It was obvious that she did it on purpose. But even so, Shi Muyuan couldn't say a word. Instead, she had to face it with a smile. After all, her life was still in that woman's hands.
"It doesn't matter. Concubine Xiao, hold it steady. Anyway, I can't die at your hands just yet, right?"
Seeing her gritted - teeth expression, Concubine Xiao was in a great mood.
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager should know what to do. Originally, I had to wait a while longer to carry out my plan. But now, with you in my hands, there's no need to wait anymore."
Hearing this, Shi Muyuan's left eyelid kept twitching. She always felt that Concubine Xiao had some evil scheme.
Sure enough, Concubine Xiao led her to the throne. She pressed a button on the dragon's head, and to Shi Muyuan's greater surprise, something appeared.
A secret door opened. The place where they were standing just allowed them to see what was inside.
When she saw the situation clearly, Shi Muyuan felt a tingling sensation on her scalp.
Bodies were lying there. There was an intoxicated look on Concubine Xiao's face.
She pointed to the seemingly endless secret chamber and said with a hint of pride in her tone.
"This is what I've prepared for you all. Before I came, my father and brother had laid the foundation for me. I could have waited a bit longer, but unexpectedly, the Shi family's persecution led to the deaths of my father and brother. You entered the palace as the empress, and the dog - emperor is also dead. I had no choice but to come here earlier to take over all this. Tomorrow, I'll lead my ten - thousand puppets to capture the Changjing City."
At the end, she laughed wildly, as if she had already seen the outcome she desired.
Shi Muyuan's gaze lingered in the deep secret chamber for a long time. It was too dark inside for her to see clearly. But since Concubine Xiao had said so, there must be a lot of bodies here. However, she had a question.
"How do you think you can control these corpses and turn them into your puppets? Xiao Yue, are you still daydreaming?"
Knowing that she wouldn't believe it, Xiao Yue casually snapped her fingers. A maid in a maid's uniform walked over.
The maid's face was pale, her eyes were lifeless, and her movements were stiff. The hairpin on her head was exclusive to senior maids in the palace. Coupled with her standard bowing posture, Shi Muyuan had a guess in her mind.
"You... Did you turn the maid who left the palace with you many years ago into a puppet?"
Xiao Yue heard the fear in her words and became even more proud.
"What do you think? Didn't you expect this? This is my most successful work. Look, she can still serve tea for me. And I'm not afraid that she'll betray me. What a loyal dead - servant. Even in the whole continent, no one is as smart as me."
As she spoke, she seemed a bit crazy. The maid beside her, as if to prove her words, really brought a cup of tea over. Her tone was stiff, like a call from hell.
"Master, please have some tea."
Xiao Yue didn't think there was anything wrong at all. She drank the tea in one gulp. Then, tired from the introduction, she let go of Shi Muyuan.
"You don't need to guess how I can control these puppets. No one can figure it out. Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, be obedient. At noon today, I'll take you out. I'm sure your relatives will be very happy to see you, especially your second brother."
The last sentence seemed to be said deliberately. Without saying more, she left completely after dropping this sentence.
Shi Muyuan was left alone, with the maid standing beside her. She felt scared. Why hadn't that man come yet? It had been so long.
Sure enough, one can't pin their hopes on others.
After thinking carefully, she decided to sneak out. It was just a bit creepy.
She waved her hand in front of the maid's face to confirm that she didn't respond for the moment. Shi Muyuan thought that since Xiao Yue had left for the time being, it shouldn't affect these puppets anymore.
But the fact proved that she thought too much.
When she lifted her leg, a figure suddenly blocked her way. It was still that cold - hearted, no, heartless look.
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager had better be obedient. Our master has instructed us before leaving. If you're not well - behaved, we'll have to use some means."
As soon as these words were spoken, there was a sudden movement in the secret chamber. Before Shi Muyuan could see how these puppets came over, they had surrounded her layer by layer.
Gradually, cold sweat broke out on her back. Could it be that all the puppets here were "awake"?
Following this absurd thought of hers, a red light slowly appeared in the dark place over there, which was terrifying.
There was nothing she could do but temporarily give in.
"What are you talking about, miss? I'll just stay here and won't go anywhere."
"Better be so."
After these words, the surroundings fell into silence again. This time, Shi Muyuan didn't dare to make any more moves.
Cui Qizhou, who had been waiting outside, always felt that something was wrong. He and his subordinates had been guarding outside. Not even a fly had been let in, but that woman still hadn't come out for such a long time. Could something have happened to her?
No, if something happened, it would only be when Xiao Yue came back.
He thought for a while and decided to go down and find out. Suddenly, the shadow guard appeared.
"My lord, you can't. Concubine Xiao is about to come back. If you go down now, you'll just walk into a trap."
"Do you want me to just watch her in danger?"
The two of them had found something strange before. That woman had gone in to look for the fragments of the treasure map because of him. If something really happened to her, it would be hard for him to explain to the people outside.
Moreover, dealing with the Shi family was troublesome.
The shadow guard opened his mouth, intending to continue persuading his master, but he only saw a gust of wind in front of him. Then, the person in front of him disappeared.
Seeing this, the shadow guard could only helplessly guard outside.
When Cui Qizhou entered the room, he didn't find anything. He couldn't help frowning. Half an hour ago, that woman had entered this room. Could there be a secret chamber?
It had to be said that he was a bit smarter than Shi Muyuan.
After getting an idea, he quickly found a clue on the floor of the room.
He tapped the floor gently and found it was hollow. He drew out his sword and pressed the mechanism without hesitation.
He always had a feeling that this woman must be inside. They had all underestimated Concubine Xiao.
The man walked in gently. Even though he was mentally prepared at first, the scene inside still surprised him greatly. However, this also meant that he had to be more vigilant.
Cui Qizhou walked all the way into the secret chamber. He keenly noticed a box on the ground.
Although there were no traces of fighting here, it was too quiet around. The quieter a place was, the more it proved that there was a problem. That woman couldn't have disappeared for no reason.
The man pursed his lips and picked up the box. Maybe another mechanism was related to this box. Then, this high platform seemed a bit out of place.