Chapter 3: The Different Narlan Xizuo

  In the blink of an eye, a month had passed, and Nalan Xion's killing skills had recovered significantly. Those skills used to be about making up for weaknesses and avoiding the use of strength, focusing on agility instead. But now, this body was far superior in both agility and strength compared to her past self. As a result, even the formerly basic skills were now being used with nearly advanced effects.

  Wan Yue occasionally comes over with some delicious snacks, and she has told her not to bring anything else, but Wan Yue doesn't listen and still comes every day on time. Xi Nuo also doesn't say much about it anymore.

  After practicing for a whole morning, his stomach was hungry again. The eunuch who delivered food every day would not arrive until noon, and it was still an hour away from noon. Nalan Xianyu washed his face and prepared to go to the imperial kitchen to find something to eat.

  This month she hasn't left the palace much, and as soon as she walked out, the passing palace maids and eunuchs whispered to each other, pointing at her, mostly in surprise that she had come out.

  Her legs were very strong, and she had already left them behind after just a few steps. What was originally supposed to be a journey of at least one incense stick's worth of time took her only an instant. The imperial kitchen was in an uproar as Nalan Xianyu strode in with large strides. A small eunuch who was holding a tray and about to exit retreated several steps, landing on his buttocks on the ground. The fish that had just been carefully prepared slid onto the floor beside him.

  Hearing the sound of a plate shattering, a palace maid not far away turned her head and walked over. Her attire was much better than that of the other maids, and she even wore exquisite jade on her body. From the look on her complacent face, it seemed that her master was not ordinary.

  She walked over and kicked the little eunuch twice with a vicious expression. "What great audacity!"

  Listening to her arrogant shouting, the eunuchs and palace maids in the imperial kitchen actually put down their work and came over to kneel on the ground.

  However, it was not Kneeling Nalan Xinnuo, but rather the kneeling palace maid. A eunuch who appeared to be the leader asked: "Miss Youlan, please calm down, I'll redo it right away. Little Shunzi just arrived and doesn't understand things, please forgive him..."

  As he spoke, the eunuch took out a silver ingot from his sleeve and handed it to Youlan. They were well aware of the cruelty of this imperial concubine's personal palace maid. The empress was the master of the harem, and as long as this girl whispered a few words in her ear, their entire Imperial Kitchen would be doomed. Youlan snorted coldly, took the silver, and then noticed the culprit over here, Nalan Xianuo.

  The surprise on her face turned into even greater arrogance and ridicule in an instant. "Hey, isn't this the little princess Xianuo? This imperial kitchen is not a place you can come to."

  Nalan Xixiao didn't look at her, walked straight to the side, picked up a box of pastries, and savored them slowly, feeling very comfortable. She came to eat, not to socialize with livestock.

  Jianan didn't even glance at her, Youlan's face turned red with rage and she said: "You're eating again, I've heard that now Princess Xinnuo can eat more than a pig, one meal is more than what the three of us eat!"

  The palace maids and eunuchs around her heard this, all covering their mouths to stifle their giggles. Nalan Xinnuo continued eating, not saying a word. This matter was settled for now, but her usual style was to take things easy first, eat her fill, then strike back in one fell swoop.

  "Exactly, exactly." As expected, seeing Nalan Xianyu not saying a word, another palace maid with an arrogant tone walked out, looking very similar to Youlan, probably her own sister. "Sister is right, she doesn't have any other skills, just being able to eat!"

  The faint sound had just fallen when a sudden gust of wind flashed before his eyes.

  A chopstick soared into the air, like a flying arrow in mid-air, swiftly flying towards the center of Youlan's eyebrows!

  Without waiting for everyone's reaction, a light 'plop' sound was heard, and the chopstick... had pierced through her head! It was deeply embedded in the pillar behind her, only half of the bloody chopstick remaining.

  Yu Lan's eyebrows burst forth with a bright red blood flower, making her terrified face even paler. She stared in shock at Nalan Xianuo sitting right in front of her - was this still the weak and timid Nalan Xianuo?

  In those deep, bottomless eyes, there was clearly a bloodthirsty ferocity like that of a ghost, a disdain and indifference towards life like that of the god of death. And also, an air of superiority that tolerated no one to overstep her boundaries by even half a step.

  She is more terrifying than those Asura demons, she not only kills people but also destroys their hearts.

  At the moment when Yu Lan fell, the entire imperial kitchen was filled with screams. For a while, the sound of pots and pans shattering, screams, and chaotic footsteps filled the entire imperial kitchen.

  Youlan's sister didn't even dare to run over and look at her sister's corpse, which was already stained with blood all over. She fled in a panic.

  Others were like ants on a hot pot, making a big fuss, but when they met Nalan Xinnuo's cold and stern gaze, they suddenly became quiet as if no one was there.

  Several palace maids had fainted from fear, the eunuchs knelt down to the ground, begging for mercy in unison. "Princess, spare our lives! Princess, spare our lives!"

  Nalan Xixi glanced faintly at the table in the imperial dining room and said softly, "I'm hungry."

  The eunuchs on the ground were taken aback, then hurriedly responded, rolling and crawling into the kitchen to start cooking, as if they had thrown the Empress's affairs behind their minds, not even caring about the corpses on the ground.

  Missing the queen's meal will get you intimidated, but missing Nalan Xinnuo's, that instant is considered a lifetime.

  The imperial kitchen had just resumed its bustle when a high-pitched voice rang out in the courtyard. "Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!"

  Ding-dong, the eunuchs and palace maids threw down the pots and pans in their hands, poured out of the gate in an orderly manner, and knelt down with a rustling sound.

  "Long live Her Majesty the Queen, long live, long live, forever and ever..."

  "Yu Lan... where is Yu Lan?!" The queen's voice sounded truly anxious, this Yu Lan was someone she had brought from her maiden home, and had been by her side since childhood, like a sister.

  Waiting in the palace for dinner, You Rou suddenly ran over crying and wailing, saying that You Lan had been killed! And it was Nalan Xianuo who did it!

  As soon as she entered the door, she saw Youlan's miserable corpse, took a step back, and retreated several steps in a row. She raised her head, pale-faced, staring at Nalan Xianuo, pointing at her, unable to say a word for half a day.

  Nalan Xixi got up and respectfully said: "I have seen Your Majesty the Empress."

  She still has to follow the rules of this palace, otherwise she would be unreasonable even if she is reasonable.

  The queen looked at her with a calm face, suddenly turned red-eyed and angrily said: "Come on! Take her to the heavenly prison for me!"

  The guards behind him were ordered to rush out and prepare to capture Nalan Xixi, but as soon as they approached Nalan Xixi, they unconsciously stopped in their tracks under the gaze of those cold, icy eyes.

  "May I ask Your Majesty the Empress, what crime has your subject committed?" Nalan Xianuo raised her eyes and countered.

  "How dare you commit murder in the imperial kitchen! What crime should you be guilty of?!"

  "Oh?" Nalan Xixi slightly curled up the corners of her mouth and continued, "Then, I dare to ask Your Majesty the Empress, is it true that I am really the daughter of the Emperor?"

  The queen hesitated for a moment, what does this mean? She nodded, and her emotions began to calm down slowly. "Of course."

  "So, a little palace maid dares to shout and scold me in every way, what's wrong with Xianuo teaching her a lesson? Can't the emperor's daughter even compare to this little palace maid?" Nalan Xianuo's tone was neither humble nor arrogant, yet still respectful.

  "You're not just teaching her a lesson, you've killed her!" The queen was almost in tears, her voice shaking with rage.

  "Your Majesty, although I, Xie Nu, am of humble birth and my status is not as noble as that of several of my sisters, however, no matter what, I am still the daughter of the Emperor. The blood of the imperial family flows through my veins, making me a member of the royal family. What qualifications does this lowly servant girl have to shout in front of me? She dares to mention me and livestock in the same breath! If I, Xie Nu, were equal to livestock, what would that make Father Emperor?! Such disrespect for authority, insulting the imperial dignity, I ask you, what crime is this?!"

  The queen was choked, and for a moment she was speechless. Nalan Xinnuo didn't give her time to think, and continued: "Considering the Queen's favor towards me over the years, today I will only kill one of them. If the Queen thinks I am wrong, then we can go to the Ministry of Rites now and ask the officials to look up the national law to see what crime this act of humiliating the imperial dignity constitutes!"

  For a moment, the surroundings were quiet. The queen's heavy breathing was conspicuous in the air, her face flushed with anger, staring fiercely at Nalan Xinnuo, but she couldn't say a word.

  Nalan Xixi's words were both attacking and retreating, giving her an excuse while also providing a perfectly reasonable explanation for herself, and it was a double-edged statement. In the national law, insulting the imperial power was naturally a heinous crime punishable by extermination of nine clans. No matter how powerful the empress was, she could not escape this kind of accusation.

  On the side, Yu Ran naturally knew that now even the only trump card could not be expected. She knelt down on the ground with a thud and cried: "Princess spare my life, Empress Dowager spare my life, it's sister's fault, she deserves to die ten thousand times, Princess spare my life! Slave will never dare again!"

  Now that even the person involved has admitted their mistake, the empress had no reason to say anything more. Besides, the person was already dead. She let out a sigh and said softly, "Alright, let's return to the palace."

  "Wait."

  Not only the queen, but also the guards following her, all fell down together.

  "What?" The queen frowned and turned her head, looking at Nalan Xianyu who was standing there with a hint of a smile.

  "I'm letting you off the hook, but that doesn't mean you're not in the wrong." Nalan Xianyu glanced at the half-risen You Ran, curled up the corner of his mouth, and then looked at the Empress Dowager, saying respectfully: "Xianyu has something he doesn't understand, and would like to ask Your Majesty for guidance."

  The queen had a bad premonition in her heart, but the situation seemed to be already out of her control. "Speak."

  "May I ask your highness, what is usually done with palace maids in the harem who have offended the master?"

  "This..." The Empress understood, Nalan Xinnuo was trying to use her hand to get rid of her dog. The Empress fell silent for a long time before speaking: "Xinnuo, your sister is already dead, you..."

  "A country has its laws, a family has its rules. If the empress allows this kind of behavior, turning a blind eye to it, won't those servants become even more insolent? Today she's defying me, tomorrow it might be Second Sister or Third Sister, can we let her run amok?" Ha! Does she think she can just stop here? This empress is really naive. She's not the same obedient Nalan Xinnuo from before.

  Anyone can bully her as long as they can afford the price.

  "What do you want then?!" The queen was almost furious enough to spit blood.