Chapter 355 Triumph

Guan Yi'an reached into his robes, untied the sack containing the venomous snake, and threw it directly at Meng Lingge. Immediately afterwards, he rushed out with a sharp knife, his target being Meng Lingge's slightly protruding belly.

The venomous snake, having been bound for a long time, was now extremely aggressive once it broke free.

Almost instantly, it bit Meng Lingge's wrist. She screamed and took two steps back, barely dodging Guan Yi'an's sharp knife.

Guan Yi'an's eyes were sinister as he continued to stab with his knife, but the commotion had already attracted the attention of the guards. When he stabbed for the second time, a guard leaped inside and kicked him in front of the incense table, knocking over the incense burner and scattering incense ash all over Guan Yi'an.

Guan Yi'an secretly regretted it, dusted himself off, and said with a sinister laugh, "Meng Lingge, you've finally met your match!"

Although the attack missed, judging from the clear bite marks and bloodstains on Meng Lingge's wrist, she was certain to die.

When Guan Yi'an bought this venomous snake, he specifically asked for the most venomous one, because a single bite would mean certain death.

Nowadays, in this high mountain temple, it would take at least an hour to go down to the pharmacy to find the antidote or to send someone up, while the snake venom would take less than half an hour to cause death.

All of this, even the last glimmer of hope, was completely extinguished.

The guards rushed forward and captured Guan Yi'an, but he showed no fear or struggle. He just looked at Meng Lingge and revealed a triumphant smirk.

"This is what happens when you betray me. What's wrong with being my bride? Why did you have to break off the engagement and marry someone else? Did you think that just because Wen Zhiming became the emperor and you became the noble empress, you could trample me underfoot? Don't even think about it! You've offended me, and no matter how high you climb, I will drag you down to hell..."

Meng Lingge's face turned pale, and her breathing became rapid.

A young imperial physician rushed in from outside the door. Upon seeing the bite marks on Meng Ling's body, he said anxiously, "Her Majesty the Empress's wounds look like they were caused by a snake bite. Can you find the snake and determine what kind of snake it is so that we can determine its venom and use the correct treatment methods?"

After biting Meng Lingge, the snake slithered into a corner and disappeared long ago.

Upon hearing this, the guards left two men to guard Guan Yi'an, while the rest scattered to search for traces of the poisonous snake.

Guan Yi'an was even more pleased with himself and kindly reminded him, "That snake is entirely black and is called the Soul-Severing Silk."

The young imperial physician gasped. "The antidote for the Soul-Severing Silk is extremely precious. Although the Imperial Hospital has it, I did not bring it with me today. If I go back to get it, or go back to treat the patient, it will be too late. The Soul-Severing Silk poison works too quickly. If the antidote is not administered within half an hour, even Hua Tuo himself could not save the patient."

The pregnant Empress naturally needed to be accompanied by an imperial physician when she went out, but who would carry such a precious antidote with them? He didn't have the ability to foresee the future and know that the Empress would be bitten by a poisonous snake today.

But if the Empress were to lose her life while out, the imperial physician would certainly be held responsible.

The young imperial physician was sweating profusely with anxiety. "Now that things have come to this, Your Majesty, you should hurry down the mountain. I hope the Bodhisattva will grant a miracle. If you hurry, perhaps Your Majesty can hold on until you take the antidote."

He spoke tactfully, but everyone understood his meaning: even if they went down the mountain now, a miracle would be necessary to save the Empress's life.

The guards looked anxious and prepared to go to the temple to find a stretcher to carry Meng Lingge down the mountain as soon as possible.

"No need. It will take at least an hour to get down the mountain, so there's no need... You all go out and disperse the crowd, reassure the monks of Lingyun Temple, and find the poisonous snake as soon as possible to prevent it from harming innocent people."

Although Meng Lingge appeared weak, she remained rational and methodically arranged things for her subordinates.

The guards looked worried, but they had no choice but to do as she instructed. The young imperial physician sighed deeply, seemingly fearing that he was about to face a terrible fate.

Meng Lingge looked calmly at Guan Yi'an, "I have long suspected your identity, but unfortunately I have not yet found any evidence, and I have already lost my life at your hands. Guan Yi'an, since I am destined to die today, at least let me die knowing the truth."

Guan Yi'an was very displeased to see Meng Lingge still caring about others even when she was about to die.

This woman was always so calm and rational in front of him, even dying at his hands didn't bother her at all, making him feel like a clown.

Seeing that Meng Lingge had something to ask him, he regained some joy and said smugly.

"Of course. Considering that you will ultimately die by my hand, and that I was the last person you saw before you died, I will not hide anything from you. However, you have to hurry, or you will die before you finish asking all your questions, and that's not my fault."

Meng Lingge's face grew even paler, as if the poison had already entered her body. She forced herself to ask, "My girl Dongqing, is she dead or alive? What have you done to her?"

Guan Yi'an scoffed.

"I thought you were going to ask about something important, but it turns out you're just concerned about your silly girl. If you hadn't told me, I would have almost forgotten about her. Speaking of which, that girl is really not your average fool. You could say she's loyal, but if I coax her a little, she'll tell me everything about you. You could say she's a traitor, but she'd rather die than help me deal with the Meng family. I brought her along to use her, but she'd rather die than do that. So what can I do with her? Of course, I can only get rid of this useless piece of trash."

When Guan Yi'an saw the sorrow he had been waiting for finally appear in Meng Lingge's eyes, he couldn't help but show a look of joy and become excited.

"If I really have to say she's of any use, it's only in warming the bed. You don't know, do you? She drank the abortion pills I prepared for you first, which already hurt her body. And then she tried to please me with her body, resulting in the bed being covered in blood, but she was only worried that I wouldn't be satisfied... Also, she's quite good at needlework. These boots I'm wearing were embroidered by her own hands. When she was about to breathe her last, she told me to remember to wear them..."

Meng Lingge couldn't bear to listen any longer. Dong Qing was a simple and devoted girl. If she had met a good man, she would have lived a happy life. But she ended up meeting Guan Yi'an, that beast.

Meng Lingge closed her eyes and swallowed back her tears.

"Beast... Where are Holly's remains? Where is he buried?"

"Skeletons?" Guan Yi'an shook his head and sneered.

"Your question is really difficult for me. At the time, she was still alive when I threw her up the mountain. There were countless tigers, wolves, and venomous snakes in those mountains, and I don't know whether she ended up in the belly of wolves or was devoured by tigers. If you want to find her body and bury it, you can only hunt down all the wild beasts in those mountains, but several months have passed now, and even if you kill the wild beasts, you probably won't find anything."