Chapter 26 Where am I supposed to go so late at night?

Jing Qianheng asked, "What's it to you?"

Jiang Zhishui took a step forward, and Jing Qianheng took a step back.

"Your Highness, you've taken me away from me. What do you plan to do with me?" Jiang Zhishui stood there, her face calm, her tone conciliatory. "Now that things have come to this, we should at least think about what to do next, shouldn't we?"

"They're telling me to leave, but they won't let me tell the truth. Doesn't that mean I'll have to bear all the responsibility? This marriage was arranged by His Majesty. The crime of deceiving the emperor is no small matter. I can't afford to bear it."

Jing Qianheng thought that made sense and said in a deep voice, "We really can't let you go like this, so... should we kill you?"

Jiang Zhishui was taken aback and awkwardly laughed, "That's not what I meant."

Jing Qianheng turned around to sit down, but paused when he saw the chair the two of them had just been sitting in, and turned to the other side.

"To be honest, Your Highness's act of forcibly taking me into the marriage has also helped me solve a problem." Before he could reach out, Jiang Zhishui took the teapot and poured tea while saying, "I have heard a lot about the deeds of the Canglang Sect Master, and I am also somewhat aware of Your Highness's difficulties. If Your Highness does not mind, I can serve you."

Jing Qianheng looked at the teacup handed to him, raised his eyes, and asked, "What do you want to say?"

“I want to say that we can cooperate.” Jiang Zhishui sat down on the other chair without ceremony.

She was completely at ease, poured herself a cup of tea, glanced at Jing Qianheng, smiled, took a sip, and felt a slight, tight pain as her lips touched the tea. She hissed and lightly touched her lips with her fingers.

Upon seeing her movement, Jing Qianheng hurriedly turned his face away.

"Your Highness, I don't want to marry the Crown Prince either." Jiang Zhishui put down her teacup and said in a low voice, "I don't want to be controlled by my father and have no freedom. I want to annul the engagement."

Jing Qianheng stared at her and sneered, "What a coincidence, I've stolen the bride, and you just happen not to want to marry her?"

Jiang Zhishui said, "Of course, we are really destined to be together."

Jing Qianheng: "......"

Seeing that there was no smile on his face, Jiang Zhishui composed herself and said seriously, "Does Your Highness believe in fate? I had someone tell my fortune before, and the old fortune teller told me that the Crown Prince is definitely not a good match for me. If I marry into the Eastern Palace, I will surely suffer eternal damnation and die a terrible death."

Jing Qianheng raised his eyes slightly, his expression puzzled.

Jing Qianheng looked incredulous: "Are you making fun of me?"

How could she say something so seriously that even a child might not believe it?

Jiang Zhishui shook her head and said seriously, "No, how could I dare?"

Jing Qianheng stared at her, feeling that her "How dare you?" was more provocative.

Jiang Zhishui felt that they couldn't rush things; they had to resolve the Crown Prince's marriage first before considering anything else.

Jiang Zhishui didn't know how to move Jing Qianheng, so she just wanted to find an excuse to keep him occupied. She said softly, "Your Highness... the Crown Prince is only marrying me for the Jiang family's power. Lord Zhou doesn't want the Crown Prince to gain power, so he's using me as a scapegoat. I don't want to marry him, but I have no choice because I'm afraid of implicating my family. If Your Highness is willing to help me through this difficult time, I will definitely persuade my father to seek refuge with Your Highness in the future. What do you say?"

Jing Qianheng originally thought she was just talking nonsense, but he didn't expect her to have such insight into the current situation. After thinking for a moment, he said, "The Crown Prince is the rightful heir of Jin. Your father chose him for the sake of the Jiang family's future, which is not a problem. On the contrary, why did you choose me?"

Jiang Zhishui stared at Jing Qianheng with sparkling eyes. After a while, she finally spoke, "Because Your Highness is lucky. I already said that the old fortune teller has supernatural powers, and what he predicts will not be wrong."

Jing Qianheng was stunned. He thought she would come up with some earth-shattering reason, but she just kept spouting nonsense.

He couldn't help but laugh out loud.

This is the first time in his life that someone has said he has a good life.

It's so funny it makes you want to laugh.

Jiang Zhishui saw him smile, rested her hands on the table, and quietly watched him. She smiled back, "Your Highness's smile is so beautiful."

Upon hearing this, Jing Qianheng composed himself and said coldly, "Fine, I'll help you."

Jiang Zhishui nodded contentedly, completely unaware of the strange tone in the other person's voice.

"Ah..." Jiang Zhishui paused, then hesitated, "Your Highness, there is one more thing."

Jing Qianheng felt murderous intent rising in his heart, but he barely managed to hold back, only to find that the other party was still not done.

Jiang Zhishui stammered, "Um, I... um... what should I do?"

Jing Qianheng said impatiently, "What do you mean, 'what to do'?"

Jiang Zhishui said apologetically, "Your Highness, I would also appreciate it if you could help me think of a solution for that Heart-Piercing Gu."

Jing Qianheng's angry gaze instantly shifted, and he awkwardly looked away.

As far as he knew, this piercing curse was incurable.

On their wedding night, the spirit gu, originally intended as a token of affection and a vow of commitment, was later transformed by someone with ulterior motives into a malevolent shackle gu capable of manipulating others' wills and bewitching people's hearts. Books record that a woman from the Chi Yi tribe, in order to win the heart of her beloved, resorted to any means necessary and devoted herself to researching and creating this shackle gu.

Once the Gu poison is implanted into a human body, the host will become obsessed and will only feel intense lust for a specific person.

Jing Qianheng's blood can temporarily put the shackles in Jiang Zhishui's body into a dormant state, but the time is limited. Once the shackles become active again, Jiang Zhishui will still be controlled by them.

"Then I'll trouble Your Highness to give me some medicine." Jiang Zhishui stretched out her hand to Jing Qianheng, saying matter-of-factly, "Living on blood is quite uncomfortable. Could Your Highness make something like pills for me to carry with me? Preferably something not too bitter..."

Jing Qianheng stared blankly at her hand, which was laid out on the table in a very natural, begging posture.

Jiang Zhishui looked at her own hands, then at the other person's unpleasant expression, slowly withdrew her hands, tucked her sleeves in, and added in a low voice, "Or if it's convenient, adding some tonic herbs would be fine too..."

For a moment, Jing Qianheng actually thought about how to mix the blood into the pills so that they would be easy for her to eat.

Jiang Zhishui stood up, looked around the room, and suddenly began rummaging through drawers and cabinets.

"What are you doing!" Jing Qianheng snapped out of his daze and snapped, "Don't touch it!"

Jiang Zhishui looked at the black robes hanging on the rack with a slightly disgusted expression and said, "Your Highness's clothes seem to be all too dark. Don't you have any brighter clothes?"

Jing Qianheng said angrily, "What exactly do you want!"

Jiang Zhishui tugged at her clothes. "Change into something lighter. These clothes are so thick and constricting, I can't breathe."

"Why change your clothes!" Jing Qianheng was baffled. "You don't mean you want to stay here, do you?"

Jiang Zhishui looked at him and asked, "Where do you expect me to go so late at night? Besides, we haven't even discussed how to explain things to His Majesty yet. Is it appropriate for me to just swagger back like this?"

Jing Qianheng was speechless for a moment after being rebuked.

She treated him like one of her own, always referring to him as "us."

Anyone who didn't know better would think that this wedding hijacking was something they had planned in advance.

Before long, Su You rushed over with a set of ginger-yellow maid's clothes. Jing Qianheng was walking out of his room in a huff and almost bumped into him.

"Your Highness! Your Highness!" Jiang Zhishui called out sincerely as she walked past Su You.

Su You thought she was going to call His Highness back, but instead, she leaned against the door and said urgently, "Your Highness, please don't forget my medicine!"

Jiang Zhishui turned to look at Su You, took the clothes from his hand, and smiled, "Thank you. Please close the door behind you when you leave."