Chapter 446 Who wants to harm her?
Xiyan frowned, and the sharp intuition honed from eight years of life as a death warrior quietly awakened at this moment.
Those days of lurking in the dark and licking blood on the edge of a knife made her almost instinctively alert to abnormalities in her surroundings - even a slight deviation in breath or a subtle movement could hide a deadly murderous intent.
She suddenly remembered that the palace maid who lit the incense was named Zhu Ling.
Just now when Zhu Ling bent down to light the incense, she seemed to catch a glimpse of the other person's hand trembling slightly, and his expression was a little embarrassed.
Xiyan's heart sank, and she raised her hand to pull out the silver hairpin from her hair.
She held the end of the hairpin, carefully inserted the tip into the incense burner, and gently moved the burning wick.
But in just a moment, the originally smooth tip of the silver hairpin turned black, as if it had been stained with ink.
Xiyan's eyes turned cold.
Although she is not as proficient in poison techniques as Manluo and cannot identify hundreds of poisons, as a death warrior, identifying common poisons and drugs is a compulsory lesson.
The degree and speed at which the silver hairpin changed color instantly reminded her of a poisonous incense refined by a forbidden technique: Heartbreak Red.
When you first smell this fragrance, it's no different from any other calming incense, and even has a bit of sweetness. But if you smell it for an hour or two, it will quietly invade your lungs and flow through your blood to your brain.
At first, it makes people feel dazed and gradually become confused. Once the poison penetrates into the bone marrow, it will begin to eat away at the internal organs. First, they will vomit blood, then the tendons and veins of their limbs will be broken one by one, and finally they will die with blood coming out of all seven orifices while mumbling insanely. Their death is miserable and their face is unrecognizable.
What's even more sinister is that there is no antidote for this poison, and its onset is slow, often taking three to five days to kill the person. During the few moments of lucidity during this period, the person can only watch themselves go step by step towards madness and death, but they are powerless to do anything.
Xiyan pulled back the silver hairpin and looked at the glaring darkness, her fingertips feeling slightly cold.
Why did Zhu Ling do this? Was she being instructed by someone?
Su Qinyao, or Helian Shu?
Although Su Qinyao hated her to the core, she would definitely not ignore the overall situation. At least she was alive and still useful.
Only Helian Shu didn't care about the overall situation and was determined to kill her.
Moreover, the Heartbreak Red poison was too toxic and was banned by the palace. However, Helian Shu was Xiao Beicheng's daughter, so it was easy for her to obtain the Heartbreak Red.
Xiyan covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief and closed her eyes in deep thought.
The "Heartbreaking Red" in the incense burner is still burning, and the curling smoke is lingering in the air like an invisible net.
After a while, Xiyan opened her eyes.
Perhaps, I could use Helian Shu's vicious plan to find a chance to escape. If I couldn't escape, then it would be my fate.
She raised her hand to straighten her clothes, her face regained its usual calmness, and she said loudly:
"Someone come."
Four palace maids came in and saw that the food was untouched. They all lowered their heads and did not dare to ask any more questions.
"I don't have much appetite. Please remove it."
"yes."
The palace maids quickly cleared away the leftovers, and the dishes on the trays made a light sound as they clattered against each other.
Just as they were about to leave the palace, Xi Yan suddenly spoke:
"Zhu Ling, you stay."
Zhu Ling's body stiffened, and when he turned around, his face had turned pale:
"Princess...what are your instructions?"
"The incense burned faster just now."
Xiyan pointed to the incense burner in the corner and said in a natural tone:
"Please bring some new scented leaves."
Zhu Ling's expression relaxed, and she murmured a yes, then retreated with the other three palace maids.
Soon, she entered the hall again carrying a tray.
The moment the hall door closed, Zhu Ling smelled the sweet fragrance in the hall, and her hand holding the tray tightened involuntarily.
Xi Yan said calmly, "Put it on the table."
"yes."
Zhu Ling put down the tray and turned to leave.
"Zhu Ling, please help me tie my hair. I don't know why, but my hands feel weak today and I have lost my strength."
"As you command."
Xiyan walked into the inner hall, sat in front of the dressing table with her back to her, and her voice was emotionless:
"bring it on."
Zhu Ling walked around the screen and stood behind Xiyan. With trembling fingertips, she picked up the peach wood comb on the dressing table.
She lowered her head, not daring to meet Xiyan's eyes in the mirror. She only focused on combing her long black hair. The wooden comb made a slight friction sound as it passed through her hair.
Xiyan looked at Zhu Ling's tense profile in the mirror, her eyes fixed, and she raised her hand seemingly casually and took a gilded and kingfisher-inlaid hairpin from the dressing box.
"Let's use this one today."
Her voice was flat as she handed the hairpin behind her, but her fingertips suddenly changed direction the moment she handed it over.
Just as Zhu Ling stretched out her hand to take it, she saw Xiyan's wrist turned at a tricky angle, and the golden hairpin in her hand, with a sharp sound of wind, went straight to the "Fengfuxue" behind her neck.
That acupoint is connected to the brain. Once pierced by a sharp object, the patient may suffer from hemiplegia at the mildest and instant disability at the worst.
Zhu Ling's pupils shrank suddenly in shock, and it was too late to dodge.
With a soft "puff" sound, the tip of the golden hairpin pierced the acupoint precisely, with a force that was neither too deep nor too shallow, just enough to block the force on her limbs.
Her whole body trembled violently, the wooden comb in her hand fell to the ground with a "bang", and her limbs went limp as if the bones had been pulled out.
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