Killer Queen: Tyrant, prepare to die!

Chapter 95 Countdown to the Palace Banquet! Ye Huang practices smiling in front of the mirror: Nangong Ye, can you accept this grand gift?

March 14th.

There are still three days until the palace banquet.

The atmosphere at Phoenix Perch Courtyard was even more tense than during the Lunar New Year.

Inside the embroidery room, four or five embroiderers surrounded a bright red palace dress, their fingers flying across the fabric, the gold thread shimmering under the lamplight.

"Here, the phoenix's eyes should be made of obsidian." Night Phoenix stood to the side, lightly touching the pattern with her finger. "Don't sew them shut; they should be able to move."

"Yes, Madam." The head embroiderer carefully embedded a rice-grain-sized obsidian into the phoenix eye socket embroidered with gold thread.

Sunlight streamed in through the window.

The entire phoenix seemed to come alive.

It flaps its wings, ready to take flight.

"Shrink the waist by another inch." Ye Huang examined it for a moment. "I want the skirt to rustle through the air with every step I take after wearing it."

The embroiderers looked at each other in bewilderment.

Finally, Jinshu spoke up: "Miss, this fabric is stiff and too tight... it might be difficult to walk in."

"Then make it difficult to walk on," Ye Huang said calmly. "That's the effect I want."

She wanted everyone to see it.

Every step she took was difficult.

Yet every step they took was steady.

---

The jewelry box arrived in the afternoon.

The carved rosewood box, when opened, fills the room with brilliance.

The Donghai Pearl headdress consists of twelve pieces: hairpins, hair ornaments, hairpins with dangling ornaments, earrings, necklaces, bracelets... Each pearl is perfectly round and uniform in size, gleaming with a warm, pearly luster against the backdrop of dark red velvet.

"This was sent by General Xiao from the East Sea by fast horse," Jinshu whispered. "He said it was... to add to the young lady's dowry."

Ye Huang picked up a hairpin.

The hairpin head is a bright pearl the size of a longan, surrounded by cloud patterns made of gold thread as fine as hair.

Simple.

Yet it is grand.

"He's very dedicated," she said softly.

Jinshu looked at her: "Would you like to wear it, young lady?"

"Wear it." Ye Huang inserted the hairpin into her hair bun, looked at herself in the bronze mirror, and said, "Why aren't you wearing it? It's part of the armor."

The person in the mirror has sharp features.

The pearl's gentle warmth only made her gaze appear even colder.

"Go and bring that jade carving," she said.

---

In the study.

Jinshu held up a brocade box and placed it on the table.

Ye Huang opened the box.

Inside lies a jade sculpture.

It is half a foot square and carved from a single piece of Hetian jade.

The carving depicts a vast landscape: towering mountains, flowing rivers, and cities scattered like stars.

The carving is exquisite; even the brick patterns on the city wall are clearly visible.

The most amazing thing is—

On the base of the jade carving, a line of small characters is engraved:

"The landscape is like a painting, and countless heroes have emerged in this era."

The signature was "Night Phoenix".

"Miss, isn't this gift... a bit too ostentatious?" Jinshu asked somewhat uneasyly. "After all, this is a palace banquet; giving such a gift..."

"Showy?" Ye Huang laughed. "That's exactly what I want."

She reached out and stroked the mountains and rivers on the jade carving.

My fingertips are icy cold.

"Doesn't Nangong Ye love the country?"

She said softly

"I'll give him one. Let him take a good look at this vast land... I wonder if he can sit comfortably."

Jinshu's heart skipped a beat.

"Then...if Your Majesty can discern the hidden meaning..."

"Of course he could tell," Ye Huang withdrew her hand, "but he could only accept it with a smile."

She closed the brocade box.

"Keep it safe. I will present it to him personally at the palace banquet."

---

into the night.

The Phoenix Perch Courtyard fell silent.

Ye Huang dismissed everyone and sat alone in front of her dressing mirror.

A face was reflected in the bronze mirror.

Familiar and unfamiliar.

She looked in the mirror and slowly curled the corners of her lips into a smile.

Practice smiling.

The first laugh: Cold.

The curve of her lips was just right, but there was no warmth in her eyes.

Like wearing an exquisite mask, perfect, yet fake.

The second laugh: alienation.

His eyebrows and eyes were slightly curved, yet they carried a distinct sense of distance.

It's as if it's saying, "I laughed, but it's none of your business."

The third laugh: mockery.

The corners of his mouth curved slightly with sarcasm, and his eyes revealed a hint of disdain.

It wasn't a loud laugh, but a nonchalant mockery born from seeing through everything.

She practiced it over and over again.

Adjust the curve of the corners of your mouth.

Control the temperature of your gaze.

Until every smile is measured and precise.

Then she stopped.

Looking at the unfamiliar self in the mirror.

Suddenly I feel a little tired.

"Shen Qingci," she said softly, "look at yourself now."

The person in the mirror did not answer.

Only the flickering candlelight cast swaying shadows on the bronze mirror.

She recalled three years ago.

When I first transmigrated here, I was also sitting in front of a mirror.

At that time, Shen Qingci's eyes were filled with fear and despair.

It took her a long time to harden those eyes.

What now?

Now she's practicing in front of the mirror how to smile more like an Avenger.

Soft footsteps came from outside the door.

"Mother?" Bao'er's soft voice rang out, "Are you asleep?"

Ye Huang immediately composed herself.

His gaze softened instantly.

"Not yet." She got up and opened the door.

Bao'er stood at the door in her pajamas, hugging a small pillow, her eyes sparkling.

"Baby wants to sleep with Mommy."

Ye Huang's heart softened.

She bent down and picked him up.

"it is good."

The mother and son were lying on the bed.

Bao'er nestled in her arms, her little hands clutching her clothes.

"Mother."

"Um?"

"What is a palace banquet?"

"It's when a lot of people eat together."

"Can Bao'er go too?"

"Yes." Ye Huang patted his head. "Bao'er will go with Mother."

Bao'er was quiet for a while.

Then he asked, "Is Father here too?"

"……exist."

"Does Bao'er want to talk to Daddy?"

Ye Huang remained silent.

After a long pause, he said softly, "Baby, do you want to talk to Daddy?"

Bao'er thought for a moment.

Shake head.

"Father is bad. He made Mother cry."

Ye Huang's nose tingled with emotion.

Hug her son tightly.

"Bao'er, remember that."

She whispered in his ear

"At the palace banquet, no matter what happens, you must stay by your mother's side."

If someone tries to take you away, shout it out loud, okay?

"I know." Bao'er nodded earnestly. "Bao'er will protect Mother."

"good."

Bao'er fell asleep quickly.

Her small face was pressed against her chest, her breathing even.

Ye Huang, however, could not sleep.

She opened her eyes and looked at the top of the tent.

I went over the process of the palace banquet in my mind again and again.

What tricks will Liu Chengming pull?

How will Prince Jing take advantage of the situation?

Nangong Ye...

What will his reaction be?

She remembered the smiles she had practiced during the day.

Cold.

alienated.

Sarcastic.

Finally, the image freezes on the unfamiliar self reflected in the mirror.

She suddenly sat up.

She tiptoed out of bed and walked to the dressing mirror.

In the bronze mirror, the woman's face gleamed with a cold, white light under the moonlight.

She looked in the mirror.

Slowly raise your hand.

Lightly touch the mirror with your fingertips.

A cool sensation came through.

"Nangong Ye," she said silently to herself in the mirror, "you'd better accept this great gift."

The person in the mirror has a slight smile on their lips.

That smile—

It was icy cold.

---

Three days later.

March 17th.

The day of the palace banquet.

Before dawn, the Phoenix Perch Villa was already brightly lit.

The embroiderers conducted a final inspection of every stitch on the palace dress.

Jinshu carefully arranged the pearls and jewelry one by one.

Eunuch Li was giving a speech in the courtyard, and the Nightblade guards all looked solemn.

Ye Huang stood by the window.

As the sky gradually brightened.

The dawn pierced through the clouds.

Illuminate this imperial city.

It also illuminated the last trace of hesitation in her eyes.

She closed her eyes.

Take a deep breath.

When I opened my eyes again, all that remained was clarity.

"The Brocade Letter".

"This servant is here."

"Change your clothes."

"Yes."

The moment the bright red palace dress was put on.

Ye Huang felt as if she wasn't wearing clothes.

It's armor.

It's a battle robe.

It is the sharpest weapon that she has honed bit by bit over three years.

In the mirror.

Her red dress was like fire.

The phoenix spreads its wings.

A pearl shines brightly.

She looked at herself in the mirror.

I practiced that smile one last time.

Icy.

alienation.

With a hint of sarcasm.

perfect.

"Let's go." She turned around, her skirt slicing through the air with a soft, sharp sound.

"Go give it to His Majesty..."

"A gift."