CHAPTER 55: CHAPTER 54: MOTHER AND CHILD GU REUNITED!

After three rounds of drinks, night had fallen.

Mu Hongxuan approached anxiously and whispered, "Princess, the banquet is about to end, hasn’t that person arrived yet?"

Yu Nianzhao took a few sips of grape wine, her cheeks flushed. She squinted her eyes, glanced around, and shook her head, "I haven’t sensed any movement from the Mother Gu yet."

Mu Hongxuan retreated two steps, somewhat disappointed.

Suddenly, Xie Jiuxiao’s wine cup fell from his hand. He furrowed his brow tightly, clutching his chest, the veins bulging on his forehead as if he was enduring immense pain.

Yu Nianzhao’s eyes lit up. She grabbed Xie Jiuxiao’s hand and swiftly pulled up his sleeve.

The bold gesture nearly caused Emperor Anqing to drop his wine cup as well in surprise.

So Ziyin’s type was this kind of bold girl? Truly, appearances can be deceiving!

Yu Nianzhao saw that the Child Gu worms on Xie Jiuxiao’s arm began to stir uneasily, all rushing toward his chest. She exclaimed with delight, "It’s here, it’s here, the Mother Gu is here."

If it weren’t for the Child Gu gnawing at him, causing unbearable pain, Xie Jiuxiao truly wanted to ask her, why was she so excited?

Mu Hongxuan vigilantly scanned the crowd, urgently asking, "Princess, where is that person? I’ll go apprehend them; we can’t let them succeed. If the Mother Gu dies, then the Prince’s life is in jeopardy."

Without a word, Yu Nianzhao pulled a hairpin from her hair, pricked Xie Jiuxiao’s fingertip, and smeared a drop of blood on her forehead.

Her forehead grew hot, the bloodstains seeped in, and Jiu Ying’s soul form appeared faintly behind her.

A shadow with a snake’s head surfaced behind her, its blood-red eyes squinting, observing the surroundings.

[Master, that person is right...]

Sharing the mind with Jiu Ying, a flash of red light crossed her eyes. Following Jiu Ying’s awareness, she looked toward the crowd and soon spotted a suspicious figure.

It was a palace maid carrying tea, her eyes vacant, her hands trembling, moving like a puppet on strings.

Yu Nianzhao pointed at her, "Mu Hongxuan, it’s her. The Mother Gu is on her."

Mu Hongxuan’s expression stiffened, and without thinking, he leaped forward and seized the maid.

Crash!

The tea in the maid’s hands shattered on the ground, and she was effortlessly apprehended by Mu Hongxuan.

This sudden action startled everyone.

Emperor Anqing couldn’t sit still and stood up, asking, "What on earth is happening?"

"Ziyin!"

The Grand Consort exclaimed, seeing Xie Jiuxiao’s face covered with a bluish-black hue, while countless Child Gu worms beneath his skin seemed to want to devour his flesh.

"Princess, what should we do?" Mu Hongxuan dragged the maid over.

But suddenly, the maid started convulsing violently as if having a seizure, rolling her eyes back and spat out mouthfuls of black blood.

Xie Jiuxiao wasn’t faring any better. Led by the Mother Gu, the Child Gu worms caused blood to ooze from the corners of his mouth.

"Ziyin!"

The Grand Consort was terrified and quickly shuffled over.

Mu Hongxuan, tense, called out, "Princess!"

"There’s no time; they came prepared to drag him to death. They fed her lethal poison."

Yu Nianzhao glanced at the maid’s blackened lips and smirked mockingly, "Do they think they can kill Xie Jiuxiao this way? Do they not know how high the heavens are? Who dares to snatch a life from King Yan?"

Mu Hongxuan’s eyes reddened, "Princess, this maid has no breath left."

Emperor Anqing suppressed his anger and asked, "Won’t anyone tell me what’s going on? Has the palace maid died from poisoning? What’s the connection to Ziyin?"

"No time to explain so much to you!"

The surroundings chilled with the gusts of wind, as Yu Nianzhao reached out to Mu Hongxuan, "Dagger."

Mu Hongxuan promptly handed over the dagger, and Yu Nianzhao lifted the maid’s sleeve, sliced her wrist, letting black blood flow out, followed by a small black worm that fell to the ground, which Yu Nianzhao quickly caught with chopsticks before cutting Xie Jiuxiao’s hand.

The Child Gu worms were drawn to the Mother Gu and started emerging from Xie Jiuxiao’s flesh.

The tiny dark worms kept coming, making the Grand Consort gag.

Emperor Anqing’s eyes turned icy as he flung his sleeves, "Today’s New Year’s Eve banquet ends here; all ministers should leave at once."

Although Pei Yuanzheng and others wanted to observe more, they feared Emperor Anqing’s wrath and reluctantly left, looking back three times at each step.

Xie Yunzhe glanced back at the besieged Xie Jiuxiao and the calm, radiant Yu Nianzhao. Dark currents swirled in his eyes. After leaving the palace and watching Xie Jiarou board the carriage, he turned and coolly instructed, "Leng Feng, investigate who Yu Nianzhao really is."

"Yes!"

Everyone else had cleared out, but the Child Gu worms kept emerging.

Mu Hongxuan was heartbroken, "Just how many Child Gu worms are there in the Prince’s body?"

"Quite a few, Mu Hongxuan, prepare a furnace," Yu Nianzhao casually instructed.

"Yes!"

"Mr. Wang, go get ready!"

Without even needing Mu Hongxuan’s prompt, the deeply concerned Emperor Anqing quickly ordered Mr. Wang to fetch a furnace, demanding sternly, "Mu Hongxuan, haven’t you told me what’s going on?"

Mu Hongxuan steeled himself and quickly recounted the sequence of events.

Emperor Anqing felt dizzy, protesting indignantly, "Mother and Child Gu? Always using sinister means against those near me! Absolutely despicable! Why didn’t Ziyin tell me about this? I could have helped him plan!"

Mu Hongxuan bowed, "The Prince didn’t want to worry the Emperor. I have been secretly investigating the Mother Gu; it’s like finding a needle in a haystack. Luckily, the Princess is here, or else we wouldn’t even know about the Child Gu in the Prince’s body. This Gu poison from Miaojiang couldn’t even be detected by Mr. Chen, and we nearly..."

His voice choked up, unable to utter the word ’dead.’

But Emperor Anqing knew the consequences well, and he shot a meaningful look at Yu Nianzhao, "You were right. Princess Consort Su is Ziyin’s lucky star. Regardless of her identity, as long as she keeps Ziyin alive, I will ensure she is protected as long as I live."

It clearly showed how important Xie Jiuxiao was to Emperor Anqing.

The Grand Consort wept uncontrollably, "Ziyin, you can’t leave your mother. Don’t make her bury her child with her gray hair."

"Princess, as long as you save Ziyin, I’ll reward you with anything!"

"Princess, will it hurt Ziyin to cut his wrist like that?"

"Princess, Ziyin’s blood is almost drained..."

The Grand Consort’s incessant chatter almost exhausted Yu Nianzhao’s patience.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Cold winds blew through, and Yu Nianzhao’s ears twitched. She seemed to hear a bell’s sound, her expression darkening, "That bastard dares use the Soul Summoning Bell? Are they trying to repeat their trick to take Xie Jiuxiao’s soul and use it for refining evil spirits?"