Green Mountain

She raised her hand again, her palm forming a fist once more.

With this, the lanterns in the little eunuchs' hands slipped away, pressing towards Xuanzhen.

Xuanzhen jumped into the courtyard, and one by one, the lanterns smashed to the ground inside the room.

She looked up, but Bai Li was not disappointed. Her eyes were only calm.

The candle flames in the lanterns quickly burned through the lantern paper and bamboo strips, spreading rapidly to the bed, igniting a raging fire. The flames swept up the windows, swiftly reducing the white paper windows to flying ashes, and fire soared into the sky above the Forbidden City.

The Divine Chief Eunuch shouted, "This is bad, she's making a spectacle of this event!"

Only then did Xuanzhen realize, Bai Li was not trying to kill her but to start a wildfire. Kunning Palace was very close, Yuan Jin would arrive in an instant upon seeing the flames!

The nuns fled out of the rear hall, Xuanzhen stared at Bai Li, wanting to kill her with a single strike when she fled, but Bai Li just stood quietly before the roaring sea of fire, watching her.

As the sea of fire swept towards Bai Li, her clenched fist suddenly opened, the flames around her were dispersed and swirling, like a yin and yang fish diagram centering on her.

Bai Li said calmly, "If you want to kill me, come in yourself."

As she pondered, outside Jingyang Palace came the voices of the Jiefan Guard: "There's a fire, quickly bring the water bags!"

The Divine Chief Eunuch could finally not hold back, leading the little eunuchs and running out of Jingyang Palace, while running, pressing the top of his official position, looking extremely disheveled.

Xuanzhen sneered, "Useless as mud."

Bai Li, standing in the sea of fire, softly asked, "Xuanzhen, in whose heart is the demon truly?"

"Whose heart is without a demon? It's not your place to scrutinize me," Xuanzhen gave Bai Li one last deep glance, and left everyone behind, proceeding to Jingguan Hall.

Passing by the statues of the Three Pure Ones in the main hall, Xuanzhen looked up at the towering Taoist Ancestor, with a wave of her sleeve sweeping the offerings on the offering table, then entered deep into the grand hall.

She arrived at her own dwelling and opened the cabinet.

On the first layer of the empty cabinet lay a faded red ribbon and three feet of white silk.

Xuanzhen tied the red ribbon she wore when she entered the palace at fourteen into her gray-white hair, then took the three feet of white silk from the cabinet and threw it over the beam to make a knot.

From her bosom, she took out a white porcelain bottle, inside was the payment for exchanging the lives of Zhu Lingyun and others: no matter if today's plan succeeded or not, there would be someone to help her fake death to escape.

She was going to "die."

That's why she dared to frame others and didn't care if her actions were exposed. As for the lives of the Divine Chief Eunuch and those eunuchs, and everyone in Jingyang Palace, she did not care.

Xuanzhen pulled the stopper from the porcelain bottle and drank the clear liquid inside in one gulp.

She stepped onto the small table on the embroidered couch, looped the white silk around her neck with both hands, and kicked the table off the embroidered couch.

Suspended from the beam, Xuanzhen did not struggle. She looked at a hanging scroll across from her, the script taken from the "Scripture of Constant Purity and Tranquility" which read "Empty observes empty."

Xuanzhen slowly pondered, what is emptiness really? But, it seemed not to matter what emptiness was; alive, even if dirty, one must be alive; out, even if dirty, one must go out.

At that moment, she felt something seemed to flow from her eyes, like tears, or perhaps blood. She wanted to lift a hand to wipe it away, but could no longer do so.

Blood-red tears flowed down her face, staining the white silk.

It turned out this wasn't the medicine for faking death and escaping; it was truly poison.

A silent, bitter laugh escaped Xuanzhen; it turns out she didn't want others to live, and others didn't want her to live, it was all fake.

She wanted to get out too much to discern truth from falseness anymore.

Let it be false.

There was liberation.

...

...

With Xuanzhen's departure, Bai Li walked out from the rear hall.

She saw the Jiefan Guard and little eunuchs carrying buckets of water, rushing into Jingyang Palace, dousing the flames with bucket after bucket, but the fire was too strong to be extinguished.

Bai Li brushed past the fire-fighting Jiefan Guard, picking up Princess Yongchun's lifeless body and walking out.

Zhu Lingyun followed beside her, desperately explaining: "Sister, it was Xuanzhen who forced me..."

Bai Li turned to gaze at her, and Zhu Lingyun, seeing the depth in her eyes, involuntarily stepped back.

Bai Li arrived at the gates of Jingyang Palace, holding Princess Yongchun and sitting on the stone steps.

People continuously rushed into Jingyang Palace from beside her, and then rushed out again. She no longer turned to look back, as if the noisy sea of fire and cries for help were disconnected from her and no longer related.

At this moment, a figure swept over the palace wall, stepping across the wall between Yonghe Palace and Jingyang Palace in one stride. This figure seemed to have always been hiding in Yonghe Palace.

Bai Li looked up to see a slim, small figure wearing a wooden mask, like a monkey, lightly landing in the back courtyard of Jingyang Palace.

The Jiefan Guard shouted in unison: "Lord Treasure Monkey!"

A female voice emerged from Treasure Monkey's throat: "Get lost!"

In an instant, he raised his sleeve and brushed his face, and the wooden mask had already changed into a white mask, lightly dusted with lead powder, with coral glazed at the corner of the lips. A transparent water pattern was painted on his left cheek, embedded with fine silver threads, as if a snake's body was swimming on his face.

The Snake Immortal cried pearls.

Treasure Monkey opened his mouth, suddenly releasing a great wave that extinguished the fire in Jingyang Palace in an instant.

Before the Jiefan Guard could express their gratitude, Treasure Monkey raised his sleeve and brushed his face again, switching back to the wooden mask, leaping over the palace wall, coming and going hurriedly, headed towards Jiefan Building.

Bai Li watched the figure leaving and suddenly heard footsteps approaching from a distance.

She turned her head and saw, to her surprise, the Empress running towards her, lifting her wide skirts, accompanied by Aunt Yuan Jin and female servants from the palace.

The Empress came to Bai Li, crouched down, and hugged her: "It's good that you're okay. It's good that you're okay."

Yuan Jin gave a signal to the female servants beside her, and immediately two female servants entered Jingyang Palace, reporting shortly after: "Your Majesty, the fire has been extinguished by Lord Treasure Monkey, and Xuanzhen has hanged himself, already lifeless."

The Empress looked down at Bai Li: "What happened here?"

Bai Li remained silent for a moment: "Imperial Concubine Xue bribed Xuanzhen, intending to falsely accuse me of using witchcraft and poison, casting the divination cup nine times..."

Before finishing her words, footsteps sounded again on the palace path.

The Empress instructed Yuan Jin in a low voice: "Twist off Xuanzhen's neck."

Yuan Jin entered Jingyang Palace, only then did the Empress turn her head to look.

Amidst the dark red palace walls, dozens of Jiefan Guards approached with palace lanterns. Each of them holding an unconscious little eunuch, the foremost dressed in a bright red Python Robe, a green Over the Shoulder Python slithering from back to chest.

Wu Xiu.

Behind Wu Xiu, Lin Chaoqing carried the unconscious Divine Chief Eunuch Commander.

Wu Xiu approached the Empress and bowed: "Your Majesty, the Court Minister has already clarified that the chief of Jingyang Palace, Xuanzhen, and Zhu Lingyun harbored jealousy towards Zhu Baili, thus falsely accusing her of privately possessing witchcraft implements and engaging in unfounded accusations to the Divine Chief Eunuch Commander. The Divine Chief Eunuch Commander failed in his duty of oversight, and the Court Minister will immediately escort him to the Imperial Prison."

The Empress stood up, staring directly at Wu Xiu: "No wonder they dared act recklessly, they had a big figure backing them up."

Wu Xiu bowed even lower: "Your Majesty, who is this big figure you speak of? If there's evidence, the Court Minister will immediately proceed to capture them."

The Empress was silent for a long time, then smiled broadly: "No need, I will handle this matter personally. Jingyang Palace can no longer house anyone; from today, Zhu Baili will move to my Kunning Palace."

Wu Xiu straightened up, sincerely said: "Your Majesty, this must not be, Zhu Baili is the daughter of a criminal minister, ordained by Your Majesty to practice in Jingyang Palace to atone for her father's crimes. How can she leave? Furthermore, only the rear hall of Jingyang Palace was burned, the main hall, Jingguan Hall, and Ancient Mirror Hall remain unharmed. She can stay in Jingguan Hall in the future, overseeing all affairs of Jingyang Palace."

The Empress stared at Wu Xiu, but Wu Xiu did not avoid her gaze. Yuan Jin came out of Jingyang Palace, stood behind the Empress, staring intently at Wu Xiu, but Wu Xiu still did not avoid it.

Suddenly, Bai Li said softly: "Your Majesty, let me stay in Jingyang Palace. If you wish to see me, you can send a female servant to fetch me."

Wu Xiu laughed: "That would be ideal. There's also Zhu Lingyun's involvement in the false accusation, how would the Empress like to deal with her?"

The Empress looked at Bai Li, gently said: "She is your sister, you decide."

Yuan Jin whispered by the Empress's side: "Your Majesty, Zhu Lingyun cannot be kept, in case the Commandery Princess is too soft-hearted..."

The Empress said indifferently: "It's alright, how can a fragile flower grow in the mud?"

Everyone awaited Bai Li's decision, Bai Li slowly stood up, quietly standing in the night breeze.

"Beat her to death with the rod."