Although Yang Guang hated Yunyi to death, he ultimately couldn’t bear to part with Xiao Shi. After several rounds of gritting his teeth, he stared at Yunyi and said, “Take this illegitimate child back to Feixiang Palace. She’s not allowed to step out even once, and no one is permitted to see her. Otherwise, execute them without mercy!”

“I…” Xiao Shi had just said one word when Yang Guang interrupted her, “This is my greatest concession. Otherwise, even if you hate me, I will kill her!”

Xiao Shi had been by Yang Guang’s side for twenty years and knew his temperament well. Even she couldn’t make endless demands. She then said, “If I cannot see Yunyi, how will I know if she’s safe and well?”

Yang Guang sneered coldly, “What? Are you afraid I’ll secretly kill her?”

Xiao Shi didn’t answer, only stared silently at Yang Guang. The latter secretly gritted his teeth and conceded, “On the first and fifteenth of each month, you may go to Feixiang Palace to see her.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Xiao Shi bowed to Yang Guang and left Chengxiang Palace with Zheng Ying and the others. Watching their departing figures, Yang Guang’s face was gloomy. Hmph, although he couldn’t kill Yunyi, he wouldn’t let this matter rest.

After entering Feixiang Palace, Zheng Ying bowed and said, “Please return, Your Majesty.”

Xiao Shi said softly, “I wish to speak a few more words with Yunyi. Please grant this favor, Steward Zheng.”

Zheng Ying said with difficulty, “But His Majesty has ordered that this servant…” Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Shi had already bowed deeply to him, “I will remember Your Excellency’s kindness in my heart and will surely repay it in the future.”

Zheng Ying quickly stepped aside, “What are you doing, Your Majesty? Please rise quickly.” Seeing that Xiao Shi refused to get up, he sighed helplessly, “Then… alright, don’t speak for too long.”

“Thank you, Steward Zheng.” After Zheng Ying left, Xiao Shi grasped Yunyi’s hand and said, “You don’t need to worry too much. Although you’re confined here, you still have Mother Empress. Mother Empress will arrange for you to leave the palace as soon as possible. In the future, without Mother Empress by your side, you must take good care of yourself.”

Seeing that she didn’t intend to leave with her, Yunyi shook her head without thinking and said, “If Mother Empress doesn’t leave, your subject won’t leave either. Your subject wants to stay with Mother Empress for this entire lifetime.”

“Silly girl.” Xiao Shi caressed that face that was carved from the same mold as her own, saying tenderly, “Mother Empress also can’t bear to part with you, but after what happened, His Majesty will definitely strengthen security. In the future, Mother Empress fears it will be difficult to even leave Fengyi Palace, let alone leave the imperial palace.”

“Your subject said before, Mother Empress…” Before she could continue, Xiao Shi had already said, “Even if Mother Empress left the palace with you, how long could I accompany you? In the end, wouldn’t I still have to leave before you?”

Yunyi said stubbornly, “Your subject doesn’t care. In any case, if Mother Empress doesn’t leave, your subject won’t leave either!”

Xiao Shi stared at her and said, “Are you not even listening to Mother Empress’s words anymore?”

“It’s not that your subject won’t listen to Mother Empress’s words, but your subject cannot abandon Mother Empress and ignore her. If I truly did such a thing, your subject would live in self-reproach every day and every moment thereafter.”

Xiao Shi’s expression softened, and she said gently, “But for Mother Empress, what I most want to see is you safe and sound, without disaster or difficulty. Yunyi, please fulfill Mother Empress’s wish, won’t you?”

“No!” Yunyi shook her head desperately. To abandon Xiao Shi and flee alone was something she truly couldn’t do.

Xiao Shi’s face darkened, and she said sternly, “Must Mother Empress die in front of you before you’ll agree?”

Hearing these words, Yunyi’s expression became greatly panicked, and she hurriedly said, “No, your subject doesn’t mean that!”

“Then listen well to Mother Empress’s arrangements.” Seeing Yunyi bite her teeth without speaking, she added, “Even if Mother Empress doesn’t leave the palace with you, it doesn’t mean that we mother and daughter will never see each other again in the future. Mother Empress weathered such storms in the past, and I believe I will safely get through this time as well.” Speaking thus, Xiao Shi joked, “Even if the King of Hell truly wants to claim Mother Empress’s life, Mother Empress absolutely won’t step through the gates of hell. This should be acceptable, right?”

Seeing Xiao Shi’s firm resolve, Yunyi could only nod helplessly, “What Mother Empress says, you must not go back on your word.” After Xiao Shi agreed, she added, “Also, please have Mother Empress send someone to the palace gate to tell Ruhui to leave first and not wait any longer.”

“Mother Empress knows.” Having said this, Xiao Shi left reluctantly. After returning to Fengyi Palace, she discovered that everyone’s faces were sorrowful and deeply grieved. Several people even had red, swollen eyes, as if they had just been crying. She called one person over and said, “Has something happened?”

Her words made that palace servant burst into tears immediately, and several other palace servants also began to sob quietly, making Xiao Shi feel even more that something was wrong. She said again, “What exactly has happened?” Just as she finished speaking, she remembered something else and looked around, saying, “Where are Hong Li and Wu Fang?”

The palace servant from before barely stopped her tears and said, “Just before Your Majesty returned, His Majesty sent people to take away Hong Li and Wu Fang, saying they had committed great crimes and were to be… executed. We don’t know what wrong they committed to make His Majesty so angry.” Although Yang Guang was naturally violent and regarded human life as worthless as grass, because of Xiao Shi’s sake, the palace servants here had never seen Yang Guang’s vicious side. This time, suddenly saying he would execute the two people closest to Xiao Shi truly made them panic and afraid.

“What?!” Xiao Shi’s face changed in horror. She never imagined that Yang Guang would do such a thing and urgently asked, “Where were they taken?”

“This servant doesn’t know clearly.” Just as she finished speaking, a palace servant nearby said, “This servant heard it seemed to be the Eastern Transport Gate.”

Hearing this, Xiao Shi couldn’t be bothered to have someone prepare a sedan chair and hurried to the Eastern Transport Gate, fearing that being late would prevent her from saving Hong Li and the others. Several palace servants hurriedly followed behind.

Although Xiao Shi rushed as fast as possible, she still couldn’t prevent this tragedy. When she arrived, the ground was a sheet of deep red that hurt people’s eyes to look at, and the air was filled with a heavy smell of blood. Two palace servants were using water to wash the deep red from the ground.

Xiao Shi endured waves of dizziness and rushed over to grab one of the palace servants, saying, “Where are Wu Fang and Hong Li? Where are they? Speak! Where are they?!”

The palace servant was frightened by her ferocious appearance and didn’t know how to answer. It wasn’t until other palace servants came forward to urge him that he said quietly, “They have already been executed. Their bodies were just… dragged away.”

“Executed…” Xiao Shi repeated these two words in a murmur. When she was still the Princess of Jin, these two people had been by her side. It could be said that they were even closer than her several brothers from her natal family. Now, because of her, they had…

Yang Guang did this on purpose. He couldn’t kill Yunyi, so he took his anger out on Hong Li and the other. He… how could he do such a thing, how could he!

The palace servants saw Xiao Shi standing there swaying as if about to fall and quickly stepped forward to support her, advising, “What’s done is done. Your Majesty, please accept our condolences.”

Xiao Shi didn’t speak, only stared blankly at that pool of blood that remained piercingly red despite countless buckets of water being poured on it. Tears continuously flowed from her eyes. It was her, it was her who had harmed Hong Li and Wu Fang, it was her…

Yang Guang—today’s enmity, I will personally collect from you in the future!