Traveling back to ancient times to get rich

Chapter 120 The Man in Black at Dusk

Today, sunlight streamed through the window and fell upon Ye Qingchen's delicate face. However, instead of going out for leisure as usual, she went straight to Consort Li's bedchamber. She moved gracefully and slowly into the palace.

At this moment, Consort Li was reclining languidly on the bed, a thin veil lightly concealing her graceful figure. When she saw Ye Qingchen enter, she smiled slightly, her smile as radiant and captivating as a peach blossom in spring. After exchanging a smile, the two lay down together on the large and soft bed.

Meanwhile, in another palace within the imperial palace, the Emperor sat on his dragon throne, his brow furrowed. Lately, he had dared not visit Consort Li's palace too often, not because his feelings for her had diminished, but because he feared arousing the Empress's jealousy, which might lead her to harm Consort Li. After all, within the deep inner palace, power struggles and infighting never ceased.

However, despite his many concerns, the Emperor's longing for Consort Li grew stronger each day. Therefore, in order to secretly protect his beloved woman and their unborn child, the Emperor decided to transform into Cupid and quietly travel to every corner of the palace.

He moved through the palace corridors, sometimes pausing to listen to the whispers of the palace maids; sometimes hiding behind artificial hills to observe the concubines' every move. Whenever he discovered any sign that might threaten Consort Li's safety, he would intervene without hesitation.

Although the Emperor knew that doing so would displease the other concubines and even make them see him as a philanderer, he disregarded such concerns to ensure the safety of Consort Li and her unborn child. In his eyes, none of the women in the palace could match Consort Li's gentleness, charm, and understanding. The thought of the impending birth of his imperial heir filled him with joy. Therefore, even if it meant bearing the stigma of being a "stud," he was willing to do so.

Ye Qingchen and Consort Li chatted happily, and before they knew it, time had passed quietly and the night was getting deeper. Ye Qingchen looked up at the dark sky outside the window and, seeing that it was getting late, gently urged, "Your Highness, it's getting late, you should rest early."

Consort Li usually suffered from poor sleep quality, always finding it difficult to enter a deep sleep, even with several highly skilled martial artists guarding her palace. However, tonight, with Ye Qingchen by her side, she felt inexplicably at ease and quickly fell into a deep sleep. Ye Qingchen had also intended to rest, but just as she was about to lie down, she suddenly heard a faint sound coming from the roof. With her profound internal energy cultivation, she was now able to perceive her surroundings with her consciousness. Listening carefully, she realized someone was moving around on the roof!

Ye Qingchen's heart tightened. She held her breath and focused her attention on detecting the movements outside. After a moment, she keenly sensed two figures dressed in black night clothes furtively scattering some powdery substance into the house. She wondered how many days this powder had been there. She quickly checked Consort Li's pulse, thankfully finding nothing amiss.

Ye Qingchen took a deep breath, her nostrils flaring slightly. In an instant, she discerned the ingredients of the powder—it was a poison capable of causing a massive increase in blood flow! Without much thought, she immediately understood that the mastermind behind it all was undoubtedly the Empress. After all, there were very few people in the palace capable of resorting to such despicable methods.

Thinking of this, Ye Qingchen dared not delay for a moment. He quickly took out the antidote he carried with him and used his internal energy to transform it into an invisible stream of air, silently sending it towards the poison powder. In the blink of an eye, the poison powder's medicinal properties were neutralized.

Immediately afterward, a chilling glint flashed in Ye Qingchen's beautiful eyes. In that instant, with a gentle wave of her snow-white hand, several fine, gleaming steel needles shot out from her grasp. These needles moved with lightning speed, hurtling straight towards the two men in black.

With a few sharp whooshing sounds, the steel needles pierced the air, striking the temples of the two men in black with lightning speed and deadly precision! It all happened so fast and suddenly that the two men in black had no time to react, not even to utter a scream, before they were instantly killed. Their bodies, as if drained of all life, fell straight backward, crashing heavily onto the roof.

Ye Qingchen was not alone on this mission. She was accompanied by Bai Zhi and Fu Ling. Therefore, she wasn't in a hurry to deal with the two corpses. She could simply announce that Bai Zhi and Fu Ling had killed them, and no one would know that she herself possessed extraordinary skills. After all, Ye Qingchen didn't want to easily reveal her martial arts abilities. However, one thing worried her greatly—this matter absolutely could not be known to Consort Li. Otherwise, Consort Li might be so frightened that it would affect her pregnancy.

Ye Qingchen slowly extended her senses a little further, carefully investigating the surrounding movements. She was completely focused, not missing a single subtle sound or scent. After a while, confirming that there were no more traces of other men in black, her heart, which had been pounding with anxiety, finally began to settle. Ye Qingchen let out a soft sigh of relief, then slowly closed her eyes and drifted peacefully into sleep. The night had been incredibly thrilling and dangerous; now that the crisis was over, she quickly fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, as the sun rose, soft sunlight streamed through the windows into the room. Consort Li was still sound asleep, lost in a sweet dream. Ye Qingchen, however, had already quietly risen, her movements as gentle as a cat's. She carefully walked to the door and softly summoned her two maids, Baizhi and Fuling. The three of them went to the rooftop, their faces grave as they looked at the corpses of the men in black who had been dealt with the previous night. Ye Qingchen whispered, "Dispose of these bodies quickly; don't leave them here."

Bai Zhi and Fu Ling nodded, and the two quickly got to work, soon cleaning up the two bodies. Afterwards, they had the Emperor's guards stationed there send someone to inform the Emperor to come and take the bodies away.

Not long after, the Emperor learned of the news. When he saw the scene before him, his face instantly turned extremely grim. He never expected that the people he had carefully selected to protect Consort Li would be so utterly incompetent. They hadn't even noticed anyone trying to harm Consort Li, and not only had they failed to stop the men in black, they had even allowed them to break into Consort Li's palace. If anything had truly happened, the consequences would have been unimaginable! Thinking of this, the Emperor couldn't help but tremble with rage.

At this moment, the guards reported that, according to Ye Qingchen's identification, the powder was actually an extremely potent blood-activating medicine. If Consort Li were to inhale too much, it could very well lead to the tragic death of both herself and her unborn child. Upon hearing this news, the Emperor gasped, lamenting the Empress's truly ruthless methods.

Fortunately, Ye Qingchen, with her superb medical skills, successfully neutralized the poison. Even more remarkably, she didn't inform Consort Li, thus avoiding unnecessary panic and worry. In this way, a dramatic storm temporarily subsided, but no one knew whether, behind this seemingly peaceful palace, more conspiracies and dangers were quietly brewing…