CHAPTER 356: CHAPTER 358: LOVERS’ BATH

Bloodstains, intermittent and sporadic, stretched forward along the path.

The adversary had clearly fled in haste, without time to cover their tracks.

The Empress’s eyes were ice cold as she pursued relentlessly, with eunuchs and palace maids lagging behind, unable to catch up.

Midway, she encountered Dongfang Li patrolling with a troop of the Imperial Army.

Surprised to see the swiftly moving Empress, devoid of even one palace maid holding a lantern, Dongfang Li couldn’t help but be amazed.

"Empress, it is deep into the night. Where are you headed?"

Dongfang Li came forward to ask.

"There’s an assassin, heading in this direction."

The Empress pointed ahead.

"An assassin?"

Dongfang Li was shocked, and quickly brought guards to follow the Empress.

"The blood trail ends here. Ahead lies Prince Wu’s residence."

Dongfang Li looked up and realized it was a side hall; recently, only Dugu Wu had been residing there.

"Search the place; the assassin could be hiding in the side hall."

The Empress’s expression was ice-cold.

She had left the palace for over an hour; who knows when the assassin had entered.

In Luan Palace, the only thing worrying her was that particular book.

The bed and its coverings showed signs of being searched; the book contained too many of her secrets, the assassin must not be left alive.

"But..."

Dongfang Li saw the Empress’s dark expression, not as amiable as usual.

It seemed that this time, Dugu Wu was in big trouble.

Dongfang Li and the guards prepared to burst into the room when they heard a cold male voice from inside.

"Who is outside?"

"Dugu Wu, it’s me and the Empress. An assassin infiltrated Her Majesty’s quarters, got injured, and the blood trail led to your dwelling. I must search inside."

"I’ve been in the room all along; there’s no assassin here."

Dugu Wu’s voice was cold and detached.

"The assassin stole several precious pieces of jewelry from my quarters. Prince Wu, you’re injured and immobile. Given the size of the side hall, the assassin might be hiding somewhere inside."

Beneath the Empress’s sleeve, the blood on the vine thorn has yet to congeal.

This vine thorn was no ordinary thorn—it was poisoned.

With the thorn wound inducing bleeding, the poison would act even faster.

By now, the person should be incapacitated.

"Then, please wait outside for a moment, Seventh Prince and Empress."

Silence ensued in the room before Dugu Wu replied.

"Wait any longer, and the assassin will escape."

The Empress spoke and, without waiting for Dongfang Li to respond, pushed the door and entered.

Dongfang Li, taken aback, had no choice but to barge in after her.

A piercing scream.

The room was filled with mist, and from within a large wooden tub, a woman hurriedly sought refuge in Dugu Wu’s arms.

Dugu Wu, bare-skinned, sat in the bath, with Feng Bailing clutching him, her wet hair cascading over her body, her eyes full of mist.

Dugu Wu grunted, swinging out with his palm.

The moment the Empress and Dongfang Li stepped in, they stumbled and both were sent tumbling back out the door.

The Empress was steadied by several Imperial Guards, her face awkward with embarrassment.

Dongfang Li was also left dumbfounded, stunned.

He could never have imagined the imposing Dugu Wu engaging in an intimate bath with Feng Bailing.

An inner bitterness swirled within his chest, a smoldering anger with nowhere to vent.

"Empress, Seventh Prince, the Princess Consort and I were bathing and I apologize for any offense. There is no one else in the room."

"Prince Wu, it is I who have trespassed."

The Empress also showed a hint of embarrassment. Such intimate private matters, her intrusion upon them and word getting out, would not bode well for her reputation.