Thinking of this, an endless look of gloom appeared on the madam's face.
She is old and faded, her beauty is gone, her youth is gone, she has lost her beloved son, she is framed by her own sister, and her country and family cannot tolerate her.
Life is too long, and who will accompany her through the long years to come in her twilight years?
Now, what is there left for her to cherish and for her to cling to in order to survive?
No……
She slowly closed her eyes, seemingly overwhelmed with grief, as if repeatedly questioning her own heart, which was now utterly devastated.
A moment later, she slowly stepped forward, moving step by step towards Lanxiang's room.
Upon entering Lanxiang's room, the madam went straight to the blue fox and butterfly painting that she had spent a great deal of time and effort to create and was extremely satisfied with.
After staring at it intently for a long time, he suddenly reached out and slowly took it off the cold wall. He gently blew away the dust covering it, then carefully rolled it up and tucked it into his arm, gently closed the door, and went downstairs back to his room.
Inside her room, everything was arranged in an extremely elegant and quiet manner, with a secluded compartment in the innermost corner that was locked day and night.
At that moment, she entered the room in a daze, and habitually locked the door from the inside before heading straight for the mysterious inner room.
Once inside the cubicle, the madam hung up the blue fox and butterfly painting that she had always carried with her, which she had kept tucked under her arm, once more. Then, as if bidding farewell, she carefully surveyed the private space before her, a space that belonged only to her.
This is a room that is somewhat like a laboratory. In the center of the room is a very conspicuous large blue stone table, on which are placed various bottles, jars, utensils and other objects.
In the corner of the room, near the window, was a huge herb shelf, containing an extremely complete collection of various herbs, in no way inferior to the reserves of the city's top pharmacies and clinics.
Suddenly, her gaze fell on something covered by a black cloth on the bluestone table, and she slowly walked over and lifted the cloth.
It turned out that the glass bottle hidden under the black cloth contained the Ice Beauty, an extremely cold object that all the poison masters of Nan'an Kingdom feared and avoided, which Tuoba Ze's people had retrieved from another icy sea area north of the Lingkong Continent after going through countless hardships.
But the Ice Beauty at this moment was no longer the same as when they first met, the crystal-clear ice butterfly that seemed unseen and impossible to see.
During this period, the Ice Beauty gradually developed a habit of inhaling hundreds of kinds of cold and poisonous herbs, starting with tiny amounts. She then gradually increased the types and dosages of these herbs, consuming only them daily to the maximum extent possible to stimulate all the cold toxins in her body and increase their toxicity.
Until the very last day, just a few days ago, the blood of a beautiful woman, which is extremely rare to cultivate in this world, was added to the mix.
Now, it has been transformed into a blood-red beauty. Although it still dances gracefully, the fluttering of its wings no longer scatters iridescent ice flowers, but rather drops of bright red blood, like weeping blood.
Soon, she will add all the spiritual power of the newly made superior dragon gu to it. With its help, the original Ice Beauty will become the Ice Beauty Poison Gu, which is immune to all poisons in the world and is so potent that even a great immortal would be unable to cure it. Anyone who is poisoned by the Ice Beauty Poison Gu will quickly die from the sudden onset of cold poison.
At this moment, the madam, as if admiring the most beautiful work of art in the world, wore a hateful and wicked smile as she examined her most perfect masterpiece. Suddenly, she looked up at the blue fox and butterfly painting that she had copied herself, which was hanging in front of her.
It's as if it's contrasting the Ice Beauty's current wickedness with her initial purity, and it's also a reflection of herself at this moment.
How much heartache and torment must a person, a butterfly, or all things in this world endure to become like this, having lost their own identity?
A moment later, she suddenly came to her senses, walked to the side and lit an oil lamp, then took a bowl of rice from beside the lamp, and headed toward a small, sealed space in a corner of the room.
This small space was truly a dark room, seemingly a secret room where even air couldn't circulate and no light could penetrate. As soon as she opened the door and went in, she immediately locked it from the inside.
The space inside was really cramped, seemingly only big enough to fit a bed.
By the light of the oil lamp, she quickly searched the room and her gaze fell on a unique object in the small, dark room—a mysterious black urn with a small mouth and a large belly, sealed in place.
She walked over and placed the bowl of rice on the ground, then bent down and slowly opened the sealed jar lid. The dragon-like creature instantly flew out on its own.
Like a small flying dragon, it frantically circled and danced in the air, sometimes turning into a fireball that instantly illuminated the entire dark room; other times it turned into a shadow, mischievously hiding itself like a child, constantly changing shape and darting around.
The madam had been raising this Gu (a type of poisonous insect) for over half a year, feeding it with lard, eggs, rice, and other similar foods. It wasn't quite ready to be fully formed yet, but after she added the beauty's blood, it became a Gu overnight.
Despite its small size, its spiritual power only increased under the stimulation of the beauty's blood.
Unfortunately, this rare dragon gu, which survived only one in a hundred and was nourished by the blood of a beauty, will sacrifice itself today to help the Ice Beauty Poison Gu be created. It will transfer all its spiritual power to the Ice Beauty to aid in the Gu's creation.
The madam watched as the dragon-like creature, now transformed into a tiny, adorable dragon about the length of a finger, intently foraging for food. Tears welled in her eyes as she gently stroked its body, repeatedly muttering, "It's time, it's time..."
Just then, there was a knocking sound at the door. She quickly grabbed the Dragon Gu, put it back into the black urn, and sealed the lid tightly again. Then she picked up the rice bowl, hurriedly walked out of the dark room, and locked it securely.
As soon as he stepped outside, he quickly blew out the oil lamp in his hand, then walked over to the large stone table, covered the blood-red, ice-like beauty with a black cloth again, glanced around and seeing that there was nothing unusual, wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, took a deep breath, locked the door and went to open another door.
"Who is it?" She opened the door and looked up, only to find Lanxiang standing in front of her.
At this moment, Lanxiang had already shed her disheveled clothes and was no longer the flirtatious and alluring woman she once was in Wanjiao Pavilion.
At this moment, she wore light makeup, delicate jewelry, and a pink cotton dress, dressed quite appropriately, resembling a virtuous and respectable young woman from a respectable family.
"You...you're still alive?" The madam, holding the doorknob, stood there stunned, scrutinizing her from head to toe for a long while before asking in surprise.
Lanxiang looked angry and said, "What? Does Mother want me to be dead?"
"What are you saying? What mother would want her daughter to die? She only hopes that each of them can rise to prominence and become a phoenix," the madam said with a forced smile.
She then realized that this girl was incredibly lucky. The sect leader had sent so many highly trained assassins to hunt her down, yet she was still alive. And now, she dared to brazenly deliver herself to her doorstep, standing right in front of her. Had she somehow gained a death wish?
But given her usual carefree and easygoing nature, she didn't seem like someone who would be so meticulous and thoughtful. The bodyguard who escaped with her mentioned a woman named Yi Shangyun. Could it be that this was all that little girl's idea? It seems that girl is indeed quite clever…
Seeing her strange expression, Lanxiang thought she was about to make up some lie to deceive her again, so she reached out and pushed her hard. Caught off guard, she stumbled and staggered back several steps into the house, almost falling.
At this moment, Lanxiang stepped into the house, closed the door, and turned to her angrily, saying, "Hmph, don't think that just because you returned the indenture to me, I will be grateful to you. All these years, what I, Yanhong, and you did to Yu Niang—I will never forgive you in this lifetime, and no one will forgive you. You deserve to be alone and wandering outside, like a lost soul, unable to return home or see your children. You brought this upon yourself; this is the retribution you deserve."
Upon hearing these words, the madam's forced smile vanished instantly, replaced by an expression of indescribable loneliness, desolation, despair, and profound sorrow, yet she was already beyond tears.
After a while, she seemed to be so dizzy that she could no longer stand. She slumped down on the table next to her, her head hanging low, and said weakly, "You're right, you're right. This is all my own doing, and I deserve this retribution. It's retribution."
Seeing her completely innocent expression, Lanxiang became even angrier. Recalling her shameless and obsequious manner, she felt an urge to slap her hard, but she suppressed her anger and said, "I'm not here to reminisce, nor to hear your confession, nor to preach or concern myself with your life or death. I only ask you... Where are Yu Niang and Yun'er? Where are they being held? And... why couldn't I find the Pavilion Master anywhere outside? Where is he? Now that you know the Pavilion Master is a prince of the Northern Lie Kingdom, and that he has been scheming to hide in Wanjiao Pavilion for so many years to destroy the people of my Western Qin Kingdom, you should now understand why His Highness the Prince of Qin has come all the way from the Qin Prince's Mansion in the east of the city. He has already sent people to guard the area around Wanjiao Pavilion, even the roof, so that even if they had wings, they couldn't fly away."
"It's too late, it's all too late. We've only just arrived. It's all too late now..." the madam muttered, her eyes glazed over.
"What? What did you say? What do you mean it's too late? It's all too late! Tell me!" Upon hearing this, Lanxiang stepped forward to the madam's side, lifted her clothes at the chest, and shouted fiercely.
"Hahahahaha...hahahahaha..." Unexpectedly, the madam suddenly seemed to have gone mad, laughing continuously.
Looking at her incredibly realistic madness, Lanxiang felt a surge of anger welling up inside her. She was extremely anxious, yet completely helpless, with a look of utter frustration on her face.
Just as she turned away, lost in thought, intending to leave, she suddenly seemed to remember something and stopped, saying with her back to her, "Originally, someone wanted to see you. He asked me to tell you that he was from your hometown of Nan'an. However, I see that you seem to have truly gone mad. It seems this is your ultimate fate in this life. It's pitiful that you've spent your whole life dreaming of returning to your hometown of Nan'an, seeing the people and things there... But now, you've finally received a visit from a fellow townsman, and you... have gone mad!"
After a heavy sigh and a brief pause, Lanxiang continued, "We are fortunate to have met in this life, and I would like to offer you some advice: In your next life, remember not to do bad things, and you will not suffer so much pain and misery. No matter the reason or purpose, it cannot be an excuse for revenge. My child, no matter where he is or whether he is by your side, he cherishes you deeply. He can sense everything about you."
As soon as Lanxiang finished speaking, she turned and walked straight out without looking back. At this moment, the madam seemed to gradually...
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