Julie was pleasantly surprised. She immediately dried her tears and went out to have a look.When she saw the gold screen, she immediately felt better.Her maid took a guess."Your Highness, I heard the king went to Cloud Palace after leaving Zen Palace. Lady Helena must have said something nice to the king, and he decided to give you a gift. You ought to thank her!"Julie nodded vigorously."Yes. Lady Helena is genuinely nice to me, unlike the queen!"She fumed at the thought of Wendy. She was determined to get her revenge.-There was silence in Tyrian Palace in the middle of the night.Whoosh.George brushed the bed curtain aside with his hand. He felt restless.A glimmer of moonlight seeped into the room. George sat on his bed with his robe wide open, revealing his chiseled chest.He clapped a hand to his forehead, rubbing his fingers against his eyebrows impatiently.He couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about his conversation with the queen in Zen Palace.Something wa
Helena thought she had misheard. Why would George go to Julie's residence?Timothy continued, "It's exactly what happened. Lionel sent word that you don't have to wait for the king. His Majesty will be having dinner at Lady Julie's residence."Helena felt uncomfortable. She frowned a little.However, she convinced herself that even if they had dinner together, George wouldn't sleep with Julie. He definitely wouldn't…Helena couldn't let something minor like this affect her. Other people would make fun of her.-All the other concubines were shocked when they heard that the king was spending the night with Julie.Wilhelmina was especially angry. She smashed a bowl on the spot."How long has Lady Julie been in the palace? Why does she get to serve the king in bed before I do?" she fumed."Your Highness, the king only went to Lady Julie's residence because he heard about her father's successes in war. Perhaps he was just doing it to showcase his generosity," Mia said carefully.
It was midnight.Zoom.An arrow thudded into the door of Tyrian Palace. Royal guards rushed out all at once."There's an assassin!"In the bedchamber, George was in his pajamas. His long hair made his face appear even more handsome."What is it?" he asked.Steven carefully approached the king, holding the arrow with both hands. A note was attached to the shaft."Your Majesty, the assassin left this behind!"George reached out to grab the note with long, strong fingers. He read the note under the candlelight.[Meet me at Clarion Palace at the stroke of midnight for your cure.]His eyes widened, and the note turned into dust in his hands."How dare she show up?"It seemed the queen had figured out his identity. She had the audacity to send him a note in Tyrian Palace.Steven was confused. Who was this person? Did the king know the assassin personally?-The next evening, secret guards surrounded the abandoned palace, Clarion Palace, with more stationed inside, waiting for
George grabbed one of Jane's shoulders and one of her hands. He was a man after all, and he was very strong. It was hard to break free from him."Guards!" he called out.The royal guards stationed outside rushed in."Capture the assassin!" he commanded.Seeing that they were about to apprehend her, Jane raised a knee to kick George in the crotch.George dodged to the side, and his grip on her shoulder loosened. In a high-level fight, being careless was unacceptable.Just as he loosened his grip, Jane threw in a surprise attack by pulling off the belt around his waist…Swoosh.The royal guards reflexively turned away so as not to catch a glimpse as George's pants fell down.George let go of her with one hand to grab his pants, managing to prevent them from slipping off. However, the act to protect his dignity meant he had only one hand left on Jane.Being outnumbered always resulted in a disadvantage. It was the same as one hand against two.Like a slippery eel, Jane immediat
The room was eerily quiet.Lily pointed at the belt and asked, "Your Majesty, what should we do with this?"She had no idea whose belt it was. What had Jane been doing tonight? Lily was shocked but didn't dare ask directly.Jane, on the other hand, felt awkward.She placed the belt on the table and stared at it for a moment.There was no way she could keep it, but throwing it away didn't seem right either.She still had to treat the tyrant king. She couldn't let personal emotions mess up the bigger picture.That was the strategy.The king, as powerful as he was, probably wouldn't be small minded about something like this."Hide it for now," Jane instructed.She'd return it the next time she treated him.Lily picked up the belt and casually asked, "Your Majesty, whose belt is this?""The king's."'What?'Lily almost dropped the belt, it felt like it was burning in her hands."Your Majesty, did you actually go out tonight just to steal this belt?"Jane took a sip of tea,
At Zen Palace, Jane was eating when Maya entered, carrying a bowl of soup."Your Majesty, this was sent by Lady Julie. Please be sure to taste it."Jane glanced at the other dishes on the table. "Leave it here," she said coldly.After Maya left, Lily immediately took out a silver needle to test the soup for poison.The last soup had poison ivy in it, but luckily Jane had gotten into the habit of testing her food for poison during her time traveling the kingdom.Lily grew more uneasy, wondering if this soup was poisoned too.The silver needle showed no change in color.Jane scooped a spoonful and smelled it. "It has an antidote for poison ivy mixed in," she said."An antidote? Does Lady Julie know?" Lily asked.Jane picked up a piece of meat. "It's clear that she's the one who had it poisoned.""Huh? But then she...""She's not a bad person, just someone who knows how to make clear distinctions between love and hate," Jane said calmly.Julie's temperament reminded her of a f
Timothy reported what he had seen to Helena. There was a sharp glint in her eyes at the news.Although concubines had their palace quarters, they still needed money to reward the palace servants and maintain relationships outside the palace. Having grown accustomed to a life of luxury, if Helena lost the favor of the concubines' families, it would be a major loss."Aside from Mr. Sommer, find out who else has secretly sent things to Zen Palace," she ordered.-That night, the king arrived at Stella's chambers.Stella personally arranged the dishes, her hands trembling with nervousness."Your Majesty, please enjoy."George was distracted, his mind elsewhere. Tonight marked the ten-day appointment with the assassin. He wondered if she would go to Clarion Palace. After all, he had almost caught her the last time."Your Majesty..." Stella ladled out some soup and eagerly looked at him.George was already tired of dining with different women. With important matters to attend to, he
Jane struggled with all her might, but she had been poisoned with a sedative, her entire body weak. Her punches felt like nothing more than an itch.The man's entire body pressed down on her like a massive boulder, hard and scorching. She could hear his breathing that grew heavier and warmer by the second.It felt like she was trapped in the scorching heat of summer, the burning sun's rays wrapping around her. It was as if a fireball enveloped her, searing her and making her body temperature rise…Jane tilted her head to one side as her vision became increasingly blurry.The exit seemed within reach, but it was still far out of sight.Just as she was about to lose consciousness, a familiar figure appeared in her mind.They wore a white robe and had a worried tone. "Jane, wake up…"In that instant, Jane's drooping eyes snapped wide open.Using the last of her strength, she drove a silver needle into an acupoint to keep herself conscious from the pain.But it was like a drop of
Helena fainted and was taken back to Cloud Palace.Despite the physicians' efforts, she remained unconscious.George's expression showed a hint of concern as the physician explained, "Your Majesty, Lady Henela's injuries have not yet fully healed. The lack of proper blood circulation is inevitable but not alarming. She simply needs to rest."At Zen Palace, Jane sat before a mirror, carefully removing the jewelry from her hair.Lily, attending to her, still seemed shaken."Your Majesty, are you…are you really unharmed? Ursa was so strong. Shouldn't you let the physicians take a look?"As soon as she spoke, Lily realized her mistake. If the physicians discovered any injuries, it might expose Jane's actions.Jane remained calm, her gaze tinged with cold determination. "No one is to know that I participated in the fight."Lily immediately nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty! I understand."She knew better than to say more.Shortly after, a chamberlain arrived with a message. "Queen Jane,
The mention of dismemberment sent a shiver through the officials.According to the law, the crimes of Cameron and Wallenby didn't warrant such a severe punishment.The two were in utter shock and terror."No! Caleb was merely demoted back then. Why are we to be executed in such a cruel manner?""Your Majesty, have mercy! Spare us, Your Majesty!"Cameron crawled to Caleb's side, clutching his leg desperately."Caleb, save me! We once fought side by side and risked our lives together as comrades…"Yesterday, Cameron had been arrogant and domineering. Now, he was reduced to a pitiful state.Caleb, who loathed Cameron and Wallenby to the core, wished nothing more than to kill them with his own hands. Facing Cameron's pleas, his expression remained cold."You betrayed your comrades, using their lives to pave your way to promotion. Did you think about us as your comrades back then? Cameron, you're even more deserving of death than Wallenby!"Cameron's face turned pale. "No, no! You
Jane presented the letters. They were handed to George, who opened and read them one by one.Cameron and Wallenby stood silently at a distance, holding their breaths and avoiding even the slightest eye contact.Cameron was especially antsy. He kept reassuring himself. 'This is fake, all fake. The queen and Caleb are bluffing!'Bang!George slammed the letters onto the desk, his sharp gaze brimming with murderous intent."Kneel!"The two men immediately felt their legs weaken, collapsing to the floor.Moments later, the royal servants placed the letters before them, allowing them to see for themselves whether they were being wrongfully accused.If they pleaded innocence, their handwriting would be examined to confirm this.Cameron glanced at the letters and immediately felt a chill down his spine, as if needles were pricking his back.'How could this be?'He had hidden those letters so well. How could anyone have found them?Still unwilling to give up, he picked up one of th
Caleb raising grievances at this moment left everyone stunned.He was bringing up a case from two years ago. After so much time had passed, how could anything still be clearly investigated?Cameron immediately rebuked him."Young Master Caleb, if you have grievances, you should present them to the High Court! Filing a complaint here as if we don't uphold the law in Nidora—do you have any idea how that looks?"This madman—what was he trying to do?Robin also hadn't anticipated Caleb's bold move. He quickly stood up and addressed the king."Your Majesty, my son has acted impulsively—"But Caleb's tone was resolute. "Two years ago, I was tasked with escorting disaster relief grain through Bourdon. On the way, we were ambushed by bandits..."Cameron immediately jumped in, feigning righteous anger."Caleb! You still dare to bring that up! If it weren't for your poor judgment, insisting on taking that route, those men wouldn't have died!"He seized the initiative, pinning the blame
George's gaze was deep and cold.The rule that the harem must not interfere in political affairs existed not only to prevent collusion between the harem and the court, which could lead to the overreach of influential families, but also because most women in the harem were shortsighted. Their petty schemes and vying for favor were tolerable, but in formal situations, they lacked propriety and understanding of boundaries.Just as George was about to intervene to restore balance to the situation, Jane spoke up with composure."Helena indeed misspoke. There's always someone better refers to individual achievement."In truth, the thousands of soldiers on the frontlines are all heroes. Victories are not achieved by a single person. For instance, earlier, if it weren't for the previous contestants exhausting Ursa and creating an opening, my brother wouldn't have been able to defeat him so swiftly."Ultimately, you only sent one person to compete, so this could be considered as Nidora w
George's tall figure nearly blocked out the sunlight streaming in through the doorway.The mask was on the table inside the room.Darkness hung over George's handsome face as his gaze locked onto the figure behind the screen.He had crossed paths with the female assassin multiple times. Her moves were deeply engraved in his memory.The motions Caleb had just displayed—he looked exactly like her.Could it be a coincidence? He needed to confirm it with his own eyes.George strode forward swiftly. Without hesitation, he moved to the other side of the screen, extending a long arm…In that instant, their eyes met.Caleb, whose arm was grabbed and whose right shoulder was partially exposed, responded in surprise, "Your Majesty!"Not bothering to cover himself, he immediately lowered his head in a bow.George's sharp brows furrowed deeply, his dark eyes stormy as though a tempest had suddenly descended. "Are you alone?"Caleb was puzzled. "Yes, Your Majesty."At that moment, Steve
At the critical moment, Jane grabbed the wooden stake, using it to perform a quick turn and somersault. Her skirt spun elegantly in the air, drawing a perfect arc.Immediately, she leaped in front of Ursa, and in the blink of an eye, tore off his belt.The female spectators immediately turned away, covering their eyes. However, from a distance, they couldn't see clearly. All they knew was that Ursa's belt was now in Caleb's hands, like a long whip.George furrowed his brows.Tearing off the belt. How clever. That female assassin had also used this move against him.Everyone was curious about what Caleb intended to do by tearing off Ursa's belt.Even the three commanders closest to the martial stage couldn't understand. Was it to embarrass Ursa? Or maybe to seize the opportunity to attack while Ursa was distracted, fixing his pants?-Jane stood behind Ursa. He couldn't care about his pants as he swung the wooden stake backward in a fierce strike. In the blink of an eye, Jane us
Ursa suddenly collapsed, like a mighty, immovable mountain crumbling in an instant.Everyone was stunned.What just happened?Before anyone could make sense of it, the man was down...On the dueling platform, Jane delivered a backward kick, landing squarely on Ursa's chest. Ursa struggled to get up but failed. His right knee felt like it was shattered, searing with pain. Clenching his jaw, he tried to force himself up.But Jane wouldn't give him the chance. She launched a sweeping kick, channeling her power into her knee, striking directly at Ursa's neck.Ursa lost his balance and fell backward.Jane bent her knee, pressing it firmly against his throat. Through the mask of the Kunlun slave, Ursa could see her eyes—cold and still as a dead pool, locking him in place."No... Impossible... How could you..."He couldn't comprehend how a single kick to the knee could generate such devastating force.Behind her mask, Jane's lips curled. Ursa suddenly realized—since the start of
Commander Christoff was the first to understand the situation on the stage. His eyes widened in disbelief."Caleb isn't trying to exhaust Ursa, nor is he defending. On the contrary, he's attacking!""How is that possible? Hasn't he been dodging this whole time?""Christoff, are you out of your mind?"Christoff shook his head, his gaze fixed on the stage as he firmly responded, "No, I'm absolutely certain. Caleb is attacking in a covert way!"The other two commanders, baffled, shouted impatiently, "How is he attacking?"Christoff hastened to explain, "Caleb has been circling and dodging, but if you notice, he's not dodging aimlessly. He's consistently moving to his left—Ursa's right.""What does that mean? Is Caleb trying to dizzy Ursa by circling? Wait, dizzy him? Could that be it? Is Ursa losing balance?"Christoff dismissed this notion. "Of course not!"Dizzying an opponent? Such a ridiculous tactic would never work.He continued, "Look carefully. Every time Ursa moves, he