Poison Genius Consort

ven after you bury her!” Han Yunxi yelled, but the empress didn’t react to her words.
Instead, she grew even more agitated and wild.

“You shut up! You’re the one who killed Changping, it has to be you! As long as you die, she’ll be at peace!”

If Han Yunxi was paying more attention, she definitely would have noticed that the empress was behaving very abnormally.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have any more time to notice such details.
Rope was looped around her neck to tie her hands behind her back before she was pulled up to dangle above the pot of boiling oil.
Her two legs were less than half a chi[1] above the liquid’s surface, forcing her to draw up her legs to avoid getting burned by the steam.

There was only a single rope holding her up from the back, held in place by a guard on the side.
As soon as this rope was loosened, her entire body would fall into the pot of oil.
Temperatures like that should cook her in an instant, right? There was enough oil in the pot to submerge her entire body.
She had no way to imagine what it’d feel like if she fell in.
She clenched her jaw but couldn’t stop herself from shaking.

Too horrific!

Who could save her?!

Seeing Han Yunxi trembling above the pot of oil, the empress’s feelings finally calmed down.
“Han Yunxi, did you kill Princess Changping?” she asked loudly.

Han Yunxi kept trembling without looking at the empress.
Instead, she stared at the hot, rolling oil without speaking a word.

“Answer the question!” the empress’s voice rose.
But Han Yunxi still didn’t speak.
She’d already bitten her lip hard enough to draw blood.

“Very good.
You won’t confess, is that it?” the empress took a deep breath and walked over, snatching the rope from the bodyguard’s hands.
Her forceful wresting immediately caused the rope to slacken a notch.

“Ahhh…! Help!” Han Yunxi cried out, her heart tearing to bits! Her knees were drawn up against her chest, but her shins were right above the oil’s surface.
Only a little bit more, a teeny bit further, and they’d touch the oil.
Her heart pounded rapidly, and even breathing had gotten difficult.
She didn’t dare to look down anymore and tightly shut her eyes, thinking of only one thing.

Who could save her?!

The empress held onto the rope with a twisted sense of happiness, looking with interest at Han Yunxi as she spoke.
“Han Yunxi, I’ll give you a final chance.
Will you…or won’t you…confess?”

Confess, or not confess?

Live, or die?

How could she confess to something she’d never done? Once she did, she was dead for certain! The only difference was that not confessing would make her death infinitely more painful!

Suddenly, the empress’s voice grew stern.
“Han Yunxi, answer my question!”

Unexpectedly, Han Yunxi suddenly opened her eyes and glared at the empress.
“I don’t confess! I didn’t do it! You’ve treated me unjustly with illegal punishment to extort a false confession! You’re the one that’s making Changping die without answers in discontent! You’ll never find peace for the rest of your life!”

“Han Yunxi, you’re courting death!” the empress was angry.
Slowly, the rope in her hand was raised bit by bit, but Han Yunxi didn’t struggle or curl her her body this time.

No matter what big things she did, she’d admit to all of them! But as for things she’d never done, she wouldn’t admit them even if she was beaten to death! She silently observed the trundling waves of oil as her lips set in a determined line.
It was a beautiful, heroic expression in the face of death.
Whether or not she confessed, she’d die anyways.
Why compromise with concessions that’d break her own backbone? Why not die with magnanimity, natural and unrestrained?

There were some principles and self-respect that you had to hold onto no matter what happened.

The rope lowered gradually by degrees.
The edges of her dress began to grow heavy, having sank into the hot oil first.
Very soon, her shins would be next.
She told herself, Han Yunxi, you’re brave!

“Han Yunxi, what a showing! I’ll let you taste the feeling of frying your lower legs first!” the empress raged, before slackening on the rope!

She fell down directly!

And yet it was right at this second that a figure suddenly flew in like an arrow.

Thud!

Han Yunxi’s fall was abruptly halted before her entire person was pulled upwards.
She immediately opened her eyes, only to see…only to see Long Feiye standing on the edge of the pot, one hand pulling up the rope above her head, the other holding the back of her body.
He was dressed all in white, his stance tall and straight like a vigorous pine.
Still, he appeared as light as an immortal.
As always, his face was calm and undisturbed, but those dark, fathomless eyes burned with heinous rage that reached to the skies!

Long Feiye, you have to be my guardian angel, right?

Long Feiye, it’s been five days…but I’ve finally waited until you came.

Han Yunxi was completely frightened, but she inexplicably smiled without even noticing her eyes had grown wet.
Nobody had expected Long Feiye would appear now of all times.
The empress was the one most amazed.
She’d released the rope entirely and backed into a wall.

How did Long Feiye get in?

The empress dowager had already issued a prohibition on all visitors.
Today she’d came down only after telling both the empress dowager and the emperor! Although there was no conclusive proof that Han Yunxi was the murderer, the emperor had dropped hints that she had the greatest suspicions.
If they couldn’t find any evidence, then the only way left was to interrogate Han Yunxi.
Thanks to Madame Li’s words before her death, the emperor had long considered Han Yunxi and the Duke of Qin as thorns in his eyes.
If he couldn’t’ get rid of the Duke of Qin, he could at least try to kill Han Yunxi first.

After calming herself, the empress asked, “Duke of Qin, who allowed you in without the empress dowager’s decree?”

Long Feiye coldly replied, “And just who allowed you to perform illegal punishment to extort a false confession from torture, Empress?” As he spoke, he pulled Han Yunxi over and took her away from the pot of oil…

-o-

[1] chi (尺) – Chinese unit of measurement from about the tip of the thumb to the tip of the forefinger.