The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

In the large tent next door, the candlelight was dim.

Bei Chenji leaned back on the couch, a dark handkerchief covering his lips, on which a shocking patch of black blood bloomed.

He is the coldest star in the eternal night sky, branded with the destiny of power and loneliness.

That face was exceptionally striking—its features were deep and sculpted as if by a god, yet together they possessed a breathtaking beauty and a cold, austere quality.

His narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes were half-closed, and his eyelashes cast a faint shadow.

"Your Highness, please hang in there..."

Qian Su knelt by the bed, her voice hoarse as if it had been sanded, her eyes red-rimmed.

"We'll head back to the capital now. The Divine Physician Zheyue will surely be able to save you. Zhan Tang has already negotiated with him, and he has agreed to help. You will definitely survive."

Bei Chenji did not look at him.

"What's the point of living or not living?"

His voice carried a chilling indifference that made one's heart tighten, as if he had long since seen through everything and was weary of it all.

"This king..."

"I'm already a little tired."

The flickering candlelight cast a long, long shadow of Bei Chenji.

It lay on the ground, like a lonely monument.

"Your Highness, you mustn't lose heart in this world because of that traitor!"

Qian Su said through gritted teeth.

"Your subordinate has already investigated. Shi Yin's true identity is Yin Shi, the leader of the Yu Shi Pavilion, one of the three pavilions of the heretical cult, which is on par with the Feng Xiao Pavilion."

"In order to kill you this time, they even went so far as to expose this most crucial piece."

The flickering candlelight inside the tent reflected his bloodshot eyes.

"We took every precaution we could against the Yuanqi period, but who would have thought..."

"Yuan Qi... after all, he is an old man who has protected me since I was young."

At this moment, Bei Chenji was like a wisp of smoke that was about to dissipate.

"There are times when he has no choice in what he does."

"As long as he hasn't wronged me, I'll pretend I don't know."

Bei Chenji paused, a very faint smile appearing at the corner of his lips.

There was no smile in that curve, only something Qian Su couldn't understand.

"After all, the Beichen Prince's Mansion is like a sieve; how many people does the Holy Emperor have?"

"Yuan Qi is his man, yet he has never harmed me."

"Katato-sound—"

He suddenly stopped.

Those deep purple and shattered gold eyes finally moved, landing on the handkerchief from which she had vomited black blood.

"I personally took him in, personally brought him back, and personally treated him as a trusted confidant..."

His voice lowered, becoming as low as a sigh squeezed from the depths of his chest.

"He gave me... a severe blow."

Qian Su knelt there, gazing at her prince's stunningly beautiful face and the fleeting sadness in his eyes.

He wanted to say something, but found that his throat felt like it was blocked by something.

"Qiansu."

"Your subordinate is here."

"Tell me, has my judgment of people always been rather poor?"

"Your Highness, you're not the only one who's blind, don't be sad."

Qian Su's eyes suddenly reddened.

"Back then, that traitor attacked Princess Jing without permission at the Lintai Hunting Ground and was punished by the prince by being sent to the Battle Hall to receive severe punishment."

His voice was filled with regret, like a breath of pent-up resentment.

"Back then, I was naive and thought he was just trying to protect his master and was always thinking of the prince. Now that I think about it..."

"The problem has been enormous since then."

"We're so blind!"

He took out a brand new handkerchief from his sleeve and handed it to Bei Chenji.

The old cloth was soaked in blood. Although it wasn't very noticeable from the outside, black blood was dripping down from the corner of the cloth, spreading out in a shocking pattern on the edge of the bed.

Bei Chenji took the new handkerchief slowly, as if he couldn't muster any strength.

Yet those hands remained long and beautiful, with distinct knuckles, and calluses from years of wielding a sword.

"Hmm. Qian Su, if you don't know how to comfort people, you can shut up."

Bei Chenji was so angry with him that he had a headache.

"He's always been hostile towards Xue'er. I should have noticed sooner."

He paused, then slightly tugged at the corners of his lips, a smile tinged with self-mockery.

"But back then, he once took an arrow for me."

That arrow blocked his way, and he has remembered it all these years.

Now it seems that the assassination was probably arranged by the Imperial World Pavilion itself.

One arrow for one life—Yin Shi made a shrewd deal.

His life, Bei Chenji, is quite valuable—it has made the dignified Pavilion Master of the Imperial World Pavilion willing to lie in wait by his side for so many years.

"Now that I think about it, that assassination was actually the work of their Imperial World Pavilion."

The moment his words fell, a sharp, dark golden light, like fragments of stardust, burst forth from the depths of his pupils, dangerous and eerie, like a beast that had been lying in wait for a long time finally baring its fangs.

Qian Su bowed his head and reported:

"I purchased a piece of intelligence from the Shan Hai region at a high price."

"Yin Shi is suspected of being in love with Shen Yan. Therefore, he did not hesitate to take action without authorization, setting up an ambush at the Lintai Royal Hunting Ground to deal with Princess Jing—to avenge Shen Yan."

Bei Chenji's eyes flickered slightly.

The intelligence network of Shan Hai is indeed all-pervasive. They even managed to uncover such a secret.

"I sent him to keep an eye on Shen Yan and see if Sang Tingke will contact her."

"The result was good."

"He's fallen for her."

The black iron thumb ring on his left hand gleamed with a cold, eerie light under the candlelight.

His aura suddenly darkened, like a dangerous and poisonous datura quietly blooming in the night.

Extreme danger and extreme charm are perfectly integrated in him.

"This is really useful information."

He suddenly laughed, a very faint laugh, yet it sent chills down one's spine.

"Once a person has someone they like, they have a fatal weakness."

He paused, his gaze deep and unfathomable.

"Shen Yan is truly a useful pawn."

He experienced it firsthand.

He just quietly, secretly, fell in love with someone.

But this damned God, He's even going to destroy this little bit of warmth.

Bei Chenji lowered his eyelashes, concealing the fleeting sadness in his eyes.

When he looked up again, only a cold light remained in those deep purple and gold eyes.

This eternal night cannot contain even his tiny glimmer of light.

Then let's drag everyone down with us.

"Your Highness, let's go now."

Qian Su started tidying up as she spoke.

"That military doctor Liu's medical skills are truly... terribly bad. He's not even as good as our Baicao. It's a pity that the guy is still far away in the southern border region gathering herbs. I wonder where he is right now, and whether he can make it back in time."

He kept talking incessantly, his hands never stopping, but his trembling fingertips betrayed the anxiety in his heart.

Bei Chenji watched his busy figure and the corners of her lips twitched slightly.

"Oh."

The laughter was soft, yet it carried a hint of something indescribable.

"I am not so easily killed."

He used the edge of the bed to support himself and struggled to get up.

Her black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, making her face appear even paler.

"Sang Tingke is still alive, and I will surely die after him."

He couldn't help but cough as soon as he finished speaking.

A mouthful of black blood gushed out, splattering onto the newly changed handkerchief, leaving a shocking stain.

"My medical skills aren't that bad, are they?"

A faint voice drifted from the corner, carrying a hint of helpless despair.

Liu Fengchun was squatting beside the medicine box preparing medicine. He was dressed in an elegant green robe and did not dare to raise his head, but his scalp was already numb and about to explode.

"And...you're not planning to kill me, are you? I'm still here, and you're having such a private conversation?"

He was truly heartbroken.

What bad luck did the Liu family run into on this trip to northern Xinjiang? Why are they destined to die here?

Bei Chenji raised his eyes and gave him a cold glance.

The gaze fell on Liu Fengchun as if he were looking at an ant that could be crushed at any moment.

"If the Liu family members don't keep their mouths shut..."

He paused, his voice as soft as a leaf falling into a deep pool, yet it sent a chill down Liu Fengchun's spine.

"That doesn't mean we can't wipe out the entire family."

Liu Fengchun froze.