Killer Queen: Tyrant, prepare to die!

April 5th, dawn.

The pale sunlight pierced through the clouds, but could not penetrate the desolate and secluded mansion of the Liu family.

The vermilion gates were tightly shut, and the golden plaque above the lintel, bestowed by the emperor, reading "The Residence of a Pillar of the State," remained untouched.

It was dim and lifeless in the morning light, as if foreshadowing the end of its owner.

"Imperial edict arrives—the disgraced subject Liu Chengzong, and his entire Liu family, receive this decree!"

The sharp, chilling sound, like a death knell, abruptly shattered the last vestiges of peace in the Liu residence.

It wasn't the familiar eunuchs, but a group of imperial guards in full armor, swords drawn, led by Xuan Ying.

He remained expressionless, holding a bright yellow scroll.

Behind him stretched a vast, dark mass of Imperial Guards.

The entire Liu residence was surrounded so tightly that not even a fly could get out.

The gates of the mansion were violently smashed open.

The Liu family members and servants had already been gathered in the front courtyard, kneeling in a dense, dark mass.

Cries, pleas, and suppressed sobs filled the air.

Despair and fear filled the air.

After Liu Chengzong was carried back from the courtroom yesterday,

He had been unconscious the whole time, and now he was carried out.

He lay on a soft couch, his face as pale as gold paper, his breath faint.

Xuan Ying unfurled the imperial edict, his voice icy and devoid of any emotion, as if proclaiming a verdict:

"By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Investigate former Chancellor Liu Chengzong..."

Despite holding the position of prime minister, he did not think of serving the country, but instead formed cliques for personal gain and controlled the government.

Deceiving the emperor and misleading the emperor's ears;

Selling official positions and titles corrupts the administration;

Embezzling military funds undermines the foundation of the nation; misappropriating salt taxes steals state funds.

Frame loyal officials and persecute the empress and imperial heirs;

They colluded with江湖 (jianghu, the martial arts world) to assassinate officials of the imperial court.

They secretly colluded with foreign powers and plotted treacherous schemes.

The ten major crimes are supported by irrefutable evidence, too numerous to list, and unforgivable!

Therefore, Liu Chengzong was stripped of all his official positions, titles, and honors, and demoted to a commoner!

The Liu family mansion was raided and all their property confiscated immediately.

"The family members and servants are hereby imprisoned to await judgment by the Three Judicial Offices! So be it!"

Strip him of his official post and title! Confiscate his property and imprison him!

Those eight words, like the final hammer blow, shattered all of the Liu family's glory and illusions.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please have mercy!"

Liu Chengzong's principal wife, the once glamorous noblewoman,

At this moment, with disheveled hair, she rushed towards Xuan Ying, crying and wailing, but was firmly stopped by the Imperial Guards.

"Master! Master, please wake up! Save us!" The concubines cried in a huddle.

"It's none of our business! We were forced into it!"

Some distant relatives of the Liu family, and even some of the stewards,

They've already started desperately trying to distance themselves from the situation, crying and begging for forgiveness.

Liu Chengzong lay on the soft couch, his eyelids twitching slightly.

He seemed to have heard the contents of the imperial edict; his throat bobbed.

But he couldn't utter a single sound.

Only a single, murky tear slid slowly from the corner of his eye and disappeared into his graying temples.

"copy!"

At Xuan Ying's command, the fierce Imperial Guards and the Ministry of Revenue troops who arrived shortly after them...

Officials from the Ministry of Justice immediately flooded into every courtyard, room, storeroom, and cellar of the Liu residence…

At first, the officials were able to remain calm.

But as boxes and cabinets of goods were carried out...

Everyone's eyes widened, and their breathing became heavy.

The front yard was quickly overwhelmed by mountains of valuables:

Boxes of gold ingots and silver coins dazzled in the morning light, roughly estimated to be no less than a million taels!

Pearls, jade, coral, gemstones—all kinds of jewelry and jade artifacts.

They were piled up like small mountains, many of them in the style of imperial tribute items!

Calligraphy and paintings by famous artists, rare ancient books, and antique treasures.

Countless, many of them even treasures that were lost from the palace of the previous dynasty!

The brocade of Jiangnan, the embroidery of Sichuan, the carpets of the Western Regions...

Precious silks and satins were piled up like mountains, many of which had not yet been cut and used.

Land deeds, property deeds, house deeds, salt permits, tea permits... all obtained through cunning and extortion from various places.

Several thick stacks, involving immeasurable amounts of wealth.

This is just the front yard!

As the search continues, new discoveries keep emerging:

"Report! A secret room has been discovered in the study of the East Courtyard!"

It contained 50,000 taels of gold.

Two hundred thousand taels of silver, plus several ledgers of secret correspondence with officials in various regions!

"Report! A cellar has been discovered under the artificial hill in the back garden!"

It contains over five hundred sets of weapons and armor! Two hundred crossbows! Countless arrows!

"Report! A set of unauthorized dragon robes and a crown have been found hidden in the wall of the west wing!"

"Report—Secret letters exchanged with Xiling and... items suspected of being witchcraft have been discovered in a hidden compartment of Liu Chengming's bedroom!"

Every report felt like a slap in the face.

It was a resounding slap in the face to the Liu family's former reputation for "refined elegance" and "loyalty."

This will also nail their crimes deeper and more firmly to the nail!

The onlookers were kept at a distance, but they could still see the continuous carrying of...

A staggering amount of wealth, accompanied by gasps of astonishment emanating from within.

The discussion and shouts of insults erupted:

"My God! How much must they have embezzled?!"

"Look at those jewels! Aren't those tributes from our dynasty? How dare he hoard them!"

"Weapons! Dragon robes! This is a rebellion!"

"Pah! Serves you right! You utterly depraved wretch!"

"Your Majesty is wise! These parasites should have been dealt with long ago!"

The Liu faction? It no longer exists.

Yesterday, officials were still observing the situation in court, and some even tried to plead for the Liu family.

I've been staying home all day.

They were trembling with fear as they destroyed all letters, gifts, and accounts that might be related to the Liu family, for fear of being implicated.

When a tree falls, the monkeys scatter; when a wall collapses, everyone pushes it down.

The once bustling Liu residence has now become a source of plague that everyone avoids like the plague.

---

However, just as the Liu family mansion was being ransacked and everyone was living in fear—

Deep within the Liu mansion, in a place known to very few...

The narrow, secret passage leading to the underground canal outside the mansion was silently pushed open.

A figure as agile as a raccoon cat slipped out silently.

He was dressed in an inconspicuous gray cloth outfit.

He had made a simple disguise on his face and was carrying an inconspicuous blue cloth bundle on his back.

His eyes were sinister and cold, like a venomous snake in the dark night; it was Liu Chengming!

He glanced back at the mansion behind him, now engulfed in chaos and despair.

There was no lingering affection in his eyes, only endless resentment and a hint of relief at escaping with his life.

Fortunately, he never completely trusted his father's old-fashioned methods.

He had already prepared more than one way out for himself.

Even Liu Chengzong was unaware of this secret passage.

Xuan Ying and the Imperial Guards moved too quickly; he didn't have time to take much with him.

They only took the most essential items: some gold notes and a few inconspicuous but priceless antiques.

Some prepared poisons and disguise materials,

And... a warm, lustrous mutton fat jade box that I kept close to my body.

Inside the jade box lay his last trump card, and his greatest reliance—

That mother Gu, which he had nurtured for years with his heart's blood and which was almost tied to his life...

He touched the jade box in his arms, feeling the faint...

A strange pulse that subtly resonates with my own heartbeat.

A cold, venomous smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Shen Qingci... Ye Huang...

Nangong Ye...

And those fools who kicked someone when they were down...

Did you think that was the end of it?

No, this is just the beginning.

He glanced one last time in the direction of the imperial city, then vanished in a flash.

Like a ghost, it blended into the still-lingering crowds and mist of the early morning streets.

With a few twists and turns, it vanished without a trace.

When Xuan Ying finally followed the clues...

They led their men into Liu Chengming's bedroom, which was already empty.

Only when an empty jade box base was found deep within the hidden compartment,

His face suddenly darkened.

"Liu Chengming has run away?" The news quickly spread back to the palace.

Upon hearing the news, Nangong Ye was furious:

"Useless! Lock down the entire city!"

No, issue an order to all prefectures and counties to draw up images and conduct a nationwide manhunt!

A reward of 100,000 taels of silver is offered, regardless of whether the person lives or dies!

"You must capture this traitor for me!"

However, Liu Chengming disappeared without a trace, like a drop of water merging into the ocean.

His years of clandestine operations and the remaining network of "Dark Fragrance" now served as his best cover.

---

The study in the Liu family mansion.

The commotion of the raids seemed to be kept at bay.

Shen Qingci stood alone in the study that had once symbolized Liu Chengzong's supreme power.

The bookshelves had been emptied, the floor was a mess, and all the valuables had been taken.

All that remained were some scattered scraps of paper and overturned furniture.

Her gaze fell on an inconspicuous corner at the bottom of the antique display shelf in the study.

There was a small hidden compartment there, which had been violently destroyed.

She walked over, bent down, and rummaged through the broken wood chips and dust for a moment.

My fingertips touched a cold, hard object.

She gently removed it.

It was a jade pendant carved from mutton-fat white jade.

The jade is warm and smooth like grease, and the carving is simple and elegant, depicting a double lotus flower.

There is a tiny, almost invisible crack along the edge of the jade pendant.

It was exquisitely repaired with gold wire inlay.

Shen Qingci held the jade pendant, her fingertips trembling slightly.

This is the only keepsake her mother left her.

When she married into the royal family, her mother personally put it on her.

Later, the Shen family's property was confiscated, and the jade pendant disappeared without a trace.

It turns out that the Liu family hid it here as "spoils of war".

She slowly tightened her grip on the jade pendant, the cool jade stone pressing against her palm.

It was as if I could still feel the lingering warmth and breath of my mother.

Three years.

From despair in the cold palace, to struggle in the martial world, and now standing atop the ruins of his fallen enemy...

Take back what belongs to my mother and the Shen family.

Tears welled up in her eyes without warning, but she forced them back.

She didn't come here to cry.

She came... to witness destruction.

"Your Majesty,"

Jinshu appeared silently at the door and whispered,

"It's almost time outside. Eunuch Li said that Liu Chengming... has run away."

Shen Qingci wiped away the last speck of dust from the jade pendant and solemnly placed it in her bosom, closest to her heart.

Then, she straightened up, her face completely expressionless.

"They ran away?"

She repeated softly, a cold, expected curve forming at the corner of her lips, "Fine."

"It's easier to catch all the rats once they escape their holes..."

She took one last look at the study, which reeked of decay.

He turned around and walked out without looking back.

The sunlight was blinding, illuminating the mess in the Liu mansion and the mountains of wealth stained with blood and tears.

It also illuminated the cold, sharp glint in her eyes, colder than the sunlight.

Liu Chengzong has fallen.

Liu Chengming ran away.

But her revenge...

It's far from over.

The escaped mouse, like the jade pendant she had finally found in her bosom, was...

Everything reminded her that some debts can only be completely washed away with blood.