Chapter 49: Without Blood, Nothing is Achieved

That Shen Ningyuan walked out of the Lin'an Palace alive brought joy to some and sorrow to others.

"What? You say Shen Ningyuan walked out of the Lin'an Palace alive?"

Hearing the palace servant's report, He Yunshu sprang up from the imperial lounge chair, staring at the messenger in utter disbelief.

"Did you see wrong? How could Shen Ningyuan possibly walk out of the Lin'an Palace alive? Didn't that madman Xie挽舟 chop her to pieces with a flurry of blades?"

He Yunshu simply could not believe that Shen Ningyuan could escape with her life from Xie Wanzhou's hands.

From the very beginning, when she lured Shen Ningyuan to the Lin'an Palace, she had been certain that Xie Wanzhou would definitely sever her head.

Seeing that He Yunshu refused to believe it, the reporting servant hurriedly said, "Your Ladyship, this maid definitely did not see wrong. It was Noble Consort Ying who led people to the Lin'an Palace and brought her out. By now, they must have already reached the palace gates!"

"Dammit!" He Yunshu was seething with rage.

Ten years ago, she had been reduced to tears by Cui Jin.

Ten years later, she was forced out of the Palace of Earthly Tranquility by Cui Jin's daughter!

As a dignified empress, she had actually stumbled twice at the hands of this pair of mother and daughter!

At this thought, He Yunshu felt a wave of dizziness from anger.

Supporting her temples, she sat back down on the lounge chair. "Could it be that this empress is just supposed to let this pair of mother and daughter bully me at will?"

He Yunshu gritted her teeth and said, "This empress will never allow this pair of mother and daughter to ride roughshod over my head!"

With that, He Yunshu looked toward Wenying and said in a cold voice, "Do you have a way to deal with Shen Ningyuan on my behalf?"

Wenying paused and asked, "Does Your Ladyship intend to let Cui Jin off?"

"Of course not!" He Yunshu wore a vicious expression. "Do you know what it means to strike at someone's soul by destroying them?"

He Yunshu continued on her own accord, "If I want Cui Jin to suffer a fate worse than death, I only need to target Shen Ningyuan. A mother and child share one heart; seeing her own daughter live a wretched life, she will surely wish she were dead!"

Wenying nodded. "Your Ladyship speaks wisely."

"Do you have a plan?"

"I do," Wenying nodded.

"Tell me quickly!"

"Actually, Your Ladyship doesn't need to do anything at all. Judging from the Ji family's attitude today, this maid noticed that everyone in the Ji family is dying to tear Shen Ningyuan to pieces," Wenying analyzed slowly. "Before the final rites of Ji Yunchuan's seventh day pass, Shen Ningyuan will definitely have to return to the Ji family."

"We only need to provide some assistance to the Ji family, letting them deal with Shen Ningyuan, torturing her fiercely and trampling her underfoot. That way, no matter how Shen Ningyuan eventually dies, it will never be traced back to Your Ladyship!"

He Yunshu's eyes lit up, and her dizziness vanished instantly.

She raised her head to look at Wenying. "You are right. Once Shen Ningyuan returns to the Ji family, it will be like a snake or rat entering a wolf's den; even if she doesn't die, she will be stripped of a layer of skin!"

"Go and keep an eye on this matter. You must find a way to make Shen Ningyuan crawl back to the Ji family!"

"Yes, Your Ladyship!"

Wenying acknowledged the command.

He Yunshu looked out past the palace gates and narrowed her eyes slightly.

Cui Jin, let's wait and see. This empress will not let you live in peace!

-

At this moment, Shen Ningyuan was sitting inside the Song family's carriage, her expression freezing cold.

After a moment, Shen Ningyuan lowered her head to look at her right hand, unable to recover her senses for a long time.

Today, she had killed someone.

This was the first time she had killed someone in her two lifetimes.

Moreover, she had done so inside the Empress's Palace of Earthly Tranquility.

Shen Ningyuan had always believed that taking a life was a terrifying thing.

Yet today, when she killed Lin Shu, she felt it was no different from slaughtering a chicken.

The hairpin pierced through the neck, and a human life could be snuffed out with effortless ease.

At that moment, Shen Ningyuan knew clearly: in the future, in order to protect the Shen family, she would kill many more people.

At this thought, Shen Ningyuan clenched her right hand, her gaze revealing a firm resolve.

"Yuan'er!"

Just then, an urgent shout came from outside the carriage.

It instantly pulled Shen Ningyuan out of her daze.

"Mother?"

Crying out softly, Shen Ningyuan pulled back the carriage curtain and looked outside.

She saw her mother, Cui Jin, riding a tall steed, galloping toward them at an extremely fast pace.

Seeing Shen Ningyuan lift the curtain, Cui Jin became even more frantic.

She abruptly dug her heels into the horse's flanks, charging straight toward Shen Ningyuan's direction.

Reaching the carriage, Cui Jin pulled hard on the reins, and with a shrill whinny, the horse came to a halt right in front of the vehicle.

Cui Jin vaulted down from the saddle and walked quickly toward Shen Ningyuan. "Yuan'er, are you alright?"

Shen Ningyuan shook her head. "Mother, I'm fine."

Cui Jin looked Shen Ningyuan up and down, and only after confirming she was unhurt did she let out a long breath of relief.

"Yuan'er, your sister-in-law sent someone to notify us. We already know about what happened in the palace. It was your mother who implicated you!"

Cui Jin was overcome with lingering fear.

She knew the Empress hated her, but she had never expected the Empress to redirect that vengeance onto Shen Ningyuan.

Nor had she expected the Empress to be so vicious as to lure Shen Ningyuan to the Lin'an Palace, intending for that madman Xie Wanzhou to hack her to pieces!

She had come within a hair's breadth of only ever seeing Shen Ningyuan's corpse!

Cui Jin's eyes welled up with tears as she tightly grasped Shen Ningyuan's hands. "Yuan'er, don't worry. Mother will never let you enter the palace again, and I will never let the Empress harm you in the slightest ever again!"

"Mother, this isn't your fault." Shen Ningyuan turned her hands over to grip Cui Jin's, comforting her softly, "Look at me now, aren't I perfectly fine? Escaping a major disaster is a sign of great fortune to come."

At that moment, another burst of rapid hoofbeats drew near.

Hearing the sound, Shen Ningyuan looked up and saw her father, her eldest brother, and her second brother riding toward them on horseback.