Mo Yu wiped his sweat. “Your Highness, that is indeed what the Prime Minister’s residence reported.”
The gentle smile at Xiao Jingchen’s lips deepened. He stood there, watching the two figures in the bamboo pavilion for a long while, a faint smile still lingering.
“It seems her illness has improved—she’s lively enough. That’s a good thing.”
Yet beneath his sleeve, unseen by anyone, his hand clenched tightly. Veins bulged as he tightened his grip until the thumb ring on his finger snapped in two, cutting into his flesh as thin streams of blood trickled down.
With a heavy flick of his sleeve, he turned and left. The smile in his eyes vanished, replaced by a fleeting trace of cold hostility.
Over at the pavilion, the two seemed to have caught sight of his departing figure.
“Crown Prince Brother!”
Wen Shuyu called out and hurriedly got up, running toward him.
The Seventh Prince, Xiao Yi, also looked up. “Brother?”
Seeing her chase after him, Xiao Yi lifted the unfinished talisman in his hand and called out after them.
“A-Yu, are you still coming back to learn later? Should I wait for you here? A-Yu?”
On the other side—
Wen Shuyu quickly caught up to Xiao Jingchen and grabbed his sleeve. “Crown Prince Brother, slow down. Did you just finish paying respects to Aunt Empress?”
Xiao Jingchen ignored her completely, not even sparing her a glance. He pulled his sleeve free and continued walking.
Wen Shuyu followed, her voice tinged with confusion. “Crown Prince Brother, are you in a bad mood today?”
At last, Xiao Jingchen stopped. He looked at her calmly, his voice devoid of emotion.
“Wen Shuyu, I don’t have time to play these games with you. Do you understand?”
“Crown Prince Brother, what are you talking about? I don’t understand. Look up.”
Wen Shuyu gazed at him. At that moment, her eyes shone brilliantly, as though filled with starlight. Between her fingers, she held a talisman.
The moment it flew out, countless plum blossoms began to fall from the sky.
The pale blossoms drifted like shattered jade scattered by an immortal of the moon palace. A faint fragrance lingered as petals spiraled gently through the air, brushing against Xiao Jingchen’s exquisite profile and settling upon his shoulder.
The scene was like a breathtaking painting unfolding before his eyes.
“Crown Prince Brother, I went to learn the Plum Blossom Talisman from the Seventh Prince… to give you a surprise.”
“I know plum blossoms are your favorite. Tomorrow is your birthday—this was meant to be my gift to you.”
“It’s just… I’m too useless. I practiced for so long and couldn’t get it right… I finally succeeded, but my body might not hold out until tomorrow, so I… I’m giving it to you early…”
Suddenly, she lowered her head and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Her face turned deathly pale in an instant. Before Xiao Jingchen’s eyes, even the last trace of color drained from her lips.
Xiao Jingchen immediately sensed something was wrong. As she collapsed, he caught her.
“Wen Shuyu?”
The blood-stained plum blossoms on the ground reflected in his eyes. His voice sharpened with urgency.
“Mo Yu! Something’s wrong with this Plum Blossom Talisman. Summon the imperial physician and an alchemist—quickly!”
When Imperial Physician Hu and the alchemist rushed over and saw the plum blossoms on the ground along with Wen Shuyu’s condition, their expressions changed drastically, their beards trembling.
“A blood talisman! It uses one’s own vital essence as a catalyst, consuming lifespan and vitality to create! The Princess Consort has no spiritual power to begin with—she’s just a mortal. Using her lifespan to make a talisman—has she gone mad?!”
The alchemist, a close friend of Prime Minister Wen who had watched Wen Shuyu grow up, was equally alarmed.
“Why didn’t anyone stop her? Why was no one watching her?! If she wanted talismans, we could have bought them for her! Why would she use her life to make one?! Someone explain what is going on!”
In Xiao Jingchen’s arms, Wen Shuyu’s breathing grew faint.
“C-Crown Prince Brother… tomorrow…”
“Happy birthday…”
Her voice faded. Blood spilled once more from her pale lips as she lost consciousness completely.
“Wen Shuyu!”
The alchemist panicked. “Princess Consort! Quick—give her a high-grade Vitality Consolidation Pill! Then move her to the nearest Kunning Palace—hurry!”
The entire palace fell into chaos.
In mere moments, the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, the Empress, Prime Minister Wen, and even the Seventh Prince from the pavilion were all alerted.
The Seventh Prince was completely stunned.
A blood talisman? What?
The Plum Blossom Talisman he had taught A-Yu was a spiritual talisman—but without spiritual power, everything she drew had only been useless paper. When had she gone and created a blood talisman?
Meanwhile, Little Six, hidden within Wen Shuyu’s consciousness, was utterly dumbfounded.
From the first day she went to Xiao Jingchen to learn talisman drawing, to the second day when she feigned illness and deliberately let him see her learning from the Seventh Prince—using both “the Seventh Prince” and “pretending to be sick” to provoke Xiao Jingchen’s anger—
And just when he truly became angry and ignored her, she produced a blood talisman.
A sky full of plum blossoms, a talisman supposedly made with her life as a birthday gift for Xiao Jingchen… even her claim of learning from the Seventh Prince was framed as part of the surprise.
Finally, she turned pale and collapsed—convincing everyone she hadn’t been pretending. After all, someone who used their lifespan to create a talisman would naturally fall gravely ill.
As for that talisman—
No wonder last night she had asked:
If she bought a few talismans and dripped some blood onto them, wouldn’t others sense the blood aura and assume they were blood talismans?
After all, aside from blood talismans, who would put blood on a talisman?
Then she had taken a pill that temporarily reversed her blood flow, making her body appear weak and frail.
So this was her plan all along.
Little Six was speechless.
Soon, news spread throughout the capital—
Wen Shuyu had burned her own vital essence and lifespan to create a Plum Blossom Talisman for the Crown Prince’s birthday, only to collapse from exhaustion.
Even for someone as notorious as Wen Shuyu, the news shocked many.
“What? Has Wen Shuyu lost her mind?!”
“That’s a blood talisman! She already has no spiritual power and won’t live long as a mortal—yet she used her lifespan to make one?!”
“Hey, did you hear? Even after taking medicine, she’s still weak and needs to recuperate. Do you know where she’s recovering?”
That person raised their voice.
“The Eastern Palace!”
“The Crown Prince took her there!”
“A man and a woman alone, not yet married—and he brought her back to the Eastern Palace. What do you think they’re…”