Blind and Bereft

Chapter 74 | The Most Beautiful Flower

WARNING: the following content contains mentions of mature themes.

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Jingrui walked in the thick silence. Her limbs tensed as the night threatened to engulf her.

The inky sky was devoid of stars and moonlight, making it hard to see the path ahead. She walked beside Yuetong and passed through several palaces until at last, they arrived at the towering Stardust Palace resided by Yihuai.

Jingrui gulped as they walked through the gold and marble arches into the barren palace. "Are you sure this will work?" Jingrui mumbled, and her voice echoed in the dead silence.

"As long as you follow my plan, it will," Yuetong snapped as they strode towards Yihuai's quarters. "No one will suspect you, I've always taken maids with me when I came here in the past. Besides, Yihuai hates keeping guards and maids to patrol his palace as he loves his nights to the most romantic and secluded time with his harem."

Jingrui nodded as she stared ahead at the lit quarters. Their footsteps taunted the night, and she kept her voice low. "How long can you lure Yihuai away?"

"A few hours if he doesn't suspect anything," Yuetong replied, and she paused her steps right in front of the quarters' door. "Now, I'll recap the plan. Yihuai lusts over me for my body, and as long as I use enough of my charm, he should be restrained. Then you will sneak in through the window of his chamber and find the antidote. The faster the better."

Jingrui nodded. "Are you sure you will be fine?"

Yuetong snorted. "Are you underestimating me, maid? I grew up with Yihuai, and he has always been my suitor. No matter how evil he is, I don't think he will hurt me. The problem is not me, but you. You will need to be stealthy enough as the quarters are only on the other side of a curtain from the chamber. If, for some reason, you ruined the plan, the last resort would be for you to pretend to hold me hostage, then we might have a chance to leave alive." With that, she flipped her long hair behind her back. "Don't you dare fail me."

Jingrui's heart was heavy as she watched the Goddess confidently enter the lit quarters. After she had disappeared, Jingrui took stealthy steps towards the chamber's window. The room wasn't lit with candlelights, so Jingrui was certain no other presence was inside.

As she pushed the window open, her foot crunched against twigs and leaves. She winced as the sound pierced into the haunting silence. To her luck, she didn't alert anyone. Sighing, she climbed through the window and into the warm room.

Adjusting her eyes to the darkness, she took in the spacious chamber. A large bed made of the finest sandalwood radiated its soft scent. Several curtains stood, breaking the section between the chambers and the quarters, similar to Prince Zhanying's room.

Soft flickering light emitted from behind the curtains, where Yuetong was luring Yihuai. Jingrui could hear their faint conversation within the silence, but she couldn't grasp what they said. Swallowing hard, she crouched before a large shelf and pulled open the top drawer which was full of contraception herbs inside. Jingrui held in her sneeze and quickly shut it.

Roaming through the drawers, it took her several minutes before she found the right one. The bottom drawer on the left was lined with jars of scarlet liquid and crystal boxes filled with centipedes and scorpions. She shuddered as she watched the centipedes begin eating the scorpions, merging their toxins to create jincan. She had never thought Yihuai would be into such a practice.

The jars of scarlet liquid were all identical, and she grabbed one before shoving it under her sleeve. She could sense that a powerful poison would be useful for her survival in the palace.