Gu Ying suppressed the surging anger in her heart, and a cold gleam flashed across her eyes, "Since the princess is so eager to marry the Eldest Prince, she surely wouldn't want to see him become a corpse, right?"
Le Su smiled charmingly, "Naturally, this princess will certainly save him."
"However-" She changed the direction of her words, her gaze falling on Gu Ying's belly, "This princess still wants you to die first."
Ye Zhuojiang could not hold back anymore, "What nonsense are you spewing! Do you even know how to speak properly? If not, this gentleman will teach you!"
Gu Ying raised her hand to stop the furious Ye Zhuojiang. Her little face was indifferent, "What must you do to hand over the antidote?"
"There is no antidote." Le Su said matter-of-factly, "I came today to inform you on another person's behalf that there is only one way to save General Zhao. You must use your blood to exchange for his."
Ye Zhuojiang's eyes were about to split open in anger, "I knew it!"
Gu Ying's heart lurched, but she did not believe it, "Why should I trust you?"
Le Su said, "That person said that a long time ago, he had planted a gu worm called Lovesickness Gu in your body. This gu worm dwells in one's blood vessels. The poison he was afflicted with shares the same origin as the Lovesickness Gu. After years of incubation, your blood has become the antidote to his poison. Have you been feeling throbbing headaches frequently? If so, that confirms it. He also said that you should know him well, and that he never goes back on his word."
Lovesickness Gu?
She had seen it mentioned in a book on folk medicine before, but at that time, she did not connect her headaches to gu poison...
Gu Ying's throat tightened. She had lost her composure and asked, "When?"
Le Su smiled faintly, "Speaking of which, the poison was not planted in your body, but the Moon Beauty Princess planted it in General Zhao's body instead."
Upon hearing this, Gu Ying understood everything.
So back then, Jiang Yin's hands had already reached between her and the Eldest Prince!
No wonder when the Eldest Prince was poisoned that time... even after intimacy with her, he was still unable to alleviate the effects of the drug... It was three days later that his feverish sensations finally eased a little.
She never imagined that Jiang Yin was so ruthless and unscrupulous. To actually raise gu worms on humans... and transfer the gu into her body through such means.
She had thought that after her rebirth, her health had always been robust. Why did she suddenly suffer from headaches after marrying the Eldest Prince? So it turned out to be his malicious scheme!
At this moment, Gu Ying was filled with fury, yet she laughed aloud.
Seeing her laugh, Le Su grew suspicious, "What's so funny?"
Gu Ying shook her head, the smile on her lips undiminished, "I believe you."
"Then why are you laughing?"
"I'm laughing-" Gu Ying's eyes were clear, the arc of her lips gentle, "Jiang Yin still underestimates me."
Le Su's brows furrowed. By the time she realized something was wrong, her body had already gone limp.
Powerless, she slumped over the table, glaring at the smiling Gu Ying, "What did you... do to me?"
Gu Ying placed her small hand on Ye Zhuojiang's arm and got to her feet. The smile at her lips was casual as she enunciated each word, "Didn't the princess say she was willing to die for the Eldest Prince? Since that is so, I shall fulfill your wish."
"Gu Ying, you!"
Le Su shook her head forcefully, her vision darkening. She wanted to say more but the scenery before her eyes grew increasingly blurred.
Then with a "thud", she completely collapsed on the ground.
Gu Ying glanced at her indifferently, "Zhuojiang, tie her up and take her back to Changfeng Pavilion."
Ye Zhuojiang cracked his knuckles menacingly, gnashing his teeth, "Good! This wretch is too vicious. I must make her suffer a huge loss! How dare she make a move on Miss Ying, does she think I, Ye Zhuojiang, am to be trifled with?"
Ye Zhuojiang cursed as he carried Le Su and flung her onto the carriage.
"Miss Ying, no one will find out we've captured the princess who was supposed to marry into our kingdom, right?"
Gu Ying followed him up calmly, "No, she had come to find me earlier in disguise as a man. The real princess who is travelling here for the marriage is still on the journey from the grasslands. At worst, if she dies from illness on the road, it would not be unreasonable given she travelled thousands of miles here. As long as she does not perish within the city walls of Bianjing, everything can still be negotiated."
Ye Zhuojiang clicked his tongue in wonder, "Does Miss Ying mean to-"
Gu Ying's eyes glinted coldly, her dark, icy gaze falling on Le Su's fair cheeks. She enunciated word for word, "She has dirtied the Eldest Prince, so I want her dead too."
...
Now that she knew Jiang Yin's intentions, saving the Eldest Prince became simple.
It was merely a choice between the Eldest Prince and her child.
After returning from the teahouse to Changfeng Pavilion, Gu Ying declined all visits and shut herself alone in the room, silently accompanying the Eldest Prince.
She thought she had to make a decision quickly.
Jiang Yin assumed she was still the timid and indecisive Gu Ying from her past life. He was certain that upon receiving the news, she would be tormented and waver between the Eldest Prince and their child.
Unfortunately for him, he was wrong.
Having lived this new life, she was no longer that silly, ignorant girl.
As dusk fell, the light faded around them.
She stood silently by the Eldest Prince's bedside, her gaze fixed on his sleeping face. With his eyes closed, the sharp edges of the man seemed to soften, rendering him almost gentle.
She reached out a small hand and lightly stroked his brow. In the quiet of the night, the secrets she had kept buried for over ten years surfaced irresistibly, eager to confess to him.
Fortunately he could not hear anything. So she no longer had to painstakingly conceal anything.
She took a deep breath, lifting her chin slightly as glistening teardrops slowly rolled down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry, Adu... I've hidden some things from you for too long..."
"I didn't dare say anything before, and now that I want to, I feel there's no point."
"I was once married to Jiang Yin, I was his wife. Then he broke my limbs and threw me into a dilapidated temple. For ten whole years, I lived in humiliation and pain..."
Those old memories flashed before her eyes one by one.
A piercing pain struck Gu Ying's heart, and her eyes ached. She could not go on, the corners of her lips tugging into a smile as she continued, "I've died once before. By the heavens' grace I was allowed to be reborn and live again. So, Adu, after my rebirth, I no longer loved Jiang Yin... In fact, I never loved him at all. The one I've always loved is that young boy who saved me at the hot spring behind Qingyun Temple... I was stubbornly set on marrying him, thinking he was the one. If not for wrongly recognizing you this life at the foot of Qixia Mountain, I fear I would still be in the dark for the rest of my life."
"Adu, I have never regretted marrying you..."
"I know I am unworthy... not good enough for you..."
"I am someone who has died once before. Death itself is not so unbearable, it's a kind of release. In the many years I lived, I was never as happy as I have been in just over a year of this life."
"You see, Adu, you're that kind of person. You pulled me up from the mire and led me upwards, letting my days become better and better, never suffering any grievances."
"To be able to live again, to be your wife, I'm already very content."
Gu Ying suppressed the surging anger in her heart, and a cold gleam flashed across her eyes, "Since the princess is so eager to marry the Eldest Prince, she surely wouldn't want to see him become a corpse, right?"
Le Su smiled charmingly, "Naturally, this princess will certainly save him."
"However-" She changed the direction of her words, her gaze falling on Gu Ying's belly, "This princess still wants you to die first."
Ye Zhuojiang could not hold back anymore, "What nonsense are you spewing! Do you even know how to speak properly? If not, this gentleman will teach you!"
Gu Ying raised her hand to stop the furious Ye Zhuojiang. Her little face was indifferent, "What must you do to hand over the antidote?"
"There is no antidote." Le Su said matter-of-factly, "I came today to inform you on another person's behalf that there is only one way to save General Zhao. You must use your blood to exchange for his."
Ye Zhuojiang's eyes were about to split open in anger, "I knew it!"
Gu Ying's heart lurched, but she did not believe it, "Why should I trust you?"
Le Su said, "That person said that a long time ago, he had planted a gu worm called Lovesickness Gu in your body. This gu worm dwells in one's blood vessels. The poison he was afflicted with shares the same origin as the Lovesickness Gu. After years of incubation, your blood has become the antidote to his poison. Have you been feeling throbbing headaches frequently? If so, that confirms it. He also said that you should know him well, and that he never goes back on his word."
Lovesickness Gu?
She had seen it mentioned in a book on folk medicine before, but at that time, she did not connect her headaches to gu poison...
Gu Ying's throat tightened. She had lost her composure and asked, "When?"
Le Su smiled faintly, "Speaking of which, the poison was not planted in your body, but the Moon Beauty Princess planted it in General Zhao's body instead."
Upon hearing this, Gu Ying understood everything.
So back then, Jiang Yin's hands had already reached between her and the Eldest Prince!
No wonder when the Eldest Prince was poisoned that time... even after intimacy with her, he was still unable to alleviate the effects of the drug... It was three days later that his feverish sensations finally eased a little.
She never imagined that Jiang Yin was so ruthless and unscrupulous. To actually raise gu worms on humans... and transfer the gu into her body through such means.
She had thought that after her rebirth, her health had always been robust. Why did she suddenly suffer from headaches after marrying the Eldest Prince? So it turned out to be his malicious scheme!
At this moment, Gu Ying was filled with fury, yet she laughed aloud.
Seeing her laugh, Le Su grew suspicious, "What's so funny?"
Gu Ying shook her head, the smile on her lips undiminished, "I believe you."
"Then why are you laughing?"
"I'm laughing-" Gu Ying's eyes were clear, the arc of her lips gentle, "Jiang Yin still underestimates me."
Le Su's brows furrowed. By the time she realized something was wrong, her body had already gone limp.
Powerless, she slumped over the table, glaring at the smiling Gu Ying, "What did you... do to me?"
Gu Ying placed her small hand on Ye Zhuojiang's arm and got to her feet. The smile at her lips was casual as she enunciated each word, "Didn't the princess say she was willing to die for the Eldest Prince? Since that is so, I shall fulfill your wish."
"Gu Ying, you!"
Le Su shook her head forcefully, her vision darkening. She wanted to say more but the scenery before her eyes grew increasingly blurred.
Then with a "thud", she completely collapsed on the ground.
Gu Ying glanced at her indifferently, "Zhuojiang, tie her up and take her back to Changfeng Pavilion."
Ye Zhuojiang cracked his knuckles menacingly, gnashing his teeth, "Good! This wretch is too vicious. I must make her suffer a huge loss! How dare she make a move on Miss Ying, does she think I, Ye Zhuojiang, am to be trifled with?"
Ye Zhuojiang cursed as he carried Le Su and flung her onto the carriage.
"Miss Ying, no one will find out we've captured the princess who was supposed to marry into our kingdom, right?"
Gu Ying followed him up calmly, "No, she had come to find me earlier in disguise as a man. The real princess who is travelling here for the marriage is still on the journey from the grasslands. At worst, if she dies from illness on the road, it would not be unreasonable given she travelled thousands of miles here. As long as she does not perish within the city walls of Bianjing, everything can still be negotiated."
Ye Zhuojiang clicked his tongue in wonder, "Does Miss Ying mean to-"
Gu Ying's eyes glinted coldly, her dark, icy gaze falling on Le Su's fair cheeks. She enunciated word for word, "She has dirtied the Eldest Prince, so I want her dead too."
...
Now that she knew Jiang Yin's intentions, saving the Eldest Prince became simple.
It was merely a choice between the Eldest Prince and her child.
After returning from the teahouse to Changfeng Pavilion, Gu Ying declined all visits and shut herself alone in the room, silently accompanying the Eldest Prince.
She thought she had to make a decision quickly.
Jiang Yin assumed she was still the timid and indecisive Gu Ying from her past life. He was certain that upon receiving the news, she would be tormented and waver between the Eldest Prince and their child.
Unfortunately for him, he was wrong.
Having lived this new life, she was no longer that silly, ignorant girl.
As dusk fell, the light faded around them.
She stood silently by the Eldest Prince's bedside, her gaze fixed on his sleeping face. With his eyes closed, the sharp edges of the man seemed to soften, rendering him almost gentle.
She reached out a small hand and lightly stroked his brow. In the quiet of the night, the secrets she had kept buried for over ten years surfaced irresistibly, eager to confess to him.
Fortunately he could not hear anything. So she no longer had to painstakingly conceal anything.
She took a deep breath, lifting her chin slightly as glistening teardrops slowly rolled down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry, Adu... I've hidden some things from you for too long..."
"I didn't dare say anything before, and now that I want to, I feel there's no point."
"I was once married to Jiang Yin, I was his wife. Then he broke my limbs and threw me into a dilapidated temple. For ten whole years, I lived in humiliation and pain..."
Those old memories flashed before her eyes one by one.
A piercing pain struck Gu Ying's heart, and her eyes ached. She could not go on, the corners of her lips tugging into a smile as she continued, "I've died once before. By the heavens' grace I was allowed to be reborn and live again. So, Adu, after my rebirth, I no longer loved Jiang Yin... In fact, I never loved him at all. The one I've always loved is that young boy who saved me at the hot spring behind Qingyun Temple... I was stubbornly set on marrying him, thinking he was the one. If not for wrongly recognizing you this life at the foot of Qixia Mountain, I fear I would still be in the dark for the rest of my life."
"Adu, I have never regretted marrying you..."
"I know I am unworthy... not good enough for you..."
"I am someone who has died once before. Death itself is not so unbearable, it's a kind of release. In the many years I lived, I was never as happy as I have been in just over a year of this life."
"You see, Adu, you're that kind of person. You pulled me up from the mire and led me upwards, letting my days become better and better, never suffering any grievances."
"To be able to live again, to be your wife, I'm already very content."
