Chapter 20: Shock on a rainy night, was the prince caught?
The cold rain pelted the ancestral hall's tiles, making a crackling sound, like countless fine needles piercing the heart. There were no lights in the hall, only a faint, pale moonlight filtering in from the window, barely illuminating a figure huddled in the corner. Yun Zhi leaned against the cold wall, her forehead burning, her mind drowsy. The old injury on her shoulder ached faintly in the cold, damp air, and every breath was trembling.
"Just bear with it a little longer. Once the needle is inserted into the blood vessel, the fever will subside."
A gentle voice echoed in her ears, carrying a familiar medicinal aroma that dispelled some of the chill. Yun Zhi struggled to open her eyes and saw Xie Heng half-crouching in front of her, holding a shiny silver needle in his hand, his fingertips hovering half an inch above her wrist, his eyes filled with cautious tenderness.
He had come secretly under cover of night and in the heavy rain. He had caught a glimpse of the guards reporting to Xiao Jin from afar, and knowing things might be dire, he had rushed over, intending to first help Yun Zhi reduce her fever and then find a way to shield her from Xiao Jin's wrath.
The silver needle gently pierced the acupoint. Yun Zhi felt only a slight soreness, followed by a warmth spreading along her wrist, slightly calming the burning sensation. Xie Heng took out a clean handkerchief, dipped it in warm water, and gently wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, his movements as gentle as if he were handling a fragile porcelain doll.
"Thank you so much, Imperial Physician..." Yun Zhi's voice was as thin as a mosquito's, hoarse from the high fever, "You shouldn't have come. If the prince knew..."
"So what if I know?" Xie Heng interrupted her, his tone carrying a rare firmness. "I can't just watch you get so carried away, and I can't let you suffer Lin Wanru's harassment in vain. Don't worry, I've already avoided everyone and will be leaving soon."
As he spoke, he took out a small porcelain bottle from the medicine box, poured out two pills, and handed them to Yun Zhi: "This is a tranquilizer. It will help you sleep for a while, and when you wake up, your fever will be mostly gone."
Yun Zhi obediently opened her mouth. The pill tasted slightly bitter, yet carried a reassuring medicinal aroma. She leaned against the wall, her consciousness gradually returning. Watching Xie Heng's profile as he packed his medicine box, a complex warmth welled up in her heart. In this palace, Xie Heng was the only one who treated her like a human being and cared about her safety.
But this warmth did not last long, as a loud "bang" suddenly came from the door of the ancestral hall!
The heavy wooden door was violently flung open from the outside, and a fierce wind, accompanied by torrential rain, rushed in, instantly extinguishing the small oil lamp Xie Heng had just lit. Under the pale moonlight, a dark figure stood at the doorway, his soaking wet robe clinging to his form. Water droplets from his dark hair slid down his cheeks, dripping onto the bluestone slabs, creating tiny splashes.
It’s Xiao Jin!
His face was as gloomy as ice tempered with poison, and the rage in his eyes threatened to ignite the storm. His gaze was fixed on the two people in the center of the ancestral hall—Xie Heng half-crouched in front of Yun Zhi, his hand still resting on the medicine chest, his gesture intimate; Yun Zhi leaned against the wall, her face pale, the corners of her mouth still holding a hint of the softness of having been comforted.
In Xiao Jin's eyes, this scene was tantamount to blatant betrayal.
"Good, very good indeed."
Xiao Jin's voice rolled out of his throat, carrying with it an icy murderous intent, like a sharp blade in the cold winter, scraping painfully against the skin. He stepped in, each step hitting the puddles, making a "clacking" sound like a heavy hammer hitting their hearts.
Xie Heng's expression suddenly changed. He immediately stood up, blocking Yun Zhi and bowing to Xiao Jin. "Your Highness! I'm here to treat Miss Yun. She has a high fever and won't go away. If nothing is done, her life is in danger. It's definitely not what Your Highness thinks..."
"That's definitely not the case?" Xiao Jin sneered, stopping in front of Xie Heng. Disdain was almost overflowing from his eyes. "I saw it with my own eyes, and you still want to quibble? Doctor Xie is in such good spirits that he braved the rain to come to the ancestral hall late at night just to 'treat' my people? Does this treatment require such close proximity? And does it require such a coaxing tone?"
His words were like icicles, piercing Xie Heng's heart, and also Yun Zhi's. Yun Zhi leaned against the wall and tried to stand up, but due to the high fever and fear, her body swayed and she almost fell. Xie Heng subconsciously reached out to help her, but Xiao Jin pushed her away!
"Get out of here!" Xiao Jin's force was so great that Xie Heng staggered back a few steps and bumped into the edge of the altar, causing his elbow to hurt.
Xiao Jin didn't look at Xie Heng again, his eyes fell on Yun Zhi. In his deep eyes, besides anger, there was a trace of panic that he himself didn't even notice - he just heard the secret guard report in the study that Xie Heng went to the ancestral hall late at night and was "very caring" about Yun Zhi. He rushed over like a madman, with only one thought in his mind: they can't be together, Yun Zhi is his, and can only be his!
"Are you so impatient?" Xiao Jin walked up to Yun Zhi, reached out and pinched her chin, forcing her to look up. The force of his fingertips almost crushed her bones. "You just crawled back from the gates of hell, and you're busy meeting with another man? Yun Zhi, I really underestimated you!"
"No... Your Highness, please listen to my explanation..." Yun Zhi's chin was pinched so hard that it hurt. Tears welled up in her eyes and her voice was filled with tears. "Doctor Xie only came to treat me. We didn't..."
"No?" Xiao Jin interrupted her, his eyes blazing with anger. He suddenly raised his hand and pointed at Xie Heng, "Then why did he come here in the rain so late at night? Is he just bored? Or have you been hooking up with him for a long time, using the excuse of kneeling as punishment to meet him here secretly?"
He recalled the tacit understanding between Yun Zhi and Xie Heng when they looked at each other in the enclosure; he recalled how Xie Heng always "happened" to appear when Yun Zhi was in trouble; he recalled what the secret guard had just said, "Doctor Xie fed Miss Yun medicine and plugged the heater" - these images intertwined in his mind, causing his sanity to completely collapse.
"Thank you, my beloved concubine, Imperial Physician, for your dedicated care." Xiao Jin's voice was as cold as ice, yet with a subtle tremor, a sign of jealousy and anger driving him out of control. "Why? I can't satisfy you, so you've found someone else? Or did you approach me from the beginning just to find a chance to live with him?"
"I didn't!" Yun Zhi shook her head violently, tears falling even harder. The pain in her heart was even worse than the old injury on her shoulder. "I've never had such thoughts! Your Majesty, why don't you believe me?"
From the "self-torture tactic" after blocking the arrow to the current "secret meeting", he has never believed her. Even if she was hurt again and again, and endured humiliation again and again, in his eyes, she will always be the sinner who plotted against him with evil intentions.
Xiao Jin looked at her tear-red eyes, his heart inexplicably tightening. The hand holding her chin loosened a little, but his words became even harsher: "Trust you? How can I trust you? Trust you, the daughter of a traitor? Trust you, a woman who only knows how to use self-torture to gain sympathy? Yun Zhi, you don't deserve it!"
"Your Highness!" Xie Heng could no longer bear it and took another step forward. "You can't slander Miss Yun like this! I know her better than you do! She has never plotted against anyone, let alone had a secret meeting with me! If you don't believe me, you can check!"
"Investigate?" Xiao Jin turned to look at Xie Heng, the murderous intent in his eyes almost devouring him. "Whether I investigate or not is it your turn as an outsider to interfere? Xie Heng, don't forget your status! She belongs to me. Even if I want her dead, it's not your place to make decisions!"
As he spoke, he suddenly reached out, grabbed Yun Zhi's wrist, and was about to drag her out. Yun Zhi's wrist was pulled so hard that it hurt, and the old injury on her shoulder was even more painful. She struggled, "Your Highness, let me go! I won't leave! Doctor Xie is innocent, you can't take your anger out on him!"
"Innocent?" Xiao Jin sneered, not stopping. "No one who has anything to do with you is innocent! Do you think I will let him go?"
Xie Heng was extremely anxious when he saw Yun Zhi being dragged. He wanted to step forward to stop them, but was stopped by Xiao Jin's guards. At some point, the guards had surrounded them and guarded the ancestral hall tightly.
"Your Highness! If you hurt Miss Yun, I will report this to the Emperor and impeach you for abusing private punishment!" Xie Heng roared, but he could only watch Xiao Jin dragging Yun Zhi out of the ancestral hall step by step.
The torrential rain continued to pour down, pounding Yun Zhi with icy cold. Xiao Jin dragged her along, and she stumbled after him. The pain in her wrist and the excruciating pain in her shoulder combined to make her almost faint.
She looked back at Xie Heng at the door of the ancestral hall. He was stopped by the guards, his face full of anxiety and helplessness. The rain soaked his robe, but he still stared at her.
Yun Zhi's heart felt icy cold, colder than the torrential rain. She knew that this time, she really couldn't escape. Xiao Jin's rage, Lin Wanru's schemes, and the untold truth were like a giant net, trapping her tightly and leaving her unable to move.
Xiao Jin dragged her along, walking forward without looking back or speaking. Only his tightly clenched wrist betrayed his loss of control. He was furious at Yun Zhi and Xie Heng's "closeness," panicked by his own growing concern for Yun Zhi, and even more bitter about himself for becoming so unlike himself because of a slave.
The rain grew heavier, stretching their figures further and further, pushing the unfinished storm to an even more dangerous edge. Yun Zhi didn't know what awaited her, but she knew clearly that her last remaining thoughts about Xiao Jin had been completely extinguished in this cold, rainy night.
At the entrance of the ancestral hall, Xie Heng looked at the direction where the two people disappeared, clenched his fists tightly, and a hint of determination flashed in his eyes - he would never let Yun Zhi get into trouble, even if it cost him his own future, he would find out the truth and clear her name.
This terrifying rainy night not only exposed a misunderstanding, but also unleashed everyone's hidden emotions. Xiao Jin's possessiveness and jealousy, Yun Zhi's despair and resignation, Xie Heng's protection and determination, and the hidden calculations of Lin Wanru and Su Yurou, all intertwined in this torrential rain, forming a more complex web that drew everyone into a deeper vortex.
The next chapter is already suspenseful—how will Xiao Jin deal with Yun Zhi? How will Xie Heng rescue her? And what clues will be revealed about the unjust case at the Imperial Tutor's Mansion and the truth behind Shen Qingyue's death amidst this turmoil?
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