Qin Chang Ge smiled faintly, her gaze fixed on the flickering candleflame that cast a layer of pale black shadows on the ground, grotesque and bizarre in their various forms, resembling ghosts and demons.

She straightened up and began to pace slowly, step by step, gently treading upon those menacing shadows.

“Death is death. Whether it’s tragic or not makes no difference.”

“But Wen Chang, tell me, wasn’t my manner of death rather strange?”

Qin Chang Ge turned around with a smile, though her eyes held no mirth, speaking gently: “No one could freely enter my bedchamber, for it was filled with mechanisms everywhere. That day when Xiao Rong fell asleep, I feared disturbing him, so I left him to sleep alone with two palace maids guarding the entrance to the bedchamber. I was only away for half an hour. Within that half hour, who could have infiltrated my bedchamber, bypassed my countless mechanisms, then set up such an intricate spring device to deliver a fatal blow?”

“After being struck, I immediately retreated, remembering that there were designed flying blades in the drawer compartment beside the dressing table. Who would have known that the flying blade would shoot out from the center of the dressing table instead, making it seem as if I had thrown myself onto it? Who was it that, in that brief time, arranged everything and could calmly alter my mechanisms?”

“They calculated the moment when I would be least guarded, calculated the angles of the mechanisms, even calculated my martial arts reflexes – under what circumstances I could perform to what degree, in what posture and direction I would collide with the dressing table. It sounds simple to say, but would be as difficult as ascending to heaven to execute.”

“What kind of person could accomplish all this?”

“Finally, that gouging out of my eyes was even stranger. I was already certain to die – why such unnecessary effort? Was he trying to conceal something, or afraid I might discover something?”

“Wen Chang,” Qin Chang Ge gazed deeply at Wen Chang, who had long lost the ability to speak, saying word by word: “Ruiyi’s death in my previous life was definitely not a simple revenge killing. There must have been certain conspiracies and hidden causes involved. And killing me was definitely not something any random person could accomplish alone. Although I only sensed seeing one person that day, I dare swear that no one capable of accomplishing this feat, of killing me in such a brief instant, has yet been born in this world. Such ruthlessly efficient, step-by-step calculated powerful killing formation must have been the result of multiple people working together.”

Wen Chang smiled miserably and said: “Yes, who in the entire palace doesn’t know your capabilities? Everyone wondered, who could possibly kill you? That’s why no one believed you were really dead. Rumors flew wildly in private, and His Majesty also… Chang Ge, since you’ve returned, what do you plan to do?”

Lazily leaning back against the brocade couch, Qin Chang Ge’s expression was half-smile, half-serious.

“What else can I do? Seek revenge, of course. Since I’ve returned, how can I let them continue sleeping peacefully?”

Wen Chang said solemnly: “Then, Chang Ge, what do you need me to do?”

Qin Chang Ge glanced at her and suddenly said: “You’ve been widowed for many years, living in the palace is actually improper.”

With a bitter laugh, Wen Chang said, “I naturally understand this principle, but unfortunately His Majesty refuses to let me leave the palace.”

“There’s no need to leave the palace,” Qin Chang Ge stood up. “Your Jin’Ou Palace’s location at the center of the palace city is very inconvenient. I remember there’s an imperial nunnery in the Shanglin Retreat, originally where the previous dynasty’s old dowager consort resided when she became a nun to pray for blessings. After the old dowager consort passed away, it has remained empty. Would you be willing to go there?”

Wen Chang nodded: “That would be best, but what if His Majesty refuses to agree?”

“Why ask him?” Qin Chang Ge smiled. “Isn’t the Empress Dowager the one who manages all palace affairs? The Grand Princess becoming a nun to pray for the nation, devoting herself to Buddha to pray for our country’s prosperity – this is a glorious and prestigious matter. The Empress Dowager has long wished for you to leave her sight and would certainly grant permission. Such matters are proper and righteous; no matter how unwilling Xiao Jue might be, he cannot prevent it.”

Gently patting Wen Chang’s hand, Qin Chang Ge sighed: “I’m sorry to trouble you. You know that women from Yunzhou backgrounds can never rise to prominence in the palace. I’m in Cuiwei Palace and cannot act freely. I need a reasonable excuse to enter and exit the palace restrictions to facilitate my actions. Shanglin Nunnery is close to the palace yet located outside without supervision, and has the right to enter and exit the palace. In a few days, I’ll find a way to accompany you as one of your attendant maids to Shanglin Nunnery together… I remember you once had this thought years ago, but I stopped you, originally planning to find you another good match, who would have known… In any case, fate is unpredictable. In the future, if we succeed, I will ultimately make proper arrangements for you.”

“I no longer think about those matters of love and marriage, I only wish to live peacefully,” Wen Chang showed a trace of bitter smile. After thinking, she tentatively asked, “You want to leave the palace – is it to reconnect with the martial arts forces you secretly established while hiding it from His Majesty?”

Slowly turning around, Qin Chang Ge’s eyes held a trace of amusement as she gazed at Wen Chang through the candleflame: “Wen Chang, I remember that although we understood each other back then, I never told you about my forces outside the palace.”

Wen Chang lowered her head. She had always respected and admired Qin Chang Ge, never daring to meet her gaze directly. Even though Qin Chang Ge’s gaze was never fierce and was always gentle and casual, she still felt an inexplicable fear, especially when Qin Chang Ge showed this kind of smile that appeared intimate but was actually distant.

Seeing this kind of smile was like looking at an ancient deity, from the clouds, gently yet penetratingly gazing down coldly.

There was a kind of enlightened, tremendous shock.

With lowered head, she said with difficulty: “…It was His Majesty. Once when he was drunk, he mentioned it to me, saying you had hidden many things from him, saying you had your own forces outside the palace. He suspected it was the world’s greatest gang, the Blazing Flame Gang, and specifically summoned the Blazing Flame Gang leader Su Xuan… but couldn’t get anything out of him…”

Her voice grew lower and lower. As a bystander to the events of those years, she vaguely knew about the discord between the Emperor and Empress back then, and even felt that behind Ruiyi’s death, there was faintly the Emperor’s shadow. If not for him, who else had such power to kill the renowned founding Empress in the palace as quietly as cutting grass? However, this thought was too terrifying, making her break into cold sweat every time she thought of it, only daring to bury this horrifying idea deep in her heart. Now, mentioning Xiao Jue in front of Qin Chang Ge, she actually felt infinitely guilty.

Qin Chang Ge had long seen clearly the dark void in her heart and smiled: “Wen Chang, the matter has no conclusion yet, you needn’t be nervous… Back then, I did indeed arrange an escape route for myself for certain reasons, I just didn’t have time to use it. That was merely a method of self-preservation, unrelated to concealment… But there’s no need to explain anymore… I want to leave the palace, and my immediate goal is only one.”

She gazed far toward the towering, continuous palace roof ridges beyond, looking into the deep, dense night where one couldn’t distinguish five fingers, as if just by gazing thus, she could penetrate those heavy obstacles and layered palace walls, see the truth she wanted to explore, see the person she wanted to meet.

“I want to find my son, Xiao Rong.”