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

The night was dark, a cool breeze blew, and all was silent.

A bronze bracelet lay on the dressing table, where a teenage girl was carefully wiping it with a towel, her focused expression suggesting the bracelet was a priceless treasure. A faint fragrance wafted from the triangular incense burner in the room. Fine beads of sweat appeared on the girl's nose. After a while, she wrapped the bracelet in a dry cloth, placed it in her palm, and gazed at the woman on the chaise longue.

"Jiang Yanli, the bracelet is polished, let me take it to you."

"Hmm," the woman on the chaise longue responded softly, propping herself up with her hands. The young girl approached her, carefully placing the bracelet in her lap, then pulling her hands to rest on the bracelet. It turned out that Jiang Yanli, whom the young girl spoke of, was blind. Jiang Yanli's eyes were covered with a white veil, her serene face devoid of expression, her entire body tightly wrapped in a long white robe, making her appear even more forlorn in the darkness.

Jiang Yanli, Jiang Yanli, how truly pitiful...

Jiang Yanli stroked the bracelet with both hands, and a slight smile appeared on her lips. The young girl tactfully withdrew, leaving Jiang Yanli alone, holding the bracelet, sitting on the chaise longue. The moonlight shone on her, making the place even colder.

"Jiang Yanli, Jiang Yanli, Jiang Yanli, Jiang Yanli... Jiang Yanli..." The urgent voice rose and fell, and Jiang Yanli reluctantly opened her eyes. Ever since dawn, that voice had been endlessly looping in her ears. She had lost count of how many times Qingyu had woken her up, and she didn't know why she had so much energy.

Jiang Yanli sat up, sighed, and without saying anything more, pulled the clothes from the wooden rack and casually draped them over her body.

Seeing Jiang Yanli's languid and listless appearance, Qingyu's good mood, cultivated so early in the morning, was ruined. Pouting, she leaned back on the edge of the bed and complained, "Jiang Yanli, how can you sleep so much? It seems like you've become especially sleepy ever since Master went back to take care of some business..." She hesitated, then stopped herself. Jiang Yanli continued dressing, ignoring her. Qingyu twirled the long sash on her dress and added mischievously, "Jiang Yanli, are you missing Master?"

"That's not true." Jiang Yanli said calmly. After getting dressed, she casually took the white strip of cloth hanging on the clothes rack and wrapped it around her eyes.

Qingyu glanced at her, unconvinced, "If it's not about Master Xiang, why are you behaving so strangely?! It's really baffling."

The movement of tying the cloth strips in his hand suddenly stopped, his mind racing with a thousand thoughts.

Qingyu seemed oblivious to Jiang Yanli's change. She straightened up, tied the strip of cloth behind Jiang Yanli's head, and took out the bracelet from the bed and handed it to her. "Three people came to visit today. The list is on the table. Would you like me to read it to you?"

Jiang Yanli took the bracelet, carefully put it on her wrist, and said calmly, "What do those people have to do with me? No need."

This Jiang Yanli is really strange.

This is a secluded courtyard in the Ghost Realm's Yinling Kingdom city. The courtyard is square and simply furnished, consisting of only two sections. Jiang Yanli's inner courtyard has a small garden, sparsely populated and neglected, giving it a rather desolate feel. Passing through a corridor, there's a small door leading to the outer courtyard. The outer courtyard is even simpler, containing only a small reception room and, apart from an ancient well, nothing else. It's frighteningly simple! But for a "blind" person, this is enough.

Feeling her way along the door frame, Jiang Yanli walked step by step into the main hall of the outer courtyard. Before she even stepped inside, she heard several people whispering in the courtyard, as if they were getting impatient.

Jiang Yanli wasn't annoyed. When you need someone's help, you naturally have to behave yourself. If they didn't know their manners, she had plenty of ways to get them out!

"The goddess has arrived!" Someone shouted, and the entire outer courtyard fell silent in an instant. Jiang Yanli paused, holding the bracelet, sensing that everyone was holding their breath in anticipation, her face expressionless.

The previously noisy crowd had vanished without a trace. Everyone watched as Jiang Yanli, clutching the bracelet, slowly moved into the main hall, behind the screen. Looking at Jiang Yanli's slender figure and aloof demeanor, they were speechless. Could this be the legendary goddess Jiang Yanli, the subject of much gossip in the Yinling Kingdom?!

This person was dressed in a light green robe, with her beautiful hair casually tied up and adorned only with a simple jade hairpin. She had a high nose, red lips, and white teeth. If one could see the captivating eyes beneath the white veil, one could be certain that this goddess, Jiang Yanli, was an absolute beauty! Unfortunately, the beauty's face was completely obscured, and it was impossible to see anything clearly.

Standing at the front of the group, Young Master Jiang watched Jiang Yanli take her seat. Seeing no maids or servants attending her, he was seized by a sudden wicked thought. Ignoring his attendants' attempts to dissuade him, he walked straight behind the screen, his eyes fixed on Jiang Yanli's delicate, bracelet-adorned hand. Seeing no reaction from her, he reached out to touch it.

Upon seeing this, everyone's hearts leaped into their throats. It wasn't that they didn't want to warn Jiang Yanli, but rumors had long circulated that the "Goddess" was ruthless and no ordinary woman. They wondered what fate awaited this young master Jiang.

Young Master Jiang was fat and greasy, his face covered in oil. His yellowish-brown eyes were half-open, half-closed, and upon closer inspection, they were filled with lewdness. His hand was about to touch Jiang Yanli's hem. But things went wrong halfway there!

Reddish-brown blood splattered into the air. Young Master Jiang's face turned ashen, and after a long while, he let out a pig-like scream, "Ah!"

The crowd was terrified by the scream. When they calmed down and looked again, they saw Young Master Jiang squatting on the ground, hugging his arm, his nose and eyes squeezed together. There was a large pool of black blood on the ground, and not far from the bloodstain was a severed hand, still bleeding and connected to the tendons and bones of Young Master Jiang's wrist. It was trembling slightly and had an indescribable horror about it.

"Tick!"

"Tick!"

"Tick!"

Jiang Yanli's lips curled slightly upwards. After a moment, she raised her right hand, tossed away the dagger, and said softly, "Next!"

With a clang, the short sword struck the ground. The attendants following Young Master Jiang dared not utter another word. They lifted their unconscious young master, took his severed hand, and fled the outer courtyard in a panic. Qingyu leaned against the doorframe, glanced at the group, and shook her head with a click of her tongue. It seemed Jiang Yanli was taking out her anger at being woken up that morning on this Young Master Jiang. Alas, this Young Master Jiang was truly pitiful.

She was no longer surprised that these people endured being bullied in silence, because if anyone dared to bully Jiang Yanli, she would make them pay a thousandfold. Qingyu liked this kind of Jiang Yanli very much.

The other two groups of people had already fallen silent upon seeing this. Qingyu cleared her throat and looked at those who were pale with fright, kindly reminding them, "Didn't you want to ask the Goddess? Hurry up and ask, the Goddess's time is very precious. If you anger the Goddess, then the consequences... you've all seen them."

Seeing the girl's gloating expression, these people began to ponder. They had mobilized all their family resources, even defying others, to gain the opportunity to see the goddess. They hadn't expected her dwelling to be so simple, without even a decent servant. Most importantly, this goddess's methods were so ruthless!

"Miss, I think we should just give up and not ask anymore. This goddess is really fierce." A little maid, whose face was already ashen with fear, tugged at her mistress's clothes and said in a scared tone.

The young lady straightened up, pushed the maid aside, took off the hat she was wearing, gazed deeply in the direction of the goddess, and said with determination, "I want to ask you to see if my illness can be cured? Or rather, how many years do I have left to live?"

Jiang Yanli stiffened, focusing her mind and looking at the woman through the white veil. She saw that the woman was surrounded by miasma and shrouded in black energy. Sensing something ominous, Jiang Yanli slowly clenched her right hand. After a long pause, she spoke, "Miss, you have been plagued by illness for seventeen years. You were born with the disease, and you will die with it. If you ask about your life, Jiang Yanli can only tell you that it is not long. I hope you will prepare for your funeral as soon as possible."

"You're talking nonsense!" The woman trembled. Although she was somewhat prepared, the news still felt like a bolt from the blue. The maid beside her recovered and helped her mistress up, then said sternly to Jiang Yanli, "My mistress is perfectly fine. She just has some minor ailments that will be fine after a few doses of medicine. How could she be dying as you say?! You call yourself a goddess, but in my eyes, you're nothing but a fraud!"

Jiang Yanli snorted coldly and remained silent.

The young maidservant had quite a bit of backbone; she pulled the woman away, saying, "Miss, let's go home!"

"Please proceed, next!" Jiang Yanli said, looking up at the barrier. She saw a woman with bloodshot eyes walking in. The woman's spiritual power was extremely unstable, and there was a hint of killing intent in the interplay of their auras! The dark bracelet on the woman's wrist resonated with the bronze bracelet on her own wrist, and Jiang Yanli's expression changed. "She's finally here! Ying Li!"