AUBTN -Chapter 2 Hugging the Wrong Thigh, Heartfelt Outburst

Th—this is so abrupt?

At least tell her who the other dangerous person is!

The two top-tier power players in the court.

The Eastern Depot’s Director, Shen Jue.

The Commander of the Jinyiwei, Lu Yan.

Their gazes met in midair, sparks and lightning seemingly crackling, setting off a frenzy all around.

Only in the corner, Su Hewan and Yu Qing’s eyes shone brightly in the darkness.

Su Hewan took a deep breath.

She knew that Shen Jue, a fake eunuch, needed a pawn to help him investigate an old case.

In her mind, calculations ran wild: 【Shen Jue, on the surface ruthless and the head of the eunuchs, is actually deeply insecure. He doesn’t need a mere follower, but a partner in crime. If I can reveal his secret, I might pique his interest…】

Yu Qing, on the other hand, was thinking in a completely different wavelength.

Pink bubbles practically overflowing in her mind: 【That brother with the knife! Look at me! I’m your runaway little wife! Sure, I’m filthy right now, but once I clean up, I’ll be the ultimate sweet girl! Save me, and I’ll perform a hundred episodes of “The Overbearing Commander Falls in Love with Me” with zero repeats!】

At this moment, the two men who had been glaring at each other from a distance both slightly shifted their expressions.

Shen Jue lightly stroked the blood jade ring on his thumb.

That voice… where did it come from?

Calm, rational, even carrying a sense of cold clarity.

Someone actually knows his secret, dares to mentally call him a dead eunuch head, and even wants to be his partner in crime?

Heh, if that’s the case, dying won’t be in vain!

On the other side, Lu Yan’s grip on his embroidered spring knife tightened.

Runaway little wife? Ultimate sweet girl?

What nonsense words are these!

The two of them simultaneously let their gazes sweep across the kneeling crowd.

Landing on the two trembling girls in the corner.

Su Hewan whispered tactical instructions to Yu Qing: “The one in the sedan chair is Shen Jue, the other is Lu Yan… but why is he here? Forget it, just—”

Before she could finish, she saw her best friend staring ahead, utterly infatuated, at the two power players who had obviously noticed them!

Inside the Sacrificial Hall, candlelight flickered, illuminating a sea of kneeling, white-clad figures.

Yu Qing knelt on the cold tiles, her knees aching, yet her heart raced faster than at a nightclub dance floor.

She peeked furtively, her gaze bouncing wildly between the two men.

Shen Jue on the left—though delicately sickly—had a face capable of bringing ruin to a nation.

Lu Yan on the right, clad in a flying fish outfit tightly wrapping his lean waist, broad shoulders, long legs, cold and ascetic, yet the slight upward tilt of his phoenix-like eyes added a leg-weakening pressure.

Yu Qing’s inner drama instantly exploded like fireworks.

【Holy crap! Holy crap! This level of looks actually exists?!】

She swallowed.

【Which one to choose? How can I pick? Adults obviously want them both! Urgent online voting!】

Not far away, Lu Yan’s hand gripping the embroidered spring knife twitched as veins popped.

A piling machine? Wanting them both?

What filth is running through the brain of this palace maid who looks like she’s about to faint?!

He coldly shot a glance at Yu Qing in the corner. His gaze was like a knife, making Yu Qing immediately shrink her neck like a frightened quail.

Meanwhile, Su Hewan kneeling beside her had no time to admire the handsome men.

As a history prodigy, she quickly analyzed the deadlock in front of her.

Both Shen Jue and Lu Yan appearing together was highly unusual.

According to historical records, these two had fought each other most fiercely in the early days after the late emperor’s death.

Shen Jue represented the eunuch faction within the inner court, seeking to control state affairs.

Lu Yan represented the imperial secret service, answering only to the emperor. The two were now absolute arch-enemies.

Su Hewan moved closer to Yu Qing without a sound. Using the wide sleeves of her robe as cover, she lightly tugged at her friend’s sleeve.

“Stop daydreaming,” Su Hewan said in a very low voice, audible only to the two of them.

“If you want to stay alive, listen to me.”

Yu Qing immediately snapped back to reality. Her eyes brimming with tears, she silently mouthed: What do we do?

Su Hewan’s gaze was calm as she quickly scanned both sides: “To your left is the Eastern Depot Commander, a powerful eunuch, ruthless and cunning. To your right is the Commander of the Jinyiwei, the emperor’s enforcer, decisive and lethal. These two are mortal enemies. If we put all our bets on one, and that one fails to protect us—or is targeted by the other—we’re done for.”

She took a deep breath and laid out the final strategic plan.

“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. We need to spread the risk, hedge our bets—only then can our survival rate be maximized!”

Yu Qing blinked. She didn’t understand “hedge bets,” but she knew how to cling to a powerful ally.

Su Hewan quickly gave her a subtle look and silently mouthed four words: You left, I right!

I’ll handle that unpredictable eunuch. You deal with the stiff, unyielding commander.

Yu Qing understood instantly. She nodded as if ready to face death, her eyes hardening with resolve:

【Got it! For my baked cold noodles, for my handsome guy, I’ll give it my all! That brother in the flying fish outfit, your little wife is here!】

Lu Yan: “……”

He furrowed his brows. The sensation of someone forcibly planting strange words into his mind—

Absolutely terrible.

Just as the two finished discussing their tactics, a dull sound came from the entrance of the tomb ahead.

A cold wind blew out of the dark burial passage, stirring the joss paper on the ground into a swirling storm.

A gaunt old eunuch appeared, holding a scroll of bright yellow imperial edict.

His shrill, piercing voice, like an owl’s cry in the night, broke the silence of death.

“By imperial decree, the late emperor’s posthumous order… All concubines deeply favored by the emperor shall accompany him underground, to preserve utmost chastity!”

“Concubine Wang, decree granted!”

At the command, two strong young eunuchs immediately stepped forward and lifted a girl who had already collapsed to the ground, dragging her toward the pitch-black tomb entrance like a dead dog.

“No! I don’t want this! Help—! I haven’t even met the emperor! Spare me!”

Her desperate screams echoed through the vast hall, sending shivers down everyone’s spine.

But no matter how she struggled, the eunuchs remained expressionless. At the tomb entrance, they shoved her hard.

“Ah—!”

Her scream ended abruptly as she fell.

Then came a dull thud.

The sound of a human body hitting a solid surface.

A deathly silence filled the hall, broken only by the suppressed sobbing of the remaining palace maids.

Shen Jue leisurely toyed with the blood jade ring on his thumb, a cold smile curling his lips.

As if he were listening not to human life, but to a delightful little tune.

“Next.” The old eunuch recited without emotion.

“Concubine Liu, decree granted!”

“Concubine Zhao, decree granted!”

One after another.

The list of the dead hung like a guillotine over their heads, inching ever closer.

Yu Qing was already trembling like a sieve.

In her mind, she scrolled frantically: 【Mom, I was wrong! I’ll never stay up reading novels again! This isn’t a time-travel adventure—this is a massive slaughterhouse!】