Chapter 96: End of Volume One.

Chapter 96: End of Volume One

Drawing two deep breaths, Liu Qiao composed herself slightly. “Where is his body?”

Huo Ling did not answer directly. “I thought you would be more concerned about the fate of Duke Liu and Ji Yuanwan.”

Under the flickering candlelight, a glint flashed in Liu Qiao’s eyes. “You killed even Ji Hanhang—why show mercy to those two?”

“Then do you want to hear what Ji Yuanwan said before he died?”

Even though she had already guessed the outcome, Liu Qiao still felt a stabbing pain.

The pain, soul-deep, made her afraid to breathe too heavily. She raised her eyes, defiant. “And what about you? Why are you seeing me one last time in the dead of night? What is it you want from me?”

Huo Ling asked, “The late emperor’s poisoning—you were behind it, weren’t you?”

Liu Qiao lifted her chin. “I’ve no idea what you mean.”

“It seems you won’t give up until all hope is lost.”

Huo Ling glanced toward the door, signaling for Qiu Hongzhen to enter.

Qiu Hongzhen had been standing guard outside, anxious for Huo Ling’s safety. Hearing her call, he hurried in without delay, holding an arrow quiver.

“Open the quiver, then leave.”

The broken arrow came into view.

Blood had dried on the arrowhead, oozing an ominous aura.

“Duke Liu, Liu Yun, who was favored by the throne for generations, rose in rebellion and was shot dead by me on the spot.”

“Ji Yuanwan, heir to Prince Duan, once raised at court, had been granted a special decree by the late emperor allowing him to inherit his title unchanged. After being captured, he used this very arrow—the same one that killed Liu Yun—to run himself through, dying in penance to the late emperor.”

Liu Qiao trembled slightly, her eyes turning bloodshot.

Her child had not died by another’s hand, but had chosen death in despair.

How unbearable that must have been.

But after her initial shock, she closed her eyes, cutting off further exchange with Huo Ling.

“Do you truly believe your silence will hide the crimes of Prince Duan’s estate and Duke Liu’s household in poisoning the late emperor?”

Her eyes snapped open. “What do you mean by that?”

Huo Ling pulled out a transcribed confession from her sleeve and tossed it before Liu Qiao.

“It means I now hold damning evidence proving Prince Duan’s estate and Duke Liu’s household poisoned the late emperor.”

“Wen Shengan, Second Prince Cheng, and other high-ranking officials have all seen this evidence. They unanimously urged me to handle Prince Duan and Duke Liu discreetly, to avoid exposing such a royal scandal to the public.”

Liu Qiao was no fool. Putting the pieces together, she understood Huo Ling’s implication.

She looked at Huo Ling, her eyes burning with hatred.

Yet beneath that hatred lurked a deeper fear.

“How *convenient* for you to forge such proof.”

Liu Qiao glanced at the incriminating evidence, her blood boiling within her as a dark trickle of blood seeped from her lips. "This evidence couldn't have been forged in just a day or two. You must have planned not to spare us ever since Emperor Jingyuan's incident."

"The winner takes all. Now that I've fallen into your hands, do as you will—kill me or carve me up."

Huo Ling said, "Ji Yuanwan and Duke Liu raised troops in rebellion. That crime alone is enough to justify wiping out their entire clans."

"You've always tried to one-up me. If the late emperor truly fell victim to your schemes, why don’t you dare admit it now? Could it be that you still cling to some futile hope?"

Huo Ling slightly lifted an eyebrow and suddenly remarked, "Speaking of which, the Swallow Feather Army searched Prince Duan’s entire residence but couldn’t find Ji Yuankang. And the headcount at Duke Liu's estate doesn't add up either."

"Before the uprising began, you sent away several children first. If the rebellion failed, those children could carry on the Liu bloodline. That was your plan, wasn’t it?"

Liu Qiao remained silent, her breaths coming harder. The blood at the corner of her lips had yet to dry before fresh dark blood covered it again.

Huo Ling could see that by this point, both Liu Qiao’s body and will were on the verge of collapse.

Huo Ling gave Liu Qiao no time to recover, instead dealing another devastating strike.

She pulled a small box from her sleeve and opened it, revealing an ornately made longevity lock.

The lock was slightly charred, as if scorched by flames.

At the sight of it, Liu Qiao’s calm facade broke entirely—it was the longevity lock Ji Yuankang never removed.

"You... Huo Ling, what have you done?!"

"So you recognize it," Huo Ling said. "This lock was recovered from the City God Temple in the capital outskirts. I only obtained it recently."

Mentioning the temple location proved Huo Ling wasn’t lying—she'd truly caught Ji Yuankang and the others. The last of Liu Qiao's fighting spirit drained away with Huo Ling’s words. She slumped backward, letting out a broken laugh as tears fell.

Huo Ling summoned Wu Feng. "Tell the Princess Consort of Duan about your movements these past two days."

Wu Feng faced Liu Qiao and reported dutifully: "After the Swallow Feather Army arrived in the capital outskirts, I followed Her Ladyship's orders to meet General Huo. From him, I led several hundred soldiers to surround the City God Temple."

"I personally led a team of trusted men to guard the tunnel exit, where we intercepted Prince Duan fleeing with Second Young Master Ji and several young masters of the Liu family."

"A scuffle broke out during the arrest, and someone dropped a torch. The temple was filled with dry weeds, and before we could stop it, the fire engulfed Prince Duan's group, charring their bodies past identification."

"This longevity lock was found on the corpse of a boy around ten years old. Does the Princess Consort recognize it?"

"I failed in my mission. I beg Her Ladyship's forgiveness and offer my condolences to the Princess Consort."

Arsenic was a deadly poison. Though Qiu Hongzhen and the others reacted swiftly after Liu Qiao ingested it, they could only buy her a little more time.

Upon hearing Wu Feng’s words of “condolences,” Liu Qiao clutched her chest and spat out a mouthful of dark blood.

"How clever... killing them and burning the proof..."

"How convenient... a fire during the rain..."

"So everything was part of your scheme. Huo Ling, I lost not from lack of skill, but because I wasn’t as ruthless as you."

Huo Ling looked down at the dying Liu Qiao, her face unreadable. "Do you still not understand your mistake? Your failure?"

"My original plan was to slowly bleed Prince Duan’s residence and Duke Liu’s estate of their influence. It was your attack on the late emperor that forced me to eliminate you completely."

Liu Qiao raged silently, her voice barely a whisper. "I'm not wrong."

"Once power slips from my grasp, the lives of Prince Duan’s household and the Duke of Liu’s family will all be in your hands. Am I supposed to bet on an enemy’s conscience? Should I risk my whole family’s lives on a foe’s mercy?"

"If Emperor Jingyuan hadn’t suddenly met his demise, if that idiot Ji Hanhang still had a soft spot for you—just a little more time, and who’s to say I’d be the one losing?"

Wait—no.

As if struck by a sudden thought, Liu Qiao gave Huo Ling a dazzling, manic grin.

Her once-perfect makeup was now streaked and ruined by the rain, contrasting sharply with the black blood at her lips, making her look deranged and monstrous.

"A child emperor, widows left behind—I may have lost, but you didn’t win clean."

"You’re here to ask if the late emperor was poisoned, aren’t you? You guessed right—I did poison him. The late emperor’s death buried Prince Duan and the Duke of Liu’s house with him—worth every second."

"As for what poison was used and how it was administered—that secret dies with me. You’ll never know."

Huo Ling’s heart sank slightly at Liu Qiao’s response. Even now, Liu Qiao still wouldn’t crack—she’d never talk.

But after a brief moment of frustration, Huo Ling regained her composure.

Evidence always turns up. With Prince Duan’s residence and the Duke of Liu’s household now raided, it’s just a question of how long it’d take.

"The first Duke of Liu fought beside Emperor Taizu, conquering the realm. Yet in your generation, you resorted to poisoning the late emperor, shaking the court, and now you brag—what a disgrace to your ancestors."

Liu Qiao’s crazed grin turned to ice.

"Since you’ve admitted to poisoning the late emperor, I’ll tell you this—the last words Ji Yuanwan spoke before his suicide were—"

"You once told him that in the royal game, losers get nothing."

"He really was a dutiful son. Though it was your ambition and resentment that drove him to this end, even in death, he remembered your words."

Liu Qiao’s expression was numb. "You telling me this to watch me cry before I die?"

Having said what she needed, Huo Ling turned her head slightly, giving Wu Feng a long look, then strode out of the hall.

Wu Feng did not follow her.

Instead, he approached Liu Qiao, drawing the imperial blade at his waist. His gaze flickered to the teapot on the table before he slowly sheathed the weapon again.

Liu Qiao seemed oblivious to his presence. She sat frozen, tears rolling down as she recalled the words she had once spoken to Yuanyuan.

She claimed she had no regrets, that she would never admit guilt—yet in a single day, because of her obsession and madness, two children had died, and her entire family had fallen...

No... no... Even now, she did not regret any of it.

The only thing she regretted was that when she still held Huo Ling’s fate in her hands, she hadn’t gone to the palace to name Huo Ling as a concubine...

Water forced down her throat. In her struggle, the prayer beads at her wrist shattered.

As the beads scattered, Liu Qiao’s vision blurred.

She seemed to see herself at that flower-viewing banquet, resplendent in full attire, plucking the strings of her zither—one stunning song, leaving the crowd in awe.

What did she even look like then...?

What did she even look like?

She couldn’t recall anymore.

All she remembered were the pots of green chrysanthemums beside her at that year’s flower-viewing banquet, blooming so splendidly...

Defiant against the frost, vibrant and full of life.

***

After a night of torrential rain, the storm slowly let up.

The once pitch-black horizon now showed a sliver of dawn, a blend of brightness and shadow—another new day.

Huo Ling stood under the eaves, watching the rain pour down in sheets.

She’d been standing there for who knows how long when the sound of a door opening came from behind. Wu Feng bowed his head and reported, “Your Majesty, the condemned Liu Qiao has died from poison.”

Huo Ling raised her hand, catching the falling raindrops, letting the icy water slowly rinse away the burns on her hand.

Liu Qiao was right about one thing—this was a pyrrhic victory.

But it didn’t matter.

That’s just how life was—it never went exactly as planned.

As long as she was alive and knew what she wanted, temporary setbacks would only harden and sharpen her.

Six years ago, in the western lands of Yan, the girl who’d worked tirelessly for her father’s ambitions had merely wished to enter the capital and glimpse the true face of power.

Who’d have thought that in just six years, she would not only witness the heights of imperial authority but also hold the world’s highest power in the emperor’s name.

As Huo Ling prepared to return to the palace, a shrill, desperate cry suddenly pierced the air—like the final wail of a creature in its last moments.

Following the sound, she saw a soldier clutching a birdcage hurrying past in the distance.

Qiu Hongzhen, noticing Huo Ling’s gaze, immediately ordered someone to stop the soldier.

Huo Ling eyed the ornate golden cage first before turning her attention to the wild goose inside, its feathers thin and patchy.

Slowly, she reached out, playfully poking at the bird through the bars.

Sensing an unfamiliar presence, the wild goose showed no signs of aggression.

It struggled to lift its head, nuzzling Huo Ling’s palm weakly before letting out another feeble cry—clearly long tamed.

“Indeed,” Huo Ling murmured. “No matter how carefully a caged goose is tended to, it will always lack the untamed spirit of one born and bred in the wild.”

- End of Volume One -

Volume Two: Family Turned Enemies