Chapter 77 Food Protection
"She is me, Xue Minglan. I will protect her even if I die."
"I can be your chess piece."
"It's okay to protect you from disaster."
"but……"
"To hurt her..."
"Aunt, please don't blame your nephew..."
"Fish, dead, net, broken!"
Thoughts, like a wild horse running out of control, instantly flowed back to that cold and murderous night.
Inside Fengqi Palace.
Even though the candles in the hall were bright and the stoves were crackling, the chill that penetrated deep into the bone marrow still lingered.
The Empress, the woman he called "Aunt", sat high and mighty on the Phoenix Throne. Even her luxurious palace attire could not conceal the cold and stern aura emanating from her.
The queen's eyes suddenly shrank, like ice spikes soaked in poison!
But Xue Minglan seemed not to see it. He continued speaking, his tone calm but with a turbulent undercurrent.
"I can be your chess piece."
"It's okay to protect you from disaster."
His eyes did not waver at all, staring straight at the woman on the Phoenix Throne.
"but……"
"To hurt her..."
His voice suddenly turned cold, with a ruthless tone of wanting to destroy himself and the enemy together!
"Aunt, please don't blame your nephew..."
He spoke each word clearly, as if he had used up all his strength, squeezing out the last four words from between his teeth!
"Fish, dead, net, broken!"
There was a moment of dead silence in Fengqi Palace!
Even the air seemed to freeze!
A trace of surprise first flashed across the queen's face, and then it was replaced by strong sarcasm and anger.
She felt like she had heard the funniest joke in the world.
"Oh."
A cold laugh broke the silence.
She didn't even show a hint of genuine surprise! It was as if she had expected this, or rather, she simply disdained his threat!
"Xue Minglan," three words slowly flowed out from the Queen's lips, carrying a hint of superiority and mockery.
"Could it be that there's something wrong with my ears?" She opened her red lips slightly, her words full of contempt. "Since when did a dog wagging its tail and begging for mercy dare to bargain with me?"
In her eyes, Xue Minglan was still the dog that was clinging to her protection and struggling to survive.
How can a dog be on an equal footing with its master, let alone negotiate terms?
Xue Minglan breathed in and out secretly, forcing the waves in his chest to calm down. He lowered his head slightly, and his posture was humble, as if he was completely loyal.
"How dare I, nephew?" He whispered back. Although his voice was soft, it could not hide the subtle tenacity in it. "It's just..."
He paused, then looked up again, his bloodshot eyes flashing with a beast-like light.
"Even dogs guard their food sometimes."
The queen's face was suddenly filled with gloom, and her eyes were flashing with undisguised murderous intent.
However, the anger was fleeting and she quickly suppressed it.
Kill him? No, it would be a shame to kill a dog that is still useful. Besides, a disobedient dog only needs to be tamed again!
She pondered for a moment, a cold arc appearing at the corner of her mouth.
She waved her hand, her tone indifferent.
"Someone come here!" she ordered clearly.
Before he finished speaking, two palace guards, their faces as cold as stone, walked into the hall with steady steps, exuding unquestionable majesty.
Following closely behind was an old doctor carrying an antique medicine box, walking with a stagger but with a firm look in his eyes.
Xue Minglan's heart was filled with alarm, and just as he was about to speak, the guard moved swiftly and ruthlessly, pinning him down in an instant!
"What are you going to do!" Xue Minglan's voice was mixed with indomitable spirit and fear.
However, in the face of these strict palace rules and absolute power, personal struggles seem so insignificant.
Soon, he was firmly subdued by several large hands like iron clamps, and his knees slammed heavily on the cold and hard gold brick floor, making a dull sound.
Even he had to lower his noble head in the face of such naked power and force.
At this moment, all the planning and calculations seemed pale and powerless.
The old doctor opened the medicine box and took out a small white jade porcelain bottle and a slender silver needle.
The queen slowly walked down from the phoenix throne with calm steps and stopped in front of Xue Minglan.
She looked down at him condescendingly, as if she were looking at a toy.
"Jingren is right."
She opened her red lips slightly, and her voice was so gentle that it was creepy.
"You really care too much about that Chen He."
"A dog guarding its food like this,"
The queen stretched out her well-maintained fingers, gently lifted Xue Minglan's chin, and forced him to look at her.
"There has to be a strong chain to tie it up."
Xue Minglan's pupils suddenly contracted! He understood! He finally understood what the Queen was going to do!
"No……"
He wanted to struggle, but the guards held him tighter!
The old doctor had already walked over and skillfully used a silver needle to dip a little bit of strange purple powder from the white jade porcelain bottle!
Purple Marrow Powder! It really is Purple Marrow Powder! The Queen is actually using this forbidden drug to control him?!
"Aunt! You can't..."
Xue Minglan's voice contained a hint of desperate roar!
But it's too late!
The ice-cold silver needle, carrying the deadly purple powder, mercilessly pierced into the vital point near his heart!
“Ugh—!”
An indescribable pain suddenly exploded from my heart!
It was like countless red-hot steel needles, frantically stirring his flesh, blood, and meridians!
That's no ordinary pain!
It was an extreme pain that felt as if the soul was being torn apart, and every inch of skin and every bone was wailing!
It's a million times more painful than death!
Purple marrow enters the heart! The poison instantly travels throughout the body! This pain is enough to make even the strongest man collapse!
Cold sweat instantly soaked his clothes!
His face was twisted in pain, veins bulged, and his lips were bitten until they were bloodless!
The body was shaking violently, almost in convulsion!
but!
He clenched his teeth tightly!
He didn't even make a groan of pain!
The air was filled with suffocating silence.
Only Xue Minglan's suppressed, heavy breathing revealed the inhuman pain he was enduring at the moment.
That pain is enough to destroy anyone's will!
The Queen looked down at him.
Looking at his face distorted by severe pain.
Looking at the bulging veins on his forehead and the cold sweat oozing out.
The corners of her mouth slowly curled up into a cold arc.
That was not pity, nor was it emotion, but a kind of satisfaction that was almost cruel!
“Tsk tsk.”
The queen let out two soft "tsk" sounds, as if she was admiring an interesting toy.
In her eyes, Xue Minglan, who was in great pain at the moment, was nothing more than a tool that needed to be polished and tamed! His pain was just a necessary part of the taming process!
"really,"
There was a hint of subtle admiration in her voice, but more than that, it was filled with a chill that went straight to the bone.
"He's a good dog."
The queen walked slowly, came in front of him and stopped.
The luxurious hem of her skirt almost brushed against his sweat-soaked forehead.
"It hurts so much,"
She whispered, a hint of amusement in her tone.
"You didn't say a word."
Xue Minglan clenched his teeth so tightly that his gums were almost bleeding!
He could feel the queen's scrutinizing, cold gaze, like the tongue of a poisonous snake, sliding across every inch of his trembling skin!
He was using silence to fight! He was using this last, remaining willpower to fight against the severe pain in his body and the humiliation from his soul!
The Queen seemed to have had enough of his suffering.
She leaned slightly to the side, and her tone suddenly turned cold and commanding.
"Xue Minglan,"
"Listen carefully to me!"
The queen opened her red lips slightly, and each word she spoke was clear and full of absolute authority.
"From today on,"
"The seventh day of every month,"
"You must come to Fengqi Palace on time,"
Her eyes swept over the old doctor and the silver needle with purple powder residue on it.
"Come here for acupuncture."
Xue Minglan's pupils suddenly contracted!
He understood! There was no real antidote to this purple marrow powder! The so-called "acupuncture" was only a temporary relief from the pain of the poison, but it was also another reminder and shackle!
The Queen looked at the flash of despair in his eyes and continued with satisfaction.
"otherwise……"
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