Chapter 78

Xue Jin'an's sudden question made Consort Xian hesitate. Her mind involuntarily recalled how Xue Jin'an had taken Chu Wenwan's life "among thousands of troops," and she felt a chill run down her spine.

However, at this moment, the situation was beyond her control, leaving her no room for hesitation. Compared to the Empress Dowager's ruthless order to "break her hands and feet and leave her only with a breath," she was more willing to gamble that Xue Jin'an wouldn't be so cruel.

Now that she had made her choice, Consort Xian was not one to hesitate. She suppressed all the emotions surging within her, closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and nodded forcefully to prevent herself from regretting it. However, in the end, she still pleaded, "Seventh Prince, please spare him a way out, considering that Huan'er truly considers you his brother."

Consort Xian wanted to save the Third Prince's leg, not only because she feared he would lose his chance at the throne if his leg was crippled—to be honest, in the current situation, the Third Prince's reputation was already almost ruined. The only difference between crippling his leg and crippling it was whether his chances of seizing the throne were slim or infinitely close to zero.

What Consort Xian feared even more was that her son would become despondent and even contemplate suicide because of his crippled leg.

No one knows a son better than his mother. Consort Xian knew that her son greatly admired his elder brother Qian Dezhong and was determined to join the Tiger Guard Camp as a great general to achieve great deeds and drive out the Tartars. Coincidentally, her son was not good at anything else, but he did have some talent in this area and had his own pride.

Even if he loses his chance to become emperor, he can still go to the military camp, which is a future he would be happy with. But if his legs are crippled, let alone marching and fighting, even riding a horse might become a problem.

It was precisely because she knew the Third Prince's temperament that Consort Xian forbade the imperial physician from telling him that his leg was unlikely to fully recover and that he might be left with a limp. She allowed the Third Prince to not rest in bed properly and instead spend his days jumping around, also because the imperial physician said that maintaining a cheerful mood would be beneficial for his leg injury.

Indeed, this was the case. Although the Third Prince was out and about every day, he still had some sense of propriety and took good care of his injured leg. When he took his pulse a few days ago, the imperial physician said that his leg bone was healing very well and that he was going to use acupuncture and medicinal baths to help the leg bone heal. Although it would not be possible to make the injured leg as good as before, it would be able to recover to about 70-80%. Even if he was lame, it would not be very obvious and would not have a big impact on his martial arts practice.

Consort Xian was overjoyed at the time, and her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was finally half relieved. Little did she know that these people were so ruthless and cruel that they couldn't even wait for the day her son could put down his cane and wanted to destroy him directly.

Consort Xian was filled with hatred, but there was nothing she could do. Her most urgent task was to stop her maddening son.

Consort Xian looked at Xue Jin'an, took a deep breath, and said, "Go ahead and do it."

"Your request is to save your leg and your life?" Xue Jin'an nodded in agreement, and several plans immediately formed in his mind. In the end, he chose the fastest and easiest one. First, he had to find a stick that was long enough.

The Third Prince is strong enough and big enough to hold his own against several Imperial Guards. He is a master of close combat. Xue Jin'an is young and weak, so it is really a bad idea to fight him head-on. If he accidentally gets hit, he can't guarantee that his unhealthy little body won't just lie there.

A squishy mage has to kite a tanky berserker.

Xue Jin'an randomly picked a royal guard, took the spear from his hand, weighed it in his hand, and then suddenly thrust it at a very tricky angle, passing right past the royal guard's ear and aiming directly at the Third Prince's face!

Consort Xian had just stood up with the Emperor's help when she saw this and her knees almost buckled, causing her to kneel back down. Her breath caught in her throat, and her eyes widened as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.

A sharp, piercing sound exploded in his ears. The imperial guard only felt a gust of wind brush against his face. It wasn't until the Third Prince turned his head to avoid the killing move that he belatedly felt a slight pain on his skin.

Xue Jin'an knew that the spear had missed its target, but he still pushed it forward three inches. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he swept it horizontally. The Third Prince's body instinctively leaned back, but the spear had anticipated his reaction and changed from a sweep to a smash, striking the Third Prince's chest directly.

The third prince felt a tightness in his chest from the impact, his strength was momentarily restricted, and he lost his balance and fell to the ground. However, he was no pushover, being the prince with the highest martial prowess. He reacted quickly, grabbed one end of the spear, and tried to take the weapon away with brute force.

Xue Jin'an, realizing he couldn't win a direct confrontation, used the momentum to lunge forward, releasing the spear and flipping in mid-air, kicking the Third Prince squarely in the chest—the very spot where the spear had struck. Wounded twice in the same place, right where his vital organs were located, he immediately felt a sharp pain in his chest, his blood and qi surging uncontrollably, and his internal energy flow becoming sluggish.

The Third Prince immediately threw down his spear in anger and, not to be outdone, grabbed Xue Jin'an's ankle, intending to throw him to the ground. However, Xue Jin'an used his legs like scissors to clamp around Xue Jin'an's neck, and with a powerful twist of his waist, he was about to use the momentum to throw him to the ground. The Third Prince braced himself with his hands on the ground, and before he could make a next move, he rolled away from Xue Jin'an's attack range, and at the same time, he also escaped from the hostage, the Prince An's heir.

The Third Prince grabbed a table and, amidst a series of crashing sounds as dishes shattered, threw it violently at Xue Jin'an.

"Get out of the way!" Xue Jin'an shouted at the Imperial Guards standing around him, and kicked away the "corpses" that were in his way, dodging the table that was smashing towards him. He picked up the spear on the ground and once again charged towards the Third Prince like a storm.

The Imperial Guards quickly grabbed the Prince An, who was badly beaten and barely breathing, and ran away, clearing the battlefield.

In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged several blows. Xue Jin'an's spear danced like a snake, and no one knew from which direction it would suddenly strike, making it virtually impossible to defend against. At first, the Third Prince was able to dodge a few attacks, but later he was completely beaten and forced to run away with his head in his hands. Apart from the sounds of clubs hitting flesh, there were only the "thud" of spears piercing flesh. Soon, the Third Prince was covered in blood.

Every strike and thrust from Xue Jin'an was not random, but rather deliberate. Those around him with profound martial arts skills, such as Lu Bingzhu and Commander Wei, immediately recognized that Xue Jin'an was targeting pressure points.

When martial artists are in battle, they instinctively protect their vital points, including several major acupoints on their bodies. Xue Jin'an then took a different approach, directly striking the various acupoints on the Third Prince's body. By sealing these acupoints, he caused the Third Prince's internal energy to stagnate. As for the bloody holes on the Third Prince's body, Xue Jin'an intentionally bled him out, causing him to gradually lose too much blood and become weak.

With this ebb and flow, the Third Prince became a lamb to the slaughter.

Even those who didn't know martial arts could tell from the one-sided situation that Xue Jin'an had the upper hand. Moreover, since Xue Jin'an's spear could always predict the enemy's dodging movements, it looked as if the Third Prince was deliberately running into him. If it weren't for the fact that the Imperial Guards had been unable to subdue the Third Prince for a long time, they would have thought that the Third Prince was just a showy but incompetent figurehead with only mediocre martial arts skills.

The Seventh Prince turned out to be a prodigy in both literature and martial arts! Some were overjoyed, while others became wary.

If Xue Jin'an had an emotion perception system, he would be able to hear sounds like "Reputation value +1 +1..."

—In fact, the reason why Xue Jin'an could predict so accurately every time was mainly due to the Third Prince. The Third Prince was really crazy and acted entirely on instinct. He did not make any feints or attacks. He could directly see the opponent's next move from the muscle movement.

The Third Prince initially wanted to grab the spear to fight back, but Xue Jin'an had already completed the data collection during the fight and directly trapped him under the spear, making it impossible for him to escape. Later, the Third Prince was overwhelmed and could only instinctively protect his head from being hit.

Xue Jin'an's spear almost became a dog-beating stick.

"Alright, alright, Huan'er has calmed down!" Consort Xian immediately stopped Xue Jin'an's one-sided beating with joy and heartache, and was about to hug her son with tears in her eyes.

"Don't move." Xue Jin'an directly plunged a long spear into the ground in front of her feet, stopping her movement.

If the Gu worms in the Third Prince's body aren't removed, his madness won't end. Xue Jin'an picked up the rope from the ground—it was the rope used to tie the rice wine jar earlier. When the Third Prince overturned the table, it was thrown over along with the table. It was stained with someone's blood and looked filthy.

Just as Xue Jin'an bent down to pick up the rope, the Third Prince, who had seemed to have calmed down by holding his head, suddenly sprang up and pounced on Xue Jin'an with a frenzied expression.

The Third Prince has many acupoints sealed, and his internal energy circulation is now supported by a few major acupoints. His combat power is far less than before, and he has also lost too much blood. His injured leg is also at its critical point. The only reason he can still move now is because his nerves cannot feel pain.

However, not being able to feel it doesn't mean it doesn't exist, much less that it's unaffected; his movements are gradually becoming slower.

Xue Jin'an showed no intention of going easy on him. He put the rope around the Third Prince's neck and tied him to a pillar.

The rope was originally meant for tying up wine jars, and it wasn't very long, just enough to hold him up. The distance between him and the pillar was naturally very limited, but the Third Prince still struggled and moved around, almost strangling himself to death on the spot.

Xue Jin'an, annoyed by his restless movements, picked up the broken cane from the ground and struck the Third Prince directly on the side of his neck, where the sinus artery was located. The Third Prince immediately suffered from insufficient blood supply to the brain, his eyes rolled back, and he completely fainted.

"Huan'er!" Consort Xian took a step forward nervously, but then remembered Xue Jin'an's earlier rebuke and her son's renewed outburst. She stopped in her tracks and looked anxiously at Xue Jin'an's motionless back, waiting for his reaction.

Most people present thought that Xue Jin'an was standing there on guard against the Third Prince's sudden outburst, but in reality, Xue Jin'an was looking at the broken cane in his hand, which had a faint scent of insect pheromones.

Before leaving, Xue Jin'an checked the Third Prince's food, drink, and other belongings, paying particular attention to the jar of rice wine, which was found to be completely fine. Although he did not check the cane at the time, it was right next to the Third Prince, and if it had the scent of pheromones, he would have been able to smell it.

In other words, the scent of pheromones was acquired after he examined the area.

It was Xiao Jian. Xue Jin'an almost immediately identified the person who brought the pheromones. He remembered that the Third Prince's personal eunuch had taken the cane when he returned from outside, and had been kicked by the Third Prince for saying the wrong thing.

No wonder the Third Prince went berserk so quickly after they left; at such close range, it was only natural that he would react so swiftly.

Xue Jin'an used a rope and USB transmission function to directly connect to the Third Prince, and then activated the anti-virus mode to kill the Gu worms in the Third Prince's body.

"Xiao Qi," Consort Xian waited for a while before finally speaking, though her voice was very low, as if afraid of disturbing something, "How is Huan'er?"

"I'm dizzy." Xue Jin'an looked at the wounds on his body. He didn't know if it was the power of the Gu worms or because there were too many wounds and not enough platelets. Blood was still gushing out of the holes on his body. So he honestly added, "I'll die if I lose blood for another quarter of an hour."

Consort Xian: "!!!"

"You're welcome." Seeing Consort Xian staring at him in shock, Xue Jin'an replied quite naturally.

No, I didn't mean to thank you. No, no, I still have to thank you for saving Huan'er's life. I, you—

Consort Xian opened her mouth, countless words welling up to her lips, but in the end, they all coalesced into a deep, resonant cry: "Imperial Physician!!!"

With a loud roar, she nearly deafened the emperor who was closest to her. However, Consort Xian had no time to care about him. Her mind was completely focused on the Third Prince. She lifted her skirt and rushed to his side, squatted down with red eyes, reached out her hand but then withdrew it. Seeing his disheveled state, she dared not touch him. She wanted to untie the rope around his neck, but was worried that he would suddenly lash out and hurt someone again.

With a flash of silver light, Xue Jin'an swiftly cut the rope with his knife, causing the Third Prince to fall to the ground. He was caught in Consort Xian's arms in a panic. As for where the knife in Xue Jin'an's hand came from, it was naturally dropped by one of the Imperial Guards who had previously dealt with the Third Prince.

The imperial physician arrived quickly, and Consort Xian hurriedly made way for him. She watched as the physician laid the Third Prince flat on the ground and undressed him to reveal his battered body. She couldn't bear to look at him any longer, and hurriedly turned her head away, tears welling up in her eyes and quickly evaporated into the air.

As Consort Xian was overwhelmed with emotion and tears welled in her eyes, something suddenly appeared in her arms. She looked at the cane in her arms through her blurry, teary eyes, somewhat puzzled.

“This is the evidence,” Xue Jin’an explained.

Consort Xian was slightly taken aback. Perhaps it was because of her love for her son, or perhaps it was because the incident at the horse farm was too memorable, but she, who was not usually very sensitive to smell, immediately smelled this familiar scent that was so faint that it was almost imperceptible.

Consort Xian's expression changed drastically. At the same time, she realized something and her gaze suddenly turned to the three people who had been beaten to the point of near death by the Third Prince. Pointing at one of the eunuchs, she said in a sharp voice, "Drag him over here!"

Xiao Jian, who was barely breathing, was dragged over and forcibly woken up. He knelt on the ground with difficulty and recounted what had happened.

The matter is quite simple. The princes live next to the heirs of princes and nobles. The second prince couldn't sit still here, so he went next door after a while. As a result, he got into an argument with the heir of Prince An. The heir of Prince An came over in person to invite the eldest prince over.

Although the eldest prince displayed a more gentle and polite temperament and was willing to befriend these princes and nobles, the second prince's maternal family was a noble and powerful clan, so these princes and nobles naturally favored the second prince. Thus, the eldest prince left with the Prince of An after sitting for only a short while. For some reason, the princes next door started talking about the third prince and his leg injury, saying that it was incurable and that he would be lame for the rest of his life.

"The Third Prince seems quite lively and energetic to me; he doesn't seem to be in any danger," said someone who had recently gone out with the Third Prince, expressing disbelief.

"What do you know? This was said by the Crown Prince of An himself. You know that the Crown Prince of An has always been on good terms with the First Prince..." the man said confidently.

At that moment, the Prince of An happened to be there, so the Third Prince flew into a rage and grabbed him to beat him. The two eunuchs who tried to stop him were also beaten along with him.

Xiao Jian spoke weakly and helplessly, while Consort Xian, her anger blazing, gritted her teeth and said, "Who exactly is spreading these rumors outside? I will definitely pull out their tongue!"

"Yes..." Xiao Jian's eyes suddenly hardened, and he suddenly sprang up from the ground, thrusting his green-glowing dagger toward Consort Xian. He shouted, "You treacherous consort, prepare to die!"

Consort Xian was stunned by the shock, but Xue Jin'an, who was prepared, reached out and pulled her away, allowing her to barely dodge the attack. After missing her target, Xiao Jian immediately turned and lunged at the Third Prince. Xue Jin'an pushed Consort Xian aside and slashed horizontally with his long sword.

Xue Jin'an used great force, almost cutting the small sword in half. Blood spurted out, drenching the Third Prince and the imperial physician. However, the blood was not pure blood, but had a faint green glow, clearly indicating that it was poisoned.

Xiao Jian's body lay on the ground, a triumphant smile still on his face.