Circles Within Circles, Schemes Within Schemes

"Sherry! Sherry!" Song Zhijue's voice practically cracked as he screamed, echoing through the palace like a horror movie jump scare. Everyone present felt their souls do a little terrified tap dance.

Before anyone could recover, Song Zhijue whipped his head around so fast you’d think he’d break his own neck, shooting everyone a glare so venomous even Cao Wan’er felt her knees go wobbly. She’d raised this kid for years, but dang, she’d never seen him go full murder mode like this.

"Mother, what did you do?" Song Zhijue roared.

Cao Wan’er got absolutely roasted by that yell, her brain short-circuiting so hard she forgot how to words.

"Drag out every maid and servant and chop them!" Song Zhijue snapped, practically breathing fire. Maids and eunuchs started sweating bullets, scrambling like cockroaches at a kitchen light.

Gavin Wang and Luna hit the floor so fast it was like their knees had a mind of their own. "Mercy, Your Highness! Mercy!" They kowtowed like their lives depended on it—which, uh, they kinda did. Everyone else had been booted out already, so when the Crown Prince said 'servants,' it was 100% them on the chopping block.

"Mercy, Your Highness! Mercy!" The two kept slamming their foreheads to the floor, hearts full of despair and brains full of question marks. Seriously, what on earth just happened in there?

Aunt Silver side-eyed Ivy Shen, who looked like she’d just lost a fight with a ketchup bottle, then peeked at Cao Wan’er’s face, which was stuck in permanent thundercloud mode. Aunt Silver’s confusion was leveling up by the second—like, did she miss the memo for this episode or what?

She had the worst vibes right now, but heck if she could figure out why. Suspicious energy: maxed out.

"Summon the imperial physicians—NOW!" Song Zhijue bellowed, sounding like he was about to blow the palace roof off.

Seeing this, Cao Wan’er quickly surged her internal force, and in an instant, bright red blood gushed from her mouth. Her body went limp and collapsed to the floor.

"Your Majesty!" Luna cried out, rushing forward to catch the falling Empress.

Even though Song Zhijue was furious, seeing Cao Wan’er like this startled him. He roared again, "Summon the imperial physicians! Summon the imperial physicians—NOW!"

Blood is thicker than water. In that moment, Aunt Silver felt an unexpected warmth—after all, Cao Wan’er had raised him for so many years.

"Jue’er…" Blood dripped from Cao Wan’er’s mouth as she reached a trembling hand toward Song Zhijue, her face deathly pale.

Seeing this, Song Zhijue quickly handed Ivy Shen to Aunt Silver, then rushed to Cao Wan’er's side and grabbed her hand. "Mother, Mother, what’s wrong? What happened?" Looking at her like this, he started to wonder if maybe he’d blamed her wrongly.

Cao Wan’er saw the worry in Song Zhijue’s eyes and felt a warm glow in her heart. "Jue’er… Jue’er still cares about his mother…"

"Mother, what are you talking about? No matter what you do, Jue’er will always be your child!" This line made the half-conscious Ivy Shen scoff coldly—clearly, no matter how hard she tried, this guy’s heart was still stuck on that witch. Fine, she’d just have to speed things up!

"Silly child…" Hearing Song Zhijue’s words, Cao Wan’er’s heart bloomed with joy. She hurriedly said, "It was her… it was her…"

"Mother?" Song Zhijue frowned as he saw her point at Ivy Shen. Was she saying Sherry was the one who hurt her?

Ha, as if. But still, why does his mother hate her so much? Why can’t she tolerate her?

"Jue’er, it was her—it was Sherry who saved me!" Out of nowhere, Cao Wan’er’s words stunned Song Zhijue, everyone present, and even the half-conscious Ivy Shen.

"Mother, what did you say?" Song Zhijue thought he’d misheard and had to ask again.

Cao Wan’er took a deep breath. "That… that black-clad intruder who broke into the Demon-Sealing Cell—he suddenly appeared and tried to kill me. It was her, she risked her life to block the fatal blow!" She gripped his hand. "She… Mother misjudged her. She’s a good girl. You have to save her, you must!" In moments like this, Ivy Shen wasn’t the only one playing mind games—Cao Wan’er was a master herself. Why risk danger when you can carve a new path?

Right now, Ivy Shen had to admit—Cao Wan’er’s scheming was next-level. Ruthless, too. With this move, Song Zhijue would never suspect his mother again. And with her new ‘savior’ status, Cao Wan’er could visit anytime she liked… which meant she could try to kill Ivy anytime, and pin it all on that mysterious ‘intruder.’ Ivy couldn’t expose her, not without revealing her own martial skills. If Cao Wan’er could hide them for years, she was obviously a pro. Even if Ivy spoke up, no one would believe her. In the end, both their injuries would just be blamed on the fake attack.

Savage. Seriously, savage!

Old foxes are always the trickiest!

In that moment, Ivy Shen had to reevaluate Cao Wan’er. No wonder she was able to take her father’s life!

No wonder she could run the court for years without the Phoenix Imperial Seal. This woman really had skills!

"Mother…" At that moment, seeing his mother moved by the woman he loved, Song Zhijue felt like happiness had hit him out of nowhere. But then he remembered—the person in his master’s arms was still badly hurt.

"Sherry… Sherry, you have to live! I—I misjudged you!" With that, Cao Wan’er knew she’d done everything she needed to, and let herself faint.

"Mother… quick, summon the imperial physicians!" Song Zhijue shouted loudly.

"Y-yes, yes!" Gavin Wang was still shaken from earlier and scrambled out, nearly tripping over himself.

*****

"Huh? Where’s Uncle? Where did he go?" Worker A looked around, not seeing his martial uncle, and asked in confusion.

Worker B wiped his sweat and put another bucket of waste oil on the cart. "Who knows? The master didn’t come today, and this Uncle doesn’t look like someone who knows how to work. He just kept looking around—clearly never seen a place like this before."

"Hey, don’t say that. If we hadn’t followed the master, we’d never have gotten into the palace in our lives. Sure, we’re just hauling waste oil, but selling it to pig farmers is good money. The palace feed is so rich, the pigs outside get fat, and since we started working here, our families eat well and live better. It’s Uncle’s first time in the palace—anyone would act like that. If it were you, you’d probably do the same." Worker A hefted another bucket onto the cart as he spoke.

This chapter isn’t over yet~.~ Click next page for more!

Just then, a eunuch walked over. "Your Uncle already left. He said his stomach hurt and went home early." First time getting paid so much, and by an old guy, too—these days, weird stuff happens all the time. But hey, money’s money!

"What, Uncle’s already gone?" Worker B frowned, annoyed. "There’s barely anyone here today. I thought we’d wait till the afternoon for the rest of the crew, but Uncle insisted he was strong enough to do the work of five men. Yeah, right. He saw all this and just ditched us—seriously! Don’t be fooled by these buckets, this job is actually exhausting."

"Enough complaining. What’s the use now? Let’s just figure out how to get home. Tomorrow, we’ll tell the master not to bring that Uncle again—he’s totally unreliable." Worker A looked at all the stuff and felt just as annoyed.

"Fine, fine. We’ll just work harder and get this done slowly. Let’s get out of the palace first, then I’ll find someone to help haul the rest." Worker B said quickly.

"Mm." Worker A nodded and got back to work.

Meanwhile, while the two were busy working, an old man in shabby clothes was darting across the rooftops, hiding himself from view.

For someone who’d been to the palace so many times, scouting around was easier for him than for anyone else.

These days, the eunuchs were such gossips—even at the waste oil station, you could hear palace rumors. Ethan Chu, who usually hated gossip, suddenly found it endearing; it brought him crucial news, and worrying news at that.

The Crown Prince’s Palace?!

Xinyer’s hurt?!

Xinyer got hurt in the Crown Prince’s Palace?!

Right then, Ethan Chu wished the gossip was even juicier—he had no idea how Xinyer got hurt, how serious it was, or if she was recovering!

At that moment, Ethan Chu felt glad he’d come to the palace. Xinyer was all alone here, hurt with no one by her side. His hands clenched unconsciously. Dragon’s den, tiger’s lair—so what? He’d long since stopped caring about life or death. Now that he was here, he was determined to see Xinyer and tell her: I’m here. I’ll always be here.

Standing in a hidden spot high above, Ethan Chu glanced toward the Crown Prince’s Palace. He’d already mapped out the perfect route. Xinyer, wait for me—I’ll come see you tonight!

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