Killer Queen: Tyrant, prepare to die!

Chapter 28 Consort Rou suddenly stormed the palace with her entourage! I spat a mouthful of blood in

Chapter 28 Consort Rou suddenly stormed the palace with her entourage! I spat a mouthful of blood in her face.

The 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, the day before Lunar New Year's Eve.

The palace was bustling with activity, as if it were about to explode. Everyone in the palace was busy preparing for the New Year's Eve dinner, hanging up Spring Festival couplets, and rewarding the servants. Even the air was filled with the aroma of wine, meat, and pastries.

The Cold Palace, on the other hand, was unusually peaceful.

Shen Qingci sat in the room, a half-finished blueprint of a textile machine spread out in front of her. Beside her was a small bowl of freshly brewed medicine—a pregnancy-stabilizing medicine sent by Physician Chen yesterday, containing several precious medicinal herbs that were especially good for the baby's development.

Jinshu was mending clothes nearby, her needle and thread moving swiftly.

The master and servant were both busy with their own things, and neither of them spoke.

But Shen Qingci's ears remained perked up.

With her five senses enhanced, she could hear sounds from a great distance. At that moment, she heard a group of footsteps approaching the Cold Palace.

These were not the usual eunuchs on night patrol.

The footsteps were heavy, and there were many people, at least seven or eight.

And they left in a very hurry.

"Jinshu," Shen Qingci suddenly spoke.

"Your Majesty?" Jinshu looked up.

"Put the medicinal herbs away." Shen Qingci quickly rolled up the blueprints and stuffed them into a hidden compartment in the bed. "Quick."

Although Jinshu didn't understand why, seeing the Empress's serious expression, she immediately did as she was told.

She swiftly and efficiently collected the medicine bowls, herbs, and even the Empress's writing implements—pens, ink, paper, and inkstone—from the table into the hidden compartment.

Just as I finished tidying up, footsteps approached the gate of the courtyard.

"Bang!"

The door was kicked open.

It wasn't a knock, it was a kick.

The old wooden door was already flimsy, and with that one step, a crack appeared in the door panel.

Seven or eight eunuchs rushed in. The one in the lead was an old eunuch in his forties with a long, horse-like face and sinister eyes.

Shen Qingci knew him—Eunuch Liu, the head eunuch in Consort Rou's palace, and Wang Fu's superior.

He was of a higher rank than Wang Fu, and also more ruthless.

"Oh, so Consort Shen is still alive?" Eunuch Liu walked in with a forced smile, his eyes scanning the room. "This servant is here on the orders of Consort Rou to deliver New Year's goods to the various palaces. And while I'm at it... to see if the Cold Palace needs anything."

Sending New Year's gifts?

Shen Qingci sneered inwardly.

Do you need seven or eight people to deliver New Year's goods? Do you need to kick the door down?

This is clearly a search operation.

But she showed no sign of it on her face; instead, she gave a weak smile: "Thank you for your trouble, Eunuch Liu. The Cold Palace... lacks nothing."

"Not lacking anything?" Eunuch Liu raised an eyebrow, his eyes scanning every corner of the room like hooks. "How come I heard that the Cold Palace... is having a pretty good time lately?"

He walked to the table and touched the surface with his hand.

He walked to the bedside and glanced at the bed.

Finally, we stopped in front of the charcoal brazier—it was still a little warm inside, and although the fire had gone out, you could tell that charcoal had been burned last night.

"Oh," said Eunuch Liu sarcastically, "Empress Shen still has charcoal? In the dead of winter, hasn't the Cold Palace stopped supplying charcoal a long time ago?"

Shen Qingci's heart tightened.

Oops.

The charcoal was secretly delivered by Imperial Physician Chen, who said it was a gift from Consort Rong for her to use for warmth. She was very careful, not burning it during the day, but only burning a little at night when it was coldest.

Unexpectedly, they were still discovered.

"Yes, it was snowing a few days ago. Eunuch Li took pity on us servants and gave us some from elsewhere..." Jinshu quickly explained, her voice trembling.

"Eunuch Li?" Eunuch Liu turned to look at the courtyard—Eunuch Li was hunched over sweeping the floor, seemingly oblivious to their presence.

"An old eunuch who sweeps the floor, could he possibly have such great abilities?" Eunuch Liu sneered. "Besides, the charcoal rations for the Cold Palace have long been discontinued; where would we get charcoal to distribute?"

He waved his hand: "Search!"

Several eunuchs immediately began searching.

They ransacked the place, pulled off blankets, and kicked chairs—they were completely unceremonious.

Jinshu was so anxious that tears were about to come out, but she didn't dare to stop them.

Shen Qingci sat there, her hands on her knees, her fingers slightly clenched.

She must not panic.

If you panic, it's all over.

She quickly ran through the information in her mind—the medicinal herbs were hidden, the blueprints were hidden, and the silver and jewelry were hidden too. Apart from a few tattered clothes and a worn-out quilt, there was nothing else in the room.

You probably won't find anything.

But she still underestimated the ruthlessness of Eunuch Liu.

A eunuch found some medicine dregs in the corner of the wall—it was accidentally spilled when brewing medicine yesterday. Although it had been cleaned up, a trace of it still remained.

"Sir, look at this." The eunuch brought over the dregs of medicine.

Eunuch Liu pinched up a little bit, held it to his nose, and smelled it.

Although he wasn't a royal physician, he had spent decades in the palace and recognized common medicinal herbs.

"Angelica... Astragalus..." He squinted, "and there's even the smell of ginseng. Madam Shen, your illness... requires such potent medicine?"

Shen Qingci's heart sank.

But her face became even calmer: "Eunuch Liu is joking. Where would the Cold Palace get ginseng? It's just some grass roots and tree bark, picked up to make up the numbers."

"Grass roots and tree bark?" Eunuch Liu handed the dregs of medicine to her. "This smell, I can't be mistaken. This is at least ten years old ginseng rootlets."

He stared at Shen Qingci: "Your Majesty, where did you get this medicine from?"

The room was deathly silent.

Several eunuchs gathered around, their eyes filled with hostility.

Jinshu trembled with fear and tried to speak, but Shen Qingci stopped her with a look.

Shen Qingci slowly stood up.

When she stood up, she swayed as if she might fall at any moment.

Then she started coughing.

It wasn't a fake cough, it was a real cough—she channeled her inner energy, deliberately causing her breath to flow backward and irritate her throat.

"Cough cough... cough cough cough..."

She coughed so hard it was excruciating, her body curled up like a shrimp.

Jinshu quickly supported her: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, are you alright?"

Shen Qingci waved her hand, wanting to say it was nothing, but as soon as she opened her mouth—

"puff!"

He spat out a mouthful of blood.

Bright red blood splattered on the ground and on Eunuch Liu's shoes.

Everyone was stunned.

Eunuch Liu was also stunned and subconsciously took a step back.

Shen Qingci raised her head, her face ashen, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. She looked at Eunuch Liu, her voice so weak it sounded like she was about to breathe her last:

"Eunuch Liu... I... I have this illness... It's something I was born with... Cough cough... My family used to have some savings, and my father... left me an old ginseng root... I've always been reluctant to use it... But recently I just couldn't hold on any longer... So, I finally took it out..."

As she spoke, she coughed up another mouthful of blood.

This time, the blood was tinged with black.

It was a sign that the "Crimson Beauty's Demise" poison was taking effect—she deliberately forced it out with her internal energy.

Liu Gonggong frowned as he looked at the pool of black blood on the ground.

He had indeed heard that the deposed Empress Shen Qingci was in poor health and had a chronic illness. Moreover, Consort Rou had previously said that she had given the deposed Empress some medicine, causing her to slowly die from her illness.

Now it seems...

This woman is indeed nearing her end.

Vomiting blood, especially black blood, is a sign that poison has entered the lungs and internal organs.

As for the ginseng...

The Shen family was a prominent family of officials in the past, so it's normal for them to have some wealth. It's perfectly reasonable for Shen Anbang to leave his daughter a ginseng root to save her life.

"Since Your Highness is ill, you should rest well," Eunuch Liu's tone softened somewhat, but his eyes still held suspicion. "However, this servant advises you, if you're sick, get proper treatment. Don't get anything from unknown sources. What if you eat something that causes problems..."

He didn't finish speaking, but his meaning was clear.

Shen Qingci nodded weakly, "Thank you, thank you for reminding me, Eunuch..."

Eunuch Liu glanced around the room again.

There really wasn't anything valuable there. Apart from that little bit of medicine residue, everything else was junk.

Maybe... he's just overthinking it?

What kind of trouble can a dying deposed empress cause?

"Let's go." He waved his hand and left with the eunuchs.

Only when the footsteps faded into the distance did Jinshu dare to cry out, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, how are you? Don't frighten me..."

Shen Qingci waved her hand, signaling her to be quiet.

She listened intently, and only after confirming that Eunuch Liu had really left did she breathe a sigh of relief.

Then she sat up straight and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth.

Although his face was still pale, his eyes had regained their clarity.

"I'm fine," she said. "The blood was deliberately forced out."

Jinshu stared at her blankly: "Deliberately?"

"Hmm." Shen Qingci took out a small medicine bottle from her bosom, poured out a pill and swallowed it—this was a blood-tonifying pill given to her by Physician Chen. "If I don't do this, I won't be able to fool Eunuch Liu."

She had long anticipated that Consort Rou would become suspicious.

Life in the Cold Palace has indeed gotten a bit better lately—there's charcoal for her to eat, medicine to take, and her complexion is better than before.

Someone as shrewd as Consort Rou would surely have noticed.

So she prepared in advance.

Hide the medicinal herbs, hide the blueprints, and then... put on a show of "dying struggle".

It seems to be working well.

Eunuch Liu should believe it.

I believe it, at least for now.

"But Your Highness," Jinshu said worriedly, "you vomited so much blood just now..."

"Most of it comes out from biting their tongues," Shen Qingci said. "Only a little bit is poisonous blood, it's nothing to worry about."

She stood up, walked to the window, and looked in the direction where Eunuch Liu had left.

His gaze gradually turned cold.

Consort Rou...

You really couldn't sit still anymore.

But that's alright.

The more anxious you are, the more flaws you'll reveal.

"Jinshu," she turned around, "when Xiaolu comes tonight, tell him to keep an eye on Consort Rou's next move. Especially... how she plans to deal with me at the New Year's Eve palace banquet."

Jinshu was taken aback: "The New Year's Eve palace banquet? Your Highness, are you going?"

"I'm not going," Shen Qingci sneered. "But she'll definitely use this opportunity to do something."

For example, creating "accidents".

For example, framing someone.

For example... make her disappear completely.

She needs to know in advance and take precautions.

"Furthermore," she added, "have Eunuch Li go out of the palace tomorrow to get some medicinal herbs from Physician Chen. Remember, only common, inexpensive herbs. Don't bring the precious ones like ginseng or lingzhi for now."

Jinshu nodded: "This servant understands."

Shen Qingci sat back on the bed, gently stroking her lower abdomen.

Bao'er is unusually quiet today.

He hasn't moved since Eunuch Liu came in.

I don't know if it was because it was frightened or because it was tired.

"Baby," she whispered, "don't be afraid, Mother is here."

The little one inside my belly moved slightly.

It's as if it's saying: Mother, I'm not afraid.

Shen Qingci smiled.

Her smile was gentle, yet tinged with a hint of ruthlessness.

Consort Rou, did you think I was going to die?

wrong.