She was suddenly startled; the vine flower was the symbol of the Southern Frontier royal family, and this woman was a princess of the Southern Frontier.
The princess's slender figure walked over, her white dress standing out against the black uniforms of the guards. Her gaze fell on the elderly man being supported by the guards, and she exclaimed in surprise, "The Ghost Doctor of Southern Xinjiang, Shen Lixue, you really managed to invite him! Amazing, amazing!"
Shen Lixue looked up at the sky and sighed softly: "I invited you here not to see the Ghost Doctor of Southern Xinjiang!"
"I know, he's just an old man, nothing to see here!" Qin Ruoyan waved her hand dismissively, her gaze quickly shifting past the layers of guards to Dongfang Xun: "Shen Lixue, who is that man? He's really handsome, a hundred times better than that Mu Zhengnan!"
Qin Ruoyan was wearing a bamboo hat, so Shen Lixue couldn't see her expression, but her voice was full of lust and ambiguity. Shen Lixue knew without looking that there must be a bright glint in her small green eyes: "That's the Prince of the Holy King. He's very arrogant and ruthless. You can't afford to offend him."
Qin Ruoyan rubbed her dark hands together, her gaze still fixed on Dongfang Xun: "It's just a prince of the Holy King. As long as I like him, I'll always find a way to get him!"
Shen Lixue rolled her eyes, her lustful heart unchanged: "I didn't call you here today to choose a husband for you!"
"Then why did you call me here?" Qin Ruoyan muttered discontentedly, her gaze still fixed on him.
"I'll give you a beauty!" Shen Lixue grabbed Qin Ruoyan's shoulders and turned her around.
"Bai Ling'er!" Qin Ruoyan wanted to say that she didn't like beautiful women, but her gaze passed through the guards and saw Bai Ling'er lying on the ground, seriously injured. The words that were on the tip of her tongue were swallowed back. How could it be her?
Fearing she might be mistaken, she blinked hard to confirm that the person was indeed Bai Ling'er: "What exactly happened?" How could the beloved disciple of the Ghost Doctor of Southern Xinjiang, the next Ghost Doctor of Southern Xinjiang, have become like this?
So the woman she had just seriously injured with a dagger was Bai Ling'er. If she had known it was her, she would have added a few more daggers.
"She was instructed by someone to harm Dongfang Heng. I couldn't find out who was behind her, so I asked you for help. As long as you can find out what I want to know, she's at your disposal!" Shen Lixue said quietly, emphasizing the words "at your disposal." Qin Ruoyan and Bai Ling'er had a grudge against each other, so she would definitely be satisfied with this condition.
"Deal!" Qin Ruoyan agreed without a second thought. She could capture her mortal enemy and torture him openly and severely without lifting a finger. How could she refuse such a good deal?
"Guards, take her to the dungeon!" Shen Lixue's smile was bright, but her command was icy and chilling.
Bai Ling'er shuddered, her slender hands clenched into fists, and she gritted her teeth, cursing Shen Lixue, "You bitch!"
"Wait, wait!" Seeing the guards escorting Bai Ling'er toward the prison, Qin Ruoyan hurriedly stopped them: "Don't lock her in this prison, take her to my place."
Shen Lixue scoffed: "It's all the same prison, it doesn't matter where you're locked up!"
"I have all sorts of torture instruments. Give her one of each, and I guarantee she'll talk. These torture instruments in the Holy King's Mansion aren't mine, and I'm not comfortable using them. I can't guarantee they'll get the information you want!" Qin Ruoyan spread her hands, looking like she was saying, "You decide."
“This…” Shen Lixue pondered for a moment, then nodded: “Alright, but I want to go to the post station to listen to the trial!”
"No problem!" Qin Ruoyan agreed with a smile, her lecherous gaze falling on Dongfang Xun, who was about to turn and leave: "Prince of the Holy King, we are guests and are about to return home. As the host, shouldn't you see us off?"
Dongfang Xun frowned almost imperceptibly, then smiled and walked over: "It was my negligence, Princess, please!"
Qin Ruoyan coughed lightly and walked gracefully outside, chatting enthusiastically with Dongfang Xun as she went: "How old is the young master?"
Do you have a wife?
"What kind of woman do I like..."
A barrage of questions were directed at Dongfang Xun's ideal woman, which annoyed him. He answered them incoherently.
Having finally arrived at the gate, he watched as Qin Ruoyan reluctantly bid him farewell. She then slowly boarded Shen Lixue's carriage and headed towards the inn. Excitedly, she cried out in a shrill voice, "Shen Lixue, next time you have such a good opportunity, remember to come find me again! I love tormenting my enemies..."
Dongfang Xun frowned, turned and walked into the Holy King's Mansion. He called out a guard and handed him a box: "Go and invite Doctor Jiang Gui, give him this medicine, and then ask him to go to Fengsong Courtyard!" After he takes the medicine, his body will recover quickly and he can continue what he was doing.
Today's events were indeed a ploy to eliminate Bai Ling'er, but now, Dongfang Xun wants to make it a reality. While Shen Lixue is away, he plans to switch hearts and save Dongfang Heng.
The guards received the order and rushed towards the courtyard where the Ghost Doctor of Southern Xinjiang lived, carrying the box.
Dongfang Xun then strode to Fengsong Courtyard. Dongfang Heng's heart transplant was in great danger, and he wanted to protect him personally.
"Your Highness, something terrible has happened! Ye Qianlong has disappeared!" Just as Dongfang Xun entered Fengsong Courtyard, a guard rushed over in a hurry, his stern eyes filled with anxiety.
Dongfang Xun's eyes narrowed: "How could a living person just disappear?"
The guard lowered his head and whispered, "Your Highness, I have been guarding Ye Qianlong the whole time. After you and the princess left Fengsong Courtyard, I sensed someone approaching from behind. Just as I was about to turn around, I suddenly felt a pain in the back of my neck and then I knew nothing more!"
"Shen Lixue!" Dongfang Xun gritted his teeth, his eyes instantly clouded with gloom. He said, how could she have left Ye Qianlong behind and gone to the post station to listen to the interrogation?
Originally, it was thought that she felt the Ghost Doctor of Southern Xinjiang was injured and could no longer perform surgery, but the truth was that she had already taken the person away, using the opportunity of going to the post station to send Ye Qianlong away from the capital.
"Prepare the horses, give chase!"
Dongfang Xun, accompanied by dozens of guards, ignored the puzzled looks of passersby and rode his fast horse at breakneck speed through the streets, quickly catching up with Shen Lixue's carriage.
Stopping the carriage, Dongfang Xun hurried forward, lifted the curtain, and saw only Qin Ruoyan inside, leisurely eating delicious snacks. Upon seeing him, she giggled and said in a charming voice, "Your Highness rode here on a fast horse, did you perhaps have feelings for me?"
"Where is Shen Lixue?" Dongfang Xun's face was ashen. He didn't have time to waste words with Qin Ruoyan and went straight to the point.
Qin Ruoyan was filled with disappointment. Dongfang Xun came to see Shen Lixue, not her. She was disappointed, but at least she could spend more time with him, which would make it easier to develop their relationship.
"She said her clothes were dirty and she went back to the Prince of Zhan's residence to change. She'll be going to the post station to listen to the interrogation later. If the young master has nothing to do, you might as well come to the post station to listen in. My way of interrogating people is quite unique!"
Before he finished speaking, Dongfang Xun had already lowered the curtain, mounted his horse, and galloped towards the west gate. His eyes were gloomy. In all his years of life, this was the first time he had been so easily deceived. Once he captured Ye Qianlong and revived Dongfang Heng, he would definitely settle the score with Shen Lixue.
As night fell, a carriage was parked in the woods fifty miles from the West Gate. Shen Lixue lifted the curtain and jumped down from the carriage, saying to a guard sitting at the back, "Qianlong, it's getting late. You should go back to Xiliang!"
Dressed in a guard's uniform, Ye Qianlong looked at Shen Lixue, his eyes clear and pure, without a trace of impurity: "Lixue, if I leave, what will happen to Dongfang Heng?"
He participated in Fengsongyuan's scheme. He was given a sleeping potion and was completely unconscious, but he woke up early, overheard their conversation, and learned the whole story. Dongfang Heng was suffering from a heart ailment and needed his heart.
Shen Lixue was taken aback, then smiled bitterly. The truth couldn't be hidden forever: "Your heart is yours, and no one has the right to take it away. I love Dongfang Heng, and I want him to live and be with me for the rest of my life. But I can't be so selfish as to hurt innocent lives for our happiness. Dongfang Heng's life is a life, and your life is a life too. You have the right to live!"
"If I leave, Dongfang Heng will die!" Ye Qianlong said the cruelest truth: Dongfang Heng's heart disease was very serious, and if he didn't get a heart transplant, he would die.
Shen Lixue took a deep breath, sucking back the tears in her eyes: "It's okay, no matter where I am, I will always be with him! I will be with him in life and in death!"
---Aside---