Chapter 19 Monster
Inside Mingde Hall.
The summer sun from the southeast shone through the window into the spacious and luxurious bedroom. Zhao Chun, lying on the soft bed, opened his eyes.
When he smelled the same sandalwood scent in the room as usual, he immediately felt relieved. What happened last night was just a nightmare, right?
Yes, it must be a nightmare!
He never received the decree to depose the empress, nor did he meet Prime Minister Li. Empress Chi did not lock him up in Mingde Hall, force him to drink strange medicine, or torture him over and over again.
All of this was just a nightmare he had imagined.
Suddenly, a low, hoarse voice sounded, "Your Highness, you are awake."
He turned around in shock and saw Ling Qiong standing in front of the bed, staring at him with an evil smile... No! This can't be true!
Ah, it hurts!
His body suddenly regained consciousness, and he felt a sharp pain. His whole body felt like it was crushed, especially his ten fingers. The fingertips felt like they were on flames, and even the blood was burned dry, making him feel excruciating pain.
Those horrible memories came flooding back.
Ling Qiong held down his hand and used pliers to pull out his nails one by one. The sound of flesh being torn apart was so painful that it made one's teeth ache.
Zhao Chun was frightened and shocked. He opened his mouth and wanted to scream, "Ah, ah, ah!" But the sound he made was vague and weird.
Swallowing saliva was like swallowing a knife, his throat was cut into pieces and the pain made his facial muscles twitch.
Only then did he remember that his tongue and throat had been burned by the bowl of medicine Lingqiong had poured into him, and his mouth was full of blood blisters.
Is this the pain Lingqiong once experienced? Help me, someone please save me!
Zhao Chun was extremely desperate. He struggled to sit up. The moment he looked down at his hands, his pupils trembled.
--What's this?
The bright sunlight shone through the gauze curtain, clearly illuminating every strand of the thick black hair on Zhao Chun's arms, while the wrinkled skin on his hands revealed an abnormal pink color. No matter how you looked at it, it didn't look like human skin.
Zhao Chun was so scared that he rolled off the bed. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he felt a piercing pain.
"Ah--!" All of his toenails were pulled out.
Ling Qiong feigned fear and took two steps back, looking at him in surprise. "Your Highness, what's wrong with you? Did you get stained with something dirty? This is horrible!"
Zhao Chun looked at himself covered in hair and burst into tears in fear, his tears wetting the hair on his face.
He looked at Ling Qiong, wanting to ask her to let him go, but all that came out of his mouth were strange roars. In the end, he could only look at her hopelessly with tears in his eyes, begging.
"Prince, do you want me to help you?" Ling Qiong asked softly, her eyes twinkling with excitement. "If those ministers knew that our Crown Prince had turned into a monster, they would definitely burn you to death."
Zhao Chun was so frightened that his whole body trembled and he held his head in pain.
"What should I do?" Ling Qiong frowned in embarrassment.
Suddenly, she had a good idea. She clapped her hands and asked with a smile, "How about I help the prince pluck all the hair off his body?"
No! No! It would be better for him to just die!
Zhao Chun shook his head desperately. This kind of torture was terrifying just thinking about it.
This Ling Qiong is a lunatic, she will never show mercy!
Zhao Chun was in despair. At this moment, he heard a few voices outside the house. Hope suddenly arose in his heart. Someone must be coming to save him!
He endured the pain, picked up the porcelain bottle in front of the bed and threw it at Lingqiong. While she was dodging, he staggered out of the bedroom.
Help! Someone save him!
He would be willing to give the throne to anyone who can rescue him!
Ling Qiong looked at Zhao Chun's figure running out in panic, and the corners of her mouth raised even more. Giving people hope and then shattering that hope would make them even more desperate, wouldn't it?
She picked up the pliers and leisurely chased after him.
————
On the other side, the confident Zhao Mingyue failed after only pulling the bow twenty times.
My arms began to tremble, my fingers that were hooking the bowstring felt numb, and my wrists and shoulders were sore.
She had practiced archery with Chi Qi before, and although she had mastered certain shooting skills, she lacked strength.
This is probably why Chi Qi asked her to practice hard bow.
Zhao Mingyue exhaled in frustration, lowered her hands, and looked at Yuzhao shyly, "I, I want to rest for a while."
Yuzhao looked up at the sky and said, "Princess, if you rest any longer, you'll be late for lunch."
Zhao Mingyue had no choice but to grit her teeth and pulled ten more times. This time she felt her entire arm was numb, as if ants were crawling in her bones.
She raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead, and looked at Yuzhao again with eager eyes, her tone even becoming flattering. "Master Yuzhao, if I keep practicing, my hands will be useless. It's so hot outside, I don't want you to get sunburned. Let's go back to the palace and rest for a while."
Yuzhao remained unmoved and shook her head, "Princess, I am only following orders. My master has ordered me to watch you do the full fifty strokes, not even one less. Please don't make it difficult for me."
Zhao Mingyue's face immediately drooped. She wanted to struggle again, but Yuzhao said, "I heard that the Crown Prince started practicing archery at the age of six, pulling the bow a hundred times a day. Princess, are you not even as good as the Crown Prince at the age of twelve?"
Zhao Mingyue's face suddenly turned red. Saying that she was worse than Zhao Chun was simply a humiliation!
He immediately regained his strength, a surge of power in his heart. He raised the bow and pulled it twenty times in a row before stopping.
Her eyes were stinging with sweat and her clothes were soaked, but she didn't care at all. She just looked at Yuzhao and raised her chin slightly, "Tell me, how can I be inferior to Zhao Chun?" That waste.
Yuzhao smiled slightly, "The Crown Prince is always lazy when drawing the bow every day. It's hard for him to draw even ten strokes, let alone a hundred. Naturally, he is not as good as the princess."
Zhao Mingyue was stunned for a moment, then she realized that this person had just deceived her and she had been fooled.
Zhao Mingyue was a little angry and threw the bow and arrow in her hand towards Yuzhao, "You, you are so outrageous!"
Yuzhao reached out to catch it and was about to explain something when Zhao Mingyue had already turned around and said, "Fifty strokes is enough. I'm going to go eat with my mother."
He walked out of the yard and headed towards Qingning Palace.
Watching Zhao Mingyue's hurried departure, Yuzhao shook her head helplessly. Could it be that the princess disliked her just because of this? This job was truly difficult.
However, the princess doesn't seem to be such a petty person, so it's better not to make any assumptions. It's enough for her to just do what her master tells her to do.
Thinking of this, Yuzhao picked up the bow and quickly caught up with Zhao Mingyue.
On the way, the two passed by Mingde Hall where Zhao Chun lived.
The palace door that was open in the past was now tightly closed, and two guards with swords were standing guard in front of the door with solemn expressions.
Zhao Mingyue paused. Did her mother imprison Zhao Chun in Mingde Hall? She didn't know what happened after she left last night.
Out of curiosity and a little concern for her brother, Zhao Mingyue turned and walked towards Mingde Palace. Unexpectedly, when she arrived at the palace gate, the guards stopped her.
"The Queen orders that the Crown Prince has suffered a fright and needs to rest. No one is allowed to disturb his rest."
Zhao Mingyue was a little surprised. It was fine if they stopped others, but why didn't they even allow her in? Just as she was about to say something, she suddenly heard some noises coming from inside the door.
It sounded like the roar of a wild beast, but it came from a human throat, vague and strange.
Zhao Mingyue was stunned for a moment, a chill running down her spine. Just as she was about to step back, Yuzhao's voice suddenly rang out from behind her, "Princess, wait until the Crown Prince recovers before visiting him again."
The guards saluted with their swords and said in unison: "Greetings, Master Yuzhao."
Zhao Mingyue turned around and saw Yuzhao holding a bow and arrow, looking at her calmly, as if he had not heard the horrible sound just now.
She had long forgotten the unpleasantness of the moment and hurriedly grabbed the hem of Yuzhao's clothes, looking up at her and asking, "Sister Yuzhao, what happened to Zhao Chun? I thought I heard his voice just now."
Yuzhao looked calm and said, "Princess, you must have heard it wrong. Let's go." As she said that, she took Zhao Mingyue's hand and turned to leave the palace.
Zhao Mingyue followed her down the stairs. Suddenly, there were two bangs from the door. Zhao Mingyue immediately jumped up, broke free from Yuzhao's hand, and ran to the door.
"I heard it right, that was Zhao Chun's voice, I want to see him!"
Yuzhao looked at her in silence for a long time before speaking, "Princess, it's best not to disobey your master's orders."
Zhao Mingyue had a bad feeling. What had A Niang done to Zhao Chun? Was that bowl of medicine really just for calming the nerves, as she said?
No matter what, she wanted to know the truth.
Zhao Mingyue insisted, "I'll just stand outside the door and take a look. I won't do anything else."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
