Under Nan Chaoyin's desperate and unwilling gaze, Nan Shiying raised the torture instrument.
As she listened to the wails emanating from his mouth, Nan Shiying's eyes were stained with a layer of blood, and she excitedly wanted to dance.
The severed limbs were fed to the dogs. Nan Shiying packed Nan Chaoyin into a jar and transported him outside the city, delivering him to the foot of Granny's grave. Granny, look, another life's blood added to the path of reincarnation that was built for you.
The Nan mansion was raided. The males were sentenced to death, and the female relatives were exiled.
Nan Yuan'er froze in place upon hearing the fate of the Nan mansion.
It wasn't that she hadn't considered the Nan mansion becoming collateral damage in the power struggle between His Majesty and the Prince, but she hadn't expected this day to arrive so soon.
'You should thank me. Preventing disaster ahead of time.'
'Thank you? Do you know how terrified and scared I was that day when I suddenly found myself in the Imperial Palace?'
'Didn't it all pass? If it weren't for me, you would have been exiled and branded.'
'But without the Nan mansion as our support, how can we survive in the harem?'
Nan Yuan'er stood stunned for a long time, then suddenly raised her finger and pointed to her head.
Someone was conversing in her mind.
'Of course, by using your brain.'
"His Majesty arrives!"
Just then, a eunuch's announcement came from outside. Ji Hong had actually arrived.
This was the first time she had seen the Emperor since entering the palace.
"Your subject, Nan Yuan'er, pays her respects to His Majesty!"
"Rise, you are excused!"
Ji Hong stepped forward and helped Nan Yuan'er up, signaling her not to be so formal. He looked at her with warmth and gentleness. When he smiled, it was like a spring breeze caressing the face. He asked Nan Yuan'er, "Would you like to accompany me to the Imperial Study and the Ziyun Palace to see the Empress's sleeping quarters?"
Hearing his words, which were full of hidden meaning, Nan Yuan'er was overjoyed and quickly agreed.
The people in the palace saw His Majesty holding Nan Yuan'er's hand as they walked towards the Ziyun Palace. Nan Yuan'er, who was initially thought to be implicated in the Nan mansion's misfortune, seemed to have suffered no repercussions. The palace maids who had been giving Nan Yuan'er the cold shoulder in recent days suddenly panicked.
If Nan Yuan'er were to ascend to the position of Empress, wouldn't they all be doomed?
For a moment, they felt a sense of dread and unease.
Ji Hong led Nan Yuan'er into the Ziyun Palace and dismissed all the attendants. The entire sleeping chamber was now left with only Ji Hong and Nan Yuan'er.
"Your Majesty!"
Nan Yuan'er's complexion was rosy, her face like a peach blossom, and her eyes seemed capable of drawing people in.
She looked at Ji Hong, at this handsome and extraordinary man. As long as she could ascend to the position of Empress through him, she would no longer have to bow to Nan Shiying, nor would she have to cater to her whims. Thinking of this, another voice appeared in her mind.
'Is that all you aspire to? You should be thinking about how to interfere in court affairs with the position of Empress, how to usurp Ji Hong's power, and how to ascend to that supreme throne after Ji Hong's demise!'
Hearing this crazy and audacious thought in her mind, Nan Yuan'er was startled, then felt a wave of exhilaration. She looked at Ji Hong, as if seeing a smooth path ahead.
A muffled laugh broke through Nan Yuan'er's reverie in the silent chamber. She looked towards the source of the laughter and saw Nan Shiying emerging from the corner. Her expression changed, and she then looked at Ji Hong, only to find him with a calm expression, devoid of any emotion. Her heart sank, and she wanted to cry out, but her mouth was suddenly covered.
"Shh, don't cry~"
Nan Shiying placed a finger on her lips and grinned at Nan Yuan'er.
Her appearance was both perverse and horrifying, making Ji Hong feel somewhat unwell, with a chill rising from his stomach.
Hiss~
Scary!
"Ah, no, I was wrong, I was really wrong, please spare me, spare me..."
"Nan Shiying, do you still remember Granny Wang? If you let me go, I'll tell you where she is!"
"Don't you care about her life or death anymore?"
"Let me go, please let me go!"
Nan Yuan'er's pleas echoed in her ears, but Nan Shiying, like an unfeeling machine, remained unmoved, striking her again and again. Not only did she not mention Granny Wang, but the mention of her made Nan Shiying's hand even heavier.
After cutting Nan Yuan'er one hundred times, Nan Shiying switched to a blunt knife nearly a meter long and began to sever her arms.
"Ah—"
Heart-wrenching screams pierced the sky. Nan Shiying, while using medicine to keep Nan Yuan'er alive, tormented her with various tortures, eventually turning her into a human pig.
A family of three, all in one place.
...
"Hey, have you heard? The Regent is missing?"
"Missing? How can a living person just disappear?"
"I heard, just heard, that the Princess Consort's marriage to the Prince wasn't out of love, but a transaction with the Prince. I don't know the specifics, but it seems to be related to the Nan mansion. Now that the Nan mansion is either dead or exiled, the Princess Consort's wish has been fulfilled, and she has left the Prince to live a carefree life. But the Prince genuinely fell for the Princess Consort, and now that his wife is gone, he must have gone to chase after her."
"What are you talking about? The Prince would give up the throne he could easily have to chase after the Princess Consort? Can you come up with a more believable story!"
"Why is it impossible? What's so great about the throne?"
"Hiss, say that again."
"No, no, I wouldn't dare. But the Prince's disappearance is a fact, isn't it?"
"That's true. How come I heard the Prince didn't disappear, but died? Do you remember that rumor back then, that the Prince was poisoned?"
"Tsk, if that's the case, then what was the Prince fighting so hard with His Majesty for all these years?"
"You could say that. What's the point of fighting when you're dead!"
"I remember there was a major incident in the palace that day, and then the Prince and the Consort disappeared?"
"You mean the day Nan Yuan'er died?"
Nan Yuan'er was accused of plotting to harm the imperial heir and was ordered to be executed by His Majesty. That day, the troop movements in the capital seemed somewhat unusual.
"Hmph, what's the point of us guessing here? Anyway, His Majesty has temporarily secured the throne!"
"Yes, he has finally secured it. We can finally live in peace."
The common people were filled with emotion.
Several hundred miles away from the capital, in Chongming Town, a couple of astonishing beauty suddenly arrived. The couple bought a mountain villa on the mountain and rarely came down, instead having a vegetable vendor deliver vegetables every half a month. The couple did not work, yet they had inexhaustible wealth. No one knew where they came from or how long they would stay.
...
On the day Nan Yuan'er died, Ji Hong and Ji Jinmo had a conflict.
"Imperial Uncle, she cannot be kept!"
A hundred Xiliang and Miaojiang were not as threatening as she was alone. Whether it was Medicine King Valley, the Lin family, or the countless networks surrounding Linyuan, they all spoke of her danger.
From beginning to end, whether it was Nan Chaoyin or Yin Sila, the person controlling everything behind them was solely paving the way for Nan Shiying.
Paving a smooth path for her to the throne.
"Ji Hong, let us leave, or let Linyuan disintegrate. You choose!"
Ji Jinmo tightly held Nan Shiying's hand, unwilling to let go. He might have had doubts and worries, but he would always believe her, believe every word she said. She disdained the paths paved by others, and even more so the throne. She was not a threat, nor was she someone he needed to eliminate.
"Imperial Uncle..."
Ji Hong finally compromised and retreated. Ji Jinmo left the Demon Hunter Army to Ji Hong.
"Guard the country well, do not worry about me!"
Ji Jinmo left Ji Hong with only these words.
...
The following year, early in the year.
Emperor Yuwen Yi of Dali passed away. The eighteenth prince, Yu Chengyi, ascended the throne with the support of the seventh prince, Yu Chengxuan.
After Yu Chengyi secured the throne, Yu Chengxuan disappeared.
In the same year, Chongming Town welcomed another exceptionally handsome young master.