Chapter 74: Digging Out the Heart

The last snow of late winter fell for many days before the sky finally began to clear.

Inside the Forbidden City, snow adorned the trees like silver flowers.

The vast and violent palace coup and slaughter was all covered by the pristine blanket of snow, plunging the palace into an incongruous silence.

Within the imperial palace, the male consorts and palace servants of the three palaces and six courts were all on edge about the death of Empress Ming Xing, uncertain about their future prospects.

Every day, male consorts would come to pay respects outside Kunning Palace. The greatest merit in rescuing the imperial throne this time belonged to Jia Lang’s elder sister, Official Jia. Though the throne remained undecided, no matter who ascended, Jia Ziyun would surely become an important minister of the court. At this moment, cultivating a good relationship with Jia Lang was key to survival.

The male consorts who could be masters in the palace were no fools. Seeing no way to seek favor with their own families now, Jia Lang was the best connection to cultivate.

However, Jia Lang had yet to make an appearance. The head palace servant of Kunning Palace only said that Jia Lang was ill and not receiving visitors.

Kunning Palace occupied a vast area, with pavilions, towers, arched bridges, and lotus ponds creating scenery at every turn. Now blanketed in heavy snow, though lacking the vibrant colors of spring, the snow scenery was spectacular in its own right.

Jia Zijue wore a pale green long gown with scattered floral patterns and a crossed collar, covered by a sable fur cloak that dragged along the thick snow, sweeping away his footprints as he walked.

Chun Lai trotted behind him, her breath turning to white mist in an instant, her round nose twitching up and down, her eyes filled with lingering fear: “My lady must not act rashly. That person in the west wing… he… he is a demon! You absolutely cannot put yourself in danger.”

Chun Lai’s chest heaved, her whole body trembling at the mention of the west wing.

On the day of the palace coup, Jia Lang had secretly sneaked into Taihe Hall and returned with an old woman, her hair completely white, seemingly on the verge of death.

Jia Lang ordered her confined in the water room of the west wing, personally whipping her twenty lashes every day, without fail. Just yesterday, when Jia Lang’s whip came down, it tore open the old woman’s chest, revealing that this old woman was not a woman at all, but a man. Jia Lang laughed maniacally yet hatefully in the west wing.

Upon leaving the west wing, Jia Lang instructed the old palace maids serving in Kunning Palace to enter the west wing, light an incense of enticement, and have those old women forcibly take that… man who was nearly dead.

It was the first time Chun Lai had seen Jia Lang so crazed and ruthlessly humiliate someone. She was terrified all night.

The next day, when she went to deliver food to the west wing and pushed open the door, those dozens of old maids lay dead in pools of blood, their deaths gruesome, each with their hearts dug out.

The man who had been tied up had broken free of his bonds and was sitting upright in the place of honor, his eyes a viscous deep blue. When his gaze swept over her, though expressionless, it made Chun Lai’s hair stand on end, instinctively wanting to flee.

But a gust of demonic wind swept her inside.

Up close, Chun Lai saw the face of the man seated in the place of honor. He looked ten years younger than a few days ago. Though his hair was white, half the wrinkles on his face had disappeared. There was a trace of blood at the corner of his lips, and in one large hand he toyed with a bright red… heart.

The horror in Chun Lai’s eyes grew, and she nearly fainted.

She kowtowed desperately, so frightened that her cotton clothes were soaked through.

The man above her lifted the corner of his mouth slightly, his voice as cold as a demon returned from hell: “Shut up. Your crying and wailing hurts my ears. If it weren’t for your master’s despicable methods, would I need to use such disgusting things? Tell your master to come. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Stealing from others, you always have to pay it back. Ask him, after swallowing my heart, is he doing well? Foolish.”

A large patch of snow slid off a tree branch, landing on the ground with a “thud”. Chun Lai came back to her senses, feeling her whole body tremble.

Disregarding propriety, she tried to block Jia Lang from going to the distant west wing, but unexpectedly Jia Lang merely paused, giving her a light glance before stepping past her and continuing forward.

Chun Lai hung her head, her lips purple from the cold, fine beads of sweat seeping from her brow.

—

The side hall of Kunning Palace was an inauspicious place, as the previous Jia Lang had died there in a fire, her wronged spirit unable to disperse. For years, few people came to the west wing of Kunning Palace.

Jia Zijue pushed open the courtyard gate and ordered Chun Lai to wait far away before entering alone.

Inside the side hall, dozens of corpses lay scattered about. Blood congealed on the marble floor, and Jia Zijue frowned as the strong stench of blood assaulted his nose.

He paused at the doorway, raising his eyes to look at the white-haired man in the place of honor, covering his mouth as he laughed: “Tsk tsk tsk, the male rabbit’s feet prance, the female rabbit’s eyes are entranced; two rabbits scamper on the ground, none can tell which is male or female! Jing Huan, a man, your methods are even more cruel than the vicious criminals imprisoned by the Ministry of Justice. I am truly frightened!”

As he spoke, he patted his chest, but there was not a trace of fear in those round eyes. If anyone had been present to see Jia Lang at this moment, they would surely have doubted their eyes.

This was a man who would weep and bury flowers at the sight of wilting petals, yet now he could look upon a floor of corpses without changing expression. He stepped slowly over the bodies, treading on corpses as he approached.

His long cloak dragged behind him, his bearing graceful and poised. It was still the same face, yet so calm it was terrifying.

Jing Huan’s full lips curled slightly, his white hair swaying in the wind as laughter shook his chest.

He tucked his silver hair behind his ear, glancing at the newcomer and saying casually: “Oh? Jia Lang’s face shows no fear! Come to think of it, I haven’t had a chance to properly thank you. If you hadn’t sent those filthy things to humiliate me yesterday, I wouldn’t have been forced to unleash my demonic nature and eat the hearts of over a dozen living people to extend part of my life.”

Jing Huan toyed back and forth with a shriveled heart in one hand, his gaze piercing as he looked over: “But mortal hearts are too foul, eating too many harms my demon body. Look… those legs of mine you broke a few days ago are gone now, aren’t they?”

His voice grew deeper as he spoke, his gaunt cheeks revealing prominent cheekbones, his silver hair moving without wind.

A flash of fierce light passed through his deep blue eyes, so intense they seemed almost viscous. He tossed the heart at Jia Zijue’s feet with a “plop”, then used his power to pull Jia Zijue close with one hand.

His fingers fell on Jia Zijue’s chest, mimicking the motion of digging out a heart as he smiled: “How was it? How did my heart taste?”

Jia Zijue did not answer. He simply met his gaze steadily, his delicate face calm and unruffled: “Who exactly are you?”

That day in Taihe Hall

He had also been in the great hall, disguised as an eunuch, hiding in the shadows with a bow and arrow.

Because he wanted to see Ming Xing die with his own eyes, to tear Jing Huan to pieces.

Elder Sister had dealt with his spies buried in the Jia family, but she didn’t know that Second Aunt’s most beloved male consort was also his man!

Though he couldn’t see every secret letter from Jiaodong, there were still some that slipped through.

The letter that Master Sister entrusted to Elder Sister to deliver to Pei Ziyuan’s mansion was secretly intercepted by his people. Pei Ziyuan was truly formidable, to have won over a woman as cold and ethereal as Master Sister. Such skill.

Though the letter contained no words of romance, it was full of instructions and reminders. On the eighth day of the second month, Master Sister told the Long Diqing to remain calm and wait for her return.

All her tenderness was for another man. Jia Zijue forgot whether he felt more jealous or more envious at the time. After waiting all these years, this so-called chastity, this so-called endurance of humiliation, was nothing but a joke.

Master Sister had her own beloved. Even if he stood properly before her, she still wouldn’t spare him a glance. Love was ultimately cruel, with no regard for who came first or last, no consideration of what was best for you or me.

Though he was unwilling to admit it, the truth cut him to the bone.

He bore Pei Ziyuan no ill will, but he could no longer feel any goodwill either.

That day he tore up the letter, leaving things to fate. How fair.

During the palace coup in Taihe Hall, he hid behind the dragon throne and watched the whole process.

In the end, Master Sister still arrived, in a way that made all men jealous and envious. Dressed in white, she flew in on the tips of her toes, the wind lifting her long hair, cold and breathtakingly beautiful.

She held the nearly dying Diqing in her arms, her eyes full of tender love, devoting all her feelings in this life to one person alone.

Though both were broken and ruined, though both had lost all reputation, Pei Ziyuan had won that person’s eyes and heart full of pity and affection.

How could he not be jealous, both envious and resentful. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Marquis of Zhennanzhen suddenly collapse in front of the hall, his hair turning white at a visible rate. The malice surging in Jia Zijue’s heart grew like a poisonous weed, spreading uncontrollably.

In the incident of years past, Ming Xing was the perpetrator, but Jing Huan was the greatest villain behind the scenes.

He had become what he was now, with only hatred left to sustain him.

Love didn’t matter. Only tearing his enemies to pieces could vent his hatred.

On the first day of imprisoning Jing Huan, he dug out his heart. But he didn’t die. As the heart burst out of his body, it flew straight into his own mouth. Jia Zijue nearly screamed.

At that moment he finally understood – Jing Huan was not human. This person was a demon!

But even if he was a demon, so what? He still wanted him dead, even if it meant perishing together.

Jing Huan’s heart entered his body. At first there was no sensation, but later the heart began to ache dully, being eaten away. When he realized he couldn’t control the heart, Jia Zijue could no longer sit still.

He went to the side hall and used the cruelest tortures on Jing Huan – whipping, drowning, burning…

But he was like a gourd with its mouth sawed off, never uttering a sound again.

The pain of the heart being devoured day and night tormented him almost to madness. So when he discovered Jing Huan was male, he sent over a dozen old women to take turns forcibly violating him.

However much pain he felt, he needed to return it twofold.

But those old women still couldn’t overcome him. Jia Zijue narrowed his eyes, feeling indescribable disappointment as he looked up at him.

Jing Huan burst out laughing. He reached out two fingers, pointing at Jia Zijue’s chest and said: “Who I am doesn’t matter. What matters is that Jia Lang’s heart has turned black! Tell me, will you die today?”

“Heh! Since I came, I never expected to leave alive. It’s just a pity I couldn’t kill you!”

Jia Zijue’s face bore a smile of one resigned to death. When he discovered something was wrong with Jing Huan, he knew he was doomed to die. The daily pain of his heart being devoured, better to end it all at once.

However…

A gloomy look flashed through Jia Zijue’s eyes: “In all these days I’ve tried so many methods but still couldn’t kill you. It seems ordinary means are useless. So before coming, I took the heart-piercing poison, Gelegenium.”

He glanced at Jing Huan’s deep, viscous blue eyes, laughing delightedly: “Dying together, how does that sound?”

As he finished speaking, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, spraying it onto Jing Huan’s face.

ing Huan stared at him intently, her full lips pressed into a straight line. She patted his delicate cheek, her lips pausing by his ear as she said: “I suppose I underestimated you. However… heh! Too naive!”

…

At the moment Jia Zijue breathed his last, his eyes were wide open, witnessing a scene so cruel it was almost bloody. He died with his eyes open.