"I'll talk, I'll talk!" Yin Silan quickly spoke, her voice echoing off the inner walls of the snake pit, a muffled sound as if through a veil. "The Miao territory is actually a branch of the Dali imperial family."
"Oh?" Nan Shiying's eyes brightened at this new secret. "Elaborate!"
"Dali..." The relationship between the Dali imperial family and the Miao territory traced back a hundred years. A century ago, their clan split into two factions: a conservative faction that advocated for isolation, and a radical faction that embraced innovation. The conservatives believed in sealing off their mountains and villages, deeming it a path to ruin. The radicals, however, thought they should seize the opportunity of a chaotic world to forge a new path outside. Neither faction could convince the other, and thus the clan was severed. The conservative faction ultimately became the Miao territory, with their villages serving as fortified settlements. The radical faction, on the other hand, established the prosperous Dali dynasty.
"If that's the case, you were originally the same clan. Why would the Dali imperial family try to exterminate the Miao territory?" From a single clan a hundred years ago, that's only three generations. Though the blood ties had thinned, they were still of the same root and origin. Furthermore, the Miao territory merely occupied a corner of the land; why would the Dali imperial family go to such lengths to wage war?
Yin Silan remained silent for a few seconds before saying, "Because someone from the Miao territory wanted to lay claim to the Dali imperial family."
Nan Shiying: "..."
"Could it have been you?" Yin Silan moved her lips, neither admitting nor denying.
"Heh, judging by your reaction, if it wasn't you, it was still your Yin clan. What is this called? Bringing ruin upon oneself?" Nan Shiying harbored no sympathy for the Miao territory. She laughed, a mixture of sarcasm and anger. "So this is why you came to Lin Yuan to cause trouble?"
"This is why you poisoned Ji Jinmo?"
"After suffering the consequences of your own ambition and desires, you would use other people's lives and other people's countries to repay the punishment you rightfully deserve?" The mere thought of the torment Ji Jinmo had endured over the years made Nan Shiying want to inflict all that pain upon Yin Silan and every surviving member of the Miao territory.
She pressed down on Yin Silan's head. The entirety of Yin Silan's upper body was submerged in the snake pit. Nan Shiying, gripping the edge of the pit with her hip, prevented herself from falling in. Yin Silan struggled fiercely, but her wrists and ankles had been broken.
Nan Shiying took a deep breath, grabbed Yin Silan's hair, and stepped back a few paces, dragging her away from the edge of the snake pit. After narrowly escaping death, Yin Silan gasped for air, her entire body drenched as if she had been pulled from water.
"Such a lack of backbone. I was originally planning to try the oil pot," Nan Shiying kicked her, then bent down to grab her hair again, dragging her like a dead dog off the gambling platform. "See you another day, Hua Niang~"
Hua Niang stood at the entrance of the Yi Pin Ju, watching Nan Shiying drag the woman into the carriage, and then observing the carriage speed away. Only then did she turn and head back inside. The carriage sped along. Yin Silan lay on the carriage floor, trying to lift her head to look at Nan Shiying. "I've told you everything, what else do you want?"
Nan Shiying blinked in surprise and looked down at her. "What else? Of course, I'm taking you back to the celestial prison."
Yin Silan's mouth moved. She wanted to send her back? Could it be that she never intended to kill her from the start? No, if she didn't want her dead, she wouldn't have let her walk through the secret passage in the palace with her eyes open. Why the sudden change of heart? It couldn't be because she was pleased to hear a secret and decided to spare her life, could it?
As Yin Silan pondered, the carriage suddenly lurched violently. Then came the neighing of horses. A sharp arrow whistled through the air, piercing the left side of the carriage and embedding itself firmly in the right. The arrowhead was dark; upon hitting the wooden plank, it began to corrode the surrounding wood.
"Niang Niang, there are assassins!" Xuan Yi's voice came from outside the carriage. Yin Silan, still staring at the arrow embedded in the carriage, looked up at Nan Shiying upon hearing the exclamation outside.
Niang Niang?
Niang Niang?
She stared, her eyes wide with disbelief, the word "Niang Niang" repeating endlessly in her mind. Feng Luan, Ji Jinmo, Nan Shiying, Ji Jinmo! The figures of Nan Shiying and Feng Luan finally overlapped in her mind.
"You are Nan Shiying?" Yin Silan could never have imagined that the renowned divine physician Feng Luan of the capital was Nan Shiying, the one who was married off as a substitute to the royal mansion by Nan Chaoyin, treated as useless. Useless? If someone like her was considered useless, then what was Nan Yuan'er? Trash?
"A pleasure to meet you~" Nan Shiying grinned at her. Then, she leaned over, grabbed Yin Silan's neck, and stood up, parting the carriage curtain. The street was already in chaos. Rouge, pastries, shards of porcelain, and jewelry were scattered along the sides of the street. Not a single civilian could be seen. Black-clad figures surrounded the carriage from all directions. On the roof to the left rear, an archer stood with a drawn bow.
Nan Shiying used Yin Silan as a shield to her left, smiling at the group of fools daring to commit murder in broad daylight. She clicked her tongue with a sinister smile and sighed regretfully, "Alas, they are truly foolish, don't you think?"
Yin Silan looked at the black-clad figures around her, then suddenly turned her head, her eyes flashing with horror. "Your ultimate goal in bringing me out of the celestial prison was to lure the snakes out of their holes?" No wonder she was so nonchalant.
"Go, hurry and leave!" Yin Silan yelled at everyone, her face contorted. The Miao territory had few remaining assets in the capital. If another batch was lost, they would be completely blind and helpless in the capital!
"Don't get so agitated!" Nan Shiying smiled. "If I told you I didn't arrange any manpower, would you believe me?" Yin Silan, at this moment, was hardly inclined to believe Nan Shiying's tricks. If she hadn't arranged manpower, what would this luring of snakes out of their holes be? Self-digging a grave?
"Go!" Yin Silan's eyes were bloodshot.
Just then, an arrow whistled from the front diagonally, approaching Nan Shiying's forehead with such speed that it was there in an instant. A golden light flashed in Nan Shiying's eyes. To her, the arrow's trajectory was clearly visible; the arrow's speed was as slow as a crawling snail. She shifted her shoulder, pulling Yin Silan to her chest. The arrow pierced Yin Silan's clavicle and lodged itself there.
Blood splattered, and the hot blood rained down on Nan Shiying's face. It flowed from her forehead along her brow bone, reaching her eyelashes. Unable to bear the weight of the blood, the long lashes let it drip, drop by drop, around her eyes and onto her cheeks. Nan Shiying frowned slightly; the sensation of blood on her face soured her expression.
She took out a handkerchief, wrapped it around the shaft of the arrow piercing Yin Silan's clavicle, and pulled backward with force. The fletching at the arrow's tail passed through Yin Silan's body, and the ensuing pain caused her to let out a horrific scream. Nan Shiying grabbed Yin Silan's neck, lifting her. "You want her? You want to save her?" She smiled and thrust the withdrawn arrow back into Yin Silan's body.
Blood once again stained her entire body and face. At this moment, she resembled a demon crawling out from a grave of bones. Even Xuan Yi couldn't help but swallow.