342: The Empress contemplates suicide in despair? The Mosquito God's son is heartbroken!

The night deepened, thick as splashed ink, enveloping the entire Great Xia Imperial Palace in loneliness.

Fengming Hall.

This was once the bedchamber of the Great Xia Empress, Ji Hongxue. In the past, it was magnificent with palace lanterns lit all night, and the sound of the Imperial Guard's armor rubbing against each other was constant, always manifesting supreme majesty.

But tonight, it had eerily fallen into a dead silence.

All the palace maids and eunuchs had been dismissed early. Within the vast hall, only Empress Ji Hongxue remained, sitting solitary before a cold dressing table.

No lamps were lit in the hall, allowing the darkness to swallow the original prosperity.

Only the dismal moonlight from outside struggled to penetrate layers of clouds and mist. Through the carved window lattices, it cast a few streaks of mottled and weak clear light, stretching her long and lonely shadow very, very far, as if she could be completely engulfed by this endless darkness at any moment.

A black mosquito, no larger than a speck of dust, was currently perched silently on the corner of the polished bronze mirror on the dressing table.

Through the mosquito's strange compound eyes, Su Chen saw the haggard yet beautiful face reflected in the mirror clearly, making his heart tighten incessantly.

[Sigh, my silly girl... how did you end up like this?]

For no reason, Su Chen's heart felt as if it were being ruthlessly gripped by an invisible hand, bringing wave after wave of dull pain.

It was an indescribable feeling of both heartache and self-reproach.

In the mirror, Ji Hongxue had already removed that heavy and majestic nine phoenix emperor robe, wearing only a plain white nightgown. The style was simple, yet it emphasized her frail figure.

Her ink-black hair was uncombed, casually draped over her shoulders. Without the restraint of the imperial crown, her monarchal majesty had diminished slightly, replaced by a heartbreaking sense of sorrow and fragility.

Her exquisite face, which used to be covered in frost and brooked no desecration, had long since lost all color, leaving only a nearly transparent paleness.

Fatigue and despair were like two heavy mountains, nearly crushing her entire being.

Those phoenix eyes, which had once exerted immense pressure even on Su Chen and were usually flashing with insight, were now dim and lusterless, as hollow as two dried-up wells, reflecting not a single color of life.

Deep within her eyes, a faint layer of bloodshot veins had even emerged—the best proof of staying up all night and being mentally exhausted.

Before her, three items were neatly arranged.

An abdication decree already tied with a bright yellow silk ribbon, which would determine the future direction of Great Xia.

Every word was written with vigor and strength, yet carried an indescribable sense of tragic heroism.

A square imperial seal, symbolizing imperial power and carved from legendary jade, appeared incredibly heavy under the moonlight, emitting a suffocatingly cold aura.

And... an incomparably sharp, glinting dagger.

The blade of the dagger reflected the ghostly cold moonlight, looking like an ice blade that would break at a touch, its edge thin and sharp.

Witnessing this scene, Su Chen felt as if his breathing had completely stopped at that moment.

All the blood in his body seemed frozen, leaving only his heart beating in his chest in a futile, nearly tearing manner.

[Holy crap! Crap, crap, crap! This silly girl... what is she trying to do?!]

[Isn't it just a forced marriage? Is there a need to seek death? Where is your dominance? Where is your Empress's majesty? Where are your iron-fisted methods? Where did they all go?!]

[Can't you just wait for me! If the sky falls, your husband will hold it up!]

He was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, so frustrated he almost exploded on the spot!

He wished he could reveal his true form right now, rush over at maximum speed, snatch the dagger from her hand, then pin her across his lap and give her a good spanking!

To let her know how much she was neglecting her own life, and to let her know how much his heart ached!

But he couldn't.

Not yet.

The moment he appeared, he would definitely alert the lurking spies inside and outside the palace immediately.

Startling the snake would only make the current situation more complex and put Ji Hongxue in a more dangerous position.

His original plan was to make a grand, showy entrance at tomorrow's ceremony, descending like a Heavenly God to give Ji Hongxue a massive surprise, and while he was at it, ruthlessly stomp that bullshit Lin Yu's face into the ground to make him lose all face.

But now... plans can't keep up with changes!

This sudden turn of events had completely disrupted all his arrangements!

Just as Su Chen was experiencing an internal struggle and was so anxious his heart was nearly breaking, Ji Hongxue moved.

She reached out her slightly trembling jade-like hands, her fingertips pale from cold and despair.

She picked up the dagger engraved with the characters 'Hongxue'. The cold metallic touch made her whole body shudder, but she gripped it tightly, as if only this bone-chilling cold could keep her conscious.

A ripple finally appeared in those hollow phoenix eyes, but it wasn't the hope of life; it was the final struggle before dead silence.

Two lines of clear tears fell silently yet resolutely from the corners of her eyes, tracing down her pale cheeks and dripping onto the cold mirror surface, shattering into beautiful yet desperate flowers, silently telling of the pain and unwillingness in her heart.

"Su Chen... you bastard..."

She finally spoke, her voice as hoarse as if rubbed by sandpaper, carrying an indescribable fatigue and grief, filled with endless grievance and resentment.

"Why... why haven't you come yet..."

"I... really... can't wait for you anymore..."

Each murmur was like a cuckoo weeping blood, echoing in the silent bedchamber, every word ruthlessly striking Su Chen's heart.

After a brief moment of fragility, Ji Hongxue's gaze became resolute and sharp once again!

That deep-seated pride and unyielding nature belonging to a monarch were completely triggered at this life-and-death moment!

"I am the Empress of Great Xia. In life, I am a person of Great Xia; in death, I am a ghost of Great Xia! I will never be humiliated by that thief from the Upper Realm, and I will never let the national prestige of my Great Xia be shamed because of me!"

"Rather than being publicly humiliated by him, becoming a plaything, and letting the billions of citizens of Great Xia suffer great disgrace, it is better... it is better to wash away my Great Xia's shame with this imperial blood!"

Her voice suddenly rose, each word powerful and resonant, carrying a determination that preferred to be shattered jade than intact pottery!

This resolution nearly tore Su Chen's Soul apart!

She raised the dagger and, without hesitation and with a sense of no-turning-back resolve, aimed it at her fair, slender, swan-like neck.

The skin on her neck was delicate and smooth, seemingly breakable by a mere breath.

The sharp tip of the blade gleamed with a bloodthirsty luster under the moonlight, already pressed firmly against her fragile skin.

"No—" Su Chen roared silently in his heart, driven to the height of despair.

In the next moment, within Su Chen's nearly frozen pupils, a tiny yet eye-catching drop of bright red blood slowly seeped out from where the blade met the skin, slowly, slowly rolling down along the cold edge.

It quickly bloomed on the plain white nightgown, forming a poignantly beautiful and desperate blood flower—a shocking sight!

[Don't!!!]

Su Chen's brain gave a loud "boom," going completely blank!

All thoughts were instantly cleared by this desperate image!

He felt his heartbeat completely stop at this moment, and all the blood in his body rushed upward, filled with endless cold and stinging pain!