Where would the third strike land?

Ziqing didn’t move to strike again. Instead, she walked to the door and pushed the other half of it wide open as well, leaving the hidden chamber’s entrance completely exposed.

Bai Mengmeng, clutching her disfigured, wounded face, looked over — only to find the doorway beyond completely empty. Nothing there at all.

She had no idea why Han Ziqing intended to whip her so many times, but she knew, without a doubt, there would be a third strike.

Ziqing had stopped and opened the door wide. What did that mean?

Did she want her to get out?

Bai Mengmeng had no time to think about that. She didn’t want to leave — she wanted to escape.

Han Ziqing knew everything now. That she had managed to break through here at all was proof enough that Physician Gu could no longer contain her.

Bai Mengmeng had to flee. If she fell into Han Ziqing’s hands, she would suffer a fate worse than death!

Seeing Ziqing with her back turned, Bai Mengmeng quickly got to her feet, creeping forward stealthily — but just then, Ziqing spoke. “Bai Mengmeng, my husband is already awake. He’s the one who brought me back here. He’s right outside, but from the look of it, he has no intention of coming in.”

Ziqing didn’t even say the name “Jun Beiyue” — she said, “my husband.”

Those simple three words carried far more weight than Bai Mengmeng’s earlier proud declaration of ownership.

No provocation, no declaration could compare to those three words — only those three words truly represented ownership.

The third strike landed on her heart.

Bai Mengmeng stood frozen in place, her heart feeling as though it had been hollowed out instantly. Looking at the empty doorway, she suddenly felt as though the entire world had emptied out along with it!

He was nearby!

Jun Beiyue was right there, perhaps just outside the door, somewhere just out of sight!

He wasn’t coming in. What did that mean?

Did he not even want to look at her? Or had he dismissed her so completely that even stabbing him couldn’t earn her enough attention for a single glance?

In this life, she would never have him — she wouldn’t even get to see him again…

At last, tears welled up and spilled from Bai Mengmeng’s eyes. Ziqing’s third strike had landed straight on the mark.

“Jun Beiyue… Jun Beiyue…”

Bai Mengmeng murmured his name, and gradually, gradually, it turned into a wail, heart-wrenching and raw. “Jun Beiyue! Come out! Yes! It was me who stabbed you, me who deliberately created that misunderstanding, me who joined forces with Physician Gu, me who wanted to sit on the throne as empress at your side! I was delusional, I’m guilty of unforgivable crimes — come out! Come out and take your revenge! Come out!”

…

The wailing sobs and cries filled the entire chamber, but outside the door, there was no response at all.

Bai Mengmeng cried and cried until she finally collapsed, her hair disheveled, her face streaked with blood and tears, utterly wretched, like a drowned dog.

Ziqing dropped the whip, not even wanting to spare her another glance. An enemy like this offered her nothing but disgust, not a shred of respect. She clapped her hands together, about to move forward, when suddenly Bai Mengmeng spun around and lunged at her. “Han Ziqing, this is all your fault! All of it! You’re the one who made me like this!”

She shrieked the accusation, her right hand shooting out to claw at Ziqing’s hair. Fortunately, Ziqing reacted quickly enough to dodge — but the accusation alone was enough to completely ignite her fury.

“Don’t pin everything on me. This consort isn’t nearly so noble. If being with Jun Beiyue counts as marrying above your station, then this consort has done exactly that — so what?”

She snarled furiously, grabbing Bai Mengmeng’s right cheek in a vicious grip!

If whipping wasn’t satisfying enough, then she’d simply fight her outright.

When women turn against women, a single sentence can be enough to torment someone to their breaking point.

When women fight women, there’s no need for martial arts, weapons, or elaborate techniques — bare hands alone can leave a person covered in wounds, their looks utterly ruined.

Ziqing seized Bai Mengmeng’s cheek, her nails immediately raking downward, leaving several bloody streaks!

“Ahh… ahh…”

Bai Mengmeng screamed continuously, no longer caring about anything, her own claw-like hands flailing wildly at Ziqing. But every time, she failed to land a hit, while Ziqing left her covered in wounds again and again.

Ziqing dodged and struck at the same time. Compared to Bai Mengmeng’s shrieking, feral display, she showed none of her usual composed elegance — if anything, she was even more savage than Bai Mengmeng, her movements sharp, swift, brutal, and merciless. In no time at all, Bai Mengmeng’s face was thoroughly ravaged, crisscrossed with scratches, utterly unbearable to look at!

Ziqing yanked Bai Mengmeng’s hair, forcing her head back. She wasn’t fond of hair-pulling as a tactic, but when it came to Bai Mengmeng, she felt even this wasn’t nearly vicious enough.

“Was it me who did this to you?” she demanded coldly, determined to get a clear answer.

Bai Mengmeng’s entire face throbbed with numbing pain, her scalp burning where her hair was gripped, feeling as though she might die at any moment — hardly in any state to answer. But Ziqing insisted on getting one.

“Tell me — did you bring this on yourself, or was it me?” Ziqing demanded, her own hair now disheveled, though she paid it no mind, yanking Bai Mengmeng’s hair viciously as she leaned in close to her ear.

“Ahh!” Bai Mengmeng let out a short cry, not daring to move, terrified that any movement would tear her scalp apart. “It was my own doing, my own doing! Not you! Let me go, Han Ziqing, I’ll never do it again, please let me go! I’m begging you!”

Begging?

That kind of begging held no weight with Ziqing at all. She scoffed coldly, yanking Bai Mengmeng’s hair and hurling her back into the room. “Don’t worry, this consort has no intention of killing you. Didn’t you want to see Physician Gu? Wait right here — this consort will personally bring him to you!”

With that, Ziqing strode out the door and headed toward the dungeon, her steps long and swift, not even noticing that she was breathing hard, drenched in sweat.

Suddenly, a handkerchief flew toward her from behind, cutting through the air like a blade. Ziqing quickly turned and caught it, looking up to find Jun Beiyue sitting on the rooftop, his face full of doting amusement, smiling down at her. “Vicious shrew!”

“That’s right!” Ziqing readily admitted, defiant to the core. Yes, and what of it?

“This prince likes it very much!” Jun Beiyue declared, laughing heartily.

Ziqing raised an eyebrow with a smile, then turned and strode off. Before long, she reappeared, personally dragging the injured, limping Physician Gu along by force, her steps brisk and determined.

The sight of her was hardly that of a “vicious shrew” — she looked more like a female bandit chief.

Jun Beiyue was about to speak when someone on the opposite rooftop beat him to it. “Little Qingqing, the ancients say to honor the elderly as you would your own!”

Ziqing looked up to see Baili Weisheng, seated on the rooftop as well, looking for all the world like a scholar who’d skipped class, an air of scholarly refinement mixed with irreverent playfulness, watching her with feigned pedantic seriousness.

Ziqing sneered coldly, dragging Physician Gu firmly with one hand while pointing skyward with the other, declaring loudly, “If heaven offends me, I’ll tear down the very heavens themselves — let alone some old man!” She then pointed at a lifeless rock nearby. “If a rock shows me respect, I’ll honor that rock in turn — let alone a child!”

Don’t bother preaching to her about respecting elders, about seniority and rank.

Some withered old relics simply weren’t fit to lecture her about hierarchy. Seniority encompassed so much more than mere age.

An elder unworthy of respect — she’d defy him without hesitation. Someone worthy of respect — even a three-year-old child — she’d honor them just the same.

Hearing Ziqing’s words, Baili Weisheng’s smile grew even more radiant, while Jun Beiyue burst into hearty laughter. Ziqing dragged Physician Gu firmly along and strode into the hidden chamber!