Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 529 Gu Technique? (2)

Among the chilling rumors surrounding witchcraft, the most common is the love potion, which is said to make the victim so obsessed that they lose themselves.

Snake gu and scorpion gu can cause excruciating pain, making one's internal organs feel as if they are being devoured by insects, ultimately exhausting one's life force in extreme agony.

The truly mysterious and profound art is the curse and sorcery that uses dolls as mediums. However, there has been no known successful example of such evil magic for over a hundred years, and it has almost become a legend.

Meng Shu nodded slightly, then slowly shook her head, her tone becoming calmer: "It's not necessarily as bizarre and terrifying as the rumors suggest. Upon closer examination, the claims about Gu magic are mostly based on hearsay, exaggerated to the point of being overly sinister and bizarre. In my view, the so-called 'Gu worms' are actually mostly medicines extracted using unique secret methods in the deep mountains and secret villages of the southwest. They may have miraculous effects or contain strange poisons, capable of bewitching the mind and arousing lust. However, outsiders find it difficult to understand their principles, so they are all given the name 'Gu,' making them seem mysterious and unpredictable, and inspiring fear."

Her gaze swept over Madam Yun and her daughter. "I suspect that the Empress may have obtained some kind of secret drug that can bewitch the mind and arouse lust through that Doctor Chu, and is using it secretly, which is why the Emperor is so obsessed with it."

A profound silence fell over the hall.

After a long while, Madam Yun finally recovered from her shock and murmured, "According to Madam Zhou's report, when she sneaked in, she saw that Doctor Chu's room was indeed filled with all kinds of pottery jars... If we had known earlier that they would dare to do such a treasonous thing, we should have ignored it and led people in to search the room in a big way..."

Halfway through her sentence, Madam Yun shook her head with a wry smile and stopped talking.

Not to mention that without any real evidence, it's impossible to openly break in and search. Even if they did search, given the methods of the Marquis of Zhenbei's mansion and the cunning of that Doctor Chu, they would probably have already destroyed or moved the "evidence." In the end, they might not only fail to find any leverage but also alert the enemy and give them a handle to use against them.

"I wonder how many insidious tricks that person still holds up. Your Highness and Wan'er live deep within the palace, aren't they walking on the edge of a knife every day, facing countless dangers?"

Madam Yun's tone was filled with worry and helplessness. "Fortunately, following Her Majesty's secret order, I sent people to capture Doctor Chu in time. Unfortunately... not only did we fail to get a single word out of her, but she also committed suicide. This lead has been completely cut off."

Meng Shu stood up and paced back and forth. After a moment of silence, she said in a deep voice, "The lady sent a message to the palace earlier, mentioning that the manor has been secretly collecting a large number of extremely special medicinal herbs over the past six months. The effort they have put in is probably far more than just getting Consort Mu and the other two to gain favor and then carry out the plan to remove the mother and keep the child."

Consort Chun pondered, "Judging from this, it does indeed seem like they are trying to concoct some kind of potion."

"How many men can you mobilize now, Madam?" Meng Shu's eyes flashed with a chilling light, revealing a resolute determination.

Madam Yun was not surprised by this. After pondering for a moment, she replied, "The manpower in the manor is too conspicuous, so it is not advisable to act rashly. Before the Marquis returned to Lin'an to observe mourning for his parents, he arranged for all of Zheng Shan's nearly five hundred men to be stationed in Jinan to await orders."

Meng Shu's eyes flickered slightly. "Rather than being passive, we should take the initiative. We can't do anything to the Empress right now, but we can try to delay her and disrupt her plans. Madam should immediately start copying and distributing the account books of the Zhenbei Marquis's embezzlement case that Miss Qin risked her life to bring back, inciting public opinion and creating a media frenzy."

Her voice suddenly turned cold, "Furthermore, Marquis Zhenbei may already be on his way back to the capital, and his guards must be lax. If we order Zheng Shan to set up ambushes at strategic locations along the way, with everyone disguised as righteous men or bandits... Madam, what are your chances of intercepting and killing him?"

If Marquis Zhenbei were to die, or even just be injured, it would be enough to cause the Empress a great deal of trouble, leaving her unable to take care of herself.

This is where Meng Shu's decisiveness and ruthlessness lie. Once she senses a crisis, she will not hesitate to take swift and decisive measures in order to seize the initiative.

However, she was unaware that this risky tactic, intended as a delaying strategy, would unexpectedly work in the best of luck, narrowly protecting her children, Yu Nu'er and Wan'er...

......

Jingming has been harboring a deep-seated worry lately, and this worry is growing stronger day by day.

Today is the end of the month. After the court session, the Emperor first went to Cining Palace to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager, and then returned to the Imperial Study in Funing Hall to handle state affairs.

But all of this only appears to be normal.

As he served the emperor with pen and ink, he once again realized that the emperor's mind was not on the memorials at all.

In the past, the emperor was never negligent in his duties. When reviewing memorials, his eyes were sharp and clear, and his mind was focused. He was never absent-minded or dazed.

But now, only half an incense stick's time had passed, and the emperor's hand holding the pen had paused four or five times, his gaze unfocused as he stared into the void, clearly lost in thought. And the memorial in his hand remained unopened, without a single word written on it.

Unbeknownst to Jingming, the Emperor's vision was already blurred, and the images in his mind were utterly unbearable to contemplate...

Feeling uneasy, he quietly put down the ink stick and gave Min Rong a wink.

The two of them tacitly retreated slowly to the outer corridor of the hall.

“Aunt Min,” Jingming said in a low voice, his brows furrowed, “His Majesty has been feeling unwell lately and his spirits are low. I would like to trouble you to go to the Imperial Kitchen and have someone prepare some calming and soothing soup for him.”

Min Rong did not immediately respond and leave. She also looked worried. "Eunuch Jing, we are now serving the Emperor together. There are some things... I don't know whether I should say them or not."

Observing the other person's expression, she said, "You have been by the Emperor's side since childhood. Have you ever seen... His Majesty in such a dazed state?"

Jingming's whisk trembled slightly. He remained silent for a while before mumbling, "This servant...this servant doesn't know what's wrong with His Majesty lately. Just now in the Taiji Hall..." He stopped mid-sentence and urged, "Enough, this matter is not worth discussing further. Aunt, it's more important to go to the Imperial Kitchen first."

Min Rong nodded, turned and took two steps, but quickly turned back. "Eunuch Jing, it's not that I'm being nosy, but His Majesty's condition is not good for long. We who serve him need to come up with a safe solution."

"Does Aunt have any good ideas?" Jingming asked hurriedly.

"How about... we invite Consort Jin over? Consort Jin is known for her calm and intelligent nature; didn't His Majesty often have her serve him with his writing materials? And we could also have the head chef prepare some of His Majesty's favorite snacks..."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

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