People came and went constantly in the main courtyard, with no sign of stopping.
Granny Cui took the prescription to get the medicine, while Chief Physician Zheng also stayed behind. He brought two imperial physicians with him and waited outside the room, clearly wanting to see what else this new Princess Consort was capable of.
Jiang Zhaoxue couldn’t be bothered with them. She washed her hands, rolled up her sleeves, and stood beside the bed to administer acupuncture to Xiao Chenghuai.
After placing the final needle steadily, she reached out and pulled the quilt up to cover his chest. She stared at him for a moment before suddenly saying,
“You all leave.”
Granny Cui had just entered with hot water in her hands. Hearing this, she froze.
“Princess Consort?”
“Too many people. The energy is too mixed.” Jiang Zhaoxue said. “He is already half-dead. With all of you surrounding him like this, are you afraid the King of Hell won’t be able to find the door?”
The people in the room looked at each other. Her words were harsh, but no one dared to argue.
Granny Cui immediately waved her hand and chased everyone out.
“Everyone out! No one else is allowed to enter!”
A group of people hurriedly withdrew.
The room finally became quiet.
Jiang Zhaoxue took the hot cloth and wiped Xiao Chenghuai’s hands. The man’s palms were so cold that she frowned.
She disliked the aura of death, yet the deathly energy around this man was extremely heavy, while his life energy was also incredibly strong. The two forces were tangled together as if they were fighting.
As she wiped his hands, she lowered her head and looked at him. After watching for a while, she suddenly said,
“Your fate is really difficult to maintain.”
Naturally, the person on the bed did not respond.
Jiang Zhaoxue tossed the cloth back into the copper basin, dragged over a stool, and sat beside the bed to keep watch.
She was actually tired as well. Last night, the Jiang family had sent people to bring her back from the abandoned temple overnight. As soon as she entered the manor, they changed her clothes, styled her hair, and forced her to learn the proper etiquette. They kept her busy until dawn before stuffing her into the bridal sedan and sending her to Jing Prince’s residence.
Along the way, she had not even eaten a single hot meal. Her stomach was completely empty, and her hands and feet were cold.
She pressed a hand against her stomach and silently added another debt to the Jiang family.
There was no rush to settle this account. Everyone was in Shengjing; they could not run away.
Footsteps came from outside.
“Granny Cui, someone from the Dowager Consort’s side has arrived. She says she wants to see the Princess Consort.”
Granny Cui lowered her voice as well.
“What is there to see at a time like this? Can’t they see that someone inside is being saved?”
“It’s Aunt Sun who came. She said the Dowager Consort has been waiting anxiously.”
Jiang Zhaoxue leaned back against the chair. After hearing this, she raised her hand and rubbed her forehead.
See? Trouble had already arrived.
The bride brought in for a luck-changing marriage had only just entered the manor. Instead of asking about her son’s condition first, the Dowager Consort was in a hurry to see her. Anyone could understand what that meant.
She stood up and opened the door. Outside stood a woman in her forties. When the door opened, the woman first looked Jiang Zhaoxue up and down before giving a formal bow.
“This old servant was ordered by the Dowager Consort to invite the Princess Consort over for a talk.”
Jiang Zhaoxue asked, “Has the prince woken up?”
Aunt Sun had not expected her first question to be that. Her expression stiffened slightly.
“The Dowager Consort is worried about His Highness, and she is also concerned about the Princess Consort.”
“Then let her continue worrying.” Jiang Zhaoxue said. “I cannot leave.”
Aunt Sun was stunned.
“Princess Consort, the Dowager Consort has summoned you\…”
“I heard you.” Jiang Zhaoxue looked at her. “But I am now the Princess Consort of Jing Prince. The person I am guarding is Jing Prince. He has not yet escaped danger, and you want me to go keep the Dowager Consort company and chat? What are we supposed to discuss? How many greeting gifts she plans to give me, or where the keys to the manor’s treasury are kept?”
Aunt Sun’s expression turned unpleasant after being refuted. The servants standing nearby all lowered their heads, not daring to make a sound.
Granny Cui secretly took a breath. Although this new Princess Consort’s words were sharp, they were truly satisfying to hear.
Over the years, the Dowager Consort had shown affection toward the prince on the surface, but Granny Cui had not failed to notice the methods she used behind the scenes. It was just that she had never had evidence and could not expose it.
Now that such a formidable person had arrived, she dared to block people with just a few words.
Aunt Sun gritted her teeth.
“Princess Consort, this servant does not dare to repeat those words back.”
“Then repeat them exactly as they are.” Jiang Zhaoxue said. “I’m very busy. I don’t have time to save anyone’s dignity.”
After saying that, she closed the door.
Aunt Sun nearly had her nose smashed by the door. Furious, she turned around and left.
Granny Cui stood to the side. She felt a moment of satisfaction in her heart, but soon began to worry.
“Princess Consort, the Dowager Consort will probably be angry.”
Jiang Zhaoxue turned and walked back into the room.
“Let her be angry for now. Once your prince wakes up, it may not be certain who should be angry.”
The person on the bed suddenly coughed twice.
Jiang Zhaoxue immediately turned her head. Xiao Chenghuai’s eyelashes trembled slightly.
She stood up and walked over, pressing a finger against his philtrum.
The man lay on the bed, so thin that his cheekbones protruded. His complexion was an unhealthy bluish-white.
After a while, his eyes slowly opened. They were exceptionally deep, carrying a scrutinizing gaze. His first words were not very polite.
“Where did you come from?”
Jiang Zhaoxue looked down at him from above.
“Your newlywed wife.”
Xiao Chenghuai’s brows tightened, clearly remembering.
A marriage meant to bring him good fortune.
Today was the day of his wedding, but he had been seriously ill. In his hazy consciousness, he only remembered someone sticking something into him, their actions completely merciless.
Xiao Chenghuai uttered one sentence.
“Throw her out.”
His voice was hoarse from illness, but his temper was certainly not small.
Jiang Zhaoxue let out a cold laugh. She leaned closer and said,
“Your life was saved by me. Now you want to throw me out? Too late.”
Xiao Chenghuai had probably never encountered a woman who dared speak to him like this. He stared at her for a long while.
“You saved me?”
“Otherwise?” Jiang Zhaoxue spread her hand out in front of him. “Why don’t you ask the people in your manor?”
Xiao Chenghuai looked at her for a while. The corner of his lips twitched as if he wanted to smile, but instead he broke into a fit of coughing.
Jiang Zhaoxue brought over some warm water and helped him drink a sip.
He did not refuse. After drinking, he only asked one question.
“What is your name?”
“Jiang Zhaoxue.”
“Sent here by the Jiang family?”
“Yes.”
“How long can I live?”
Jiang Zhaoxue brushed the glutinous rice powder off her hands.
“Originally, you wouldn’t have survived past tonight. But now\… it depends on how long I can extend your life.”
Xiao Chenghuai looked at her and said nothing.
After a moment, his gaze shifted away and landed on the glutinous rice grains that had not yet been completely cleaned from the edge of the bed.
“Soul-Suppressing Curse. Glutinous rice draws out yin energy, and a silver hairpin breaks the seal. You learned the Daoist method of dispelling evil?”
Jiang Zhaoxue raised her brows.
This was not something an ordinary prince should know.
“His Highness understands this?”
“I don’t.”
Xiao Chenghuai coughed once.
“But for my own life, I naturally have to investigate and understand what happened.”
“So\…” Xiao Chenghuai’s gaze returned to her face. “You saved me. What do you want?”
Jiang Zhaoxue immediately became interested. She liked people who got straight to the point.
“First, I will not live in a side courtyard, nor will I live in the bridal chamber. This place of yours is clean, so I will stay in the main courtyard.”
Xiao Chenghuai glanced at her and did not object.
“Second, I need to choose the people in your manor. I will decide who stays and who leaves.”
Xiao Chenghuai still did not object.
“Third\…” Jiang Zhaoxue paused for a moment and stared into his eyes. “The Jiang family used my master’s life to force me to come here and perform this marriage meant to bring you good fortune. As long as my master is not safe, I will not leave. Once he is safe, I want to borrow the power of your Jing Prince’s residence to settle an old account with the Jiang family. This deal\…”
Before she could finish speaking, Xiao Chenghuai smiled.
“Deal.”
He extended his hand. That hand was so thin that the joints were clearly visible, and there was a layer of thin calluses on the base of his thumb.
Jiang Zhaoxue lowered her head and glanced at it, then reached out and shook his hand.
“You’re not going to ask how I plan to settle things with the Jiang family?”
Xiao Chenghuai released her hand, leaned back against the embroidered pillow, and closed his eyes.
“For your matters, this prince only cares about the result. If you create a mess, this prince will handle it. If I cannot handle it, then it means you lack the ability.”
The corner of Jiang Zhaoxue’s mouth twitched.
Xiao Chenghuai asked again, “When you entered the manor, what did you see?”
Jiang Zhaoxue did not expect him to ask this.
She thought for a moment and decided to tell the truth.
“I saw that your fate is very good.”
“What else?”
“I saw that this marriage of mine was worth it.”
“Jiang Zhaoxue, you are very bold.”
“I was abandoned beside a burial ground and raised there since I was young. If I didn’t have courage, I would have been scared to death long ago.”
After saying this, the way Xiao Chenghuai looked at her changed slightly.
He did not continue asking. Instead, he only said, “Granny Cui.”
The person waiting outside hurriedly entered.
“Pass down my order.” Xiao Chenghuai forced himself to raise his voice. “From today onward, the Princess Consort will remain in the main courtyard. Whatever she says, carry it out.”
Granny Cui was overjoyed and immediately accepted the order.
The stone weighing on Jiang Zhaoxue’s heart finally fell.
It was done.
She was just about to say a few more words when Xiao Chenghuai’s gaze returned to her face. Slowly, he added,
“Also.”
“What?”
“You just said that my fate is very good.”
“Yes.”
“How good is it?”
Jiang Zhaoxue looked at him for a while. This question was something she could truly answer.
But giving the answer right now would easily cause trouble.
She reached out and adjusted the bed curtain, pushing it slightly inward, her expression completely natural.
“That requires a separate calculation. His Highness should first stabilize his health. Once you are able to sit up again, I will collect your fortune-telling fee.”
Jiang Zhaoxue stood up and turned to leave. When she reached the doorway, she heard a soft chuckle coming from behind her.
“Interesting.”