Bai Mowan’s expression darkened.
How could someone like Xiao Jinsen, who is utterly unforgivable and seeks power for its own sake, fall in love with anyone?!
Surely she was overthinking!
Yet, it seems she couldn’t quite accept this reality.
She couldn’t accept that Xiao Jinsen was only using her, while he had feelings for someone else.
She would rather believe that Xiao Jinsen was merely using anyone he could.
Even with his past favor towards Xie Zhiyao, she didn’t believe it was because he liked her – it was merely because Xie Zhiyao could satisfy his physical needs.
Bai Mowan did not leave the Imperial Palace right away.
She went to the imperial dungeon where the royal family and nobles were imprisoned.
She went to see Empress Yu Qingyuan.
At this moment, Yu Qingyuan was disheveled, wearing white, her former dignity and elegance as Empress unrecognizable within these walls. The woman now looked like a spiritless convict, devoid of her past luster.
"Empress," Bai Mowan called out to her.
Yu Qingyuan looked up at Bai Mowan.
After a day and night of torment, she had lost all her sharpness.
Her gaze at Bai Mowan was indifferent.
She was somewhat surprised to see Bai Mowan as her visitor.
One would have thought Zhao Mengyu, who hated her the most, would be the one to torment her.
But of course, none of that mattered now.
As for her, she had lost everything.
Power, her son, glory...
She was but a walking corpse, merely waiting for the Emperor to order her execution.
"You all leave first," Bai Mowan ordered the prison guards as the doors of the large prison were opened.
The prison guards promptly departed.
They knew of General Bai’s contributions in saving the Emperor yesterday and naturally did not dare to offend her.
Now, only Yu Qingyuan and Bai Mowan were left in the cell.
Bai Mowan looked coldly at Yu Qingyuan and asked, "How does the Empress feel now?"
"Bai Mowan, don’t tell me you’re still Zhao Mengyu’s person!" Yu Qingyuan scoffed sardonically, convinced that Bai Mowan was sent by Zhao Mengyu.
"Her Majesty worries too much. I do not belong to anyone."
"Then what are you doing here?!" Yu Qingyuan believed she had no grudge with Bai Mowan.
She wouldn’t have come here out of kindness.
Nor was it likely for her to come to insult her at this time.
"I came to tell Her Majesty some truths, so that she can die with clarity."
Yu Qingyuan’s face turned uglier than ever.
She knew full well that the words Bai Mowan was about to speak would not be pleasant ones.
"Do you really believe that the Crown Prince was killed by the King of Chu?" Bai Mowan went straight to the point.
"Wasn’t he?!" Yu Qingyuan retorted fiercely, unable to contain her emotions when speaking of the Crown Prince.
"No," Bai Mowan said, "I killed him."
"Bai Mowan!" Yu Qingyuan couldn’t believe it; her pupils dilated with a rage almost enough to murder Bai Mowan.
"Killing the Crown Prince and framing it on the King of Chu. Do you think this move was clever?"
"Bai Mowan! Bai Mowan! We have no grievances; why would you do this to me!"
"No grievances?!" Bai Mowan mocked coldly.
In her previous life.
To get the Crown Prince to possess her, Yu Qingyuan really defiled her body.
Luckily, Xiao Jinxing killed the Crown Prince in time, and the blame was pinned on Xiao Jinsen, preventing the news of her defilement from spreading. Xiao Jinsen never knew she had been desecrated by the Crown Prince, as Xiao Jinxing kept this secret tightly sealed.
Later, when she married Xiao Jinsen and they had their wedding night, Xiao Jinxing also secretly drugged Xiao Jinsen to make him groggy, so he remembered nothing of that night. Upon waking up, seeing the bloodstains on the bed, he had no reason to suspect her.
But the fact that the Crown Prince defiled her was etched in her memory forever, a lifetime of shame. Even in a new life, even though the Crown Prince died by Xiao Jinxing’s sword in her previous life, she could not forget all the sufferings of that day. Now, she was intent on revenge, on unleashing the anger pent up over two lifetimes.
"Empress, would the Crown Prince have died if you hadn’t wanted him to defile me?" Bai Mowan challenged.
Yu Qingyuan glared in fury.
It was Bai Mowan who killed her Crown Prince.
She wanted to kill Bai Mowan, to exact life for life.
"Empress, it’s all your fault that the Crown Prince is dead! The predicament you’re in now is due to your own folly!" Bai Mowan spat venomously, venting all her anger, "You deserve this fate, the eradication of your entire clan!"
"Enough, Bai Mowan, shut your mouth!" Yu Qingyuan roared.
"This is retribution!" Bai Mowan declared harshly, "Good and evil will be repaid, and the time has come!"
With that, Bai Mowan turned and left.
"Bai Mowan, you will not die a good death!" Yu Qingyuan screamed curses after Bai Mowan.
Bai Mowan paused, letting out a cold laugh.
"Even if that’s true, you won’t be around to see it!"
And with that, Bai Mowan left.
She left the dungeon with detachment.
She had killed the Crown Prince and taken her revenge on the Empress.
And there were many more... one by one, she would not let any of them off the hook!