As the force tightened, a feeling of suffocation washed over me.
Jiang Qingwan's toes gradually left the ground, and her porcelain-white face turned bright red.
She tried to use a talisman to send the person flying, but she couldn't generate any spiritual power at her fingertips.
Her consciousness slowly blurred as she suffocated, and she struggled to turn around and look at Mo Yunhan one last time.
But her neck was constricted and she couldn't turn it at all. All she could see were a few strands of silk turning into tentacles and swimming past her back toward the bed curtains.
"Don't touch him!"
Jiang Qingwan spoke with difficulty, desperately urging her parched dantian once again. A tearing pain came from her abdomen, and an invisible talisman was faintly visible on her back.
"Whoosh!"
A whooshing sound came as a long sword emerged from the darkness, aiming straight for the masked man's head.
He quickly pulled Jiang Qingwan's hand and slammed her hard in the direction from which the long sword had been thrust.
Jiang Qingwan was like a kite with a broken string. Just as the long sword was about to pierce her throat, the hilt of the sword was grabbed. The next moment, Chi Sen's figure leaped out of the darkness, grabbed Jiang Qingwan's waist, and as they spun and landed on the ground, the long sword flew out again.
The speed was so fast that the masked man had nowhere to hide, so he condensed a ball of black energy to defend himself.
The sword blade made a screeching sound as if it were hitting hard metal.
Once the black mist was split open, the masked man had already fled.
Jiang Qingwan grabbed Chi Sen's arm.
"Stop chasing."
Akamori sheathed his sword and turned to look at him.
"I have no intention of pursuing it."
Jiang Qingwan was momentarily speechless.
Suddenly, he asked, "Do you know who that masked man is?"
Akamori ignored him and turned to look inside the hall.
Despite causing such a commotion, Mo Yunhan did not get up, indicating that his injuries were more serious than he had anticipated.
He frowned slightly and turned his gaze back to Jiang Qingwan.
"I will take you to see the Emperor Emeritus."
...
Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, only one lamp was lit.
When Jiang Qingwan was thrown into the yard by Chi Sen, she almost fell flat on her face.
Although this guy just saved her, his behavior is infuriating.
As she straightened her skirt, intending to curse, the old eunuch in front of the palace bowed and walked over.
"Greetings, Ninth Prince's Consort."
Jiang Qingwan had met the old eunuch before, and quickly composed herself, nodding slightly in return. She then followed him into the inner hall.
The moment she stepped inside, she smelled the aura of a mythical beast.
She curiously peeked in one direction, unaware that the old eunuch had already retreated outside the door.
Her feet unconsciously moved in that direction.
This aura is remarkably similar to Xiao Hong's.
Could it be that the retired emperor was raising a wild beast that was about to transform into human form?
What are you looking for?
An aged voice, somewhat familiar, rang out from the other side, interrupting Jiang Qingwan's thoughts.
She turned around instinctively, and was startled when she saw the old man sitting on the soft couch.
"It's you?"
No wonder she sensed dragon energy when Doctor Zhong brought him to Huailou that day.
Unexpectedly, the seemingly ordinary Doctor Zhong had such a connection with the Emperor Emeritus.
"You audacious Jiang family member, hiding in the Prince's mansion, plotting to kill innocent people, and using Taoist magic to collude with the remnants of the Sui Dynasty in an attempt to rebel! Your intentions are despicable! Kneel down and confess your crimes!"
The old man's cold rebuke, though imposing, lacked strength.
Jiang Qingwan curtsied as a gesture of respect.
"Just say what you have to say. If you want to kill me, I have no way to dodge Akamori's sword."
The retired emperor stared at her for a long time, and the murderous look on his face suddenly disappeared.
"You've got some guts. Sit down."
Jiang Qingwan glanced at the table not far away, which was full of dishes and snacks, and without being polite, walked over and knelt down on the cushion.
"I treated you to a meal that day, this meal is to repay me."
She started eating right after she finished speaking.
They hadn't eaten or drunk anything for a whole day and night.
The food, cooked at the perfect temperature, tasted delicious. The Emperor Emeritus wasn't in a hurry and waited until she finished eating, washed her hands with a handkerchief, and wiped her mouth before saying, "Chisen said you can freely enter and exit the protective array of Xuanling Mountain?"
Jiang Qingwan thought for a moment, then asked a question instead of answering.
"Between you and the emperor, who can make the decision?"
The retired emperor raised an eyebrow slightly.
Is there any difference?
Jiang Qingwan looked at him calmly.
"You couldn't even protect Mo Yunhan's life, so why should I believe you'd be willing to protect mine, especially when the opponents are the Emperor and the Empress Dowager?"
Why do you think the opponents will be the Emperor and the Empress Dowager?
Jiang Qingwan paused slightly.
"If you can't be honest, then I don't think there's any need for us to communicate. If you want me dead, then do it now."
The retired emperor slowly sat up straight.
"Little girl, this is the palace. There are ways to suffer a hundred times more pain than death."
Jiang Qingwan pursed her lips and remained silent.
It's now clear that the Emperor and Mo Yunhan have completely broken off relations; these thirty lashes are both a warning and the beginning of the conflict.
The worst part is that her spiritual energy is now severely depleted, making it difficult for her to leave the capital or even escape the palace.
Since we've reached a dead end, we might as well go all in.
If there is truly no other way out, she can extend the old man's life by another year.
She believed that no one wanted to die.
Their eyes met in silence.
The retired emperor broke the deadlock first.
Have you ever heard of the Nine Dragons Formation?
Jiang Qingwan nodded.
He answered the question he most wanted to know.
"I can set it."
The Emperor Emeritus's eyes suddenly lit up.
"really?"
Jiang Qingwan shrugged her slender shoulders.
“My life is in your hands, how can I deceive you? But not now, because I have suffered too much to save your son and need to recover for a while.”
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