"What are you doing hiding outside the door?" the Fourth Prince asked.
"Your Highness... I'm sorry, I just wanted to check if Miss Xiyin was alright?" Xing'er replied timidly, her head bowed.
"How did you know that Miss Xiyin was in trouble?" The Fourth Prince stood up and walked towards Xing'er, asking with a serious expression.
"I...I...I am your servant..." Xing'er was so frightened that she couldn't speak coherently, and her thin body trembled even more violently.
"I'll ask you one more time, how did you know Miss Xiyin was in trouble?" His tone suddenly turned icy.
Intelligent as he was, how could he not guess who the poisoner was? But at this moment, he desperately didn't want to hear the answer from anyone else. The person he had sworn to protect his entire life was now, under his indulgence, becoming increasingly reckless.
"It was...it was...it was the Empress Dowager who ordered us to poison Miss," Xing'er answered in a panic.
"Oh, if that old monster tells you to poison someone, you poison them. If she tells you to eat shit, would you go or not?" Hua Shao said angrily.
The Fourth Prince glared at Hua Shao. Even if she wasn't perfect, she was still the one who gave him life and raised him; he wouldn't allow anyone to speak of her like that.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, I misspoke. Please don't take offense!" Hua Shao was intimidated by the Fourth Prince's gaze and said with a forced smile.
"Does the Dowager Consort have the antidote?" the Fourth Prince asked.
"The Dowager Consort said there is no antidote for this poison. She also said that she couldn't let Miss marry the Prince, so she used this poison to keep Miss paralyzed in bed for the rest of her life..." Xing'er replied.
"A vicious old monster!" Hua Shao cursed inwardly.
"You two stay here and take care of Xiyin for me. I need to go to my mother's place and ask her about this in person!" the Fourth Prince said to Qi Yu and Hua Shao behind him.
Xing'er grabbed the Fourth Prince's trouser leg and pleaded, "Your Highness, you mustn't tell the Dowager Consort that I told her, otherwise, otherwise..."
The Fourth Prince helped Xing'er up. "I know you are kind-hearted. From now on, you will stay by Miss's side and take good care of her. This is your punishment. Understand? Don't worry about the Dowager Consort, I will handle it."
"Xing'er thanks Your Highness!"
"That perverted old monster!" Hua Shao cursed angrily after the Fourth Prince left.
"Alright, say less, or you'll get yourself into trouble!" Qi Yu stopped Hua Shao.
"My poor Xiyin! I'm truly powerless to help her now!" Hua Shao said as he lunged at Chu Xiyin.
Qi Yu grabbed Hua Shao by the collar, pressed him into a chair, and said, "Alright, alright, stop acting crazy and be quiet for a while!"
"Xing'er, Xing'er... Where did that damned girl go?" Consort Zheng had been feeling sore back and waist these past few days, and of all the maids in her room, only Xing'er's massage technique satisfied her the most.
"Sui'er, go and fetch Xing'er for me!" Consort Zheng said lazily.
"Yes, Your Highness!"
As soon as Sui'er opened the door, she bumped into the furious Fourth Prince.
"Fourth...Fourth Prince..." Sui'er ignored the pain in her head and hurriedly bowed.
The Fourth Prince bypassed her and walked straight toward Consort Zheng.
"Chuan'er, you've come?" Consort Zheng said excitedly in a sweet voice.
"Is Mother well? Your son has something to ask you." The Fourth Prince said this without a smile on his face.
"Ouch! My shoulder hurts so much, Sui'er, come and rub it for me!" Consort Zheng had a vague feeling that something was wrong, so she pretended to be unwell.
"Mother, did you order the poison on Xiyin's back to be administered?" Under normal circumstances, he would have turned a blind eye, but now that Chu Xiyin was enduring excruciating pain, how could he let it go so easily? Even if the other party was the person he respected most, he could not let it go so easily.
"So what if it is?" Seeing that the matter could no longer be concealed, Consort Zheng simply admitted it.
"Why did you do this?" A trace of indescribable pain flashed in the Fourth Prince's eyes.
"For you! Chuan'er! Didn't you say that you would never marry a woman and would stay by your mother's side for the rest of your life?" Consort Zheng stepped forward and held his hand.
"For this, you would resort to such a cruel act?" The Fourth Prince flung away Consort Zheng's hand.
Consort Zheng was stunned. In the past twenty years, Yi Chuan had never lost his temper with her. Now, for a woman he had only known for a few days, he was treating her like this! Her jealousy and hatred towards Chu Xiyin increased even more.
"Since that's the case, Mother, please don't blame your son for being unfilial! From today onwards, you are never allowed to approach Chu Xiyin again!" The Fourth Prince's eyes were filled with anger as he said, each word distinct. "Furthermore, I must marry Chu Xiyin! Mother, don't even think about stopping me!"
"You...you..." Consort Zheng was so angry that she couldn't speak. She sat down on the ground with a thud, pounded her chest, and started acting like a shrew.
This time, the Fourth Prince did not soften his heart. He coldly said, "Mother, please have some self-respect!" and turned to leave without looking back.
Behind him, the sound of Consort Zheng cursing Chu Xiyin over and over again could be heard.
He had already made up his mind to protect the most important woman in his life—Chu Xiyin!
As dusk fell, the Fourth Prince had been sitting blankly in Chu Xiyin's room for a full five hours, completely unaware that Qi Yu and the others had long since left.
He looked up at the dazzling red sunset on the horizon, sighed heavily, made up his mind, and walked towards Chu Xiyin's bedside.
Following Qi Yu's instructions, Chunhua fed Chu Xiyin a bowl of unknown medicinal soup.
The Fourth Prince also drank a bowl of unidentified medicinal soup.
The herbal decoction probably had an anesthetic effect, because Chu Xiyin felt no pain at all.
Chu Xiyin was immersed in a sweet dream. In her dream, the sunset was also dazzlingly red. Under the sunset, a red-haired boy with a wicked smile on his lips walked towards her step by step.
"Yichuan!" she murmured his name with a smile.
The Fourth Prince was suddenly taken aback. At this moment, she was so gentle and so charming!
He took off his clothes and slowly lifted a corner of the blanket.
The sky grew darker, and the moon shyly hid behind the clouds.
Suddenly, the entire room was plunged into hellish darkness.
He hesitated, his handsome face filled with deep melancholy. He was afraid that... she might never wake up again.
"What are you still hesitating for? Do you want to watch your loved one remain unconscious like this forever?" A voice from hell echoed eerily throughout the house.
"Who are you?"
"Never mind who I am. Calm down and help her detoxify. I'll secretly help you..."
For some reason, the Fourth Prince seemed to be driven by a ghost, slowly approaching Chu Xiyin beside him.
Chapter 23: Detoxifying Her (Part 2)
Chu Xiyin curled up in the quilt like a baby as the Fourth Prince slowly approached her.
Why is this slender belt around the woman's waist so difficult to untie?
Yi Chuan felt his hands trembling violently, and his palms were slightly sweaty.
With a soft hiss, the sash was easily pulled from Chu Xiyin's waist. At the same time, her robe, now free of its restraints, slowly loosened from her waist.
Yi Chuan removed Chu Xi Yin's outer garment with movements as gentle as the wind, afraid of touching her wounds, even though she was completely unconscious at the moment.
The pale blue moonlight poured into the room like a silver pillar, shining directly on Chu Xiyin.
Her already fair skin appeared even more translucent and alluring under the moonlight.
Yi Chuan looked at Chu Xi Yin with pity, not knowing how to continue!
Just as Yi Chuan was at a loss, a dark shadow suddenly darted into his body.
Yi Chuan felt a chill creep into his body and instantly lost consciousness.
The ghostly man slowly opened his eyes, his gaze still filled with the same melancholy as always.
He could finally touch her like a normal man. Although, he could only possess her body briefly.
Compared to Yi Chuan, the ghostly man seemed much more skilled, gently and quickly removing the remaining clothes from Chu Xiyin's body in a short moment.
Inside Yi Chuan's body, the ghostly man seemed unusually comfortable, as if the body itself belonged to him.
The ghostly man exuded an intense chill, causing Yi Chuan's body heat to gradually dissipate.
If we don't hurry, Yichuan might not be able to hold on!
Without a second thought, the ghostly man pulled Chu Xiyin into his arms.
Chu Xiyin instinctively trembled in his arms.
As expected, he still couldn't give her the warmth she wanted!
The ghostly man embraced Chu Xiyin, his eyes filled with unspeakable pain.
It was probably the "White Gentleman" that worked, because the "Black Queen" seemed to be afraid of something and rushed out of the wound on Chu Xiyin's back.
The "Black Queen" died very quickly after leaving its host!
The Black Queen's reproductive ability is indeed very strong! A pile of black remains, sticky and accumulated on the sheets, clung to the blankets, and stuck around Chu Xiyin's wounds, which was quite disgusting.
As the Black Queen surged forth, Chu Xiyin's wound on her back reopened. Red liquid gushed out.
The ghostly man felt Chu Xiyin trembling violently in his arms.
By the moonlight, he looked down at Chu Xiyin in his arms and saw that her lips were pale and bloodless!
The ghostly man turned Chu Xiyin's body around, and the deep wound on her back pained him deeply.
Yi Chuan's body temperature was dropping rapidly. If the ghostly man didn't come out of his body soon, he might die!
The ghostly man glanced at Chu Xiyin; her long eyelashes trembled slightly, as if she might open her eyes at any moment.
The ghostly man couldn't help but kiss her lips; perhaps, this was the last warm kiss he could give her.
A dark shadow was suddenly pulled out of Yi Chuan's body and fell to the ground.
The ghostly man got up from the ground.
He seemed very familiar with the layout of the room. He quickly found some clean white cloths in the cabinet, cleaned Chu Xiyin's wounds, and gently bandaged them.
Looking at her sleeping peacefully, a faint smile appeared on the ghostly man's lips, making him look quite handsome.
The moonlight gradually faded, and a faint white light appeared on the horizon.
The ghostly man glanced at Chu Xiyin reluctantly before turning to leave.
"Sichuan!"
That sound!