Chapter 69 The Real and Fake Princes

"You're awake. It seems it was helpful." Xie Yushu bent down and gently touched his chest, which was no longer stiff and cold.

Song Jie almost instinctively grasped her hand, his throat dry as he asked, "What's useful?"

He desperately wanted to ask her if kissing him and feeding him medicine was a dream. But Xie Yushu's face looked too cold at this moment, and he was afraid that if he asked, he would be met with her sarcasm. He didn't know why, but he was becoming more and more concerned about her sarcasm.

Xie Yushu used to mock him, but he never took it seriously.

"The medicine I got from Yu Miao is effective," Xie Yushu replied, without withdrawing her hand. She simply looked down at him. It wasn't the medicine that was effective, but her "kiss" and her protagonist's luck that were effective.

In the dim light, a sense of pity arose on her expressionless face.

Song Jie suddenly felt that she was pitying him like a goddess, but the goddess pitied more than just him.

She also pitied Xiao Dao, pitied Meng Min, and perhaps even pitied Wan Susu.

Song Jie looked up at her, feeling a sense of resentment. He hoped she would only pity him, so why couldn't she only pity him?

Xiao Dao is a prince, Meng Min has her sister and her daughter, Wan Susu has the emperor and her beloved son Xiao Zhen, but he has nothing.

He's riddled with poison and won't live much longer. Even as her pawn, he's the most pitiful one, isn't he?

"Did you feed me the medicine?" Song Jie asked her, wanting a definite answer. It wasn't a dream; she really kissed him. She wanted to kiss him, didn't she?

Xie Yushu simply gave a casual "hmm" and then casually said to him, "If you want to live longer, stop taking the pills you were taking before. Those pills contain cinnabar, which can temporarily relieve your pain, but will only take your life sooner."

She was like a kind doctor, saying, "I have already given Yu Miao's medicine to Cang Shu. You will take that medicine from now on. It is not as fast-acting as the previous pills, but it will not harm your body. Taking it for a few more days may really help with your cold poison."

"Do you want me to live a little longer?" Song Jie couldn't help but ask her.

She said all this, and Song Jie certainly knew it.

The pills he took were prepared for him by his master, the King of Song. He knew from the beginning that they contained cinnabar, and that taking them for a long time would be like drinking poison to quench thirst. If he wanted to take revenge and gain a foothold in the court, he needed to quickly suppress the cold poison and restore his energy. At first, taking one pill would allow him to feel no pain from the cold poison for three days. However, later he needed to take more and more pills, and the effect became shorter and shorter.

He no longer cared about his own life or death; he just wanted to hold on until he had taken his revenge. No one wanted him to live, and he himself didn't want to live either.

But now he wants to know, does Xie Yushu want him to live longer?

Xie Yushu looked at him and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Of course I hope you live a long time, after all, you are my most useful pawn."

Cangshu, standing outside the bed curtains, frowned slightly, but then heard the Prime Minister chuckle softly from inside the bed.

"I'm glad you said that." Song Jie's voice was hoarse, but it was filled with laughter, as if he were saying it sincerely: "Whether you're after my money or I'm useful, at least I'm the person you need the most."

Cangshu felt a lump in her throat and her heart ached. Perhaps for the Prime Minister, love was too rare and precious, and using him was what made him feel most at ease.

"Did you hear what Cang Shu and I were talking about just now?" Xie Yushu's tone softened. She wasn't heartless; she also felt sorry for Song Jie. But she was determined to get what she wanted. She had come back from the dead and transmigrated through this world not to become a second Wan Susu, but to experience another, even more incredible life.

She sat down on the edge of Song Jie's bed, letting him hold her hand. Hearing him give a soft "hmm," she asked him, "What do you need me to do next?"

Xie Yushu reached out and touched his face, speaking softly as if to give him a treat, "I need you to take care of your health first and follow my instructions."

Song Jie couldn't help but laugh and replied with a "Okay".

Her warm, soft hands touched Song Jie's face, making his heart tremble.

He knew, of course, that Xie Yushu was using him, and that her tenderness was just a little treat for him. But so what? No one had ever spoken to him like this or treated him so gently before. Since sincerity or pretense didn't matter so much.

Xie Yushu told him to rest assured, then turned to Cangshu and instructed, "Pei Heng's men are guarding me outside, so it's inconvenient for me to leave Yuqing Temple. Can you find a way to bring Jiang Hua to see me? Don't let anyone find out."

Cangshu looked up and saw the Prime Minister sit up, his pale face looking at him from behind Miss Yushu, and nodding at him.

"I'll take care of it right away," Cang Shu replied, turning and leaving.

#

In less than half an hour, Cangshu brought Jianghua over the back mountain of Yuqing Temple.

Both of them stood in front of Xie Yushu in the study, soaking wet.

Xie Yushu had just poured a glass of warm water and handed it to Song Jie when he turned to Jiang Hua and asked bluntly, "Granny Jiang Hua, you used to be a midwife, right?"

Jiang Hua looked up at her, her expression calm, and exhaled a cold breath as she asked, "Is the King of Song dead?"

She didn't show much surprise on her face, as if she had been waiting for this day.

"He's dead. He just died tonight." Xie Yushu handed her a blanket. "Now can you tell me the secret you've been guarding?"

Jiang Hua took the blanket but didn't wipe herself. She just stared at Xie Yushu, a relieved smile on her face: "He's finally dead. My son is finally free from threats..."

Her son?

Xie Yushu paused for a moment and immediately realized that the Prince of Song was using her son to blackmail her and conceal the truth about the real and fake princes, right?

Jiang Hua suddenly knelt down, smiled again, and looked at Xie Yushu with red eyes as if she was about to cry, saying, "Miss Yushu, please ask whatever you want."

Xie Yushu was taken aback when she said it so easily.

Jiang Hua smiled through her tears and said, "I am also a mother. I know the pain of losing a child. I did not want to help the Prince of Song do these evil things and hurt a mother... It was Song Xingzhi and the Prince of Song who used my son's life to blackmail me and put me under house arrest in the Song Mansion."

Song Jie, who was sitting on the bed, frowned and looked at her. "You were placed under house arrest in the manor by my father? So, my father knew about and was involved in the whole affair of switching the prince back then?"

Jiang Hua nodded, looking at Song Jie with a hint of pity. She didn't want to tell Song Jie that the fact that the Prince of Song saved him and that he was brought back to the mansion by Song Xingzhi was all part of Song Xingzhi and the Prince of Song's plan.

But Song Jie is so smart, how could he not guess?

"So, Song Xingzhi knew all along that I was rescued by the King of Song and lived in the Taoist temple for so many years?" Song Jie asked, his lips devoid of color.

Jiang Hua nodded again with red eyes, then said hesitantly, "Prime Minister, Song Xingzhi is a beast. He harmed the Imperial Concubine and ruined your life. He doesn't deserve to be a father; he doesn't even deserve to be a human being!"

Song Jie's expression was calm, and he even smiled slightly, saying, "So it turns out that my life, my hatred, and everything else were all part of a pre-arranged plan."

He didn't ask again: So Song Xingzhi treated him so badly, whipping him in front of Wan Susu, just to make him hate Wan Susu, right?

In the dim light, his face was so pale, almost pitifully so.

Xie Yushu sat on the edge of the bed, slowly took his cold hand in hers, and asked Jiang Hua, "King Song kept you here so that you could prove Xiao Zhen is a fake prince in the future, so that he could achieve his revenge. You must know the characteristics of the real prince."

Jiang Hua nodded and said without any concealment, "The real prince has a red birthmark the size of a fingernail on his right little toe. To switch the princes, the Song King cut off one of the little toes on both the real and fake princes' right little toes so that no one would find out." She continued, "But the real prince has a brown birthmark the size of a leaf on his chest. This kind of birthmark is hereditary. I have delivered three princes in the palace, and each prince has this birthmark on his arm, buttocks, and shoulder. If I am not mistaken, His Majesty also has this birthmark."

Xie Yushu almost stood up, her heart pounding. She remembered that Xiao Dao had a birthmark like that on his chest.

That's wonderful! Xiao Dao is a prince, so it's only natural for him to become emperor. This time, even the heavens are on her side.

Xie Yushu released Song Jie, walked over to Jiang Hua, helped her up, and asked her, "Do you know where the fake prince was taken from by the Prince of Song?"

Jiang Hua hesitated for a moment but answered truthfully: "I am not sure. After the real prince was taken out of the palace, I took care of him for a period of time. During that time, I saw the Prince of Song having a private meeting with a woman. The woman asked him how her child was. The Prince of Song told her: Your Majesty, you can rest assured that your child is enjoying the treatment of an emperor."

The treatment he received was that of an empress and an emperor… Xie Yushu was almost certain that Xiao Zhen was the late emperor’s son.

Holding Jiang Hua's hand, she couldn't hide her excitement: "Jiang Hua, are you willing to help that child return to his biological parents?"

Jiang Hua nodded, her eyes red.

"Alright." Xie Yushu draped a black cloak over her shoulders. "You'll come with me now."

"Now?" Jiang Hua's heart skipped a beat. So fast?

Yes, right now.

Xie Yushu did not linger and took Jiang Hua directly to Suxinzhai.

The room suddenly fell silent. Song Jie looked at the door that had been closed again, called out to Cang Shu, and asked him to come over.

Cangshu walked to his bedside and suddenly heard him ask, "Cangshu, how many years have you been with me?"

Cang Shu was so frightened that he immediately knelt down and admitted his mistake: "Prime Minister, it was my fault. I shouldn't have questioned Miss Yu Shu. Please don't send me away."

Song Jie looked at him, his face pale, and smiled: "Get up. I'm not trying to send you away, I just have a new task for you."

"I will obey Your Excellency's orders," Cang Shu said.

"From now on, you belong to Xie Yushu," Song Jie said in a hoarse voice.

Cangshu looked up at him in surprise.

"You must follow her lead and obey her orders." Song Jie coughed lightly and said, "After I die, you will stay by her side, and she will not treat you badly."

Cangshu suddenly realized that the Prime Minister was giving his final instructions...

"Prime Minister, please don't say that. Perhaps you can be saved if you take Miss Yushu's medicine..." Cangshu wanted to comfort him.

But Song Jie knew in his heart that he was just hanging on to his life.

He looked at Cangshu, the orphan who had been by his side since childhood. Cangshu was the only one who had truly followed him. He felt at ease entrusting Cangshu to Xie Yushu after his death.

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Author's Note: Song Jie, the first wife who had no official status, placed his most loyal and handsome young servant in the Jade Study before his death. (Just kidding.)