"Miss, is Young Master Feng truly ill?" Ying Xue asked curiously.
"Indeed, he is ill, and quite seriously," Xiao Man said slowly. With the blood contract unbroken and having undergone marrow-stripping, even his profound power would not allow him to withstand it.
My good master, you gave me a bottle of marrow-stripping back then, and now I return the favor with a bottle of marrow-stripping. You killed my family and friends, so I will destroy everything of yours: your influence, your pride in your martial arts, and your dignity – your everything!
This is only the beginning. You must hold on, don't despair too soon, and don't give up too early, or it will be too boring. Moreover, you haven't seen what hell looks like yet. I, your disciple, crawled back from hell. If I don't drag you down to hell with me, my journey in this world will have been in vain!
As Xiao Man walked out of Tantai Palace, the Empress was just returning from court. Xiao Man stood to the side and bowed, watching the Empress enter Tantai Palace. Her gaze swept over the female officials beside the Empress, and a faint, knowing smile touched her lips. She then left the palace with Ying Xue.
The Third Princess, pressed against the wall, exchanged glances with the Fourth Princess. The Fourth Princess had begged her to accompany her into the palace to find Feng Moran, wanting to make a last-ditch effort. Little did she expect to witness such a dramatic scene.
The Third Princess gestured with her eyes to the Fourth Princess: "Shall we go?"
The Fourth Princess dared not move. She didn't even dare to breathe heavily. The two people inside, whether the Empress or Feng Moran, were not weak in martial arts. If they were to move rashly and be discovered, she figured she wouldn't need the second or fifth siblings to kill her; the Empress would have already eliminated her!
The Third Princess was getting anxious. She didn't want to hide here watching the Empress's passionate encounter. Knowing the Empress's temperament, if she found out they had been peeping at her and someone else's intimacy, wouldn't she exterminate them?
The Fourth Princess signaled to the Third Princess to be patient. She also wanted to leave. When she saw how doting the Empress was on Feng Moran, she understood that her staying in Bianjing would lead to her death. However, leaving Bianjing still offered no escape for her. Now, she had only one path left: to seek refuge with Xiao Man!
The Fourth Princess never imagined that Xiao Man, whom she had never taken seriously, would become her only hope for survival. But fate is unpredictable, and her life now rested in Xiao Man's hands.
The Fourth Princess secretly glanced at the situation inside the hall. The two were clearly consumed by passion, unlikely to pay attention to anything else. Taking advantage of this moment, they should leave quickly!
The Fourth Princess waved to the Third Princess to hurry. The Third Princess had long wanted to leave. She didn't understand the relationship between Feng Moran and the Empress, but she was very clear about the relationship between Feng Moran and Xiao Man. If the Fourth Princess defied Xiao Man's wishes, she would surely not survive.
The two moved with practiced ease, avoiding the palace servants, and carefully left Tantai Palace, heading towards the palace gates.
"Now, you should give up," the Third Princess said, biting into an apple she had somehow acquired. "Speaking of which, you have quite a lot of nerve to try and climb into Feng Moran's bed. Do you know what happened to those who tried to get close to him in Yusheng?"
"What happened?" the Fourth Princess asked, feigning indifference.
"I heard the Guoshi's mansion has very well-blooming flowers, because they are watered with human blood," the Third Princess said in a chilling tone.
The Fourth Princess frowned, "Are Xiao Man and Young Master Feng on extremely good terms?"
"Extremely good?" The Third Princess's tone held uncertainty. The Guoshi's mansion was open to Xiao Man; there was nowhere within it Xiao Man couldn't go. However, having grown up with Xiao Man, and knowing her as a sister for so many years, she understood her well. Xiao Man didn't respect the Guoshi as much as she appeared to.
"Isn't she?"
"The former Guoshi's mansion was filled with mechanisms and formations, yet only one person could move through it unimpeded – that was Xiao Man," the Third Princess said, taking a bite of her apple. "As soon as Xiao Man was in trouble, the Guoshi would rush back to rescue her immediately. What do you think of their relationship?"
"Didn't they fall out?"
The Third Princess chuckled, "Fall out? If Xiao Man truly fell out, she wouldn't be sending sweet preserves; she would be sending poison. You don't know her. When she truly decides to fall out, it means your life is forfeit."
The Fourth Princess lowered her gaze and remained silent. That day, she had inexplicably found herself in Feng Moran's bed, their bodies inexplicably intimate, and had been caught by the Empress. The Fourth Princess touched her chest; the palm strike she received then still ached faintly.
Although Feng Moran held no official title yet, he lived in Tantai Palace, making him the Empress's man. And she, a princess, had dared to lay hands on the Empress's man. The Empress hadn't killed her on the spot because Feng Moran had pleaded for her. Yet, she could never forget the look in the Empress's eyes; it was as if she wanted to devour her alive.
"Lan Qin."
"What is it now?" the Third Princess inquired. She had completely surrendered now, hiding under Xiao Man's wing, living a leisurely life as a princess with no ambitions.
"Do you hate Her Majesty?" the Fourth Princess asked softly, as if afraid of being overheard. Lan Qin had been sent to Yusheng as a spy, and later her identity was discovered by Xiao Man. Her mission failed, and the Empress had wanted to eliminate her, even sending people to deal with her. If not for her luck, she would have reported to the King of Hell long ago. If anyone harbored hatred, it would be Lan Qin among their sisters, who hated the Empress the most.
"I don't hate her," the Third Princess replied lazily.
"Why? She once wanted to kill you."
"She adopted me back then, saving me from starving to death. Although she wanted to kill me, I am still alive. The person I hate most in this life is not the Empress, but Xiao Man."
The Fourth Princess looked at the Third Princess in astonishment. "You hate her, yet you seek refuge with her?"
Lan Qin forcefully threw the apple core. It traced an arc in the air and disappeared. Lan Qin then said faintly, "Because, I both hate her and care about her. I want her dead, but I don't want her dead. Do you think I'm very foolish? Whenever I face danger, she is the first person I think of!"
"Why her?"
"Because at the General's mansion, she was the elder sister. She was arrogant and domineering, and her martial arts were excellent. I was just a minor concubine's daughter. In the mansion, Xiao Man bullied me, Xiao Ling bullied me. Outside the mansion, those daughters of officials also wanted to bully me, yet no one dared. Do you know why?"
"Why?"
"Because the first time I was bullied by an outsider, Xiao Man beat the bully until their face was bruised and swollen, and she stepped on their face, shouting, 'Even a dog from the General's mansion is not for outsiders to bully, let alone a young lady of the General's mansion! If I see you bullying my General's mansion's young ladies again, I'll break your legs!' From then on, outsiders no longer dared to bully me."