Chapter 386 Jiang Yaozhen’s Slaughter

Chapter 386: Jiang Yaozhen's Slaughter

A carefully orchestrated frame-up instantly turned into a ridiculous farce.

Xiao Zhengxian, looking like a total wreck, under the stares of the court officials—some sympathetic, some contemptuous, some gloating—practically fled after announcing the end of court.

Behind him, Xiao Lingchuan walked slowly, his posture straight as a pine. Wherever he passed, officials bowed in reverence, a respect far surpassing that shown to the hastily departing emperor.

...

Deep within the dark, damp imperial prison, a nauseating mixture of rot and blood permeated the air.

Zhao Qian was thrown onto a pile of straw in a corner, his limbs bound with heavy iron chains, as pathetic as a beaten dog. Gone was the aura of power he once wielded over Nanyue, leaving only a withered shell and eyes filled with terror.

Heavy footsteps approached from afar, echoing through the silent corridors, each step pounding on his heart.

He raised his head in terror, and through the dim light of the cell door, saw a pair of black boots with gold thread, and above them, the dragon robe he knew too well—the symbol of supreme power in Daye.

Xiao Lingchuan had arrived.

"No... don't come near..." Zhao Qian trembled violently, shrinking back, but the cold wall blocked his retreat.

He recalled the agony of being locked in Xiao Lingchuan's dungeon at the Jing Prince's mansion, the excruciating pain of being eaten alive by insects, a memory that still chilled him to the bone.

"Spare me, Your Highness! This... was all Lady Wei's idea!" He hurriedly defended himself, shifting all blame. "She said that if I pointed you out in court as my and Zhiruo's biological child, she would send someone to escort me back to Nanyue! I was so desperate to go home that I foolishly agreed! I never intended to oppose the Prince Regent!"

Xiao Lingchuan stood outside the cell, looking down at him with an expressionless face, as if watching an ant's final struggle.

"I'm just curious," he finally spoke, his voice cold as ice, "Why did you suddenly regain your sanity after being out of your mind in the dungeon?"

Zhao Qian froze, then stammered, "It was Lady Wei! She found someone to treat me. I took a bunch of medicine and slowly got better..."

Before he could finish, a sickly sweet taste of blood rose in his throat.

With a wet cough, a mouthful of purplish-black viscous blood sprayed onto the straw in front of him.

Zhao Qian was terrified on the spot.

Why was the blood such a strange color?

Xiao Lingchuan's gaze fell on the pool of blood, and he nodded thoughtfully, "Now I know who Lady Wei found to mix your medicine."

"Who?" Zhao Qian asked subconsciously, a sense of dread seizing his heart.

The corners of Xiao Lingchuan's mouth lifted into a faint, chilling smile that cut through the silence like a devil's whisper.

"The Nanyue Poison Master. Or rather, the Consort Rou?"

The name "Nanyue Poison Master" hit Zhao Qian like a bolt of lightning.

He shuddered violently, his pupils contracting sharply.

Xiao Lingchuan let out a soft laugh, harsh and jarring in the dead silence. "Consort Rou is the legendary Nanyue Poison Master. She's an expert at using poison to fight poison. Chief Grand Secretary, enjoy the poison's rebound!"

With that, he straightened up, brushed a speck of non-existent dust from his sleeve, and turned to leave.

"Ah—!"

A gut-wrenching scream came from behind, but Xiao Lingchuan didn't even look back.

Zhao Qian felt as if his internal organs were being torn apart by countless hands, twisted into a mangled mess.

Agony surged over him like a tide. He writhed in pain on the ground, banging his head against the hard wall, rattling his chains.

He wanted to die, but didn't even have the strength to end his own life.

In his endless suffering, his consciousness began to blur, and hallucinations appeared before him.

He seemed to see Hua Zhiruo.

She was still as radiant as ever, dressed in gorgeous court robes, standing in a pool of blood, smiling at him.

But that smile was soaked in a deep, bottomless hatred.

"Lord Zhao," her voice was empty and venomous, each word pounding on his fraying nerves, "Now, you can feel the despair I felt before I died, can't you?"

"No... no..." Zhao Qian reached out, trying to grasp something, but caught only emptiness.

He let out a final, miserable wail. His body arched, then slammed back onto the straw.

His limbs twitched a few times, then went still.

...

The "blood test" scheme had failed.

When the news reached Jiang Yaozhen, she was painting a landscape by the window. The tip of her brush paused slightly, and a drop of thick ink marred the painting.

She gazed at the ink blot in silence, like a black flower blooming with ill omen.

After a moment, she set down the brush, her face unreadable, but in the depths of her eyes, hatred boiled like a hidden current.

On the west outskirts of the capital, in a nondescript restaurant, in a woodshed out back.

"The Chief Grand Secretary has been thrown into the imperial prison by Xiao Lingchuan," Jiang Yaozhen said flatly to Han Ying, who was wiping his sword.

Han Ying's grip on the sword hilt tightened instantly, murderous intent blazing in his eyes. "The Grand Secretary is in danger! I'll take men to storm the prison right now! Dead or alive, the Night Shadow Pavilion will have his back!"

Without a moment's hesitation, he turned and gave orders.

A sharp whistle split the air, and shadows emerged from every corner of the restaurant, converging like phantoms, then receding like a tide, vanishing without a trace in an instant.

The noisy backyard fell into dead silence, leaving only Jiang Yaozhen and a middle-aged woman seated quietly nearby—Third Madam Jiang.

Third Madam Jiang looked at Jiang Yaozhen, her expression unreadable. "Our plan failed. With Xiao Lingchuan's vengeful nature, he'll definitely track you down. Aren't you running?"

A sweet, innocent smile spread across her face.

"Of course I'll run," she said, stepping closer to Third Madam Jiang and linking her arm with hers. "I came to leave with you, Third Aunt. Haven't you been talking about going to Beiling to see Third Brother? Perfect—I'll go with you!"

Third Madam Jiang stiffened and gently pulled her arm away.

She shook her head, her eyes distant. "Sorry, Tianze probably wouldn't want to see you."

"Second Miss, don't forget how you plotted against the eldest Miss. Tianze still resents you. If I take you to Beiling, he won't go easy on you."

The air grew still.

The smile on Jiang Yaozhen's face slowly faded, replaced by an unnerving calm.

"Is that so?" she said in a ghostly whisper. "In that case, I'll have to send Third Madam... on her final journey alone."

She spoke the last three words extremely slowly, each one like an icicle laced with deadly poison.

Third Madam Jiang's internal alarm bells clanged; a chill shot from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head!

She was about to reach for something from her sleeve, but it was all too late.

Two black shadows pounced in from the window without warning, as fast as lightning!

A flash of icy sword light streaked past!

"Ah—!"

A piercing, blood-curdling scream tore through the silence of the woodshed.

Both arms were severed cleanly in one stroke, and warm blood gushed out like a fountain, instantly dyeing the ground red.

Third Madam Jiang crashed heavily to the ground, her two severed arms a bloody mess. She writhed in agony, screaming in a way that was almost inhuman.

Jiang Yaozhen stood before a pool of blood, not a speck of it on the hem of her skirt.

She looked at Third Madam Jiang, who was convulsing in pain on the ground, and actually smiled at the two black-clad guards beside her, her tone tinged with pride.

"See? I told you, as long as we chop off her arms, she can't use those poisons anymore."

Third Madam Jiang was in so much pain she nearly passed out. She barely managed to catch her breath, and with all her remaining strength, she raised her head. Her eyes, bulging from agony, were filled with disbelief: "You... why..."

"Why am I doing this to you, right?"

Jiang Yaozhen lifted her foot and stomped hard on the still-gushing wound!

Third Madam Jiang screamed again, her body convulsing violently.

Jiang Yaozhen's expression turned terrifyingly sinister, the hatred in her eyes almost tangible, as if it could devour a person.

"That day, in the Chancellor's residence, I saw my mother." Her voice was soft, yet every word seemed to weep blood. "She wasn't killed by Xiao Lingchuan's men! She... was controlled by you and your son with gu worms, and she was devoured alive bit by bit until only bones remained, until she finally breathed her last!"

"I wanted to kill you back then! But your poison arts were still useful. So I endured. Now, you're useless."

She stood up, and without any expression, drew a longsword from the waist of one of the dark guards.

"So die!"

Before the words had even faded, she gripped the sword with both hands and, with all her strength, plunged it into Third Madam Jiang's chest!

With a sickening thud, the blade pierced through flesh.

Third Madam Jiang's eyes widened. All the pain, terror, and resentment froze in that final moment, and then she breathed her last.

Jiang Yaozhen pulled out the longsword, and disgustedly wiped the blood on Third Madam Jiang's clothes.

She tossed the sword back to the dark guard, her voice cold as ice.

"Peel the skin off her face carefully! Don't damage it at all! I'm going to have someone make a human skin mask identical to her face!"

The two dark guards bowed in acknowledgment: "Yes, Lady Wei!"

Jiang Yaozhen lifted her head, gazing toward Beiling, and a sinister, bone-chilling smile curled at the corners of her lips.

Jiang Tianze, your mother is dead.

Next, it's your turn to die!