TGCFNM -Chapter 556 The Empress Dowager Kills

Chu Ling took a deep breath, bracing herself for what was to come.

Ghost Scholar kept a watch on Nangong Jing, ready to warn at a moment’s notice.

Bai Su stayed close to Chu Ling, prepared to whisk her away the instant anything felt off.

Cui Xi, clutching Wangcai, crouched in a corner to observe, cautiously testing how far she could move within the Empress Dowager’s palace before carefully entering the hall.

After several rounds of struggle, Chu Ling was slightly out of breath, while Chu Yue seemed to grow stronger and more aggressive with each clash—it was entirely abnormal.

Chu Yue sneered, “Do you really think that disabling my martial arts would stop me?”

Chu Ling frowned. “Your martial arts shouldn’t have recovered on their own. What did you do? I even sealed the three key points on your head!”

“That’s not for you to know! Just remember—your death is certain!” Chu Yue said, striking again.

Chu Ling’s legs wobbled, barely managing to dodge.

Seeing this, Chu Yue’s eyes lit up with excitement, pressing her attack even harder.

Chu Ling’s expression darkened. She pulled out a small medicine pouch, tore it open, and scattered its contents, “This is Lanyue’s powdered medicine.”

After tossing it on the ground, she continued to flee.

Chu Yue dodged the powder, gritting her teeth, “A slippery eel! Let’s see how long you can keep dodging!”

Chu Ling took the chance to recover, her face grim as she eyed Chu Yue across from her.

Bai Su’s expression shifted slightly. “This is completely wrong… How could Chu Yue have improved her martial arts so drastically in such a short time?”

Ghost Scholar said, “Don’t worry. Everything is part of the master’s plan.”

Bai Su finally gave a small nod, slightly relieved.

Chu Yue waved her hand, brushing away the poisonous powder, and continued the pursuit.

Chu Ling leapt toward the injured Nangong Jing, and in the killer glare in her eyes, she shoved her directly forward, tossing her toward Chu Yue.

“Chu Yue, take good care of her—she’s the Empress Dowager’s favorite!” Chu Ling called out, spreading ghostly powder along the low walls of the Empress Dowager’s palace, then igniting it with a blow. She shouted:

“Guards! Arrest them! Members of the Nangong family snuck into the palace to assassinate the Empress Dowager!”

“Miss Shi has them under control—come quickly!”

“Assassins!”

The blue ghost fire flared up, already strikingly visible in the night. With Chu Ling’s shout about assassins, the palace guards immediately rushed over.

Nangong Jing gritted her teeth and stood, nocking an arrow to shoot at Chu Ling—but her arm drooped weakly, powerless.

Chu Ling turned back, taunting with a smirk, “Miss Shi, what are you waiting for? Control her already!”

Suddenly, Chu Yue smiled cruelly. “Your smile reminds me of my second uncle and the others. They thought they could be reunited with you, but they ran into me along the way. They looked at me strangely, not understanding why I followed the past, and all I could say was, it’s their fault, for adopting you, for being of the Chu family… They were the guilty ones, but I still said sorry, and then I killed them.”

Nangong Jing turned, startled, toward Chu Yue.

Chu Yue slowly approached the stunned Chu Ling. “The problem isn’t Nangong Jing—it’s you. Anyway, she’s poisoned; she won’t survive much longer, will she?”

“So… you really did kill my parents!” Chu Ling’s eyes reddened. “You admitted it yourself.”

“And what can you do to me just because I admitted it? Besides, my second uncle and the others aren’t your parents—your parents are…”

Suddenly, Chu Yue’s expression changed, and she quickly dodged aside.

But Chu Ling’s pocket arrow had already been shot, flying straight toward Chu Yue.

Chu Yue gritted her teeth and broke the arrow, her expression dark as she glared at Chu Ling. “You really are cold-hearted… not even a single reaction?”

By now, people in the palace had arrived—but they were not on Chu Ling’s side.

Chu Ling’s eyes fell on the familiar Commander Ban. She saw him ordering people to help Nangong Jing to her feet and then standing guard by Chu Yue. What else could be unknown…

“I thought you would follow the usual steps to put Fu Qingyu in power, but in fact, you were planning a palace coup!” Chu Ling laughed loudly. “Poor Emperor, thinking victory was in his hands, yet in the end, it’s the Empress Dowager who outmaneuvers him!”

“Seize her! Kill without mercy!” Chu Yue gave the order directly.

Chu Ling did not retreat. After a brief clash with Commander Ban, she actually stormed straight into the Empress Dowager’s palace. At the same time, the palace gates were thrown open, a cold wind swept in, and the palace lights went out instantly, plunging everything into darkness.

At the same time…

The blessing dancers lined up to enter. At the Emperor’s signal, a solemn tune began, and they started performing an eerie dance.

On their bare arms were bright red camellias, beautiful yet strange.

“These are the Empress Dowager’s favorite camellias, though gradually, they’ve become the imperial family’s favorite as well,” the Emperor said with a faint smile, enjoying the view below.

The Empress Dowager’s expression remained unchanged. “Whether camellias or bitter flowers, they are just flowers. They don’t bloom for long.”

“But the flowers in your hands have bloomed too long. So long that I thought this Great Zhou belongs to the Empress Dowager, not me,” the Emperor said coldly, slamming his wine cup down.

The Empress Dowager looked down and smirked mockingly. “No wonder Your Majesty is holding such a grand birthday feast… is it to catch me?”

The Emperor chuckled softly. “Do you want to leave with dignity, or shall I personally see you out?”

The Empress Dowager did not answer, her gaze shifting to Prince Rui and Prince Su below. “This time, they are on your side?”

The Emperor did not respond.

“What a pity,” the Empress Dowager said, rising slowly, her gaze commanding those below.

The dancing girls froze instantly, and then, at the sound of a short whistle, they drew knives and lunged at the Empress Dowager.

The civil and military officials were startled and rushed forward to stop them.

But the Empress Dowager watched coldly, unmoving. With a wave of her hand, the shadows beside her struck down.

Before everyone’s eyes, the dancers fell lifeless from mid-air, their necks twisted, eyes wide, dying with resentment as they hit the ground.

Prince Rui’s expression darkened. He looked up at the Empress Dowager. “Can the Empress Dowager kill without a trace?”

A gentle smile curved the Empress Dowager’s lips, appearing kind and benevolent. “Yes. I can even kill someone and make it look like they hanged themselves, claiming… they died out of guilt!”

The Emperor panicked, overturning the table. “It was you! You killed my son! You framed him!”

The Empress Dowager, growing slightly impatient, looked at the Emperor’s dramatic display. She thought him timid, greedy for power—a person who should have been dealt with long ago.

At this moment, Prince Su shouted loudly, “Everyone, leave! Archers, prepare! Shoot the Empress Dowager possessed by the demon!”

Eunuch Zhang immediately shielded the Emperor as he left, and everyone in the hall quickly evacuated.

Wan Xing and the others helped Lu Shi escort people outside, then found Lu Chong, and the group disappeared into the darkness.

Lu Shi’s eyes showed deep confusion, as the marks on the dancers’ necks and the Empress Dowager’s calm, commanding presence in ordering the killings kept appearing before her.

“Is she someone who can turn invisible… or a ghost without form…?”