Huanzhu Time Travel: Yan Luo's Unbreakable Love in the Yong Dynasty

Chapter 516: Bloodstained Intrigue, A Battle of Life and Death

The ruins of Chengqian Palace appeared particularly eerie in the morning mist, the broken walls and remnants resembling a monstrous beast with bared fangs, exuding an endless aura of death. Xiao Yanzi, disguised as Lin Xiaoyan, clutched the blood-stained jade pendant, her knuckles turning white from the force. Her eyes were fixed on the jade pendant, as if trying to dig out the buried secrets from it.

Lin Yuxuan's white robes fluttered wildly in the wind. His fingers trembled as he gently stroked the cherry blossom pattern on the jade pendant. His voice was filled with sorrow: "This is a gift from the Japanese envoy on my sister's tenth birthday." After saying this, he stared blankly into the distance, as if trying to find his sister's voice and smile in the misty fog.

“Eastern Japan…” Xiao Yanzi murmured, the mysterious transaction recorded in the ancient book instantly flashing through her mind. She glanced at the broken beams and pillars of Chengqian Palace, the traces of the fire like hideous scars. Suddenly, she discovered half a bloody footprint on a charred floor tile, the blood emitting a nauseating stench in the morning mist.

Er Kang quickly knelt down on one knee, his short knife lightly scraping the bloodstains, his brows furrowed into a deep frown: "This color... is dyed with red sand from the Western Regions." He raised his head, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, "This kind of red sand was among the military pay that went missing three years ago."

Before he could finish speaking, Yongqi abruptly grabbed Xiaoyanzi's shoulder and dragged her behind a stone pillar. Dozens of paces away, several people dressed in Western Region attire were furtively moving wooden crates, their movements hurried and chaotic. The leader abruptly flung open the crate lids, and in an instant, moonlight streamed in, reflecting the gleaming curved knives within, their cold, menacing light resembling countless pairs of icy eyes.

"Attack!" Yongqi drew his longsword, the blade slicing through the air with a sharp whistling sound. Xiaoyanzi, quick as lightning, stopped him, pulling a firework tube from her bosom—a communication signal bestowed by the Emperor. As the firework exploded in the sky, shattering the silence like thunder, hundreds of Imperial Guards shouted and surged into Chengqian Palace like a tidal wave, their footsteps shaking the ground slightly.

In the chaos, Xiao Yanzi caught a glimpse of the butterfly birthmark on the neck of the Westerner leader, identical to that of the masked man from the previous night. Her eyes sharpened, and her long whip lashed out like a serpent, wrapping around the man's ankle. The man's expression changed drastically, and he flung out three poisoned silver needles with his other hand. The needles slicing through the air made a faint "sizzling" sound.

"Watch out!" Yongqi shouted, swinging his longsword to knock away the silver needles. But he was careless and tore the other's clothes, and a golden butterfly seal slipped out from inside the clothes, rolled a few times on the ground, and was surprisingly seven-tenths similar to the phoenix seal newly made in the Empress's palace.

"This is..." Lin Yuxuan's pupils shrank, and the color drained from his face instantly. "There is also a gold seal like this in the hidden compartment of my father's study!"

Seeing the situation was dire, the man from the Western Regions made a resolute gesture and suddenly bit open the poison sac in his mouth. Little Swallow was frantic and rushed over, only managing to grab half of a bloodstained secret letter, on which was written: "At midnight on the Spring Equinox, open the Dongzhimen Gate."

Meanwhile, inside Kunning Palace, the Empress was slowly pouring poison into a crystal bottle, her movements elegant yet chilling. A secret report spread out on the table read: "Japanese ninjas have arrived; the Chengen Temple tunnel is clear." She smiled at the bronze mirror, but the reflection suddenly transformed into Lin Xiaoyan's face. Her smile froze instantly, replaced by shock and fear.

"You... how are you still alive?" the Empress murmured, her voice filled with disbelief. She reached out her trembling hand, wanting to touch the familiar yet unfamiliar face in the mirror.

The firelight from Chengqian Palace illuminated half the sky, resembling a sea of ​​blood. Xiao Yanzi presented the blood-stained secret letter to Fu Heng, who had rushed over, her voice urgent and firm: "Quickly dispatch the Shenji Battalion to guard Dongzhimen!" After saying this, she turned to leave, but Fu Heng grabbed her arm.

"After the Emperor's attack, the six palaces are under martial law." Fu Heng lowered his voice, his expression grave. "The Empress is currently 'praying for blessings' in the Hall of Mental Cultivation. You should go there now..."

Xiao Yanzi gripped her long whip tightly, her eyes like icy blades: "If I don't go, how can I unravel this web?" She paused, "Tell Yongqi to go to the General's Mansion to find General Lin. He has the final evidence."

Outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Rong Momo's body had not yet been collected, and bloodstains spread across the ground, a horrifying sight. Xiao Yanzi stepped through the bloodstains and rushed into the hall, just in time to see the Empress pouring poisoned wine into a teacup.

"You've come at the perfect time, sister." The Empress turned around, her smile gentle, but her eyes held a deep wariness and suspicion. "Try some of my newly acquired Junshan Silver Needle tea."

Xiao Yanzi pointed her long whip directly at the Empress's throat, the tip trembling slightly, radiating a chilling aura: "I'm curious, what exactly did you see in Chengqian Palace that made you so cruel as to kill an innocent person?" She slammed half a scroll onto the table with a "thud," "This scroll, and that Western Region red sand, the tunnel at Dongzhimen, the shady dealings behind it, you must explain them all to me today!" At this moment, Xiao Yanzi was entirely in the identity of Lin Xiaoyan, her tone filled with the anger and questioning of a prime minister's daughter and a victim of murder.

The Empress suddenly burst into laughter, a sharp and piercing laugh that echoed through the empty Hall of Mental Cultivation: "Hmph, explain yourself? You think you have the right to demand an explanation from me?" Her laughter abruptly stopped, her eyes fixed on Xiao Yanzi. "Who do you think you are? You're nothing but a pawn who survived by sheer luck!"

Little Swallow snorted coldly: "A pawn? Today, I will make you, the mastermind behind it all, pay the price for your actions!"

A flicker of panic crossed the Empress's eyes, but she quickly regained her composure: "You think you've won? The Emperor is currently in the underground passage of Chengqian Palace, enjoying drinks with my distinguished Japanese guest!"

Xiao Yanzi's heart clenched suddenly. She turned to run, but the chains thrown by the Empress entangled her ankles. She swung her whip to cut the chains, only to see the Empress pull a bronze box from her sleeve. Inside the box, worms were gnawing at the Emperor's jade pendant.

"This is a soul-capturing poison from Japan." The Empress approached, a maniacal smile on her face. "His Majesty is probably on friendly terms with an assassin right now."

Little Swallow's long whip lashed through the air, but was repelled by an invisible force the instant it touched the Empress. Only then did she realize that the butterfly birthmark on the Empress's neck was glowing, the light eerie and bewitching.

"Back then, I really underestimated you, allowing you to resort to so many underhanded tricks." Xiao Yanzi gritted her teeth, her hatred for the Empress growing stronger, while she pondered a way to deal with it.

The Empress gently stroked the birthmark and laughed triumphantly, "You think you can defeat me? Back then, I planted the Soul-Sealing Gu in your body, thinking I could control everything, but I never expected..."

"I never thought I'd be so lucky to be standing here and expose your scheme!" Little Swallow interrupted her, her gaze firm and unfazed by the Empress's threat.

At the critical moment, Yongqi burst through the window, his black robe stained with blood, and he held General Lin's secret letter in his hand: "The Emperor is in the underground passage of Chengqian Palace!"

The Empress's poison suddenly flared up, and she curled up on the ground in agony, her face contorted in pain. Little Swallow seized the opportunity to snatch the bronze box, but was bitten by a poisonous insect the moment she opened it.

"Little Swallow!" Yongqi rushed over, only to see a strange red light gleaming in her eyes.

"Yongqi..." Xiaoyanzi's voice became hoarse, "Don't worry about me, go save the Emperor!" At this moment, she endured the pain brought by the poison, and only thought about resolving the crisis.

Deep inside the tunnel, the emperor was raising a cup to drink with a Japanese ninja, his eyes glazed over, the cup in his hand reflecting his distorted face.

"Your Majesty, it's time to set off." The ninja leader raised his poisoned dagger, but at that moment, the tunnel suddenly shook violently.

Little Swallow appeared like a ghost, her long whip wrapping around the ninja leader's neck. Yongqi arrived shortly after, his longsword piercing the leader's heart.

"Yongqi..." Xiao Yanzi's consciousness gradually faded, "Gu poison..."

Yongqi held her in his arms and took out the medicine bottle left by General Lin: "This is Tianshan Snow Ginseng, which can cure Gu poison."

As the first rays of sunlight pierced through the tunnel, Xiao Yanzi slowly opened her eyes. She saw Yongqi's weary smile, the Emperor leaning weakly against the stone wall, and the Empress being held aside by the guards, her face filled with resentment and anger.

"You're awake." Yongqi's voice trembled with relief as he held her hand tightly.

Little Swallow struggled to sit up, looked at the Empress, her eyes filled with complex emotions: "Your conspiracy has been completely exposed. From now on, you will repent properly in prison!"

The Emperor slowly stood up, his face pale but dignified: "Empress, you have plotted treason, a crime that cannot be forgiven!"

The Empress collapsed to the ground, her eyes vacant, as if she had aged ten years in an instant: "I...I have been utterly defeated..."

This thrilling contest has finally come to an end. But Xiao Yanzi knows that the road ahead is long, and this power struggle in the palace may only be the beginning.