Tangli Fried Snow

The front lines have won a great victory, which is cause for celebration, but things have recently become unsettled in the palace.

The emperor had been bedridden for nearly a year, and his condition fluctuated frequently, sometimes better and sometimes worse. Fortunately, with the empress and the imperial physicians taking good care of him, he was relatively stable and his life was not in danger.

During those sweltering days, His Majesty the Emperor was plagued by nightmares. According to his attendants, he often dreamt of a group of tiny figures dancing and performing witchcraft on him in his dreams. The Emperor was tormented beyond recognition, unable to eat or sleep, and became increasingly delirious for several days, believing that someone in the palace was using witchcraft to curse him.

The Empress was furious and ordered Wen Xiangyun of the Dali Temple to thoroughly investigate the matter. Thus began a massive "witchcraft rebellion" in the capital and the palace. The people of the capital stayed indoors, and everyone in the palace lived in fear. For a time, there was a great deal of tension and panic.

Wen Xiangyun didn't know how he investigated, but he actually found several cases of "witchcraft" in Huangcheng. He investigated three or four sorcerers and charlatans, took them back and tortured them for several days and nights. One of them even shouted before he died: "Heaven has sent down a demon, heaven will destroy the Song Kingdom."

When the Empress found out, she was so angry that she smashed a glass palace lantern and several very valuable teacups. Not satisfied with that, she ordered a bloody purge of the harem and the digging of witchcraft worms throughout the palace.

The first to suffer was the former imperial concubine in the cold palace.

Groups of palace maids and eunuchs stormed into the Cold Palace. Consort Huang had been living there for eight years. She and her personal maids had kept the Cold Palace spotless, and even a small patch of land had been renovated and planted with vegetables.

Yin Tong led his men in and, without saying a word, had them smash the place to pieces. Then he ordered his men to bring scissors and other tools to cut up Huang Wanqing's clothes and blankets and ransack the house.

Yin Tong leered at the stunningly beautiful concubine. Although she was thirty-five or thirty-six years old and had lived in the Cold Palace for many years, her mature beauty and charm were still captivating. She seemed oblivious to the men's intrusion, reclining comfortably in a chair, her beautiful face expressionless. Her clear, bright eyes coldly surveyed the crowd, her snow-white ankles peeking out from beneath her plain dress, creating a breathtakingly alluring image of a reclining beauty.

Her face was extremely beautiful, with exquisite features. Her fair skin glowed with a soft, white light in the dim, humble room. She wore no ornaments, only a plain, coarse cloth dress, yet she exuded a charming and mature allure.

"Huang Yu Nu, how have you been?" Yin Tong looked at her lecherously and said, "You can stand to the side, don't block our search." When Consort Huang was banished to the Cold Palace by the Emperor, her rank was also demoted from Consort to Imperial Lady.

Huang Wanqing's personal maid was a composed woman in her thirties named Suiying. Just like her mistress, she calmly helped her mistress put on her socks and shoes, and helped her stand to the side. The two women lowered their heads and remained silent, not uttering a single word.

Seeing the two women's disregard for him, Yin Tong was furious inside, but he didn't show it on his face. He just said in a sinister tone, "Men, search them too!"

Several palace maids and eunuchs immediately came and tore the two women's clothes and hair into disarray, even turning over their undergarments to check them. Finding nothing, they left dejectedly. Yin Tong looked at the glimpses of the two women's exposed skin and curled her lips into a smug smile.

With rapid breathing, Suiying tidied her mistress's clothes and hair, and helped her stand up straight, but with her head bowed even lower.

The last rays of the sun finally disappeared beneath the palace walls, and darkness gradually fell inside the room. In the dim light, the two women instantly blended into the eerie atmosphere.

Yin Tong felt a chill run down her spine. She looked at the two of them and snorted coldly. She continued to order her men to search every inch of their living quarters, and in the end, they actually found several wooden dolls under a big tree.

Everyone was overjoyed and returned to the Empress with their "spoils of war." The Emperor and Empress were furious, and the Emperor immediately wanted to bestow upon Huang Wan a white jade tablet.

The Empress's gaze was icy, and she imprisoned all of Huang Yunu's relatives overnight. The Second Prince, Zhao Muqing, was confined to Yuqing Palace for suspected witchcraft.

The sound of hawks echoed in the darkness, adding to the eerie atmosphere of this secluded and chilling palace.

Empress Jin personally led her entourage to the Cold Palace where Consort Huang was located. Several palace maids and eunuchs followed closely behind her, carrying white silk, poisoned wine, and daggers.

Jin Yuyan, the ultimate victor in the palace intrigue drama, met her old enemy for the first time in eight years.

Time never diminishes a beauty; she remained largely unchanged. This infuriated Jin Yuyan, who wished she could scratch her face to pieces.

Her burning, seductive eyes were fixed on the woman surnamed Huang, but she only glanced at her indifferently. The expression in her eyes was as if the two of them had switched places, as if the one who was going to die today was Jin Yuyan, not Huang Wanqing!

The illusion felt so real that it calmed Jin Yuyan down.

She snorted coldly and said to Huang Wanqing, "You haven't changed much. It seems you're doing quite well here."

Huang Wanqing finally spoke, her voice melodious and pleasant, replying neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Thanks to Her Majesty the Empress." Then she fell silent.

Jin Yuyan was so angry that she wanted to go up and tear her mouth off.

She glanced at her up and down with her alluring eyes, then chuckled softly and said, "It seems you know you're going to die today, and you're still quite calm."

"For someone like you, death would be a relief, wouldn't it?"

Huang Wanqing's gaze seemed to be looking at her, yet also towards the distance. She spoke softly, "Has Your Majesty the Empress ever been to the grasslands?"

Jin Yuyan mocked, "You and your grandfather went to the grasslands, right? Humph, it's a pity you'll never see any more grasslands. You can't even go to the imperial tombs; you'll be rolled up in a tattered mat and thrown into a mass grave."

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but smile.

Huang Wanqing acted as if she hadn't heard her and said again, "The grassland is so beautiful. I dream of riding horses, herding sheep, and galloping around with brave and unrestrained men on the grassland."

Jin Yuyan thought to herself, "At your age, are you still having erotic dreams?" Before she could speak, Huang Wanqing looked her in the eyes and asked again, "Have you ever killed a sheep?"

"What?" Jin Yuyan asked, looking at her in disbelief.

"If sheep see a knife, they will be terrified, squeal, and run away."

"The meat will also be sour, tough, and unpalatable."

Jin Yuyan's lips twitched, and she said impatiently, "Looks like you've killed a lot of sheep?"

Her voice seemed to come from a distant place.

"None of them have ever seen a knife."

Her expression, every word she uttered, sounded like she was making a vow.

The two exchanged a glance, their expressions filled with mutual contempt.

Empress Jin was the first to impatiently look away. She coldly said, "Guards, let Consort Huang choose for herself!"

Three people immediately brought up the prepared items, and Huang Wanqing's beautiful eyes swept over them one by one. She didn't speak, only looking at Jin Yuyan.

Empress Jin looked at her smugly and said, "It's a difficult choice. Poisoned wine and daggers will cause bleeding, which is not good. Why not choose Bai Ling? It's more dignified."

Huang Wanqing remained silent, her back ramrod straight.

"Someone is coming."

"Huang Yu Nu chose Bai Ling."

Two strong young eunuchs immediately came forward, carrying the white jade tablet, and walked to Huang Wanqing's side.

They hesitated for a moment before strangling such a beautiful woman, but the eunuchs had long since lost their manhood, and their pity for the beauty quickly vanished.

Two eunuchs kicked her to the ground, and one of them took a white silk ribbon and wrapped it around Huang Wanqing's neck, starting to strangle her.

Suiying stood to one side, trembling like a leaf, too terrified to do anything.

Just as Huang Wanqing's face was turning from red to white and then to blue, a critical moment occurred.

A eunuch's voice rang out from the entrance of the Cold Palace: "The Empress Dowager has arrived."

The Empress Dowager and several palace maids then came to the courtyard, with Xue Li and Ru Yi standing beside her.

The Empress Dowager roared, "Stop!"

The two eunuchs glanced at the Empress but did not stop as ordered. Ruyi rushed over with Xue Li, and she slapped one of the eunuchs across the face. The two eunuchs finally let go.

Huang Wanqing collapsed to the ground with a thud, and after a long while, she coughed once and caught her breath.

Sherry supported the beautiful woman, whose face was pale and had a deep ligature mark on her neck. She was both beautiful and pitiful.

When Empress Jin saw her mother-in-law arrive, ruining her plans, she thought to herself, "If the old woman had come any later, this great enemy would have been doomed! Now, who knows what trouble she might have caused?" Her phoenix eyes were frosty, and it took her a while to mentally prepare herself. She forced a very unnatural smile and curtsied to the Empress Dowager, saying, "Empress Dowager, I don't know why you're still up so late. I hope you won't offend your eyes by coming all this way."

The Empress Dowager stared at the Empress for a moment before walking past her. She then went to Huang Wanqing's side and looked at her for a while. Huang Wanqing had been strangled quite badly. Even if she didn't die on the spot, her neck and trachea had suffered irreversible damage. It was uncertain whether she could be saved.

"Summon the imperial physician!" the Empress Dowager roared.

The Empress remained silent, and no one dared to summon the imperial physician. The Empress was pleased with the attitude of those around her. She spoke gently to the Empress Dowager, saying, "Your Majesty, I have come here on His Majesty's orders. I dare not disobey His Majesty's will."

"Huang Yunu practiced witchcraft in the Cold Palace, burying effigies under trees to curse the Emperor and the fate of the Song Kingdom. She should be executed, and her entire family should be implicated. The fact that she is only granted Bai Ling is a favor from the Emperor."

The Empress Dowager took a deep breath and said, "Suiying, help your mistress to bed to rest."

Suiying quickly agreed, and Ruyi and Xueli helped her carry the person into the house.

The room was a mess. Sherry couldn't bear to look at it and helped tidy up. Suiying glanced at her a few more times. They finally found a blanket that was barely enough to cover themselves with. The beautiful woman was still unconscious. Sherry went to check on her; her neck was swollen very high. She didn't know if she could make it through.