No man would ever enter the sleeping chamber of a consort; only eunuchs at best.
This was an iron law; even a prince or the crown prince couldn’t violate.
It was a palace with an entrance made out of jade stones and great pillars. The walls were made from golden bronze; roof tiles were made from glazed crystals. Only a Divine Consort could enjoy this extravagant palace with powerful inner guards.
Unfortunately, these inner guards were all dead.
Inside the chamber was a three-foot-tall cauldron burning white-orchid incense. This precious scent still wasn’t enough to hide the stench of blood, especially harsh once noticed.
Feiyun’s eyes narrowed and saw a wondrous beauty lying in a pool of blood; a sword had pierced through her chest from the back, staining her white dress red.
This great beauty had an elegance and grace beyond other pretty women. She was obviously Consort Luo.
She didn’t participate in this power struggle yet still died because of it. Her mouth was to blame for this. If she didn’t tell her clan master about the secret letter, this news wouldn’t have leaked.
Thus, it didn’t matter how beautiful, influential, and powerful someone was. Talking too much might lead to death.
The mouth was a source of disaster - everyone knew this. Alas, few could truly keep a secret, especially women whose nature inclined towards gossiping.
Did the crown prince kill her?
No!
Long Shenya himself was pale, sitting in the chamber. He had flipped this place over, even the tiles on the ground. All the wooden beams were destroyed but he failed to find what he was searching for.
A eunuch stood next to him, thin with long, gray brows virtually blocking his eyes.
Though he looked on the verge of death, his aura was quite dangerous and had the yin affinity, enough to freeze the red clouds on the horizon. No one could get close to Shenya with him around.
This was the Chief Attendant of the Northern Palace, one of the five mains eunuchs in the imperial palace.
Shenya saw Feiyun at the entrance and gave him a brief side-eye: “Feng Feiyun, you’re one step late.”
Feiyun noticed the eunuch’s dangerous aura and didn’t come in. He sneered: “You as well.”
The consort clearly didn’t die to Long Shenya. Someone else got ahead of them, so he didn’t obtain the letter and Regal Dragon Robe. Otherwise, he would have left long ago.
Shenya’s expression turned colder as he left deep marks on the resting arms of his chair. Just imagine, he risked his life to come here - the throne was his for the taking. Alas, someone got here even earlier. He nearly vomited blood from anger.
“Hmph! I might be late but I know who took the two items.” Shenya said.
Feiyun glanced over at the consort’s corpse. His eyes became serious since he had a pretty good guess.
Though Shenya was a coward, he was still an intelligent genius: “Consort Luo was a Giant at the seventh level. There is only one wound on her body, the killing move. It shows that she was killed without putting up a fight.”
The Jin Emperor wouldn’t have given her the items if she wasn’t strong enough.
He continued: “Thus, her killer is either someone she trusts or far stronger than her. Of course, there is also a third scenario - this person has the Silk Cloak of Invisibility and snuck behind the consort to deliver the fatal blow.”
“The first is unlikely because those close to her aren’t as strong. Even an unexpected attack wouldn’t end her within a single strike. The second? If there was a real master sneaking into the palace, they wouldn’t need to kill her from behind since they could just suppress her and force her to hand over the two items, no need to look around this place.”
“So, this thief must have had the invisible cloak - she is the most beautiful in the world - Nangong Hongyan.”
Feiyun didn’t say anything. This analysis matched his own.
It must have been Nangong Hongyan. She took the Regal Dragon Robe in order to gather all five divine garments and the letter for Feiyun’s sake.
‘She didn’t listen to me about leaving the capital and got involved in this mess.’ Feiyun became worried. Though she had the Firebird Gown and Cloak of Invisibility, rendering Giants useless, her own cultivation was still too weak.
Plus, the capital was a troubled place right now with people stronger than Giants appearing. They could spot her through the cloak.
Many big powers would go all out for the two items. Feiyun didn’t even know if he could leave the capital alive, let alone Hongyan in possession of the items.
What she took weren’t two treasures but two potential disasters.
‘She must have been next to me all along, that’s why she heard my conversation with Long Qingyang and knew about Consort Luo. She’s no different from a shadow, serving me tea when I’m thirsty, perhaps she was also there quietly by my side when I embraced Ji Lingxuan then buried her, regardless of the freezing snow. She didn’t show herself because she was afraid that I would blame her. Always waiting by my side, wearing that thin dress…’
When loving someone, watching them quietly in the shadows was enough.
Feiyun had an ominous feeling as if the thing he didn’t want to see the most would happen. He wanted to go find her right away. In his mind, ten dynasties weren’t as important as one Hongyan. He would be in pain for the rest of his life if something were to happen to her.
When loving someone, one must love everything about them and forgive their flaws. Nangong Hongyan was cruel and calculating but she did love him, willing to enter a tiger’s lair for his sake without worrying about her own life.
What more could one ask for out of a lover?
“Feng Feiyun, you think you can leave?” Shenya smirked cruelly: “Trouble in the imperial palace with a Divine Consort’s resting chamber destroyed, and she herself died. Someone needs to be responsible for this. I would have been pursuing Nangong Hongyan if I wasn’t waiting for you.”
“You want to put the blame on me?” Feiyun felt a powerful aura locking on him, rendering him immobile. If he were to slightly move, a powerful attack would come.
“Feng Feiyun was lawless, rushing into the harem, wanting to shame the consort but she resisted. He ended up killing her out of rage. I, the crown prince, ended killing this animal on the spot to make an example out of him. What do you think if I were to present your corpse to the public with this message? They will trust me?” Shenya smiled.
The Northern Chief Attendant smiled as well: “Given his history, he would definitely do something like this.”
Feiyun also smiled with an evil stare: “Of course I can. However, I would go even harder if it was Consort Beiming.”
Consort Beiming was Shenya’s birth mother so this worked quite well as an insult
“You court death!” Shenya gritted his teeth and told the chief attendant to go for it.
A palm strike with a frigid chill froze the entrance with a thick layer that continued to spread.
The opponent was too fast and Feiyun was already locked-on from the start with no chance to escape.
Feiyun activated his 9,998 beast souls. His arms doubled in size, filled with beast runes. He roared and punched with both hands at the same time.
“Boom!” He felt as if he was striking a mountain. The backlash ran through his hands and made him fly outside. His organs were shaking; chest overwhelmed with pain.
This was the power of a Giant. No wonder why Shenya wasn’t afraid at all. This was more than enough to kill Feiyun.
At the same time, the sound of formations being assaulted continued. The rest of the Beiming experts led by three half-steps didn’t give up. They finally broke through and rushed for the resting chamber with wind-breaking speed.
There was no lack of masters and guards in the imperial palace; some were at the Giant level. However, they hid in the shadow and didn’t dare to take action. This was a competition for the throne. Picking the wrong side could result in death.
They prioritized survival first while watching the developments.
Divine King, Princess Luofu, and the crown prince - it was best to let them fight while maintaining neutrality in order to not offend any of them.
‘I can’t stop or I’ll be trapped, won’t be able to do anything then.’ Feiyun leaped to the sky, wanting to break the containment barrier in order to leave the palace.
“Boom!” Northern Chief Attendant broke a wall and rushed out from the resting chamber. His long brows exuded a bright glow and acted like divine silks, growing longer and longer. They started flying in the air, aiming straight for Feiyun’s neck.