Killer Queen: Tyrant, prepare to die!

The confiscation of the Liu residence lasted for three full days.

Gold and silver valuables, antiques and paintings, land deeds...

Cart after cart was transported out of that once magnificent mansion, registered, and deposited into the national treasury.

Their sheer quantity and variety have continuously astonished the people of Beijing.

This also definitively cemented the Liu family's reputation as a "major scourge of the nation."

The initial shock and gossip on the streets...

Gradually, numbness set in, until finally only a heavy sigh remained.

It turns out that the sky above them had been riddled with holes by a group of parasites.

On the evening of the day his home was ransacked, Liu Chengzong breathed his last while unconscious.

No last words, no repentance, only a pair of eyes that never fully closed until death.

His cloudy, empty eyes seemed to still be staring resentfully at the collapsed glory.

The once all-powerful Prime Minister Liu was ultimately reduced to a mere criminal, his life hastily ended.

He was buried in a mass grave, without even a proper tombstone.

All adult male members of the Liu household were imprisoned pending trial.

Depending on the severity of their crimes, they would face exile, hard labor, or execution.

The women and underage children were confiscated as government slaves and sent to various places.

The once illustrious Liu family,

In an instant, it vanished into thin air.

It leaves behind only a sigh or a spit in the hearts of those who linger over tea and meals in the capital.

April 8th, afternoon.

The seals on the Liu residence had been affixed, and the commotion had subsided.

All that remained was a vast, empty, and desolate mansion, permeated with an atmosphere of decay and despair.

Most people have already fled this ominous place.

Even birds seemed unwilling to linger on its eaves.

Shen Qingci came here again.

She didn't bring Jinshu with her, but only had Eunuch Li keep watch outside the mansion from a distance.

Alone, he walked through the courtyard, now even more dilapidated and desolate after the ransacking.

Stepping through the messy, filthy passageway,

They re-entered Liu Chengzong's study.

The search here was even more thorough; even the heavy sandalwood table had been taken away.

All that remained were a few deep drag marks on the ground.

The display shelves were empty, and faint traces of calligraphy and paintings remained on the walls.

Dust, old paper, and some indescribable... were floating in the air.

It carries the decadent air of a fallen elite.

Her goal was clear: she went straight to the damaged corner of the secret compartment where she had found her mother's jade pendant the day before.

In her haste yesterday, she only took the jade pendant.

But Eunuch Li later warned that such cunning old foxes often have more than one hidden compartment.

She crouched down, ignoring the mess on the floor, and carefully examined the inner walls of the hidden compartment and the surrounding wooden structure.

My fingertips brushed over the rough wood chips and dust, sensing the subtle differences.

Finally, near the rear corner of the hidden compartment's base,

She felt a crack that was barely thicker than a strand of hair.

The grain direction is slightly different from that of the wood itself.

It would be extremely difficult to find unless you were specifically looking for it.

She took out a slender silver hairpin that she always carried with her.

Carefully insert it into the gap and gently pry it open.

"Click."

A very faint click of a mechanism.

The seemingly intact base of the hidden compartment had actually slid inward by an inch.

This reveals a smaller, deeper layer underneath!

There were no gold or silver jewelry in the interlayer, only a small, flat iron box.

The metal box wasn't locked; it was just fastened.

She took out the tin box and opened it.

There are only two things inside.

A piece of paper, folded neatly, with yellowed and frayed edges.

And, a stone that is neither gold nor jade, neither stone nor bone,

About the size of a thumb, entirely black

A token? Or rather, a keepsake? It was cold to the touch and irregularly shaped.

Shen Qingci unfolded the paper first.

The handwriting on the paper was messy and illegible.

It was clearly written in haste, and even carries a certain sense of madness.

The content is very short:

"If things do not go smoothly and the Liu family falls, take this order to the 'Secluded Spring Stream' in the Western Ridge."

Seeking the "Ghost Doctor" might offer a chance for survival, allowing us to await the opportune moment. Be careful! Be careful!

The signature consists of only one character, which is Liu Chengzong's personal seal mark – "Zong".

West Ridge? Secluded Spring Stream? Ghost Doctor?

Shen Qingci's gaze sharpened. Liu Chengzong really did have a backup plan!

This black token is the key to this escape route.

Xiling is the origin of "the death of a beautiful woman", and it has long been proven that the Liu family colluded with Xiling.

This "ghost doctor" must be an extremely powerful and secretive figure in Xiling.

Perhaps the Liu family's greatest reliance or collaborator in Xiling.

Liu Chengzong hid this thing so well that even Liu Chengming probably didn't know about it.

Should it be left to himself, or to the last bloodline of the Liu family?

She picked up the black token; it felt heavy in her hand, and its chill penetrated to the bone.

One side of the token was smooth as a mirror, while the other side was engraved with an extremely intricate and bizarre pattern.

Like some kind of twisted rune,

It also resembled a dense swarm of intertwined insects and snakes, exuding an eerie and ominous aura.

This is definitely not from the Central Plains.

She put the token and note back into the tin box and put them away.

This unexpected discovery may be useful in the future.

She stood up, took one last look around the study filled with an atmosphere of conspiracy and destruction, and prepared to leave.

Just then, the light at the entrance to the study dimmed slightly.

A tall, imposing figure in black, yet unable to conceal his weariness.

I don't know when, but I found myself standing there quietly.

Nangong Ye.

He was not wearing a dragon robe.

He was dressed only in a simple black casual outfit.

Her hair was tied up with a jade crown, and her face was less pale than it had been a few days ago.

But there was a deeper weariness and an indescribable complex expression on his face.

He was all alone, without even Xuan Ying by his side.

Eyes facing each other.

The air seemed to freeze at that moment.

Shen Qingci didn't expect him to come here, let alone meet him alone like this.

Her face was expressionless, but the hand gripping the metal box tightened almost imperceptibly.

Nangong Ye's gaze first fell on the iron box in her hand.

He then moved the brush aside, slowly sweeping his gaze across the mess in the room.

Finally, the image focuses again on her face.

His eyes were deep, churning with too many emotions: guilt, pain, inquiry, and scrutiny.

There was also a trace of... a barely conscious, almost humble, longing that he himself was not fully aware of.

He didn't say anything, he just stepped in.

The footsteps were light, yet clearly audible in the silence.

He walked up to her, very close.

She was so close that she could smell the faint scent of ambergris and a lingering medicinal aroma emanating from him.

Between the two lies a blood feud.

Across the fire and despair of the cold palace,

Across the Taiji Hall, there was a cup of wine inscribed with "a toast to the day of death."

There are too many irreparable cracks and damages between them.

But at this moment, on the ruins of this collapsed enemy,

There were no beaded curtains, no officials, and no disparity in social status.

There were only the two of them.

For the first time, they looked at each other almost as equals.

"You're here."

Nangong Ye spoke first, his voice a little hoarse.

He no longer deliberately maintained the majesty of an emperor, but instead exuded a deep weariness.

"Mm," Shen Qingci responded, her tone flat and indifferent.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" He looked at the metal box in her hand.

"Some... old things." Shen Qingci didn't say much and put the iron box into her sleeve.

Nangong Ye remained silent for a moment, his gaze sweeping once more over the empty, dilapidated study.

He whispered, "The Liu family... has fallen."

"He deserved it." Shen Qingci's reply was brief and cold.

"Yes." Nangong Ye admitted, looking at her with a complicated expression. "Qingci... thank you."

Shen Qingci's eyebrows twitched slightly, seemingly surprised that he would say "thank you."

But then, a faint, yet chillingly cold, smile appeared at the corner of his lips:

"What is Your Majesty thanking me for?"

Thank me for helping you bring down the powerful and influential minister who was too powerful to be controlled.

Or are you thanking me... for letting you see the true colors of the person you share your bed with?

Nangong Ye felt a sharp pain in his chest from the sarcasm in her words, and his face paled even more.

He opened his mouth, wanting to explain.

I wanted to apologize, but all the words that came to my lips seemed so pale and powerless.

"I know... it's too late to say anything now."

He ultimately just shook his head bitterly, his gaze fixed on her still aloof and stunning beauty.

But there was no trace of the gentle and timid face she once had.

"I just...miss you so much."

His voice was low, carrying an almost broken honesty.

It is no longer a declaration from the emperor to his concubines.

But it is a man who, upon losing his lover,

A belated and powerless repentance after harming one's own flesh and blood.

Shen Qingci shifted her gaze to the desolate courtyard outside the window.

"Your Majesty's longing should be reserved for those who truly deserve it."

Her voice remained cold, "This humble woman is now merely Ye Huang."

Nangong Ye took a step forward, as if trying to grab something, but halfway through his outstretched hand, he let it fall limply.

He knew that the invisible chasm was too deep and too wide.

It's not something that can be overcome with a few words of repentance and longing.

"Bao'er...he's fine."

He changed the subject, and a genuine warmth finally appeared in his eyes.

"He's smart, and he's a lot like you."

Mentioning Bao'er softened Shen Qingci's gaze slightly, but her tone remained distant: "He is my son."

"He is also my son." Nangong Ye couldn't help but emphasize, with a hint of barely perceptible urgency and... grievance?

Shen Qingci finally turned her head and looked directly at him, her eyes clear and cold like a spring:

"Your Majesty, Bao'er's identity has been confirmed."

But some things will not change.

Your decree to depose the empress is real, and the confiscation of the Shen family's property is real.

The days in the cold palace were real; I nearly died in a fire, and Bao'er was almost murdered—that's also true.

She spoke each word with perfect clarity:

"I am no longer Shen Qingci. At least, not the Shen Qingci you know."

"Therefore, Your Majesty need not say any more." She nodded slightly as a gesture of respect. "If there is nothing else, I shall take my leave."

After saying that, she stopped looking at him, walked straight past him, and headed out of the study.

In the instant they brushed past each other, Nangong Ye suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist!

His fingers were icy cold, yet his grip was tight, with an almost uncontrollable force.

Shen Qingci paused, but did not turn around. He simply said coldly, "Your Majesty, please have some self-respect."

Nangong Ye did not let go; he watched her straight yet resolute back.

His voice was hoarse, carrying the last vestige of his struggle:

"Qingci...is there really... no possibility left between us?"

Shen Qingci stood quietly for a moment,

Then, slowly and firmly, she pulled her wrist out of his palm.

She turned around and, for the last time, looked him in the eye.

Those eyes that were once filled with love and dependence,

Now all that remains is an icy calm and an all-knowing indifference.

"His Majesty,"

Her voice was soft, yet it was like the sharpest ice blade, piercing his last hope:

"Some roads, once you take the wrong path, there's no turning back."

"Some people, once missed, are missed forever."

"Between us, it all started the moment you wrote the edict to depose me..."

She paused, then parted her red lips slightly and uttered the last few words:

"It's already over."

Having said that, she didn't linger for a moment.

She turned resolutely, her red skirt brushing across the threshold and disappearing into the gradually brightening sunlight outside.

Only Nangong Ye remained, standing alone in the center of the empty, dilapidated, and dusty study.

He held the outstretched hand position for a long, long time.

The fingertips seemed to still retain a trace of the coolness of her wrist skin.

But my heart felt utterly hollowed out by those last words.

All that remained was an endless, cold void.

And a deep, bone-chilling pain called "loss".

he knows.

She is right.

Some mistakes cannot be undone.

Some people, once they turn away, are gone forever.

Outside the window, dusk was falling, shrouding the ruins of this sinful mansion.

His lonely figure, along with everything else, was swallowed up into the boundless darkness.