Chapter 161 You...you're not dead?
The moment the name was uttered, the Dowager's expression changed: "What nonsense are you spouting?"
She stared intently at Shang Yin's face, seemingly suspecting that someone had impersonated him. However, no matter how she looked at him, she couldn't detect anything unusual.
But how could Zhao Yin speak to her like that? She had raised Zhao Yin since he was a child and knew everything about him. He couldn't have pretended for more than ten years.
"Did someone say something to you?"
Shang Yin scoffed: "What does the Dowager Consort think someone said to me? Is it that the Zhao family and the Northern Wilderness King conspired to kill the Shang family, or that you personally killed my grandfather for the position of the Northern Wilderness King's consort?"
The Dowager's face darkened. These past events had not been mentioned for many years, but hearing them from Shang Yin today filled her with unusual anger.
She had to admit that, for some reason, the person in front of her had slipped out of her control.
With her back to Shang Yin, she grasped the golden page floating in the air and asked calmly, "Are you standing up for the Shang family?"
Shang Yin did not deny it: "I just want to get justice from the Empress Dowager."
The Dowager narrowed her eyes and said coldly, "Justice? What kind of justice do you want? The Shang family never raised you; I painstakingly nurtured you and raised you to adulthood. And now you want to attack me for the sake of a Shang family member you've never even met? Is this how you repay me?"
Every word and phrase is an interrogation of the conscience of the person before you.
Shang Yin remained silent, listening to her voice gradually rise. He thought to himself, if it were Zhao Yin, he would definitely waver. Unfortunately, Zhao Yin couldn't hear her words.
"They are your blood relatives, but aren't I?" The Dowager's questioning voice echoed in the dilapidated temple, each word resounding.
“Of course we are family.” Shang Yin said with a mocking tone, “If it weren’t for this kinship, how could you have known where the Shang family was, and how could you have used this information to obtain your current high and mighty status?”
"Who told you that?"
"Has the Dowager forgotten that back then, in order to obtain the Shang family's secret technique for controlling ghosts from my mother, you threatened her with my life? For each time she cooperated, you allowed me to see her." Shang Yin said, word by word, "When she died, you even specially arranged for someone to take me to see her off."
The Dowager Princess didn't really remember; to her, it was a trivial matter.
The fact that she spared Zhao Yin's life was already an act of mercy. As for her daughter-in-law, whom she was not satisfied with, she was nothing more than a stepping stone to her. Once she had no more use, there was naturally no need for her to live.
The Dowager finally understood. She said, "So you've resented me since you were little for causing your mother's death?"
“Yes.” Shang Yin’s gaze shifted from the Dowager Consort to the father and son huddled together.
"Besides you, there's Zhao Xun too. Why is it that my mother died while you two live carefree lives? That's so unfair!" Looking at the terrified Zhao Xun and his son, Shang Yin continued, "Today I only wanted to seek revenge on the two of you, but Father insisted on bringing my younger brother along. How could I disappoint you?"
Zhao Xun's lips trembled: "I am your own father. If you dare to lay a hand on me, you are committing a heinous crime."
Shang Yin twitched the corner of his lips, ignoring him, and instead turned his gaze back to the Dowager Consort: "I have said everything that needs to be said, Dowager Consort can rest in peace on her journey."
“Indeed, we can set off now.” Suddenly, the golden page in the Dowager’s hand emitted a bloody light. It was as if the golden page had absorbed the Dowager’s blood, and even the pages had turned blood red.
The Dowager Consort grabbed hard, and waves of energy emanated from the golden page. Apart from the Dowager Consort holding the golden page, who was unaffected, both Shang Yin and Zhao Xun, father and son, clutched their chests, looking pained.
The fluctuations on the golden page grew stronger and stronger. Zhao Xun and Zhao Zeqian both fell to the ground, their fates unknown. Shang Yin, on the other hand, clutched his chest with a ferocious expression and vomited two large mouthfuls of blood. He forcefully shattered the wall behind him and fled into the distance.
Even after Shang Yin's figure disappeared, the Dowager Consort's hand, which was gripping the gold leaf, continued to tremble, and it was so stiff that she could not straighten it.
She stood silently in the dilapidated temple for a moment, unsure of the extent of the impact the golden pages would have on Zhao Yin. Right now, she had to return to the capital as quickly as possible.
With that thought in mind, the Dowager Princess walked quickly outside. As she stepped out of the temple gate, she glanced back at her son and grandson lying in the corner, and then stepped out without hesitation.
Right now, she has no time to worry about the lives of others; she can only focus on protecting herself for the time being. She can find someone to rescue them once she returns to the capital. If they don't make it that far, it's simply bad luck.
The Dowager Princess took the gold leaf and went to the back of the dilapidated temple. All the horses she had been pulling fell to the ground, clearly having also succumbed to the gold leaf's attack.
Unable to leave on horseback, the Dowager glanced around and suddenly noticed the small estate across the street.
Without further hesitation, she strode towards the manor.
After she descended halfway down the mountain, Shang Yin emerged from behind a tree behind the dilapidated temple. He raised his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth and watched the Dowager Consort head towards the estate.
The village was quiet today because Achan said she wanted to rest and didn't want to be disturbed, so the village headman told the villagers to go back to their homes and not to wander around.
The farmers were very obedient, closing their doors and windows early. Moreover, their dwellings were located at the back, so they couldn't hear any noises coming from the front.
So when the gate of Zhuangzi was knocked on, no one answered for quite a while.
Just when the Dowager thought no one lived in the estate, the gate creaked open.
Chen Hui looked at the Dowager Consort, who was adorned with jewels and dressed in luxurious attire, with a surprised expression: "Madam, may I ask what brings you here?"
The Empress Dowager's gaze swept over Chen Hui. Her manners were good, and her speech and behavior were polite. Judging from her clothing, her background was not too bad. She must have some wealth, but she was probably not from an official family.
She initially intended to reveal her identity immediately, but after a slight hesitation, she changed her mind. She said to Chen Hui, "I encountered some unexpected trouble on the road and happened to see your estate. I'd like to buy a horse for transportation. I wonder if your estate keeps horses?"
"I see..." Chen Hui nodded. "You do have two horses, but they are just ordinary horses, probably not worthy of your attention, Madam."
"It's alright, could you bring it out so I can have a look?"
"Of course," Chen Hui readily agreed, leading the Dowager Consort into the estate.
The two walked a short distance forward and saw three houses side by side. The door of one of the houses was open, and there was a table and chairs in front of the door, with a person sitting in one of the chairs.
The Empress Dowager looked up and saw that the woman sitting in the chair was petite and had a very good appearance, but there was a hint of laziness in her eyes. Even though she saw her coming, she only lifted her eyelids to look over and did not react much. Her manners were not as good as those of the person who led the way.
While the Dowager was still speculating about the relationship between the two, Chen Hui said, "Madam, the horses are kept in the back. Please rest here for a while. I'll be right back."
"Alright." The Dowager nodded. Although she was still wary, she also felt that Zhao Yin did not know anyone in the capital and should not be colluding with anyone.
Moreover, she still had gold pages to protect herself, so even if these two women had ill intentions, they couldn't harm her.
The Dowager was led by Chen Hui to sit down on a chair next to Achan. After Chen Hui left, Achan picked up the small teapot, poured herself a cup of tea, and then placed the teapot next to the Dowager, seemingly indicating that she could pour herself some water if she was thirsty.
The Dowager Consort didn't think much of her appearance. She sat silently for a while before asking, "Are you the owner of this estate, young lady?"
“Yes.” Ah Chan took a sip of tea and replied lazily.
"May I ask your name, young lady?"
Achan's eyes sparkled, and she turned her head to smile at the Empress Dowager: "My surname is Ji, and my name is Ji Chan."
The Empress Dowager's relaxed body suddenly stiffened, her head felt like it was swelling, and her ears were ringing.
Ji Chan, she was actually Ji Chan.
The Dowager rarely remembered the names of unimportant people, but she remembered this name after hearing it only once, because it reminded her of the fox demon.
She disliked the name, and naturally disliked the person who owned it, but she didn't know what the person who owned the name looked like.
Now, to see it with my own eyes here, is clearly not a coincidence.
She looked at the delicate and harmless woman in front of her, her red lips slightly parted, and said to her, "Or the Empress Dowager can call me by another name, Achan."
The Dowager stood up with a livid face, her eyes wide open, as if she had been greatly shocked. Her chair crashed to the ground, and no one gave her a second glance.
"Ah, Chan?"
Achan smiled, her eyes crinkling, "It's the 'chan' in 'chanmian' (entanglement), because I have a younger sister named Amian, so I'm called Achan."
The last glimmer of hope in the Dowager's heart vanished completely upon hearing Achan's words. Although the person before her looked completely different from that fox demon, she was undoubtedly a fox demon!
This is how Achan introduced herself when they first met.
"You...you're not dead?"
At this moment, the Empress Dowager finally realized why Zhao Yin had betrayed her. It must be because of A Chan, that fox demon, who had used some unknown means to turn Zhao Yin against her.
Previously, A Chan used the same method to seduce her son, and now she has become Zhao Yin.
Achan pulled her cloak tighter, her fingers hooking the cloak's ties, causing the pom-pom hanging from them to sway.
"Thanks to the Dowager Consort, I almost died, but I came back to life." Achan's eyes curved into a smile. Her appearance was not as good as before, but in the Dowager Consort's eyes, she was just as repulsive.
"As a fox demon, you dare to possess a human. If this news gets out, you will surely die."
"Yes, I'm really terrified of dying." Achan remained languid, showing no fear whatsoever on her face. "So, I can only ask the Dowager Consort to keep this a secret for me."
The Dowager Empress sneered, and just as she was about to use the golden page in her hand again, she suddenly felt that she had lost feeling in her hand.
"What have you done?" The Empress Dowager asked, her face filled with shock and anger.
At this moment, Chen Hui's voice rang out from not far away, still calm and composed: "I didn't do anything, I just planted some corpse poison in you."
After reaching the second stage, Chen Hui was already able to freely control the corpse poison in her body and no longer needed to use her own blood.
The Dowager Consort then remembered that Zhao Yin had told her that Ji Chan had a second-tier living corpse by her side.
Is this woman, who looks no different from a living person, a zombie?
At that moment, she had no time to think. She felt that not only her hands had lost feeling, but her whole body was beginning to go numb. The faster her heart was beating, the more out of control her body became.
Chen Hui stepped forward, helped the chair up, and then pressed the Empress Dowager back into the chair.
Achan rested her cheek on her hand, looking at the Empress Dowager who was stiff all over, like a lamb to the slaughter, and said, "Empress Dowager, it's been a long time. I've often thought of you this past year."
The Dowager Princess watched helplessly as Chen Hui took the gold leaf from her hand, knowing that all was lost, and filled with despair: "What do you want?"
"Don't be afraid, I won't do anything to you." Achan's voice was gentle and comforting. "I hate fighting and killing the most. Besides, you are the Dowager Princess of the Northern Wilderness. If I kill you, wouldn't I have to pay with my life? I want to live a few more days."
The Empress Dowager didn't believe a single word she said.
Under the Dowager's sharp gaze, Achan slowly said, "Of course I'm going to hand you over to your grandson. He's been waiting for this opportunity for a long time."
As soon as Achan finished speaking, the knocking on the door started again.
Chen Hui didn't move, but A Chan turned her head and said, "Come in."
Shang Yin, who had just been forced back by Jin Ye, now seemed completely unaffected, leaping over the wall with two people in his arms.
It was Zhao Xun and Zhao Zeqian, who had been abandoned by the Dowager Consort.
Upon seeing Shang Yin, the Dowager suddenly realized something: "You did that on purpose just now?"
Shang Yin threw the two people in his hands to the ground, looked up at the Dowager Consort: "Hasn't the Dowager Consort always been thinking about A Chan? Since you miss her so much, I will naturally fulfill the Dowager Consort's wish. You should be very happy to see her today, right?"
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