Ziqing dragged Physician Gu into the hidden chamber. The moment he saw Bai Mengmeng’s face, battered and covered in wounds, utterly wretched, he was struck with terror, instinctively trying to pull away — but before he could move, Ziqing had already flung him viciously to the ground beside Bai Mengmeng!

“What exactly do you want!”

Physician Gu shouted furiously, instinctively distancing himself from Bai Mengmeng, who wouldn’t stop crying, fearing the woman had gone mad and might do something drastic!

Ziqing had thoroughly enjoyed dishing out that beating — it had felt wonderful, utterly satisfying!

She rolled up her sleeves, about to speak, when Physician Gu and Bai Mengmeng both instinctively recoiled, as if terrified she’d strike again!

“I don’t want anything. Relax.” Ziqing smiled, clearly in good spirits.

At this, Bai Mengmeng suddenly lifted her head, her voice thick with sobs, shouting furiously, “Han Ziqing, spare me the nonsense — if you have the guts, just kill me with one clean stroke!”

She would rather be killed outright than endure this torment any longer. Especially now that she knew Jun Beiyue was right outside — she no longer wanted to keep living at all!

Han Ziqing didn’t even need to speak or lift a finger — her mere presence alone was torture enough!

Seeing that Bai Mengmeng hadn’t completely lost her mind, Physician Gu breathed a small sigh of relief. “Han Ziqing, what exactly do you mean by bringing me here? Passing judgment on this old man isn’t your place!”

Ziqing ignored Bai Mengmeng entirely, smiling as she looked at Physician Gu. “Quite a stubborn tongue for a man your age.”

“What do you want!” Physician Gu demanded again, his fury clearly a mask for the fear underneath.

“How many times do I have to say it before you understand?” Ziqing said as she advanced closer. “I truly don’t want anything.”

Physician Gu instinctively retreated, backing all the way into the corner, not daring to say another word. The moment his back hit the wall with a “thud,” his terror finally broke through, and he roared, “Han Ziqing, what exactly are you—”

Before he could finish, Ziqing’s hand shot out in a vicious slap, brutal enough to make anyone shudder, striking Physician Gu’s face and knocking it crooked!

A trickle of blood immediately began seeping from the corner of Physician Gu’s mouth. But what truly made him want to spit blood was that Ziqing, wearing an expression of pure innocence, said earnestly, “I really don’t want anything.”

Physician Gu’s entire cheek instantly turned bright red, burning as though scorched by fire. He couldn’t even turn his face, his mouth twisted crooked, unable to speak. He could only glare sideways at Ziqing, seething with hatred yet utterly helpless.

The deeper the hatred in Physician Gu’s eyes, the more relaxed Ziqing became. She had long since stopped caring about his glare, smiling as she said, “Physician Gu, I will never leave Jun Beiyue. We already have a child together — he’s very healthy, very adorable, a boy. Not only is he immune to all poisons, but his blood is human-gu blood. He will carry on our bloodline, mine and Beiyue’s.”

Ziqing paused, and seeing Physician Gu’s eyes bulging nearly to the point of bursting, she smiled with even greater satisfaction as she continued, “Physician Gu, don’t worry about a thing. Just settle in and enjoy your remaining years here in peace.”

“Wh…what!” Physician Gu forced out through the pain, his voice urgent.

But Ziqing paid him no further attention, turning to walk away, instructing the shadow guards as she went, “Someone, seal this door shut. Meals only — no one is ever permitted to enter.”

“Han Ziqing, how dare you!” Bai Mengmeng blurted out, immediately rushing forward — but she was nowhere near fast enough. Before she even reached the door, the hidden chamber’s entrance slammed shut with a heavy thud, leaving only a small window through which the outside could be seen.

Bai Mengmeng threw herself against the door, unable to pry it open no matter how hard she tried. She rushed to the small window instead, screaming in fury and terror, “Han Ziqing, if you have the guts, kill me right now! What is the meaning of this! What do you want! Han Ziqing, come back! Come back!”

Ziqing stopped and actually turned to look back. The moment Bai Mengmeng saw her turn, she practically shoved her entire head through the small window, like a dog trying to squeeze through a hole to bite someone. “Han Ziqing, kill me! If you have the guts, kill me! What’s the point of locking me up like this!”

Ziqing deliberately walked a few steps closer, no longer smiling, her expression turning genuinely serious. “It means nothing in particular. I simply want you to live forever — to watch me be happy, to watch me one day ascend to the throne as empress, becoming the true mistress of this palace, bringing glory to Longyuan.”

Bai Mengmeng had never expected her to say such a thing. Fury flooded through every pore of her body, leaving her so overwhelmed she couldn’t even speak.

“Bai Mengmeng, I won’t kill you. I only kill my true enemies. You… this consort truly looks down on you. If you really want to die, you’ll have to figure that out on your own.”

With that, Ziqing gave a cold smile and turned to leave, never looking back again!

Behind her, Bai Mengmeng stood frozen, her eyes hollow and vacant, finally truly understanding the cruelest form of revenge Han Ziqing could deliver.

She had always, always thought of Han Ziqing as her rival, her lifelong love enemy. But today, Han Ziqing hadn’t even bothered to kill her — and today, she found herself reduced to having to kill herself.

If she killed herself, that would be a complete and total admission of defeat!

If she lived on in disgrace, the suffering would be even greater — trapped forever in this hidden chamber with Physician Gu, watching day after day as Han Ziqing thrived out there in the world.

She didn’t want either option!

Neither choice was acceptable to her!

“Bang, bang, bang!” Bai Mengmeng pounded desperately on the iron window, unable to break it, then rushed to the door, pounding on it like a madwoman — but she couldn’t break through that either.

“Ahh… let me out! Let me out!”

“Han Ziqing, let me out, I refuse to accept this, I will never accept this, let me out!”

…

No one knew how long she screamed, or how much longer she would go on screaming. In any case, aside from the shadow guards standing watch, no one else could hear a thing!

By then, Ziqing had already walked far away.

Jun Beiyue didn’t even spare the hidden chamber a single glance. He caught up with Ziqing, taking her hand, his usually cold, handsome face breaking into a mischievous smile. “Well, woman, feeling better now?”

“Much better!” Ziqing truly meant it. It felt so satisfying, so wonderfully satisfying — the beating had been satisfying, the scolding had been satisfying, locking her up had been satisfying. She let out a long breath, her smile blooming like a flower. “That troublesome mess is finally dealt with!”

Indeed — rivals, Prince Baxian, Physician Gu — all of them, swept away entirely!

And with Prince Baxian sent off to guard the mausoleum, no one left in the imperial court would dare say a single bad word about Ziqing again. Besides, after everything that had happened, Ziqing had come to understand something important — bloodlines and pedigree didn’t matter at all. What mattered was that the man beside her was willing to face everything together with her. That alone was enough.

From now on, if anyone else dared object to her, dared to criticize her origins, her bloodline — whoever spoke up, she would deal with them, without mercy.

Now, she and Beiyue had Xiong Bao. She certainly wasn’t going to allow anyone to look down on him.

Seeing Ziqing so happy, Jun Beiyue felt the deepest satisfaction of all. He smiled. “You said earlier… that you wanted to be empress.”

Ziqing froze mid-step without meaning to, glancing at Jun Beiyue but offering no answer. He merely smiled, gently caressing her cheek, his handsome face drawing close, his high nose nearly brushing hers, his voice soft and tender. “Silly girl, what’s there to…”

But before he could finish, Baili Weisheng suddenly burst in from the side, interrupting him. “Oh dear! Seems I’ve come at a rather inconvenient time!”

He knew exactly what he was doing, deliberately playing dumb!

Ziqing’s cheeks flushed slightly. She shot him a cold glare. “What do you want?”