Chapter 20
Branches had torn her skirt, and the soles of her shoes were caked with mud.
She ran all this way, panting, and finally found the cave An Shi had mentioned.
She didn’t know what kind of cave it was. It was so small that anyone passing by could see the entire interior, but fortunately, it had an inconspicuous corner that could probably fit two people.
Sheng Yanhuan hugged her knees and curled up in the corner, gathering her skirt around herself so no one outside could see her.
The weather was bitterly cold now, and if it snowed on the mountain later, she might freeze to death here.
[Host, Qi Mohan is looking for you. The system will give him a hint.]
Sheng Yanhuan let out a breath of relief. She closed her eyes to rest for a while, then slowly recovered, her mind much clearer.
[If I’m not mistaken, it’s Meng Siyu, right?]
[Yes, Host. According to the system’s investigation, Meng Siyu is the most likely culprit.]
A cold smile curled Sheng Yanhuan’s lips.
Meng Siyu.
[System, put Bad Luck Talismans on her. Every day! Make sure she has the worst luck imaginable!]
Death? That would be too good for her.
“Thud, thud, thud—”
A dense patter of footsteps sounded.
“Split up and search. She’s a woman, so she can’t have gone far.”
“Yes!”
All the color drained from Sheng Yanhuan’s face.
The footsteps were right outside. The moment they entered the cave, they would see her.
“I heard the Empress is as beautiful as a flower. If we catch her, then we could...”
“Of course. We can have some fun with her before killing her. The Noble Consort hates her to the bone and would love her corpse to look as awful as possible.”
“Isn’t the Empress pregnant?”
“So what? We can still have our fun...”
“Heh heh heh—”
Sheng Yanhuan’s entire body stiffened. She didn’t dare move.
It was a lie to say she wasn’t afraid. Having been given another life, she naturally cherished it more than ordinary people.
She had accounted for everything, but never imagined Meng Siyu would be so brazen!
Stirring up trouble in the harem was bad enough, but she actually dared to arrange an assassination openly outside the palace!
The Meng family controlled the court and acted with reckless impunity.
“Hey, there’s a cave here.”
“Go in and have a look.”
Sheng Yanhuan furrowed her brows, a trace of sharpness showing through.
She quietly pulled the dagger strapped to her lower leg and gripped it in her palm.
[Host, don’t worry. If they dare touch you, the system will help poison them to death!]
Sheng Yanhuan: [Can’t you just take care of them directly?]
[Host, we’re a Childbearing System. We can help with palace intrigue, but we can’t fight...]
Sheng Yanhuan: ...
The torchlight drew near, casting several tall shadows on the wall.
The footsteps came closer and closer.
“Someone’s here!”
The former Empress was curled up in the corner, her skirt speckled with mud, her hair disheveled and her gold hairpins crooked. Yet even that couldn’t conceal her breathtaking beauty.
In the hazy moonlight and torchglow, her features were exquisite, her eyes like a river of stars. A faint radiance seemed to emanate from her, making her dazzlingly beautiful, like something beyond the mortal realm.
“It’s the Empress!”
“We found her!”
A cold smile suddenly appeared on Sheng Yanhuan’s lips. She tightened her grip on the dagger and stood up.
“Whoever dares come closer, I’ll take them down with me.”
The black-clad leader wasn’t worried at all. His small eyes narrowed as he leered at Sheng Yanhuan from head to toe.
“Your Majesty, put down the knife. We can talk this over.”
“Hahahahaha, exactly. Let’s talk.”
The group burst into laughter, clearly unconvinced that a weak woman could take them all down with her.
“Boss, shouldn’t we call for backup?”
“What’s the hurry? Let’s have some fun first. Once they get here, do you think there’ll be anything left for us?”
“True...”
Sheng Yanhuan’s lashes trembled, and her face was deathly pale.
Even in her previous life, she had never encountered people like this.
So she had always been very well protected.
The leader of the black-clad men pulled down his face covering. His round face was set with a pair of squinting eyes, and though he wore a smile, he looked utterly lecherous.
“Beautiful, come here.”
He spread his arms and lunged at her, moving incredibly fast.
A vicious glint flashed in Sheng Yanhuan’s eyes. She tightened her grip on the dagger and thrust it toward his chest.
“Squelch—”
It was the sound of a blade plunging into flesh. The dagger went straight into his heart.
“Ugh—” The leader looked down at the knife, eyes wide, then fell to the ground, his eyes still open in death.
Perhaps he never understood, even in death, how he could have lost to a woman.
[Host, the system poisoned him for you.]
Sheng Yanhuan’s eyes suddenly brightened.
She calmly pulled the dagger from the black-clad man’s heart and pointed it at everyone.
“Who dares come closer?”
The five men instinctively took a step back, staring in disbelief at the corpse on the ground.
The boss ranked among the top ten fighters in Kongchan Pavilion, and today he’d been killed by a woman?
“Kill her!”
“Right! Kill her and avenge the boss!”
Their eyes reddened. The boss had brought them all up, and they were deeply attached to him.
They no longer dared underestimate Sheng Yanhuan. They drew the weapons at their waists and charged straight at her.
Killing intent came at her from all sides.
They were assassins, each capable of taking on ten opponents alone.
How could she kill all five?
Sheng Yanhuan’s expression went blank for an instant.
Father, Mother, Brother, Sister...
She hadn’t yet avenged herself, nor had she truly lived.
How could she die?
“Go to hell!”