The Emperor's Domineering Favor, the Evil Consort's Unparalleled Reign

Li Xiyue squatted on the ground, feeling a little tired. She took out a handkerchief from her bosom, placed it on the ground, and sat down, tightly holding the bronze mirror in her hands.

Li Xiyue chuckled softly, as if Bingyin knew what she was thinking. Before leaving, she clearly told herself that he would not abandon her like Shen Lie had.

Unable to see, Li Xiyue sat quietly on the ground. She knew where she was. Before leaving the Zijin Hall, she often hid here at night with a bronze mirror, as if only quiet was her best refuge.

She could easily remove the silk scarf from her eyes and see the Purple Gold Hall that had confined her for three years, but she touched her left eye and gave up. What difference would it make if she saw it? The past was the past. This time, she had come to say goodbye.

The Immortal-Slaying Sword, the treasure that Shen Lie had carried for twenty-two years, would be taken away by Bing Yin after tonight. She didn't know what the Immortal-Slaying Sword was, but she was willing to believe that Bing Yin wouldn't do anything bad.

Footsteps approached from afar, and Li Xiyue felt a little scared. She huddled up, knowing that Bingyin had placed a barrier around her, but she was still inexplicably afraid.

"Cough cough..."

The voice was getting closer and closer, and Li Xiyue's heart was in her throat, afraid that the person would recognize her.

"Cough cough..."

Shen Lie clenched his right fist and pressed it against his lips. He hadn't been feeling well lately. Minmin had passed away, and his third uncle was making frequent moves. With these internal and external troubles, plus the lie about Li Xiyue's death, he had to give an explanation to 'Wine Alley Family'.

Li Xiyue's father was alright, but her third aunt almost made Shen Lie pay for her life at Li Xiyue's memorial altar that day. Li Xiyue's fourth brother, Li Qilei, had a murderous look on his face. If it weren't for her parents stopping her, Shen Lie probably wouldn't have been able to handle the situation on the day of Li Xiyue's funeral.

His steps were heavy, and he was a little tired. With a sword at his waist, he arrived at that place, the place where Li Xiyue often stayed.

Coughing twice, Shen Lie suddenly stopped. He looked incredulously at the woman sitting on the ground, clutching the bronze mirror tightly in her arms. She was wearing a bright yellow dress, had fair skin, and a long white handkerchief wrapped around her eyes.

Suddenly, his hand holding the sword began to tremble uncontrollably, and his already bloodless face became even paler. He approached the woman, who seemed to know that someone had come. She tightly hugged the bronze mirror with both hands, her fair face slightly raised, as if she could see Shen Lie's appearance through the white cloth covering her eyes.

"Cough cough..."

Li Xiyue's body stiffened. Her fingertips were icy cold. It was Shen Lie. She knew him. His voice and his aura. In the Shen family's 'Purple Gold Hall,' apart from the Shen Lie in front of her, she really couldn't think of anyone else who carried such a cold aura.

"thump……"

"thump……"

"thump……"

Li Xiyue's heart was pounding. She could feel Shen Lie approaching her step by step.

Trying his best to control his emotions, Shen Lie approached the woman and was shocked to see that the bronze mirror she was holding was undoubtedly the same bronze mirror that Li Xiyue had used.

“Heh…” Shen Lie suddenly chuckled. Knowing that Li Xiyue was right in front of him, he felt a surge of joy. He reached out his right hand and moved closer to Li Xiyue’s profile. His slender fingers, distinct knuckles, and the light in Shen Lie’s eyes that Li Xiyue could not see at all.

"Uh!" A dazzling blue light shone brightly just as Shen Lie's hand was about to touch Li Xiyue. Shen Lie's fingers, which he suddenly pulled back, seemed to be electrocuted. His eyes were filled with horror. He squatted down and looked at the woman in bright yellow clothes sitting in front of him. A trace of sadness flashed across his eyes.

"Is this a barrier?" Shen Lie asked, as if addressing her, yet also as if questioning himself. That day in the forbidden chamber, he saw Li Xiyue's spirit and form guided into the bronze mirror by the disciples and released. Although he didn't know how Li Xiyue returned, or who placed these barriers on her, as long as she returned, what could be more important than her?!

Li Xiyue was taken aback. She had just heard Shen Lie gasp and was a little worried. She was about to speak, but then she remembered that she was there to help Bingyin take away the Immortal-Slaying Sword, so she shut her mouth and simply nodded slightly in response.

Shen Lie was taken aback. He was clearly surprised by the woman's answer. He was filled with doubt and a hint of anticipation.

"Are you the little girl from when you were little?" Shen Lie asked impatiently.

Li Xiyue nodded, her brows furrowed.

"Xi Yue?" Shen Lie asked, then suddenly stopped. The question startled even himself. If it was Li Xi Yue, then what had he been doing all these years, especially these last three?!

Li Xiyue gave a wry smile, hugged the bronze mirror tightly with both hands, and after a long while, shook her head firmly.

How could I possibly be her? Ever since I ran away that day, I could never, ever be her again. Shen Lie, you don't understand me. What I hate most is abandonment and betrayal.

Since Shen Lie could ask this question, it means he knew that Li Xiyue was the little girl from that day. The fact that he could ask this question means that he had been suspecting it for a long time. But it wasn't until Li Xiyue escaped that he faced his true feelings and told himself that she was Li Xiyue. Isn't that somewhat tragic?

Shen Lie saw Li Xiyue shake her head, and then saw her tightly holding the bronze mirror with both hands. After a long while, as if she understood something, she gave a bitter smile.

"I know you resent me." Shen Lie stood up, his face ashen, his right hand gripping the long sword at his waist tightly. He looked up at the woman in the barrier, a woman he could not touch.

“We…” He took a deep breath and said, “We’re not the children we used to be. People grow up. When I was little, I thought about you and wanted to protect you. When I grew up, I couldn’t find you, and I married many women. Even if you were among them, on our wedding day, after I knew I hadn’t found you, my heart died. The day you questioned me, I had hope, but after all these years, I’m not sure, so I’ve never chosen to believe you again. Why did you run away that day? If you had just waited a little longer, just a quarter of an hour, everything would have been alright.”

There was something on the verge of despair in his eyes that Li Xiyue couldn't see, but she could feel it clearly because they shared the same helplessness.

"If I asked you to stay now, would you agree?" Shen Lie asked softly, as if making a desperate gamble.

Li Xiyue's heart skipped a beat. She pursed her lips tightly, and like some birds startled, she fluttered her wings and flew over Shen Lie's head...

Bingyin arrived at the northeast corner of the Shen family's Purple Gold Hall, a secluded little courtyard. No one was around to disturb them; not even the maids or servants could be seen. He naturally wouldn't know that even during the day, there weren't many people there. Minmin was unwell, and Shen Lie wouldn't allow anyone to disturb her. Now that Minmin was gone, the place was deathly silent.

Bingyin's right fingertips circulated with pale blue spiritual energy. He closed his eyes to feel the sword's resonance as he approached. The sound was low but intense, something most people couldn't perceive.

He walked along the long path, looking at Minmin's room at the end. Blue spiritual energy flowed along the path, and soon climbed up to the window of Minmin's room.

Bingyin was stunned for a moment. There... Shen Lie actually put the Immortal-Slaying Sword in his sister's room?

Withdrawing his spiritual energy, Bingyin glanced at the disciples of the Purple Gold Hall. Seeing his arrival, these people clearly dared not make a move; they pretended not to see Bingyin and stood in various places around the Shen family compound.

Bingyin snorted softly. What use were these disciples to Shen Lie? Perhaps, as Li Xiyue said, the Shen family's Purple Gold Hall was now just an empty shell, with only Shen Lie still believing in a chance to rise again and struggling to keep going.

Bingyin held his breath, a dark blue mark flashing between his brows. He entered Minmin's room. The room was quiet. Bingyin went into the inner room. The bed was empty. He spread his spiritual energy throughout the room, but he did not find any living creatures. Was no one living there?

With a slight change in expression, Bingyin stopped exploring the question and instead pressed her right hand against the wall, where the sensation became even stronger.

A slight smile played on his lips. It turned out the Immortal-Slaying Sword was hidden in the inner chamber. Turning to look at the shelf beside him, Bingyin lightly waved his right hand, and the shelf moved with a creak, shifting to the right, revealing a low door in front of him.

He opened the door, which was dark inside, but contained a small secret passage.

Bingyin leaped into the air, and the shelf suddenly snapped back with a loud bang the instant he jumped in, locking itself tightly shut.

Completely dark, Bingyin reached for his waist and pulled out a tinderbox. He unscrewed the cap, blew on it twice, and sure enough, a faint flame illuminated the small secret passage, lighting the candles on either side and brightening the passage in an instant.

Bingyin was unaware that after he entered the secret passage, the Shen family's Purple Gold Hall suddenly began to stir.

"Oh no! Oh no! Someone has broken into the secret passage!"

"Oh no! Oh no! Someone has broken into the secret passage..."

"..."

The shouts echoed throughout the entire Zijin Hall, and the originally dark and silent hall was instantly brightly lit. Maids and servants put on their clothes and came out, but suspiciously, not a single disciple came out.

Shen Lie's expression changed drastically. He looked at the firelight in the distance, where servants were searching for something with torches. Judging from the commotion just now, someone had broken in and entered the secret passage of the Purple Gold Hall.

That secret passage was no ordinary secret passage; it was the secret of the Shen family for a hundred years, the secret behind why the Shen family kept so many disciples, and also the secret to the rise and fall of the Shen family.

Shen Lie moved slightly, took two quick steps, then suddenly turned back as if he had thought of something, and said urgently, "Wait for me here. Something has happened to the Shen family. I'll come back to find you after I've dealt with these matters."

Li Xiyue neither nodded nor shook her head. Her smile was somewhat bitter. She hugged the bronze mirror tightly in her arms, pulled off the silk scarf covering her eyes with her right hand, and opened her eyes. Shen Lie was no longer in front of her. A man dressed in dark clothes ran away.

It was another back view. She mustered her courage to get a better look, but what she saw was yet another back view.