Huangfu Xuan felt a little irritated. He couldn't stand seeing women's tears, especially the woman in front of him!
"Don't cry. What are you crying for? I just don't understand what's there to cry about! Did I force you to eat this lotus seed soup?" he snorted.
Hearing his words, Ma Ruyi immediately nodded. Yes, he was forcing her to eat lotus seed soup!
Huangfu Xuan's expression changed instantly when he saw her nod. "Nod?"
Ma Ruyi immediately knew what he meant and shook her head, "I, no, His Highness the Third Prince did not force me, I did it willingly!"
Huangfu Xuan sighed helplessly and fed her the lotus seed soup. "Eat! Your body needs nourishment too." He softened his tone. "I'm very busy and can't take care of you. You should take good care of yourself!" He even changed how he addressed himself.
He scooped up another spoonful and put it in his mouth, then slowly ate it. Watching him eat, Ma Ruyi felt a warmth in her heart.
Actually, this lotus seed soup didn't contain any medicine, and it really was something I made for him myself.
This was actually the first step of my plan. But I didn't want to take the next step; I really didn't want to carry it out!
She stared at him, somewhat lost in thought. After he finished eating, he nodded, "It was indeed delicious. I'll definitely order more." He looked at Ma Ruyi and smiled.
Ma Ruyi stared in disbelief. He actually smiled at her again? Was she dreaming?
Huangfu Xuan had already scooped a spoonful of lotus seed soup and placed it to her lips. "What are you thinking about? Are you planning to poison what I'm eating?"
"Ah, how could I!" She exclaimed in surprise, a flash of panic crossing her eyes before disappearing in an instant, but Huangfu Xuan saw it all.
"Then open your mouth and eat!" His cold tone made her feel that what she had just experienced was just a fantasy!
Ma Ruyi opened her mouth to eat, and he fed her a bite, then ate the rest himself.
Seeing that Ma Ruyi was full, Huangfu Xuan finished the lotus seed soup in his bowl.
When Huangfuxuan put the bowl down and looked at it again, he found it unbelievable.
To think that he would eat something like this again—this was the first time he had eaten lotus seed soup since he set off for the frontier! His gaze fell on Ma Ruyi's face. Ma Ruyi didn't know what to do or what he was going to do, so she could only look at him.
Huangfu Xuan stared at him for a long time before saying, "Where did you go today? Don't lie to me."
"I went to Yunli Shixiang Pavilion," Ma Ruyi said. He was certain that his whereabouts were being watched by someone, otherwise he wouldn't have asked her like this!
"Continue." Huangfu Xuan adjusted her position so that her eyes were facing him, while she was completely in his arms, unable to move.
"Then I sat for a while and waited for him." If I lied and said I hadn't met anyone, he would definitely be suspicious!
"Hmm?" A smile crept onto his lips. Had he come up with some excuse to deceive himself? This cunning woman!
“My brother told me to kill you,” Ma Ruyi said directly.
Upon hearing this, Huangfu Xuan burst into laughter, "Hahaha, Ma Ruyi, you're really frank! Good, very frank!"
"I didn't agree." Ma Ruyi looked at his exaggerated expression, but remained extremely calm. She should be this honest with him. If she had lied to him, she certainly wouldn't have been so calm.
He then grabbed her neck with one hand. "Why won't you agree? Princess Yu, don't you think having you by my side is the best opportunity to kill me?" Huangfu Xuan's eyes flashed with a hint of bloodlust. She should agree, so why wouldn't she?!
"I can't bring myself to do it." This was the truth, the absolute truth, the words from the bottom of her heart! Ma Ruyi looked at him, tears welling up in her eyes, streaming down her face and into his hands. The coldness of the tears made his heart tremble. He didn't use much force.
He abruptly pulled his hand back, holding her tightly. "Why couldn't you do it? Why? Do you know that once an assassin can't bring herself to do it, nothing awaits her but death!"
"I, I know..." It's just death. If I really can't bring myself to do it, then I'll just die! I never intended to stay by his side and be with him for the rest of my life... I'm not good enough for him.
"Why can't you do it, Ma Ruyi? You haven't answered my question!" Huangfu Xuan had no intention of letting her off the hook. Seeing her lost in thought and trying to escape, he immediately asked again.
"I... I think I've fallen in love with you, Huangfu Xuan, I've fallen in love with you." Ma Ruyi looked at him, wondering if this was the reason she wouldn't kill him.
"Love?" Huangfu Xuan looked at her. She still thought there was love in this world? Ha! Ma Ruyi, Ma Ruyi, you've already deceived me with love once. Do you intend to use the same method again this time? You've really disappointed me!
"Yes." She gritted her teeth. She loved him deeply, and she had made up her mind. Even if she died from the bone-corroding poison, her flesh and bones separating, she would not use the medicine on him! Give up! Leave on your own, find a quiet place, and slowly die from her detached bones!
"I believe you." Huangfu Xuan looked at her, a slight smile curving his lips.
She was taken aback. Really? Great! But the next second, Huangfu Xuan frowned, feeling a sharp pain!
"You...you poisoned the lotus seed soup!" Huangfu Xuan stared at her in disbelief, shoving Ma Ruyi away and clutching his collar. He could hardly breathe! The muscles in his face contorted in agony!
Ma Ruyi exclaimed in surprise, "No, how could this be? I didn't! I didn't put any poison in!" She looked at him, completely panicked, and immediately stepped forward, wanting to see what was wrong with him. But he pushed her away, his eyes bloodshot. He looked at Ma Ruyi and said angrily, "You, I really can't trust you!"
"I...I didn't!" Ma Ruyi shook her head, looking at him as if he was about to kneel on the ground and beg, "I...I also ate the lotus seed soup, but I'm fine, I really didn't poison it! Xuan, believe me, believe me!"
Huangfu Xuan dumped everything in front of him onto the ground. "Hehe, you really are, really..." Huangfu Xuan closed his eyes, struggled to get up, and immediately sat down to meditate and regulate his internal energy.
She was utterly astonished and anxious, but unsure what to do. Finally, she sat down as well and channeled her inner energy into him. Tears streamed down her face. "Xuan, I really didn't poison you. They forced me, I didn't, I really didn't..." She thought of the stove and bowl used to cook the lotus seed soup. Were those things poisonous? Then why was she unharmed after eating it too? Or was it something he came into contact with poisonous, and he was poisoned when he ate the lotus seed soup?
Why did he get poisoned even though I didn't poison him? Is someone secretly sabotaging me?
At this moment, Huangfu Xuan temporarily regulated his body, suppressed the discomfort, spat out a mouthful of black blood, and became more energetic.
He turned around and appeared in front of her with lightning speed, his large hand gripping her neck again, lifting her up. "You think you can erase your sins like this? You think I'll let you go if you transfer some internal energy to me?" His eyes were cold, and his large hand gradually tightened.
Ma Ruyi looked at him, tears streaming down her face, "I really didn't do it, it wasn't me..."
"Five years ago, I thought you truly loved me, so I chose to believe you. I was willing to bear the protests and indignation of the entire army to keep you in my camp! I know I wasn't your first man, but after touching you once, I wanted to take responsibility for you! And what have you done to me? Do you think I didn't know you secretly rewrote my troop deployment map and gave it to the enemy, causing the annihilation of my 30,000-strong army?! You have brought me a lifetime of shame! Ma Ruyi, do you really think I didn't know what you did?" At this moment, Huangfu Xuan's anger surged, and his heart was filled with not only rage, but also hatred and endless pain!
Hearing this, Ma Ruyi felt even more pain in her heart. So, he knew everything! But why, why didn't he expose her? If she had known that one incident would cause him so much loss and humiliation, she would never have done such a thing!
At that time, she was still under Feng Rulin's control, and she hadn't fallen in love with him, nor could she feel his love. That's why she carried out the mission in that way! After that incident, she was taken away by Feng Rulin without knowing the outcome! So she didn't know what happened afterward!
But one thing is absolute—he was my first man, only him! Why did he say such heartbreaking things to me?!
“I can tolerate your sudden disappearance. I tell myself it was just a dream! Besides, you are the woman who heartlessly betrayed me! Since you chose to leave so cruelly, don’t ever appear in my life again! But why did you suddenly appear in front of me again! Wasn’t one hurt enough? Did you have to hurt me a second time? Are you satisfied this time? Ma Ruyi, aren’t you too arrogant?” He looked down at her, his large hand still gripping her neck.
"I'm sorry, Xuan, I'm sorry..." She shook her head gently, tears blurring her vision, oblivious to the fact that her breath was growing weaker and weaker.
"Sorry?" Huangfu Xuan sneered. "Have you ever experienced that feeling of being heartbroken? Have you ever experienced that feeling of being ripped apart? You don't understand!" He sneered, his grip on her neck tightening. "I knew about your trip to Yunli Shixiang Pavilion today! I was very surprised by the lotus seed soup you made, because it's the best bowl of lotus seed soup I've ever eaten in my life... In twenty-four years, I've never eaten such delicious lotus seed soup..."
As he spoke, a tear rolled down his cheek. "I guessed you were hungry after making me lotus seed soup, so I let you eat half... Ma Ruyi, I was just fantasizing about sharing half with you! You actually poisoned it... Haha, what a joke, what a joke! It turns out that all of this was just wishful thinking on my part, Huangfu Xuan's part!"
"No...I...no...it's not..." Hearing his words, Ma Ruyi burst into tears. So, he didn't not love her; he just loved her too deeply! He had made this insecure woman mistakenly believe that he didn't love her!
"When I heard you say that the reason you didn't harm me was because you loved me, I thought, 'Forget it, Huangfu Xuan, I'll trust her just this once, just once, and once more, for the very last time...' But, Ma Ruyi, what have you given me? Pain, endless pain!" He said, then coughed twice. With each cough, blood came out.
He didn't wipe it away, but stared intently at Ma Ruyi, who was now nearly suffocating from being strangled. "Die! If you die, you'll always be by my side."
Ma Ruyi looked at him and wept uncontrollably. She didn't care about her own death, but what kind of poison had he been poisoned with? Why was he coughing up blood even though her internal energy had just been defeated by him?
He truly deserved to die! But he wanted to live peacefully!
"I... I thought I would never trust you again, never show you any care again, so I chose indifference, I chose estrangement. But, Ma Ruyi, what have you given me?" Huangfu Xuan clutched his chest and suddenly threw Ma Ruyi away. Ma Ruyi fell to the ground, while Huangfu Xuan clutched his chest and coughed up mouthfuls of blood.
How ridiculous! He didn't die on the battlefield, nor in the struggle for the throne, but instead died at the hands of a woman! She was the woman he loved, so he could die in peace, but why does it hurt so much!
Just then, five men in black appeared out of the sky. They looked at the two men on the ground, drew their Japanese swords, and immediately walked towards Huangfu Xuan!
Huangfu Xuan looked at the five men in black who had approached and sneered, "Just as I thought! Heh, heh!" He laughed loudly. These five men in black must have just killed all his guards, otherwise they wouldn't have waited so long to deal with him!
Ma Ruyi looked on in surprise and immediately struggled to get up. She hadn't recovered from being choked and deprived of oxygen by Huangfu Xuan, but she couldn't think any further now. Seeing Huangfu Xuan's longsword on the shelf, she rushed over, grabbed it, and appeared in front of Huangfu Xuan in a flash. "If you want to kill him, you have to step on my dead body!"
The five men in black looked somewhat surprised. One of them stepped forward and said, "Princess Jade, your mission is complete. Please step aside!"
"I told you, if you want to kill him, you can do it by stepping on my dead body!" Ma Ruyi stood in front of Huangfu Xuan, sword in hand. "Huangfu Xuan, get out of here!"
"Heh, stop putting on an act!" Huangfu Xuan sneered, wiping the blood from his lips and struggling to his feet. "Get out of my way!" He slapped Ma Ruyi with his large hand. Ma Ruyi was startled and couldn't dodge in time. She was sent flying and crashed to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood!
The five men in black were astonished to see Ma Ruyi severely injured. "Princess Jade!"
Huangfu Xuan snorted coldly, "Princess Jade, hehe, Princess Jade..." His eyes turned to Ma Ruyi, and a smile appeared on his lips.
Ma Ruyi looked at him, a hint of panic flashing in her eyes. What was he going to do?!
Huangfu Xuan clenched his fists tightly, concentrated his inner strength into them, and then he moved among the five men in black!
"Ah!" A bloodcurdling scream rang out as Ma Ruyi witnessed the heart of one of the men in black being blasted away! Huangfu Xuan seemed to be channeling all his remaining energy! He wanted to kill these people! How much he hated them! But he was poisoned and severely injured! What could he do?
The men in black quickly regained their swordsmanship, while Huangfu Xuan, who was already weak from poisoning, and the remaining four men, all highly skilled in martial arts, managed to fight Huangfu Xuan to a draw for the time being!
Huangfu Xuan was fighting with his last breath. Although he was gradually losing ground, he was still able to hold out for a while!
As Huangfu Xuan was being sent flying towards someone, he thought of turning back, but at that moment, a voice came from outside, "What a waste, wasting so much time on just one person!"
Everyone present was taken aback.
Huangfu Xuan was somewhat exhausted. He leaned against the wall, his eyes fixed on the newcomer.
The remaining three men in black looked at the newcomer respectfully. Ma Ruyi looked at the newcomer and exclaimed in surprise, "Brother, brother, let him go, please let him go!"
"You've really forgotten your mission... But, Yu Ruyi, you did a great job on this mission!" Feng Rulin glanced back at Ma Ruyi. "But you're about to die, so you can just enjoy watching this one more show! I'll send him to hell to be with you!"
Huangfu Xuan's eyes blazed with fury as he stared at the man in red before him. A smirk played on Huangfu Xuan's lips as he spurred himself to his feet and said coldly, "So Prince Lin's target is me!"
"No, you are not my target, you are Huangfu Ting's target, I am just doing it on his behalf!" Feng Rulin sneered, "You brothers have really opened my eyes! Since ancient times, brothers of emperors have been cold and ruthless to each other, just as I thought!" Feng Rulin sneered.
"It's him!" Huangfu Xuan gritted his teeth. He had truly underestimated Huangfu Ting's shamelessness! He would cling to anyone he saw! This time, he would definitely crush him!
"You know she's Princess Yu, so why did you marry her?" Feng Rulin asked, quite puzzled himself. "Is it because of her health?" Feng Rulin smiled.
"Because I need to know what kind of power she has behind her, who her backers are, and why they want to target me!" Huangfu Xuan smiled at this moment.
☆、273 The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind!
Feng Rulin scoffed, "So what if I know?" A smirk played on his lips. Did he really expect someone to come to his rescue? What a joke! He had already dealt with everyone! This entire palace was now a death trap!
"How about it? Look behind you." Huangfu Xuan's gaze was now cold. What a joke! He finally showed up, and even dared to say it was that guy Huangfu Ting! If he didn't kill him, he wouldn't be Huangfu Xuan!
Feng Rulin turned around and saw Nan Xuzong standing there. Nan Xuzong's lips curled up slightly. "I didn't expect that Prince Lin would also do something like trespassing on someone else's residence. This is probably a unique feature of Fusang!"
"Huangfu Zong?" Feng Rulin took a slight step back. He had heard that Huangfu Zong's martial arts were superb, and he didn't know who would win if he fought him!
"Hehe!" Huangfu Xuan sneered. At this moment, he pulled his large hand towards the long sword next to Ma Ruyi and grabbed the sword.
Huangfu Xuan sneered and stepped forward, followed by several guards rushing into the study.
They were all bodyguards brought by Nan Xuzong!
Nan Xuzong stepped forward. "It's really not easy to get you to show yourself! You call yourself the 'True Lord'? Looks like you're the leader of the Crescent Moon Sect, right?"
What? Impossible! He knows about the Crescent Moon Cult? That's the state religion of Japan!
Feng Rulin was incredulous. Looking at Huangfu Xuan, he realized that he didn't seem to be injured! Was Ma Ruyi putting on an act for him? He immediately looked at Ma Ruyi with questions in his mind, but Ma Ruyi was indeed on the verge of death. Could it be that Huangfu Xuan had also schemed against Ma Ruyi? Wasn't he deeply in love with Ma Ruyi? Or was she just a pawn in Huangfu Xuan's game from beginning to end?
"How could that be!" Feng Rulin sneered. "Huangfu Xuan, you are so cunning!" He drew a long sword from his waist, and Nan Xuzong did the same, drawing a soft sword from his waist.
"So what if you're cunning? Today is your death day!" Huangfu Xuan sneered, gathering his strength and drawing his sword to rush forward and kill Feng Rulin. The soft sword in Nan Xuzong's hand seemed to come alive, immediately attacking the group of people!
The three men in black were no match for Nan Xuzong, especially with so many guards around them. In no time, all three men in black were killed by a flurry of swords!
Nan Xuzong and Huangfu Xuan joined forces to attack Feng Rulin. Feng Rulin's martial arts skills were originally on par with Huangfu Xuan's, but far inferior to Nan Xuzong's. Now that the two of them were working together, he was naturally at a greater disadvantage!