Emperor Jingming’s gaze towards Jiang Si could only be described as shocked.

Had his daughter-in-law secretly learned from the Wu Miao people in her previous life?

Emperor Jingming had once sent the Brocade Scale Guard to investigate Jiang Si, but no matter how they searched, she appeared to be just an ordinary noblelady, with no possibility of contact with the Wu Miao people.

The only thing that angered Emperor Jingming was one point: that rascal, his seventh son, had known Jiang Si for so long! No wonder he gave all the green plums to Jiang Si at the plum-viewing banquet. He had already set his sights on her and even deceived him.

After his anger subsided, he let it go.

As someone who had been through it, Emperor Jingming could understand the feeling of youthful love.

“Seventh son’s wife, how will you try?” he asked.

Jiang Si calmly replied, “Your daughter-in-law can try to suppress the poison worms in Nursemaid Duo’s body.”

“You can even suppress poison worms in someone else’s body?” Emperor Jingming asked in surprise.

Jiang Si nodded and explained, “Since your daughter-in-law can suppress the larva of the Mother-Child Heart Worm in my own body, I can try to suppress the poison worms in Nursemaid Duo’s body. The principle is the same.”

To become the Holy Maiden of Wu Miao, talent could be said to be the overriding prerequisite. Without talent, no matter how diligent one is, it would be difficult to progress further, and one would merely become a mediocre person who raised and used poison worms.

The Wu Miao tribe’s unique art of controlling poison worms could only be mastered by the Holy Maiden. This seemed to be an innate talent of each generation’s Holy Maiden, with mysteries that couldn’t be put into words.

It was said that the reason for the vacancy of the previous Wu Miao Holy Maiden was that none of the candidate Holy Maidens had shown the ability to master the art of controlling poison worms.

Jiang Si still remembered the shocked expression of the Grand Elder when she learned to control poisonous worms.

At that moment, the Grand Elder looked at her with an extremely strange gaze and even blurted out three words: “No wonder…”

What was no wonder, the Grand Elder didn’t continue, and she, having already experienced much, wisely didn’t ask further.

From that time on, the Grand Elder’s attitude towards her was noticeably different, and he became increasingly patient in teaching her the unique arts.

For Jiang Si, as long as it wasn’t the Wu Miao Grand Elder personally present, facing a first-generation elder like Elder Hua might require some effort, but facing a second-generation elder like Nursemaid Duo, using the art of controlling poison worms to suppress the worms in her body shouldn’t be a problem.

“The principle is the same, ah—” Emperor Jingming stroked his beard, very much wanting to ask what exactly this principle was, but feeling it might seem too ignorant, he had to forcibly hold back and gave a look to the Empress.

The Empress, understanding the situation, asked, “The Prince Yan’s wife’s words are too profound for me to understand. May I ask what principle allows you to suppress the poison worms in another’s body?”

Emperor Jingming nodded inwardly.

The Empress was indeed much better than the other consorts.

Jiang Si smiled, “As Mother Empress said, this matter is too profound. It’s difficult for your daughter-in-law to explain the principle, it’s almost like an instinct…”

The Empress tugged at her handkerchief.

If it was innate, there was no way to question further.

She couldn’t help but look towards Emperor Jingming.

Emperor Jingming naturally couldn’t pursue the question further, and only confirmed once more, “Can you suppress the poison worms in Nursemaid Duo’s body, preventing her from escaping questioning through death?”

Jiang Si didn’t immediately answer Emperor Jingming’s question.

Emperor Jingming seemed to have infinite patience for Jiang Si, silently waiting for her answer.

After a moment, Jiang Si smiled and said, “Father Emperor, is there anything absolute in this world? Your daughter-in-law will try her best. If I can suppress the poison worms in Nursemaid Duo’s body, that would be ideal. If not, at worst, we’re back where we started. Don’t you agree?”

She didn’t want to leave Emperor Jingming with the impression that she was at his beck and call.

People can all be spoiled, and emperors are no exception.

Once you let someone think you can fulfill their requests without limit, they might be grateful once or twice, but after many times, they’ll take it for granted. They might even blame you if you can’t fulfill their request one time.

This wasn’t a problem with any particular person; it was simply human nature.

Emperor Jingming felt somewhat embarrassed by Jiang Si’s question and laughed awkwardly, “Seventh son’s wife, you’re right. It was I who was confused.”

The Empress was secretly shocked.

The Prince Yan’s wife was indeed bold, daring to turn the tables on the Emperor.

Jiang Si merely pursed her lips slightly at the different reactions of the Emperor and Empress.

Just as she had previously despised Princess Rongyang, only incompetent people were preoccupied with pleasing those in power, letting their emotions be controlled by the whims of their superiors.

Rather than be such a person, she would prefer to earn respect on her own merits.

Faced with Emperor Jingming’s concession, Jiang Si suddenly felt that her decision to stop hiding her abilities the moment she married into the royal family was the right choice.

Even if the outcome was the same, she had gained something – at least she had lived freely enough.

If she wasn’t pregnant and there was wine available, with the person she loved right in front of her, she would have raised a toast to him.

“If that’s the case, then let’s go question Nursemaid Duo!” Emperor Jingming made a decisive decision.

Seeing how smoothly his seventh son’s wife had saved the Empress Dowager, he had become a bit overconfident for a moment, but fortunately, his seventh son’s wife had promptly reminded him.

In the heavily guarded room, Nursemaid Duo was not asleep.

With several people watching her vigilantly, as if she might turn into a mosquito and fly away if they blinked, she naturally couldn’t sleep.

The door opened, and Pan Hai entered first.

Nursemaid Duo lazily glanced over, unmoved.

Pan Hai stepped aside, inviting the Emperor and Empress in.

Nursemaid Duo finally lifted her eyelids and asked, “It’s not yet dawn. Has Your Majesty changed his mind and decided to release me from the palace early?”

Emperor Jingming sneered, “Changed my mind is true, but releasing you from the palace is out of the question!”

This feeling of not being manipulated felt too good.

He couldn’t help but glance to the side and back.

Jiang Si was just outside the door, not having entered.

Emperor Jingming still felt somewhat uneasy, after all, he hadn’t personally witnessed Jiang Si removing the larva from the Empress Dowager’s body. But reason told him that his seventh son’s wife wouldn’t joke about such a matter.

Regardless, he now had only one path to choose: to believe.

Nursemaid Duo, unaware of where Emperor Jingming’s confidence came from, scoffed, “Could it be that Your Majesty no longer cares about the Empress Dowager’s safety? It seems Your Majesty’s filial piety towards the Empress Dowager was all false!”

“Silence! It’s not for you to judge how I treat the Empress Dowager!” Emperor Jingming coldly shouted, then said to Pan Hai, “I’ll watch right here. Make her talk, let’s see what her purpose was in stirring up trouble in the palace!”

Pan Hai responded and immediately signaled to two eunuchs.

The two eunuchs came forward and held Nursemaid Duo down on both sides, fixing her hands, and took out pre-prepared iron needles, slowly piercing them into her fingernails.

Nursemaid Duo screamed in agony. After the excruciating pain, her distorted face was filled with shock: “How is there no reaction? Impossible, impossible!”

Hearing this, Emperor Jingming couldn’t help but sigh in relief, exchanging a glance with the Empress.

They both saw a smile in each other’s eyes.

The Prince Yan’s wife had suppressed the larva of the Mother-Child Heart Worm!

After the initial shock, Nursemaid Duo suddenly thought of something and immediately activated the Heart-Devouring Worm in her body.

The Heart-Devouring Worm would instantly bite through the heart’s blood vessels, a quick and convenient choice for suicide.

As she activated it, the Heart-Devouring Worm lying dormant near her heart awoke, but Nursemaid Duo’s face suddenly changed dramatically.