410: Chapter 410 Was this old woman outsmarted by a naive and innocent girl?

The Fourth Princess weakly raised her head and looked at the old nanny who had watched her grow up since childhood.

A pale smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, and she nodded gratefully: "Nanny Zhao, thank you for your hard work."

"I… I really can't hold on anymore. Let me rest for a while first."

The Fourth Princess's head leaned powerlessly against the pillar, her voice as faint as a candle flickering in the wind: "My divine ability, I actually can't use it at all right now."

"You hold them off for me for a while, just half an hour will do…"

Upon hearing this, the turbid old eyes of Nanny Zhao, which had previously been full of concern, suddenly flashed with a strange gleam.

She did not immediately turn to face the enemy, but instead leaned on her cane, took a half-step forward, and stared fixedly at The Fourth Princess's pale face, tentatively asking: "Your Highness… did you just say that you really cannot use your divine ability at all?"

The Fourth Princess did not seem to notice the change in Nanny Zhao's tone; she gave a bitter smile and sighed without any guard: "That's right, Nanny Zhao."

"Every time I activate my Time Scissors, it crazily drains the spiritual energy in my meridians. I haven't closed my eyes for two whole days and nights, and the spiritual energy in my dantian has long since run dry. Now, even if I were to summon an inch of the scissors' shadow, my meridians would snap on the spot."

"I must rest for a while…"

The Fourth Princess slowly closed her eyes, her long eyelashes casting a weary shadow over her eye sockets.

The great hall fell into a deathly silence, with only the faint sounds of shouting and the clashing of weapons drifting in from outside.

One second.

Two seconds.

With her back to the candlelight, the concern and kindness on Nanny Zhao's face peeled away inch by inch like melting ice at this moment, completely replaced by a hair-raising viciousness and greed.

Her fingers gripping the dragon-headed cane tightened abruptly, the joints making a "crack, crack" sound.

A bone-chilling murderous aura erupted from within the old nanny's body without warning!

"Since that's the case…"

Nanny Zhao's voice completely changed, revealing a ferocity that tore off the mask of pretense.

She raised the steel cane in her hand high, the heavy head of the cane tearing through the air with a sharp whistle as it smashed ruthlessly toward The Fourth Princess's head!

"Then, Your Highness, don't blame this old woman for being ruthless!"

"The new Emperor has already promised that as long as I take your head out, not only will I be able to live, but I can also enjoy generations of glory and wealth!"

"The Princesss Mansion is already a broken ship destined to sink, and this old woman still wants to keep her life and continue living! You should just go on your way with peace of mind!"

This sudden betrayal was impossibly fast.

The force of the cane's descent blew the stray hair on The Fourth Princess's forehead into disarray.

The fatal strike at the peak of the fifth stage was less than half a foot away from that stunningly beautiful head!

Just at the moment when Nanny Zhao thought the outcome was decided, and a cold smile of victory had even curled at the corner of her mouth.

"Swish!"

The Fourth Princess, who had been closing her eyes and appearing incredibly weak, opened her eyes without warning!

In those large eyes, where was there any trace of fatigue or weakness left?

What filled them was a coldness like eternal black ice, along with a trace of deep sorrow from being thoroughly betrayed.

The Fourth Princess did not move; she just quietly watched the cane smashing down toward her head.

The next second.

"Hum!!!"

A ripple of time law, more violent and pure than any before, exploded outward with The Fourth Princess as the center!

Even the dust in the air froze instantly at this moment.

Nanny Zhao's arrogant face, along with the cane carrying the force of a thousand jun, were frozen in mid-air just like insects sealed in amber! She couldn't press down even a millimeter further!

"You!!"

Nanny Zhao's pupils contracted crazily, her eyeballs almost flying out of her sockets.

She desperately tried to open her mouth, but the deprivation of the flow of time made even the vibration of her vocal cords feel as long as a century.

A stormy sea churned in her mind!

How is this possible?

The Fourth Princess had actually learned to lie? And her scheming was so deep that she had even guarded against her, the nanny she trusted the most!

The Fourth Princess leaned against the pillar, her stunningly beautiful face devoid of any expression.

She slowly raised her right hand.

Golden ripples gathered crazily, and a pair of jade-colored giant scissors, twice as large as before and looking as if they were solid, formed with a boom beside her.

"Sigh, I originally thought you wouldn't do such a thing!"

The Fourth Princess looked at Nanny Zhao's eyes, which were filled with fear and regret, and sighed helplessly.

In her mind, the image of that cold man in black, who had ruffled her hair before leaving, flashed involuntarily.

When that big liar was here, he told her many novel stories, among which there were quite a few about imperial power struggles.

She also liked listening to such stories, so she kept pestering that guy to tell them to her.

At first, she thought such things wouldn't happen to her, but the poisoning of her Imperial Father and the fratricide of her eldest brother forced her to face this cruel reality.

The succession of imperial power has always been cruel; it is a life-and-death struggle for power!

In this man-eating world, never easily expose your trump cards to anyone.

Even the closest dog by your side might bite you when it is starving.

"My Imperial Father is dead. My home is gone."

"Now, even you have betrayed me."

A crystal-clear teardrop slid from the corner of The Fourth Princess's eye, but her right hand did not tremble in the slightest.

The giant scissors opened, aiming at Nanny Zhao's neck.

The greed in Nanny Zhao's eyes completely turned into boundless fear.

She desperately rolled her eyes, and a "gurgling" wail came from her throat; it was her using all her strength to beg for mercy: "Your Highness! This old servant was wrong! This old servant watched you grow up… spare my life!"

The Fourth Princess was expressionless.

Her right hand closed gently.

"Snap."

The crisp sound of breaking sounded exceptionally harsh in the frozen time domain.

The jade-colored giant scissors cut through Nanny Zhao's neck without any obstruction.

The time lock was released.

"Pfft!"

A pillar of crimson blood shot into the sky, dyeing the beams of the great hall red.

Nanny Zhao's head, filled with shock, regret, and fear, rolled onto the ground and to The Fourth Princess's feet.

Those turbid old eyes stared fixedly; until she died, she couldn't understand why she had been outsmarted by a naive girl.

Looking at the headless corpse on the ground, The Fourth Princess's tense shoulders suddenly slumped, and she collapsed onto the master chair behind her.

She panted heavily, cold sweat having long since soaked through her undergarments, bringing a bone-chilling coldness against her back.

The words she had just spoken were not entirely lies to Nanny Zhao.

Her spiritual energy had indeed run dry.

Now, her meridians were aching as if they were tearing apart; she could force herself to activate her divine ability at most one or two more times, after which she would be completely drained.

The coldness and killing intent on her face dissipated like a receding tide, replaced by a sickly paleness.

An uncontrollable wave of grievance and helplessness, like a bursting flood, instantly submerged this girl who was not yet twenty years old.

"Imperial Father…"

The Fourth Princess covered her face tightly with both hands, her shoulders heaving violently, and suppressed sobs spilled out from between her fingers.

That Imperial Father who loved her most, who held her in the palm of his hand like a rare treasure, had died inexplicably.

That Crown Prince brother who used to hold her hand and fly kites with her since she was a child, now that he wore the dragon robe, couldn't wait to pin the crime of poisoning the late Emperor on her, sending an army of thirty thousand to slice her into a thousand pieces.

The guards in the mansion had all been killed in battle.

The personal maid who had grown up with her, in order to block a blade from an assassin for her, had her chest pierced through; she fell into a pool of blood, holding onto the assassin's leg tightly, still shouting "Princess, run!" with her mouth.

Now, even Nanny Zhao, who had watched her grow up, had raised her cane to smash her head in order to save her own life.

Why?

Why had the world become like this?