Chapter 357

The Emperor firmly pressed her hand: "Going now won't help. The Miao Borderlands woman married Pei Sinian. If Jiang Yulin was poisoned by a Gu, this must be their doing. There are people from their side outside the Jiang Household. Before you even enter, they would have already gotten wind of it. Wouldn't that be tipping our hand?"

Her worry in her eyes made the Xuanwu Emperor's heart ache. With a hand on her shoulder, he pulled her closer to his chest: "Don't be afraid. Leave it to me. I'll handle it properly."

The Miao Borderlands woman was Consort Zhang's sister. And Consort Zhang had once placed a Gu on him, nearly taking his life.

This woman was sinister and couldn't be left alive.

"Crack—crack, crack, crack—"

In the pitch-black room, the dim candlelight cast eerie shadows on the bed curtains. A shadowy figure seemed to be lurking behind the curtains.

Her body twisted unnaturally, her hips thrusting upwards. Her large, lifeless eyes, void of emotion, stared blankly as she suddenly leapt up from the bed.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz…"

Her eyes trembled incessantly, crawling with tiny, red spiders. If one didn't look closely, they might only notice the long antennae, barely seeing the spiders' bodies. Even in broad daylight, few would notice.

Not just her eyes—from her ears flew winged insects, resembling mosquitoes but not quite.

These tiny, invasive creatures emerged from her body, carrying fragments of flesh and blood. The pungent stench spread, making the scene nauseating.

As the Gu insects left her body, Jiang Yulin's skin began to decay. A chunk of her face fell to the ground, and her body's skin cracked and bled inch by inch.

Once all the Gu insects had flown out, Jiang Yulin's body collapsed like a pile of rotten mud, falling out of her clothes and onto the floor.

The winter night was especially long. Under the biting cold wind, the courtyard was deserted. The mournful wind howled, rustling the leaves, creating an eerie atmosphere.

It felt as though a ghost might leap out from the darkness at any moment.

Miao Linlin's dark eyes opened. Wrapped in a thick fox fur coat, she touched the small human-skin drum at her waist.

The drum, which never broke no matter how hard it was hit, contained her Gu King.

As long as the Gu King remained alive, she could control the thousands of Gu insects within Jiang Yulin's body.

Wasn't it said that the Jiang family had produced a Noble Consort?

Yesterday, the palace held a New Year's banquet. She wanted to enter the palace to see it for herself. She had never seen the Emperor before!

But her father-in-law refused to let her go, saying that entering the palace required a body search. With all her bottles and jars filled with poisonous insects and powders, she wouldn't pass the search.

If she couldn't enter the palace, she would go to the Jiang Household. The Emperor was accompanying Noble Consort Jiang on a visit to her family home.

Perhaps she could even control the Noble Consort…

The Emperor was off-limits. If caught, it would mean certain death. Besides, even if she controlled the Emperor, he wouldn't handle state affairs. It was better to leave him alone.

By using Jiang Yulin to control the Noble Consort, she could make demands during the Emperor's affections, securing wealth, honor, and status effortlessly.

"Dong… dong, dong… dong, dong, dong…"

The drumbeats continued, and the Gu insects crawled through the cracks, entering the windowsills, then flying or crawling through tiny openings.

The next morning, the Pei family servants stationed outside the Jiang Household were startled. How come the Emperor and Noble Consort Jiang, who were supposed to have returned to the palace, were stretching and walking out of the main gate?

Yesterday…

Yesterday, they had clearly seen them leave!

Jiang Yankun respectfully saw the Emperor and Jiang Xinyue off to their carriage, sweating profusely.

How had Yulin… how had she been placed under a Gu?

Lady Zhou's two daughters had been spoiled by her. Back then, Jiang Yutong, though fair and graceful, paled in comparison to Jiang Xinyue.

So, he had originally intended to send Jiang Xinyue to the palace to secure the family's honor.

Jiang Yutong, being the eldest, had already been chosen by Jiang Yankun to marry Xie Chenghui, the son of the Grand Scholar Xie.

The ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‍Grand Scholar had admired his talent and was willing to form a marital alliance.

But Jiang Yutong, jealous of Jiang Xinyue's beauty, insisted on entering the palace when she heard Jiang Xinyue was to become a consort. She even threatened to hang herself if Jiang Xinyue went.

He had to deceive Lady Zhou and Jiang Yutong, saying that while Jiang Xinyue was beautiful, she was ultimately a concubine's daughter. The palace was full of beautiful women, and Jiang Xinyue wouldn't pose a threat to Jiang Yutong but could help her secure the Emperor's favor.

Only then did Jiang Yutong agree to enter the palace with Jiang Xinyue.

The night before they entered the palace, he had a heartfelt talk with Jiang Yutong, urging her not to compete with Jiang Xinyue and to work together to secure the Emperor's favor.

But Jiang Yutong, rebellious by nature, agreed verbally but began targeting Jiang Xinyue as soon as they entered the palace, even conspiring with outsiders to frame her.

No wonder Jiang Xinyue later hardened her heart and stopped helping Jiang Yutong vie for favor.

In the end, Jiang Yutong was indeed strangled and hanged.

As for Jiang Yulin, she was even worse. From a young age, she was mischievous and disliked by everyone, even kicking dogs that hadn't wronged her.

Jiang Yankun had once thought her mischievousness was cute and full of vitality.

But as she grew older, he realized she wasn't just mischievous—she was inherently evil.

She bullied all her siblings, mocking the concubine-born as "lowborn" and "slaves," not content with just words but resorting to violence.

Lady Zhou always protected her, making her feel invincible.

So when Jiang Xinyue said Jiang Yulin wouldn't commit to a butcher, Jiang Yankun immediately understood the strange feeling he'd had.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Only Miao Linlin, who lacked understanding of the social hierarchy and bore a grudge, could be responsible.

It seemed she had discovered the trap he set for her, leading her to marry the wrong man.

She had used her daughter as a vessel for the Gu insects, unforgivable.

Her daughter was no longer her daughter—she was a Gu-infested being.

If not for the Emperor's distraction last night, leading Jiang Xinyue in through the back door and having Qing Yu carry away the drugged Jiang Yulin, today would have been the Jiang family's downfall.

But now, someone else was paying the price.

"Ahhhhhhh…"

Panicked screams echoed through the air.

"Ghost! Ghost!!"

"What the hell is that?!"

"Help! Help!"

"Ugh… ugh… It stinks… ugh…"