Another restless night. Murong Jin rose at dawn to practice her sword forms, but Ning Bi was not waiting in the corridor with hot water.
Instead, a young maid stood there, craning her neck. Her face was childish, her left cheek red and swollen.
Murong Jin sheathed her soft sword. "What happened? Where is Ning Bi?"
The girl dropped to her knees and burst into tears.
Murong Jin frowned. "Speak. If you were bullied, I will see justice done."
"Please, Your Majesty! Save Sister Ning Bi!" The girl kowtowed, her forehead banging against the stone.
"Where is she?" Murong Jin pulled the girl up. "And who hit you?"
"It was Qing'er… from Consort Guo's palace." The girl trembled, twisting the hem of her robe.
"Why?" Murong Jin's eyes darkened. To beat the dog, you must look at the master.
Since Guo Lingyu had started interfering in palace affairs, Murong Jin had turned a blind eye for the sake of peace. But this was too much.
"Sister Ning Bi and I went to the Ministry of Works to ask for someone to fix the windows in Zhaoyang Palace. But they said they needed Consort Guo's approval first." The girl wiped her tears. "Sister Ning Bi argued with them, and then someone called Qing'er."
Murong Jin understood. Ning Bi had a temper. Someone had used it to provoke a conflict and drag it before Guo Lingyu.
"Qing'er slapped me, then took Sister Ning Bi away."
"To Consort Guo's palace?" Murong Jin gave a cold laugh.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Murong Jin released the girl and paced the corridor, her hands clasped behind her back. Suddenly, she stopped.
"Bring me my armor. Since she refuses the face I gave her, I won't be polite anymore."
Laughter echoed in Consort Guo's palace, punctuated by the crack of a whip. The screams had long since stopped.
Ning Bi was tied to a pillar, gagged. Her clothes had been torn to shreds, leaving her in only her undergarments. Her skin was a map of bloody welts. Some wounds were deep, the blood already congealing.
Qing'er looked at the whip in her hand, then at Guo Lingyu, who sat high above them. If I keep hitting her, she'll die. And killing a servant who had served the Emperor since he was a prince… even the Consort might not be able to protect her.
"Why did you stop?" Guo Lingyu opened her eyes, glaring.
"Your Highness," Qing'er knelt. "Any more, and she will die."
Guo Lingyu glanced at the bloody figure. "A cheap life. If she dies, we'll pay her family a few taels of silver."
"But Your Highness… she serves the Empress now. If she dies, how will we explain it?"
"Fool." Guo Lingyu swept a jade plate off the table. Crash. The servants dropped to their knees.
"This slave deserves death!" Qing'er cried. She knew her mistress didn't value their lives any more than the birds in the courtyard.
Guo Lingyu stood and walked over. "Give me the whip."
Qing'er handed it over, trembling.
Crack. The whip lashed out. A new line of blood appeared on Ning Bi's cheek.
"The sound of the whip clears the mind. You should be grateful I chose you to help me focus." Guo Lingyu raised her arm again. Crack.
Ning Bi's eyes were dull, her mind drifting. The pain was distant now. She just wanted to sleep. Did the little maid find the Empress?
Murong Jin stood outside Guo Lingyu's palace. She waved away the guards before they could speak.
"Find Eunuch Ding," she ordered a passing maid.
"Yes."
This ends now. Xue Liulan, I've given you time. Whether you make it or not is up to heaven.
Crash.
The doors of the palace burst open, splintering off their hinges. Murong Jin stood in the wreckage, clad in white robes and silver armor.
She scanned the room, her gaze freezing on Ning Bi's unconscious form. Then she looked at Guo Lingyu. Her eyes were murder.
"Oh, if it isn't the Empress." Guo Lingyu swallowed her fear. She was the favorite. And she had her father. Murong Jin wouldn't dare.
Murong Jin didn't speak. She walked in, her boots clicking coldly on the floor.
Guo Lingyu smoothed the sleeve of her red robe, the phoenix embroidery flashing in the light.
"Ning Bi is my servant. How did she offend you?" Murong Jin touched a deep cut on Ning Bi's arm. Her finger came away red. Her brow twitched.
"Qing'er, tell her." Guo Lingyu sat back on her couch, pointing at the maid.
Qing'er's heart froze. The Empress was truly angry.
"Your Majesty…"
"You are Qing'er?" Murong Jin cut her off, looking her up and down.
"Yes." The gaze felt like ice knives slicing her skin.
Slap.
Before Qing'er could react, a red handprint bloomed on her face.
"Murong Jin!" Guo Lingyu shrieked. "How dare you touch my people?"
"Your people?" Murong Jin looked at her sideways. "So what if I did?"
"Ning Bi broke the rules, so I punished her. What did Qing'er do?"
"I don't like her face." Murong Jin sneered.
"You are the Empress! You are supposed to be an example to all women! How can you punish people on a whim?" Guo Lingyu shouted, righteous indignation in her voice.
Murong Jin glanced at the whip on the floor. With a flick of her toe, she kicked it into the air, caught it, and lashed out.
The whip struck Guo Lingyu, tearing a gash in her sleeve.
"You dare hit me?" Guo Lingyu stared, disbelief warring with shock.
Murong Jin smiled. "Yes. What of it?"
"You are the Empress…"
"Who told you the Empress is hitting you?" Murong Jin walked toward her, stopping directly in front of her.
The sunlight caught her silver armor, making her look like a war god.
"I am Murong Jin. Lord of Yuling. General of the Murong clan." She laughed coldly. "Guo Lingyu, I turned a blind eye to you not because I feared you, but because I couldn't be bothered. But since you've touched what is mine, don't expect me to give face to your father."
Murong Jin moved. Her soft sword flashed, the tip aiming straight for Guo Lingyu.
Guo Lingyu stumbled back, falling onto the couch, paralyzed with terror.
The blade stopped half an inch from her throat. With a flick of her wrist, Murong Jin sliced the fabric at her shoulder. Rip. A line of blood appeared.
She didn't stop. A second strike, this time to the left cheek. A thin red line welled up, blood trickling down to stain her face.
Guo Lingyu screamed.
"Make another sound, and I'll cut your throat," Murong Jin said, her voice soft and terrifying.
Silence fell.
A third strike, to the left leg. More blood.
Guo Lingyu's clothes were in tatters, her skin exposed, the red robe now truly red with blood.
The servants stood frozen. No one dared to intervene. This was the woman who had killed the Yanyun Khan.
"Murong Jin! Stop!" A breathless voice shouted from the door.