Chapter 29 Your Highness is the Most Fragrant
Since waking up three months ago, Jing Qianheng has been distrustful of the people around him.
The Crown Prince had warned him that Zhou Linyuan wanted to use him to establish his own dynasty, while Zhou Linyuan said that the Crown Prince and the Queen conspired to kill him as a sacrifice to the dragon.
Some of the correspondence mentioned a place several times—the Purple Sun Immortal Abode. He had no memory of this place. According to the Queen, he had studied there under a master and was looking for clues about the Dragon Guiding Technique.
The crown prince believed that Zhou Linyuan had cast a spell on him, erasing part of his memory.
Everyone had their own version of events, and they all told him that anyone who got close to him, except himself, was an enemy.
Jing Qianheng knew that they each had their own purposes; they could use him, and so could he.
The Red-blooded witch doctor was able to control his condition; he hadn't had an attack for a long time. Zhou Linyuan had said that if his illness could be cured, he wouldn't have to die.
The witch doctor found more than a dozen poisons on him. During the more than ten years he was kept in the palace, he was fed a lot of drugs, a small amount at a time, all added to his daily diet. They were not fatal, but they made him feel pain and discomfort all the time, and he had no energy to do anything, making him easier to control.
He had never seen his birth mother since birth. The concubines in the palace were afraid of his demonic powers, and no one was willing to raise him. It was only by order of the Empress that a few nannies took turns looking after him.
From the time he could remember, he was locked in a dark and gloomy side hall, surrounded by hideous and terrifying evil creatures.
Everyone was afraid of him. The people who brought him food never dared to enter the room. They would push the food box in through the crack in the door. As soon as they heard the sound of his anklet approaching, they would scream in fright and run away immediately.
After leaving that side hall, he lived by observing everyone's expressions, being obedient and sensible, taking blood when asked, and doing whatever he was told.
The Crown Prince took him under his wing and cared for him in every detail. He was always a responsible and good older brother when they were out.
When Jing Qianheng was on his deathbed, he thought that it wouldn't hurt to give his life to the Crown Prince rather than live like this. After all, no one wanted him to live, and if he died, it would make a group of people happy, which wouldn't be a bad thing.
It wasn't until he listened to Zhou Linyuan's advice and sneaked into the East Palace without disturbing anyone that he heard the Crown Prince and the Empress arguing.
The Crown Prince, abandoning his usual composure, said impatiently, "Mother, I have told you before not to be too hasty. The Lord of the Azure Wolf has been searching for Jing Qianheng's whereabouts. Now that he has intercepted the secret letter, he knows everything and will surely strike first."
The queen said in a trembling voice, "I did it too... for you. He's been gone for a year, and I was afraid he might have other ideas, so..."
The crown prince smashed the cup and said coldly, "You always act on your own initiative and ruin my important plans. All our years of planning have been in vain."
Jing Qianheng was not too shocked; the truth was as expected, and he felt no emotional reaction.
Whether it was the Crown Prince who led him out of that side hall to gain his trust or not, he was able to escape the darkness thanks to the Crown Prince.
Jing Qianheng did not hold the past poisoning against him, nor did he care about the Crown Prince's deception and hypocrisy.
He jumped through the window and calmly greeted the Crown Prince. The Queen and the Crown Prince both stared at him, their faces pale. He had overheard their conversation, and no amount of sophistry would change anything.
After that, Jing Qianheng broke off relations with the Crown Prince and moved to the Ling Prince's Mansion in Qingdu City under Zhou Linyuan's arrangement.
Jing Qianheng felt that something was wrong with him. In the past, when he fell ill, he would suffer alone and always felt that he should get rid of it as soon as possible. But this time when he came back, he didn't know why, but he inexplicably wanted to fight for it.
It felt like a sudden expectation had arisen in my heart.
——
Inside the bedchamber, Su You hurriedly chased several maids out. He was quite frightened by the Crown Princess's bold behavior and almost tripped when he crossed the threshold in a panic.
Through the crack in the closed door, he saw Jing Qianheng involuntarily wrap his arm around Jiang Zhishui's waist. With a quick glance down, Su You closed the door and left quickly with several maids.
Jiang Zhishui parted her lips slightly, her eyes flashing. Caught off guard, she bit his tongue. Upon tasting the metallic flavor, she quickly withdrew, covering Jing Qianheng's mouth with one hand, and said breathlessly, "...Your Highness, this Gu is very cunning. It's better to keep it with you than with me."
Blood trickled from Jing Qianheng's tongue, burning with pain. His dark pupils moved slightly, and his hazy gaze slowly regained its clarity. He reached out to pry Jiang Zhishui's hand away.
"Wait a little longer." Jiang Zhishui immediately grabbed his hand, tightening her grip on his mouth. "Has the blood... worked yet? Don't let go and then you pounce on me again."
Jing Qianheng stared intently at her. Jiang Zhishui waited for a moment, but couldn't stand his gaze, so she let go of his hand first and said awkwardly, "I was also... forced to, Your Highness, please don't stare at me like that."
Rather than letting the Gu worm lurk in her body, it's better to transfer it to Jing Qianheng, so that when it flares up, she won't have to rely on Jing Qianheng to bleed her to save her.
Jing Qianheng's blood is special; his body is a natural cage. The Gu shackles, trapped within, will be suppressed and subdued, leaving no room for any rebellious energy.
Jing Qianheng wiped the blood from his mouth, glanced at her, and said, "You're quite clever."
The moment she kissed Jing Qianheng, taking advantage of the brief lull in the shackles of the parasite's movement, in that brief moment of lucidity, she bit Jing Qianheng's tongue. Blood spread in his mouth, and the parasite, hindered, did not return to her.
Jiang Zhishui didn't know if she could succeed; she was just trying her luck.
Although this shackle could improve her relationship with Jing Qianheng to some extent and help her gain his favor, she disliked the feeling of being controlled. Her body was not in control, her consciousness was subtle, and she only had eyes for the person in front of her.
She couldn't control her own actions and could only stand aside, watching herself inexplicably fall in love with someone.
Seeing that he looked normal, Jiang Zhishui knew that he was not under the influence of the Gu poison and was able to remain clear-headed. She breathed a sigh of relief. "How does Your Highness feel? Is the Gu poison considered neutralized?"
Looking at her, Jing Qianheng felt from the bottom of his heart that Jiang Zhishui was a nuisance.
Zhou Linyuan brought this person to his side for two reasons: first, he wanted him to formally start a war with Crown Prince Jingrong; second, Zhou Linyuan wanted to place someone by his side to keep an eye on him at all times.
The Crimson Clan sent Zhou Qingxue to the Jin Kingdom as a concubine in order to obtain the bloodline of the demon dragon. Zhou Linyuan was also using the same method, trying to control him with Jiang Zhishui.
Su You said she was brought back by Zhou Linyuan, so she should also know that he sent people to kill her...
He whispered, "Didn't Zhou Linyuan tell you how to cure this poison?"
Zhou Linyuan didn't say it explicitly, but Jiang Zhishui could probably guess.
Jing Qianheng was probably tricked by his uncle. The curse was hidden in the talisman paper; it was truly insidious and impossible to guard against. Jiang Zhishui sometimes felt that Jing Qianheng was really unlucky; how come he always ran into these kinds of things?
In her first life, she was already a fearsome demon, and even when choosing a furnace for a cauldron, she would draw someone like her, causing her to lose face and her virginity.
In her second life, she thought she had been reborn and had a chance to start over. She was full of confidence and wanted to help Jing Qianheng turn their lives around. Who would have thought that the same mistake would happen again, causing him to suffer for nothing?
He didn't know if it was purely accidental or the system's doing, but another kind of shackle appeared out of nowhere. Fortunately, he successfully resisted it this time and prevented it from harming him again.
Jiang Zhishui felt a little cold, turned around and picked up a black coat from the rack and put it on. Smelling the fragrance on the coat, she took a deep breath and said softly, "He only said that this Gu is related to Your Highness's safety. If I die, Your Highness will also suffer a backlash and his life will be in danger, so please don't act rashly, Your Highness."
Jing Qianheng looked at her and asked, "Did you ask to come back to me?"
Jiang Zhishui sat on the bed and said calmly, "I missed Your Highness, so I came back."
"..." Jing Qianheng raised an eyebrow and said calmly, "Is that so? What benefits did Zhou Linyuan promise you?"
"Aren't you afraid that I'll find a way to kill you?"
Jiang Zhishui said, "Your Highness, keeping me alive is more useful than killing me."
Jing Qianheng remained silent, looking away with some annoyance.
Jiang Zhishui knew he was in a difficult situation and trusted no one. She whispered, "Your Highness, if you think Zhou Linyuan wants to use you through me, can't you also use me to turn the tables on him?"
Jing Qianheng looked up: "What do you mean?"
Jiang Zhishui smiled and said, "I can pretend to cooperate with Zhou Linyuan and secretly help His Highness gather information, acting as his inside man. I'll help you deal with him, okay?"
"You're helping me?" Jing Qianheng scoffed. "...A counter-espionage scheme? How do I know you're not using this tactic against me?"
Jiang Zhishui blurted out, "How is that possible!"
"What's impossible?"
Jiang Zhishui opened her mouth, sighed softly, and said with a serious expression, "Your Highness is young and beautiful. Although Lord Zhou is not bad-looking, he is quite old and does not have the same fragrance as Your Highness. If I were to choose, I would of course choose Your Highness."
Jing Qianheng: "........."
Jiang Zhishui spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, and the more Jing Qianheng listened, the uglier his expression became.
Jiang Zhishui smiled slightly, "Your Highness, we've gone a bit off-topic. You still haven't told me, if this Gu is still in your body, does that mean I'm alright?"
“I will use a spell, with blood as the catalyst, to imprison it,” Jing Qianheng said coldly. “Once the shackles are dormant, you will no longer be under my control.”
Jiang Zhishui breathed a sigh of relief, but seeing that Jing Qianheng's expression was not good, she asked, "The Gu can only be suppressed temporarily, right?"
Jing Qianheng was indeed unable to completely eliminate the shackles.
The shackled gu loathed his blood. Even though it had lost its activity, it still emanated a faint hostility and resisted him within his body. He could clearly sense the shackled gu's presence.
It lies hidden in the most dangerous part of the heart; if something goes wrong, the consequences will be unimaginable.
Jing Qianheng walked towards Jiang Zhishui and said calmly, "Yes, I can't predict what will happen in the future."
Jiang Zhishui looked up at him and saw his cold gaze, which also contained suppressed anger. She thought for a moment, then slowly stood up and patted her chest, saying, "Your Highness, rest assured, I will definitely take responsibility for you to the end."
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