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

"Three hundred men." She began, her voice trembling slightly as she tried to suppress it, each word seeming to be ground out from between her teeth.

"Three hundred assassins trained by the Pei family for over a decade, their hands stained with countless blood!"

"To infiltrate a princess's residence and kill a lowly woman who has just returned to the capital, it takes so long?!"

"Does Chu Qingyue have three heads and six arms, or are all the people my Pei family raises useless?!"

Granny Li lowered her head even further, almost burying it in her chest:

"This old servant dares not speak presumptuously... but I have heard that the guards in the Princess's residence are extraordinary, seemingly forming a secret array, and that the Princess herself is highly skilled in martial arts..."

"Highly skilled in martial arts?" Empress Pei sneered, cutting her off. Her eyes, reflected in the mirror, were bloodshot.

"Naturally, it's incredibly powerful. How could it not be powerful, given that the Grand Preceptor personally raised and taught it to him?"

"That bitch... she spent seven years in Beiming, and it's said she crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood."

She paused, her fingertips digging deep into the texture of the broken comb.

"But so what?"

"Even two fists can't beat four hands; even a fierce tiger fears a pack of wolves!"

"Three hundred elite troops, we can wear her down!"

Even so, the rage within her only grew stronger.

In the daytime mourning hall, Chu Qingyue's pale face, the glaring cinnabar mark, her composed and elegant demeanor yet every word pierced the heart, especially that final mocking smile...

The video played back in front of her repeatedly, making her temples throb. She wished she could turn back time and pounce on that face to tear it apart right then and there!

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger and take good care of your health." Granny Li crawled two steps on her knees, her voice even lower and more seductive.

"The Prime Minister has already made all the necessary arrangements without any problems."

"An 'accident' is bound to happen at the Princess's residence tonight. The eldest princess will die 'accidentally,' and the Beiming military power will naturally be returned to the court."

"At that time, the Sixth Prince will be the only choice for Crown Prince, and the Second Princess will be His Majesty's only princess, enjoying even greater honor... The glory of the Pei family will surely reach new heights!"

Empress Pei closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.

When she opened her eyes again, the madness in the eyes reflected in the mirror had subsided slightly, replaced by a colder, harder, and more calculating glint.

She raised her hand, her icy fingertips tracing her face in the mirror. The touch was smooth, but her heart felt cold.

"You're right." Her voice calmed, but it was even more chilling than her previous outburst of rage.

"Che'er's revenge must be taken."

"But what's more important is the future of the Pei family, and the future of Lang'er and Yao'er."

"Chu Qingyue must die, and she must die in a way that is reasonable and justifiable, so that His Majesty, the court officials, and the people of the world cannot find a single word of dissent, and can only sigh that she is a beautiful woman with a tragic fate and that the heavens are jealous of her talent."

She stood up, her heavy phoenix robe trailing on the ground, the gold thread embroidery gleaming with a cold, luxurious luster, which only made her face appear even paler.

"Those three hundred assassins were the sharpest blade in my father's hand."

Empress Pei walked to the window, pushed it open a crack, and a damp night breeze swept in, causing the candlelight to flicker and casting shifting shadows on her face.

"What they excel at is creating 'accidents': fires, drownings, falls from buildings, sudden deaths from illnesses..."

"Tonight, the princess's residence will be engulfed in a sudden fire. The wind will fan the flames, making it burn quickly and fiercely. By the time the city patrol guards and the magistrate of the capital arrive, all that will be left are broken walls and a... charred corpse, unrecognizable."

"All evidence has been burned to ashes."

Granny Li echoed softly, "Your Majesty's considerations are thorough."

"However... after all, the Eldest Princess was raised by the Grand Preceptor, and their bond is extraordinary."

"The Imperial Preceptor's cultivation is extraordinary; if he were to intervene..."

"Si Chen?" Empress Pei's lips curled into an extremely mocking smile, but her eyes held no mirth.

"No matter how strong he is, he's still just a person."

"Moreover, the core of the blood oath that Emperor Taizu made with him four hundred years ago was that 'one shall not interfere in the internal struggles of the royal family unless it endangers the foundation of the country or the oath itself.'"

"As long as this matter is handled cleanly, leaving no trace pointing to the Pei family or to me, even if he has extraordinary abilities, he will have no way to interfere and will have nothing to say!"

She turned around, a calculating glint in her eyes: "Besides, if Chu Qingyue dies, who will benefit the most on the surface?"

Granny Li was taken aback: "Of course it's... His Highness the Third Prince?"

"Not bad!" Empress Pei's tone suddenly turned sharp, carrying a hint of malicious pleasure.

"That bastard Chu Xuanjing thinks he can rise to the top just by hooking up with Chu Qingyue!"

"With Chu Qingyue dead, His Majesty's first suspect is him!"

"At that time, I only need to whisper a few words in His Majesty's ear and 'casually' reveal some information about the recent 'unusual activities' of the Third Prince's residence and his 'close ties' with the former members of the Northern Underworld Army... What do you think His Majesty will think?"

Granny Li suddenly understood, and her face showed admiration: "Your Majesty is brilliant! Killing three birds with one stone!"

"They've avenged themselves, eliminated the eldest princess—a major threat—and are now able to shift the blame onto the third prince!"

"No," Empress Pei slowly shook her head, walked to the candlestick, and gently touched the flickering wick with her well-maintained fingers. The flame burned in her deep pupils.

"It's killing four birds with one stone."

"With Chu Qingyue dead, Che'er has avenged his great enemy; this is the first point."

"Yao'er has become His Majesty's only princess, a status that no one can match, that's the second point."

"With one less formidable rival, Lang'er will surely secure the position of Crown Prince; this is the third reason."

"The Pei family used this to gain control of the Beiming Army, further increasing their power and influence. This is the fourth point."

The hall was silent for a moment, with only the occasional crackling sound of candle flames bursting open.

Empress Pei gazed at the warm yet illusory flame, then suddenly smiled very softly and added:

"And... I really want to see if Si Chen's ruthless path, cultivated for four hundred years... will... cause even the slightest ripple when faced with Chu Qingyue's charred corpse?"

The night outside the window was as black as ink, gently swallowing all the conspiracies and murderous intent.

————The Princess's Residence————

Meanwhile, on the other side, long before Chu Qingyue carried Si Chen back to the secret room,

Mei Shiliu spoke in a very low voice before Cangming, with a hint of barely perceptible confusion: "Sect Master, was Master... too lenient today?"

Cangming stood quietly at the intersection of light and shadow in the study, half of his face hidden behind a black iron mask, while the other half was outlined with a cold and hard profile by the dim candlelight.

His jawline was as sharp as if carved by a knife, but his eyes were as deep as a cold pool, unfathomable.

Upon hearing this, he didn't even lift his eyelashes, but a very subtle crack of ice flashed across the depths of his eyes.

"The Princess's words are golden: 'He cannot die.'" His voice was calm and even, but his words were like thin blades dipped in poison. "But living... is not necessarily more comfortable than dying."

After he finished speaking, he turned and walked into the secret room of the study.

The air was filled with the scent of old books mixed with a faint medicinal fragrance.

He took out an antidote pill and swallowed it, then brushed aside an inconspicuous paperweight on the rosewood desk and pressed his fingertips three times in a specific order on a certain embossed pattern.

With a soft "click," the hidden compartment popped open.