the capital city and landing on a certain place in the northern suburbs.

"No," she said softly, "I won't keep it." Cangming was taken aback.

Chu Qingyue turned around, the candlelight flickering like will-o'-the-wisps in her eyes: "I've changed my mind."

"Kill them all. Then hang the head of the sect leader on the west gate tower, and send the bodies of his children... back to the ancestral graves of the Blood Blade Sect, bury them three feet in front of the graves, so that they may guard them for generations."

She smiled, a smile so beautiful it sent chills down one's spine: "Issue another order in the martial world: whoever takes on another job to assassinate me, the Blood Blade Sect will be their example. Don't do it secretly, do it openly, let every assassin organization, every inn in the martial world, and even every storyteller in the teahouse know."

She paused, her tone as calm as if she were discussing the weather:

"I will not exterminate nine generations of their family—I will exterminate ten generations. Even their distant relatives, tenants, servants, and even their cats, dogs, and birds in the yard will be reduced to ashes. If anyone asks why I will not even spare the animals..."

Chu Qingyue gently stroked her left wrist, where an old scar was hidden beneath her sleeve:

"Tell them: When they pushed me into the icy lake, my white cat jumped in to save me, but they drowned it. I hold grudges. Sect lineage? I'll make them... cut off their lineage."

Cangming lowered his head: "Yes, sir."

He presented a sandalwood box: "The Bloodblade Sect assassin who took the Desire Pill has completed his mission. This is what you requested."

Chu Qingyue took the box and opened it. Inside was a bloodstained jade pendant, engraved with the secret emblem of the Third Prince's residence. "Not bad." She closed the lid, her tone as calm as if she were discussing any ordinary object.

"Give that assassin half an antidote. Tell him the other half will be given after the deed is done. I may not be a good person, but I keep my word. If he behaves well, I will spare his life—of course, if he unfortunately dies, I will also keep my promise to him: I will send someone to treat his mother's illness; I will redeem his sister's indenture. Although... he may no longer be whole."

"The second thing," Chu Qingyue walked back to the couch and leaned back lazily.

"At three-quarters past midnight tonight, place the heads of the three hundred assassins from Black Wind Gorge into the eldest prince's bedchamber. Arrange them around his bed in a circle, so that when he opens his eyes tomorrow, he can... have a good chat with these 'loyal' subordinates, face to face."

She thought for a moment and added, "Remember to keep their heads face up, use gold needles to pry open their eyelids, and fix their pupils towards the bed. Make them... 'look' at them. I wonder if my eldest brother will still be able to go back to sleep when he wakes up and sees three hundred pairs of unseeing eyes staring at him."