Chapter 496: Obsession (1/2)

Chapter 496: Obsession

Because of the recent explosion, tensions were high within the palace, but Mu Liuyue felt more panicked than anymore. When she first married into the Eastern Palace, she would often spend long nights pacing in front of the gates, hoping to greet her husband. Later on, she lost hope in him and stopped waiting at all. But tonight she had resumed her pacing again, this time to wait for the mama she’d sent out to scour for news.

Why would the thoroughly trained, strict and impartial imperial guards suddenly turn traitor? Why did Mu Qingwu kill the young commander with one sword as soon as he discovered them, and evade all of the crown prince’s questions?

That was all because that young commander was promoted from the ranks of the Mu Clan soldiers. He had always been bossed around by Mu Liuyue during his stay in the clan, but gladly followed her orders even when he was punished for insubordination. His only reasons were that he liked Eldest Young Miss Mu. Of course he was devoted to General Mu’s estate as well, but in the end he’d turned traitor on Mu Liuyue’s orders. The saying went that every hero had a weakness for a beautiful woman, a so-called femme fatale, and Mu Liuyue was his. But when even the turncoat soldiers hadn’t been able to kill Han Yunxi, Mu Liuyue could only panic. She was now waiting for the results of the explosion.

The entire palace was in an uproar over last night’s events with the exception of the deathly still Eastern Palace. Mu Liuyue hadn’t married in very long before the crown prince stopped coming here at all. Aside from an occasional visit, he spent most of his time out of sight. Much of the palace’s original servants had been dismissed as well. This place was no different from a typical Cold Palace. These still and empty rooms had almost drove Mu Liuyue mad before the old mama returned!

Mu Liuyue dashed over and grabbed her. “How is it, how is it? Did that slut die?”

But the old mama only burst into tears. “Imperial consort! We were fooled, absolutely fooled!”

“What do you mean, ‘fooled?’ I’m asking you whether that slut Han Yunxi is dead yet!” Mu Liuyue had been turned muddleheaded by her thoughts of revenge and was both impatient and furious.

“Imperial consort, it was our military depot that exploded! Just then, His Majesty wanted to punish the Great General and Young General, so he ordered them to clear up everything within three days. Otherwise…” the old mama couldn’t even finish her sentence. Back then, the imperial consort had insisted on allying with Noble Consort Chu despite her exhortations. It was a pity that she hadn’t been able to stop her.

Now things were great. The imperial consort was completely lost in her obsession and was simply used by Noble Consort Chu!

“What?!” Mu Liuyue gaped. Then she grabbed the old mama’s shoulder and shook her violently. “What did you say? Repeat that!”

“Imperial consort, it was our military depot that exploded! Not the Han Estate!”

“How could this be? Did you hear the wrong thing?!”

Mu Liuyue’s face was ashen white, afraid to believe her ears.

“There was no mistake! Imperial consort, what do we do now?” The old mama was badly scared because of the two general’s unfavorable plight, while Mu Liuyue was more concerned with Han Yunxi’s life or death. How could she guess the severity of the black market gunpowder case, much less the gravity of the current situation? Her father had so much power and influence that she couldn’t fathom how the emperor could do anything against the Mu Clan.

Not long after the black market explosion, Chu Qingge had found her to discuss ways to assassinate Han Yunxi. Chu Qingge had said that rather than scheme against a slut like Han Yunxi, it was better to dig her out from the roots with outright murder. Mu Liuyue was all too happy to comply with Chu Qingge’s thoughts and offered no end of ideas, but they were all rejected. In the end, Chu Qingge proposed using Duanmu Yao, Long Feiye’s younger martial sister. Duanmu Yao would have ways to lure the Duke of Qin away, giving them ample chances to kill Han Yunxi.

Chu Qingge had also said that the imperial guard turncoats were to be used as a reserve in case their first plan failed. There was no danger of anything going wrong and they were sure to silence all witnesses so it wouldn’t grow into a commotion. Everything had been perfectly planned, but she never expected her big brother to rush back to the capital city not long after he left. Then His Highness Duke of Qin had backtracked and found Han Yunxi. After that, Chu Qingge frantically found her again and said that Han Yunxi had gone to the Han Estate. She suggested they blow the entire estate up!

First, that would kill Han Yunxi; next, they could frame the Han family for the gunpowder case in the black market and for privately seizing gunpowder stores of their own. Chu Qingge even told her that all the gunpowder was outside the city, so in order to get it through the lockdown gates, she’d need her Mu Clan identification token. Mu Liuyue used this token to go in and out of the military barracks. Because both her father and brother were military men, she’d gotten used to living around the soldiers and carrying her own token around. The imperial guards were in charge of guarding the city, but it was easy enough to make them obey with her token in tow.

But afraid that the guards would put up resistance, she’d not only handed over her identification token but other authenticating objects as well. Now it looked like Chu Qingge hadn’t delivered the goods to the Han Estate, but the military depot instead!

“Imperial consort, Noble Consort Chu had bad intentions. She wants to frame General Mu’s estate and the Eastern Palace! We’re now guilty of the most heinous crimes, what do we do?!” the old mama sobbed.

“What are you crying for? My father’s there to block everything! We won’t die!” After rebuking her servant, Mu Liuyue narrowed her eyes, trying her best to rein in her temper. In the end, she failed. “Chu Qingge, you slut! I’m going to kill you!”

The old mama was badly scared by Mu Liuyue’s scream. She quickly grabbed her and cried, “Imperial consort, be careful! Currently, His Majesty knows nothing! If someone hears you shouting like this, it’ll all be over! Esteemed consort, this servant will go find the Great General right away.”

Mu Liuyue finally calmed down at that. “Hurry! When you see my father, just tell him….just tell him that I know my wrongs!” After some thought, she added, “And say that I’ve been so stricken with a guilty conscience that I want to hang myself and die, but you persuaded me otherwise. Say it’s inconvenient for me to leave the palace and ask him personally for punishment, so I’ll definitely kowtow when he comes!”

“Imperial consort, don’t worry, this old servant will definitely put in some good words for you!” the old mama didn’t delay and hurried off, leaving Mu Liuyue extremely depressed. When she had cleared her head enough to think things over, she felt nothing but regret!