Chapter 520: Palace Search

She had inadvertently caught a glimpse of the other person's face just now.

Eight words to describe it: a pallid, deathly pale complexion.

This was by no means the skin tone of a normal person.

And his hands—pale as paper, icy cold without warmth.

His black fingernails were sharp and fierce; merely touching his skin sent a chill down Empress Dowager Yuan's spine.

She swallowed hard, too afraid to move a muscle.

Hua Feixue heard the sound of swallowing and sneered inwardly. So the old hag was scared already?

Hua Feixue tightened her grip on Empress Dowager Yuan's neck, deliberately leaning close to her ear, and said in a sinister tone, "I heard that this Prince is dead, and you wanted to bury me together with my mother. So I've come back to check on you."

"Think how lonely this Prince would be on the journey to the underworld alone—why don't you join me down there?"

As she spoke, a vicious glint flashed in her eyes, and she increased the pressure of her grip, choking Empress Dowager Yuan until her mouth gaped open and her eyes rolled back in her head.

Hua Feixue remembered Ji Yuntang's instructions and didn't dare choke the Empress Dowager to death. Only when she was on the brink of death did she ease off slightly.

"Letting you die that easily would be letting you off too easy. This Prince ought to make you experience the pain of a broken family as well."

Gasping, Empress Dowager Yuan greedily gulped down the fresh air.

Her first instinct was to call for help, but when she turned her head, she saw that Nanny An had already collapsed on the ground, out cold.

As for the shadow guards responsible for her protection, they were still at Cining Palace. Empress Dowager Yuan hadn't called them over, not wanting to alert others in the palace.

For the first time, she felt utterly helpless, with no one to turn to.

Cold sweat drenched Empress Dowager Yuan's back. Sensing danger, she said in terror, "Chu Yi, whether you're a man or a ghost, don't you dare do anything rash."

"If you dare touch a single hair on my head, I'll kill your father and send him to the afterlife to reunite with your mother and siblings."

"The entire Xishu Kingdom is under my control now. If you don't want to see the Chu clan's dynasty fall, release me."

"If anything happens to me, the Yuan family will definitely avenge me."

A murderous intent blazed in Hua Feixue's eyes. Even at a time like this, the old hag still didn't forget to threaten her.

Did she really think she could push her around?

Hua Feixue thought that since she couldn't kill the old hag, she could at least get some payback, right?

Her gaze fell on Empress Dowager Yuan's terrified face, and a thought crossed her mind.

From what she knew, the old hag cared most about her looks. If she slashed her face, wouldn't her expression be absolutely priceless?

Just as Hua Feixue drew a dagger and was about to slash Empress Dowager Yuan's face, an arrow shot toward her.

With a furious shout and the sound of pounding footsteps, Hua Feixue saw a team of guards dressed in black holding torches running toward her.

She knew these were the palace guards, who patrolled the palace.

When Empress Dowager Yuan saw the guards, she looked as if she'd found a savior. She shouted, "Help! Over here!"

Hua Feixue's eyes narrowed dangerously. Knowing she couldn't stay any longer, she kicked Empress Dowager Yuan directly, then used her qinggong to flee.

Before leaving, she said one last thing to Empress Dowager Yuan.

"Old hag, just you wait. You'll soon join us in the afterlife."

With that, she vanished into the night.

Ji Yuntang was also sweating bullets for Hua Feixue, but seeing her return safely, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Without a second thought, she quickly pulled Hua Feixue into the space and hid herself inside as well.

Empress Dowager Yuan was rescued, helped to her feet by the guard commander Zhu Wei.

Zhu Wei knelt on the ground, hardly daring to breathe. "I arrived too late, Your Majesty. Please punish me."

Empress Dowager Yuan's face contorted with rage. Clutching her throbbing neck, she roared, "Commander Zhu, take your men and search every single palace chamber. I must find the assassin who attacked me tonight!"

She dared not say she'd seen Chu Yi, so she claimed she'd been attacked by an assassin instead.

Zhu Wei acknowledged the order. "Yes, Your Majesty. I'll send men to search right away."

Just as he was about to leave, Empress Dowager Yuan's voice called out again. "Wait."

"Does Your Majesty have any other orders?" Zhu Wei asked.

Empress Dowager Yuan narrowed her eyes and said coldly, "Search every corner of the palace, except for the Baohua Hall where the National Advisor resides. Question anyone suspicious you find, especially those wearing red."

Zhu Wei complied. "Yes, Your Majesty."

The guards departed, and Empress Dowager Yuan stood there, still in a daze.

If not for the all too real pain in her neck, she would have thought she was dreaming.

Was it Chu Yi?

Had he really come back?

She had sent people to search for him for two whole years, turning the entire kingdom inside out without finding him.

Yet just now, he had appeared before her out of thin air, with a bloodless face, staring at her as if she were already dead.

So close, and yet so real.

It would be a lie to say she wasn't shaken.

She couldn't bear to imagine that Chu Yi had never left, but had been hiding in the palace all along, watching her every move. The thought was terrifyingly chilling.

But he truly didn't look like a living person, especially when his hand touched her skin—it was so icy cold it chilled her to the bone.

Empress Dowager Yuan felt that in her entire life, she had never touched anything so cold.

That chill seeped into her marrow, and just thinking about it made her hair stand on end.

For a moment, she couldn't tell if the Chu Yi she'd just seen was alive or a ghost.

Or perhaps someone was impersonating Chu Yi, playing tricks on her under cover of darkness?

Empress Dowager Yuan clenched her fists tightly, swearing silently to herself, "Chu Yi, whether you are a man or a ghost, I, the Empress Dowager, will find you and eliminate you!"

"If you're dead, good riddance; but if you're not, then I will make you die once more!"

Just then, Nanny An woke up from the ground, and her first words were,

"Ghost! There's a ghost! Someone, come quickly, catch the ghost..."

Empress Dowager Yuan was seething with anger, shooting her a chilly look and speaking in a tone devoid of warmth.

"Nanny An, in the middle of the night, in this pitch darkness, where would a ghost come from?"

Hearing the Empress Dowager's voice, Nanny An was taken aback, her lips parting slightly.

"Your Majesty, but this humble servant truly just saw a ghost in red clothes flying towards you..."

Unlike the Empress Dowager, who saw him face-to-face, she had dropped her lantern on the ground and had not clearly seen Chu Yi's face.

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