Zhang's mother's eyes widened as if they would split open. If not for her earlier words, she wouldn't have paid much attention to this maid trailing behind.
The Grand Li Princess let out a cold laugh.
What if it was intentional? Even if the Regent's Consort blocked the assassin, she wouldn't be in mortal danger. In that case, why would Baolan intervene? If she intervened, how could she draw her out?
Moreover, with the Regent's Consort present earlier, she absolutely couldn't capture the assassin. Now, this place was deserted. Once she captured her, she would see how Ji Hong would explain herself to the Grand Li!
"Baolan, capture her!" the Grand Li Princess coldly ordered, and as she instructed Baolan, she quickly retreated.
"Yes!"
Baolan shouted, grabbing Zhang's mother's hand and forcefully twisting it upwards. Zhang's mother took a step back, her wrist naturally yielding the force and pressing downwards, preventing Baolan from breaking her wrist. At the same time, she clenched her left fist and quickly threw a punch at Baolan's face.
Baolan retreated, but her grip on Zhang's mother's hand didn't loosen. She pulled Zhang's mother back. Off-balance, Zhang's mother's heavy punch had its force weakened by three parts and its direction shifted, grazing Baolan's cheek and missing its target.
Baolan's hand suddenly lifted, striking towards Zhang's mother's abdomen.
A fierce look flashed in Zhang's mother's eyes. She let go of her missed punch, her palm hooking onto Baolan's neck. Using Baolan's punch, she tiptoed and spun to the left, pushing through the severe injury and rushing in front of the Grand Li Princess.
"Princess, be careful!"
The Grand Li Princess retreated rapidly, but no matter how fast she moved, she couldn't be faster than Zhang's mother, who was surging forward with the momentum of the impact. Zhang's mother's hand clamped onto the Grand Li Princess's neck. The Grand Li Princess's face turned ugly as she tightly grasped Zhang's mother's hand, trying to resist her movements.
Just then, a gust of wind seemed to strike Zhang's mother from behind.
Seeing that she couldn't kill the Grand Li Princess instantly, Zhang's mother forcefully shattered the porcelain bottle she held. A pungent, foul smell from the bottle invaded the Grand Li Princess's nostrils, and then, a scarlet flesh worm bit down on her wrist, burrowing into her flesh in an instant.
"Ah~"
The sudden pain, like a sharp blade cutting flesh, caused the Grand Li Princess to cry out.
"Princess~"
Baolan's eyes widened in disbelief, her movements becoming even more ferocious. Her fingertips, sharp as blades, pierced Zhang's mother's back.
Blood instantly gushed out, and Zhang's mother also let out a scream.
She dared not delay any longer. Even if the Grand Li Princess died, she had to die without any connection to the Xunyang Marquis's mansion, otherwise, the Xunyang Marquis's mansion would face confiscation of property and execution of its entire family.
She hardened her resolve and, disregarding the damage to her body, instantly activated the mother worm within her. The mother worm awakened within her body, and the child worm that had entered the Grand Li Princess's body, along with the awakening of the mother worm, rapidly swam towards the Grand Li Princess's heart.
Once the worm entered the heart, it would turn into a pool of venom, paralyzing the heart and causing death from cardiac arrest, leaving no trace.
The Grand Li Princess's face became extremely ugly. She hadn't expected the other party to also be a Miao疆蛊师.
Were all the remnants of Miao疆 rooted in Linyuan?
Although she wanted to use the assassination as an excuse to make Grand Li and Linyuan tear up their agreement, this did not mean she was willing to die in Linyuan and allow Linyuan and Grand Li to engage in direct conflict.
And then let the remnants of Miao疆 reap the benefits.
She couldn't help but resent it, her voice becoming a sharp, piercing cry: "Baolan, kill her, quickly!"
The main thing was to quickly kill the host controlling the mother body, then the child worm would instantly decay and die. Between life and death, she desperately gripped Zhang's mother's wrist, restraining her as much as possible within this small space.
…
A piercing scream tore through the sky, reaching Nan Shiying's ears. Nan Shiying's expression darkened, and she quickly said to Lu Wan, "Go quickly."
Lu Wan didn't dare to delay for a second, darting towards the source of the sound with lightning speed.
Nan Shiying followed closely behind.
However, a suspicion began to arise in her heart. In this vast imperial city, why were there no palace servants or patrolling guards along the way?
Only a few people could control the inner workings of the imperial palace.
Besides the Emperor, there were only the Empress Dowager, the Noble Consort, and a few first-rank consorts.
Who was it?
Who was from Miao疆?
Damn it!
Nan Shiying cursed inwardly. If the Grand Li Princess were to die here today, the world would fall into complete chaos. Linyuan had Xiliang watching covetously from the shadows, and Grand Li had Miao疆 poised to strike. If the two countries went to war, it would be inevitable that these two factions would reap the benefits.
As she thought this, she couldn't help but quicken her pace.
She even regretted not letting Xuan Yi capture that蠱師; if he were here, it would provide an extra layer of security.
…
Zhang's mother looked at the Grand Li Princess with a contorted face. This type of蛊虫, which activated the mother worm to send the child worm to its death, caused severe damage to her body. The tearing pain within her engulfed her entire being, but she couldn't die here, couldn't die together with the Grand Li Princess.
She gritted her teeth and, with her last ounce of strength, switched positions with the Grand Li Princess.
Baolan unleashed a punch. Just as she was about to strike Zhang's mother's head, Zhang's mother and the Grand Li Princess suddenly switched positions. Baolan abruptly withdrew her hand, her surging blood and qi reversing back into her body, rushing straight to her dantian, causing her to spit out a mouthful of blood.
Almost, almost done!
A look of madness appeared in Zhang's mother's eyes. She felt it; the child worm in the Grand Li Princess's body was about to burrow into her heart.
Just then, the Grand Li Princess saw Lu Wan rushing towards them. The moment Lu Wan threw her punch, the Grand Li Princess screamed hysterically, "Kill her, I've been poisoned! If she doesn't die, then I die!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Wan's fist transformed into a palm, her five fingers piercing directly into Zhang's mother's back and instantly crushing her heart.
The madness on Zhang's mother's face instantly froze. She looked down at her heart in disbelief. The next moment, the light in her eyes gradually dimmed, her face etched with disbelief, and she fell to the ground with a thud.
With Zhang's mother's death, the mother worm also died. The child worm, about to rush into the Grand Li Princess's heart, stopped struggling and instantly lost its vitality.
As Zhang's mother fell, the Grand Li Princess, clutching her neck, staggered and collapsed onto the ground.
By the time Nan Shiying arrived, everything had already concluded.
"Lu Wan, throw the body into the dry well." Nan Shiying looked indifferently at the scene before her. The bright red blood mixed with the pure white snow created a strong visual impact. Zhang's mother's face, frozen in death with eyes wide open, was ferocious and distorted. If it were anyone else, they would have been scared out of their wits by the sight, but Nan Shiying's first words were about destroying the evidence!
"Consort..."
The Grand Li Princess looked up sharply. Her initial reprimand faltered as she met Nan Shiying's cold, unfathomable eyes, devoid of emotion.