Nan Xueyin had no idea what was happening on Song Jianing's end.
Yet the situation on her own side was far from optimistic.
Originally, she had the upper hand; even the Emperor's elite guards were no match for an assassin like her who feared neither death nor injury.
Until one of the guards pulled a powder pouch from his tunic and flung it violently forward.
Nan Xueyin instinctively covered her nose and mouth, but still inhaled some of the dust.
At first, she did not know what it was, until a suffocating pain gripped her chest, as if thousands of insects were gnawing through her flesh and bones. All the strength drained from her body, leaving her unable even to grip the hilt of her sword, and she collapsed abruptly to the ground.
Gu poison.
This was the sign of the Gu poison acting up.
The powder was something designed to accelerate the outbreak of the Gu poison.
Could today's events be connected to Xiao Mingyu?
How had Xiao Mingyu managed to persuade the Emperor to capture her?
Or could it be... related to Xiao Qingling?
Nan Xueyin could not figure out what had truly happened.
The guards closed in, surrounding Nan Xueyin.
Before the pain caused her to lose consciousness completely, Nan Xueyin thought to herself that, fortunately, she had not hesitated just now and had spoken those words: "I miss you very much"—and Xiao Youlan had heard them, too.
-
The Emperor's bedchamber.
Xiao Youlan stood upright and tall within the hall.
The gauze curtains around the ma…
Chapter 147