"Boss!" Ye Qingzhou grabbed Gu Zhixing's swaying body, but his hand was met with ice-cold flesh. His voice trailed off, his eyes filled with terror, "Your lips..."
Gu Zhixing raised his hand and wiped the corner of his mouth, his fingertip stained with a dark color—blood, a strange dark red.
His vision went completely black, as if the whole world was spinning.
He suddenly recalled the complex look in Shen Jintang's eyes when she stabbed him—it wasn't just simple hatred, but some kind of resolute calculation.
"The knife is poisoned..."
Gu Zhixing gritted his teeth and squeezed out these words, feeling as if his internal organs were being pierced by countless fine needles, each one causing him excruciating pain.
He should have thought of this earlier. How could someone as meticulous as Shen Jintang not have made thorough preparations?
Poisoned blade, that's more like her style.
He left in such a hurry that he didn't even ask about the antidote.
"Xing Hui! Quickly call Xing Hui back!"
Ye Qingzhou roared behind him, his voice trembling slightly.
Xinghui rushed over and, upon seeing Gu Zhixing's condition, her expression changed drastically, a hint of panic flashing in her almond-shaped eyes.
She knelt on the ground covered with fallen leaves, her three delicate fingers gently resting on Gu Zhixing's wrist, her fingertips trembling slightly.
A moment later, she raised her head, her voice strained, her eyes flickering uncertainly: "It's...it's the Seven-Heart Begonia. This poison takes effect slowly, but it gradually erodes the five internal organs. Without an antidote, within three incense sticks' worth of time..."
Gu Zhixing noticed the struggle in Xing Hui's eyes and understood.
Shen Jintang had time to tell him about the poisoning and also had time to give him the antidote, but she did neither.
Even her confidants understood his true place in her heart.
"She... wants me dead?"
Gu Zhixing's voice was low and weak, as if it were squeezed out from the bottom of his heart.
Xing Hui remained silent, his fingers gripping the straps of the medicine box tightly, his knuckles turning white and digging deep into his flesh.
As Shen Jintang's confidante, she was now in a dilemma—to save him would mean disobeying her master's orders; not to save him would leave her with a guilty conscience.
The master asked for the poison without specifying what he intended to do with it, but his decisions were never open to dissent.
His master poisoned him, which was obviously meant to kill him.
I have no right to obstruct my master's plans.
Gu Zhixing closed his eyes slightly, leaned against the tree trunk, and his body trembled slightly along with the texture of the trunk.
He had imagined many ways he could die, but he never imagined he would die so casually.
Shen Jintang remained as ruthless as ever, unwilling to leave even the slightest bit of affection.
"Help!"
Ye Qingzhou didn't know what had happened, but she anxiously shouted to Xinghui, her voice trembling with tears.
"I..." Xinghui murmured softly, her voice almost inaudible. A trace of pain flashed in her eyes, as if she were searching for a glimmer of hope in her struggle.
Just as the stalemate was at its peak, the sound of rapid hoofbeats broke the silence of the valley as they approached.
Chongyang rode up on horseback, nearly stumbling and falling as he dismounted. Panting heavily, he pulled a small celadon bottle from his robes and handed it over, panting, "The antidote! Miss Shen asked me to deliver it!"
Ye Qingzhou snatched it away and poured out the only vermilion pill inside, which gleamed eerily in the moonlight.
Gu Zhixing stared at the pill, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.
I feel like something's not quite right.
It was as if everything he had experienced since he arrived at Qingyakou was a meticulously planned game of chess, and he was just a chess piece on the board, being manipulated at will.
The pill went down my throat, bitter with a hint of sweetness and a fishy taste, as if it carried some kind of ominous aura.
The medicine took effect very quickly, and the abdominal cramps gradually subsided, but Gu Zhixing's doubts grew stronger.
He looked at Chongyang: "Where is she?"
Chongyang was stunned for a moment. He had been so focused on delivering medicine to his master that he had neglected to keep an eye on Shen Jintang's whereabouts.
A flicker of panic crossed his eyes, but he dared not answer.
The excruciating pain receded like a tide, but the doubts in Gu Zhixing's heart grew even stronger.
He suddenly looked up at Gu Junze, who had remained silent all along. His cousin, the Crown Prince, dressed in fine clothes, was half-covering his face with a folding fan, revealing a pair of smiling eyes.
He frowned, noticing that Gu Junze's expression was unusual, seemingly one of smug satisfaction at his successful scheme.
Where are your black-armored guards?
Gu Zhixing suddenly asked a question, his voice carrying a hint of coldness.
Gu Junze snapped his folding fan shut and tapped his palm lightly with the fan ribs, making a crisp sound: "Cousin, you're asking a question you already know the answer to. Didn't you say you were going to impeach me for secretly raising personal troops in front of Father?"
He took a step closer, the scent of ambergris wafting over him, carrying a hint of mockery, "As your elder brother, I will naturally obey the imperial decree and let them... return to their respective places."
The last syllable was drawn out meaningfully, as if hinting at something.
In a flash, all the clues flashed through Gu Zhixing's mind: the empty valley at Qingyakou, Shen Jintang's unusual insistence on splitting up, the Crown Prince's overly enthusiastic cooperation... All the clues connected into a clear trajectory, pointing to a terrible truth.
"Lure the tiger away from the mountain!"
Gu Zhixing suddenly stood up, a wave of dizziness washing over him. He gritted his teeth and struggled to stay upright. "The bandits aren't at Qingya Pass at all, they're at their hideout! Shen Jintang is there alone right now!"
Gu Junze's smile froze instantly; he clearly hadn't expected Gu Zhixing to see through his plan so quickly.
A flicker of panic crossed his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure, trying to conceal his loss of composure.
Gu Zhixing grabbed the Crown Prince by the collar, his eyes filled with anger and accusation: "You knew all along! You deliberately left her there!"
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