Song Meiyu stared at her. "Uh… Sister Linyue, what exactly are you planning to do?"
"Kidnapping," Linyue answered cheerfully.
Song Meiyu's jaw dropped. "What? Who?!"
"Someone strong." Linyue replied calmly, adjusting her belt. "Very strong. Peak-stage cultivator."
Song Meiyu made a sound somewhere between a gasp and a wheeze. "That's—! That's really dangerous!"
"I know. That's why I'm asking you, Sister Meiyu" Linyue said with a calm smile, which somehow made it worse.
Song Meiyu stared at her, wide-eyed. For a long second, she looked like she might protest. But then she sighed and surrendered to the inevitable. This was Linyue, after all. Unpredictability was in her bones. Chaos ran in her bloodstream. And unfortunately… Song Meiyu trusted her.
"Well…" she started, digging into her pouch. "For kidnapping, I have Nightshade Extract. It can suppress spiritual energy for a little while. Not long, though it depends on the person's cultivation. I also have Frostbloom Elixir that paralyzes muscles. But alone, it's not strong enough for someone at that level."
"Perfect. You're the best, Sister Meiyu."
Song Meiyu perked up immediately under the praise, like she'd just received the empire's highest honor for Best Criminal Sidekick. "It'd work better if you use the Nightshade first. Suppress the cultivation, then hit them with Frostbloom. Once their spiritual energy drops, their body becomes vulnerable too. That's when the paralysis kicks in."
Linyue nodded seriously like she was taking medical notes for an assassination class.
"Oh! How about applying it to a hairpin too, just in case?" Song Meiyu added helpfully, rummaging through her pouch. "It only works if it gets into the bloodstream. You'd have to poke them. Skin contact's fine, so no accidental poisoning... unless someone stabs themselves in the eye."
Song Meiyu handed over two hairpins, the black hairpin dipped in Nightshade and the other silver hairpin dipped in Frostbloom. It gleamed innocently, which felt very misleading.
"And this—" Song Meiyu pulled out a tiny vial filled with a glowing purple liquid. "Nightsbane essence. Also causes paralysis, but it has to be consumed. Here, take it too. Just in case."
Linyue accepted the vial. "Thank you."
"Well," Song Meiyu muttered, "I guess if we both end up in jail, we can at least share a cell. I'll bring snacks."
Linyue gave her a grateful pat on the arm. "Don't worry. It's not really kidnapping."
Song Meiyu squinted. "It's not?"
"No. It's more of a strategic relocation. A very temporary, slightly involuntary one."
"… That's still kidnapping."
"But with better intentions."
"Oh yes, much better," Song Meiyu deadpanned. "Just morally gray enough to be stylish. And don't forget the fact those poisons are rare and definitely illegal."
Linyue nodded and gave her a smiled.
Outside, night had fully fallen. The sky was dark and quiet. The perfect time to do something questionable. Linyue glanced at the window and smiled. A slow, mischievous smile. This wasn't part of her original plan. She hadn't come to the palace thinking, Tonight, I will drug someone and drag them into the shadows. But then… she'd seen that face again.
And something inside her snapped. Or clicked. Possibly both.
It came out of nowhere—a sudden impulse, wild and sharp and utterly unreasonable. Which, of course, made it perfectly reasonable to Linyue.
The feeling had been clawing at her ever since she saw that stupid, smug face again. She tried to brush it off. But, she couldn't. What she did in the ancestral hall were just a bonus. This was far more interesting, exciting and dangerous. She was already here. The emperor deserved a little chaos. Maybe even a lot. Why not give him a night to remember? Besides, she wasn't alone.
And if things went horribly wrong? Well… maybe they could at least burn the palace down.
Best case? She'd get exactly what she wanted—lively, breathing, and preferably annoyed.
Just as she tucked away the last poison vial, a soft knock came at the door.
Right on time.
"They're here," Linyue said.
Outside, Shen Zhenyu and He Yuying stood like two night watchmen reporting for duty. Linyue pulled them inside and shut the door.
"There's commotion outside," Shen Zhenyu said, lowering his voice.
He Yuying chimed in, "The empress was attacked! The guards are scrambling everywhere trying to find the assassin."
Linyue blinked. "The empress?"
Shen Zhenyu gave a grim nod. "And the west wing prison's been breached."
That made her pause.
Assassins in the palace? The Empress attacked? A prison break all in one night?
Linyue's eyes narrowed. That couldn't be a coincidence.
Not the emperor, but the empress. The emperor, Fu Jingtao, wasn't someone you just sneak up on with a knife and a dream. The man had been a powerful general before he ever wore the crown, and his cultivation was no joke.
But the empress? That was a slightly easier target. Still dangerous but not "get-flattened-into-a-wall" dangerous. If someone wanted to stir up chaos without getting instantly vaporized, the empress was a strategic choice.
Since there was also prison breach, she was sure that the assassination attempt on the empress must've been a distraction. While the guards scrambled to protect the imperial family, someone slipped into the prison.
There was only one person bold or reckless enough to pull off something this noisy right under the emperor's nose and still act innocent.
Shu Mingye.
He didn't have to come to the palace. He could've let her go alone. But he tagged along and acted like the most well-behaved escort the whole day. Too well-behaved.
Was he here to pull someone out of prison? One of his people? Maybe a spy? Spies were as common as tea leaves in the imperial palace. But this… this wasn't exactly the Demon King behavior. It was messy. Risky. Way too theatrical. Honestly, it'd be more believable if he just killed them and erased the whole prison wing.
Still…
If it wasn't him, then who else would be bold enough? Linyue could count all the people that reckless on one hand and three of them were already in this room with her.
She stood still for a moment, frowning in thought.
Then her lips curved.
"Change of plan," she said, eyes gleaming.
Of course. Plans were meant to be ignored. Or dramatically rewritten at the last minute.
She was taking the chance.
.....
Seven figures, dressed head to toe in black and masked, moved swiftly through the west side of the palace. Each one carried a weapon, and one of them also carried something a bit more dramatic—a half-conscious man slung over his shoulder like a sack of rice. The scent of blood clung to the night air.
This was not a midnight stroll.
Shu Mingye had already set things in motion. Quiet was no longer an option.
He split his people into three groups.
One group went to "visit" the empress. Not to kill her yet just to cause enough trouble to get everyone's attention. A polite warning, really, if polite warnings came with flying knives and minor explosions.
Another group split further, covering the north and east sides to help clean up or in this case, smuggle out the main actors from the empress-distracting performance.
The third group was Shu Mingye's personal favorite: himself and his most trusted guards. They went straight to the prison.
Their goal was Prince Han.
Getting him out was the real mission. Everything else was just fireworks.
Shu Mingye's plan was simple. He planned to escape through the west side of the palace—less guarded, less traveled, and significantly more haunted by bad memories.
Thirteen years ago, that area had been burned to the ground in a fire. Most of it was never rebuilt. Only one building still stood—the ancestral hall, now renovated with just enough creepiness. The rest had been turned into a scenic garden full of flowers, trees, and deeply symbolic ponds that probably represented imperial guilt.
But symbolic ponds didn't help with escapes.
There was no secret passageway, no invisible teleportation spell, no magic door that said "Exit here, fugitives." If they wanted out, they'd have to fight their way through.
So that's exactly what Shu Mingye prepared for.
He brought only his best—guards with high cultivation, fast reflexes, and ideally, a low tendency to ask questions.
As they slipped past the last wall and into the edge of the garden, Shu Mingye glanced back just once.
It had started.
And there was no turning back.
As Shu Mingye slipped through the trees and bushes, he came to a sudden stop.
Ahead, two figures blocked the path, also dressed head to toe in black, like they'd all accidentally worn the same outfit to a villain convention. Awkward.
His guards immediately raised their weapons, murderous aura practically radiating off them. The tension crackled.
But Shu Mingye didn't move. Not yet. Because he knew those two.