Clang!

Using too much force, Wen Chang, who was leaning against the window, nearly knocked off the window frame.

“But Rong’er has already… hasn’t he already…”

Wen Chang truly couldn’t bear to say the word “died” aloud, but she remembered deeply how, back then, when the wind carried the dying embers and charred ash into Jin’Ou Palace, she had rushed desperately through the choking smoke and ash to the fire scene. When she arrived, the flames had already died down. Ignoring the eunuchs’ dissuasion, she ran to the front of the ruined hall where the bodies of the victims had been found one by one and laid out in long rows on the open ground. In the deathly silence, she wandered distractedly among the corpses that reeked of burnt flesh, her legs so weak she could barely take a step. Finally, the two bodies at the front covered with white cloth made her stop in extreme anguish.

Those two bodies, perhaps because they had been at the center of the fire, were almost unrecognizable beneath the cloth. Especially the one on the right – so small that one could barely tell there was something under the white cloth. She stared at that tiny bundle, her fingers trembling, not daring to lift the white cloth.

Could it be that this tiny bundle was Rong’er, who just a few days ago had been energetically gnawing his fist in her arms with soft gurgling sounds?

He was still just a one-year-old infant!

She ultimately couldn’t bring herself to lift that white cloth, yet the sensation under her trembling fingers told her that desperate fact.

Rong’er was dead.

He died in swaddling clothes and was posthumously granted the title Mingxuan – this was something known throughout the world.

Even Qin Chang Ge, who was most suspected of feigning death to escape, had personally confirmed her own demise. How could a tiny infant survive in that inferno?

Moreover, Qin Chang Ge herself had said that before dying, she had struck Rong’er with her palm.

Her teeth chattered. If she didn’t know so clearly that Qin Chang Ge was not one to speak nonsense, she would almost think that Qin Chang Ge, heartbroken over her beloved son’s death, had become somewhat confused.

Meeting her gaze, Qin Chang Ge smiled faintly and said calmly: “Back then, that palm strike before my death was a unique technique I created – the Sealed Acupoint Turtle Breathing Palm. Those struck by this palm have their acupoints redirected and breathing stopped, creating a state of suspended animation for half an hour that appears like death.”

Wen Chang gasped, thought for a moment, then said: “But…”

“They say to cut grass, one must remove the roots. If they wanted to kill me, they certainly wouldn’t spare Rong’er either. That palm strike was to preserve Rong’er’s life. Seeing Rong’er struck down and ‘dead,’ they probably thought I preferred to kill my beloved son myself rather than let others do it, so they wouldn’t strike again… When I threw Rong’er aside, it wasn’t random. In my palace, there were three death zones and two life zones. Of the two life zones, one was ‘Dividing Water’ and one was ‘Leaving Fire.’ Rong’er was thrown by my final desperate effort to the Leaving Fire zone, where a South Sea Spiritual Rhinoceros Pearl was positioned – fire could not approach, and it could ensure safety for three hours… I knew that after killing, those people would certainly destroy the evidence, because after burning by fire, no traces would remain. They would definitely strike successfully then leave immediately. As long as Rong’er waited in that Leaving Fire zone for my subordinates outside the palace to rescue him, his life could be preserved…”

Wen Chang stared blankly at Qin Chang Ge, feeling increasingly chilled the more she looked. A woman, gravely injured and dying, surrounded by assassins, yet in that brief moment had rapidly thought through so many considerations, contemplated so many possibilities, and arranged a meticulous escape route for her beloved son. Between life and death, she had even considered the enemies’ mindset, subsequent moves, and actions clearly and thoroughly. She truly lived up to her reputation from those years as one who “calculated without error and possessed heaven-sent intelligence.”

“If I’m not mistaken,” Qin Chang Ge clasped her hands behind her back, gazing at the dark night outside the window, “seeing the great fire in the palace, they should have rushed to rescue people no matter what. Three hours – I bought them three hours. If they still couldn’t rescue Rong’er, what was the use of my painstaking cultivation of them?”

“They might as well have slit their own throats and died before me.” With a gentle smile, Qin Chang Ge’s attitude was relaxed.

Wen Chang looked at her eyes, which were clearly brimming with joking laughter, yet for some reason she shivered.

“These are all matters of the past,” she made a slight movement, which Qin Chang Ge had already noticed but pretended not to see, smiling: “You needn’t rack your brains trying to get me to accompany you. I’m now just a small palace maid. Concubine Rou’s Cuiwei Palace isn’t close to Jin’Ou Palace either. If you specifically request an unknown little palace maid, it would instead expose our tracks… Just wait, I’ll come to you naturally.”

“I’m leaving,” looking at the sky, Qin Chang Ge smiled: “It wouldn’t be good to be discovered. Just proceed as we agreed, and don’t show any unease or abnormality.”

Nodding, Wen Chang said: “How did you get here? Be careful on your way back.”

“You’ve forgotten – after capturing the imperial city, the imperial palace was renovated,” Qin Chang Ge’s expression was half-smile, half-serious. “Empress Ruiyi, concerned for His Majesty’s safety, personally participated in setting up the palace roads and pathways.”

Her expression remained peaceful and her tone wasn’t harsh, yet Wen Chang couldn’t help feeling desolate and fearful, shivering once again.

Qin Chang Ge stepped toward the exit. Upon reaching the hall entrance, she slowly stopped.

Without turning around, she looked up at the deepest black line of the firmament and said softly: “Wen Chang.”

Wen Chang stood behind her and hummed in response.

“If… it was Xiao Jue who struck against me, would you regret helping me today?”