Nursemaid Duo staggered to her feet, clutching her chest. She was so shocked that she didn’t even feel the pain.
“Why has the Heart-Devouring Worm lost its control?”
Unwilling to accept this, she tried to activate the Heart-Devouring Worm again. However, her face gradually turned purple-red, and suddenly she spat out something from her mouth.
The object fell to the ground – it was a black insect.
Upon seeing daylight, the black insect struggled for a few moments before becoming motionless, quickly dissolving into a pool of blood.
The Empress turned pale, pressing a handkerchief tightly against her mouth to keep from vomiting.
Emperor Jingming’s scalp tingled as he looked at the pool of blood on the ground. To think such bizarre and disgusting things truly existed in this world!
“Impossible, absolutely impossible…” Nursemaid Duo had become somewhat deranged, struggling to look around. “Could it be that the Grand Elder has arrived?”
Emperor Jingming, now enjoying the upper hand, looked at Nursemaid Duo who had lost all composure: “Nursemaid Duo, you’ve now lost all your leverage. Why not confess everything?”
Nursemaid Duo glanced at Emperor Jingming, then suddenly rushed towards him.
Two nearby eunuchs quickly restrained her.
“Let go of me! I want to see who’s outside!” Nursemaid Duo’s gaze was fixed on the doorway.
Emperor Jingming and the Empress couldn’t help but follow Nursemaid Duo’s line of sight.
Of course, they knew who was outside the door, and because of this, they were particularly shocked.
To think Prince Yan’s wife had such mystical powers…
The Empress thought: Prince Yan’s wife is capable of things beyond ordinary people; we mustn’t offend her in the future.
She suddenly felt that Consort Xian was somewhat foolish.
She wondered if Consort Xian, who always put on airs as a mother-in-law, knew how formidable her daughter-in-law was.
The Empress rarely felt a tinge of sympathy for His Majesty’s concubines.
Emperor Jingming, on the other hand, was thinking: It’s fortunate that Seventh Son’s wife belongs to the royal family. In the future, when confronting the Wumiao, we won’t be at a loss…
These thoughts of the Emperor and Empress were nothing compared to the storm raging in Nursemaid Duo’s heart.
“Who exactly is outside? I don’t believe there’s anyone in this world besides the Grand Elder who can suppress the worm inside me!”
But the Grand Elder couldn’t possibly come to the Great Zhou capital, let alone enter the palace.
Could it be the Holy Maiden?
Nursemaid Duo suddenly thought of this and shouted in the Wumiao language: “Holy Maiden, is it you?”
If she had doubts about Prince Yan’s wife’s identity before, believing that Elder Hua must have been deceived, now she had no choice but to believe.
Apart from the Grand Elder, only the Wumiao Holy Maiden Asang knew how to control insects!
When she left Wumiao, Asang was just a toddler over a year old, not yet on their radar. But in Wumiao tradition, apart from the Grand Elder, only the Holy Maiden could master insect control.
At this moment, the Nursemaid Duo felt somewhat joyful.
She had once been a candidate for Holy Maiden, but no Holy Maiden had appeared in their generation.
This was a disaster for Wumiao and a shame for their generation of Holy Maiden candidates.
Thereafter, she carried out her mission far away in the Great Zhou capital, never having the chance to return to Wumiao, but she knew of her clansmen’s anguish.
The fear and anxiety of her clansmen only subsided when Asang emerged as the Holy Maiden, as did hers.
Now, personally experiencing the Holy Maiden’s abilities, her heart felt more at ease.
“Holy Maiden, why are you helping the Great Zhou Emperor? Don’t you understand the secret mission that concerns our clan’s survival?” Nursemaid Duo shouted quickly in the Wumiao language.
Emperor Jingming and the Empress were completely baffled, but Jiang Si behind the door understood.
Because she understood, she was extremely surprised.
A secret mission concerning the survival of Wumiao?
She wasn’t the real Holy Maiden Asang, so naturally, she didn’t know about it.
Faced with Nursemaid Duo’s questioning, Jiang Si could only remain silent.
Emotionally speaking, Wumiao had been kind to her. If it weren’t for the Heart-Imprinting Worm that Nursemaid Duo had given to Princess Rongyang harming her mother, she wouldn’t have planned to get involved in these matters at all.
Of course, if Wumiao were to endanger the Great Zhou’s state and society, she wouldn’t stand idly by either. She was inherently a Great Zhou person, and even as a woman, she understood the principle that when the country falls, families are ruined.
Nursemaid Duo, emotionally agitated, repeatedly questioned in the Wumiao language, but was met with only silence.
Jiang Si had made up her mind not to show herself.
Nursemaid Duo gradually accepted her fate and quieted down.
“What did you just say?” Emperor Jingming asked.
Nursemaid Duo gave a cold laugh and remained silent.
“Continue!” Emperor Jingming angrily ordered Pan Hai.
Nursemaid Duo’s screams of agony continued until dawn was about to break.
The Empress, with a pale face, advised Emperor Jingming: “Your Majesty, you should rest for a while. It won’t be long before you need to attend court. You won’t be able to endure otherwise.”
Emperor Jingming nodded to Pan Hai and left the room accompanied by the Empress.
Outside the door, Jiang Si was resting with her eyes closed on a hastily brought low couch. Hearing the movement, she opened her eyes.
“Seventh Son’s wife, come with me,” Emperor Jingming said in a low voice.
Jiang Si followed the Emperor and Empress into the adjacent room.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Daughter-in-law is fine for now, but I wonder if there has been any progress?”
Emperor Jingming sighed: “Nursemaid Duo is a tough nut to crack. We haven’t made her budge yet.”
How terrifying were the Wumiao people, that an ordinary-looking woman could endure such torture?
“Daughter-in-law is ashamed to be of no help in this matter.”
“No, you’ve already done very well.” Emperor Jingming praised sincerely, looking deeply at Jiang Si. “Seventh Son’s wife, you risked your life to save the Empress Dowager and then secured the opportunity to question Nursemaid Duo, accomplishing two great deeds. Tell me, what wish do you have? As long as it’s not unreasonable, I will fulfill it for you.”
“It’s daughter-in-law’s honor to be able to share Father Emperor and Mother Empress’s worries,” Jiang Si said, bowing slightly.
Seeing that Jiang Si didn’t speak, Emperor Jingming thought she was being modest. After a moment’s consideration, he said: “The matter of Nursemaid Duo can’t be spread. If I suddenly bestow titles on your father and brothers, it might arouse suspicion. How about this: I’ll keep it in mind for now, and when your brother achieves military merits in the southern border, I’ll reward him properly. Besides this, I’ll grant you a golden token of immunity. In the future, with this token in hand, no matter who commits what crime, as long as you wish, you can save that person’s life…”
Jiang Si knelt: “Father Emperor’s generous rewards, daughter-in-law is deeply grateful. My brother has the heart to serve the country, and it’s already his good fortune to be appointed as General Xuanwu by Father Emperor. We dare not ask for more rewards. As for the golden token of immunity, daughter-in-law is even more unworthy of such a precious item. If Father Emperor wishes to reward daughter-in-law, may I ask Father Emperor for one thing—”
“The ground is cold, stand up and speak.”
Jiang Si obediently stood up.
Emperor Jingming said calmly: “My word is my bond. Since I said I would reward you with these things, you should take them. As for other matters… tell me what it is first.”
Not wanting rewards for her brother, not even wanting the golden token of immunity, he was quite curious about what Seventh Son’s wife would ask of him.
Jiang Si pursed her lips and said solemnly: “Daughter-in-law’s late mother died of heart failure many years ago. This time, upon entering the palace and seeing the poisonous insect that Nursemaid Duo gave to the Fourteenth Princess, the daughter-in-law is filled with doubt and unease. I would like to ask Father Emperor to order an investigation into Nursemaid Duo, to see if my late mother truly died of heart failure, or if it was due to this kind of worm!”
She never set goals carelessly. It seemed that her small goal of eliminating Princess Rongyang to avenge her mother could soon be achieved.