Jiang Chuan paced slowly in the room and said coldly, "On the eighth day of the fifth month of the thirteenth year of Jiahe in the Great Zhou Dynasty, you took over from the real Zhang Mama and infiltrated the side of Consort Duan, while the real Zhang Mama was killed by you."
At this point, Jiang Chuan walked up to Zhang Mama, who was curled up in pain, squatted down, and grabbed her chin.
Granny Zhang stared wide-eyed in terror, trying to break free from Jiang Chuan's grasp, but how could an old woman like her be a match for Jiang Chuan, who was skilled in martial arts?
Jiang Chuan snorted coldly and suddenly ripped a human skin mask off her ear.
The face beneath the mask was round and large, covered with layers of age spots and wrinkles, with dark, swollen eye bags that squeezed the eyes into narrow slits, and lips that had turned purple.
Jiang Chuan gave a cold laugh: "Li Huaiying, your husband's surname is Chen, you're from Huaiyang in Jiangnan, and you have a son, daughter-in-law, and two grandsons. Ever since we found you thirteen years ago and had you replace Zhang Mama in the palace, the Chen family has become rich overnight. They've not only acquired a house and shops, but your son has also gotten married. Old woman Li, am I right?"
Li Huaiying's face paled with each word Jiang Chuan uttered. When Jiang Chuan finished speaking, she suddenly burst into laughter, her ferocious face appearing especially terrifying due to the torment caused by the poison.
She glared fiercely at Jiang Chuan: "As expected of His Highness Prince An, what impressive methods you have! I hid myself so well, yet you still managed to find out!"
In recent years, she has rarely dared to contact her husband and son in Huaiyang, and she is also cautious in front of Consort Duan, for fear that Prince An might find out.
Suddenly I remembered that yesterday, Prince An first sent her away to find Lu Yuyan to examine Consort Duan, and then asked her to get medicine. She was gone for a full four hours. Did they only find out yesterday?
But where exactly did I slip up? Why was Prince An moving so fast?
No, it couldn't have been yesterday. Huaiyang is nearly 800 li away from here; even at top speed, it would take at least a day and a night.
Her eyes, brimming with black blood, stared at Jiang Chuan: "When, when did you find out?"
Jiang Chuan said coldly, "Li Huaiying, you think you've hidden yourself well, but little do you know, the Prince has already noticed your every move. Oh, I forgot to tell you, Consort Duan discovered you the very first day you took the place of the real Zhang Mama."
"You've probably spread quite a bit of rumors over the years, haven't you?"
Li Huaiying stared at Jiang Chuan in disbelief. Consort Duan already knew, so did she also know about her background all along?
She dared not ask her sons and grandsons; if they did, they would be killed.
She had been watching Consort Duan for so long, yet she hadn't found any flaws. If the Emperor found out, would they still have a chance to survive?
Li Huaiying felt cold all over.
Jiang Chuan wiped his fingers, which had been gripping Li Huaiying's chin, one by one with a handkerchief. A faint smile played on his lips as he said slowly, "The medicine that Mr. Lu prescribed is excellent. It will take seven days and seven nights to kill you completely. During these seven days, the pain will increase every hour. Li Huaiying, you can enjoy it slowly."
Li Huaiying couldn't bear it. In just the first hour, she was already rolling around on the ground in pain. She couldn't imagine what she would be like on the seventh day.
Li Huaiying had completely lost her earlier bravado. She grabbed Jiang Chuan's trouser leg and cried out, "Lord Jiang, Lord Jiang, please, please, let me die, let me die quickly, please..."
Dark blood gushed from Granny Li's mouth again, and her internal organs felt as if they were being gnawed at by thousands of ants, causing her excruciating pain.
Jiang Chuan threw away the handkerchief in his hand, kicked Li Huaiying to the ground, stepped forward, and stomped on her stomach: "Tell me, where did you take the real Granny Zhang?"
Li Huaiying stared wide-eyed in horror, shaking her head desperately, "I can't say it, I can't say it!"
If she tells anyone, not only will she die, but her son, husband, and two grandsons will also die.
Jiang Chuan didn't have the patience either, so he rubbed the soiled shoe surface back and forth on Li Huaiying's clothes to clean it: "You have seven days, Li Huaiying, take your time to think it over. Anyway, the prince and I can wait."
After saying that, he kicked Li Huaiying away with his half-raised foot.
Li Huaiying crashed heavily into the central pillar like a kite with a broken string, spitting out a mouthful of blood. She then slammed to the ground with a thud, vomiting a mouthful of black blood.
But this pain was negligible compared to the pain in her internal organs at that moment.
Jiang Chuan straightened up and said, "Actually, whether you say it or not, it doesn't matter to His Highness and Consort Duan. Zhang Mama was killed by you, and thirteen years have passed since then. Just for that reason alone, His Highness cannot forgive you."
"Heh, heh heh, hahahaha." Li Huaiying clutched her stomach, laughing maniacally. "Provocation won't work on me."
She curled up, her eyes filled with resentment as she stared at Jiang Chuan: "Doesn't Your Highness want to know who made me infiltrate Consort Duan's side in place of the real Zhang Mama? In the palace, who could do this if not someone with immense power? And why would that person do such a thing? Has Your Highness considered whether it was because they dared not?"
Jiang Chuan turned around and said coldly, "Heh, you think you're worthy to scheme against the Prince! In that case, the Chen family need not be spared."
"You don't need to tell me who you passed the message to. Since the Prince and Consort Duan know that you are an imposter Zhang Mama, they are naturally well aware of your schemes."
Li Huaiying's whole body trembled uncontrollably. Prince An was too terrifying, too terrifying.
Her face suddenly changed, and with a strength she didn't know she had, she crawled to Jiang Chuan and hugged his leg tightly: "Please, please, don't hurt my son, don't hurt my grandson, please, they don't know anything. I did everything by myself."
Jiang Chuan kicked Li Huaiying over: "Where exactly did you throw Zhang Mama's remains? Tell me!"
A sharp, dull, stabbing pain suddenly struck her, almost suffocating her: "No, don't hurt my son, don't hurt my grandson, I'll tell you everything, I'll tell you everything."
Jiang Chuan said coldly, "Old woman Li, you have no right to negotiate with me."
"In the Cold Palace, in the dry well in the Cold Palace. Granny Zhang was strangled and thrown into the dry well in the Cold Palace. Lord Jiang, I have told you everything, please, please don't kill my son, don't kill my grandson, please."
Jiang Chuan walked slowly outside: "Today is New Year's Eve, it's the New Year. Li Huaiying, this is your last New Year in this world, have a good time."
Li Huaiying was in unbearable pain. Clutching her stomach with one hand and gripping the mud on the ground with the other, she crawled forward desperately, crying out, "Let me die, let me die..."
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