Killer Queen: Tyrant, prepare to die!

Chapter 51 The late Empress Dowager's secret edict was actually in the hands of the enemy country's crown prince?

The Wangjiang Tower is built over the water, with its three-story eaves soaring into the night, and the copper bells on the eaves making a soft, tinkling sound in the river breeze.

Shen Qingci lay on the roof of a house on the opposite bank, like a weightless shadow.

She has been observing for half an hour.

Only the east wing on the third floor of the building was lit, casting a slender shadow on the window paper. There was no one guarding the building on the surface, but in the shadows of the three covered boats on the river and the two warehouses on the shore, there were martial arts practitioners breathing evenly—not the style of the imperial guards, but more like... warriors from the battlefield.

Her pupils contracted slightly.

People from the Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion.

The last doubt was dispelled. With a swift movement, like a crow skimming the water, she lightly touched the floating logs on the river surface with her toes and gracefully landed on the corridor of the third floor of the Wangjiang Tower.

Push the door open and enter.

Only one glass lamp was lit in the room, casting a soft, dim light. A man sat at the tea table by the window, dressed in a moon-white robe, his hair tied up with a jade crown, his eyes lowered as he brewed tea. The rising steam blurred his features, but could not conceal the austere air emanating from his refined and noble demeanor.

He raised his head.

Eyes facing each other.

Shen Qingci's breath hitched slightly.

She had seen this face before in the intelligence files of Tingfeng Tower.

Xiao Jue, the heir apparent of the Prince of Zhenbei, is twenty-one years old. At fifteen, he followed his father to guard the border. At seventeen, he led a battalion on his own. At nineteen, he led five hundred light cavalry deep into the northern desert and burned the enemy's supplies. Last year, during the northern border war, he held the pass for three days with only a spear, waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

The young general in the portrait was dashing and heroic, but the man in front of me had a calm and composed air about him.

"Miss Yehuang," Xiao Jue said, his voice clear and melodious like the clinking of jade stones, "Please sit."

He did not stand up or bow; he simply raised his hand in a gesture of invitation.

Shen Qingci walked over and sat down opposite him, her gaze sweeping over the tea table.

A set of Ru ware teaware, its color a pale blue after rain, produced a clear tea with a delicate and lingering aroma. On the corner of the table sat a small, palm-sized sandalwood box, carved with a lotus scroll pattern.

"Your Highness has quite the refined taste," she said calmly. "A late-night meeting, just to invite me for tea?"

Xiao Jue smiled, picked up the teapot and poured tea for her: "Tea should be drunk while it's hot. As for the reason for our meeting—" He put down the teapot, took something out of his pocket, and pushed it in front of her.

It was the jade ring that matched the one in Eunuch Li's hand.

Shen Qingci picked up the jade ring, his fingertips touching the tiny seal script engraved on the inside—"Presented by Duan Hui, may it be protected forever."

"The late Empress Dowager Duanhui was my mother's only close friend during her lifetime." Xiao Jue's voice lowered slightly. "My mother was born in Xiling and was stranded in the Central Plains in her early years. She was rescued by the Empress Dowager and adopted as her goddaughter. This jade ring is the proof of their sworn brotherhood."

Shen Qingci gripped the jade ring tightly.

She knew that Xiao Jue's mother was from Xiling, but she was unaware of this connection.

"Three years ago, when the Empress Dowager was seriously ill, she secretly summoned my mother to the palace." Xiao Jue looked at her, his eyes open and honest. "She gave my mother a blank secret decree, saying that if the Shen family's daughter were to encounter any trouble in the future, this decree should be returned. Unfortunately..."

He paused, then continued, "My mother met with an accident on her way back to the Northern Frontier, and only told me about it before she died. By the time I arrived in the capital, the young lady had already... been banished to the Cold Palace."

Shen Qingci's fingertips were icy cold.

It turns out that the late Empress Dowager had indeed left her a way out.

However, this path was blocked by an "accident".

"This secret decree," Xiao Jue opened the sandalwood box, took out a roll of bright yellow silk, and presented it with both hands, "is now returned to its rightful owner."

The silk felt slightly heavy in my hand; it was a specially made court-made brocade with cloud patterns. Unfolding it, the left side bore the late Empress Dowager's phoenix seal and personal seal, while the right side bore the late Emperor's personal seal—a privilege granted by the late Emperor during the Empress Dowager's lifetime. The center was largely blank, with only a line of small characters in the bottom corner:

[Whoever carries this decree may request one thing. The Emperor and the Empress Dowager will surely grant it.]

Shen Qingci's fingers traced over the line of words.

The late emperor's handwriting, the empress dowager's seal.

This is no ordinary get-out-of-jail-free card. It is a blank imperial edict that can be filled with any request and which both supreme beings have agreed to in advance.

She could demand the restoration of her empress's position, demand the execution of the entire Liu family, or even... the removal of the emperor and the establishment of a new one.

"Why are you only giving it to me now?" She raised her eyes and looked directly at Xiao Jue.

"Three months ago, my mole in the palace sent word that the Cold Palace had caught fire and the deposed Empress Shen had perished in the flames." Xiao Jue's voice was soft. "I thought this thing was no longer of any use. Until half a month ago, the name 'Night Phoenix' came from Jiangnan. Listening Wind Pavilion, Brocade Embroidery Workshop, her style of doing things, the eunuch Li by her side... too many coincidences."

He paused for a moment, then said, "So I took a gamble."

"You're betting I'm still alive?"

"I bet Shen Qingci won't die so easily."

A brief silence fell over the room.

A breeze from the river seeped in through the cracks in the window, causing the candlelight to flicker. The lamplight cast shadows on Xiao Jue's face, revealing a faint scar on his brow bone, a remnant of his battles.

"What do you want?" Shen Qingci asked bluntly, closing the secret decree.

There's no such thing as a free lunch. The Prince of Zhenbei's risky journey to the capital, delivering an imperial edict late at night, was not merely to fulfill his mother's dying wish.

Xiao Jue smiled.

When he smiled, the corners of his eyes curved slightly, and the fierce aura of the battlefield dissipated, revealing a touch of youthful innocence.

"I want an ally," he said. "The Prince of Zhenbei's mansion has guarded the northern border for thirty years, achieving numerous military exploits, but it has also made countless enemies. After the Liu family falls, we may very well be the next to be purged."

"Does His Majesty fear military power?"

"His Majesty is wary of anyone who might threaten the imperial power." Xiao Jue picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "In recent years, the Northern Army's rations and pay have been cut, its manpower has been reduced, and there have been constant accusations in court against my father for 'holding too much power.' If it weren't for the watchful eyes of the Northern Desert, I'm afraid..."

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

The birds are hidden in their bows, and the rabbits are cooked to death.

"So you want to use me to gain a foothold in the court?" Shen Qingci raised an eyebrow.

"Not entirely." Xiao Jue shook his head. "I've seen what you did in Jiangnan. The intelligence network of Tingfeng Tower, the business acumen of Jinxiu Workshop, and the methods you used to deal with Liu Chengming—Miss Yehuang, what you lack is not allies, but people who can provide you with military support in critical moments."

He put down his teacup, his gaze sharp: "The Zhenbei Prince's Mansion and its 300,000 Northern Border troops can be your weapons."

Shen Qingci looked at him quietly.

She is weighing the options.

We must weigh the truthfulness of these words, Xiao Jue's sincerity, and the value of this blank secret decree.

After a long while, she put the secret decree into her bosom.

"I have accepted the secret decree," she said. "As for our allies—"

She stood up, walked to the window, and looked towards the distant palace.

The palace in the night resembled a sleeping behemoth, and she was about to tear a piece of flesh from its mouth.

"I'll have someone contact you after I leave the capital." She turned around and met Xiao Jue's gaze. "Then we can discuss the details of our cooperation."

Xiao Jue also stood up and bowed respectfully: "I await good news."

Shen Qingci said no more, pushed open the window and leaped out, his figure disappearing into the night.

Xiao Jue walked to the window, looked in the direction she disappeared, and after a long while, sighed softly.

"Mother," he murmured to himself, "the person you asked me to protect is far more powerful than I imagined."

The river wind suddenly picked up.

The lights of Wangjiang Tower went out one by one.

---

[Volume 2: Shedding the Cicada's Shell, Becoming Emperor of the Martial World - Begins]

[Next Chapter: The Death Escape Plan Begins! Watch as the deposed empress fakes her death and leaves the palace, Consort Rou rejoices, and the emperor collapses—but the real storm has only just begun!]