novelraw Chapter 1949 Suppression
Chapter 1949 Suppression
Chapter 1949 Suppression
"You're just a parasitic vine that clings to others!" Wu Jia gritted her teeth, but Cong Rong nodded in agreement. "Yes, I am a parasitic vine, which is why I have to stick to Lord Fang's big tree."
Wu Jia had never seen Cong Rong so shameless before, and couldn't help but gasp, "What have you done?"
"It's nothing." Cong Rong unceremoniously shook off Wu Jia's hand. She staggered a step, steadied herself, and said in a deep voice, "Are you from the Ghost Gate? Your young master has already allied with my young master, how dare you..."
“What wouldn’t I dare?” Cong Rong straightened her sleeves and said calmly, “The Prince of Miluo intends to murder the Duke of Yue in Dajing. For this alone, Murong Qing will lose his life. As for Miluo, Emperor Mu will probably have to offer the heads of Murong Xun and his wife to apologize to our Emperor. Sister Jia, things have come to this, why don’t you die in place of your prince?”
Wu Jia stared blankly at the person in front of her, then smiled charmingly, "My master said, 'A small act of impatience can ruin a great plan.' If Prince Zhongzheng is willing to seek his own death for the sake of a mere Mr. Zuo, then such an ally is better off not being needed."
"Why?" Wu Jia said angrily, "If you hadn't intervened so rashly, I would have already killed Fang Zilan..."
"Killed Lord Fang?" Cong Rong laughed out loud as if she had heard something ridiculous. "No one in this world has ever been able to kill Lord Fang. Even those who harmed her will not live a good life. Do you understand?"
Wu Jia suddenly realized, "Fang Zilan, she's also a member of the Ghost Gate? You all conspired to deceive my young master, you..."
Before she could finish speaking, Cong Rong put her finger to her lips, making a shushing gesture, "Shh."
The next moment, before she could react, Cong Rong rushed forward, grabbed her wrist tightly, and plunged a sharp blade into her left shoulder. "Murder! Help..."
The piercing scream quickly attracted Zheng Yan. Before Wu Jia could even pull the sharp blade stuck in Cong Rong's body, Zheng Yan's knife was already at her neck.
Chu Bin and Xiao Xuan'er were both startled. Chu Bin stepped forward to take Wu Jia down, while Xiao Xuan'er quickly supported Cong Rong, asking, "Miss Cong, are you alright?"
"I..." Cong Rong's voice was weak and faint, and blood kept gushing out, staining Xiao Xuan'er's hands red.
Upon hearing Cong Rong's voice, Chu Bin was momentarily distracted. In that instant, Wu Jia bit into poison and committed suicide, collapsing to the ground and dying.
Zheng Yan's expression hardened. He quickly examined the area, then exchanged a glance with Chu Bin and gently shook his head.
"Take the body away first." Chu Bin and Zheng Yan dragged Wu Jia's body away, and Xiao Xuan'er put her arm around Cong Rong and sat on the bed. She then called a maid to fetch A Wan.
The night passed in chaos as everyone busied themselves. The next day, when Wen Ya came to the mansion to see Fang Zilan as usual, he found the servants and maids all looking gloomy and unwilling to sweep or clean. Awan was nowhere to be found, and there was no one by Fang Zilan's bedside.
"Lord Fang, the people around you are truly generous, leaving you all alone without a second thought." Wen Ya looked at Fang Zilan, who was slowly waking up, put away the needles, and said with a hint of sarcasm.
Fang Zilan stared blankly at Wen Ya, not reacting for a long time, letting him feed her water and medicine.
"The Gu poison in your body has already absorbed the Frost Poison, and the most dangerous days are over. From now on, take good care of yourself and don't be careless," Wen Ya carefully instructed. Fang Zilan asked blankly, "What Frost Poison?"
"Someone poisoned you with Frost Poison." Wen Ya said calmly, "All the people in your household have been mobilized, so the person who poisoned you has probably been caught. You can rest and recuperate."
Fang Zilan felt the name of the poison sounded familiar. After thinking for a while, she said, "Is it the Ghost Gate?" "I'm not quite sure either. Ask Awan when she returns." Wen Ya handed her a silk handkerchief, which Fang Zilan took and used to wipe the medicine stains from her lips. "Awan? She went too?"
Wen Ya nodded slightly. Fang Zilan was dizzy and not very clear-headed. She just coughed lightly and didn't ask any more questions.
Fang Zilan chuckled, "Who do you think could bully me, elder sister?"
“Others can’t do it, but…” Fang Ziqin paused, “You always like to make trouble for yourself, and the one who bullies you the most is probably yourself.”
Fang Zilan pursed her lips, taken aback by her words. "How did I end up making things difficult for myself?"
Fang Ziqin smiled slightly, remaining silent as she gazed at Fang Zilan with a beaming smile, until Fang Zilan felt her scalp tingle and gave in, saying, "Elder sister is right."
"Alright, go back and rest." Fang Ziqin waved her hand. "When Qiu Chan returns with the medicine, I'll have her deliver it directly to your room."
Fang Zilan nodded, completed the formalities, and returned to her room. For the next few days, she stayed secluded in the palace, rarely venturing out. Even when Princess Dejia, Li Qianning, came to Fengyi Palace to pay her respects, she did not see her, let alone outside the palace.
Therefore, the conflict between Fang Ziqin and Li Qianning that Fang Zilan mentioned never happened, but her heart was always hanging in suspense, because the news coming in from outside the palace was enough to make her uneasy.
First, Prince Rong'an fell ill shortly after returning to the southeast. Then, several newly appointed officials in the southeast were assassinated, losing their entire families in office. Several deputy generals who were on their way to take up their posts in the Jiangnan and Southeast camps were also murdered on the way.
Finally, the frequent summer rains and the remote, mountainous terrain under Lord Su Heng's jurisdiction have caused landslides to block the mountain roads, thus his return to the capital has to be postponed indefinitely...
Panic gripped the city, and officials of all ranks, both inside and outside the capital, lived in constant fear. Only a year had passed since the assassinations of Wu Sheng, Yang Zhiqing, and others; so many high-ranking officials had perished in the blink of an eye. No one knew who would be next.
Fang Zilan felt somewhat relieved to hear that Cao Hong had arrived at his post safely, but the number of his deputy generals had been severely reduced, with only one arriving normally. Moreover, according to the information she received, the ghost gate was responsible for all of them.
Everyone knows that assassinating a high-ranking official is a serious crime, but this is the first time that the Ghost Gate has made such a big show of it and left traces everywhere.
Suddenly, Fang Zilan understood why Ji Ningtian had spared her life.
Among the Ghost Gate, besides Zi Xiu, the Ten Kings of Hell are the most revered. Those who bear the name of King of Hell are by no means benevolent, and even if the Ten Kings are obedient, they can never appear before the people.
If Ji Ningtian were to ever decide to start a rebellion, the first thing he would do before that is to clean up the Ghost Gate. Insidious methods are acceptable, but they cannot be brought to light, nor can they be subject to gossip.
Only when the Gate of Hell and the Ten Kings of Hell disappear can Ji Ningtian be completely at ease, so that he will not be criticized when he starts a rebellion in the future.
Ordinary martial arts practitioners cannot destroy the Ghost Gate, let alone kill the Ten Kings of Hell.