The dead chicken was merely a medium—did they really think she had the leisure to slaughter an animal’s blood for Jiang Yan’er to drink?
Jiang Yan’er was even worse than an animal. Giving it to her would be an insult to the chicken.
Upon hearing her words, Jiang Yan’er spat out another mouthful of blood, prompting Chu Youqi to urgently order a servant to summon a physician.
The atmosphere in the room plummeted, chilling to the extreme.
After Chu Youqi settled Jiang Yan’er, he turned his gaze to Jiang Yunxu. His eyes were red with rage, fists clenched, teeth gritted: “Jiang Yunxu! You’re asking for death!”
“Seize this vile woman for this prince!”
At his command, the guards drew their blades.
Jiang Yunxu slowly rose to her feet, confronting him without a trace of panic, her eyes sharp as icy daggers.
“I dare anyone to try!”
She spoke coldly: “You truly have no regard for your lives. I am the Third Princess Consort, properly wedded and honored—how dare you lay hands on me!”
Her aura shifted instantly, leaving the guards momentarily frozen in place.
Though Lingzhouguo was a fictional dynasty, its hierarchy was strict and unyielding. No matter how unloved she was, she was still the legitimate wife, carried through the gates in a grand eight-palanquin procession!
Chu Youqi had dared to treat the original host this way only because he took advantage of her gentle nature, knowing she would suffer in silence without complaint. Otherwise, he would never have dared to harm her on their wedding day.
But she was not the original host. She, oh, repaid every slight—even if it meant mutual destruction!
Chu Youqi stared at the woman before him, unyielding and dignified, astonished by her transformation. Just moments ago, she hadn’t been like this.
But regaining his composure, he roared again: “This prince will kill you, you poisonous woman, today!”
Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Jiang Yunxu let out a soft laugh.
“Killing one’s wife for the sake of a concubine—Your Highness must be the first in Lingzhouguo to do so.” She gazed at Chu Youqi, her smile unwavering, though her almond-shaped eyes were filled with coldness. “Or does Your Highness resent the late emperor’s arranged marriage and deliberately seek to provoke?”
“You dare threaten this prince!”
Chu Youqi glared at her furiously, wishing he could tear her apart limb by limb to vent his rage.
Faced with his demeanor, Jiang Yunxu remained utterly indifferent.
“I am merely reminding you. And…”
She glanced at Jiang Yan’er on the sickbed, her eyes brimming with mockery: “Do you think those physicians can save your dear Yan’er sister from her poison?”
By now, Jiang Yan’er had begun to show signs of poisoning, her lips turning purple, blood continuously seeping from the corners of her mouth.
Her Gudu—no one but her could cure it.
The elderly physician by the couch had been taking her pulse for a long while, unable to determine the cause. Feeling Chu Youqi’s gaze upon him, he broke into a cold sweat.
He had no choice but to confess honestly.
“Y-Your Highness, Consort Yan’s poison has invaded her internal organs. This humble physician fears… I cannot cure her.”
“Useless!”
Chu Youqi flicked his sleeve, and the physician hurriedly knelt, begging for mercy, not forgetting to add: “Your Highness, to untie the bell, one must seek the one who tied it.”
Wasn’t the one who administered the poison Jiang Yunxu herself?
Chu Youqi could no longer concern himself with anything else. He ordered the guards to disperse and dragged her over.
“The antidote!” Jiang Yan’er’s breathing grew increasingly faint. Chu Youqi stared at Jiang Yunxu with bloodshot eyes: “Hand over the antidote to this prince!”
Jiang Yunxu merely curved her lips into a smile, raising her hand to grip Chu Youqi’s wrist instead, skillfully creating distance between them.
She exhaled softly, her breath like orchid fragrance: “Your Highness must agree to one condition of mine. Otherwise, we die together!”
“Speak!” Chu Youqi gritted his teeth, helpless. At this moment, preserving Yan’er’s life was of utmost importance.
“I want…”
Jiang Yunxu sized him up, a glint of mischief flashing in her eyes, full of playful mockery.
“Stay with me for one night.”
The original host had loved him for so long, sacrificed so much for him. Asking him to spend one night with her wasn’t too much, was it?
Mostly, seeing him kept in the dark by Jiang Yan’er, she simply couldn’t “bear” it.
But upon hearing this, Chu Youqi seemed to feel deeply insulted. He gritted his teeth, the sound audible, his eyes filled with undisguised disgust.
Yet it couldn’t wound Jiang Yunxu’s heart.
After a long, dead silence, just as Jiang Yan’er began to moan in agony, Chu Youqi finally squeezed out the word through clenched teeth.
“Fine!”
Hearing this, Jiang Yunxu smiled faintly. “How decisive of you, Your Highness.”
Chu Youqi had no mind to waste words with her. He pushed her toward Jiang Yan’er, warning her not to play any tricks.
Jiang Yunxu paid him no further mind. Under Chu Youqi’s watchful gaze, she took silver needles of various sizes from the physician’s medicine chest.
Then Jiang Yan’er’s clothes were undone, revealing her neck and abdomen.
Passing the needles over a candle flame, Jiang Yunxu swiftly and decisively inserted them into various acupuncture points.
The physician beside her watched in astonishment. Even someone with decades of medical experience lacked her precision, let alone someone so young.
Chu Youqi’s gaze now held scrutiny as he observed Jiang Yunxu. He had never heard that this ugly woman knew medicine, let alone surpassed the physicians present.
If Jiang Yunxu had heard his thoughts, she would have scorned him for looking down on others. Her medical skills weren’t just superior to his—they surpassed all the physicians in Yunxi City!
Just as Jiang Yunxu inserted the final needle, within moments, Jiang Yan’er coughed up a dark, sticky, unknown substance. She collapsed weakly onto the bed, her complexion gradually returning to normal.
“Another half-month of acupuncture, and the poison will be completely neutralized.”
In truth, one session could have cured it entirely, but Jiang Yunxu held back. Who knew if this Chu dog might suddenly change his mind?
She would keep Jiang Yan’er alive for now, occasionally using her as leverage. Once she had an escape route, she would demand a life for a life!
Hearing her words, Chu Youqi hurried to Jiang Yan’er’s side, anxiously examining her closely. Only after the physician took her pulse and confirmed the poison had receded did Chu Youqi finally relax.
He looked at Jiang Yunxu, narrowing his eyes, his tone icy. “I was unaware the prime minister’s legitimate daughter knew medicine?”
Jiang Yunxu put away the silver needles, meeting his gaze with playful amusement.
“Your Highness need not know. You only need to keep your word. Tonight is our wedding night, and I’m quite looking forward to it.”
She deliberately emphasized the word “looking forward to,” successfully noting Chu Youqi’s livid expression. A faint smile touched Jiang Yunxu’s lips.
“Your Highness, I’ll be waiting for you.”
She was deliberately trying to disgust him.
In the end, Jiang Yunxu withdrew unscathed. Even if Chu Youqi’s killing intent was palpable, he could do nothing against her.
As long as Yan’er wasn’t fully recovered, she had to stay alive!
…
“Y-Your Highness… Princess.”
“This servant has been assigned to attend to you, Princess. My name is Xiao Tao.”
Jiang Yunxu sat in the room adorned with wedding symbols, a timid maidservant at her side. After a brief glance, she said, “Fetch me a basin of water.”
“Yes!”
As the young maid left, Jiang Yunxu looked at her reflection in the bronze mirror, carefully studying her own face.
In truth, the original body was not unattractive. This could be seen from the half of her face not yet ravaged by toxins—her skin was smooth as fine jade, her lips a vivid red, and her almond-shaped eyes particularly striking. When she lifted her gaze, the shimmering depths of her eyes were utterly captivating.
As for the other half of her face… well…
It was truly quite unsightly.
Jiang Yunxu traced the beauty concealed beneath the toxin’s corruption and suddenly recalled that she had once developed a type of Meiyanwan. No matter the toxin, just one pill could completely cleanse it away.
But those medicinal ingredients were unique to her laboratory. She wasn’t sure if she could find them here.
And then there were the wounds on her back, which had already broken through the dermal layer. Even if she treated them, they would be difficult to heal.
If only she had the trauma medicine from her lab.
Just as Jiang Yunxu lowered her head in thought, a strange light suddenly flickered at her brow, and her surroundings shifted in an instant.
When Jiang Yunxu looked up again and saw the scene around her, she was utterly astonished.
It was her own laboratory!
Jiang Yunxu approached in disbelief, reaching out to touch. It was indeed real. Even her custom-made scalpel and a full set of surgical instruments were placed nearby, and the medicinal herbs cultivated in the greenhouse were all there as well.
She had heard tales of something like a spatial dimension before, but she never imagined such a thing would happen to her.
Without further hesitation, Jiang Yunxu began rummaging through the medicine cabinet. The bottle of Meiyanwan and the trauma medicine were placed on the very top shelf.
“Your Highness?”
At that moment, a voice calling out pulled Jiang Yunxu away from the space. When she looked around again, she was back in her room.
A maid respectfully brought water before her. Jiang Yunxu tightened her grip on the items in her hand—they were real.
She instructed, “Wait outside. I will call if I need anything.”
“Yes.”
Once the room was quiet again, Jiang Yunxu sat before the bronze mirror, the bottle of Meiyanwan placed in front of her.
She opened the lid, releasing a faint, refreshing fragrance. Without hesitation, she poured out a pill and swallowed it.
As the medicine slid down her throat, Jiang Yunxu felt as if her body were being pulled apart by threads of pain, and her face burned as if on fire.
She could only grit her teeth and endure it.
The toxins had been in her body for five years. To completely purge them would certainly take more than a short while.
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Jiang Yunxu looked as if she had been pulled from water, every strand of her hair soaked with sweat.
She wiped her face with water and looked up once more at the bronze mirror.
Her fingertips brushed against her face—smooth and delicate. Jiang Yunxu revealed a satisfied smile.
Night fell, and the dragon-and-phoenix candles were lit.
When Chu Youqi pushed the door open, he saw Jiang Yunxu wearing only a thin robe, lounging lazily by the bed. Her slender legs were crossed, and her fair feet dangled a pair of embroidered shoes, swaying carelessly.
Seeing him arrive, she not only didn’t rise to greet him but even tilted her head to scrutinize him. Her appearance was even uglier than it had been that morning, the twisted scars on her face now more pronounced than ever.
The thought of spending a night with such a woman made Chu Youqi’s face turn ashen. He immediately lashed out, “As a princess consort, you are so improper and lack any sense of decorum. Jiang Yunxu, you truly disgust me!”
If it weren’t for Jiang Yan’er not yet fully awake and his fear that Jiang Yunxu might try some trick, he would never have stepped through this door!
His insults only earned Jiang Yunxu’s intensified mockery: “Decorum? What decorum? When you ordered those maids to take my Xinjianxue, why didn’t you think about decorum then?”
Chu Youqi’s expression darkened to the extreme. From his clenched fists, it was clear he was struggling to contain his fury.
Jiang Yunxu, however, smiled. She loved seeing him like this the most—his displeasure was her pleasure.
Yet her smile provoked Chu Youqi. He strode over quickly, his eyes dark and shadowed.
“Jiang Yunxu, isn’t this just your way of trying to get my attention, to have me? Fine! I’ll satisfy you, you wretch!”
The candlelight flickered as Jiang Yunxu was shoved onto the bed. Her black hair spilled carelessly over the red silk sheets, her expression utterly unperturbed as she watched coldly while Chu Youqi undid his sash.
Just as Chu Youqi was about to press down on her, intending to cover her face with the quilt and humiliate her thoroughly—
Jiang Yunxu kicked him squarely in the groin.
Instantly, a howl of agony pierced the night. The attendants waiting outside the door were about to burst in but were deterred by Chu Youqi’s furious roar.
“Get out!”
No one dared touch the door again.
Jiang Yunxu slowly rose from the bed, brushing off nonexistent dust from her clothes.
Looking down at Chu Youqi, who was half-kneeling on the floor, she wasted no more words on him: “Third Prince, you’d better take it easy. After all, someone who’s been unconscious for five years—the physician warned you not to indulge too much in women. The lingering effects of Hanxingcao are quite potent.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Chu Youqi, who had been lost in pain, abruptly looked up and met Jiang Yunxu’s icy gaze.
Back then, when he was poisoned with an incurable toxin, no one knew its name or origin.
Seeing his astonishment, she smiled and added, “I also know clearly that the antidote for you is Wugu.”
Chu Youqi’s eyes widened in utter disbelief.
How could she?!
Jiang Yunxu said no more, for she had noticed a fleeting shadow outside the window.
Curling her lips, she raised her hand as if unintentionally, revealing the birthmark on the inside of her arm, and whispered softly, “Third Prince, holding a token doesn’t necessarily mean you are its rightful owner. Hearing something doesn’t always make it true. Don’t repay the wrong kindness.”