Even after many years had passed, Jinzhu Garden remained spotlessly maintained.

When Princess Yuanrong reached her fourteenth year and came of age, the late emperor had carved out a section within the deep palace and renovated it into an exquisite courtyard as a coming-of-age gift for Princess Yuanrong.

Yet while the garden remained, the person was gone. By the time Princess Yuanrong was married off in a political alliance to another country, this garden had never been completely finished. Still, the scenery remained beautiful—after the late emperor’s death, Empress Dowager Yide had always sent people to keep the courtyard in perfect order.

Though the garden was lovely, Empress Dowager Yide had never once set foot in it, perhaps fearing that seeing these objects would stir memories and awaken the guilt and sin in her heart. Thus Jinzhu Garden became a unique existence within the deep palace—clearly tended to daily, yet still an abandoned garden.

But the desolate emptiness of Jinzhu Garden finally changed with Jiang Ruan’s arrival. Jiang Ruan had inherited many privileges that only Princess Yuanrong had possessed, including the freedom to move about Jinzhu Garden at will. It must be said that the late emperor had truly doted on Princess Yuanrong—every scenic spot in Jinzhu Garden was meticulously crafted. It even contained a library and study, along with small courtyards for rest.

However, since the Princess Palace was still some distance from Jinzhu Garden, Jiang Ruan rarely visited, only occasionally setting foot there.

On this day, a palace maid came from outside, carrying a small basket and heading toward Jinzhu Garden. Judging by her direction, she was likely going to Jinzhu Garden, and the basket in her hands was probably for collecting flower petals. Recently, Jiang Ruan had been learning to blend fragrances and often sent palace maids from the Princess Palace into Jinzhu Garden to gather flower petals. The palace maids and young eunuchs along the way could occasionally help and receive some benefits.

Today, this young palace maid had only walked halfway when she was suddenly called to a halt: “Stop!”

The palace maid turned around to look, perhaps not recognizing who it was. After staring for a long moment, she finally made out that it was none other than Princess He Yi.

Princess He Yi quickly walked over, glanced at the flower basket in the palace maid’s hands, and frowned, asking, “Where are you going?”

“This servant follows Princess Hong’an’s orders to enter Jinzhu Garden to collect flower petals,” the young palace maid replied with lowered head.

“Ah, Jinzhu Garden.” Princess He Yi’s expression paused, then she said, “Very well, you may go.”

The palace maid looked at Princess He Yi with surprise, not expecting the normally arrogant and domineering princess to be so reasonable today. But for her, this was a good thing. She immediately hastily picked up her flower basket, curtsied to Princess He Yi, and then departed.

However, the palace maid failed to notice that Princess He Yi did not leave. Instead, she remained standing in place, staring fixedly in the direction the maid had gone, quietly following at a distance until she saw the palace maid turn past a long corridor, enter a manor, and disappear from view.

Princess He Yi straightened her robes. Today she wore a plain azure brocade long robe. For someone who usually favored golden, luxurious attire, this was already quite modest. She had applied no rouge or powder to her face either, making her appear completely different from usual. At first glance, she would not be easily recognized.

She adjusted her clothing, a strange smile appearing on her face, before following in the direction the palace maid had gone, walking toward that courtyard.

The courtyard seemed unguarded, renovated as exquisitely as the rumors claimed. Princess He Yi couldn’t help but show an expression of resentful anger. When she was young, she had inadvertently heard palace servants mention this Jinzhu Garden and had once asked the emperor for it, but the emperor who usually doted on her had refused without a second thought. Princess He Yi had a stubborn nature, and after learning that Jinzhu Garden was untouchable, she had never come again, pretending this place didn’t exist in the palace. Who would have thought that when Jiang Ruan arrived, though she hadn’t obtained this garden either, Empress Dowager Yide had permitted her to move about freely within it. To Princess He Yi, wasn’t this humiliating? The hatred in her heart toward Jiang Ruan deepened by another layer. Whatever she liked or desired, Jiang Ruan always had to compete for.

The garden was vast, with scenic beauty everywhere. Having never come before, she hadn’t known of its splendor. Now, the more she witnessed its beauty, the stronger her desire for possession became, wishing she could enter this garden herself.

Strangely, there wasn’t a single guard inside, and she didn’t know where the study might be located. She wandered aimlessly for a long time until Princess He Yi herself grew impatient. Suddenly, after rounding a massive camphor tree, she spotted a bamboo pavilion in the distance.

This bamboo pavilion looked brand new, nestled among the trees with an indescribable elegance and charm. This should be the legendary study. Sitting in this study watching the dancing tree shadows, sipping tea and reading books—what a pleasant affair that would be.

Flames of fury blazed in Princess He Yi’s eyes, and a sudden impulse arose in her heart, wishing she could burn this bamboo pavilion to ashes with a single fire. However, when she touched the envelope in her sleeve, the anger on her face settled, replaced by a smiling expression.

The contents of that envelope were none other than evidence of Jiang Ruan’s treason and betrayal. Though Consort Shu had agreed to frame Jiang Ruan with the crime of treason to ensure her death without burial, she still hadn’t found the right opportunity. Consort Shu could wait, but Princess He Yi could not. If they waited any longer until the emperor’s marriage decree came down, what would be the point of convicting Jiang Ruan? By then, with Xiao Shao’s protection, it would be even harder to make a move.

All the people around Princess He Yi were provided by Consort Shu, so if she had her people do it, Consort Shu would naturally know. Since Consort Shu currently forbade her from acting rashly, she couldn’t alarm Consort Shu. But Princess He Yi’s nature had never been one for patience. Today she truly couldn’t endure it any longer, so she secretly stole that “evidence” from Consort Shu’s room, wanting to accomplish this matter herself.

The evidence was nothing other than correspondence between Jiang Ruan and people from the Tianjin Kingdom. The letters addressed Jiang Ruan very intimately and vaguely mentioned that Jiang Xinzhi was safe, even bearing the seal of a Tianjin Kingdom minister.

Now that Jiang Xinzhi had been defeated in battle, he was already in an extremely dangerous position. As long as this letter was discovered, it would naturally be an unforgivable crime, almost immediately confirming Jiang Xinzhi’s guilt. Moreover, this crime would be compounded—both Jiang Xinzhi siblings colluding with the enemy and betraying the country, serving as internal agents for Tianjin Kingdom’s enemy forces, making them criminals of the Great Jin Dynasty. This way, the people of Great Jin would naturally throw Jiang Ruan into prison, and even if Jiang Xinzhi didn’t die in the future, he would never be able to survive in Great Jin.

This life of being hunted everywhere like a homeless dog would be the best punishment for Jiang Xinzhi. Didn’t Jiang Ruan deeply love her elder brother? She would destroy him.

Princess He Yi thought smugly to herself. She had already thoroughly investigated—the Princess Palace was guarded like an iron fortress with no way to make a move, but Jinzhu Garden was extremely easy to target. Jiang Ruan didn’t often go there in daily life, but these past few days she had frequently sent palace maids to collect flower petals, making it very convenient for her actions. Since her own people might alarm Consort Shu, she could only act personally. Princess He Yi wasn’t afraid either—if the matter was exposed, as a princess, as long as no evidence was found against her, there would be nothing anyone could do to her, right? Today, following this palace maid to Jinzhu Garden, she only needed to take advantage of the absence of people to place this evidence in the study, then conveniently have someone spread news of Jiang Ruan’s treason. As long as they searched Jinzhu Garden and found the evidence, how could Jiang Ruan deny it?

Princess He Yi’s plan was quite good, but she hadn’t expected this bamboo pavilion to be so hard to find. Still, she felt somewhat puzzled—why hadn’t she seen a single palace maid or eunuch in Jinzhu Garden? Usually there should at least be servants specifically responsible for maintenance. Now, forget about guards, she hadn’t seen even one person responsible for cleaning the courtyard.

All along the way, she hadn’t seen any flowers either. Didn’t Jiang Ruan usually send palace maids to collect flower petals? Why wasn’t there a single flower here? What had that palace maid with the flower basket come here to do earlier? She couldn’t possibly be here to collect leaves, could she?

Princess He Yi vaguely felt something was strange and suspected she had taken the wrong path. But that palace maid had indeed walked this way—there was no mistake. Her hesitation lasted only a moment before Princess He Yi made up her mind. So what if she was wrong? She was the dignified princess of the Great Jin Dynasty. Except for the emperor’s bedchamber, there was nowhere in the palace she didn’t dare to go freely. This place had no guards, so it certainly wasn’t some forbidden area of the deep palace. Since she had already entered today, wouldn’t it be a wasted trip not to go up and investigate?

Princess He Yi had always been arrogant and unwilling to admit defeat, never taking such places seriously. Moreover, with her single-minded desire to destroy Jiang Ruan, how could she put such matters to heart? When hatred clouded one’s mind, even someone usually shrewd would be unable to think clearly about the pros and cons.

She lifted her skirts and walked gracefully toward the bamboo pavilion. The bamboo pavilion was renovated very exquisitely. Princess He Yi followed the bamboo pavilion’s steps upward. When she had just reached the seventh step, she somehow triggered something. She heard wind whistling darkly, and with a swoosh, a sharp knife blade shot out.

Unprepared for such a sudden change, Princess He Yi immediately screamed. Before she could react, she heard a familiar voice from within the bamboo pavilion: “Who’s there?”

“This—” Before she could say the word “princess,” Princess He Yi felt a flash of sharp silver light across her face. Then the step beneath her feet collapsed downward, and she fell straight down.

With a “bang,” dust immediately rose from the ground. Falling from the two-story bamboo pavilion wouldn’t necessarily be fatal, but Princess He Yi was usually a pampered golden branch and jade leaf. The fall immediately turned her face pale, and not knowing which bone was injured, she immediately gasped in pain and began cursing loudly.

“Ninth Sister.” That familiar voice spoke again, stopping before Princess He Yi. Princess He Yi widened her eyes: “Eighth Brother, Fourth Brother.”

Xuan Li and Xuan Lang stood before her, both showing somewhat surprised expressions. Clearly, Princess He Yi’s arrival had astonished them as well.

“What are you doing here?” Having suffered a loss, Princess He Yi was naturally unwilling to let the matter rest. Her heart was extremely angry, and she was in pain from her leg injury. Without thinking, she accused them as she usually did: “You’ve harmed me like this, I’m going to tell Father Emperor. I’m going to tell Father Emperor that you two are colluding together, plotting evil deeds, and trying to kill to silence witnesses!”

Princess He Yi had always been loose-tongued, accustomed to throwing blame at others when speaking. She had often used such words to threaten Xuan Hua in daily life, merely seeking verbal satisfaction. Today she only wanted to make Xuan Li and Xuan Lang feel guilty, hoping they might help her deal with Jiang Ruan together.

Unfortunately, this time Princess He Yi had miscalculated.

Upon hearing these words, both Xuan Li and Xuan Lang’s expressions immediately changed. Xuan Lang said, “What kind of talk is this, Ninth Sister?”

“Is Fourth Brother still trying to deceive me into knowing nothing?” Princess He Yi had always looked down on Xuan Lang, and now her words carried several degrees of nastiness: “Who would have thought Fourth Brother was still such an ambitious person. What, now that you’ve chosen to follow Eighth Brother, you have more confidence too? Hmph, I’m afraid Fourth Brother has long forgotten when he used to beg me and my mother consort. Fourth Brother, one mustn’t forget one’s origins.”

Xuan Lang had always been known as incompetent. Though Consort Xian occupied one of the four consort positions, she actually didn’t have much status in the palace. Xuan Lang had once angered foreign envoys, but at that time Consort Shu was most favored, so Xuan Lang had personally knelt before Consort Shu and Princess He Yi for a full four hours, just to beg for Consort Shu’s kind word before the emperor.

If Princess He Yi had no other talents, she certainly excelled at enraging others. She had probably learned this fearless attitude from Consort Shu, but Princess He Yi’s mind wasn’t as sharp as Consort Shu’s. For instance, at this moment, though Xuan Lang’s expression had clearly changed, Princess He Yi continued chattering endlessly.

Xuan Lang had been threatened by Jiang Ruan just the other day, so his heart was naturally filled with fear and worry. Now Princess He Yi’s words caused those emotions hidden in the darkness to explode. Looking at that twisted beautiful face before him, Xuan Lang was suddenly reminded of many years ago when he was still a youth. Though he was a prince, he had been forced to kneel outside Shufang Palace under the blazing sun while that mother-daughter pair inside laughed and chatted, eating chilled watermelon, completely ignoring his sweat. The passing palace maids and eunuchs all watched his humiliation, and he knew those people looked down on him.

There were always some women with hearts like snakes and scorpions in this world. The humiliation that the mother and daughter of Shufang Palace had inflicted on him now suddenly became unbearable. So what if he depended on Xuan Li? From now on, in the realm’s great enterprise, there would be Xuan Li’s dragon throne and also his acre of land. With great undertakings close at hand, what did one small woman matter?

Xuan Lang suddenly bowed to Xuan Li: “Eighth Brother, what we discussed earlier, I’m afraid Ninth Sister has overheard it. This is a troublesome matter.”

Seeing Xuan Lang’s reaction, so different from usual, Princess He Yi suddenly felt a layer of panic in her heart. However, she had always been good at pretending and didn’t show it on her face.

Xuan Li glanced at Xuan Lang: “Fourth Brother, what do you mean?”

“This matter is of great importance and cannot allow the slightest mistake,” Xuan Lang said in a low voice. “Only the dead can guarantee complete safety.”

“You’re mad, Xuan Lang!” Princess He Yi stared in disbelief, eyes wide. If she hadn’t heard it with her own ears, she would never have believed that this person speaking such terrifying words could be that incompetent prince whom everyone in the palace scorned. She uneasily twisted her body, but her foot injury prevented her from standing. She could only use words to intimidate: “Xuan Lang, you dare kill me? Aren’t you afraid that when Father Emperor finds out, he’ll chop off the heads of you and your mother consort? You useless prince, what gives you the audacity to—”

If she hadn’t spoken, it would have been better, but after Princess He Yi finished these words, Xuan Lang’s expression became even more sinister. He turned to Xuan Li with sincerity: “Eighth Brother, please reconsider.”

Xuan Li naturally saw that Xuan Lang was unusually different, but rather than hastily refusing, he suddenly laughed: “Fourth Brother speaks reasonably. Fourth Brother, why don’t you handle this matter personally?”

He smiled like a spring breeze, as if casually discussing a painting or an ancient inkstone, naturally gentle and refined, yet his words seemed to carry a cold, forest-like chill. The implication was utterly chilling.

Xuan Lang was startled, and couldn’t help but admire Xuan Li’s calculations. In today’s matter, Xuan Li had probably also intended to kill Princess He Yi, but by having him propose it, the request to have him act came naturally. This was Xuan Li’s test for him. If the matter wasn’t exposed, he would have gained leverage before Xuan Li from now on. If the matter was exposed, it would have nothing to do with Xuan Li.

Princess He Yi was greatly alarmed and truly felt afraid for the first time, repeatedly saying: “No… it wasn’t me, I didn’t hear anything, don’t kill me, I didn’t see anything…”

Xuan Lang narrowed his eyes. Even if Princess He Yi truly hadn’t heard anything today, she had seen his sinister side and knew his intention to kill to silence witnesses. Keeping her alive would surely be a future threat. Moreover… Xuan Lang looked at Princess He Yi prostrate at his feet, and somehow a layer of faint pleasure arose in his heart. He seemed to extremely enjoy this feeling, as if a dark thought had suddenly emerged, wanting to see that beautiful body covered in wounds, with that twisted expression forever frozen in that rigid moment. As if that way, the dignity he had lost could be regained.

He slowly revealed a strange smile: “Very well, Eighth Brother, leave it to me to handle.”

“No—” Princess He Yi screamed miserably, frantically trying to call for help, but where could there be guards in this deserted garden? Even if there were guards, they probably wouldn’t come to save her. Those slender hands clawed helplessly at the air, as if suddenly drained of strength, slowly dropping down. A streak of fresh blood spurted from the sword tip.

Xuan Lang slowly withdrew his long sword. Those eyes that usually appeared weak and mediocre now flickered with an excited light never seen before—quite peculiar. Like a mouse that had glimpsed delicious food, inexplicably disgusting. If anyone passed by, they would be greatly shocked, because Xuan Lang’s current expression was like another person possessed by a demon. Xuan Li stepped back slightly, as if afraid of being splattered by the blood and soiling his robe hem, though his facial expression remained unchanged.

Blood slowly spread, seeping down along Princess He Yi’s sleeves. The “evidence” in her sleeve was also stained red with blood, the writing gradually dissolving and bleeding together. By the end, even that seal would probably be too blurred to make out. Princess He Yi stared wide-eyed, her face full of disbelief. Perhaps she hadn’t expected that this incompetent prince she had never taken seriously would ultimately take her life. Perhaps she hadn’t imagined that this exquisite garden would unexpectedly become her burial place.

The last thing she saw was the clean robe hems of the two men before her, forming a stark contrast with her own body covered in bloody filth.

The last thing she heard was Xuan Li’s indifferent inquiry: “How did she find this place?”