Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Haha, does it hurt?
Xie Jing's palms were wet, blood flowed into his eyes, and his mind was in turmoil.
He denied it harshly: "No!!"
"Miss Gu!" He panted heavily and shouted angrily, "Pay attention to your own status. This is the Imperial Palace, not the backyard of your Zhenguogong Mansion! You will not be allowed to talk nonsense here!"
At this moment, Xie Jing was still a young man who had not yet entered the imperial court. He was far from being as calm and expressionless as he would be in the future.
The more you shout, the more guilty you feel.
Anyone can see this guilty conscience.
Zhou Liulang and the others looked at each other in bewilderment, subconsciously retreating as far as they could, hoping to hear nothing. If it weren't for the unsuitable situation, they would have just run away.
"Enough." Ji Nanke rushed over with her skirt lifted up and stretched out her arms to block Xie Jing.
"I believe in His Royal Highness the Third Prince!"
"Cousin Zhuo, please stop being so suspicious and betraying other people's kindness."
Gu Zhizhuo looked back and forth at the two of them, then suddenly smiled: "Okay, then. I believe it."
Forehead?
"Cousin Ke, take it. It's up to you whether you want to use it or not." Gu Zhizhuo handed the jar over. "Don't knock it over, or people will say I have a bad temper and always like to bully you."
She smiled maliciously, and her fingers holding the medicine jar tilted slightly, and a drop of ointment dripped along the mouth of the jar, forming a black drop.
Ji Nan Ke stared straight at the drop of medicine that was about to fall.
Gu Zhizhuo slowly raised his hand and uttered two words lightly: "Be careful."
For a moment, Ji Nan Ke had no doubt that she would pour the entire jar of medicine on her face. She instinctively covered her face with her hands and leaned her delicate body towards Xie Jing behind her.
Xie Jing was furious: "Have you had enough? Give it to me!"
He jumped up and grabbed it, and his outstretched arm hit the medicine jar in Gu Zhizhuo's hand squarely, and a full jar of black ointment spilled over his head.
"Here you go."
The ointment slowly flowed down Xie Jing's forehead and cheeks, as cold as the tongue of a poisonous snake. Fear caused blood to rush to his brain, and waves of blood rushed straight to his head.
"oops!"
Gu Zhizhuo patted his chest pretentiously and raised his voice:
"Your Highness, you are too careless!"
"Fortunately, fortunately, you said it wasn't poisonous, otherwise it would have been terrible."
Xie Jing raised his head in anger and met a pair of phoenix eyes full of mockery.
She knows everything! This terrifying thought made cold sweat run down his back. Before he could think about it, he heard Gu Zhizhuo's voice close to his ear, soft and slow, like a demon from hell demanding his life.
"Bone-Eroding Grass, Withered Vine Crow, and Blood Dragon's Saliva..."
"Using it will make wounds difficult to heal and will cause the skin and flesh to rot!"
"Your Highness, is your face starting to feel hot?"
Xie Jing's face felt hot, as if covered with a piece of red-hot charcoal. It was so hot that he couldn't bear it. He wished he could peel off the whole skin.
Gu Zhizhuo's face was gloomy. "It's hot at first, then it slowly becomes itchy, like countless insects and mosquitoes are biting at your face. Day and night, you can't even breathe in peace."
She spoke softly, making sure Zhou Liulang and the others couldn't hear her.
"Then the skin on your face will peel off, revealing flesh and bones."
"The wound won't heal, it'll rot and stink day by day, and insects will be buzzing around you, buzzing, buzzing..."
Xie Jing's hair stood on end, his head buzzing. He screamed and frantically wiped his face with his sleeve. The ointment was as sticky as oil, seeping into the wound like countless fine needles piercing his flesh.
Gu Zhizhuo asked with a smile, "Does it hurt?"
These two words shattered Xie Jing's remaining sanity. His face turned ferocious and he raised his hand to slap Gu Zhizhuo.
Gu Zhizhuo smiled gently and leaned back, and Xie Jing fell to the ground in embarrassment.
Xie Danling pulled Gu Zhizhuo over and hid him behind her, saying dissatisfiedly, "Third brother, what's wrong with you? You slipped and lost your temper."
Xie Jing supported himself on the ground with his elbows, gritting his teeth. Fresh red blood mixed with black ointment, and half of his face was mottled with red and black.
Ji Nan Ke supported him, her bright eyes filled with complex and unspeakable emotions.
She knew that Xie Jing was deeply in love with her.
However, the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion had raised her, and she always told herself not to compete with Gu Zhizhuo. As women, they should support each other in this world. Even though Gu Zhizhuo had been arrogant and willful since childhood and had done unscrupulous things, she did not change her original intention.
But now, she was a little uncertain.
Xie Jing is such a noble and gentle person. If it weren't for her, he wouldn't have done this.
She bit her lip, and two lines of tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes.
"It's okay." Xie Jing's heart tingled and he grabbed her hand. "It's not your fault!"
Xie Danling snorted contemptuously, clapped his hands and said sarcastically, "The Wanling Baibao Ointment is indeed very effective. Third Brother looks almost fully recovered."
"Since everything is fine, let's just go." She raised her chin: "Yaoyao..." What she meant was that it was time to run away, otherwise the queen would come!
No, no, if you just leave, you'll be blamed! Gu Zhizhuo winked at her. Xie Jing had given her the medicine, and the injury was caused by him falling while trying to save the girl. He had done this himself. It wasn't enough for them to just know this.
Understand?
Understand!
The tacit understanding they had gained from playing with cats and dogs together since childhood made them reach a consensus the moment their eyes met.
Gu Zhizhuo sobbed and leaned on her shoulder.
Xie Danling put her hands on her hips and pointed at the palace maids, saying, "Why hasn't Queen Mother come yet? Go and take a look. My cousin has been wronged. Are you able to bear the consequences?"
Who is being wronged?! Xie Jing was about to curse, but when he opened his mouth, the wound on his cheek was pulled, and he almost fainted in pain, and his whole body was staggering.
Zhou Liulang and the others were terrified, not knowing what to do. The next moment, they heard a sharp voice: "The Queen has arrived!" They were finally relieved. As long as the Queen had come, they could not be blamed for anything else.
A beautiful woman in a phoenix robe came hurriedly, surrounded by a group of palace maids and eunuchs. There were also more than ten high-ranking concubines in the harem and ladies of the inner and outer court. They were originally going to the theater, but when they passed the water pavilion, a young eunuch came to report that Xie Jing had fallen from the pavilion.
The queen suddenly became anxious. She had been walking anxiously all the way, and when she saw her son's face covered in blood, her heart finally settled down.
"Jing'er!?"
Madam Gu was also staring at the girl in Xie Jing's arms in shock. She recognized at a glance that this was Ji Nan Ke from her own house. Her heart suddenly became nervous and she held her daughter-in-law's hand tightly.
"Someone please tell me what's going on! Where's the imperial physician? Has he been summoned?"
The imperial physician had summoned him, but he hadn't arrived yet. Zhou Liulang and the others all silently looked at Gu Zhizhuo, and the Queen subconsciously glanced over. Gu Zhizhuo raised his head slightly from Xie Danling's shoulder, his face covered by a veil, tears welling in his eyelashes.
"Empress!" Gu Zhizhuo cried out miserably, "The Third Prince drugged the medicine he was applying to my face."
The surroundings suddenly became quiet.
Gu Zhizhuo squeezed out tears and complained pitifully, "The Third Prince fell from the pavilion and was injured. He bled a lot. I was worried about him losing too much blood, so I gave him the ointment he gave me. But he refused to use it and even tried to take it away, so I spilled the medicine."
Her voice was extremely clear, and she could describe the entire incident clearly in just a few sentences, especially the key words like "poisoned," "robbed," and "scattered," which she enunciated with great clarity.
"Mother." Xie Danling nodded repeatedly in agreement, "Third brother fell while trying to save Miss Ji. They all saw it."
She pointed at Zhou Liulang and the others and said, "Is that right?"
Zhou Liulang nodded unconsciously, and nodded twice before he reacted, his neck stiff.
The queen's face looked as if she had swallowed a fly.
Gu Zhizhuo echoed her words, "Only after the medicine was sprinkled on his face did the Third Prince admit it was poisonous. I was so scared."
What are you afraid of? I’m the one you should be afraid of! Xie Jing was almost dumbfounded. How could someone speak nonsense so blatantly?
The piercing pain on his face made his face distorted. Xie Jing gritted his teeth and said, "Shut up! I didn't..."
Xie Jing wanted to argue, but Gu Zhizhuo put down the handkerchief in his hand, his eyes red: "Your Highness, what did I say wrong? Was it that I didn't return the medicine to you, or that you didn't let Doctor Liu poison you?" As he spoke, tears started to flow.
"I didn't..."
"You are the prince, do you have the courage to do it but not the courage to admit it?!"
His voice was loud, hers was even louder.
He speaks fast, but she speaks even faster!
Gu Zhizhuo bullied him because his face would hurt whenever he spoke, and he blocked every word of his defense. She sobbed and threw herself into Concubine Shu's arms, tugging at her sleeves, and said aggrievedly, "Aunt, the Third Prince had Doctor Liu apply this medicine on me, and my face hurts so much. The Third Prince also made me apply it every day. I'm so scared."
Shufei was such an intelligent person that she understood the mystery immediately.
"Let your aunt take a look." Her voice trembled as she lifted Gu Zhizhuo's veil. After just one look, she hugged him in grief, "How could this happen!"
"My dear Yaoyao! If your parents knew you were bullied like this, they would be heartbroken."
Concubine Shu cried bitterly and said angrily: "Your Highness the Third Prince, if you despise the Duke of Zhenguo for dying in battle for the country and want to break off the engagement and marry someone else, you could just say it directly. Why is there such a need..." How cruel and ruthless!
The queen's face turned pale and blue.
Once word of Concubine Shu's words got out, Jing'er would not only offend those petty-minded generals, but would also inevitably be branded as "lustful," "immoral," and "violent."
Her brother asked his sister-in-law to secretly convey a message to her. The Prime Minister had just handed in the memorial to appoint a crown prince, and before she could even feel happy, a basin of cold water was poured on her head, soaking her completely.
In just a moment, the queen made a decision.
This slut was hugging and pulling Jing'er, it could only be her deliberate seduction, it had nothing to do with Jing'er.
Only by dealing with her can Jing'er be saved.
The Queen acted decisively, her anger flaming into her throat as she shouted, "How dare this lowly servant blatantly seduce the prince in the palace? Come, drag her out to me!"
Xie Jing was anxious. He yelled at the top of his lungs, "Mother! This is none of her business!" His cheek was still bleeding, his eyes blazing with rage, his face contorted with pain. "Gu Zhizhuo is making random accusations. This isn't Miss Ji's fault."
The Queen's breathing was disordered. In front of so many people, Jing'er was still protecting this lowly maid. Didn't this justify Concubine Shu's accusation?!
Several familiar ladies looked at each other, and the Prime Minister's wife stroked her sleeves.
The fact that the Third Prince has a sweetheart is no secret in the capital. According to the law, the prince can take wives and concubines. Even the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion has no say in it, so naturally no one will meddle in it.
However, having a lover is one thing, but putting your fiancée to death for the sake of your lover is another matter entirely.
On the contrary, Miss Gu was not at all as stupid and spoiled as the rumors said. Her ability to push the Third Prince into a dead end with just a few words made her look at her with new eyes.
Xie Jing's mind was completely focused on Ji Nanke, and he didn't notice the gazes of the people around him. He was still swearing, "I'm here, no one will hurt you!"
Gu Zhizhuo lowered his eyes slightly, tears welling up in his eyes, and continued to fan the flames: "Aunt, it's all my fault. Daddy has died in the war, and I shouldn't have treated myself as a palace guest like before."
She sobbed softly, which made people feel pity for her.
"I will definitely remember to be more careful in the future."
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