It was hard to tell whether it was because the men were so skilled in their tracking techniques, or perhaps their Inner Strength was so profound. Regardless, Dong Huiying did not notice that she was being followed by Zhi Chen’s group, nor did she realize that after she left, Zhi Chen and the others emerged on the scene. Now, six brothers entered the small forest, conducting a ’secret meeting’ about something. Well, a secret meeting means a confidential discussion!

Upon entering the villa, she went straight into the courtyard where the Empress and the Great Commander were. Previously, the Empress and the Great Commander joined forces to purge the team of Hidden Guards, and Dong Huiying still remembered the scene of blood flowing like a river at that time. However, the courtyard had now returned to tranquility, with no traces of the past violence visible.

When Dong Huiying arrived, the Hidden Guards at the courtyard immediately saluted Dong Huiying without reporting or informing, and simply stepped aside to let her pass. It was clear that the Empress and the Great Commander had secretly instructed them not to obstruct the Marshal’s steps.

After all, Dong Huiying, although not the Empress’s favorite, did enjoy a certain level of closeness with the Empress and the Great Commander.

She strolled leisurely into the courtyard, her curious peeking around causing a slight urge to laugh. After all, who would have thought? The once legendary Marshal Baowei from the border, privately showcasing such a pure image of a neighborhood girl. Hmm, ’pure’ was meant to describe her temperament, not her enchantingly beautiful face.

Inside a hall in the courtyard...

The Eighth Princess was being held down by her shoulders, seated in a wooden wheelchair.

Her back was facing the doorway, so when Dong Huiying peeked in, she saw only the Eighth Princess’s back. But that figure was extremely gaunt, almost skeletal.

She noticed the Eighth Princess’s hands limply hanging outside the wheelchair, with overly large sleeves unable to conceal the thin, twig-like wrists that seemed breakable with a mere snap.

The skin on her hands was covered with mottled red spots, some scratched open, others festering with pus, looking exceptionally horrifying.

Dong Huiying silently clicked her tongue. With her keen eyesight, she immediately recognized that this was clearly the result of poisoning, a kind of venom that tormented one’s agony yet deliberately withheld a merciful release.

This poison would continually nibble away at one’s Vitality, gradually depleting the body’s strength, eventually leaving one paralyzed and unable to move, see, speak, or hear... Ultimately, they would lie in bed like a living corpse, unable even to take care of their basic needs.

And once this stage was reached, the poison would continue its fierce, fermenting attack for precisely forty-nine days before the victim would finally perish.

Dong Huiying thought to herself: What kind of enemy did the Eighth Princess provoke to have such a vicious hand dealt on her?

But she could roughly guess that, with the Eighth Princess’s usual demeanor, she must have made quite a few enemies.

This poisoning was certainly no accident! Yet interestingly... perhaps even the Eighth Princess herself didn’t know where this poison originated from, or who harbored such intense malice to inflict such harm.

Dong Huiying found it captivating and chose an inconspicuous spot to stand, pulling out a handful of melon seeds from her pocket, prepared to watch this good play unfold.