She had made up her mind to die!

Zhan Luori was overcome with a surge of emotion; his eyes turned red. “Imperial Mother, why must you do this?”

“Now that you know, you should be able to guess — the extermination order was also issued by Imperial Mother.”

Noble Consort Jing, at this moment, had turned calm — not only seizing Feng Jiu’er’s hand, but drawing Zhan Luori’s large palm toward her as well.

“Ri’er, throughout Imperial Mother’s life, she has never done anything for you. As she nears death, she wishes only to do one final thing for you.”

“If Zhan Yuheng were to die, His Majesty would have only you left as a worthy son. In time, the position of Crown Prince would surely be yours.”

“Imperial Mother, I do not care for the position of Crown Prince. I only want you to live!”

Zhan Luori fixed his gaze on Feng Jiu’er, his voice low and urgent. “Save her quickly! Hurry! Save her!”

Feng Jiu’er tried to pull back the wrist Noble Consort Jing had seized, but to her astonishment, a woman who had already been poisoned still possessed strength this formidable.

With her wrist held captive, she could not administer the needles properly. Watching Noble Consort Jing’s complexion turn darker and more ashen by the moment, Feng Jiu’er was growing frantic.

She had no idea what poison had been used, and if she did not seal the blood meridians now, it would soon be too late.

“Noble Consort Jing, release me first!” Feng Jiu’er strained to pry her grip loose, and even drove a needle into the pressure point between Noble Consort Jing’s thumb and forefinger.

But Noble Consort Jing seemed to have lost all sensation of pain entirely. With a needle pressed into that point, she still gripped Jiu’er with an iron hold and would not let go.

Such a patient was frightening even to Feng Jiu’er!

Her will to die was so fierce — so fierce that it had already passed beyond any point where an outsider could hope to alter it.

Why did she have to be this way? If she died, had she given any thought to the path her son would have to walk going forward?

“Noble Consort Jing, hear me out! Seventh Imperial Princess… no — if you die, what becomes of the Seventh Imperial Prince going forward? Even if you put him on the throne as Crown Prince, can he ever truly be happy in this life?”

“Moreover, with an Imperial Mother who caused the death of the previous Crown Prince, how could His Majesty ever permit the Seventh Imperial Prince to become Crown Prince, let alone Emperor? Noble Consort Jing, something with no certainty of success is not worth staking your own life on.”

She gave another forceful push. Unfortunately, she still could not break free.

Feng Jiu’er pressed urgently, “Noble Consort Jing, hear me — let me first drive the poison from your body. Don’t be stubborn. Noble Consort Jing, do not leave your child to spend the rest of his life in suffering!”

“My child…” Noble Consort Jing looked at Zhan Luori, taking in the crimson redness of his eyes. In that instant, her heart ached with a pain that was real and profound!

If she had a choice, she too would not wish to see her child grieve. In this life, the only one she truly cared for was this son of hers!

“My child…”

“Imperial Mother, I beg you — let go of her. Let her administer the needles. I beg you!”

Zhan Luori seized her hand, his crimson eyes filled with nothing but terror and desperation.

“Imperial Mother, whatever you ask of your son in the future, your son will obey. If you ask your son to seize the position of Crown Prince, your son will obey that as well. Your son will never defy you again. Never!”

“I beg you — release her, let her save you. Imperial Mother, I beg you!”

The five fingers Noble Consort Jing had clamped around Feng Jiu’er’s wrist — without realizing it — loosened. Jiu’er seized the moment to pull her hand free, and immediately tore open Noble Consort Jing’s garment to administer the needles.

Zhan Luori also drew Noble Consort Jing into his embrace, gripping her hand. A steady flow of rich internal energy surged rapidly into her body.

“It is no use. The poison has been in her too long. She used medicine to suppress the symptoms, to keep it from showing — and now the toxic elements have already seeped through her five internal organs. It cannot be expelled.”

For all the years Feng Jiu’er had practiced medicine, this was the first time she had witnessed a person’s will to die so thorough, so deeply calculated!

Noble Consort Jing must have taken the poison an hour earlier, yet she had applied the finest medicines on top of it, then layered one deadly toxin over another — poison upon poison — so that outwardly she appeared no different from an ordinary person.

With both toxins seeping in gradually and thoroughly infiltrating the heart, lungs, and blood meridians, even if Hua Tuo himself were reborn, there would be no way to save her.

Truly — there was no antidote.

Seeing Feng Jiu’er withdraw her hands, Zhan Luori seized her wrist, shaking with agitation down to his very core. “Save her! I command you not to give up! Save her! Save her!”

“Seventh Imperial Prince…” It was not that Jiu’er was unwilling to save her. If there were even the faintest possibility remaining, she would certainly try.

But now, it was nothing more than Noble Consort Jing’s last flicker of light before the end. The more alert she appeared now, the faster she would…

“I cannot save her. I truly…” For the first time, Feng Jiu’er tasted what it was to be utterly without hope.

So it was that her medical skill amounted to this — watching someone die right before her eyes and being entirely powerless to act. So helpless, so completely helpless!

“Imperial Mother… should have already… passed, half an hour ago. Holding on until now was only… to wait for you both to arrive. Cough…”

Noble Consort Jing coughed once — and after that single cough, blood began to pour from all seven of her orifices!

“Imperial Mother!” Zhan Luori let out a harrowing cry. “Summon the imperial physician — summon the imperial physician! Quickly!”

“No…! No one… is permitted to come in!” Noble Consort Jing forced the words out through clenched teeth, and as she grew agitated, the blood streaming from her eyes, nose, and mouth grew heavier.

Zhan Luori’s heart clenched in panic. Immediately he cried out, “No one! No one is to enter! No one!”

He clutched Noble Consort Jing’s hand, his lips trembling without cease. “Your son forbids anyone from entering. No one is permitted to come in. Imperial Mother — don’t be angry. Your son won’t let them in. All right? Please don’t be angry.”

Why was the dark blood flowing from her nose, her ears, her eyes growing more and more? Why was this happening?

“Feng Jiu’er, Jiu’er — save her, please save her! Ask me for anything and I will give it to you. You can even have my life. I only beg you to save her, save her…”

Jiu’er felt herself go hollow. It was not that she did not wish to save her — it was simply that there was truly no antidote.

“Ri’er, stop talking. Let Imperial Mother have a proper conversation with Jiu’er. Can you do that?”

“Imperial Mother…”

“This is the last thing Imperial Mother asks of you. Imperial Mother only wishes right now to have a proper conversation with Jiu’er.”

Noble Consort Jing gave him a gentle push. She had held on until now — she was truly holding on no longer.

She looked at Feng Jiu’er. “I am sorry. I did not mean to frighten you all. Originally, I had wanted to pass quietly, on my own… cough…”

“Imperial Mother!”

Yet Noble Consort Jing did not look at him — only kept her eyes fixed on Feng Jiu’er.

“It must have been that they had no way to bring you both back to me. I do not blame them. Within this palace, I am a person of little standing and no power… cough. Jiu’er, I have some things I wish to say to you — things from the heart. May I?”

“Your Highness, whatever you wish to say, please speak freely.”

“But I… do not wish for Ri’er to hear it.”

“Imperial Mother!” Zhan Luori’s heart contracted with grief. At a moment like this, what could there possibly be that required him to withdraw?

But Noble Consort Jing turned toward him with a quiet smile. “Do you wish to leave your Imperial Mother unable to rest in peace? Imperial Mother only wishes to… have a heart-to-heart conversation with Jiu’er.”