While the vicious eunuch, empress dowager, and his majesty the emperor is matched in a death battle on the roof, underneath it has a different scene going on.
Princes Yin Xiulan hurried to Yin Renshu and Xu Zhengming's side. She completely forgot her brother that is fighting to the death with the empress dowager. She even forgot her main reason for going to the empress dowager's hall: to find a way to dispel the activated array.
"He's about to go berserk again!" At first glance, Princess Yin Xiulan knows it. She witnessed this before and there's no doubt about it. "What should we do? We don't have Yueguang Hua with us."
Since this they didn't encounter such poison before... a poison that could turn the victims into monsters, they didn't know many ways to treat it. The spirit herb, Yueguang Hua, the cure for all medicinal plants, is the only thing that they know that could cure Xu Zhengming. Unfortunately, this flower only grows in the wild. In a place that the moonlight can easily reach. It's extremely rare as well so searching for it is as hard as ascending into the heavens.
It's just so unfortunate that the herb that Emperor Yin Wenyan found before was stolen and even used a massive amount of its healing effects. This is why the spirit herb didn't completely cure Xu Zhengming.
Aside from the mentioned rare spirit herb, Yin Wenyan couldn't think of anything that could at least temporarily relieve the pain that Xu Zhengming is enduring. "Maybe some blood would calm him down."
"Are you serious?!" It's clearer than the water of the lake that Princess Yin Xiulan is against this idea. "It's been a while since he last consumed blood! He might end up draining you!"
Yin Renshu is silent for a while, trying to think of an alternative solution. However, his mind can't come up with any. "Then, are we just going to let him go berserk again?"
Instead of giving him a direct answer, Princess Yin Xiulan throws another question to her brother, "Are you willing to commit suicide for him?"
It's not that the princess wants Xu Zhengming to become an aggressive monster once again. It's just the risk is too much. He could literally drain the veins of Yin Renshu.
Despite getting the obvious disagreement from his sister, Yin Renshu is still persistent. "The spirit herb somehow treated him. He wouldn't consume much blood... probably."
Yin Renshu unsheathes his sword and made a huge cut on his arm. Blood flows out of the wound like a stream. The smell of blood made Xu Zhengming completely lose his human consciousness, and a beast takes over. He violently grabs Yin Renshu's arm and drinks his blood.
Just like Yin Renshu assumed, Xu Zhengming didn't consume much blood to drain him. However, it's enough for him to feel dizzy and his heart palpitates due to lack of blood circulating throughout his body.
"See?" He looks at Princess Yin Xiulan. "I didn't die."
It's obvious that Yin Renshu got weakened because of blood loss but a good rest would make him feel better again.
The princess could only let a sigh of relief. She's glad that it didn't cause much harm to his brother but Princess Yin Xiulan being herself, of course, she'll act tough and cold in front of this particular brother of hers.
"It's because a bad weed like you is hard to kill."
Xu Zhengming gradually starts to gain consciousness once again. The violent and beastly instinct that once dominated his body is slowly fading. The first thing that he noticed is the taste of iron in his mouth. Then he realized that his canine teeth are buried in someone else's flesh. And his hands are tightly grasping the other person's arm.
He froze, slowly letting his irises do the work. He looks upwards only to see his majesty's face. Judging his facial expression, he looks like he's hurting and just enduring it. It's too late for him when he realized that he's biting the temperamental emperor!
His eyes widen and immediately backed off from Yin Renshu. Xu Zhengming then grovels in front of him with his forehead touching the ground. "Waaah... your majesty! Please forgive me! I didn't know what was I doing! Spare my life!"
Knowing how his majesty's mood changes from hot to cold as fast as a blink of an eye, he might point his sword on him again. Xu Zhengming can't help but worry about his dear life. He thought, he really messed up this time. If the emperor pointed his blade at him for mistaking him as a woman and even kissed him, what would he do now that he bit him?!
"Looks like he's fine now." Princess Yin Xiulan commented.
"Raise your head, look at me." He heard Yin Renshu order him.
Even though he's still hesitant to look at the other's face, he doesn't want to offend this person any further. And so, he indeed raises his head, only to get a flick on the forehead.
"Aww!" Xu Zhengming immediately rubs his forehead. Even though Yin Renshu didn't use his full strength on it, it was still painful to him.
"Silly. You just never change." Yin Renshu wipes his wound with his sleeve, staining the white sect uniform of Wan Moli Hua Palace that he's wearing. "I am the one who made you drink my blood."
His pair of fierce phoenix eyes seem to have a hint of pure concern on them. "Are you okay now?"
"What are you saying? I should be the one asking you that." Xu Zhengming surprisingly felt guilt. It might be not his own will but he can't deny the fact that he injured him to quench his thirst for blood. "That's too much blood... Let me bandage it."
"Xu Zhengming, use this." Princess Yin Xiulan takes the red ribbon made of fine silk that kept her long hair in a bun. For the first time, she let her hair loose outside her comfort zone. Now, she looks more like her mother in the painting she has in her every single bedroom. "Renshu, you can still fight with that injury, right?"
Yin Renshu gives her a smirk. "Of course. This is nothing. You said it yourself, I am a bad weed." His next words caught the princess off guard. "Xiulan, you resemble mother so much."
At first, she's surprised that she's stuck staring at him for a good moment. And then she sneers. "Ridiculous. If I do resemble mother, you do as well. We have the same face after all."
However, it's not just Yin Renshu who realizes it. Even the empress dowager got her eyes to widen when she unintentionally took a glance at the princess. She's about to turn her eyes on Princess Yin Xiulan once again but Emperor Yin Wenyan won't let her have even a couple of seconds.
"Your highness, you sure are full of yourself. You actually dared to avert your eyes from me?" His majesty throws that line back to the empress dowager.
This made the empress dowager annoyed but she still managed to retain her composure. "Not at all, your majesty. I am just mesmerized by her highness the first princess' beauty. She reminds me of someone."
This "someone" she's talking about was the catalyst for her becoming the villainess. It is the woman who the late emperor chose to marry, and even disobeyed his advisers at that time. If that woman never existed in the first place, she could have been the entitled Empress, and not some woman from a poor family. She could not have strayed into the dark side, taking the grand empress dowager's alliance. And maybe, just maybe... maybe by then, the one she thought she could lay her head into would not kill her dear Ye Feng.
His majesty's face darkens more than ever. "Someone... you mean the late empress that you killed? My mother?"
Every incantation that Emperor Yin Wenyan casts against the empress dowager is harsher than before. Remembering his mother's body that they kept for almost three decades in that dark chamber like some kind of a trophy, he can't help but feel bitterness in his heart.
No, even the trophies are treated better than that. Seeing those bruises that her body has, it seems they treat it like a punching bag to relieve their bad mood.
"Yes and no." The empress dowager said as she dodges the approaching attacks from his majesty. "Yes, I am talking about your mother. However, it's just the grand empress dowager who planned to kill her, and I am out of it. Your majesty, you have such a terrible grandmother. She's too against your mother for your father."
Now that his majesty somehow loses his cool, his attacks are only dictated by his emotions and not his mind. She can easily dodge and counter it. She even managed to hop backward to distance herself a bit more. With that, she got a chance to take a glimpse below once again. This time, she noticed another's presence. "Who is that other person down there?"
Judging from this person's clothes, it's an expensive-looking bridal robe. With this detail, the empress dowager got a hint. "Is that your bride? Why does she look familiar? I think I met her before."
Even though they're a little far from Xu Zhengming and others, the empress dowager has keen eyes so she can clearly see the bride's face.
"..." The emperor didn't say anything. Not a word of confirmation.
Of course, the bride would look familiar to her, that's Xu Zhengming and he's working in the imperial palace for some time now!
Not long after, the empress dowager snaps her fingers like she finally got it. "Right! She looks like your eunuch that can turn into the likeness of my Eunuch Ye."
The comparison that the empress dowager said didn't make the emperor cheer up even a little. In fact, it only upsets him even more. "Don't compare him to your goddamn puppet." Emperor Yin Wenyan charges towards the empress dowager, cutting the distance between them.
"Why are you so enraged? I am just telling you my thoughts." Since the empress dowager has her swift moves, she can easily move around without his majesty catching her. "Or could it be... that's him? You're marrying your Eunuch?!"
It was just a wild guess but the thought of it makes the empress dowager laugh so hard that it echoes throughout across several meters away from them.
"..." The emperor stopped on his post.
He couldn't say anything about it. So what if he wants to marry the great Eunuch Xu? He's a good person... actually, a great one. He adores him so much ever since they're in their teenage years.
The empress dowager sees through Emperor Yin Wenyan, which made her laugh even more. "That's ridiculous! I've never laughed so hard for many years!" She wipes her tears of laughter away. "That must be the reason why you care so much for a mere servant. Turns out those rumors are true. Cut sleeves!"
"That's out of your business." The emperor made a hand seal, forming an array in front of him which releases pointed ice daggers on the other side. These ice daggers resemble stalactites, targeting the empress dowager.
With the use of the Crimson Javelin, the empress dowager managed to block all of those by spinning it.
"You really fell for this man, aren't you?" The empress dowager chuckles. It seems she really got into his majesty's nerves. "Don't be upset about it, your majesty. These words of mine are harmless."
And then an evil idea suddenly popped out of her mind.
Xu Zhengming doesn't have anything to do with this long-term dispute. However, the empress dowager's sense of justice is completely silenced by hatred and revenge.
A sinister smile draws on her highness' lips, creating a wicked aura around her. "My words may be harmless but my weapon is not."
Out of nowhere, the empress dowager throws the Crimson Javelin towards Xu Zhengming. The force is accurately calculated by her that the projectile is really going to the beau's exact location. Her plan? She'll make Emperor Yin Wenyan feel what it's like when grieving over the death of a beloved before killing him.
"There will be no wedding to be held sooner or later."
The emperor's eyes widen. He did not see it coming. It's too late for him to go after the javelin. He can't make it in time, and so he could only call out for the princess for help. "Xiulan!"
Even though it's not his name, Xu Zhengming got drawn to the voice. It sounds like his majesty. It's so strange for him when the emperor is just right in front of him. Only by then did he see the approaching attack that's bound to hit him. He could only close his eyes and freeze on his spot.
All thanks to her brother's warning, Princess Yin Xiulan caught the sight of the approaching javelin. Good thing her reflexes are faster than her own mind. She opens her fan and swings it, creating a breeze that completely ruined the projectile of the poisonous weapon. She made another blow, sending the weapon against the empress dowager instead. The Crimson Javelin approaches the enemy with its sharp end first.
However, things just won't go their way. The empress dowager caught it perfectly in the middle of the shaft. She once again throws it as soon as she got a hold of it. This time, towards a different target.
The next thing that everyone sees is that the javelin pierced through the chest of the man in red robes up on the roof. That happened so fast that Emperor Yin Wenyan failed to react in time.
The sharp weapon pierced through his majesty's chest. He got hit on the upper right part of his chest. His heart might have not pierced by it but the poison already started to circulate all throughout his body.
While everyone else is frozen, the empress dowager casually walks closer to him. Her sweet smile seems to be wider now compared to the ones she's showing a while ago. Her eyes show how pleased she is. She successfully tricked him, she tricked everyone else.
One down two more to go.
Emperor Yin Wenyan's hand is shaking as he's reaching for the iron pole on his chest. His strength slowly fades too. Even his knees are trembling. Is he really going to die? But he's not ready. This battle hasn't ended yet. He still has a lot of things to do. He still has to marry Xu Zhengming!
"Rest in peace, your majesty" She took a hold of the javelin that's stuck on his majesty and pulled it forcefully, making the blood gush out of the hole. "Worry not, I will do you a favor. I'll kill your bride next so you can be reunited in the Underworld as soon as possible."