Chapter 581 Jiaojiao Takes Action (First Update)

There is a secret room in a side hall of Huaqing Palace where palace servants are interrogated. It is not as gloomy and terrifying as the Ministry of Justice prison or the Heavenly Prison, but it is still dark and eerie.

At this moment, "Princess Ning'an" lay on the cold floor, unable to stand or walk because her legs had been broken.

There are doctors in the prison who will set her bones, but how can they heal so quickly?

The emperor sat ten steps away from her, with Eunuch Wei and two imperial guards standing by his side.

"What should I call you?" the emperor asked coldly.

"Qin...Qin Fengyan," she said weakly.

"How dare you bear the surname Qin?" The emperor coldly glanced at the face that was almost identical to Princess Ning'an's. Thinking of Ning'an, his heart ached, but thinking of this woman who had taken Ning'an's place, he was filled with resentment. "How did Ning'an die? Was she murdered by your conspiracies?"

Qin Fengyan smiled wryly: "If I say no, will His Majesty believe me?"

The emperor found it hard to believe; he had suffered greatly at the hands of this mother and daughter, and he was indeed somewhat paranoid.

The emperor said, "Then let me ask you another question: Where are Ning'an's remains buried?"

Qin Fengyan looked at the emperor with a half-smile: "Perhaps she is still alive. Your Majesty, if you release me, I will tell you her whereabouts..."

The emperor gripped the armrests of the chair tightly.

I have to say, he was moved at that moment.

Eunuch Wei hurriedly warned, "Your Majesty, beware of a trap."

The emperor composed himself and said sternly, "You don't need to deceive me anymore. You have committed many evils, and I will not forgive you. I summoned you here today only to ask you about Ning'an's burial place. If you don't want to suffer more, you'd better tell the truth, and I might consider giving you a quick death."

"That's exhilarating... Hahahaha..." Qin Fengyan laughed until her whole body trembled. "Royal brother, don't you think that's hypocritical? Death is death, what's with this 'exhilarating' death? I just don't understand, we're all your sisters, why is Ning'an the only one with such a good life? I was taken out of the palace as a child and lived a life that's neither human nor ghost? Royal brother, do you know how much torture I've suffered since I was a child? Scorching sun in the sweltering summer, freezing in the snow in the bitter winter, being starved for being disobedient, or severely beaten for being disobedient... My happiest day of the month was when I could go to the palace and pretend to be Ning'an, so I could be a princess of the dynasty for a day..."

When the emperor heard her recount her past experiences, he couldn't help but frown: "Why didn't you tell me?"

Qin Fengyan gave a mocking smile: "Didn't I say that? Royal brother, did I really not say that?"

A long-forgotten memory suddenly flooded my mind.

As a child, he and his younger brother Ning'an squatted by the lake, writing words with tree branches.

Xiao Ning'an wrote a large character "Yan": "Royal brother, I am not Yan'er, I am Yan'er."

The young man took a branch and flicked her forehead: "Silly girl, how come you can't even write your own name?"

Xiao Ning'an said angrily, "I am Yan'er! That's my name!"

After saying that, she ran away in a huff.

Qin Fengyan said with tears in her eyes, "Brother, you remember now? Mother found out about that incident later. She warned me never to mention my background to anyone again, or she would never let me into the palace to see her again. Brother, I was just a child the same age as Xiao Qi back then. Did I have the guts to go against Mother and so many evil people? I was forced into it. What did I do wrong? Why do you all only care about Ning An... and no one cares about me?"

Qin Fengyan burst into tears.

A deep sense of self-reproach welled up in the emperor's heart. Human nature is inherently good. If she had been raised in the palace like Ning'an, under the care of her father and mother, would she have turned out the way she is now?

She should have been a carefree princess of the dynasty, she should have enjoyed all the riches and honors of the world, she should have…

With a loud clang!

The door to the secret chamber was kicked open from the outside. The emperor's thoughts came to an abrupt halt. He turned around abruptly, about to reprimand someone, when he saw a slender figure walking in with a fierce aura. The figure kicked Qin Fengyan, who was wailing and acting pitiful, to the ground!

"Ah—" Qin Fengyan screamed as she crashed into the wall behind her.

"A little... a little miracle doctor?" the emperor exclaimed in astonishment.

Gu Jiao stepped forward, kicked away the medicine in her hand with one foot, and coldly stepped on her chest with the other.

The emperor was stunned by this scene.

The imperial guards quickly protected him and shielded him behind them.

"You, you all step back," he said.

The imperial guards stepped aside, and the emperor, staring at the medicine packet that Gu Jiao had kicked over, froze in disbelief: "This is... her..."

Eunuch Wei hurried over with small steps, wrapped his hands in a handkerchief, picked up the medicine packet, and opened it to find a packet of crushed brown powder that emitted a strong medicinal and floral fragrance.

"The taste is somewhat familiar... Have I seen it somewhere before?" Eunuch Wei murmured.

“It’s Yunnan Baiyao,” Gu Jiao said casually, glancing at it.

Eunuch Wei gasped.

Your Majesty was bewitched by this drug for so many years, and it took a lot of effort for it to lose its effects. If you fall for it again now, you'll be an idiot for the rest of your life!

The emperor was furious and embarrassed: "What kind of work is the Court of Judicial Review doing! Don't they even search prisoners before they're imprisoned?!"

Male prisoners are usually searched, but she was no ordinary prisoner. It wasn't easy for her to smuggle a pill in, as hiring a nanny to search her wasn't very professional.

A chill ran down the emperor's spine. He looked at Qin Fengyan on the ground with disgust: "I just felt a pang of pity for you... So you've been putting on an act all along!"

Qin Fengyan tried to struggle, but she couldn't move at all. Gu Jiao pressed down on her chest like a mountain, making it hard for her to breathe.

Gu Jiao looked at Qin Fengyan with icy eyes: "What did you do to Qin Chuyu?"

The emperor's expression changed, and he looked at Gu Jiao, asking, "What's wrong with Xiao Qi?"

Gu Jiao stomped down and broke one of Qin Fengyan's ribs.

Qin Fengyan hadn't expected Gu Jiao to be so ruthless. Don't people usually interrogate prisoners without saying anything before using torture? How come Gu Jiao broke someone's bones right from the start!

The light from outside slanted in, Gu Jiao's back was backlit, her face hidden in the shadows, her pair of dark, deep, cold eyes reminiscent of a killing god besieging a city.

Qin Fengyan had a trump card, but for some reason, she couldn't help but feel a surge of fear in front of this powerful god of death.

With all her might, she shouted, "If I die, he will die too!"

The emperor walked over, his chest filled with rage, and glared at her: "What do you mean? What did you do to Xiao Qi!"

"Hahahaha...hahahaha..."

The entire secret room was filled with Qin Fengyan's maniacal laughter.

This woman is insane.

He's gone completely insane.

She'll take someone down with her even when she dies.

She claimed to be the emperor's sister, but then turned around and murdered her own nephew.

The emperor hated himself for being so foolish; for a moment just now, he had even wanted to pity her.

Gu Jiao used her foot to crush Qin Fengyan's right hand and, unsurprisingly, saw the same white mark on her right wrist.

"Ah, so you found out... Hahahaha... So what? Do you know what this is? Can you solve it?"

"You can't solve it!"

"Qin Chuyu's life is mine!"

"You dare not kill me!"

"Want to take a gamble? Let's see if I'm lying?"

"Hahahaha...hahahahahaha..."

"You think you're so great? Let me tell you, the antidote is in the hands of those Yan people. Go get it if you dare!"

The emperor was so angry he wanted to kill someone!

Gu Jiao's expression remained unchanged; she was as calm as an ancient well that had never seen a ripple: "So there is an antidote."

Qin Fengyan was taken aback.

Is this the key point?

Did she hear what she said?

People from the State of Yan!

They are from the State of Yan!

Gu Jiao drew her dagger and, with a swift motion, slashed Qin Fengyan and the emperor's fingers.

She took out a blood type test strip from her first-aid kit.

Great, blood types match.

Gu Jiao put on gloves and took out the IV tubing and disposable filter.

Her movements were calm and graceful, like those of a devout believer.

For some reason, Qin Fengyan's heart skipped a beat, and a sense of fear instinctively welled up inside her: "What are you going to do?"

Gu Jiao raised her gloved hand and looked at her calmly.

Qin Fengyan, terrified, used her hands to brace herself as she backed away: "What are you doing? What are you doing? What are you doing? Don't come any closer!"

She retreated to a corner, with nowhere left to go.

Gu Jiao came up to her, raised her gloved hand, and gently patted the top of her head: "I hate it when people threaten me the most."

The emperor was afraid of injections, and he had already fainted.

Two imperial guards, unaware of what was happening, tried to protect the emperor but were also knocked down by Gu Jiao in one move.

Eunuch Wei swallowed hard; he was caught in a dilemma—whether to leave or stay.

"Light the lamp," Gu Jiao said.

"Alright!" Eunuch Wei came running over excitedly.

(End of this chapter)