nashuaworldcup Chapter 301 Using Liu Hongyan's own hands, personally eliminating the Northern Border spies wit
Chapter 301 Using Liu Hongyan's own hands, personally eliminating the Northern Border spies wit
Liu Hongyan's body trembled violently.
She felt as if she had been thrown into an ice cellar, completely frozen from head to toe, inside and out.
She opened her mouth, as if to say something.
But it felt as if an invisible hand was tightly gripping his throat, and he couldn't squeeze out a single word.
Qin Mu looked at her, and seeing her like this, the smile in his eyes deepened.
He didn't speak, but leaned back in his chair, resting his chin on his hand, waiting.
Silence spread throughout the hall.
That silence, like an invisible boulder, pressed down on Liu Hongyan's heart, making her almost suffocate.
She knew she had no choice.
She had no other choice.
"Yes."
she says.
The voice was hoarse, yet exceptionally clear.
Qin Mu looked at her, his appreciation deepening.
"I will send a team to follow you."
He said it in a casual tone, as if he were giving an order for something trivial.
"I'll give you one night—to kill all the spies in the northern border region within the territory of Liyang Imperial City."
Slay them all.
These four words, like a cold knife, pierced Liu Hongyan's heart.
Her body trembled violently, the tremor starting from her heart and spreading to every part of her body, making her almost unable to stand.
But she gritted her teeth and endured it.
She stood there, head down, silent for a long time.
So long that the sunlight moved an inch further, so long that the birdsong outside the palace fell silent.
Then she spoke.
His voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible, yet every word was clear:
"Yes."
Qin Mu nodded.
"but--"
He suddenly spoke, his voice still very soft, but it made Liu Hongyan's heart, which had just settled down, jump up again.
"Leave one alive."
Liu Hongyan was slightly taken aback.
She looked up at Qin Mu, her eyes filled with confusion.
Qin Mu looked at her, and the smile on his lips deepened.
He leaned slightly closer, his voice low, so low that only the two of them could hear it, yet every word was clear, like an ice pick piercing to the bone:
"And—this person must be brought back to the North alive."
The moment the words left her lips, Liu Hongyan's pupils suddenly contracted!
She suddenly raised her head and stared intently at Qin Mu!
The fear that had just faded from those phoenix eyes surged back like a flood, more intense, more turbulent, and more desperate than before.
She finally understood.
Qin Mu ordered her to kill those people herself, not to eliminate spies from the northern border.
To eliminate spies, any squad of Dragon Shadow Guards could easily handle it; why send her?
He sent her there so that her hands would be stained with the blood of those people.
Let her kill with her own hands those people she has known for years, those she has drunk with, chatted with, and those she has supported each other in foreign lands.
Make her a true traitor.
It made it so that she could never turn back.
But that's not enough.
He also wanted to leave one person alive.
The goal is to ensure this survivor returns alive to the North.
They need to let Xu Longxiang know that it was Liu Hongyan who betrayed them.
Liu Hongyan killed them with her own hands.
What will Xu Longxiang think when this news reaches the North?
He will find out that one of his most trusted advisors has betrayed him.
But the scariest thing isn't any of that.
The most frightening thing is that Xu Longxiang will start to have doubts.
Suspicious of everyone around you.
He doubted those who were still in the North, still by his side, and still loyal to him.
He would see Liu Hongyan's shadow in everyone's eyes.
During every meeting, he would wonder if this person might also betray him.
Every night, he would repeatedly examine those he once trusted deeply, wondering if they were truly loyal.
Could they, like Liu Hongyan, suddenly turn against us one day?
Doubt is a more deadly poison than betrayal.
It can destroy a person, an organization, or a dynasty from within.
It can make people suspicious, paranoid, and crazy.
And that's exactly what Qin Mu wanted.
He wanted to drive Xu Longxiang mad.
Let him drive himself crazy.
And Liu Hongyan is that knife.
That knife that he personally plunged into Xu Longxiang's heart.
Countless images flashed through Liu Hongyan's mind.
She remembered the Crown Prince's face.
That face, always stern, yet occasionally revealing a gentle smile in her presence.
She remembered the first time she saw him; he stood in the courtyard of the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion, hands behind his back, gazing at the vast snowfields of the north.
At that time, she was just a young girl who had just been recruited into the Northern Staff Corps. She knew nothing and could do nothing.
It was he who taught her, little by little, how to analyze intelligence, how to set up hidden agents, and how to dance on the edge of a knife.
It was he who gave her trust, gave her power, and gave her everything.
And now, she's going to destroy him with her own hands.
Use the hand of the person he trusts most.
By then, even if she could return to the North, she wouldn't be able to go back.
go back?
How could she possibly go back?
All the people she knew, those she had drunk with, chatted with, and supported each other in foreign lands, died at her hands.
Their blood will forever stain her hands.
It can't be washed off, it can't be wiped clean, it will never and ever come off.
What will His Highness think of her?
What kind of look would the person who once trusted her the most give her?
Is it anger?
Disappointment?
Is it hatred?
Or is it disgusting?
She dared not think any further.
But that thought clung to her like a bone-deep infection, clinging to her relentlessly, and she couldn't shake it off no matter what.
Liu Hongyan's tears finally welled up and spilled out.
The tears slid silently down her swollen cheeks, dripping onto her pale white dress and spreading out dark stains.
She stood there, as if all her strength had been drained, and she swayed precariously.
Her lips trembled violently as she tried to say something—to say "no," to say "I can't do it," to say "please."
But she knew it was no use.
What's wrong with saying "no"?
So what if she can't do it?
What good would begging for mercy do?
Qin Mu will not change his mind.
From the moment she chose to live, there was no turning back.
Liu Hongyan closed her eyes.
I took a deep breath.
When she opened her eyes again, tears were still in them, but the light in them had been completely extinguished.
She slowly, very slowly, knelt down.
His knee slammed into the gold brick with a dull thud.
She kept her head down, her forehead almost touching the cold ground.
The moon-white skirt spread out around her, like a flower about to wither.
She spoke, her voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible, yet every word was clear, as if squeezed from the deepest part of her heart:
"Yes."
One word.
Yet it weighs as much as a thousand pounds.
Qin Mu looked at her kneeling figure, at her trembling shoulders, at her humble and undignified appearance.
He smiled and said:
"I will have someone secretly assist you."
Liu Hongyan's body trembled slightly.
They called it assistance, but in reality it was surveillance.
Qin Mu wouldn't really feel comfortable letting her go alone.
He will send someone to follow her, watch over her, and make sure she completes her mission.
Make sure she kills those people herself.
Make sure that person survives and returns to the North alive.
Make sure—she has no way back.
A self-deprecating smile curved at the corners of Liu Hongyan's lips.
Of course she knew that Qin Mu wouldn't trust her.
She was nothing more than a pawn, a pawn that could be discarded at any time.
Chess pieces don't need trust, they just need to obey.
A deep sense of sorrow welled up in her heart.
A sense of desolation rose from the depths of her heart, spreading to every part of her body, making her feel cold all over.
But she didn't speak; she just knelt there, her forehead touching the ground, motionless.
"Yes."
She repeated it again.
The voice was softer and fainter than before, as if it were not being spoken to Qin Mu, but to himself.
I'm telling myself—accept your fate.
You have no other way to go.
Qin Mu looked at her but didn't say anything more.
He leaned back on the soft couch, his gaze shifting from her to the sunlit courtyard outside the window.
In the courtyard, several wintersweet trees are in full bloom, their pink and white flowers clustered among the green leaves. Occasionally, a few petals drift down in the wind, swirling and landing on the bluestone slabs.
Very beautiful.
But everything inside this hall has nothing to do with that beauty.
Zhao Qingxue sat on the embroidered stool, looking at Liu Hongyan kneeling on the ground.
Looking at her humble, desperate, and miserable state, I felt a pang of sadness.
The complex emotions churned within me even more violently.
She remembered that not long ago, she had knelt before Qin Mu in the same way.
That's how it is; you're forced to do things you don't want to do.
And so it was, little by little, that they lost all their dignity, all their pride, and all their perseverance.
And so it was, from a high and mighty emperor, he was transformed into a humble and obedient pawn.
She knew all too well how Liu Hongyan was feeling at that moment.
That feeling of being choked by fate, unable to breathe.
That feeling of hating someone to death, yet having no choice but to obey.
That feeling—worse than death.
Zhao Qingxue closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
When she opened her eyes again, the complex emotions in her deep purple phoenix eyes had gradually subsided.
She didn't speak, but just sat there quietly, watching Liu Hongyan.
Looking at this chess piece, just like her, trapped on the chessboard.
Inside the hall, there was a deathly silence.
Qin Mu's words were still echoing in Liu Hongyan's mind.
She looked up at Qin Mu.
Qin Mu remained leaning against the soft couch, one hand supporting his chin, his gaze fixed on the window, as if all of this had nothing to do with him.
Sunlight shone on his face, casting a half-light, half-shadow on his handsome features, making the half-smile at the corner of his mouth particularly clear in the sunlight.
He sat there like a god looking down upon all living beings, indifferent, composed, and irresistible.
Looking at him, Liu Hongyan felt a deep sorrow that was almost overflowing.
But she didn't speak; she simply kowtowed slowly and heavily.
His forehead hit the ground with a dull thud.
"This humble woman obeys."
Her voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible, yet every word was clear.
Then, she stood up.
A sharp, piercing pain shot through her knee, nearly causing her to fall again.
But she gritted her teeth and endured it.
She stood there, hands at her sides, eyes lowered, staring at her toes.
The moon-white hem of her skirt swayed gently at her feet, like a leaf about to fall.
Qin Mu finally turned his gaze away and looked at her.
He nodded.
"Go."
He said.
"Remember, one night. I want to see the results before sunrise tomorrow."
Liu Hongyan's body trembled slightly.
She didn't speak, but simply bowed again.
Then she turned around and walked towards the palace gate.
Her moon-white dress trailed behind her, making a soft rustling sound.
That figure, thin and hunched, was like a tree broken by a storm, unable to stand straight any longer.
The sunlight engulfed her completely, and then her figure disappeared outside the palace gate.
Inside the hall, silence returned.
Sunlight continued to stream in through the window, casting dappled shadows on the floor.
The winter plum blossoms in the courtyard still sway gently in the wind, with a few petals occasionally falling and swirling down onto the bluestone slabs.
Zhao Qingxue sat on the embroidered stool, gazing at the empty palace gate and the figure that had already disappeared.
Her eyes were slightly red.
But she gritted her teeth, refusing to let the tears fall.
She spoke, her voice very soft and faint:
"She'll go crazy."
Qin Mu leaned back on the soft couch, his gaze fixed on the view outside the window, the smile still on his lips.
"Won't."
"She will live. And she will live a better life."
Zhao Qingxue's eyelashes trembled slightly.
She didn't say anything more, but turned her head and looked out the window.
Looking towards the sunlit courtyard, towards the few winter plum trees swaying in the wind, towards the empty palace gate.
In my heart, I silently said—
Liu Hongyan, I'm sorry.
We are all pawns.
But you're in a worse situation than me.
Outside the hall, the sun was shining brightly.
But that warmth could not penetrate the deep palace, nor could it reach the heart that was being devoured by despair.
In the distance, the chirping of birds could be heard, clear and melodious.
A new day has just begun.
But for Liu Hongyan, this day was darker than any night.