A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

Huang Ce was one of the key figures in this rebellion that shocked the world. He was captured by the imperial court, executed, and beheaded as a warning to others.

But now he has inexplicably died in the imperial prison. What will His Majesty think? What will the court think? What will the people of the world think?

Is the imperial court really unable to keep an eye on even a death row inmate?

If that's the case, what use is there for these death row inmates in the imperial prison?

Upon realizing this, everyone turned ashen-faced.

Given His Majesty's fury, they will likely face certain doom!

"Go and report to the master immediately."

Someone shouted, and everyone suddenly realized what was happening. They immediately sent someone to report to the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

"What?!"

Yan Xiang, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, was enjoying a delicious breakfast at his residence when he suddenly heard this shocking news, leaving him completely stunned.

The braised pork buns his wife had made herself didn't even taste good anymore. He was happily eating his buns and drinking his porridge when suddenly this huge pot of poison fell on his head!

Is he really that unlucky?!

"Take me to see this quickly!"

"Send someone else to fetch the imperial physician!"

"Send someone to call the coroner again!"

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was so angry that he jumped up and down, lifted his robes, and ran quickly toward the prison.

"Sir, aren't you going to eat?"

"I'm not eating anymore. If I keep eating, I'll eat my official hat off."

Yan Xiang waved his hand without turning his head; he had no appetite at all!

In Luoyang, there are no secrets. By the time Yan Xiang arrived deep inside the prison, news had spread that Huang Ce, one of the masterminds behind the rebellion, was dead.

Everyone who heard the news was shocked. How exactly did Huang Ce die?

If he committed suicide, how did he manage to carry enough items to successfully commit suicide despite such a thorough search of the prison?

But if Huang Ce didn't commit suicide, then this matter is even more terrifying. If Huang Ce didn't commit suicide, then it was murder. Who on earth had the ability to kill Huang Ce deep within the heavily guarded prison?

What's even more terrifying is, what was his purpose in killing Huang Ce? Could he be the mastermind behind Huang Ce?

This speculation should frighten everyone even more. If there is such a hidden force behind the scenes that they are completely unaware of, then they are truly in danger.

Especially the Cui family of Boling, who once took Huang Ce's place in the imperial examination.

They began sending out their own family spies to constantly gather information about the prison.

Even Li Heng learned of what had happened in the prison and suppressed his urge to immediately summon Yan Xiang. He decided to give Yan Xiang some time to investigate the cause of Zhang Huai's death.

Once Yan Xiang reached the depths of the prison, he immediately spotted the corpse surrounded by numerous jailers, yet several steps away from it.

The corpses were all covered in heavy black veils, but Huang Ce's identity could still be vaguely discerned.

"Has the body been identified?"

Yan asked.

"My lord, it has been verified that the height, shoulder width, and location of the birthmark are exactly the same as Huang Ce's in the records."

A prison guard immediately came forward to report. Although they dared not approach, they still had the courage to let the coroner examine the body.

Anyway, we're not asking them to come forward.

After the coroner's examination, the cause of Huang Ce's death was finally determined.

Yellow committed suicide by taking poison!

As for what kind of poison it was, and how it was brought into this cell, that's none of the coroner's business; that's something for the imperial physicians and the Court of Judicial Review to investigate.

What did Huang Ce do?!

Zhang Huai was also thinking about this question. Huang Ce was able to bring poison into the prison, so was there any way for him to get out of the prison?

Well, Huang Ce is already dead, so there's definitely nothing I can do about it.

But if he could bring in poison, he could also bring in other things. Unfortunately, he's dead, and this question remains unanswered.

"Sir, could you please check if Huang Ce has a mole directly behind his right earlobe?"

Zhang Huai suddenly spoke up.

Yan Xiang and the jailer both turned their attention to Zhang Huai. With a "let's give it a try" attitude, Yan Xiang pried open Huang Ce's ear and saw that there was indeed a black mole next to Huang Ce's earlobe.

They had never seen the location or size of the mole before; the only person they recognized was Zhang Huai.

They couldn't release Zhang Huai, so they brought Huang Ce's corpse to Zhang Huai's door.

Zhang Huai realized that he was now doomed and the imperial court would not let him go.

Rather than suffer endless torment, he might as well commit suicide decisively, as long as he could obtain the poison from Huang Ce.

Zhang Huai stared intently at the inconspicuous little mole on Huang Ce's body, which was almost exactly the same as the one he remembered.

"That's right, it's the right size and position. It seems that this is indeed Huang Ce."

"What kind of poison is this...?"

Zhang Huai asked.

Yan Xiang snorted coldly. After confirming Huang Ce's identity, he no longer paid any attention to Zhang Huai, who was already a dead man in his eyes.

He disdained to associate with a dying rebel, feeling that even uttering a single word to him would be an insult.

"How long until the imperial physician arrives?"

Yan asked.

"My lord, the Imperial Physician's Office is not close to the Imperial Prison. Even the closest distance is half an hour."

A jailer immediately replied.

Yan Xiang nodded, said nothing more, and stood there waiting for the imperial physician to arrive.

Nearly half an hour later, the imperial physician arrived at the prison under the guidance of the Dali Temple personnel.

The imperial physician immediately noticed the corpse placed in the very center. The corpse's face was covered in pustules and emitted a foul odor.

As expected of the imperial physician, he was indeed quite skilled in medicine.

The imperial physician took out several silver needles, pricked the abscesses, and smelled them under his nose. Then he made a small incision on Huang Ce's body to examine the change in the color of the blood.

"It really is this kind of poison."

The imperial physician muttered to himself.

His muttering did not escape the ears of the various forces around him, nor did it escape Yan Xiang, who was standing very close.

"What kind of poison is it?"

Yan Xiang forced out an ugly smile, which startled the imperial physician. He looked worse when he wasn't smiling; the smile was really frightening!

The imperial physician dared not conceal the truth and quickly replied, "Your Highness, this is a Gu poison."

"Huang Ce nurtured a Gu worm within his own body using his own flesh and blood."

"These types of Gu worms need to be fed with specific things. If they are not fed, they will die quickly and release a deadly poison that will cause the host to die from festering sores all over their body."

"This kind of Gu worm is extremely rare in the world, and the price of using it is one's own life. Apart from using it to commit suicide, there is almost no other use for this ability."

The imperial physician shook his head, showing utter disdain for these minor practices involving Gu worms.