I Became the Devil Queen's Heart Demon

Chapter 1232 - 467: Empress: Assassinating the Emperor Is My Specialty! Treating the Princess’s Wounds!

"Regicide?!"

The Empress was stunned the moment she heard it.

The impact of those two characters was simply too great for her; for a while, she couldn’t even recover her wits.

Though she had never held much respect in her heart for Wu Lie as Emperor, and especially after being with Chen Mo, she had even harbored the dark thought: "If only he could pass away a bit sooner..."

She had never had, nor would she dare to have, the notion of "regicide."

After all, as the Empress, mother of the realm, her power itself came from Wu Lie. If she truly did such a thing, she would be challenging the entire nation’s ethical order; that was the sort of crime that would implicate ten clans and leave a curse of infamy for a thousand years!

"What, scared stupid?" Yu Youhan arched a brow.

The Empress snapped back to herself, glanced around somewhat flustered, and lowered her voice: "You actually dare to discuss such treasonous matters here in the heart of the Imperial Palace? If someone were to overhear, we’d be in serious trouble!"

"Relax. No matter how long Wu Lie’s arm is, it can’t reach Frozen Sky Palace." Yu Youhan spoke blandly. "You don’t need to be so tense. Today’s conversation passes from your mouth into my ears; not a third person will ever know."

The Empress knew the strength of the person before her, and her heart grew a bit calmer. She then frowned and said, "Back to the point—why do you want to do this? Aren’t you afraid of suffering backlash from the national destiny?"

All these years, Yu Youhan had kept her power hidden, leaving her heaven-piercing cultivation unused and relying only on factional struggles to reap benefits, precisely to avoid harming her Dao Foundation by taking a position "not rightfully earned."

Why had she suddenly changed her mind and decided to use such a crude method?

Yu Youhan’s expression looked a bit unnatural. "That’s not something you need to worry about. I have my own way to deal with it."

The Empress’s heart stirred, as though she had thought of something, but she did not lay it bare. Instead, she asked in puzzlement, "Even so, Wu Lie is seriously ill and doesn’t have many days left. All we need do is wait for him to pass on; why bother making an unnecessary move?"

"It’s precisely because he’s about to die that he’s all the more dangerous."

Yu Youhan recounted in full detail what had happened earlier.

"A sky-wide net, killing intent at every step. Though we still don’t know exactly how Wu Lie did it, what is certain is that the Secret Realm was a deadtrap prepared specially for Chen Mo."

"Even with three First Grade Grandmasters as guardians, plus Chu Yanli whose strength rivals an Ultimate Venerable, they still could not contend with it. If I hadn’t intervened in time, Chen Mo would likely already have had his Root Bone stripped away, his body destroyed and Dao extinguished!"

"From the very start, when he drove Chu Heng to collude with the Barbarian Tribe, to the explosion on the day of the grand sacrifice, and now to using heaven and earth as a grand formation to resurrect an Ancient Emperor... The closer he comes to death, the more frenzied Wu Lie’s actions become."

"We may have escaped this time, but can you guarantee that next time Chen Mo will be so lucky?"

"So we must strike first. Only by completely erasing him can I be at ease."

Yu Youhan rarely spoke so many words in one breath, especially in front of this sworn enemy of hers, which showed just how seriously she took this matter.

Perhaps the information was simply too much and hard to digest; the Empress lowered her delicate head and remained silent for a long time.

The air sank into a dead stillness.

Seeing this, Yu Youhan’s fine brows knit slightly, her tone turning a bit colder as she said, "Don’t misunderstand. It’s not that I’m expecting you to contribute anything. It’s just that your stance might influence Chen Mo; otherwise I wouldn’t bother wasting words on you."

"If you’re unwilling, then so be it. Pretend I never brought it up."

"Someone..."

Just as she was about to summon a servant to see her out, a low voice sounded: "You’re saying that Wu Lie wanted to refine Chen Mo alive into the vessel for his rebirth... and that he almost succeeded?"

"That’s right."

Yu Youhan lifted her eyes, and her expression instantly hardened.

They had known each other for many years, yet she had never seen the Empress wear such an expression—

Her two willow-leaf brows were knotted, the brow line folding into a sharp "川" shape; the usually limpid apricot eyes were wide open, a terrifying ferocity bursting from their corners. A faint blush colored her cheeks, but there was nothing coquettish about it—only the fury of Qi-Blood surging upward!

That savage look actually sent a chill through Yu Youhan’s heart!

"So, when do we make our move?" the Empress asked.

"You’re certain?" Yu Youhan frowned.

"Weren’t you asking which side I would stand on?"

The Empress gripped the armrest so tightly her fingertips lost all color. A ruthless edge threaded through her words. "As mistress of the Eastern Royal Palace, mother of all under heaven, naturally I must stand at the Emperor’s grave and personally see him off."

"..."

Yu Youhan was momentarily speechless.

Before speaking, she had imagined all kinds of answers.

Though the Empress was likely sincere toward Chen Mo, her status was what it was, and she also had her clan to consider. If she could manage not to help either side, that would already be quite good; she had never expected her stance to be this firm.

Judging from that murderous aura, she looked as if she wanted to go skin Wu Lie alive and devour him right now!

"Is Chen Mo really that important to you?" Yu Youhan couldn’t help asking. "Do you realize that once Wu Lie dies, the court will be thrown into chaos, and your Empress’s seat may not remain yours?"

The Empress let out a derisive laugh. "You think I care?"

Her slender jade-like fingers traced over the gold-embroidered flying phoenix on her robe, and she enunciated each word: "This phoenix crown and scarlet robes, this Empress’s position— in my eyes, they’re nothing but fleeting illusions, not worth a single coin. Even if I’ve been trapped in these deep palace walls for years, suffering day and night, for the sake of the Great Yuan Empire’s stability, I can continue to endure."

"Only Chen Mo is my bottom line."

"Since Wu Lie has crossed that red line, there’s nothing left but to send him to his death."

Her tone was so calm, it was as if she were merely stating a simple fact.

Only at this moment did Yu Youhan realize that she seemed never to have truly understood the woman before her.