"When did he enter the city? How come we didn't hear a thing?"
"Xiao Yuanhuai is too arrogant! His Majesty is seriously ill, and since he has returned, why doesn't he come to visit him? Instead, he went there first."
"There's absolutely no sense of manners!"
The Empress was so angry that her face turned pale, but she was completely helpless.
For the royal family of Yu Xia, Consort Jiang and her son Xiao Yuanhuai were both special.
Consort Jiang was a holy maiden of the Wu tribe, and for some unknown reason, she became the concubine of Emperor Xiao of the Xia Kingdom.
It is said that Emperor Xiao, traveling incognito, found Consort Jiang and brought her back. At first, no one knew that she was the Holy Maiden of the Witch Clan.
At that time, Emperor Xiao had not yet established an empress, and the entire harem consisted of only Lady Jiang.
Jiang was beautiful and quickly became the most favored concubine in the palace. Not long after entering the palace, she gave birth to Xiao Yuanhuai, the eldest son born out of wedlock.
Emperor Xiao, loving Jiang's family, wanted to make her his empress.
But unfortunately, no one in either the imperial court or the harem agreed.
Even Jiang herself was unwilling.
Although Emperor Xiao did not understand, he was pressured by the court and still made the eldest daughter of the Qi family empress and made Lady Jiang a Noble Consort.
A right and a love—Emperor Xiao sought to find a balance.
The Qi family was a family of military generals who controlled half of the military power in the Xia Kingdom.
With the Empress in power, the inner palace became even more bizarre.
Three months after the Empress entered the palace and after the 100-day celebration of the eldest prince Xiao Yuanhuai, Consort Jiang closed her doors to guests and refused to see anyone.
He not only refused to see the emperor and empress, but also stopped caring for his son.
Emperor Xiao was furious and sent people to investigate several times, but they all returned empty-handed.
The time when she caused the biggest commotion was also the only time Consort Jiang appeared after she had closed her doors to visitors.
She revealed her identity to everyone and advised them not to do anything unnecessary.
Otherwise, she could have easily destroyed the entire Xia Kingdom.
The Qi family seized this opportunity and kept having Empress Qi brainwash Emperor Xiao.
Emperor Xiao finally became suspicious and sent people to investigate.
The result was exactly as Consort Jiang had predicted.
In addition, when Consort Jiang was at the height of her favor, he personally ordered the construction of a three-story palace with a completely different style, which was also built in the style of the Wu tribe.
Emperor Xiao's expression was grim; he was also aware of some of the rumors surrounding the Witch Clan.
It is said that the Wu clan was cursed by the reclusive Ning family.
No matter who intermarries with the witch clan and has children, they will not have a good end.
The only solution is to stop touching witch women and poison the children born to witches.
This caused him to be plagued by illness from a young age, and he eventually died in agony.
Even though Emperor Xiao liked Consort Jiang very much, he was not generous enough to gamble with himself and the Xia Kingdom.
He found the Heart-Eating Gu and used his own blood as a catalyst to administer it to Xiao Yuanhuai.
Emperors are inherently ruthless; he considered killing Xiao Yuanhuai and Consort Jiang directly.
But he repeatedly failed, always feeling that some inexplicable force was protecting Consort Jiang and Xiao Yuanhuai.
Emperor Xiao had no choice but to give up.
But he couldn't bring himself to treat these two people with any respect.
Consort Jiang lived deep within the palace and rarely saw anyone.
Emperor Xiao then pretended to be a loving father, sowing discord between the mother and son.
As Xiao Yuanhuai grew older, he became more and more outstanding, proficient in both literature and martial arts, and a good candidate to become emperor.
Emperor Xiao felt a little regretful, but when he thought of Consort Jiang's identity as a holy maiden of the witch clan, he felt no regret.
Over time, he stopped pretending to be a loving father.
As a result, all the officials, including the young Xiao Yuanhuai, felt that they were a rejected prince.
He even harbored resentment towards Consort Jiang.
She believed that it was because of her that her father disliked her.
Adding to the rumors circulating in the palace and Ning Yao's diagnosis some time ago, Xiao Yuanhuai felt a sense of despair.
In the Hehuan Palace, which is also the palace of Consort Jiang, Xiao Yuanhuai and a few others waited silently in the side hall.
There was only one maid in Hehuan Palace. After serving tea to everyone, she went to the main hall.
The side hall was quiet. After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the palace gates of the main hall opened.
"Has she come too?" Consort Jiang seemed to answer herself, "Let's go and see."
The light at the entrance of the side hall was blocked, and when everyone looked up, they saw a beautiful middle-aged woman dressed in plain clothes walk in.
She stepped into the hall, her steps slow and deliberate.
When he saw Xiao Yuanhuai, his gaze paused for a second before he turned to the others with a blank expression.
Xiao Yuanhuai couldn't quite describe his feelings; his heart was filled with complex emotions.
The palace servants who attended to him all said that Consort Jiang was extremely beautiful, and that he resembled his mother the most.
Consort Jiang didn't let anyone slip by, her gaze sweeping over each person in turn.
Finally, it settled on Ning Yao.
Without the slightest hesitation, she quickened her pace, stopped three steps away from Ning Yao, and then knelt down heavily.
"Please, Your Excellency, intervene and save the Jiang clan!"
Consort Jiang's voice was no longer cold and indifferent as before; instead, it carried a hint of joy and sincerity.
Everyone was shocked. Even Xiao Yuanhuai couldn't help but stand up to help her up, but he managed to hold back.
Ning Yao raised an eyebrow, showing no sign of nervousness.
"Are you the Holy Maiden of the Witch Clan?"
Consort Jiang remained kneeling, only raising her head to answer questions.
She stretched out her two wrists, showing Ning Yao the two lifelike lotus flowers on them.
“The ancestors of the Jiang family said that if the Heart-Eating Gu is cured, these two lotus flowers will look like this.”
"With the lotus revived, the Jiang family has a glimmer of hope!"
Ning Yao's expression remained unchanged after hearing this. Instead, she leaned back and stared down at Consort Jiang.
"You're not telling the truth, so I choose not to save you!"
A hint of panic flashed in Consort Jiang's eyes. Under Ning Yao's sharp gaze, she felt she had nowhere to hide.
"The Witch Clan is a small clan that appeared a hundred years ago, but became famous for its expertise in raising and using Gu poison."
"I've heard that the Witch Clan is full of experts, and the Gu they raise are all incredibly powerful. But as far as I know, the Heart-Eating Gu is just the lowest grade."
"You say that the Heart-Eating Gu has been cured, and your Jiang family has a glimmer of hope. I don't understand why I should be the one to cure such a low-level Gu?"
"What exactly is your witch clan plotting?"
Consort Jiang's face turned deathly pale instantly. She seemed to want to say something but dared not, which made Ning Yao very curious.
Ning Yao curled her lips into a smile: "If you tell me everything, I can consider guaranteeing the Jiang family's rights. If you are unwilling to tell me, I can only respect your choice and not interfere with your fate."
Consort Jiang was somewhat annoyed and blurted out, "The Jiang family's current situation is entirely thanks to the Ning family. Now, you say you won't interfere with other people's fates? Don't you find that ironic?"
Ning Yao's expression turned cold: "The Jiang family has only themselves to blame. It's karma. Your ancestors probably didn't tell the truth!"
Consort Jiang was speechless, and for a moment she didn't know what to say.
"Raising Gu? Gu poison? Are you sure all those things you have are really Gu?"
"Instead of this?"
As soon as Ning Yao finished speaking, she raised her hands. In her left palm was a milky-white Gu worm the size of a fingernail, and in her right palm was a spirit stone that had not been fully absorbed.
When the hands are placed together, the Gu worm begins to move, wriggling its body as it crawls toward the spirit stone.
The moment it came into contact with the spirit stone, the Gu worm began to wriggle faster and faster.
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