Butler Zhang, still unwilling to give up, craned his neck to watch Chu Xiyin's retreating figure. His memory was always excellent, and he would never be mistaken.
"By the way, Steward Zhang, the Dowager Princess just asked me to summon you." Chunhua said unhurriedly.
"Why didn't you say so sooner? Do you know what it is?" When Steward Zhang heard that it was the Dowager Consort who wanted to see him, his legs trembled involuntarily.
"I'm not sure, but the Dowager Consort isn't in a good mood today, so please be careful!" Chunhua glanced around and deliberately lowered her voice as she spoke. "It's best not to keep the Dowager Consort waiting too long."
"I'll go right away!" Steward Zhang had worked at the Prince's mansion for over a decade and knew Consort Zheng's temperament well. Now that he was in dire straits himself, he had no time to care about Chu Xiyin.
"Xiyin, wait for me!" Chunhua smiled and ran a few steps, but seeing that Chu Xiyin had stopped to wait for her, she became too lazy to run any further.
"Look at you, so honest, you don't even blush when you lie!" Chu Xiyin said with a smile, rubbing Chunhua's face.
"That's all because of you!" Chunhua said, pouting with a wronged expression.
"You told Steward Zhang that the Dowager Princess was looking for him? What if... he gets angry with you?"
"No. Steward Zhang has worked in the manor for over ten years. He knows that the Dowager Consort has a bad memory and sometimes forgets what she just said. So, he can't blame me. Don't worry!" Chunhua said, putting her arm around Chu Xiyin's shoulder.
That brat! She's become so arrogant ever since she left the Prince's mansion!
"I'll take you somewhere!" Chunhua said mysteriously, her eyes narrowed.
Chu Xiyin was always lazy and felt tired after walking only a few steps, so she unknowingly fell behind Chunhua.
Chunhua turned around, took Chu Xiyin's hand, and excitedly introduced her to everything in Ziling City. She described which shops had the most beautiful clothes, which teahouses were frequented by high-ranking officials and nobles, which restaurants had the best food, and even which brothels had the most customers. And so on.
As Chu Xiyin listened, she felt her eyelids gradually becoming too heavy to keep open; she really hadn't slept well last night.
"We're here!" Chunhua suddenly shouted, catching her completely off guard.
Chu Xiyin was startled, looked up, and was instantly speechless.
A wooden suspension bridge spanned the river, the water was crystal clear, and red carp swam joyfully in the clear water.
Not far away, a young couple was having a secret rendezvous. The man glanced around furtively and, taking advantage of the woman's momentary lapse in attention, kissed her.
Unexpectedly, the people of the Ziling Dynasty have become so open-minded!
Chu Xiyin thought of the scene of the Fourth Prince embracing and kissing her on the Star Gazing Tower last night, and a blush rose to her face.
"Xiyin, your face is so red!" Chunhua followed Chu Xiyin's gaze and saw the couple. She thought Chu Xiyin was blushing because she had seen their intimate behavior, so she smiled and patted her shoulder, saying, "Oh, it's nothing. You get used to it after seeing it so many times."
"There are such luxurious ships here?" Chu Xiyin pointed to the ship sailing towards them, deliberately changing the subject.
“This ship…this is the first time I’ve ever seen one like it,” Chunhua said, wiping her nose.
Chu Xiyin looked towards the bow of the boat and saw a handsome young man in white standing there. The young man was looking ahead, leisurely waving a wooden fan, looking calm and composed.
Chunhua stared at the boy with fascination, a long trail of saliva dribbling from the corner of her mouth onto her clothes. Could it be that the boy at the bow of the boat was more alluring to her than any delicacy?
"It's getting late, let's go!" Chu Xiyin nudged Chunhua with her elbow.
“I’m not leaving, he’s watching me!” Chunhua smiled dreamily at the boy under the bridge.
The boat carrying the boy had already reached the bottom of the bridge. Chu Xiyin glanced at it casually, but unexpectedly met the boy's gaze. The boy's eyes were as dark as a deep pool, unfathomable.
The boy looked at her, a meaningful smile appearing on his lips.
Chu Xiyin shivered, looked away, and tossed a "I'm leaving!" at Chunhua.
"Wait for me!" Chunhua caught up with Chu Xiyin, sighed helplessly, and said, "Apart from the Fourth Prince, I have never seen such a handsome man in the Ziling Dynasty."
"Really? Could it be that before you saw this man, you had a crush on the Fourth Prince?" Chu Xiyin asked with a sly smile.
"Which woman in the entire Ziling Dynasty doesn't admire the Fourth Prince?" Chunhua said seriously. "Xiyin, don't you like the Fourth Prince?"
Actually, she was a little confused now. She clearly loved Yichuan! This Fourth Prince was just someone who looked and sounded the same as him…
Yes! The Fourth Prince and Yi Chuan have so many similarities!
Chu Xiyin lowered her head, lost in thought.
In this world, the only thing that could make her feel lost was emotion.
"However, I really envy you! You'll soon become the prince's concubine! Ever since I entered the prince's mansion, I've never seen the Fourth Prince smile. He always has a stern face. But after you came yesterday, the Fourth Prince seemed like a different person, with so many smiles on his face."
Chu Xiyin smiled helplessly.
He said he wanted to marry her. But she wasn't from this world; she would eventually have to go back. He was so dependent on her now; what would he do if she left? Would he be heartbroken?
"Get out of the way!" An out-of-control carriage sped wildly toward Chu Xiyin.
Just as Chunhua was about to reach out to pull Chu Xiyin, she was unexpectedly pushed to the side of the road by the surging crowd behind her.
Chu Xiyin stood in the middle of the road in surprise as the carriage approached her at an extremely fast speed.
Before she could react, her body was suddenly picked up and quickly spun to the side of the road.
"Are you alright?" A slightly hoarse voice rang in Chu Xiyin's ears.
Chu Xiyin opened her eyes, and a pair of deep, dark eyes were staring straight at her. Wasn't this the white-clad youth at the bow of the boat?
"I'm fine, thank you!" Chu Xiyin said as she broke free from the boy's embrace.
Perhaps due to the rapid spinning, Chu Xiyin felt dizzy for a while and it took her a while to recover.
"My name is Zi Yang! May I ask your name, young lady?" the young man in white asked.
"Chu..."
Before Chu Xiyin could give her name, Chunhua interjected, "Her name is Xiaolan, and mine is Chunhua. We are both maids in the Fourth Prince's residence."
"Oh? Is that so!" The young man in white lightly waved his wooden fan, his dark eyes revealing an unfathomable depth.
"Young master, we must take our leave now!" Chunhua grabbed Chu Xiyin and ran off.
"You almost killed me!" Chunhua said, patting her chest and panting.
Chu Xiyin looked at Chunhua with suspicion. She was the one who had almost died just now!
“If you tell her your name, the prince will definitely kill me!” Chunhua explained.
"Then why did you tell him your real name? And why did you say we were from the Fourth Prince's residence?" Chu Xiyin asked, puzzled.
"The Fourth Prince has great prestige among the people. If we say we are maids from his household, at least within Ziling City, no one will harm us. As for my real name, it doesn't matter if I tell him. Anyway, I'm just a maid!" Chunhua grinned mischievously.
Chu Xiyin shrugged helplessly. Did marrying this Fourth Prince mean she, Chu Xiyin, could no longer interact with other men?
"Oh no! The prince should have already returned to his residence by now!" Chunhua said, looking at the sun that had moved directly overhead.
The two ignored their exhaustion and ran wildly along the road they had come from.
Unfortunately, just as the two arrived at the Prince's mansion, they saw the Fourth Prince getting off his carriage.
"What should we do? If the Fourth Prince finds out that I brought you out, I'm doomed." Chunhua pulled Chu Xiyin to the corner and said nervously.
Just as Chu Xiyin was about to speak, she suddenly felt a gentle breeze pass by her head. Looking up, she saw a dark figure moving along the wall at an extremely fast speed.
The Fourth Prince is in danger!
Chu Xiyin's pupils dilated, and the pores all over her body suddenly contracted.
No! She can't let anything happen to him!
*Whoosh!* A dart shot straight at the Fourth Prince.
"Danger!" Chu Xiyin rushed towards him without hesitation!
The dart struck Chu Xiyin squarely in the back, and she felt a sharp, stabbing pain in her back, as if she were being pricked with a needle.
Immediately afterwards, Chu Xiyin felt a lot of sticky liquid seeping out from her back, which felt wet and cool.
Gradually, I've become numb; the place where he once breathed has gradually become numb...
Chu Xiyin was drowsy; perhaps she would feel better after waking up...
"Xi Yin, Xi Yin..." She heard the Fourth Prince's anxious calls, but she was too weak to respond...
Yi Chuan's face slowly blurred in her vision, slowly blurred...
Chapter 19: A Near-Death Experience (Part 2)
"The dart has been removed, but..." Physician Li shook his head, sighed, and hesitated to speak.
"Speak your mind!" the Fourth Prince commanded.
"That dart is highly poisonous. If the poison isn't extracted from the girl's body in time, it will seep into her internal organs, and even Hua Tuo himself wouldn't be able to save her!" Physician Li said with a frown.
"Then hurry up!" the Fourth Prince said angrily.
"Your Highness is a woman, and I dare not be disrespectful!" Physician Li replied tremblingly.
Everyone says that doctors have the heart of parents, and that there is no difference between men and women. But this Physician Li is clearly a coward who is afraid of death!
"All of you, step back!" The Fourth Prince's tone was one of unyielding authority.
Upon hearing the order, everyone left the room.
The Fourth Prince held Chu Xiyin's hand tightly, murmuring, "Xiyin, you can't be hurt, I won't allow anything to happen to you!"
Chu Xiyin's clothes on her back were stained black with blood mixed with poison.
The Fourth Prince felt a pang of heartache as he looked at the deep wound on Chu Xiyin's back.
Blood clung tightly to Chu Xiyin's clothes and fair skin. The Fourth Prince carefully tore open the clothes on her back.
"If we must die, I will die with you!" The Fourth Prince kissed her wound with tears in his eyes, and sucked hard. Chu Xiyin groaned, and a stream of black liquid entered the Fourth Prince's mouth.
One bite, two bites, three bites...
Finally, a trickle of bright red blood slowly seeped from Chu Xiyin's wound...
"Imperial Physician Li..." The Fourth Prince was overjoyed...
Upon hearing the sound, Physician Li, who was waiting outside the door, quickly entered the room.
"Quickly stop the bleeding..." the Fourth Prince urged Physician Li.
Physician Li carefully cleaned Chu Xiyin's wounds and applied hemostatic herbs such as Agrimonia pilosa to them. After carefully bandaging the wounds, he also prepared a prescription.
"Your Highness, the young lady's injury is no longer serious. She only needs to take the medicine as prescribed and rest quietly. In addition, to prevent infection, the young lady's wound should not be soaked in water for the next few days."
Upon hearing this, the Fourth Prince finally breathed a sigh of relief and waved to Physician Li.