His Highness the Madman gave in again today.

King Qingyue lay on the bed, too weak to get out.

Upon hearing Song Xianya's words, he merely blinked, indicating that no one had come looking for him.

"Strange, how did His Majesty's medicine disappear?"

Naturally.

Song Xianya thought of Mo Sangyu.

It's only been one night, and this woman is incredibly fast.

Oh.

She thought that taking away the king's medicine would change something.

Innocent!

"Your Majesty, please rest well. I will get some rest as soon as possible..."

"That's enough."

The Prince of Qingyue's weak voice interrupted her: "My body is beyond saving, even elixirs of immortality won't help. I have already drafted the edict, and hereby pass the throne to the Crown Prince..."

"Your Majesty!"

Song Xianya's eyes flickered slightly, and she immediately objected: "The Crown Prince is still young, you..."

"He is already twelve years old. I was the same age when I ascended the throne. I am tired. You may step down."

After saying this, King Qingyue closed his eyes, his mind made up and brooking no further discussion.

This was the first time Song Xianya had ever seen the Qingyue King so forceful. In the past, he would always gently ask for her opinion and would carefully consider it before finally adopting it.

Now, he has made such a major decision as abdicating the throne ahead of schedule without saying a word, and has even resolutely stopped taking his medicine.

This Empress of the Great Chen Dynasty is truly remarkable.

Unable to persuade the King of Qingyue, Song Xianya sighed softly and turned to leave.

The Queen and the Imperial Concubine stood guard outside the palace.

The two silently wiped away their tears, their brows and eyes filled with grief, yet neither offered a word of comfort.

In their hearts, they had long known this day would come and had long accepted reality. Even though they were heartbroken, they never thought of changing anything.

Of course, it was also because they were powerless to change things that they completely gave up the struggle.

Song Xianya walked out of the bedchamber at a leisurely pace, her face still bearing the helpless expression she had just worn.

The Queen and the Imperial Concubine stood on either side of the corridor, and when they saw her come out, they both looked up.

The Queen's eyes were red, and the Consort still had tears in the corners of her eyes. Neither of them spoke; they just looked at her.

Song Xianya sighed, walked up to the two women, and lowered her voice: "His Majesty suddenly fell ill today. Do you two ladies know why?"

The queen shook her head.

The imperial concubine also shook her head.

Song Xianya glanced at the tightly closed palace gates, then at the palace servants on duty in the corridor, and took two steps forward.

The Queen and the Imperial Concubine followed her to the corner of the corridor, avoiding the attention of others.

"His Majesty was perfectly fine last night, able to attend the banquet and chat and laugh with Empress Da Chen. But this morning he was bedridden and refused to take his medicine."

Song Xianya spoke with a pointed remark, her gaze sweeping over the Queen and the Imperial Concubine: "Don't you two find this strange?"

The queen's eyelashes trembled slightly, but she remained silent.

The imperial concubine lowered her head, her fingers gripping the handkerchief tightly.

Both of them fell into thought.

"I heard that someone broke into the Imperial Study last night."

Song Xianya's voice was very low, so low that only the three of them could hear it: "The medicine that His Majesty used to carry with him is gone."

"Your Majesties know how much effort I put into making that medicine. After His Majesty used it, his health has been good all these years, and he has never stopped taking the medicine. But last night, when the Empress of Da Chen came, the medicine disappeared."

The queen looked up at her: "You mean...?"

"I said nothing."

Song Xianya interrupted her: "I just think this is too much of a coincidence."

"His Majesty's medicine is gone. Instead of immediately instructing me to prepare medicine, he suddenly wants to abdicate and pass the throne to a worthy successor. I dare not speculate, but I would like to remind the two ladies to be more careful."

"What...what do they want to do?" A hint of panic appeared in the Imperial Concubine's eyes.

"And my senior brother."

Song Xianya's expression grew increasingly grave: "The cause of my senior brother's death remains a mystery. He was assassinated in Da Chen and died in Da Chen's inn. Da Chen is undoubtedly to blame."

"But Da Chen not only failed to give an explanation, but also sent the Empress herself as an envoy under the pretext of sending the body back to the country."

"Don't you think this is too extravagant?"

As Song Xianya spoke, the Queen and the Imperial Concubine's expressions gradually turned cold.

How could this happen?

The Empress of Da Chen... actually harbored treacherous intentions and wanted to harm Qing Yue?

"I am not saying that Empress Da Chen necessarily has a problem."

Song Xianya's tone softened again: "However, one should always be wary of others. The two ladies are the King's closest confidantes, so you should be extra careful and advise the King not to be deceived by those with ulterior motives."

"It is inconvenient for me to be outside the palace. It would be best if Your Highnesses kept a close eye on the Empress's every move. If she has any ill intentions, you can deal with her in time."

The Queen was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Thank you for your guidance, Holy Maiden."

Song Xianya smiled and said, "I am doing this for Qingyue and for Your Majesty."

"Then I shall take my leave. I must report to my master that this matter must not be left unresolved."

She bowed and turned to leave.

After Song Xianya had walked away, the Imperial Concubine nervously grabbed the Queen's hand and asked, "Your Majesty, could what the Holy Maiden just said be true? Did the Empress of Da Chen come here with ill intentions?"

The Queen remained silent for a long time before speaking: "What the Holy Maiden said may not be entirely true."

The imperial concubine was taken aback.

"Your Majesty means..."

"You and I know Your Majesty's health better than anyone else."

The Queen, with a clear mind, said, "The medicine has never been stopped over the years, but the King's health has deteriorated year by year. We both know whether the medicine is effective or not."

The imperial concubine lowered her head and remained silent.

The queen turned around, looking at the tightly closed palace doors. Something churned in her eyes, but she suppressed it.

They had been married for over a decade, and she trusted every decision the king made.

"But what the Holy Maiden said was very convincing."

"The Holy Maiden said that the Empress of Da Chen harbored ill intentions, but she had no evidence. She also said that Lord Shen's death was related to Da Chen, but she had no evidence either."

The queen sneered, "She has nothing but her mouth."

The Imperial Concubine was now completely at a loss: "Then what does Your Majesty intend to do?"

"Let's take a look first."

More than a month ago, Xiao Ling had mentioned to her that the Emperor and Empress of Da Chen might be able to break the curse on the Qingyue royal family. The reason why the Empress of Da Chen came was because Xiao Yan, Xiao Ling, and Shen Hanzhou had all begged for her.

Xiao Lingqian had repeatedly instructed her to keep this matter a secret.

She didn't pay much attention at the time, but now that she thinks about it, who was Xiao Ling guarding against?

"These next few days, we'll try our best to stay close to His Majesty. I'll find another opportunity to see Empress Da Chen and sound her out."

"Okay, whatever you say."

the other side.

Mo Sangyu witnessed everything that Song Xianya said to the Prince of Qingyue when she entered the palace, and what she said to the Queen and the Consort before leaving.

"Your Majesty, that Holy Maiden has left the palace." Lu Jin had been keeping an eye on Song Xianya's movements and immediately reported this when he saw her leave in a hurry.

"I know."

Mo Sangyu came out of the room, her skirt fluttering in the wind, her silver hair gently swaying.

"I'm going out for a bit. You all stay here and don't move. Also, go tell Xiao Ling to come and keep watch. If anyone comes looking for me, have her stop them and wait until I get back."

Lu Jin opened his mouth, intending to remind her that His Majesty had said she was not allowed to act alone.

Before he could finish speaking, Mo Sangyu had already disappeared from his sight.

Lu Jin silently shut his mouth and turned to find Xiao Ling.

Mo Sangyu followed Song Xianya out of the palace.

Her figure was hidden in the shadows, her aura completely concealed, like a drop of water merging into a river.

Song Xianya walked quickly, got into a carriage after leaving the palace gate, and the carriage traveled north along the street, leaving the city and onto the mountain road.

Mo Sangyu didn't follow too closely, keeping her spiritual sense locked onto the car and trailing behind at a leisurely pace.

The carriage traveled along the mountain road for about half an hour before turning onto a side road and passing through a pine forest.

Finally, it stopped in front of a broken stone tablet.

Behind the stone tablet was a stone door, half-closed, through which a cold wind blew.

Behind the door was a long passageway with intricate runes carved on the stone walls on both sides.

The passageway winds and twists, leading deeper and deeper into the passage.

The rocks overhead grew thicker and thicker, and the stone steps beneath our feet grew narrower and narrower.

Song Xianya stopped at the end of the passageway.

She raised her hand and pressed it on the stone wall, and the stone wall silently cracked open, revealing a secret room.

The secret room was small, with bare walls, except for a person sitting in the shadows in the very center.

He sat cross-legged with his back to the door, so his face was obscured; only a thin silhouette was visible.

A faint black mist swirled around him, and the mist seemed to have a life of its own, slowly flowing around him, occasionally peeking out and then retreating.

The place where he was sitting was clearly the center of a formation.

Wisps of dragon energy emanated from the formation, slowly entwining with the black mist surrounding him before being absorbed by him.

Song Xianya walked in, stood behind the man in black, bowed her head, and said respectfully, "Master."

"Why are you looking for me at this time?"

The man's voice was low and deep, as if it came from underground, carrying an indescribable sense of decay.

"Master."

Song Xianya raised her head, her voice turning colder: "Things are probably about to get out of control."

"Didn't I already tell you to kill Shen Hanzhou? What, you still can't control the situation?"

"Your pieces have learned to fight back and have become disobedient."

"A counterattack?"

The man's laughter, as if he had heard a funny joke, was chilling.

"Don't worry, a pawn is just a pawn and can never amount to anything. Let them fight back. In a few months, a new cycle of fortune will begin. At that time, I will consider helping you improve your cultivation."

Upon hearing this, Song Xianya was overjoyed.

"Thank you, Master."

Then, she still mentioned Mo Sangyu with concern.

"By the way, Master, I think the Empress of Da Chen might already be suspicious of us. If she insists on interfering, it might be quite troublesome."

"Have you found out why she suddenly came here in person?"

"It must have been that my senior brother mentioned the curse on the Qingyue royal family to her before he died, and asked her to help break the curse. I thought that if I killed my senior brother, Da Chen would not get involved in this mess."

"Unexpectedly, that woman is quite fond of meddling in other people's business, and she does have some skills."

"You mean you can't solve it?"

The man's voice was cold in the first sentence, but suddenly changed tone in the second.

"She's here."

There was no more questioning or blame, but rather an indescribable, chilling...excitement.

He chuckled softly, a hoarse, somber laugh that echoed in the secret room, each laugh like a dull knife cutting into bone.

"He does have some skill."

"What?"

Before Song Xianya could understand what those words meant, the figure in front of her had already disappeared.

Who's here?

Impossible! She was very careful the whole way, there was absolutely no way anyone could have followed her, yet she didn't notice at all!

outside.

Mo Sangyu observed the stone gate for a long time.

After she arrived here, the stone door closed, and her soul could no longer probe inside.

Because there is an exceptionally powerful formation here.

If you want to force your way in, you must first break this formation.

Otherwise, not only would it alert the enemy, but her soul would also easily be trapped in the formation.

Mo Sangyu circled the stone gate once.

The stone gate was found to be embedded in the mountain wall, mostly covered by vines and moss.

She looked up.

The mountain walls are steep and covered with pine trees, their intertwined branches blocking out the sky.

She leaped into the air, lightly touched the cliff face with her toes, and soared several meters upwards, landing on a protruding rock above the mountainside.

Looking down from here, I finally got a clearer picture of what this place was.

Imperial Mausoleum!

The stone gate is located at the rear of the imperial mausoleum, in an inconspicuous side gate.

The main gate is on the other side of the mountain.

The entire imperial mausoleum was shrouded in an array.

Nothing unusual was found in the palace; it turned out the problem lay with the imperial mausoleum.

Mo Sangyu stood on the rock, looking down at the imperial mausoleum that had been sleeping for hundreds of years. The cold wind blew her silver hair and made her clothes flutter.

She was hesitating, wondering whether she should sneak in through the front door.

Although there were guards there, they were no threat to her.

Before a decision could be made, a powerful demonic aura surged out from the depths of the imperial tomb, like a flood bursting its banks, covering the sky and the earth.

She flashed backward and landed on a tall pine tree.

The pine branches swayed gently beneath her feet. She steadied herself and looked up.

A person was standing in mid-air.

Dressed in red, her robes fluttered in the night wind like a burning fire.

His long hair was loose, tied casually with only a red ribbon, and a few strands of hair fell in front of his forehead, making his face look almost transparently white.

She was extremely beautiful, with sword-like eyebrows that reached her temples, upturned eyes, a high nose bridge, and thin, slightly pursed lips, exuding an indescribable feminine charm.

He has feminine features, but doesn't appear effeminate; instead, he possesses a captivating and alluring charm.

He stood in mid-air, looking down at Mo Sangyu.

His gaze lingered on her face for a moment before moving to her silver hair.

He stared at it for a long time.

His facial expression, which started with cold excitement, gradually became more complex, sometimes showing doubt, sometimes frowning.

But these emotions were fleeting, disappearing completely in an instant.

Finally, his expression turned sinister, and a half-smile curled at the corner of his lips.

"Since you're already here, then prepare to die."

After saying that, he slowly raised his hand, and a cloud of black mist condensed in his palm.

Of course.

Before he could even make a move, Mo Sangyu suddenly felt everything go black.

She stepped on a pine branch and snapped it, causing her to fall straight down from the tree.

It smashed through tree branches, crashing to the ground with a crackling sound and raising a cloud of dust.

Branches and pine needles fell in a flurry, landing on her, in her hair, and all over her face and head.

The man in mid-air was stunned.

No, he hasn't even made a move yet. What does this woman mean?