Tie Ci remained silent.

The Empress Dowager sighed and actually reached out to stroke her hair. Tie Ci suppressed the sudden surge of nausea and forced a smile, affectionately nuzzling her head toward the Empress Dowager’s palm.

This time the Empress Dowager quickly withdrew her hand, wiped it on her sleeve, and said softly: “What’s wrong with Chang’er? Isn’t the Xiao family’s protection good for you? Or do you really think you can inherit the throne like this?”

Tie Ci looked at her. The Empress Dowager’s eyes were curved, hiding wariness.

Tie Ci suddenly burst into tears: “Empress Dowager, I regret it!”

The Empress Dowager was stunned.

“I regret not being obedient! I regret being a waste who still occupies the position without doing anything!” Tie Ci cried with tears streaming down, half-straightening her body. She was taller than the Empress Dowager, who was still half-squatting in place, looking up at her in a daze.

“I was wrong, I’ll kowtow to apologize to you!” Tie Ci suddenly slammed her head down.

Directly at the Empress Dowager’s forehead.

“Bang” – a dull impact.

Their heads collided, seemingly accompanied by the faint sound of cracking bone.

The Empress Dowager didn’t even have time to scream before falling backward violently. Almost immediately, a bump slowly swelled on her forehead.

The heavy aura in the room suddenly surged, filled with furious energy – apparently not expecting the always-obedient ant to pull such a move. Before Tie Ci could even react, a wild wind arose from nowhere. With a crash, the thousand-pound iron incense burner spun rapidly and smashed toward Tie Ci’s chest.

Tie Ci rolled on the spot, narrowly avoiding it by passing under the burner’s short legs. With another flip, she was already at the door, punching at the tightly closed doors.

Crack – with a splitting sound, she actually punched a hole through the half-foot-thick iron-wrapped wooden door, and daylight flooded in.

The wild wind suddenly stopped. The person inside seemed to be hesitating about something. Taking advantage of this moment, Tie Ci grabbed her cloak and kicked open the door to rush out.

She was still swaying when she stood up, but by the time she stepped through the door, she had straightened her back. Her cloak unfurled with a swoosh, rolling behind her like a dark cloud. When the crowd surged forward, they still saw the calm-faced, upright Crown Princess.

Li Gui rushed to the front and paused when he saw Tie Ci. He naturally knew what tricks were played in the small Buddhist hall each time, and looked hesitantly behind Tie Ci.

Tie Ci smiled at him and suddenly kicked backward, causing the door behind her to swing open.

Li Gui instinctively stepped forward to block the view of those behind him.

From the corner of her eye, Tie Ci saw a black shadow that had been crouched on the ground, apparently checking on the Empress Dowager’s condition. But the moment the door opened, it picked up the Empress Dowager and vanished into the darkness in a flash.

Indeed, she had guessed correctly – this person couldn’t be seen in the light.

Li Gui saw that black shadow and his expression changed. Tie Ci had already said: “I discovered suspicious persons here at the Empress Dowager’s…”

Li Gui immediately replied: “Your Highness jests. The Empress Dowager has always loved tranquility and prays to Buddha alone. The Buddhist hall is heavily guarded inside and out – there are absolutely no suspicious persons.”

“I’m very concerned about the Empress Dowager’s safety. Perhaps we should still summon the White Marsh Guards to search…”

“Your Highness worries too much. The White Marsh Guards bear the responsibility of guarding the entire palace – their duties are weighty. If they’re casually summoned here, what if someone takes advantage elsewhere…” Li Gui quickly lowered his head. “But Your Highness’s concern is not unreasonable. Please rest assured, Your Highness – we servants will carefully inspect later. It’s getting late, please rest early, Your Highness.”

Tie Ci wanted exactly this – for him not to pursue the matter about the Empress Dowager and let her pass. She immediately nodded: “Fine, perhaps I was seeing things.”

Li Gui bowed and stepped aside. As Tie Ci walked past him, the wide-open doors behind her slowly closed again.

Tie Ci suddenly turned around, pretending to pull something from her robes, and laughed loudly: “Empress Dowager, here’s a novel gift for you – behold my Ten-Thousand-Flowers Flowing Light Seven-Colored Sky Lantern!”

“Bang.” The slowly closing door seemed to suddenly be kicked from inside, immediately slamming shut heavily, shaking dust from the eaves.

But Tie Ci’s hands were empty.

“Oh my, I forgot – I didn’t actually bring it!”

Another bang came from inside the room, as if someone had smashed something.

Tie Ci laughed heartily and walked away.

Once she left Ronghe Palace, the smile disappeared from her face. She hurried along for a while, then at a turn, entered a bamboo grove behind the group of cold palaces.

She walked deep into the grove, confirming no one was around, before leaning against an old bamboo and coughing violently.

Her back burned with pain, and coughing made it worse. But Tie Ci coughed forcefully, the muffled sound echoing through the rustling grove. After a long while, not until she spat out a mouthful of stagnant blood did she finally breathe a long sigh of relief.

Master had said that if the disciplinary whip was too severe, the stagnant blood must be cleared out quickly, otherwise it would linger in the internal organs and eventually damage the foundation.

She felt behind her back with some difficulty to check. Her black clothes were already torn, and despite wearing several thick layers, they were soaked with fresh blood. Fortunately, the dark color concealed it. With the cloak covering everything, there were no visible traces.

Rustling sounds arose in the grove as a twisted black shadow slowly covered the ground.

Tie Ci looked at the shadow at her feet without raising her head, saying softly: “There should be one of those legendary figures beside the old lady.”

The shadow gave a low “mm” and asked: “Three Madmen? Five Emperors?”

“Can people from the martial world also call themselves emperors?” Tie Ci laughed. “They’re nothing but vengeful spirits.”

The shadow said: “Very powerful.”

“I tested him today and confirmed he fears light. Also, he might fear water too. In all my visits to the small Buddhist hall, I’ve never seen any water.”

“A master’s weaknesses won’t be left in legends.”

“But his life will eventually be left in my hands.” Tie Ci wiped the blood from her mouth. “Multiples of three times N, I’m keeping track. By the way, also check if any master was ever bitten by a dog.”

“…What does this have to do with dogs?”

“Dogs don’t want to be associated with him either.”

“…Were you beaten stupid? I think if you don’t leave soon, your life will end up in someone else’s hands first.”

Tie Ci looked up at the sky. The last bit of sunlight was being cut into dappled pieces by bamboo leaves, leaving only a brilliant golden edge along the leaf borders.

“Don’t worry, soon.”

The shadow faded. Tie Ci turned around and suddenly felt something was wrong.

Why was there still another shadow?

Long and sprawling across the dappled bamboo grove, motionless and twisted.

She turned around and followed the shadow’s trajectory, discovering that due to the angle, the person was actually quite far away. She turned around a decorative rock formation and was suddenly grabbed with a hand over her mouth.

A faint scent of epiphyllum flowers by her cheek.

The moment she was attacked, Tie Ci’s arm had already swung out horizontally – this was called Iron Chain Across the River. She put all her strength into it; if it hit the opponent’s sternum, it would collapse like a badly built tower.

Just as her skin was about to graze the sternum.

The opponent suddenly whispered in her ear: “If you hurt me, I’ll scream.”

Tie Ci’s arm couldn’t stop its momentum, so she suddenly bent her palm backward and embraced his waist instead.

So slender.

She asked softly: “And then?”

“If I scream, those two in the jar across will be startled.”

Behind the decorative rocks was a golden jar that originally grew water lilies. It was spring now, so it was empty inside, and with the chaotic rocks providing cover above, it was quite concealed.

Even this could serve as a place for romantic encounters. Tie Ci had to admit, you palace people really know how to have fun.

“And then?”

“Someone would get apoplexy.”

“That sounds good?”

“It is good. After all, if you don’t have a younger brother, that would certainly be good for you.”

Tie Ci stopped moving. After a while, deep in thought, she unconsciously squeezed the opponent’s waist.

The opponent’s body suddenly sprang back. Tie Ci realized that the person in front of her wasn’t Dan Shuang, Chi Xue, Little Bug, Gu Xiaoxiao, etc…

She awkwardly let go, preparing to apologize, but hadn’t decided on the wording – should it be domineering CEO style or green tea white lotus style?

Before she could decide, the earlier commotion seemed to have alerted that pair of wild mandarin ducks. There was rustling movement, but no one came out. Tie Ci waited a while, but the sounds actually stopped. She quietly went to look and discovered there was a hole on the other side of the golden jar – those two had crawled away through the hole.

Looking at the two crawling trails on the ground, Tie Ci was amazed by the professionalism of adulterers in the Great Qian palace.

Since the people had run away, naturally she couldn’t pursue them. Tie Ci thought about what that person had said earlier. So the woman was a palace consort, looking for someone to borrow seed from, to give her a cheap younger brother?

The harem had always harbored filth – this wasn’t anything unusual. Her father emperor’s harem had been childless for years, and offspring had become like a ray of light, making all the lonely women in the harem red-eyed with envy. Under such circumstances, taking desperate risks for offspring wasn’t strange.

But this was the harem under the Empress Dowager’s strict control. The harem’s security was the tightest in years. Could someone really be bold enough to successfully carry on affairs?

Also, her father was still young. If he wanted a child, why not work hard with her father instead of risking decapitation by having affairs?

Tie Ci crouched by the jar, staring at that hole like she was observing various oddities in human reproductive history.

When she turned around, she saw the mouth-covering brother from earlier adjusting his belt.

Tie Ci: “…”

No. Sir, your actions would make me mistakenly think that adulterous pair was you and me.

The moon rose, its radiance quietly shifting. Half of that person’s face gradually appeared in the moonlight. For an instant, the phrase “shattered jade arrayed like stars, bright mountain high snow” flashed through Tie Ci’s mind.

Like jade shattered in a magnificent hall, brilliant as arrayed stars; like on those bright high mountains where snow and moon meet in a crystal-clear frosty sky.

Tie Ci admired the beautiful sight for a while, then wondered if Rong Pu’s admirers knew that their ideal refined scholar and mountain beauty would hide in dark places to spy on people’s affairs, would their houses collapse?

But Rong Pu was someone who could perform any crude act without a trace of worldly contamination. He politely bowed to Tie Ci in the moonlight, his smile faint but perfectly curved: “Greetings, Your Highness.”

The two had naturally met before and were actually relatives – the kind of natural pair of male and female cousins.

But Tie Ci actually had no good feelings toward noble families, and Rong Pu had just entered government service. Given Tie Ci’s status, if she didn’t want to see him, they might not meet for years.

Seeing him now – truly handsome.

Tie Ci smiled, waved her hand, turned and leaped onto the golden jar, crossed her legs, and picked a flower from the rock crevices. The flower was called sweet lotus – its roots and stems were cool and slightly sweet, able to treat internal blood heat.

Tie Ci held the flower in her mouth, smiling as she looked down at Rong Pu: “I hear you rarely enter the palace, yet today you’re still here after nightfall. What, do you want to be my male empress so badly?”

Rong Pu looked up at her – in the moonlight, the young woman on the golden jar had a pair of long legs swaying in the air. Her delicate boot heels tapped against the jar, making clear sounds. Her face, washed by moonlight, was even more luminous, like an exquisite jade plate soaked in clear water.

The flower’s color was bright, but couldn’t match her red lips burning like fire.

He lowered his eyes and said softly: “I entered the palace to deliver the Third Spring gifts to my aunt, and happened to encounter Your Highness.”

The Rong family also had women selected into the imperial palace, ranked among the three consorts with the title Ning. The Third Spring gifts were for the festival set during spring’s third solar term in Great Qian.

After a pause, he added: “If I could receive Your Highness’s favor… what great fortune that would be for Rong Pu.”

Author’s Note: I suggest everyone still read this as an independent story – viewing people and stories without filters is more objective.