Chapter 34 Bullied Hard

Jin'er, seeing that they hadn't followed, stopped and waited under a tree. Jiang Zhishui hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and whispered, "Don't you like me? I thought you liked me, that's why you allowed me to touch you."

Jing Qianheng frowned: "What?"

Jiang Zhishui moved closer, forcefully grabbing his hand and whispering, "I gave up becoming the Crown Princess for Your Highness, and now my reputation is ruined. What decent family in the capital would still want me? I said I would take responsibility for Your Highness because I did do something that damaged Your Highness's reputation that day, but... Your Highness, didn't you do the same thing?"

"Shut up!" Jing Qianheng's face flushed red as he lowered his voice, "What...nonsense are you spouting?!"

When Jin'er saw Jiang Zhishui holding Jing Qianheng's hand, she silently turned her back and walked away first.

Jiang Zhishui caught Jin'er walking away out of the corner of her eye, and her voice rose: "Are you trying to renege on your promise? Do you want me to tell you in detail how you wouldn't let go that day, and..."

Jing Qianheng, annoyed by her outburst, couldn't bear to listen to her continue and quickly interrupted, "That's because of the Gu poison, not me! You clearly know that it's caused by being poisoned..."

Jiang Zhishui knew that this was the most effective way to deal with him.

She had to carry out her mission of laying the groundwork for evil while also making Jing Qianheng fall in love with her as soon as possible.

The system had warned that the shackles were wrapped around Jing Qianheng's heart meridian. Although his blood could temporarily suppress their activity, putting him into a deep sleep, if no feelings developed over time, the shackles would gradually die off, turning into a deadly poison that would cause the afflicted person unbearable pain.

Zhou Linyuan seemed to have not expected things to develop to this point. He had spoken with Jiang Zhishui earnestly. The original Gu poison was on her, and as long as she treated Jing Qianheng sincerely, there was still a chance to remove it. However, most of the Gu poison had now been transferred to Jing Qianheng. Whether the Gu poison could be cured depended on him.

If he is unwilling and unmoved, then no one in the world can save him.

Now that both of them have a certain amount of Gu poison in their bodies, and it still has a certain effect, she has to seize the time to conquer Jing Qianheng's heart before the attraction of the Gu disappears.

Jiang Zhishui hadn't slept well for several days after returning to the Marquis's residence. The various alarm bells from the system in her mind were giving her a terrible headache.

The system seemed terrified that she had killed its beloved male lead, and was desperately urging her to speed up the task and increase their intimacy.

Like a death knell, a barrage of pop-up messages left her dizzy and disoriented.

Jiang Zhishui never expected that her sudden inspiration would make the situation so serious. She thought she was very clever and had come up with a brilliant way to remove the curse.

Suddenly time became very tight, and without thinking too much, she rushed to the Ling Prince's residence, pleading with him until she finally led him out the door.

Jiang Zhishui, feigning ignorance, spoke nonsense, "Who knows if you were under a spell or just using this as an excuse to bully me? You know perfectly well what you did in between."

"I..." Jing Qianheng was so agitated that he couldn't catch his breath, stammering, "You...I..."

Jiang Zhishui saw his face turn red and then pale, as if he had been bullied badly and was too aggrieved to speak.

Jiang Zhishui said calmly, "Alright, stop with the 'you and me' stuff. It's between you and me, and I won't go around telling everyone. You know it, I know it, and no third person will know. Your Highness, don't be angry. Just treat me well."

Jing Qianheng was so angry that his mind went blank. When he suddenly heard the words "you know, I know," he was slightly stunned, but his breathing gradually calmed down.

The scene, the person, and the words they spoke seemed familiar, as if I had heard them somewhere before.

Jiang Zhishui gently hooked his finger and coaxed, "Your Highness, I was wrong, okay? Can I touch you now? Didn't we agree? I don't have to hug you, but your hand has to be mine."

Jing Qianheng was speechless. How could there be such a person in the world who would presume to settle for second best?

And who agreed to that?

On the way, Jiang Zhishui openly held Jing Qianheng's hand, and Jin'er, seeing their close relationship, assumed they were a couple.

She didn't know any Seventh Prince, nor did she know their origins, but the fact that they were able to enter Mu Zi Garden and escape from Jiang Li's puppets to reach the innermost part of the garden suggested they possessed considerable strength.

Like most of the workers at Muzi Garden, Jin'er hid in her room during the day and would come out at night to cover herself with wood shavings and powder in a black cloth to avoid being seen by the puppets.

The puppets are energetic during the day but get tired at night because the people who operate them also need rest.

At Muzi Garden, Jiang Li is skilled but has an eccentric personality. She signed a contract with Boss Wu, and all the puppets that passed through her hands became Boss Wu's assets.

She never questioned the value of those puppets, focusing solely on her own tasks.

Jiang Li owns a large house, which was bought for her by Boss Wu according to her preferred style. Boss Wu also arranged for more than a dozen servants and maids to take care of her daily life. Apart from making wood carvings, she basically does nothing else every day. Sometimes she can even go a whole day without eating or drinking.

She has a habit of going to bed at midnight every day without exception.

Once she wakes up, she will continue to be her puppet. Jin'er spent a year and a half with her, and for the first six months they barely exchanged a few words.

Mr. Wu felt that Jiang Li's unique skill should not be lost. If something were to happen to her in the future, where would he find such a good money tree again?

He urged Jiang Li to take on an apprentice, but Jiang Li wasn't interested. Boss Wu was counting on Jiang Li to make money, so he didn't dare to force her too much and could only try to persuade her gently.

Jiang Li's initial puppets were described as exceptionally exquisite and lifelike, but not yet capable of walking or speaking.

Later, while out buying timber, Jiang Li met Jin'er and saw the little rabbit Jin'er was carving. She then offered to take Jin'er as her apprentice.

Mr. Wu was not very satisfied with this thin little girl. He actually preferred Jiang Li to take his Wu family boys as apprentices, but since Jiang Li had finally agreed to take them as apprentices, he knew that some things could not be rushed and had to be done slowly.

Without saying a word, he let Jin'er move into Jiang Li's house and took the initiative to help with all the big and small matters in Jin'er's household, which deeply moved Jin'er.

Jin'er came from a poor family and usually made small things to earn money. That day, she was carrying a basket of puppets to sell at the market when she happened to meet Jiang Li.

Jin'er was sixteen when she met Jiang Li, and Jiang Li was not much older than Jin'er.

Both of them had an extraordinary passion for wood carving. Jin'er was once very jealous of Jiang Li's talent. For a period of time, she worked tirelessly to meet the deadline, revising the work again and again. She was eager to create a puppet that could surpass Jiang Li's. In the end, she was obsessed with it and exhausted herself.

When Jiang Zhishui heard Jin'er recount the past between the two of them, she felt that Jiang Li was a reclusive master who did not care about fame or fortune and only focused on herself. She asked curiously, "Your master doesn't sound like someone who would kill innocent people indiscriminately."

Jin'er held a wood carving knife in her hand, and as she walked past a tree, she made a cut on it.

She looked ahead, made a swift move, marked the tree, and continued walking forward. She said calmly, "Those I killed were all people who deserved to die, not innocent ones."

Hearing this, Jiang Zhishui was somewhat surprised. She glanced at Jing Qianheng, who didn't seem to care much.

"Sister, do you think I shouldn't have said that?" Jin'er angrily slashed at a tree, "Master's creations are being attributed to others, and all the glory and money are being appropriated by others. Is this something that should just happen?"

Two dark figures stood on a high hillside in the forest, staring at the three people below, and said at the same time, "Greetings, the master invites you."

Jin'er suddenly looked up, immediately turned around, and ran towards the two dark figures.

Following the two puppets, the three arrived at an extremely remote mountain temple, where a woman dressed simply, with blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, was warming herself around a fire.

Jin'er stood at the doorway, staring intently at the person inside.

The woman spoke first: "Aren't you coming in?"

Jin'er snapped out of her daze and knelt down as soon as she entered, "Master."

Jiang Zhishui thought that the person was Jiang Li. Just as she was about to step over the threshold, everything suddenly went black. In the blink of an eye, she found a dagger in her hand and her body moved uncontrollably to slash at Jing Qianheng beside her.

Jing Qianheng neither dodged nor flinched, but directly grabbed the blade with his hand, immediately cutting his hand and causing it to bleed profusely.

Jiang Zhishui's expression was blank, her eyes devoid of light. Like a puppet without any feeling, she drew her knife and continued to stab at Jing Qianheng.

Jing Qianheng knocked the dagger out of her hand, pinned her against the wall, and as Jiang Zhishui struggled, he pressed his bleeding wound directly against her mouth, lifted her chin, and forced her to drink his blood.

If the two had any intimate contact, the Gu poison would awaken and move rapidly, but this time it wasn't completely transferred; half remained in the heart meridian. Jiang Zhishui swallowed Jing Qianheng's blood, transferring half of the Gu poison from his body to herself.

Jiang Zhishui fainted temporarily. Jing Qianheng held her and turned to look at the master and disciple who were quietly watching them.

Jiang Li took out a hairpin from her bosom and casually stuck it into Jin'er's hair. She laughed and said, "How did you do that? This is the first time I've ever seen someone who can break my puppet spell."

Jiang Zhishui leaned against Jing Qianheng's chest, feeling dizzy. He held her waist, his other hand hanging down, blood dripping down.

Jiang Zhishui had been worried about a trap, so after entering the mountain, she deliberately chatted with Jing Qianheng about random things. Jin'er thought they were flirting and walked away, not interested.

While she wasn't watching, Jiang Zhishui secretly confided in Jing Qianheng. Jin'er had suddenly appeared and had only asked her to do one thing: draw blood.

Although she didn't have to be so obedient, Jiang Zhishui was afraid that if she didn't follow orders, the other party wouldn't take any further action and would just hide again, making it even more of a waste of time to find the person behind the scenes.

So I decided to act as bait, making the other party think that everything was under control, so that they would reveal their true colors.

Jiang Zhishui told Jing Qianheng to be mindful of his behavior at all times, and if anything seemed amiss, not to be soft-hearted; he could knock her out or do whatever he wanted.

Jing Qianheng raised an eyebrow and teased, "So you're also afraid of being led astray by others."

Jiang Zhishui pretended not to understand: "What are you saying? You must always be wary of others. Your Highness should keep this in mind and be careful around everyone."

As expected, Jin'er was indeed suspicious.

Jiang Li patted Jin'er's head and praised her, "Jin'er did a great job. This hairpin is a reward for you."