He Danggui’s round eyes widened because of the words from the man in black. Pride of Mongols? The shame of their conquered nation?

Zhu Quan was a Mongolian? How could it be possible? There was no doubt that Zhu Quan wasZhu Yuanzhang’s son. He had complicated feelings for Zhu Yuanzhang, and he was as ruthless as Zhu Yuanzhang.Moreover, they both scorned women and killed women easily. How could Zhu Quan be a Mongolian?

Zhu Quan frowned, “Gao Shenjun, be careful what you say! I know you are an old minister of the previous dynasty, but you have crossed the line. I know how to choose between power and women at the age of three. I don’t need your lecture!”

The man named Gao Shenjun sneered, “Fine! Since you don’t need me anymore, I will just leave here and return to my hometown. However, I want to ask you for a thing so that I can leave without concerns.”

“What do you want?” Zhu Quan was looking out the window with his hands clasped behind his back.

Gao Shenjun looked through the window. There was a green-haired and red-billed parrot with a hanging gold rod. Then, he shouted in a deep voice, “Concubine He’s head! She must die!”

That parrot was so smart that it immediately yelled, “Concubine He’s head! She must die!”

Zhu Quan frowned and asked, “For what? Did you just say that you never meet her? Why do you want to kill her? I will make final conclusion. There is no need to say more. Besides, I have no intention of abandoning you. I need you in many areas to achieve our great cause!”

Gao Shenjun’s voice was sarcastic, “My Lord, admit it! You don’t want to kill her. Nine years ago, you were a ruthless man who acted decisively, so you wouldn’t get into any trouble. Do you remember that one of your subordinates slaughtered a village in order to find the traitor? You pretended to sentence him to death but secretly replaced him with another condemned prisoner and hid him in Wuying Tower. You were a decisive person who appreciated people like you. But why can’t you kill Concubine He now?”

Zhu Quan was silent for a while, “She is pregnant with my child. Even a vicious tiger will not eat its cubs, so I can’t kill her and my child.”

“It’s not clear that she is pregnant with your child.” Gao Shenjun said sinisterly, “She will give birth to the child soon, right? Okay, I will stay here for a few more days. After she gives birth to that child, I will ask you for her head.”

The parrot outside the window was still clamoring, “Quack! Quack! Concubine He’s head! She must die!”

Zhu Quan still refused, “My child needs his mother to grow up. I can’t give you my promise.” However, feeling the anger that burst from the man in black, Zhu Quan continued to say, “However, if she really betrays me, I will eradicate this woman and prevent her from ruining our plan. By then, you will be satisfied. Just cutting off her head is too easy for her.”

“Oh?” Gao Shenjun asked curiously, “Anything special? I want to learn from you so that I can show off when I go back to the Department of Imperial Guard.” He Danggui raised her eyes and stared at this man. Was he an imperial guard?

Zhu Quan put the orange on the tip of his nose and sniffed it, “I said that my child needs a mother, so she could survive. Capital crime can be forgiven but punishment is inevitable. If she betrays me, I will burn her throat with hot charcoal, blind her eyes with smoke, and damage her muscle tendon personally. Thus, she won’t speak, read, nor write, and our secrets will never be leaked by her.”

He Danggui felt resentful when she heard the words. She still remembered the pain of hot coal filling her throat. That memory made her shudder. What a vicious man! She had risked her life for Zhu Quan. Did she do a disservice to him?!

But Gao Shenjun was dissatisfied, “Is that all? I thought you would have some new ideas. I am disappointed. Lord, you are still merciful to her. You still keep her attractive appearance and wonderful body. And you let her continue to live in the mansion. Do you still want to make out with her? I just want her head, but you always refuse!”

“Concubine He’s head! She must die!” The parrot was jumping and shouting again.

Zhu Quan’s eyes shrank suddenly. He threw out the orange in his hand to the parrot. Before even seeing the trajectory of the orange, that green-haired parrot had lost his head and fell from the gold rod. It was hung in the air with a thin anklet. Zhu Quan gritted his teeth and said, “Do not be insatiable and forget how to spell ‘respect’. You are just a dog of my mother. How dare you want my beloved concubine’s head!”

Gao Shenjun let out a sharp laugh, which sounded like a cry of an animal. He nodded and said, “Surprised! My Lord, you still remember Infanta Xiye, Yang Hua. With the bad name of wanton, she abandoned her husband to serve that old bastard Zhu Yuanzhang, and in order to save you, she was killed in the end. She placed her hope of restoration of state on you. Now, can you tell me that Concubine He is more important than your mother?” He Danggui was stunned. Infanta Xiye? Hope of restoration of state? Was Zhu Quan’s mother a Mongolian?

Zhu Quan said coldly, “Why did you mention my mother? You are not allowed to call her name!”

“That will never match Concubine He’s evildoing,” Gao Shenjun smiled and said, “she has made a witchcraft doll against your mother, making your mother’s soul restless forever! I bet your mother is so pleased for you favoring such a vicious woman!”

Zhu Quan rushed to grab Gao Shenjun’s collar and shouted out, “Nonsense! Concubine Hehas never met my mother. Why did she curse my mother! Ming Yue is right. You are here to sow discord between us! What do you want! Who sent you!”

Gao Shenjun shook off Zhu Quan’s hands. While he smoothed his collar, he said unhurriedly, “Heroes are always attached to beauties. It is really disappointing that you are one of them. Now, you even prefer to trust that bitch instead of me?” He threw a doll on the case and sneered, “My Lord, look. What’s this?”

Zhu Quan took up the doll for a close inspection. It had fine stitches, which was similar to He Danggui’s craftsmanship. The birth date written on it was exactly that of his mother. More incredibly, that was even He Danggui’s handwriting!

Zhu Quan pulled out dozens of fine silver needles in the doll and smashed them into powders with his martial arts. He grabbed the doll and then walked out the room while saying, “I don’t believe it. I will ask her!”

“Hold on!” Gao Shenjun stopped Zhu Quan, “If you ask her holding this doll, she will not confess her crime. Instead, she will deny it because of your fierce look.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?” Zhu Quan frowned and turned around, “Any suggestions?”

Gao Shenjun whispered a plan in Zhu Quan’s ear. Zhu Quan nodded, “Fine, so be it.” At this moment, all the shadows on the right wall disappeared.

However, shadows on the left wall continued. The silhouettes of the girl and the boy were beautifully reflected under the sunset. A leaf fell on the girl’s hair. The boy, Qi Xuanyu, raised his hand to take it off. He passed her an argyle mirror and smiled, “I have put on the magic mask for you. Take a look. Did your appearance look like this before?”

The girl sat back on to He Danggui, but the face with the magic mask reflected in the mirror was really He Danggui’s face. It couldn’t go wrong!

The girl froze for a long time and then stroked her face in surprise. She cried out and stammered, “I… It is my face! How… Angel, what’s going on?”

Qi Xuanyu smiled gently and said proudly, “I have told you about my third eye. I can sense your true face through the scars, and I have drawn it down. After that, I found an immortal to forge this mask according to your true face. With the mask, you will never have to wear that bamboo hat. Tenth Princess, if you don’t believe me, you can go outside and see if someone will laugh at you.”

He Danggui got closer to the wall. It was a perfectly vivid skin mask. The only immortal in the world who could make this thing was Bai Yangbai.

The girl smiled happily, and then she cried again, “Do I have to wear this mask for the rest of my life?”

Qi Xuanyu consoled her, “It is light, warm, and breathable. You won’t even feel it! It can be used for more than six months. Besides, it is your own face, and you don’t need to feel ashamed.”

The girl was still crying sadly, “What shall I do after half a year? A mask will sooner or later be broken. Even if you could give me tens of them, they will eventually run out. When that day comes, I still have to face the world without the mask. Falling from a high position will be worse than never reaching that height. I don’t want to taste feelings of being ridiculed by others again. Angel, please just let me stay ugly and leave me alone. I don’t want to meet people.”

Qi Xuanyu was silent for a moment, and then he said, “Give me some time. I will find many famous doctors and learn the best medical skills to heal your face. In the future, you will be as beautiful as before. One year at most! I will heal you. After two masks, you can regain your true face.”

The girl believed and smiled through tears, “Thank you. I will sing to you every day after I recover.”

Qi Xuanyu pressed the girl’s head into his arms and said with a smile, “Finally, you stop crying. You are really a cry baby.”

The scene was indeed sweet, but He Danggui was not in the mood to appreciate that. She was thinking of the witchcraft doll that Gao Shenjun just took out. Indeed, she made that doll when she was 19 years old. That was the fourth year after she became the concubine of Zhu Quan. At that time, Ming Ri told her to make a doll for a special action. He also explained the details and asked her to follow them. Why did Gao Shenjun have this doll? Was Ming Ri on his side?

That was terrible. When she was 19 years old, Ming Ri took one thing from her, which was enough to kill her, in the name of the business. He hated her very much but he had even kept that doll for nine years before framing her up. That was chilling. But why had he kept it so long? Why did Gao Shenjun want her head?

It turned out that Gao Shenjun and Ming Ri were among those people who murdered her.