In the year 279 of the apocalypse, during the Battle of Mountain, River, and Sea, only four experimental subjects remained, and three of them sacrificed their lives.

Remaining Subject No. 7 alone wiped out three cities by herself.

After that battle, a lotus-shaped brand appeared on her back, drawn by the Federation’s chief national scholar on the nape of her neck.

The hope was that this brand would suppress her overwhelming bloodlust.

Her eyes were cold as she locked gazes with him.

Yan Ling’s eyes were as cold as hers, yet his fingertips inexplicably burned with heat.

If it were merely a drawing, it could likely be wiped away with a simple touch.

The summer breeze tangled her hair, brushing against the blue gauze, revealing the faint outline of the red lotus brand beneath it.

It was as though the entire hall had been stained with an intoxicating fragrance.

Yan Ling remained seated, but his fingertips were so red they seemed as though they might bleed at any moment.

“What are you two doing?” Xiao Jin entered the hall, his voice cold and sharp.

Wei Heng, who followed behind him, was taken aback and looked up, only to see Yan Ling and Wen Yuesheng sitting at separate desks, not very close to each other.

Both of them appeared perfectly normal, yet Wei Heng, having been around Xiao Jin for years, could easily sense the anger in his tone.

Angry?

Because of these two?

His question seemed out of place, and those following them didn’t immediately react.

Hong Dou, noticing Wen Yuesheng, stepped forward and said, “Your Highness, this is what the Second Miss has been using today.”

Gu Yu recognized her immediately. This was Hong Dou, Wen Yuru’s main maid.

She was here, but Wen Yuruo was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, a palace doctor who had come with them stepped forward to inspect the dishes.

“Your Highness, there’s nothing wrong with these items.” The palace doctor paused briefly, then picked up a wine cup from the table, lightly sniffed it, and took a sip.

His expression changed, and he said, “Your Highness, this wine contains hawthorn.”

Gu Yu’s expression shifted slightly.

It was well known that Wen Yuruo couldn’t tolerate hawthorn.

Earlier this year, at another palace banquet, Wen Yue Sheng had sent the pastries she didn’t want to Wen Yuruo.

One of those pastries had hawthorn as an ingredient, and after Wen Yuruo ate it, her pretty face broke out in a rash, and she became seriously ill.

Because of that, Wen Xun had been furious and made Wen Yuesheng kneel in the ancestral hall for a month.

Even Xiao Jin had scolded Wen Yuesheng over it.

To them, it seemed as though Wen Yuesheng had intentionally harmed Wen Yuruo.

Whether she intended it or not, Wen Yuruo suffered, and therefore it was her fault.

Hearing the mention of hawthorn again made Gu Yu uneasy.

Xiao Jin’s face darkened, and he coldly asked, “Why would there be wine on her desk?”

Hong Dou paused briefly before explaining, “Miss has had trouble sleeping since the beginning of August due to the heat. The family doctor suggested she drink some fruit wine in the evening to help cool down and aid her sleep.”

“But the fruit wine she uses is always checked in advance by the staff, and hawthorn is never included!”

Today, Wen Yuruo had been feeling unwell, but no one had thought of this possibility.

Earlier, Xiao Jin had sent the palace doctor to check on her, but instead, they had stumbled upon this troubling matter.

Xiao Jin’s expression grew darker as he commanded, “Investigate.”

“Find out how this wine ended up here!”

At the same time, something was happening with Fu Rui.

The Prince of Haozhou had sent a message, stating that today’s banquet was likely going to be interrupted, and the Emperor was still in a rage.

They needed to cover up Fu Rui’s issues to prevent Haozhou’s envoy from finding out.

Xiao Jin’s outburst seemed aimed at escalating the matter, likely to cover up Fu Rui’s scandal.

If this news got out, Great Hui’s reputation would be truly ruined.

As these words were spoken, many people subconsciously glanced at Wen Yuesheng.

After all, she had done something like this before, so it wasn’t a surprise to them.

Before they could uncover more, a person hurried into the hall.

After scanning the room, they rushed toward Wen Yuesheng.

“Miss.” Lu Hongying looked troubled as she leaned down to whisper to Wen Yuesheng, “After the banquet was paused, did you happen to see Miss Man?”

Wen Yuesheng shook her head.

Not only had she not seen her before the banquet was paused, but she hadn’t seen her during the earlier competition either.

“She’s gone!” Lu Hongying’s face was full of worry. “I asked around and was told that she left halfway through the banquet, but no one knows where she went.”

“I’ve been looking for her for a long time but haven’t found her.”

“Gu Yu.” Wen Yuesheng called her over, “Go to the side hall and ask Zhang Yulin to help look for her in nearby palaces.”

“You come with me, we’ll check other places.” She glanced at Lu Hongying.

Lu Hongying nodded quickly.

She had no experience dealing with such matters, but she understood that until they knew more about Miss Man’s whereabouts, they shouldn’t make a scene.

As Wen Yuesheng stood up, ready to leave with Lu Hongying, Xiao Jin returned with the servant who had been sent to investigate the wine.

Her steps faltered.

Lu Hongying noticed and looked up at the servant.

At once, she exclaimed, “Yu Qing?”

The servant, a young girl dressed in a light red gown, was none other than Yu Qing, one of Miss Man’s maids.

Miss Zhang had a hard life, and this was the only capable maid by her side.

But why wasn’t Yu Qing with her now, and what was she doing here?

Lu Hongying was stunned and did not immediately react.

She saw the maid, who seemed to shrink in fear, entering the hall and kneeling down as soon as she saw so many people.

“Servant… servant knows nothing!” Yu Qing was in a panic, kowtowing in front of Xiao Jin’s position, “Please, Your Highness, show mercy!”

“Your Highness, I have inquired with the palace servants who brought the wine. They identified her personally. This vile woman falsely claimed to be the maid of the second miss of the Wen family, saying that the second miss was ill today and asked the servant to bring a pot of wine with hawthorn to her!”

The palace servant Xiao Jin sent out turned over a plaque and handed it up.

“This is the Princess’s order plaque in her hand!”

Yu Qing’s face went pale as soon as she saw it.

Wei Hengzhi glanced at the plaque, and indeed, it came from the Princess’s residence.

“Whose maid are you? How dare you be so bold!”

When he spoke, Yu Qing was even more frightened, her soul almost leaving her body.

Ignoring her swollen forehead from the kowtows, she loudly exclaimed, “Servant deserves to die a thousand deaths! Your Highness, please forgive me.”

“The matter of changing the wine was not instigated by me. I am just a small maid. How could I dare to do such a reckless thing! Please, Your Highness, see clearly!” She was frantic and tears streamed down her face, yet her words were very formal.

Lu Hongying watched, suddenly having a bad premonition.

She quickly looked up, searching for a familiar figure.

She didn’t find who she was looking for, but after searching for a long time, Zhou Manniang, whom she had been looking for, finally appeared.

But for some reason, her face was pale, and her clothes and skirt were a little wrinkled, looking somewhat disheveled.

Before Lu Hongying could speak, Yu Qing suddenly said, “It was my lady, the daughter of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Zhou Manniang!”

Lu Hongying’s eyes widened, looking at her in disbelief.

Yu Qing’s eyes turned red as she trembled, saying, “My lady has been jealous of the second miss of the Wen family for a long time. She wanted to take advantage of this palace banquet to make the second miss eat hawthorn and ruin her face!”

The hall suddenly became silent.

Countless eyes turned toward Zhou Manniang, who had just entered the hall.

Some people even began to make connections between her and Wen Yue Sheng.

It was known in the capital that the princess and the noble girls of the capital did not get along well.

Only in recent days had Zhou Manniang and Lu Hongying become somewhat closer.

Wei Hengzhi coldly spoke, “So, was this plaque given to you by your lady?”

His meaning couldn’t have been more obvious.

How could Zhou Manniang, a small concubine-born daughter, easily obtain the Princess’s plaque?

Unless someone deliberately arranged it.

“Yes!”

As expected.

Xiao Jin’s gaze deepened as he looked at Wen Yuesheng.

“You are talking nonsense!” Lu Hongying became furious, stepping forward to point at Yu Qing’s nose and scolded, “Why would your mistress harm Wen Yuruo if they have no grudge against each other?”

“Clearly, it was you, this vile servant, who was bribed to maliciously frame her!” Lu Hongying shouted, “Where is Zhou Yujie? Tell her to come out!”

Zhou Yujie was Zhou Manniang’s full-blooded sister.

“Miss Lu, the eldest miss was also kept in the dark about this!” Yu Qing cried, “Even if you are trying to clear the lady’s name, you shouldn’t drag the innocent eldest miss into this!”

Lu Hongying was almost enraged to the point of laughter.

Last time, Zhou Manniang had said that when Zhang Yulin went mad, she could have escaped, but for some reason, someone suddenly pushed her, causing her to be bitten by Zhang Yulin.

At that time, Lu Hongying had some suspicions.

She didn’t expect there really was a traitor around Zhou Manniang.

Now, when Zhou Manniang entered the hall, she faced such questioning, her face as white as paper.

She couldn’t speak a word, her eyes misty as she looked at Wen Yue Sheng.

What would the princess think of her?

“Miss Zhou, with both human and material evidence, what do you have to say for yourself?” Wei Hengzhi coldly asked.

“Human evidence?” Wen Yuesheng suddenly spoke, her cold eyes devoid of warmth: “Take this maid away and give her fifty lashes.”

The entire hall fell silent.

Fifty lashes, this punishment was almost as deadly as being beaten to death.

Wei Hengzhi’s expression changed slightly.

He hadn’t expected this matter to directly target Wen Yuesheng.

He thought she had become smarter and learned to use others for her purposes, but now he realized she was still so reckless.

Yu Qing’s expression drastically changed, and she quickly raised her head to look at her.

However, Wen Yuesheng didn’t even glance at her, and her words were as cold as an ice blade.

“You have one last chance to speak before I kill you.” Wen Yuesheng said indifferently.

Everyone around gasped.

This was the imperial palace.

Wen Yuesheng wanted to have a maid of an official’s family beaten to death in the palace, and this maid had just accused her of wrongdoing.

But no one else was as deeply affected as Zhou Manniang.

When Wen Yuesheng spoke, she felt her legs weaken and almost couldn’t stand.

Looking at Wen Yuesheng, everything in her vision became blurry.

She had been humble and timid since childhood and knew her place. She never dared to imagine that anyone would wholeheartedly believe her.

Even with Lu Hongying, she didn’t dare reveal her entire situation, knowing they were in different social classes, and didn’t want to let Lu Hongying see her so humiliated.

And the person in front of her, she had only known for a few days.

“Your Highness, what should we do?” A palace servant anxiously looked at Xiao Jin.

Xiao Jin looked at Wen Yuesheng but remained silent.

Yu Qing had already been dragged out, and the sound of the harsh lashes echoed through the hall.

She had started shouting that she was wronged, but soon she couldn’t shout anymore, only hearing her heartbreaking screams.

“…Ten, eleven…thirty-five.”

The noise outside gradually faded.

The hall was quiet, and Wen Yuesheng went to wash her hands in a copper basin.

As the sound of water splashed, she calmly looked up: “Drag her in.”

As soon as her words fell, two palace servants entered, dragging Yu Qing, covered in blood and on the verge of death.

The bloodstains trailed all the way through the palace.

“Speak.” Wen Yue Sheng wiped her hands and asked, “Who did this today?”

Yu Qing could barely open her eyes, her pain almost unbearable, yet she gritted her teeth and said, “It… it was Zhou Manniang…”

She was gasping for breath, but she still insisted it was Zhou Manniang who did it.

The people in the hall exchanged glances, but after the thirty-five lashes, no one dared to speak easily.

Wen Yuesheng spoke in a flat tone: “Death by lashes.”

And after those words, Yu Qing suddenly shuddered.

Her eyes flew open, and she shouted, “I’ll speak! I’ll speak!!”

“It was the eldest miss! It was the eldest miss who instructed me to switch the wine for Wen Yurou, and then put all the blame on her! She promised me that after it was done, she would protect me, exempt me from my low status, and even give me fifty taels of silver!”