Chapter 3 The Prince Who Failed to Revolt
After buying the herbs, Zhang Xiaojia suddenly realized a problem: there were more than a hundred guards, secret guards, maids, and eunuchs around He Fei, but there was no cook to take care of their meals.
Is it necessary to let her personal maids shoulder such a heavy responsibility? They will be exhausted.
So, Zhang Xiaojia said to Envoy Wude, "Envoy Wude, could you please tell my cousin that I still need a team of imperial chefs?" Envoy Wude looked at this somewhat willful little ancestor and nodded helplessly, agreeing to convey the message. As for whether His Majesty would agree, that was not something he could control.
When Zhang Xiaojia was strolling in the capital, he found that the roads here were paved with large stones. The cutting technology was obviously not sophisticated enough, and the carriage was bumpy when driving on them.
Returning to the palace, Zhang Xiaojia saw Eunuch Mai pacing anxiously, and a sense of foreboding suddenly rose in her heart. Sure enough, as soon as Eunuch Mai saw her, he said anxiously: "Little Ancestor, you are finally back! Hurry, go to the palace!"
Although Zhang Xiaojia was full of doubts, he quickly got on the carriage and rushed all the way to the palace.
In order to save time, she was even carried in a sedan chair to the imperial study quickly.
Upon entering the Imperial Study, Zhang Xiaojia was even more astonished. She remembered that in the original owner's memory, the Imperial Study was where the Emperor interrogated prisoners, not where he worked. Today, however, numerous high-ranking figures gathered there, including the Emperor, the Prime Minister, the Deputy Privy Councilor, the Chief Censor, the Supreme Court Official, the Military Virtue Official, the Imperial Physician Hu, the Empress Dowager, and the Empress.
After paying their respects to the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, Zhang Xiaojia noticed the Empress kneeling on the ground, her hair disheveled and dressed in white. The Emperor then had Imperial Physician Hu reveal to Zhang Xiaojia the Empress Dowager's condition: it was critical, and without an antidote, she might not survive more than an hour.
Zhang Xiaojia remained silent after hearing this, but the queen suddenly burst into laughter.
Zhang Xiaojia was furious. He rushed forward and grabbed the queen's neck, demanding, "Do you have an antidote? What are your conditions?"
The Queen looked at Zhang Xiaojia coldly and made her request: "The prince promised you a lifetime of love, but when you lose your beauty, I want to know if this oath can still stand. Therefore, my first condition is that I want your beauty."
Zhang Xiaojia asked calmly, "What else?"
The Queen continued, "I can give you a cart, and you can place anything you want on it. According to the procedure of exile, you and the prince will guard the imperial mausoleum for a year, and no one is allowed to help you during this time. After you lose your beauty, I will give you the first antidote; after you reach the mausoleum, you will get the second one; after you hold on for a year, the third antidote will completely cure Concubine Chen's undead poison."
Zhang Xiaojia deftly pulled a paper cutter from her bosom. The blade was short but incredibly sharp, just over ten centimeters long. Holding the blade, she gently slid it across her cheek, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. "If I cut myself here, will you really give me the antidote?"
The queen's face was as cold as ice, and her voice was as hard as iron: "That's right. As long as you are willing to make this cut, the first antidote will be yours."
Zhang Xiaojia's eyes flickered as he asked, "Then why should I believe that you're trustworthy?"
The Queen snorted coldly, her tone full of threats: "I have plenty of patience, but I can't afford to delay Concubine Chen's life."
The emperor spoke at this time, his voice filled with unquestionable majesty: "Eunuch Quan, go and bring the eldest prince here."
Eunuch Quan left immediately, and not long after, the eldest prince appeared before everyone. He looked at the scene before him. The queen's clothes were disheveled and her face was haggard. He couldn't help but burst into tears. "Father, why do you treat my mother like this?"
The emperor's eyes were like torches, and his tone was cold and resolute: "Because your mother committed a heinous crime. She poisoned my mother, as well as my brothers and sisters. Now, I need an antidote to save them."
Upon hearing this, the eldest prince's face suddenly changed. He looked at the queen in disbelief, his eyes full of shock and disappointment.
The queen just turned her head away coldly, as if she didn't care about it at all.
Zhang Xiaojia's smile was filled with unquestionable determination. Although her voice was soft, every word was like a hammer, hammering at the Queen's heart: "I cut, this knife, to prove my determination. If you dare to break your promise, I, Zhang Xiaojia, will keep my word and make you pay the price at all costs."
After she finished speaking, she cut a deep mark on her face without hesitation. Blood quickly dyed her cheek red and dripped onto the ground, making a subtle and crisp sound.
At this moment, the entire imperial study seemed to freeze, and everyone was shocked by Zhang Xiaojia's courage.
"Where is the antidote?" Zhang Xiaojia's voice was a little hoarse due to the pain, but her eyes were sharper, looking directly at the queen, as if to see through her soul.
The Queen looked at the wound on Zhang Xiaojia's face, a hint of surprise and fear flashing in her eyes, but she quickly calmed down and sneered, "Aren't you afraid that the prince will dislike you? This scar will accompany you for the rest of your life."
Zhang Xiaojia had a faint smile on her lips, and that smile contained memories of the original owner. If it were the original owner, she would do the same.
"Because in my heart, my aunt is like a mother. As for the prince, if he wants to dislike me, that's his business. If you don't have any interest in me, then I'll divorce you. Don't forget, I'm not only the princess, I'm also the county lady, the emperor's only cousin. Even without my beauty, I can still walk around the capital. So, stop talking nonsense and give me the antidote."
Seeing this, the queen knew that Zhang Xiaojia had made up her mind. She said no more and just said coldly, "The antidote is on the phoenix hairpin on the dressing table."
Upon hearing this, Imperial Physician Hu and the Empress Dowager hurried over to Kunning Palace and carefully took out the antidote from the hairpin.
Zhang Xiaojia walked towards the queen step by step, her eyes full of warning and determination: "After I fulfill the three conditions you mentioned, you must detoxify my aunt and wake her up.
I, Zhang Xiaojia, swear hereby that as long as you can keep your promise, I will save your son's life.
However, if you dare to break your promise after I complete the three things you promised, I will personally kill every member of your Yao family, including your son, one by one, without mercy."
The emperor ordered the Wude Division to escort the queen away alone. Looking at her departing back, everyone in the imperial study felt mixed emotions.
An imperial physician immediately bandaged Zhang Xiaojia's wound.
At the same time, Imperial Physician Hu had quickly administered the antidote to Concubine Chen. Whether the antidote was genuine was uncertain, but Concubine Chen had returned to her living dead state.
Imperial Physician Hu quickly ran to the Imperial Study and said to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, Concubine Chen has recovered to the state of a living dead."
After Zhang Xiaojia bandaged the wound, she lifted the eldest prince up and looked him in the eye. "Your dear uncle was given a resurrection-death drug by your mother. Your mother has ordered us to be exiled prisoners, pulling a cart to guard the imperial mausoleum for a year before giving the antidote to your aunt. A son repays a mother's debt. You should come with us! You should have no objection, right?"
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