It was late at night, when the cold moonlight fell on the towering glazed tiles in the Palace, casting a glaring glitter liked frost and snow.

Empress Qian was ill, so she removed formal dress and ornaments early and went to sleep in Kunning Palace.

But she suffered nightmares one after another, which made her dizzy and unconscious. When she woke up from the dream, her forehead was seriously sweaty.

She turned around and found a black figure on the exquisite valance.

With sudden-contracted pupils, Empress Qian wiped her intense sweats at her temples, shouting to the figure.

"Is it Sulian outside?"

"Your Grace, you can only think of Sulian. Presumably, you have already forgotten me..."

After a while of silence, a soft voice of a woman sounded from the opposite, being slightly transmitted into Empress Qian's ears. It seemed somewhat a familiar voice for her.

Silently and blankly, she stared at the valances on two sides which were plucked up, a woman showing up quietly.

The woman wore a prune dress of silk with ornamental patterns, with a gold coat of fabric sweeping the floor. On her high erect ruffled collar, splendid peonies were embroidered all around.

With a gold crown engraving phoenix and ruby on her head, she also wore hairpins and other accessories. On her one ear, there was a fan-shaped eardrop ornamented with pearls.

The dress of her was extremely luxurious but chilling.

Suddenly, Empress Qian felt her heart firmly clasped by five hook fingers. After all, she was the master of the imperial harem. How could she bear another woman dressed in the Phoenix Robe? Wasn't it a provocation to her status?

"How dare you..."

Empress Qian on bed violently waved her delicate arms. With her forefinger pointing at the defiant woman, she shouted.

The woman in front of Empress Qian slightly raising her mouth. Her smile was like an evil poppy, which was somewhat melancholy and blossoming.

Slightly moving, she took two steps forward with hands folded. And then she stared at trembling Empress Qian in presumptuous eyes,

"Your Grace, you have been enjoying yourself in affluence for twenty years. Do you still remember a ghost in Cold Palace?"

While complaining, she raised a hand to remove the hair dropped to cover her half face.

All of a sudden, all kinds of terrible scars and pits were shown, which made a sharp contrast with the other half’s delicate face.

Being violently shocked, Empress Qian almost smothered. She puffed hard and hurriedly dodged backward, shouting in fear,

"Miaoyin... You are Miaoyin... You should be in Cold Palace... How did you get out?"

Miaoyin beside the bed turned around. After a while, she went back with a candlestick held in her hand. She showed gloom and cold in her eyes, smiling maliciously and insidiously,

"Of course, it was my son, Xin'er that saved me out. It is about time... I should pay back in kind, making you feel the same pain of being disfigured as me..."

Confronted with the closer and closer flame, Empress Qian trembled and quivered. She couldn't help shrieking in fright,

"What do you want... Help! Help me..."

...

It was in Qinming Hall. At night, the casements were blown rustling.

Reclined on a chair, Emperor Jingxiao looked around with some yawns.

He glanced through the empty hall, trying to find someone. Then he asked drowsily,

"Xuanji? Zhang Li!"

In the shadow, a tall strange eunuch behaved respectfully, answering in a cold and soft voice,

"Your Majesty, Zhang Li has been gone. After a while, High Priest will come."

"Gone?"

In his edematous and obese face, Emperor Jingxiao showed a quick puzzlement. It seemed that he was thinking what the word "gone" meant. But instantly he staggered and struggled to get up, overturning the table in madness,

"Call High Priest in! Quickly! Call Yu Xuanji in!"

The eunuch didn't come to serve Emperor Jingxiao. Instead, he sat in the shadow silently, with a horsetail whisk held still in his hands.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. Care for your body..."

He deliberately prolonged words in a slow and steady voice, and a tone of disdain.

"My body?"

Emperor Jingxiao gasped rapidly with arms held on the table. When he squinted the tall thin eunuch, his hot sweat flooded on the table violently.

"Quick to call High Priest in... I want to eat Jindan Pills... I want to eat Jindan Pills! Don't think that I don't know, you are all jealous of High Priest! You are jealous that I appreciate him! You all want me to die..."

"Ha-ha, Your Majesty, you speak so seriously."

The tall thin suddenly sneered, taking a fake smile.

Instantly, Emperor Jingxiao became angrier. He straightened up and teetered to pounce the eunuch,

"How dare you talk back to me! I... I will kill you!"

Suddenly a sense of debility occurred in his knees, and then Emperor Jingxiao fell down. He tried a few times to get up, but he couldn't.

After making a deep yawn, he couldn't help throbbing his mouth. Immediately, tears and mucus flew down over the floor.

Rumbling footsteps broke the still.

Prince Chen in delicate garments slowly walked from the outside into the hell. Besides, he was followed by a few guards, two strangers in nighttime wear, and a middle-aged man with only one arm.

"Xin'er?"

Emperor Jingxiao felt so astonished and puzzled. He could also feel the serious and ruthless atmosphere around those people. Suddenly, he became horrified and chilled.

Wenren Junzheng said nothing, but stood with his only arm on his hip, glaring at Emperor Jingxiao. In his eyes, there was intense hatred which had been accumulated for years, rolling and foaming as fiercely as surging waves.

Emperor immediately turned gloomy in his eyes and he shouted,

"What are you doing here? Where is my High Priest Yu Xuanji?"

"Just be at ease. He will not die... I won’t permit him to die easily..."

The red blazing candles shone on Prince Chen's young and handsome face, swaying and flickering. As shadows and lights alternated, he himself seemed frightening and ruthless.

Huanan Xin squinted his eyes, being derisive to look down on Emperor Jingxiao, leader of the country.

How indifferent Emperor Jingxiao once showed in his face! He always disdainfully looked down on him, and it seemed that he was a little bug or an ant. But now, he was also in such an awkward position.

"Xin'er, you... Your mental disease... is cured?"

Emperor Jingxiao crouched and made a snot. It was at that moment that he realized the most crucial matter.

After all, his first son, Prince Chen was a dim-witted person all the time. How could he suddenly sit in front of him as such, and talk with him clearly and methodically?

A sharp look came into Prince Chen's dark and eyes. With his hands held on the back, he casually answered,

"Thanks for your concern, Father. I have already been cured."

"Be cured..." Emperor Jingxiao muttered, and then he shifted his eyes to look at other people around him,

"So, so you come here at midnight... What do you want to do?"

"I bring you the thing that you need now, Father."

With delicate lips highly raised, Prince Chen slowly put up his hands, taking the green porcelain container shaped in calabash a guard delivered to him.

Emperor Jingxiao's face immediately lighted up, as if seeing a lifesaving thing. He stretched his arms and legs, throwing himself to grab the green porcelain container.

Prince Chen flexibly took steps back, deliberately avoiding Emperor Jingxiao's body.

With a sickening thud, Emperor Jingxiao fell and groaned in pain.

"You b*stard! Quick to give it to me! Give Jindan Pills to me..."

As Emperor Jingxiao continually and anxiously scolded, he struggled to move his limbs to get up again. However, each time he tried to get up, he fell and tripped more awkwardly.

As the Emperor superior to all, he was just like a hungry ghost in the face of delicious food, being greedy to make mouth water and eyes light. At that time, he lost all imposing manner as the most respected person in the world.

Prince Chen slightly mocked, uncovering the lid of the green porcelain container with his thumb. Then he poured a Jindan Pill out and triturated it in his palms.

With a wave of his arm, a gold cloud of dust rose. Immediately there occurred a sweet smell, which made Emperor Jingxiao who was crouching on the ground do a chill shiver.

"No!"

Emperor Jingxiao bitterly cried and screamed. He reached for it, only grasping a wisp of fragrant air.

Seeing Prince Chen hold hands to pour the green porcelain container again, Emperor Jingxiao stretched all his limbs and crawled at the feet of Prince Chen. He grabbed the lower hem of Prince Chen's garments, with snots and tears flooding on his obese face in weird expression.

In the continual effect of "the Wangyou Gu Poison", Emperor Jingxiao strongly felt that he was seemingly bitten and gnawed by insects and mice without Jindan Pills. He thought he would be dead so he had no regard for his status, abandoning all his indignation and self-esteem.

"Xin'er, Xin'er..."

Emperor Jingxiao sniffed and implored in a trembling voice, as he slightly moved and tried to get up,

"Give me, I beg you... I beg you..."

"Say, you don't care about your body and even torment yourself into such an awkward condition. Father, I feel sorry for you..."

Prince Chen squatted and looked at Emperor Jingxiao's weak face, sneering and shaking.

At that time, Emperor Jingxiao seemed to gain some unreasonable energy, suddenly grabbing the outside garment of Prince Chen.

Wenren Junzheng immediately changed face. When he wanted to prevent Emperor Jingxiao, Emperor Jingxiao begged in an imploring voice,

"Give me! As long as you give Jindan Pills to me, I will offer you everything you want!"

"Hahaha..."

As Prince Chen mocked ruthlessly, his eyes turned cold and indifferent. He pried Emperor Jingxiao's hands away and pulled him down. Then he turned around and slowly walked in front of the table, reaching to hold a square thing up.

It glowed soft light dazzling people and owned a majesty of shaking lands and skies. A vivid and entrenched dragon was engraved on its top.

Prince Chen held the jade seal high, showing cold in his eyes,

"Father, if you want to offer me what I want, you'd better give me this thing."