Familiar faces, those eyes that resembled her Ninth Imperial Uncle’s, made it impossible for her to dislike him.
The only difference between the two was that one’s eyes radiated a chilling aura, making it difficult to look directly at them, while the other, though equally aloof, possessed eyes that held a trace of warmth.
This was the distinction between them.
“Gu Qianying, you kidnapped this princess? Are you tired of living!”
The bound woman yelled at her. She scoffed and indifferently looked at the woman still shouting, “Kidnapping you is far less satisfying than killing you. You are simply too noisy. Old Man Bai, go, kill her.”
Her indifferent statement made the bound woman freeze for a moment, then she burst into wails, “What did I ever do to you that you want to kill me? Sob, after you went missing, this princess even sent people to search for you for days. Even after your unpromising brother was imprisoned, this princess visited him often.
Although he always gave me a terribly foul expression, I thought that for your sake, I should tolerate him. Gu Qianying, I have been so good to you. It’s one thing that you don’t show gratitude, but you even ordered this white-haired old man to kill me. Gu Qianying, you are so heartless!”
The crying continued.
The white-robed old man covering his ears nearby suddenly understood, “My dear disciple, so this little doll is the princess you always talk about, Nangong Xuanning?” He stroked his beard and muttered to himself, “So, I, your master, have kidnapped the wrong person?”
Gu Qianying glanced at him without a word.
Her meaning was: Otherwise, what did you think?
“Since the wrong person was kidnapped, it’s too troublesome to send her back. My disciple, you are right, just kill this person directly.”
As he spoke, the white-robed old man pulled out the man who had been sitting aside watching the show. He grabbed the hilt of the saber hanging from his waist and held it against Nangong Xuanning’s neck.
Nangong Xuanning immediately cried out in fear, “Gu Qianying… save this princess quickly, this princess doesn’t want to die, sob.”
“Alright, Master, stop fooling around. You two go out first. I have something to ask her.”
Gu Qianying walked over, took the saber that had been held against Nangong Xuanning’s neck, and at the same time, untied the ropes binding Nangong Xuanning.
The white-robed old man tossed the saber in his hand back to the man sitting beside him watching the show, “Fine, fine. Since my dear disciple doesn’t want to kill you, I, as your master, will listen to my disciple this time and not kill you.”
With that, the white-robed old man turned and left. As he left, he did not forget to drag along the man who had been sitting beside him, drinking medicinal tea and merely watching the show.
On the way, the white-robed old man hit the man’s head twice, “Duan Xifeng, don’t think that just because you and I are of the same generation, I won’t do anything to you. If it weren’t for the wrong information you gave me, how could I have captured the wrong person? It’s all your fault that my dear disciple will laugh at me for a few more days, humph!”
Duan Xifeng was the youngest pavilion master of West Wind Pavilion.
West Wind Pavilion was considered one of the top unique sects in the capital.
The so-called unique sect did not rely on martial arts, medical skills, or commercial power to establish its foundation. Instead, this sect made a living by trading various kinds of information.
Of course, this was merely the surface. In reality, West Wind Pavilion was secretly the base of an assassin alliance.
They used their superficial appearance as a cover, and behind the scenes, they collected high commissions from employers and made a living by killing for them.
The former pavilion master, Duan Xifeng’s father, Duan Yu, was the martial uncle of the Old Poison Doctor Divine Son. Duan Xifeng and the Old Poison Doctor Divine Son, who was the white-robed old man walking out with Duan Xifeng, were thus of the same generation.
“Alright, Old Man Bai, aren’t you always being laughed at by your dear disciple? What’s one more time?”
“You brat, you…” The white-robed old man was furious.
Inside the room.
Gu Qianying ignored the person clinging to her sleeve and still pretending to cry. With a cold voice, she asked, “Are my brother and grandfather doing well in prison?”
Although her people had already secretly gone to the prison to check, she still wanted to ask.
“Your elder brother and your grandfather are doing well in prison! This princess sent people to deliver daily necessities, and they are not suffering.”
“That’s good.”
Gu Qianying’s expression was indifferent.
No one knew how much she missed her grandfather and brother at this moment.
How much she wanted to tell them that her mother was gone, gone!
How much she wanted to cry in front of them.
But even if she vented her sorrow, what good would it do?
Could her mother come back?
No!
No matter how much she missed them in her heart, she did not show it.
She glanced at Nangong Xuanning, “I heard your father has recently recognized a commoner princess who was living among the people. Are your days in the palace still going well?”
“Heh! Does a chick that turned into a phoenix deserve to be on equal footing with me? Don’t tell me, even if she is conferred the title of Princess Zhaoyang by my father and flatters my father every day, I will always be my father’s most beloved daughter.”
As she said this, Nangong’s expression was somewhat unusual.
Gu Qianying looked at her a few times and asked, “Really?”
Nangong Xuanning raised her chin, “Of course, it’s true. Why would I lie to you?”
Gu Qianying remained silent. She casually took out a silver needle from her purse, let it spin in her palm, then pinched it between her fingers. Before Nangong Xuanning could react, she directly inserted it into the Yangxi acupoint on Nangong Xuanning’s wrist. As the stinging sensation spread throughout her body, Nangong Xuanning was startled, “Gu Qianying, what are you doing?”
Nangong Xuanning tried to pull her wrist back, but Gu Qianying grabbed her, preventing her from moving. Then, she inserted a second silver needle into the Yangchi acupoint, a third into the Wangu acupoint, and a fourth into the Shenmen acupoint. The remaining acupoints received one needle each at Taiyuan and Daling.
The stinging sensation turned into intense pain throughout her body.
Nangong Xuanning’s face changed with pain, and she cried out, “Gu Qianying, what do you want to do to me! Ah, it hurts so much, Gu Qianying, let go… This princess… this princess… will kill you.”
*Pfft!*
She spat out a mouthful of black blood.
The pain gradually subsided.
Gu Qianying released her.
“Epileptic Gu is a type of Gu poison. Those who are poisoned may experience dizziness and disorientation, or laugh and curse erratically. In severe cases, they will be in a state of madness all day. I see you are speaking normally now and not laughing foolishly for no reason, so it seems the Epileptic Gu she administered to you has not been there for long.”
As she spoke, Gu Qianying removed the silver needles from Nangong Xuanning’s wrist one by one, and at the same time, took out a small packet of powder and sprinkled it on Nangong Xuanning’s palm.
A burning sensation followed.
A tiny black-leafed red flower emerged from Nangong Xuanning’s palm.
“What is this?”
Nangong Xuanning tried to reach for it with her other hand.
Gu Qianying immediately stopped her, “Don’t move. It feeds on human blood and flesh. It is the medicinal ingredient for refining Epileptic Gu.”
Gu Qianying wrapped her fingers with a handkerchief, pinched the root of the black-leafed red flower with two fingers, and then pulled, throwing it away.
Nangong Xuanning felt no pain in her palm. After Gu Qianying pulled out the thing she didn’t even know what it was, there were no wounds on her palm. This was too astonishing!
The tiny black-leafed red flower on the ground produced a dark red fleshy fruit.
Its scent, which had been odorless, became fragrant.
A stray cat looking for food jumped in from the window.
It ran to the black-leafed red flower, lowered its head, and was about to lick the dark red fruit. As soon as its head lowered, it was suddenly enveloped by the black leaves. As the black leaves wrapped around its neck, in the blink of an eye, the stray cat turned into a cat skeleton, and a pool of blood fell to the ground.
Nangong Xuanning was startled, “This is…?”
“The medicinal ingredient for Epileptic Gu requires Black Poison Flower as the main component. This is a very small man-eating flower, also known as Rouge Red. It grows on Mist Spirit Mountain, where people are scarce. The mountain is covered with man-eating flowers, and the valley is also known as the Valley of Man-Eaters.
After leaving Mist Spirit Mountain, this flower must be used as soon as possible to be effective, otherwise it is a useless flower. The fact that it could be planted in your body without anyone noticing shows that your commoner sister has some skill. Thinking back to past events, I can only say that I was careless and underestimated her.”
“Damn it, that bitch! She actually poisoned me with Gu! I’ll have her arrested and handed over to my father for disposal!”
Nangong Xuanning stood up angrily and turned to leave.
Gu Qianying called out to her, “You are not her match. If you confront her head-on, you will lose, and it will be very miserable, no, very, very miserable.”
“Gu Qianying, don’t mock me. I will show you how I will deal with that little bitch.”
Nangong Xuanning did not listen to Gu Qianying’s advice.
Gu Qianying showed no impatience, only saying, “This time it was to make you go mad, not to take your life. Next time, it might directly take your life. If you don’t believe me, you can go back to the palace and try it. But let me tell you in advance, if you die, I will advise your Ninth Imperial Uncle to forget you, and I will not enter the palace on your death anniversary.”
Upon hearing this.
Nangong Xuanning stopped. She turned around and said in a very small voice, “Then what should this princess do?”
Gu Qianying walked towards her, “First, stay put, and then…”
Gu Qianying went out the door.
Nangong Xuanning followed her out, “Then what?”
“Then help me try on clothes.”
“Try on what clothes?” Nangong Xuanning was extremely confused.
“Wedding dress,” Gu Qianying said flatly.
“Wedding dress? Gu Qianying… you… you are going to get married? To whom?” Nangong Xuanning was stunned.
Gu Qianying looked back at her and said unhurriedly, “Of course, I am marrying your Ninth Imperial Uncle, to become your Ninth Imperial Aunt.”
“What! Gu Qianying you you you…”