Water splashed as Yu Fuwei sank into the Blood Pool Hell. The scalding waters felt like being roasted alive, a pain so unbearable that he immediately lost consciousness. The monsters at the bottom of the pool swiftly swam forward, opening their fanged mouths, intent on devouring Yu Fuwei whole.

For ten thousand years, the Blood Pool Hell had never contained a living person. The flesh and blood of the living held a special attraction for the monsters. A po’er beast sank its fangs into Yu Fuwei’s calf, and the spreading blood excited all the monsters in the pool. Just as Yu Fuwei was about to be torn to pieces, Li Ying, without a second thought, clutched the Buddha’s relic and struggled to crawl forward, falling straight into the blood pool.

She was going to save Yu Fuwei.

In truth, she could have simply left Yu Fuwei behind and used the Buddha’s relic to leave the Blood Basin Realm of Suffering, exiting the path of life and death to return to the mortal world. This way, she could have gone to save her beloved, whose life hung by a thread, who might be suffering untold torments. If she delayed, she might never see him again.

Yet she didn’t hesitate for a moment, nor did she consider her own life. She used all her strength to crawl off the wooden bridge and fall into the blood pool to save someone who had intended to send her to the City of Wrongful Deaths.

This was Li Ying.

The moment Li Ying fell into the blood pool, like Yu Fuwei, the scalding waters instantly enveloped her entire body, causing bone-deep pain. At the same time, the Buddha’s relic burst forth with dazzling white light. The light, like a sharp blade, struck the monsters that were tearing at Yu Fuwei. The monsters howled and struggled, each turning away and splashing frantically to escape.

The evil souls being punished in the blood pool were also intimidated by the Buddha’s light. Some souls, hoping for salvation from the relic, reached out with skeletal hands to touch the light, only to have their hands smoke from the scorching heat. After that, no one dared approach the Buddha’s relic, nor did anyone dare come near Li Ying and Yu Fuwei in the pool.

Yu Fuwei had already lost consciousness. Li Ying, scalded by the boiling pool water, was wounded on top of her existing injuries. Her mind grew foggy, sinking into unconsciousness. Before completely blacking out, she used her last bit of strength to grab Yu Fuwei’s arm and place the Buddha’s relic from her palm into his hand. Then her consciousness began to blur, and she slowly closed her eyes.

In the blood pool, sacred Buddhist light radiated from Yu Fuwei’s hand in all directions, like branches growing from the bottom of the blood pool. These branches eventually transformed into a huge Buddhist lotus platform, lifting Li Ying and Yu Fuwei out of the blood pool, protecting them from the scalding pain.

The soul-catching envoy on the wooden bridge watched this scene in shock. Looking around, he knew this disturbance would soon attract ghost officials. When that happened, neither Yu Fuwei nor Li Ying would escape.

Stamping his foot, he gritted his teeth and fled without looking back. In the Blood Pool Hell, only the immaculate white Buddhist lotus platform remained, surrounded by evil souls and monsters that dared not approach.

Without question, the ghost officials of the Blood Basin Realm of Suffering would soon arrive, following the commotion, to capture and interrogate Li Ying and Yu Fuwei. But at that moment, a flat-bottomed boat sailed from the Nai River into the adjacent Blood Pool Hell.

The ferryman wearing a bamboo hat steered the boat to the Buddhist lotus platform. He put down his bamboo pole, bent down, and gently stroked Li Ying’s hair. Looking at her pale face in unconsciousness, he sighed softly, then shifted his gaze to the equally unconscious Yu Fuwei. With a complex expression, he shook his head and murmured: “I hope you don’t fail her this time.”

He straightened up, and a green ghost fire rose from his hand. The ghost fire transformed into a green light that pushed the Buddhist lotus platform, gently floating away from the blood pool.

In Hanqing Palace, the Longxing Emperor sat desolately on a low couch, carefully stroking a set of a woman’s armor. Though he was Emperor, he had a domineering mother who loved power so much that even as he grew into adulthood, she refused to let go.

Since childhood, he had known that in imperial families, there was no true kinship to speak of. So he lived every moment in fear of being deposed, even though his mother had never shown such intention. He was still afraid.

Under this fear, he despised all the consorts his mother had chosen for him. Though they were beautiful, gentle, cultured, and flawless in every way, he still despised them. There was no other reason—only because his mother had chosen them.

Later, Consort Hui arrived. This woman from the grasslands was entirely different from the palace consorts. Her right face had been burned, and to cover the scar, she had tattooed a vibrant lotus flower on her face. She was selfish and cruel, barely literate, and unlike other consorts who catered to his every whim, she never tried to please him. By all measures, she was not a woman who met the standards for a consort.

Yet he had fallen for her anyway.

He showered Consort Hui with endless affection. Even knowing she had another man in her heart, he still loved her. Despite her being a barbarian woman, he gave her a sword and let her wear armor to attend at his side. When sleeping, as long as she stood guard beside him with her sword drawn, he felt especially secure.

But this woman who gave him peace of mind was gone.

He vaguely remembered asking her the day he expelled her from the palace: “Have I not treated you well? Why do you still think of him?”

She had hesitated before replying: “Your Majesty has been very good to Wuduo, but Wuduo does not cherish things that come too easily.”

She was just like that—obsessive, vicious, outrageous, unscrupulous. All the qualities that shouldn’t appear in a woman appeared in her. It didn’t matter; he was the same. All the qualities that shouldn’t appear in an emperor appeared in him.

The Empress Dowager had once wondered what he liked about Consort Hui. This was the answer.

The Longxing Emperor stroked Consort Hui’s armor, and two tears finally slid down his handsome face. This man, whom the people described as godlike, now had eyes filled with bitter resentment. He asked the eunuch: “Has the Empress Dowager dealt with Cui Xun yet?”

The eunuch answered nervously: “Not yet.”

“Prepare the carriage. We’re going to Penglai Palace.”

The eunuch hesitated, advising: “Your Majesty’s position is delicate now. Why go to Penglai Palace? After what Cui Xun has done, no matter how much the Empress Dowager favors him, she surely won’t spare him. Your Majesty needs only wait for good news.”

The Longxing Emperor sneered: “What do you know?”

He asked the eunuch: “How many sons does the Empress Dowager have?”

“Just… just Your Majesty.”

“How many grandsons does she have?”

“None… yet.”

The Longxing Emperor said each word distinctly: “Therefore, between Cui Xun and me, both publicly and privately, she will choose me.”

As for why the Longxing Emperor still had no children, only he knew the reason.

Before he fully secured power, he would not allow himself to have a son.

Mother and son, calculating to this extent—the officials always thought he was too benevolent, unlike the cunning son of Emperor Taichang. Little did they know, he resembled his father more than any of his brothers.

In Penglai Palace, the Longxing Emperor knelt before the Empress Dowager. She seemed to have aged considerably overnight. She lay on her side on the couch, eyes closed, unwilling to look at him. After a long while, she slowly asked: “Is what Cui Xun accused you of true?”

The Longxing Emperor answered firmly: “No.”

The Empress Dowager slowly opened her eyes and stared at him, but there wasn’t the slightest shame on the Longxing Emperor’s face. After a moment, the Empress Dowager finally sighed deeply, her tone full of desolation: “Very well. If you say it isn’t true, Mother believes you.”

Just as the officials deceived themselves for the sake of loyalty to the sovereign, she deceived herself for the sake of maternal love.

The Longxing Emperor showed no sign of joy. He simply said each word clearly: “Mother, between me and Cui Xun, only one can live. You must choose.”

Yet, the Empress Dowager still hesitated. Even though Cui Xun had struck the grievance drum and accused her and the Longxing Emperor—a crime worthy of death a thousand times over—the Empress Dowager was still hesitating. The Longxing Emperor lowered his head, secretly clenching his fist, his nails digging into his palm, causing piercing pain.

But no matter how angry he was, his face revealed nothing. He didn’t say another word, just silently waited for the Empress Dowager to make her choice.

Not until the white sandalwood in the phoenix-shaped incense burner had burned out did the Empress Dowager speak. Clutching her grape and bird-patterned openwork gold incense pouch, she turned away, her back to the Longxing Emperor, speaking as if in a dream, seemingly to no one: “Mother cannot protect Cui Xun anymore…”

The Longxing Emperor looked up. After another silence, the Empress Dowager finally closed her eyes and whispered, “May the Buddha protect him. As for how to deal with Cui Xun, it’s all up to you.”

With the Empress Dowager no longer protecting Cui Xun, the Longxing Emperor ordered a joint investigation by the Censorate, the Dali Temple, and the Ministry of Justice, determined to make Cui Xun admit he was slandering his sovereign with intent to overthrow the Great Zhou.

Lu Huai was sent home to await punishment. The Longxing Emperor specifically chose a loyal but rigid censor to lead the investigation. This censor had spent his whole life reading about the proper relationship between sovereign and subject, his mind filled only with the principle that “The relationship between sovereign and subject exists even before sovereign and subject exist.” He asked the Longxing Emperor whether torture could be used if Cui Xun refused to confess. The Longxing Emperor nodded. Before his eyes floated the vivid lotus flower on Consort Hui’s face. In his jealousy and hatred, his nails dug deeply into his palm again. He sneered: “Cui Xun is nothing but a lowly creature who serves with his looks and bewitches his masters. Is he worthy of men’s torture instruments? Use women’s torture instruments on him. Tell him these words of mine, exactly as I’ve spoken them!”

Following the Emperor’s orders, under the joint investigation, Cui Xun insisted he was not guilty of slander. The three departments ordered torture, using only women’s instruments to humiliate him. First came the needle torture, with iron needles inserted under his fingernails, then finger presses, with bamboo clamps on his fingers. With the heart connected to all ten fingers, within three days, Cui Xun had fainted eight times from the pain. After being revived with cold water, the torture continued. Under this forced confession, all ten fingers were broken, a bloody, mangled mess too horrible to look at.

Yet despite such humiliation and severe torture, Cui Xun still refused to admit to the crime of slander. He repeated only one phrase: “A sovereign who sells out his country is worse than dogs and pigs, worse than beasts!”

When Li Ying awoke, she was in a field of red spider lilies. She struggled to open her eyes, her body still weak and powerless. Beside her lay the still unconscious Yu Fuwei. Li Ying crawled closer to Yu Fuwei and shook him: “Yu Fuwei? Yu Fuwei?”

Yu Fuwei finally awakened slowly. He held the Buddha’s relic in his palm, and the wounds inflicted by the monsters had healed. By all rights, his body should have recovered, but in his eyes was a disturbing confusion. He stared at Li Ying.

“What… did you call me?”

Li Ying’s scalp tingled: “Yu Fuwei, what’s wrong with you?”

Yu Fuwei didn’t respond. He seemed to be remembering something, his expression painful and struggling. Li Ying didn’t understand. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly saw a group of green-clothed ghost officials carrying chains approaching. She quickly lay flat among the red spider lilies, not daring to move. Thinking of how Yu Fuwei had intended to send her to the City of Wrongful Deaths, she pleaded softly: “Yu Fuwei, the ghost officials from the City of Wrongful Deaths have come to capture me, but I can’t go there. I must save Cui Xun… I beg you, don’t make a sound. I’ll promise you anything…”

Yu Fuwei’s eyes moved slightly. He looked at the green-clothed ghost officials and murmured: “Ghost officials… from the City of Wrongful Deaths?”

Li Ying’s heart raced, but suddenly Yu Fuwei fell silent. He simply lay motionless with Li Ying among the red spider lilies. The green-clothed ghost officials stopped, looked around at the vast field of flowers, and seeing nothing, continued their search elsewhere with their chains.

Li Ying finally breathed a sigh of relief. She propped herself up, about to thank Yu Fuwei, when she suddenly saw a vicious expression in his eyes that she had never seen before. She shrank back: “Yu Fuwei… what… what’s wrong with you?”

Yu Fuwei glared at her with hatred. A moment later, he suddenly pounced on her, gripping her throat with such force that she could barely breathe: “I am Yu Fuwei, but I am also Zheng Yun!”