On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

The night of the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month is as dark as ink.

The failed assassination attempt in Xishi was like a stone thrown into a quiet lake. The ripples were quickly smoothed out by the power of the court, but the undercurrent surged to the core of the imperial justice system - the Dali Temple Prison.

There is no sunlight here all year round, and the air is filled with the smell of blood, mildew and despair. The torches on the stone walls cast swaying light and shadows, stretching the outlines of the torture instruments into hideous and distorted shapes.

At this moment, inside the deepest torture chamber for serious criminals, the atmosphere was more tense than usual.

The assassin who was sent flying by Murong Yan's finger and seriously injured by her palm was chained to the cold stone wall with an iron chain as thick as a child's arm. He was covered in blood and was dying, but in the depths of his eyes, there was still a trace of stubbornness and dejection unique to a dead soldier.

He had already disregarded life and death and only wished for a quick death.

However, when the heavy iron door of the torture chamber was silently pushed open, the assassin's dead pupils suddenly contracted, reflecting a scene that he would never forget, which even temporarily suppressed the severe pain in his body.

First, a man in dark clothes and with a stern face walked in. He did not carry any weapon, but the cold aura he exuded made the already grim temperature in the torture chamber drop a little.

The assassin recognized him as Lin Zhen, who always guarded the empress.

Lin Zhen just glanced at him silently, as if he was looking at a dead object, and then stepped aside.

Then, a figure walked in slowly.

It was that figure that made the assassin's breathing stop instantly, and the blood in his body seemed to freeze!

It’s Murong Yan!

She actually came to this filthy Dali Temple Prison in person!

And... she was actually... still wearing the dress that looked gorgeous and dazzling in the sunshine of the city, but looked extremely strange in the dim firelight here - the black and gold Su Jin cotton nightgown made of birds paying homage to the phoenix, the dress of the divine phoenix descending to the earth!

Under the flickering firelight of the torture chamber, the extremely dark Su Jin base material no longer reflected the golden glow of the sunlight, but instead absorbed the faint light, presenting an ink color that was deeper than darkness and seemed to be able to devour the soul.

The woven golden cotton wool and real gold thread no longer exudes warm light, but instead emits a cold, stagnant dark golden luster, like the faint phosphorescent light on the surface of the Styx in Hell.

Above the nightgown, there was a towering phoenix that covered almost the entire robe and even the tail. In such a gloomy environment, the layers of phoenix feathers were no longer gorgeous, but instead revealed a cold and hostile aura that looked down on ants!

The black diamonds on the phoenix eyes reflected the cold light of the torture instruments, which was icy and bone-chilling.

The wide and light trumpet sleeves fell to the sides, and the gold tassels on the cuffs did not move in the dead air.

The black jade ring on her left thumb shone with a faint yet cold luster under the torch.

What shocked the assassin the most was the five-meter-long Su Jin tail!

It dragged carelessly and leisurely across the cold, dirty stone floor of the torture chamber, which was even stained with dark red blood!

The extremely luxurious dark gold brocade formed a contrast that was so extreme that it was terrifying!

The softness of cotton should bring gentleness, but at this moment, it only adds an indescribable calmness to this nightgown, a calmness that disregards terror as nothing, a kind of paradox that juxtaposes extreme luxury with extreme cruelty, making one's scalp tingle!

There was no expression on Murong Yan's face, neither anger nor curiosity.

She walked calmly, as if strolling in the corridors of her own palace, and slowly came to the center of the torture chamber, where various torture instruments with a cold glow were placed.

Her eyes lightly swept over the blood-stained iron tools, finally landing on the assassin on the wall.

Lin Zhen followed silently behind her, like her shadow, his eyes never leaving Murong Yan, and he ignored the horrific scene around him.

"It's you?" Murong Yan spoke, her voice echoing in the empty torture chamber, cold and calm, without any emotion, but more heart-wrenching than any roar.

The assassin gritted his teeth, turned his head away, and refused to answer.

He had received the harshest training and was ready to endure any torture.

Murong Yan didn't seem to care about his reaction.

She walked to a table with slender steel needles on it, stretched out her right hand wearing a black jade ring, and gently picked up one with her fingertips.

The steel needle flickered coldly in the firelight.

"This needle is used to pierce the nail crevices. I heard it hurts." She seemed to be talking to herself, but also seemed to be asking a question. Her tone was as calm as if she was discussing the dinner dishes.

The assassin's body trembled slightly, but he remained calm.

Murong Yan did not torture him immediately.

She took the needle and walked slowly to the assassin, so close that she could almost feel each other's breath.

She was not as tall as the assassin, but her condescending aura made the assassin chained to the wall feel like dust crawling on the ground.

"Is your master Park Yongzhong of Goguryeo, or Master Wang Qi of Taiyuan?" she asked softly, looking calmly into the assassin's bloodshot eyes.

The assassin's pupils shrank sharply, but he still kept his lips tightly closed.

"Don't tell me?" Murong Yan's lips curled up very slowly, a faint, cold arc. "It doesn't matter. I have plenty of time."

Suddenly, without any warning, she raised her hand!

Move as fast as lightning!

The ice-cold steel needle, with a sharp sound of breaking through the air, pierced into the gap between the nails of the assassin's right thumb, which was locked by the chain!

Deep into the finger bones!

"Ah——!" A scream so shrill that it didn't sound like a human voice suddenly burst out from the assassin's throat!

The severe pain made his whole body spasm and the chains rattled!

Murong Yan didn't even raise her eyebrows.

She slowly pulled out the needle, and a drop of blood came out from the needle tip. She looked at the drop of blood, her eyes still calm.

"Do you want to talk now?" she asked, her voice still cold.

The assassin was sweating profusely from the pain, his teeth chattering, but he still shook his head stubbornly.

Murong Yan seemed to sigh, very lightly, as if she felt a little regretful.

She turned and walked towards another row of larger and more hideous torture instruments.

The moment she turned around——

The five-meter dark-gold tail that was lingering on the ground and stained with the filth of the torture chamber was suddenly lifted up by this swift turn!

Like a flower of death blooming in the dark night, the huge skirt suddenly unfolded and swept across the cold ground with a swish!

As the hem of her skirt suddenly fluttered up, she suddenly revealed the densely woven gold lining inside, which suddenly burst out like the fire of hell in the dark torture chamber!

The pattern of a hundred phoenixes facing the rising sun shone brightly in the firelight, with golden light flowing, noble and brilliant, but it formed an extremely strange and shocking contrast with this place of execution and the cruel scene just now!

This golden light seems not to be salvation, but a deeper curse and judgment!

The hem of the skirt fell, and the brilliance was swallowed up by ink and blood.

But the golden light at that moment was like a red-hot iron, burning the assassin's heart!

All his previous stubbornness and determination to die were shattered in the face of this juxtaposition of ultimate beauty and ultimate cruelty!

This woman...she is not human!

She is a demon in gorgeous clothes!

Murong Yan stopped in front of a red-hot iron.

The flames in the charcoal brazier illuminated her expressionless profile and the dark gold dress that resembled a phoenix descending from the earth, creating an unforgettable and terrifying scene.

She didn't pick up the iron, but just watched quietly.

Then, she turned back again and looked at the assassin whose spirit was on the verge of collapse.

"I'll ask you one last time." Her voice seemed to come from the underworld, "Who sent you?"

The assassin looked at her, at the nightgown that was so enchanting under the reflection of the hellfire, and at the giant phoenix on the hem of her skirt that seemed ready to pounce and tear him to pieces at any time. His last mental defense completely collapsed.

Tears streamed down his face as he screamed, "It's... it's Master Wang Qi! It's the Wang family of Taiyuan! Park Yongzhong also knows! They... they want to cause chaos in the capital... let you... let you..."

He told everything he knew in an incoherent manner.

Murong Yan listened quietly until he finished speaking, then she said "Oh" softly.

She walked back to the assassin and gently tapped his cheek with the bloody needle, her gesture carrying a creepy intimacy.

"If you had been so good earlier, you wouldn't have to suffer." Her tone even had a hint of strange tenderness.

After saying this, she no longer looked at the limp assassin, and casually threw the steel needle to the ground, making a crisp "clang" sound.

She turned and walked out of the torture chamber. The long, dark-golden tail once again dragged mercilessly across the filthy ground.

Lin Zhen followed closely behind, without saying a word from beginning to end.

The iron door slowly closed, isolating the blood and despair in the torture chamber.

Murong Yan walked in the dark prison corridor, her steps still calm.

It was not until she walked out of the Dali Temple and the cold moonlight shone on her that she frowned slightly and whispered to Lin Zhen beside her:

"Husband, this place smells terrible. It seems my skirt has been stained with bad luck."

Lin Zhen immediately stepped forward, picked her up horizontally, and wrapped her in his cloak to isolate her from the outside air.

"Go back and give Yan'er a bath with incense and change into clean clothes."

Murong Yan snuggled obediently in his arms, buried her face in his neck, and uttered a muffled "hmm", as if the cold executioner just now was just an illusion.

In the torture chamber, the assassin who had managed to survive was curled up in the corner, trembling all over, with the ink-gold phoenix shadow, the glimpse of the golden lining, and the steel needle that had pierced his nail repeatedly echoing in his mind.

He knew that he would never be able to escape this nightmare in his lifetime.