Song Chuyi had learned quite a few things from Shen Qingrang in the past. Thanks to the Shen Qingrang of her previous life not being as unsuccessful as in this life, and even being able to follow the right person to ultimately achieve glory and success, she was able to learn so many things. Otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to acquire this much knowledge.

Among all these things was also how to tell whether a death warrior had been properly trained or not.

A truly properly trained death warrior, one who would only fight desperately with their life on the line, would always have an unchanging gaze. They had almost lost their own thoughts. But if a death warrior’s gaze could still change and show emotion, it meant they weren’t yet fully trained.

If not yet fully trained, they were naturally much easier to deal with than those who were.

The one Song Chuyi had selected indeed appeared not to have been properly trained. When Ma San broke his ninth finger, there was finally some movement—just a slight groan.

This single sound was already quite remarkable. Song Chuyi wasn’t discouraged in the slightest. With a wave of her hand, Ma San efficiently began breaking this person’s legs, pulling the two legs apart like a broken puppet. One could even hear the strange cracking sounds of bones.

After tormenting him for another while, sweat on that death warrior’s forehead was already dripping drop by drop into his eyes. He finally made several muffled sounds that resembled suppressed crying.

Song Chuyi sat silently to the side watching, her heart wanting to sigh somewhat.

These death warriors generally didn’t come from easy circumstances. That scoundrel Shen Qingrang even had a special requirement—among those he captured to make into death warriors, some he would deliberately deafen and mute to prevent them from leaking secrets. He selected them all from poor family backgrounds, training them from childhood, bit by bit grinding down their personalities, then making them completely obedient.

Her gaze complex, she had Ma San stop and lowered her head to look at the death warrior’s eyes that could no longer open due to being drenched in cold sweat. In a soft voice she said, “I ask, you answer. Then I’ll release you. How about it?”

The death warrior didn’t speak. Song Chuyi continued, “If you still have family, you can go seek them. If not, I’ll give you a sum of silver, and you can very well go marry a wife and have children.”

This was not an absolute death warrior, because some conditions were negotiable.

After a moment, that person finally nodded. Ma San pulled the cloth from his mouth, his gaze fixed tightly on him without relaxing, afraid that if he wasn’t careful the man would bite his tongue.

But clearly this person didn’t particularly want to bite his own tongue. He exhaled a few breaths, feeling the burning sensation in his throat finally ease somewhat. In a hoarse voice, enduring the itching and pain in his throat, he immediately spoke, “If I confess, your word must count.”

Song Chuyi nodded and asked who had instructed him to come. The person hesitated for an instant, looked at her then at Ma San, bit his teeth and still lowered his head. Enduring his increasingly racing heartbeat, he said barely audibly, “…From Her Majesty the Empress’s palace…”

Then he raised his head to look at Song Chuyi. “She said that once we captured the people, she would also have accomplished her purpose and could escape in the chaos.”

Song Chuyi’s heart leaped in alarm. She pressed on asking, “What purpose? How escape in the chaos?”

The death warrior had been thrown in the snow to freeze for a long time and was now shivering. Curled up on the ground, he closed his eyes. “If Her Majesty the Empress were to die… naturally she could escape in the chaos. In any case, the two young highnesses would be in hand…”

The atmosphere in Qingning Hall was as always somewhat excessively quiet. Ever since Empress Lu’s incident, it had been this quiet here. Crown Princess Lu turned over and rose from the bed to see it was already blindingly bright outside. After rising to wash and dress and having breakfast, she heard that Nanny Xu had come. Meeting her and hearing that Song Chuyi was feeling unwell, she nodded and specially instructed her to have an imperial physician examine her.

Empress Lu’s condition still showed little improvement. Her lips were already dry and peeling. Winter weather was always rather dry. Empress Lu now even had difficulty swallowing. Even though someone constantly used fine gauze to carefully moisten her lips, it inevitably developed a layer of white peeling skin.

After Crown Princess Lu finished wiping Empress Lu’s face, Director Xie took the cloth and couldn’t help sighing. “When you were at home before, you and Her Majesty were as close as mother and daughter. From childhood you even slept on the same heated bed platform together, but later you actually grew distant…”

Crown Princess Lu lowered her head and smiled. “Yes, after becoming mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, we were actually not as close as when we were aunt and niece.”

Director Xie reached out to help support her. “The matters of the past are already over. You needn’t dwell on them. Take things easier—as the saying goes, one brush cannot write two Lu characters. You and Her Majesty the Empress are blood aunt and niece. How could there be grudges that last overnight?”

Crown Princess Lu followed along, standing up to sit on the imperial concubine’s couch by the window, picking up her tea for a sip. “I know all this. I just wonder how the two young highnesses are faring…”

A palace maid happened to bring in medicine. Crown Princess Lu was about to stand, but Director Xie had already quickly made her sit down. “Let me do it. You’ve had no energy since early this morning. In this bitter cold weather, those with weaker constitutions easily fall ill. Didn’t the Grand Princess Consort fall sick? Your Highness serves Her Majesty the Empress day after day—it’s exhausting. You should rest more. These past few days you’ve been guarding Her Majesty the Empress without leaving her side. Even an iron person couldn’t withstand it… Let me do it.”

Crown Princess Lu, being pressed down, went along with it and didn’t move. She nodded, watching her pick up the bowl, watching her take the small spoon to sip and test the medicine, then prepare to feed it to Empress Lu. Her gaze gradually grew more profound.

It was in this very instant that an announcement suddenly sounded from outside. Director Xie’s hand movements didn’t stop as she steadily and accurately moved to send the medicine from the spoon into Empress Lu’s mouth.

But Empress Lu, whose eyes had previously been tightly shut, suddenly opened them.

For someone who had barely opened her eyes for nearly half a month to suddenly open them, and with such a stern gaze staring fixedly at people—Director Xie’s hand trembled somewhat. For a moment she failed to grip the spoon in her hand. With a clatter it fell to the ground. Her face showed unstoppable panic, and her voice even trembled. “Your Majesty… Your Majesty has awakened!”

Empress Lu stared at her fixedly. Though her complexion was pale and haggard, her gaze was startlingly bright. “Yes. If I didn’t wake up, I’m afraid I would never wake again.”

These words were laden with meaning. Director Xie listened with her heart leaping in alarm, involuntarily jumping up and retreating several steps.

Crown Princess Lu rushed forward to stand before Empress Lu’s bed, also looking toward Director Xie with a complex gaze. “I truly never expected it would be you…”

Director Xie’s face was deathly pale. Her heartbeat accelerated in waves, so fast it almost seemed about to leap from her chest.