Yin Silan had been captured.
It was an expected outcome. After all, Ji Hong and Ji Jinmo had already set up an inescapable net. If they had still allowed someone to escape, it would have been a genuine miracle.
With her mask removed, Yin Silan's face was ferocious, nothing like the Empress Dowager's still-charming appearance. Even the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes seemed like sharp blades. Despite her hands being severed, her face showed no signs of pain.
"Yin Silan?"
"Remove the蛊虫 from Ji Jinmo's body, and I'll spare your life."
Nan Shiying crouched before Yin Silan, pinching her chin to force her to look up. Yin Silan's sinister gaze held a hint of disdain. She offered no reply, simply staring at the person before her.
Nan Shiying smiled, a radiant, brilliant smile.
She cared not for what happened in Yinan County, nor whether Yin Silan was still useful. If Yin Silan refused to remove the蛊虫 from Ji Jinmo, her utility to Nan Shiying would be reduced to zero.
"Very well!"
"I hope you can remain this defiant in a moment."
"Guards!"
Nan Shiying ordered the guards to drag Yin Silan away, to the prison cell she had prepared earlier.
In the center of the prison cell, a wooden bed was placed. On a rack beside the bed were various instruments, along with clamps, gauze, and medicine bottles.
The wooden board was covered with white cloth, and the entire cell had been thoroughly cleaned.
Nan Shiying dragged the now-helpless Yin Silan onto the bed. Silver needles sealed her veins, rendering her immobile.
Having done all this, Nan Shiying picked up a scalpel.
Yin Silan's eyes widened, her pupils trembling violently.
"To be perfectly honest, I've wanted to try live dissection for a long time. Thank you for giving me this opportunity." Nan Shiying stood beside Yin Silan, holding the knife, her expression earnest, a look of fervent passion for dissection on her face.
"Are you insane?" Yin Silan shouted in disbelief.
Nan Shiying's wrist flicked, and the sharp blade peeled away Yin Silan's outer clothing, revealing patches of fair skin. Her hand caressed the skin, feeling the texture transmitted to her fingertips with every inch. She smiled softly, "Don't worry, I'll try not to let you die."
That statement was as meaningless as a fart.
"Feng Luan, you'd best think clearly. Ji Hong won't let me die. You..."
"I will!"
Ji Hong entered the prison cell, looking down at the person he had called "Mother" for over a decade. The mere thought that she had imprisoned his mother, rendered her mute, caused his father's death, and poisoned his imperial uncle filled Ji Hong with the desire to tear her apart.
"Hong'er, don't you want Yinan County anymore?" Yin Silan, unable to move, could only roll her eyeballs to look at Ji Hong with her peripheral vision. "I can help you reclaim Yinan County. You know that the Miao territory has been developing in Yinan County for over ten years. I can tell you with certainty that the Miao territory not only controls Yinan County and the maritime trade along the entire canal, but has also infiltrated the State of Lou. If you don't suppress it with force, you will never be able to take back Yinan County."
"But do you truly dare dispatch a large army to besiege Yinan County? Not to mention the civilians of Yinan County, do you dare mobilize the army? Aren't you afraid that Ji Jinmo will seize the opportunity to strike directly at the heart of the empire, overthrow you from the dragon throne, and claim the imperial title for himself?"
"Pfft~"
Nan Shiying let out a laugh.
"Sorry, sorry, I couldn't help myself. Please continue." Meeting Yin Silan's murderous gaze, Nan Shiying claimed she truly didn't mean to. She usually wouldn't laugh unless she absolutely couldn't hold it in.
Even now, Yin Silan still believed that Ji Hong and Ji Jinmo were adversaries. But then again, who could have predicted that these two were merely acting?
Ji Hong couldn't help but smile either. He was too lazy to listen to Yin Silan's further ramblings. He nodded at Nan Shiying, who returned his smile. Her peripheral vision caught sight of the hulking figure, Da Shazi, cowering in the corner and peeking through the gap. Her eyelids twitched slightly.
She withdrew her gaze and swiftly made her move.
The moment Yin Silan felt pain, Nan Shiying had already cut through the first layer of skin.
Dissection wasn't difficult; one could simply stab straight through. But live dissection, much like performing a Cesarean section on a woman, required peeling away layer by layer – it was delicate work.
The screams in her ears were like perfect background music to Nan Shiying. She felt no discomfort, only a pleasant upturn of her lips.
The blood reflected on her face made her appear like a bloodthirsty demon.
"Gulp~"
Xuan Lin swallowed hard. He too had stepped over corpses and waded through blood, and had witnessed death and gore. Yet, at this moment, he still felt a flicker of fear.
After all, there was a fundamental difference between killing and torturing.
Moreover, this was live dissection.
The loss of blood made Yin Silan feel cold. The pain of the knife cutting through flesh and entering her organs made her, in a moment of hallucination, feel as if she were back in her childhood. She let out meaningless screams, and in her heart, she knew Ji Hong likely hated her to the bone and had decided to let Feng Luan torture her to death.
But what Yin Silan couldn't comprehend was why Feng Luan was the one doing this.
Why wasn't Feng Luan's first question about Yinan County, or an inquiry about whether she still had infiltrators within the palace, but instead, she was ordered to remove Ji Jinmo's蛊虫?
Heh, Ji Jinmo~
The蛊虫 on him was incurable!
Yin Silan pulled at the corners of her mouth, but no smile emerged. Blood flowed out first.
"Found it!"
Nan Shiying gently brushed the back of her knife against Yin Silan's heart. With a slight push downwards, from left to right, until she reached a seemingly protruding spot, she felt a force of resistance.
Nan Shiying leaned down and looked at Yin Silan.
"Aren't you going to say anything else?"
Yin Silan's vision was already blurry. She looked at this face so close to hers, and in a daze, she seemed to see a more beautiful and flamboyant face.
Yin Silan suddenly understood something.
Something she had overlooked from the very beginning, something she had never doubted.
Were Ji Hong and Ji Jinmo truly adversaries?
Yin Silan knew what she wanted. She didn't reply, but instead, she managed a smile.
Nan Shiying's movements paused. She narrowed her eyes slightly, a golden hue seemingly cast upon her pupils. Every blood vessel and contour of Yin Silan's heart became clearly visible in her eyes. Then, she quickly made an incision on Yin Silan's heart and plunged the knife along this wound.
The蛊虫 had no time to react before it was pierced by the scalpel and pulled out along with the blade.
Nan Shiying quickly threw the蛊虫 and the knife into a wooden box, sealed it, then pried open Yin Silan's mouth and dropped in a pill. She then proceeded with suturing Yin Silan's heart and abdomen.
She was merely trying it out, as she had no experience. Whether Yin Silan, who had her蛊虫 removed via live dissection, could survive would depend on her own fate.
After all, even if she died, she would have died a deserving death!
Xuan Lin watched Nan Shiying cut open and then stitch up Yin Silan's abdomen and heart. He swallowed again and instinctively took a few steps back.
For no other reason than he found her utterly terrifying!