Chapter 4
Xie Jing's palms were wet; blood had seeped into his eyes, and his mind was in turmoil.
He vehemently denied it: "No!!"
"Miss Gu!" He gasped for breath and shouted angrily, "Mind your place! This is the imperial palace, not the backyard of your Duke Zhenguo's mansion! You have no right to make baseless accusations here!"
Xie Jing is still a young man who has not yet entered the imperial court, far from the composure and emotion he will show in the future.
The more desperately they shout, the more guilty they feel.
Anyone could see his guilty conscience.
Zhou Liulang and the others exchanged glances, instinctively backing away as far as they could, hoping to hear nothing. If it weren't so unsuitable, they would have simply run away.
"Enough!" Ji Nanke rushed over, lifting her skirt, and stretched out her arms to block Xie Jing.
"I believe in His Highness the Third Prince!"
"Cousin Zhuo, don't always be so suspicious and let down other people's good intentions."
Gu Zhizhuo looked back and forth between the two of them, then suddenly smiled and said, "Alright then, I believe you."
Forehead?
"Cousin Ke, here you go. It's up to you whether you want to use it or not." Gu Zhizhu handed over the jar. "Don't spill it, okay? Otherwise people will say I have a bad temper and always bully you."
She smiled maliciously, tilting her fingers slightly as she held the medicine jar, a drop of ointment dripping down the rim and forming a black droplet.
Ji Nanke stared intently at the drop of medicine that was about to fall.
Gu Zhizhuo slowly raised his hand and uttered two words lightly: "Be careful."
For a fleeting moment, Ji Nanke had no doubt that she would pour the entire jar of medicine onto her face. Instinctively, she covered her face with her hands and leaned her delicate body against Xie Jing behind her.
Xie Jing was furious: "Have you had enough! Give it to me!"
He jumped up and tried to snatch it, but his outstretched arm collided squarely with the medicine jar in Gu Zhizhuo's hand, and a full jar of black ointment spilled down from his head.
"Please take this."
The ointment slowly dripped down Xie Jing's forehead and cheeks, as cold as a snake's tongue. Fear made his brain rush with blood, and waves of blood rushed straight to the top of his head.
"oops!"
Gu Zhizhuo patted his chest dramatically and raised his voice:
"Your Highness, you are so careless!"
"Thank goodness, you said it wasn't poisonous, otherwise it would have been terrible."
Xie Jing looked up in fury and met a pair of phoenix eyes full of mockery.
She knew everything! This terrifying thought sent chills down his spine. Before he could think further, he heard Gu Zhizhuo's voice close to his ear, soft and slow, like a demon from hell demanding his life.
"Bone-corroding grass, withered vine, and blood dragon's saliva..."
"Using it will make the wound difficult to heal, causing the skin to rot and the flesh to fester!"
"Your Highness, is your face starting to feel hot?"
Xie Jing's face burned, as if he had a piece of burning coal on his face, so hot that he wanted to peel the whole skin off.
Gu Zhizhuo's expression was somber: "At first it's burning, then it slowly becomes itchy, like countless insects and mosquitoes are gnawing at your face, making it hard to have a moment's peace day and night."
She spoke very softly, making sure that Zhou Liulang and the others couldn't hear her.
"Then, the skin on your face will peel off, revealing flesh and bones."
"The wound won't heal; it rots and stinks day by day, and bugs will swarm around you, buzzing and buzzing..."
Xie Jing's hair stood on end, his mind filled with a buzzing sound. He screamed and frantically wiped his face with his sleeve. The ointment was sticky like oil, seeping into the wound as if countless fine needles were piercing his flesh.
Gu Zhizhuo asked with a smile, "Does it hurt?"
These two words shattered Xie Jing's last shred of reason. His face contorted with rage, and he raised his hand to slap Gu Zhizhuo.
Gu Zhizhuo chuckled softly, leaned back, and Xie Jing fell to the ground in a sorry state.
Xie Danling pulled Gu Zhizhuo behind her and said with dissatisfaction, "Third brother, what's wrong with you? You slipped and didn't hold it properly, and you're throwing a tantrum."
Xie Jing supported himself on his elbows, gritting his teeth. Crimson blood mixed with black ointment covered half of his face, leaving it mottled with red and black marks.
Ji Nanke supported him, her bright eyes filled with complex and indescribable emotions.
She knew that Xie Jing was deeply in love with her.
However, the Duke of Zhenguo's family had raised her with kindness, and she always told herself not to compete with Gu Zhizhuo. As women in this world, they should support each other. Even though Gu Zhizhuo was arrogant, willful, and unruly from a young age, she did not change her mind.
But now, she's a little uncertain.
Xie Jing is such a noble and gentle person; if it weren't for her, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths.
She bit her lip, and two lines of clear tears slid down her cheeks.
"It's alright." Xie Jing felt a tingling sensation in his heart and grabbed her hand. "It's not your fault!"
Xie Danling gave a disdainful snort and clapped her hands mockingly, "The Myriad Treasures Ointment is indeed incredibly effective. Third Brother looks like he's already more than half recovered."
"Since there's nothing else, let's disperse." She raised her chin: "Yaoyao..." What she meant was, it was time to run away, or the Empress would be coming!
No, no, if we just leave, they'll start throwing mud at us! Gu Zhizhuo gave her a wink. The medicine was given by Xie Jing, and the injury was caused by him falling while saving her. He brought this on himself. It's not enough for them to know all this.
Understand?
Understand!
Their tacit understanding from childhood, playing with cats and dogs together, allowed them to reach a consensus the moment their eyes met.
Gu Zhizhuo sobbed and leaned on her shoulder.
Xie Danling put her hands on her hips and pointed at the palace servants, saying, "Why hasn't the Empress Dowager come yet! Go and see her quickly. My cousin has been wronged. Can you bear the responsibility?"
Who is really being wronged?! Xie Jing was about to start cursing when he opened his mouth and pulled at the injury on his cheek, the pain almost making him faint, and he swayed unsteadily.
Zhou Liulang and the others were terrified and didn't know what to do. The next moment, they suddenly heard a high-pitched voice saying, "Her Majesty the Empress has arrived." They were finally relieved. It was good that the Empress had come; if anything else happened, it wouldn't be their fault.
A beautiful woman in a phoenix robe walked briskly in, surrounded by a group of palace maids and eunuchs. There were also a dozen or so high-ranking concubines and noblewomen from both inside and outside the palace. They were originally going to the theater, but when they passed the water pavilion, a young eunuch came to report that Xie Jing had fallen from the pavilion.
The Empress was immediately alarmed. She had been anxious all the way, and now that she saw her son with his face covered in blood, her heart finally calmed down.
"Jing'er!?"
Madam Gu, equally shaken, stared at the girl in Xie Jing's arms. She recognized her immediately as Ji Nanke from her own household, and her heart pounded with anxiety as she tightly gripped her daughter-in-law's hand.
"Someone tell me what's going on! Where's the imperial physician? Has he been summoned yet?!"
The imperial physician has been summoned, but he hasn't arrived yet. As for what happened, Zhou Liulang and the others all silently looked at Gu Zhizhuo, and the Empress also subconsciously looked over. Gu Zhizhuo slightly raised her head from Xie Danling's shoulder, her face covered by a veil, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Your Majesty!" Gu Zhizhu cried out in a pitiful voice, "The Third Prince poisoned the medicine I used to apply to my face."
The surroundings suddenly fell silent.
Gu Zhizhu squeezed out tears and pitifully complained, "The Third Prince fell off the pavilion and got injured. He bled a lot. I was afraid he would lose too much blood, so I gave him the ointment he gave me. But he refused to use it and tried to take it from me, so he spilled the ointment."
Her voice was extremely clear and crisp, and she recounted the whole story in just a few words, especially the key words such as "poisoning," "forcibly taking," and "spreading," which she enunciated very clearly.
"Mother," Xie Danling nodded repeatedly in agreement, "My third brother was injured while saving Miss Ji. They all saw it."
She pointed at Zhou Liulang and the others: "Don't you think so?"
Zhou Liulang nodded unconsciously, then nodded twice before realizing what he had done, his neck stiffening in place.
The Empress's face looked as if she had swallowed a fly.
Gu Zhizhuo and she chimed in, "The Third Prince only admitted it was poisonous after the medicine was sprinkled on his face. I was so scared."
"What are you afraid of? I'm the one who should be afraid!" Xie Jing was almost dumbfounded. How could someone talk such blatant nonsense?
The excruciating pain on his face contorted his features, and Xie Jing gritted his teeth, saying, "Shut up! I didn't..."
Xie Jing wanted to argue, but Gu Zhizhuo put down the handkerchief in her hand, her eyes red-rimmed: "Your Highness, what did I say wrong? Was it that I didn't return the medicine to you, or that you didn't let Physician Liu poison you?" As she spoke, tears streamed down her face.
"I didn't..."
"You, a prince, have the guts to do it but not the guts to admit it?!"
His voice was loud, but hers was even louder.
He speaks fast, but she speaks even faster!
Gu Zhizhuo, taking advantage of his facial pain whenever he spoke, effectively shut down every attempt at explanation from him. She sobbed and threw herself into Consort Shu's arms, tugging at her sleeve, and said aggrievedly, "Aunt, after the Third Prince had Physician Liu apply this medicine to my face, it hurts so much. The Third Prince even made me apply it every day. I'm so scared."
Consort Shu was a very intelligent person, and she immediately understood the hidden meaning.
"Quickly, let your aunt take a look." Her voice trembled as she lifted Gu Zhizhuo's veil. After just one glance, she embraced her with heartbreaking grief: "How could this happen!"
"My dear child! If your parents in heaven knew that you were bullied like this, they would be heartbroken."
Consort Shu wept bitterly, her face streaked with tears, and said angrily, "Your Highness, if you despise the Duke of Zhenguo for dying for the country and want to break off the engagement and marry someone else, you can simply say so. Why go to such lengths..." ruthless!
The empress's face turned pale and then flushed.
If Consort Shu's words were to spread, Jing'er would not only offend those petty military officers, but would also inevitably be branded as "lustful," "morally corrupt," and "unruly."
Her elder brother secretly sent a message to her through her sister-in-law: the Grand Secretary had just submitted the memorial proposing the establishment of an heir apparent. Before she could even feel joy, this bucket of cold water was poured over her head, completely dampening her spirits.
In the blink of an eye, the Empress made her decision.
This lowly maid was pulling and embracing Jing'er; it could only be that she deliberately seduced her, and it had nothing to do with Jing'er.
Only by dealing with her can we save Jing'er.
The Empress acted decisively, her anger blazing, and said, "This vile woman dares to openly seduce the prince in the palace! Guards, drag her out here!"
Xie Jing panicked and shouted hoarsely, "Mother! It has nothing to do with her!" His cheeks were still bleeding, his eyes were blazing with anger, and his face was contorted with pain. "It's Gu Zhizhuo who's making baseless accusations. It's not Miss Ji's fault."
The Empress's breathing was disordered. In front of so many people, Jing'er was still protecting this lowly maid. Wasn't that just confirming Consort Shu's accusations?
The ladies who knew each other exchanged glances; the Prime Minister's wife gently touched her sleeve.
The fact that the Third Prince has a sweetheart is no secret in the capital. Princes are allowed to take concubines according to the law, and even the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion has not objected, so naturally no one will meddle.
However, having a sweetheart is one thing, but wanting to kill one's fiancée for the sake of that sweetheart is another matter entirely.
On the contrary, Miss Gu was nothing like the foolish and arrogant persona she was rumored to be. Her ability to push the Third Prince into a dead end with just a few words impressed her.
Xie Jing was completely absorbed in Ji Nanke, oblivious to the stares of those around him, and confidently declared, "With me here, no one will hurt you!"
Gu Zhizhuo lowered his eyes slightly, his eyes brimming with tears, and continued to fan the flames: "Aunt, it's all my fault. Father has already died in battle, and I shouldn't have continued to act like a pampered guest in the palace as before."
She sobbed softly, a sight that evoked pity.
"I will definitely remember to be more mindful of my behavior in the future."
A note from the author:
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