Chapter 653: Impersonation

You... you... how are you still alive?

Empress Dowager Ning An's face turned deathly pale, as if she had seen a ghost, she kept stepping back in shock, staring at Gu Jiu Ling in disbelief.

Gu Jiu Ling gave a light chuckle, then slowly walked toward the bloodless Empress Dowager Ning An and stopped before her.

Gu Jiu Ling curled the corner of her lip in a sneer, her expression full of contempt.

"You're not dead? How could I dare to die?"

"But seeing how clueless you are, I'll let you die with full understanding!"

"Back then, I didn't just buy their grain from the Jiangnan merchants; I also bought their identities, which let me mix in with the Yanbei Pass grain merchants."

"From the moment I heard my Prince's military rations were seized, I began laying my plans!"

"You think my sneaking into Yingzhou City alone means I've taken this scheme to the extreme? Heh!"

Gu Jiu Ling's eyes flickered slightly: "Someone as sharp as you, if I and the Prince don't use some tricks, we probably couldn't lure you into the trap."

"The Prince truly starved his army outside Hengzhou City for seven days until a mutiny broke out; otherwise, how could he make you think he was finished, and how could he have tricked you into returning to Yingzhou City early?"

Empress Dowager Ning An went dumbfounded; indeed, she had never dared to return to Yingzhou, merely watching and waiting.

Until she received the news that Xiao Yin's Azure Dragon Army, short on grain, had risen in internal revolt, did she feel she had a great chance to defeat Xiao Yin.

Thus she secretly returned to Yingzhou from the sea, after all, how could the fruits of victory lack her?

Gu Jiu Ling continued to smile: "If I didn't personally enter that tunnel, how could you possibly bring people in to capture me? If I weren't burned to death by you, how could you rest easy sending everyone into the secret passage?"

"No! Impossible!" Empress Dowager Ning An stared at Gu Jiu Ling in disbelief.

"I clearly saw you burned to death; that cave mouth is so narrow, how could you crawl out?"

Gu Jiu Ling gave a cold chuckle, slowly took out a sheet of paper and handed it to Empress Dowager Ning An; with a rustle, the map unfurled, making a sound, shocking and heart‑pounding.

Empress Dowager Ning An stared fixedly at the map; it was almost identical to the one she had previously seized from Gu Jiu Ling.

"No! Not the same! There's a place that's different!"

Empress Dowager Ning An couldn't help but widen her eyes, sucking in a breath.

The map Gu Jiu Ling deliberately dropped was a fake, its texture made well enough to pass as genuine.

But the map Gu Jiu Ling now held also marked the cave where she was hiding, and that cave had a passage suitable for crawling out.

However, that passage was so narrow only one person could get through.

"Wrong, there was still a master inside the cave back then; how did those two manage to escape in such a short time?"

"But the cave mouth is tiny; probably only a woman could crawl through, while that man is tall and burly—this hole simply couldn't be squeezed out of."

Empress Dowager Ning An was utterly stunned by what she saw, her emotions crushed in an instant, her expression somewhat shattered.

She snatched the map from Gu Jiu Ling's hand and tore it up violently.

She didn't know why she was doing it; it just felt like meaningless venting.

At this moment, Empress Dowager Ning An, though arrogant and domineering, was also weak and pitiful—she could only vent her anger on the map, unable to do anything else.

Gu Jiu Ling looked at her as if she were a corpse, watching this old hag rave; she suddenly felt this woman truly was a lunatic.

For her own meager wealth and glory, she had killed so many people—it was simply unreasonable.

Some people are born bad seeds, and even on the day they die of old age they never change.

"Go ahead and tear it up; anyway this passage is completely ruined—below lie many of the Eight Great Clans' people, all… thanks to you!"

Gu Jiu Ling spat out each word, and Empress Dowager Ning An's body trembled slightly; even if she went to hell, the evil ghosts on the Yellow Springs road would not spare her.

Gu Jiu Ling coldly stared at her: "How does it feel to be burned? Years ago you set a trap in Qi Sha Gu and burned to death many Azure Dragon Army soldiers—now heaven's way turns full circle!"

"I will kill you, you poisonous woman."

Empress Dowager Ning An suddenly sprang up, the poison‑coated dagger hidden in her sleeve thrusting toward Gu Jiu Ling.

It didn't even touch Gu Jiu Ling's sleeve; instead, she was kicked flying and slammed hard into a stone pile nearby.

She nearly lost her breath, when Xiao Yin grabbed Gu Jiu Ling and pulled her behind him, coldly staring at Empress Dowager Ning An.

Gu Jiu Ling laughed loudly: "You've created too much karma; if I let you die just like that, it would be letting you off easy."

"No matter how unwilling you are, I will make this matter crystal clear, so you die carrying immense resentment—consider it a parting gift before your death."

Empress Dowager Ning An spat a mouthful of blood; that kick Xiao Yin had just dealt was a killing blow, she couldn't get up for a while, then she lifted her head and laughed loudly: "Xiao Yin, you think you can kill me? I am Empress Dowager Ning An, I am your mother!"

"If you kill me today, it's matricide; for the rest of your life people will point at your spine, even if you sit in a high position you're a rebellious minister and traitor—hahaha, you'll be a despised traitor all your life, a worthless dog!"

Gu Jiu Ling's face changed; those words of the old hag were truly heart‑piercing!

Indeed, no matter what, she is still Xiao Yin's nominal mother‑empress.

If she really died under Xiao Yin's sword, the histories, the censors' pens, and the mouths of the common folk wouldn't know how to write about him.

Xiao Yin's face sank cold; he stared fixedly at the now‑mad Empress Dowager Ning An, then let out a soft laugh, though that laugh carried immense sorrow.

"My mother? My mother is the Empress Dowager of the supremely noble and exalted Southern Qi."

"You, a common madwoman, think a few words can make you out to be Empress Dowager Ning An—who would believe that? You must be a spy!"

As soon as Xiao Yin's words left his mouth, Empress Dowager Ning An's face changed dramatically.

Xiao Yin continued: "These days I've captured a spy in Yingzhou City who keeps claiming to be Empress Dowager Ning An."

"Ignorant of the heights of heaven and depths of earth, bold as can be—drag her out and behead her."

"No, no, I am Empress Dowager Ning An! Everyone around is watching!"

Xiao Yin raised his hand: "Wait a moment, Ling Feng, take her to parade through Yingzhou City's streets before executing her."

Ling Feng pulled the Empress Dowager Ning An, who lay on the stone pile, to her feet, then placed a twenty‑jin cangue around her neck.

At this moment, Empress Dowager Ning An was dust‑covered and grimy, her face ferocious, her clothes ragged—where was the aura of a nation's empress dowager? She was utterly unrecognizable.

Afterward, Empress Dowager Ning An was loaded into a prison cart and taken straight to the streets of Yingzhou City.

Behind her, other spies were also pulled out; wherever they passed, the people of Yingzhou City flung rotten vegetable leaves at her prison cart.

Empress Dowager Ning An had never suffered such humiliation; this time she was driven completely mad, and she couldn't help shouting loudly.

You lot have the guts, I'll chop off your dog heads!

Prince Rui murdered his mother—heavenly law won't stand for it! Are you blind and deaf? Let me out at once; I'm Empress Dowager Ning'an. Your Highness, you're trying to kill me!

The more Empress Dowager Ning'an behaved like that, the more the people hurling vegetable leaves burst out laughing.

Hahaha, I've never seen someone this crazy.

She still calls herself the Empress Dowager—what Empress Dowager looks like that? She's simply ridiculous.