Proofread by Men Shunde

When the guard comes closer to her, Nangong Ning tells him frankly, "In fact, it is me who put poison into his body."

The guard freezes when he hears what she says, but after a while, he blurts out, "That's impossible!"

With the acupuncture needle s.h.i.+ning at her finger tip, she says, "I will show you how I did it."

Seeing that her finger is approaching him suddenly, the guard instinctively tries to dodge her. However, he is not quick enough in his movement. The next minute, he feels his wrist is stung by something, which makes him move back for several steps abruptly. Then he suddenly remembers something and draws his sword and lunges at Nangong Ning. But it is too late now.

The guard plops down on the ground, too.

Now that the guard is on the ground, Nangong Ning wastes no time in pulling herself up with her teeth clenched. She manages to stand up, with her feeble legs, inching towards the Xuanwu Drum.

The Xuanwu Drum.

Beating the Xuanwu Drum means something very important to be reported to the Emperor, such as important military tip-offs, ma.s.sive grievances, and riots or political disturbances in the Capital. Without such information, the person who beats the Xuanwu Drum will be punished according to the seriousness of the event, from spanking to capital punishment.

Nangong Ning wants to beat the Drum now, for her time is running out and she must have the gra.s.s of the nether world to detoxify the toxin in her body. She cannot stand kneeling here all night, even if a healthy person cannot endure the night-long kneeling.

Now what she has to do is to beat the Xuanwu Drum, which is the only way for her to save herself, though it may cause her tremendous trouble, even loss of her own life.

The Xuanwu Drum is covered with a lot of dust, due to years of being untouched, though it is cleaned regularly. When she takes the drumsticks in her hands, the dust is so thick, which makes her cough so hard that she almost pa.s.sed out to let the drumsticks go off her hands due to her heartache caused by the coughing.

With her teeth clenched, Nangong Ning acc.u.mulates all her strength to hold the drumsticks up …

"DONG!" a deep reverberating sound comes from the Xuanwu Drum.

"DONG! DONG! DONG!"

Three deep reverberating sounds come from the Xuanwu Drum one after another, which are so loud that the deep sleeping city dwellers all woke up with a start. The silent city in deep night is now filled with an intense atmosphere.

  "DONG! DONG! DONG!"

It is the Xuanwu Drum that is being beaten!

After ten deep reverberating sounds coming from the Xuanwu Drum, everyone in the city realizes that something serious happens and no one would like to go back to sleep again.

  "DONG!"

With the last beating of the Drum, Nangong Ning throws herself on the Drum, feeling dizzy with stars flying in her eyes, the drumsticks dropping on the ground.

She lies there panting for a long time before she hears some footsteps approaching her. She breathes a sign of relief, rolls her eyes, and faints.

In a daze, Nangong Ning feels that something warm courses right through her from her heart into her body, making her cold and frozen limbs vibrate as if it slowly brings fresh life and vigour to her. She is so greedy for the warmth that she couldn't stop absorbing and demanding for that kind of warmth in her confused mind.

  "A d.a.m.ned girl she is!" It never occurs to Jun Qianye that Nangong Ning could stir up his anger even in her deep slumber.

Jun Qianye tries to put Nangong Ning down on the ground, who clings to his back like an octopus with her eyes closed. He gives her a last glimpse before he disappears into the deep night silently, for he has to leave before others enter the hall.

Nangong Ning does not wake up until she is thrown on the ground.

  "Nangong Ning!"                                                            

She hears her name is called out so loud that her brain vibrates with buzzing sound. She opens her eyes to find that she is lying on the ground in a huge hall.

She lifts her eyes, only to meet with a pair of eyes blazed with fury.

  Nangong Ning is startled.

The eyes are sharp and sullen and the face is cold with a ferocious look and a mighty imposing manner, which is more direct than that of Jun Qianye, because he has absolutely no scruples.

And because he is the head of the State.

Since Nangong Ning is the eldest daughter of the Nangong family in the State of Dongli, it is easy for her to recognize that the man in front of her is the Emperor of the State of Dongli, the Emperor of Fengtian.

  "Your Majesty, it's Nangong Ning here to pay respect to you."

"Nangong Ning, how dare you beat the Xuanwu Drum! Do you know beating the Drum without appropriate reasons is committing a crime. Besides that, you have escaped from the marriage, which is a great insult to the Crown Prince as well as to the Royal family. What you have done is serious enough for me to give the order right now that you should be beaten to death," says the Emperor of Fengtian br.i.m.m.i.n.g with anger and a murderous look.

The Emperor is very angry, for the woman dare beat the Xuanwu Drum. She is really wanting to die!

With her strength coming back, Nangong Ning looks at the Emperor in the eyes and says word by word with its clear p.r.o.nunciation, "Your Majesty, I am wronged and I am poisoned. If I hadn't chosen to beat the Xuanwu Drum, I would not live to see you before the dawn comes, for I will have been dead due to the outbreak of the toxin in my body.

  "Now air your grievances to me. If you cannot convince me that you have the qualification to beat the Xuanwu Drum, I'll have you pulled out to be beaten to death immediately," says the Emperor angrily.

A shudder runs through her when she hears what the Emperor says.

It is known to her long ago that the one who beats the Xuanwu Drum would not easily escape the punishment. But now she understands that it is impossible to escape the punishment.

The beating of the Xuanwu Drum means so much to the Emperor and the State that anyone without appropriate excuses is doomed to be punished severely.

Now she is thinking hard to find a good excuse.

The Emperor does not have the patience to wait for Nangong Ning to make up a story. He throws a white jade paperweight on the ground with a force, and it smashes to pieces with a bang.

  "Speak!" says the Emperor.

Shuddering with fear, Nangong Ning says in a loud voice, "Your Majesty, this morning is the date for me to get married with the Crown Prince. I would not have dared to escape the marriage even if I had had 100 excuses, nor would I have done anything to insult the Royal family. But…" She takes a breath, and then a cold, handsome face appears in her mind. With her teeth clenched, she plucks up her courage and continues in a clear voice, "But I was informed that the Regent was poisoned and was on the verge of death. If he was not detoxified in time, he would lose his life. My marriage with the Crown Prince is important for me, but the life of the Regent is more important. Therefore, I had to escape the marriage to help…"