lcionline Chapter 201 Threat
Chapter 201 Threat
The carriage moved slowly. Duan Mingzhu opened the window and looked outside, her hand touching her belly, her expression indifferent. Before, just thinking of Xue Yunting made her feel at ease. Now, however, she felt a vague unease.
Duan Mingzhu had followed Xue Yunting ever since she left Kunzhou. In her heart, Xue Yunting was righteous, loyal, considerate, and meticulous… almost like a god. She never considered what would happen if something happened to Xue Yunting…
Or worse, what if Xue Yunting were gone? She would truly have nothing left. What would she do then? What would happen to her child? No, she was born weak; a short lifespan was to be expected. Xue Yunting was so powerful; how could he die before her?
Duan Mingzhu looked at the swaying spring flowers by the roadside and suddenly opened the car door: "Second Young Master, does your stomach hurt?"
Upon hearing this, Jingfu turned around: "Stomach? No..."
Jingfu was about to say that it didn't hurt when he felt a slight pain in his stomach. He pressed on his stomach, and the pain became more and more obvious.
Duan Mingzhu asked gently, "Second Young Master, have we taken the wrong path?"
Jingfu frowned slightly: "Jingzhao Manor is well-connected, with roads leading in all directions. This road is quite beautiful... Oh dear..."
Jingfu felt his stomach hurting more and more, as if insects were gnawing at his internal organs. Large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, and his teeth chattered.
Duan Mingzhu said slowly, "Second Young Master, you have been poisoned by Gu."
Jingfu suddenly looked up, his face contorting into a ferocious expression: "You witch!"
Duan Mingzhu didn't mind at all, leaning against the car door: "Not only you are poisoned by Gu, but everyone who had lunch with us at noon is also poisoned. If anything happens to us, you will all be buried with us."
Jingfu was skeptical: "How did you poison it?"
With so many people watching them, where would they find an opportunity?
Duan Mingzhu casually tossed her hand into the air: "That's it."
The servants following the carriage instinctively stepped back. Jingfu was about to make a few sarcastic remarks when he suddenly tumbled off the carriage, rolling on the ground and cursing, "Witch...witch..."
Duan Mingzhu winked at Liang Qingcheng, who suddenly realized what was happening, sat on the carriage shaft, and drove the carriage forward.
Jingfu struggled to his feet, only to fall back down. He yelled at the people around him, "What are you standing there for? Kill them and find the antidote!"
As expected, Jingzhao Manor was a maze of interconnected paths. Duan Mingzhu, relying on her intuition, guided Liang Qingcheng to choose the right route, and they actually found Xuanyuan Palace.
Liang Qingcheng looked at the crowd of onlookers ahead: "How did you know the way?"
Duan Mingzhu calmly got out of the car: "Smell of smoke."
Jing Rong, carrying a wooden bucket, immediately led his men over when he saw Duan Mingzhu: "We've disturbed you two ladies."
Duan Mingzhu said, "Didn't the kitchen catch fire?"
Jing Rong tossed the bucket to a servant: "The kitchen caught fire, but it was put out quickly. The young general and Chief Xue went to Xuanyuan Palace to look for the late emperor's relics, and somehow they set Xuanyuan Palace on fire."
The gates of Xuanyuan Palace had been smashed, and thick layers of ash were visible everywhere, indicating that the palace had been completely burned.
Jing Rong said, "Xuanyuan Palace has been in disrepair for many years, and the plants inside are all withered and will catch fire easily. You split up and search, you must find them alive or dead."
The servants obeyed and scattered to search. Duan Mingzhu slowly stepped inside, each step leaving a trace of gray, her white shoes quickly turning black.
The servants who had followed the carriage all the way didn't dare to actually lay a hand on them, so they could only quietly tell Jingrong.
Jing Rong's expression changed slightly. He walked to Duan Mingzhu's side and asked, "Young Madam, I heard that my younger brother has been poisoned by a Gu poison. Is that true?"
Duan Mingzhu nodded and slowly uttered a single word: "True."
Jing Rong was quite taken aback by Duan Mingzhu's candor: "Please, young mistress, bestow the medicine."
Duan Mingzhu smiled and said, "Where's Qin Jiu? If Xue Yunting and my sister burned to death, Qin Jiu wouldn't have burned to death too, would he? Where are your parents?"
Jing Rong said, "The servants said that Qin Jiu went to pay respects to Aunt Qin. My father is not well and is recuperating in the West Building. My mother went to the Zijin Temple to pray for him."
Duan Mingzhu glanced at Liang Qingcheng: "Qin Jiu went to pay respects to his mother without his wife and children?"
Duan Mingzhu looks delicate, but she's even more sharp than Liang Qingcheng. You really can't judge a book by its cover.
Jingzhao looked at him with new eyes and said seriously, "Jingrong did not lie. If you do not believe me, you can go to Dongshan Island to find out."
It would take a long time to get to Dongshan Island from here. Just then, servants carried Jingfu over. Jingfu's eyes were white, and he couldn't say a word. He was on the verge of death.
Duan Mingzhu said, "Young Master, let's not beat around the bush. Hand over Xue Yunting and the others, and I will save your brother. Yunting and your sister are extremely important. Qin Jiu has just been enfeoffed as a Marquis. If anything happens to him at Jingzhao Manor, it would be a crime that would destroy the entire manor, and even the extermination of nine generations of his family would not be excessive. When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out. Young Master, you should think this through carefully."
Jing Rong looked very wronged: "The servants said that Yun Ting and Chief Xue did come here to look for the late emperor's relics, and then the Xuanyuan Palace caught fire, and they really didn't come out."
The servants who had been searching around slowly returned: "Reporting to the young master, no one has been found."
Duan Mingzhu asked, "Are there neither living nor dead ones?"
The servants shook their heads and said in unison, "No."
Liang Qingcheng also became nervous: "Mingzhu, should I go to Dongshan Island to find Qin Jiu?"
Duan Mingzhu said, "There's no need to look anymore. If Xue Yunting and my sister could disappear at Jingzhao Manor, do you think Qin Jiu can't?"
Jing Rong said, "Young Madam, don't make baseless accusations. The Jing family is on good terms with the royal family and would never do anything to harm an official of the court. You can ask them if you don't believe me."
Duan Mingzhu looked arrogant, not turning her head, her back to the door: "Them? They're all from the Jing family!"
Gyeongbok was barely breathing, his eyes filled with despair and pleading, as if saying, "Save me, save me..."
Jing Rong turned to look at Duan Mingzhu, then suddenly drew his sword and stabbed at her. It was as if Duan Mingzhu had eyes in the back of her head; as soon as she loosened her grip, something golden rushed towards Jing Rong's eyes.
Jing Rong couldn't grab it or shake it off, and covered her eyes, crying out, "My eyes..."
All the onlookers saw was a large, golden silkworm biting at Jing Rong's face. As soon as Jing Rong opened his mouth, the silkworm slipped inside and disappeared.
Jing Rong lay on the ground screaming and rolling around, with worms crawling in and out of her head and body, her skin being eaten away little by little without drawing blood.
The servants had never seen such a horrifying scene before, and they screamed and retreated. Liang Qingcheng quickly covered her eyes and backed up next to Duan Mingzhu.
Duan Mingzhu reassured Liang Qingcheng as if nothing had happened: "Ninth Sister-in-law, I scared you."
Duan Mingzhu's voice was clearly gentle, yet Liang Qingcheng felt a chill run down her spine. She shook her head, her lips trembling, "No, no, nothing..."
Once Jingfu and Jingrong had fallen silent, Duan Mingzhu dusted herself off, calmly turned to face the crowd, and with a wave of her hand, a golden silkworm emerged from Jingrong's body and flew into the egg box.
Duan Mingzhu held an egg carton in one hand and a handful of gold leaves in the other: "Look carefully, everyone. Whoever tells me Xue Yunting's whereabouts, I will not only guarantee your lives but also your wealth. Otherwise... the golden silkworm or the gold leaves, you'd better think carefully before you choose."