Chapter 101: The Grim News

Like a zombie, she stepped stiffly over the threshold and walked forward, step by step.

Just as she cleared the courtyard gate, a voice called out to her, but she remained completely oblivious.

"Commander Kaiming!" The voice grew louder, but she still did not hear it.

"Snap!" Inside the room, Huo snapped his fingers. All her symptoms vanished, and she suddenly snapped back to reality. Looking around, she wore an expression of astonishment. "Hey, how did I get here?"

"Commander..." the voice from behind persisted.

She turned around and saw a person standing at the entrance—a face carved from white jade, eyes like the bright moon, draped in luxurious robes, radiating a brilliant charm.

Upon seeing this man, she frowned in disgust. "Dai Yuheng?"

Dai Yuheng stepped forward lightly and smiled at her. "In the entire Central Palace, you are probably the only woman who would show such an expression upon seeing me."

*Who says I'm the only one? Doesn't Dayin hate you just as much?* she thought to herself. *Or have you excluded Dayin from the ranks of women?* The thought amused her, and she asked bluntly, "What are you doing here?"

Dai Yuheng smiled faintly. "I had some idle time, so I came to visit tonight. Won't you invite me in for a seat, Commander?"

*A seat?* Kaiming thought. *I’ve got a Bodhisattva residing in my room. If I provoke him, a couple of scorpions will be enough to make you suffer.* She quickly replied, "No need to go in. I’ve already come out anyway."

Dai Yuheng asked politely, "Where are you headed, Commander?"

"Where?" She truly couldn't answer. *Wasn't I inside? How did I end up out here? I only remember arriving home in the carriage. Why would I come right back out after just entering?*

Looking at the sky, the time seemed to have shifted significantly from when she went inside. *Could I have already gone in? Why don't I remember what happened?* Cold sweat beaded on her forehead. *Is this what modern people call amnesia? Am I approaching senility?*

"Commander?"

"Just... just going for a walk." She responded casually, wiping the cold sweat from her brow.

The night breeze was crisp. Having such an exquisitely handsome man walking by her side made her feel entirely uncomfortable. "Doesn't Young Master Dai have a wife at home to cuddle with? Why are you looking for me?"

Dai Yuheng chuckled. "The Commander is as outspoken as ever. I am not yet married; where would I get a wife?" Kaiming gasped—did he actually know who she was referring to?

Observing her expression, Dai Yuheng said, "Judging by your tone, I can roughly guess what you mean."

She let out a long sigh. "Dai Yuheng, you truly are a talent."

Dai Yuheng smiled faintly. "Commander Kaiming, you are not so bad yourself."

Kaiming shot him a sidelong glance. "Did you rush over here tonight, braving the stars and moon, just to act as a lobbyist again?"

"Not at all. Commander Kaiming, are you not aware that a major event has occurred?"

"Major event? What major event?" She was slightly dazed. Why was Dai Yuheng coming to talk to her about affairs of state?

"Something closely related to you..."

"If you have something to say, just spit it out!" she said impatiently.

Dai Yuheng covered his mouth with his fan and chuckled softly. "You’ve been promoted, Commander, yet your speech is becoming increasingly uncouth."

"Did you come here to be my tutor?"

Dai Yuheng shook his head and sighed softly. "Commander, your daughter, Xiaowan, has met with a disaster."

"Xiaowan?!" She was momentarily stunned. "The Xiaowan that Dayin took away?"

Dai Yuheng replied with dissatisfaction, "Do you have two Xiaowans?"

"What happened?" she asked nervously. "Didn't Dayin take her to see her father? Did her father refuse to acknowledge her?!"

Dai Yuheng kept a straight face. "It’s even more serious than that."

"Serious?" She trembled. "Is she injured?"

"It’s more... than just injured."

"Just tell me already!" Flustered, she rushed forward, grabbed his collar, and pinned him against the wall. Dai Yuheng let out a cry of pain.

"Xiaowan... Xiaowan is dead," he gasped.

"Dead?" Kaiming’s lips twitched, forming an ugly smile. "What kind of joke is this? Do you think my life is too peaceful? Are you trying to pull some international prank on me? Hmm?"

Clutching his neck, Dai Yuheng gasped heavily. "I am not lying to you. Right outside the palace wall, in the alleyway, she was run through by a spear by one of Dayin’s subordinates..."

Before he finished, Kaiming’s fingers loosened. Dai Yuheng slid down to the base of the wall and looked up at her. In the faint starlight, her face was blank and expressionless, as if she had been struck senseless.

"Kaiming, this was all... Dayin’s failure to protect her..."

"Xiaowan is dead?" she muttered. How was it possible? A young girl who had been smiling like a flower in front of her just a few days ago, a Xiaowan who had been clamoring to go home—was she really dead? And the most ridiculous part was that it was Dai Yuheng who brought her the news.

"Where?" She turned to Dai Yuheng, who was pulling himself up by the wall, her gaze fierce. "Where is Xiaowan’s body?"

"At... the General's Mansion," he swallowed hard. "The funeral is tomorrow."

Kaiming spun around abruptly. Dai Yuheng rushed forward a few steps and grabbed her sleeve. "Kaiming, don't be impulsive!"

She shook off his hand and glared at him. "If you are involved in this, I will never forgive you!"

Dai Yuheng didn't know how to respond. Seeing her move to leave again, he hurriedly blocked her path. "Don't be rash. You can't handle her alone. Let's think of a plan together..."

"Since when did the young master of the Dai family become so kind-hearted?" Kaiming looked at him coldly. "Or is Xiaowan's death just another scheme you’ve hatched?"

"Kaiming!"

"Get out!"

In the struggle, her pent-up fury ignited. She struck him across the face, leaving five finger marks on the young master’s fair skin. Dai Yuheng stood there, stunned. Since he was a child, given the influence of the Dai family, who had ever dared to treat him with anything but subservience? Who had ever dared to touch a hair on his head? This vulgar woman actually dared to hit him?!

She must have a death wish!

Kaiming didn't even spare him a glance and turned to leave. A dark cloud gathered on Dai Yuheng’s face; he lunged forward and struck her neck with a precise blow. Without a sound, she collapsed.

Rubbing the stinging sensation on his face and hissing in pain, Dai Yuheng was filled with intense resentment. What a wildcat of a woman—she had sharp claws, and he’d been scratched before he knew it.

Knocking her out hadn't been part of the plan, and he was momentarily at a loss. His original plan was to tell her the news of Xiaowan’s death and, while she was seething with hatred for Dayin, win her over to his side. Who would have thought she would explode like that and ruin his entire plan?

He sighed, suppressed his irritation, and tried to pull her up. She was as heavy as a stone. He looked around; the night was silent, with nothing but dark tree shadows and uneven slopes. There was no one in sight.

He cursed under his breath, tucked his folding fan into his belt, rolled up his long sleeves, hauled her unconscious body onto his back, and began to walk slowly forward.

Her home was right here; he would just leave her for the night. When she woke up tomorrow and calmed down, she would naturally be ready to cooperate.

He had never been this close to a woman’s body in his life, and he felt his face growing hotter the further he walked. Her head hung beside his neck, occasionally brushing against his skin, which felt like an electric shock to him. This short journey was pure torture.

Just as he reached the entrance, the two wooden doors swung open on their own. He looked up and saw a man with a cold, indifferent expression.

The man wore long robes, and his long hair—a strange, pale color—lay lazily across his chest. His face was paler than most. Dai Yuheng immediately noticed his eyes; the pupils seemed transparent, emitting a dangerous light in the dark. When he looked at you coldly, it was as if you were nothing more than a corpse in his eyes.

Dai Yuheng froze at the entrance under that death-like gaze.

Huo looked at him, then glanced at the unconscious Kaiming on his back, saying nothing.

Dai Yuheng broke the silence first. "Are you... Kaiming's...?"

"A tenant. Boarding here," he explained simply. "What happened to her?"

"She was overcome by rage and fainted."

Huo stepped aside, gesturing for him to come in.

Dai Yuheng stepped inside and smiled bitterly. "It seems I have no choice but to stay here tonight."

"You don't have to stay here; I will watch over her." Huo pulled the courtyard gate shut and walked up the steps, opening the door. "Just put her here."

Dai Yuheng complied, carrying her into the room and laying her on the floor. Huo skillfully pulled out a quilt and covered her.

Dai Yuheng watched him, filled with suspicion.

"May I ask your name?"

"Huo." After that single word, there was no more.

Dai Yuheng felt awkward. Not knowing the nature of their relationship, he averted his gaze to look around the room, becoming immediately interested in the black lacquerware.

Seeing his interest, Huo warned, "Don't touch the things in this room randomly. They are all poisonous."

Dai Yuheng gasped. This man played with poison in his room?

The candle sputtered, casting flickering light. Huo took up a pair of scissors to trim the charred wick. As the flame brightened, it illuminated his true features. With those light-colored pupils and flaxen hair, Dai Yuheng was startled.

"Is Young Master Huo not from the Central Palace?" he couldn't help but ask.

Huo looked at him and said nonchalantly, "A foreigner."

"A foreigner?" He was slightly stunned and was about to ask more, but Huo issued a dismissal. "It is late. You may leave."

Dai Yuheng could not insist on staying, so he politely bid him farewell and walked out the door.

Just as he stepped down a stair, the courtyard gate was slammed open by a great force. A small, thin figure rushed in frantically, shouting, "Master! Master, something terrible has happened!"

He paused in surprise as the figure brushed past him and dashed into the inner room like a gust of wind.

He stood frozen, not understanding what was happening.

"Wow!" A scream erupted from the inner room. "Master, did you kill her?"

"Nonsense!" Huo barked.

"Then why is she lying there, completely motionless? Ah, you’re testing your Gu on her again, I’ve told you so many times..."

"Enough, don't be so insolent!"

The figure's voice immediately lowered. "Look, here is urgent military intelligence. Do you want to hear it or not?"

"Speak!" Huo commanded angrily.

"Something has happened at the North Palace!" the figure shouted.