Kou Ning'an was a woman who lived by the principle of not speaking while eating or sleeping, and of moving without making a sound or laughing.

The people who served her closely did so for two reasons: first, to keep her secrets, and second, because she hated noise, so all the palace servants had their tongues cut out.

Therefore, when Gan Qiongying barged into Yinian Hall, no one informed her. She kicked the hall door open directly, which was like a thunderbolt striking Kou Ning'an.

With her arms held up, Gan Qiongying kicked open the palace as she flew through the air. The people insisted on reporting the incident, but Gan Qiongying couldn't wait for the report.

Her mind was now filled with the image of Gan Lin covered in blood after being persecuted, and the guards she encountered along the way who wanted to help were all scolded away by Gan Qiongying.

Can she wait for an official announcement?

She wished she could cause the Yinian Palace to collapse, crushing the old witch inside and turning her into a monkey for five hundred years!

Gan Qiongying kicked the palace gate so hard that her shoe flew off.

So much so that Kou Ning'an, who was sitting properly at the table, plotting a vicious scheme, was startled by the loud noise and shuddered. Then she saw a blur and heard a "smack".

A pair of embroidered shoes, soaked in mud, were tossed into Kou Ning'an's spotless bedroom.

Kou Ning'an's eyelids twitched suddenly, and her face turned bright red—she was furious!

But before she could vent her anger, Gan Qiongying, supported by her maid and suspended in mid-air, was kicking her legs and struggling at the doorway, shouting, "Mother! What delicious food are you and the Emperor secretly eating here in the middle of the night without telling me!"

"Mother! Your maids are far too unruly! Drag them all out and have them beaten to death!"

Princess Duanrong was granted the title of princess by Emperor Huicheng and treated like a daughter. According to the rules, she should indeed call Kou Ning'an "Empress Dowager".

But Princess Duanrong never called her that.

Gan Qiongying, of course, didn't want to call her that either; in her heart, she called Kou Ning'an the old hag.

But isn't this an emergency? Even if someone makes Gan Qiongying call him "Grandma" or "Ancestor," as long as she can see Gan Lin immediately, there's nothing she can't do.

Gan Qiongying craned her neck to peer inside while shouting and yelling outside, completely disregarding any semblance of a respectable image.

After being startled, Kou Ning'an recognized Duan Rong's voice and her first reaction was to look at Gan Lin opposite her.

As expected, Gan Lin's face turned pale in an instant. Kou Ning'an was originally very angry because no one had dared to trespass into her palace for so many years.

However, seeing Gan Lin's reaction, Kou Ning'an felt an indescribable joy, which slightly eased her anger at being disobeyed by Gan Lin at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet.

She slowly stood up from the table, supported by Aunt Hu behind her, and walked towards the outer room, saying to Gan Lin as they went, "Oh, it's Duanrong here. What a coincidence!"

Kou Ning'an patted Aunt Hu's hand and said, "Go quickly and serve Duanrong a bowl of nourishing soup. It's chilly in this autumn rain, and she came here in the rain, so this will help her warm up."

"What are you all standing there for? Why aren't you letting the princess in?" Kou Ning'an held a pure white handkerchief to her nose, walked around the muddy shoe, and turned to look at Gan Qiongying through the screen.

Gan Qiongying was finally released and immediately rushed into the house. At this moment, she looked more than just disheveled; she resembled a gray rat that had just crawled out of a swamp.

Rainwater and mud dripped from her body, along with blood from the cuts she had made after falling.

Her hair was wrapped on top of her head, making her look quite comical. Her undergarments were soaked through, which not only ruined her image but also made her look like she was running around naked.

Moreover, she was barefoot, with multiple wounds on her feet, mud and blood mixed together. With each step she took, a muddy footprint would be left on the clean floor of the hall.

She hadn't worn shoes when she ran out of the Bixi Palace, but the maids who caught up with her persuaded her to put them on. However, she lost one shoe on the way. The embroidered shoe was really slippery after getting wet. The craftsmanship of ancient shoes is still incomparable to that of modern shoes.

The one that kicked open the palace door and flew in was the only one. Gan Qiongying could only come in barefoot, but she was aggressive and her eyes were terrifyingly bright.

Upon seeing the Empress Dowager's deathly face, Gan Qiongying revealed a smile even more "dead" than hers.

"Mother, why are you still up so late? If you don't sleep at night, you'll age very quickly. You'll get pimples and blemishes, and in the blink of an eye, your face will be full of wrinkles, like the peel of a sun-dried orange."

As soon as Gan Qiongying entered the room, she began attacking the Empress Dowager's appearance. Her feet were slipping on the ground, but she didn't stop for a moment and went around the screen to look inside.

Kou Ning'an held a handkerchief to her nose, as if she could smell Gan Qiongying's stench even before Gan Qiongying entered the room. Seeing Gan Qiongying walking aggressively towards her, she immediately hid to the side.

He even had that disgusting smile on his face, but his eyes were full of malice and contempt.

Gan Qiongying rushed into the inner room and saw that Gan Lin was not tortured to the point of being covered in blood as she had imagined, nor was he on the verge of death. The heart that had been hanging in her throat all the way finally fell back down.

The blows made Gan Qiongying's chest ache.

She pounced on the table, staring at Gan Lin, ignoring the despair and pain in his eyes, and said viciously, "You little brat, you've really grown up!"

Gan Lin stared at Gan Qiongying, his lips parted, but it was as if the Empress Dowager had cut off his tongue, and he couldn't utter a single word.

He refused to involve his elder sister in these matters because he knew the Empress Dowager wouldn't kill him; she still needed him to rightfully sit on the throne.

If the older sister gets involved, she will only end up getting hurt in vain.

They will become each other's hostages, each other's only weakness and Achilles' heel.

But when Gan Lin saw his older sister running back to him like she did when she was a child, no matter how late it was or how many times she had been sent away, Gan Lin still wanted to cry.

He really cried; tears streamed down his face and fell into the soup in front of him.

“It’s my fault, sister.” Gan Lin’s voice was hoarse, as if she had never spoken in her life. She suddenly spoke, “It’s my fault. I couldn’t protect you properly.”

His older sister hoped he would grow fat and tall, but even when he grew up, he was useless.

He had some capable people at his disposal, but after years of maneuvering and struggling to survive between the Regent and the Empress Dowager, he could hardly be considered a powerful force.

Moreover, most of the people in the palace are the Empress Dowager, so even if it were a pure contest of strength, she simply couldn't win.

Once Gan Qiongying enters the palace, Gan Lin is even less likely to resort to desperate measures to avoid harming her.

That's why Gan Lin drugged her tonight.

Kou Ning'an only has so many methods, while Gan Lin is never afraid of pain.

But her older sister actually came after her. Gan Lin lowered her head, closed her eyes, and felt as if her heart was being torn apart.

"It's my fault..." He closed his eyes and blamed himself, repeating over and over like a weeping cuckoo, "It's my fault... I'm useless!"

Gan Qiongying didn't bother to comfort him, nor did she bother to respond to his nonsense.

At this moment, the Empress Dowager walked in and said in a sarcastic tone, "I was just telling His Majesty that I wanted to invite you to have some soup with me."

"Guards, quickly help the princess sit down and drink soup with His Majesty!"

As soon as the Empress Dowager finished speaking, two strong eunuchs came over, grabbed Gan Qiongying's shoulders, and forced her to sit down opposite Gan Lin, in the same spot where Kou Ning'an had just been sitting.

At this moment, Kou Ning'an came over and sat at the table at a distance from the two of them, watching them as if they were watching a wonderful show. One of them was bowing his head and crying, so painful that the veins on his forehead were bulging, while the other looked as disheveled as a rat that had crawled out of a ditch.

At this moment, Aunt Hu brought over a thick medicinal soup and placed it opposite Gan Qiongying with a clatter.

This was like a signal, suddenly making Gan Lin raise his head.

Gan Lin stared intently at the bowl of medicine, his eyes bloodshot, and slowly turned to look at Kou Ning'an.

At this moment, Gan Lin's eyes resembled those of a trapped beast, or even a wicked demon.

However, Kou Ning'an was not afraid of his gaze at all. She covered her nose with a handkerchief, but the strong smell of medicine gave her a headache.

His face turned slightly cold as he urged, "Drink up."

She smiled and looked at Gan Qiongying: "Since you're here, finish your drink before you leave, and warm yourself up."

The veins on the side of Gan Lin's neck bulged and throbbed. He suddenly stood up, just like last time, picked up the soup in front of Gan Qiongying, and was about to drink it for her!

But the same thing must never happen to Gan Qiongying a second time.

She had been trying to find a way to ease the situation, but how could she bear to see Gan Lin drink poison for her again?

At the same time, Gan Qiongying stood up, snatched the soup bowl from Gan Lin's hand, and slammed it hard on the table.

With a "bang," scalding hot soup and porcelain shards splashed everywhere.

That wasn't all. Gan Qiongying took the bowl in front of Gan Lin and slammed it hard on the table. With a "bang," it shattered into pieces.

It was like a thunderbolt striking, like a clash of swords.

Gan Qiongying's eyes flashed like lightning. Suddenly, she thought, "Whatever ridiculous plan I have, I might as well just go for it."

She glanced at the Empress Dowager, who was standing dumbfounded at the table with her face splattered with spittle, and sneered, "I'll drink your father's liquor!"

She rushed across the table, grabbing a shard of porcelain. Before the Empress Dowager and those around her could react, she leaped over the table, grabbed the Empress Dowager's meticulously combed hair (which had been prepared with countless pounds of hair oil), pulled her over, and slammed her against the edge of the table.

A shard of porcelain was pressed against her carotid artery. Gan Qiongying pressed her face against the still-flowing soup and broken porcelain shards, saying, "If you fucking like this soup so much, why don't you drink it yourself!"

The Empress Dowager was so shocked that she fell silent for a moment. Her inherent "dignity and composure" made her accustomed to forbearance.

But as she saw the porcelain shard getting closer and closer to her eyeballs, she finally spoke, letting out an incredibly shrill scream.