37. Is there no hope?
The carefree Prince Chu Che, the young Marquis Ximen Tang, and Ouyang Ziren—the three had faced life and death together many times and were close friends who could entrust their lives to each other; the depth of their friendship was unimaginable. In the carefree Prince's memory, Ouyang Ziren was always extremely composed when it came to treating illnesses. What might be incurable diseases in the eyes of other doctors were, to Ouyang Ziren, trivial matters.
Having known each other for ten years, the Carefree Prince believed he understood Ouyang Ziren very well. He had never seen Ouyang Ziren with such a solemn expression before, which made the Carefree Prince feel extremely uneasy. However, he still forced himself to remain calm and asked with hopeful eyes:
"Ziren, you have inherited your master's true teachings, you should have a way to save him, right?!"
Ouyang Ziren looked at the Prince of Xiaoyao, unsure of what to say. Having known him for so many years, how could he not understand the Prince of Xiaoyao, Chu Che? If he hadn't witnessed his mother making love with another man back then, how could he have developed such a cold and indifferent personality?
Because of that accident, the Carefree Prince developed a germaphobia. He would never allow a woman to touch anything that belonged to him, including his clothes. In his eyes, all women were as promiscuous and unrestrained as his mother. If a woman touched them, he would feel disgusted and would destroy them without hesitation. As a result, Ouyang Ziren and Ximen Tang once thought that the Carefree Prince would be alone for the rest of his life.
Now, seeing how much the carefree king cared about the life and death of the woman in bed, Ouyang Ziren couldn't help but recall what had happened a few days ago. Both were women, yet the attitudes were two different things, two extremely bad ones.
It was an afternoon when the carefree prince suddenly appeared in his courtyard. Without saying a word, he reached out and asked him for medicine. He was puzzled at the time and only after asking around did he understand what had happened.
A few days ago, the carefree prince surprisingly helped a woman named Gao Yiyi, but he ended up getting into trouble because of it. It turned out that Gao Yiyi had been clinging to him and refusing to get up, which gave him goosebumps all over his body. Afterwards, he developed small red rashes in many places, which were extremely itchy. That's why he came to Ouyang Ziren for medicine.
At that time, Ouyang Ziren even mocked the carefree prince:
"Since you know you have mysophobia, why bother to help yourself? Isn't that just asking for trouble?"
The carefree prince replied, feeling frustrated:
"How should I know? I saw she was wearing a purple dress, and for some reason, it reminded me of someone. Then my body just started moving on its own. Who knew... Do you think I wanted to?"
Because he was busy that day, Ouyang Ziren didn't ask any further questions. Now it seems that the person the carefree prince suddenly mentioned that day must be the extremely wicked princess before him—Liu Hanruo. As a close friend, Ouyang Ziren was very fortunate to see the change in the carefree prince, and it was Liu Hanruo who brought about this change. For this reason alone, he didn't want to say anything more, fearing that once he did, it would cause another irreversible tragedy.
Ouyang Ziren's expression was complex, his gaze shifting back and forth between the Carefree Prince and Liu Hanruo. After several moments of hesitation, he finally sighed and said:
"Che, just as Imperial Physician Liu said, the Princess Consort was poisoned by Duanchang Powder and Five Poisons. However, in addition to these two deadly poisons, the Princess Consort was also poisoned by a chronic poison made from Datura flowers—Drunken Flower Shade. You must be familiar with this poison. It has no effect in the early stages, but if taken for seven consecutive days, it will create the illusion of sudden death."
Upon hearing that it was "Drunken Flower Shade," the carefree prince felt a mix of emotions. How could he easily forget what happened back then? Back then, he had unknowingly become a tool in the struggle and used this poison to kill a favored concubine. He never expected that, years later, Liu Hanruo would also be poisoned by this poison. Was this retribution?
"Che, you should understand that any one of these three deadly poisons would be fatal. I don't know whether to say that the princess is lucky or not, but because of the Drunken Flower Shade, the other two poisons haven't taken effect yet. And the best I can do is extend her life by one month!"
The thought that Liu Hanruo could only live for a month at most made the carefree king feel heartbroken. He didn't know when or why, but by the time he realized it, the name Liu Hanruo was deeply etched in his heart.
That's why he rushed to Gao Yiyi's aid when he saw her dressed in purple—all because she also liked wearing purple. And when he saw Liu Hanruo in danger, he was willing to pay any price to get her to hand over the Phoenix Pendant, just to save her!
Everything was screaming that he had fallen for Liu Hanruo, for reasons unknown!
"Is there really no other way?" Prince Xiaoyao looked at Ouyang Ziren and asked seriously.
Ouyang Ziren nodded firmly, but in his heart he was apologizing:
Che, I'm sorry. It's not that I don't want to tell you, but if I tell you that she can still be saved, given your personality, you will definitely do whatever it takes to save her. And we have been friends for ten years. I just don't want to see you give up everything you've gained through ten years of forbearance for her sake.
Che, I know how important she is to you. Ever since she saved you, you've been paying attention to her from time to time, and even secretly went to see her several times. You think I don't know these things, but actually I do. I know everything, but I just haven't said it. But have you ever thought about what you will face if the Phoenix Pendant comes out?
Che, give up. Stop while there's still time!
---Aside---
I recommend my friend Xue Mudan's novel "The Golden Concubine's Daughter" (V-rated), it's really good, hehe.
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