Chapter 109: Perhaps, Her Five Senses Will Gradually Disappear
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=3614052
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. And check out other stories too.
The Prince of Yu had thought that being forced to flee in panic on his own turf was already shameful enough, but he did not expect there could be something even more shameful than that.
That was—he, a dignified prince of this dynasty, was actually being hunted down and cornered inside his own imperial manor, without even the chance to escape.
When Zhong Shujin once again blocked his way with her saber, the Prince of Yu simply gave up struggling pointlessly. He directly pointed at Meng Chang'an, who was now lying weakly in Gu Qingyin's arms, and tried to strike a deal with this demoness.
"That disciple of yours has already been poisoned with my Three-Day Yellow Spring. Without the antidote, she will definitely die in three days. If you let me go, I will give you the antidote. How about that?"
"What, are you threatening this sect leader?"
Zhong Shujin let out a cold laugh. She swung her saber once more and killed yet another guard who tried to fight her off and buy time. Then she mocked with disdain, "Just a mere Three-Day Yellow Spring, and you dare to show off in front of my wife?"
Wife?
The Prince of Yu was stunned for a moment. He could not react right away, unsure if the word "wife" meant what he thought it meant.
He felt a bit puzzled. By reason, judging from how much this person cared about her disciple, she should not be someone who would ignore her life like this.
Even Li Qiubai had been willing to exchange the Tiger Tally for the antidote…
However, what the Prince of Yu did not know about the rumors in the martial world, Chen Ruiyun beside him had heard a bit of.
He often visited teahouses to listen to storytelling. One time, he happened to hear a tale about the Blood Flame Sect Leader and the Poison Doctor.
He had never cared whether those tales of love and hate from the storyteller were true or false, nor had he taken them to heart. The only part he still remembered was the part where that gentleman said the two had gotten married.
The Demonic Sect had lived in seclusion for many years, rarely causing trouble. They had little to do with them and were not on the list of sects they sought to win over. So back then, when he heard of the Sect Leader's so-called romantic past, he had merely laughed it off. He was shocked at how absurd the storyteller's nonsense was, to dare make up such a tale of that woman marrying and defying all conventions. Was he not afraid that the demoness would charge in with a blade out of anger?
Now, seeing this Sect Leader unable to hide the pride on her face, he finally came to realize—this "wife" she spoke of might truly be that Poison Doctor, the one said to make all in the martial world tremble at her name...
If she really was that legendary Poison Doctor who could cure all poisons, then this so-called Three-Day Yellow Spring meant nothing to her at all.
Unfortunately, before Chen Ruiyun could share this guess with the Prince of Yu, Gu Qingyin had already withdrawn the silver needles from the various pulse points on Meng Chang’an’s body. She looked faintly in their direction and said softly,
“A’Jin, make it quick. It is time for us to go back.”
The others could not tell what Gu Qingyin’s expression meant at that moment, but Master Zhong, who had shared the same bed with her for so many years, could see in one glance just how angry her wife was.
Before the Prince of Yu could even rejoice at the thought that these harbingers of disaster were preparing to leave, his neck suddenly felt cold.
In the blink of an eye, the Demonic Sect Leader—who had been ten paces away—had already slipped past the layers of guards around him and pressed that icy blade against his throat.
To capture the thieves, capture the leader first. This is an eternal and unchanging principle.
At first, when Zhong Shujin chased them around like a game, it was only to watch the Prince of Yu fall into fear and despair. She had not truly gone all out to kill them all.
But the people in the Prince’s Manor did not know this. So at that time, many still believed they had the strength to fight back. Even though the Jinwei Camp had already stormed into the manor, they were still putting up a desperate resistance. When facing Li Qiubai’s forces, they even had the will to fight.
But now that the Prince of Yu had been captured, the soldiers’ morale naturally collapsed even further.
Li Qiubai took the chance to lead He Changping, Ye Wuyou, and the others to capture Chen Ruiyun and the personal guards around the Prince of Yu who were still trying to resist.
She then walked over to Zhong Shujin’s side and politely made a request.
“Senior, may I ask if you would allow me to handle him?”
The Princess, with her current humble and respectful attitude, appeared obedient and well-behaved.
But Zhong Shujin frowned and gave her a glance.
Thinking back to how dependent Chang'an had looked when curled up in this person's arms earlier, and then recalling the marital status between her and Chang'an’s elder brother, Zhong Shujin only felt an even bigger headache coming on.
Of course, at this very moment, the Prince of Yu actually wished more than anything that this demonic woman would hand him over to Li Qiubai instead.
After all, Li Qiubai could at least speak reason and negotiate with benefits. But this woman before him—she did not talk reason at all. She was truly hard to deal with...
Right now, the Prince of Yu already had a cut on his neck from the blade. A bit of blood had started to seep out from his skin. Yet he dared not speak a word in anger. He only trembled and broke out in cold sweat, staring silently at the demonic woman before him.
It was at this moment that Gu Qingyin walked over with Meng Chang'an in her arms.
“Hand her over to her. Let us go.”
Zhong Shujin had always loved her wife dearly. Now that her own lady had said so, how could she not obey? She immediately tossed the Prince of Yu over to Li Qiubai and the others.
He Changping quickly stepped up and tied the Prince of Yu up without needing to be told.
Seeing the unconscious Young Master Meng resting weakly in Gu Qingyin’s arms, He Changping, who had been worried all this time, could not help but ask, “Auntie, how is my sister?”
Before Gu Qingyin could answer, someone gently tugged at her waist.
She lowered her head slightly and glanced at the little one pretending to be unconscious, her swollen red eyes giving her away. Knowing what the child was worried about, Gu Qingyin did not expose him, only shook her head helplessly and indulged the foolish little Young Master by voicing the answer he wished her to deliver to the youths in front of her.
“Do not worry. As long as I am here, Chang’an will be fine.”
Only then did He Changping finally breathe a heavy sigh of relief and thank her earnestly. “Thank you, Auntie, for your trouble.”
Gu Qingyin gave a slight nod, accepting the thanks. When she noticed the Princess' gaze following Young Master Meng closely, she did not say much more. She only spoke softly to He Changping, “I will leave first with her master and take her back to recover. For now, we will be staying in that courtyard in the city. You know the place. Once you and Her Highness are done here, come visit together. There are some matters I wish to ask the two of you face to face.”
Though Gu Qingyin’s tone was calm, the undercurrent in her words was not lost on the youths present.
Noticing the sharp gaze swept over by Master Zhong, He Changping, feeling guilty, could not help the tingling on his scalp. He hurriedly responded, “This nephew will obey!”
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=3614052
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. And check out other stories too.
After speaking, Gu Qingyin once again turned her gaze toward the Prince of Yu, who was now restrained by He Changping. She gave a faint, playful smile.
“Since His Highness is so fond of using poison, then I shall trouble you to help me test something. Let us see whether the Three-Day Yellow Spring is deadlier, or the return gift I prepared for you.”
The Prince of Yu was stunned.
What did that mean?
Could it be—she still intended to poison him?
But she had not even touched him today. How could she poison him?
Before Prince of Yu could realize what Gu Qingyin meant, she had already walked through the air and left the battlefield with Meng Chang'an in her arms.
Liu Sanniang arrived late with a group of henchmen, only to see the backs of Zhong Shujin and Gu Qingyin as they departed.
"Hey! Why are you two leaving so quickly?! You did not even wait for me?"
Zhong Shujin and Gu Qingyin didn't even turn their heads. Only Lin Ziyan, who was still left to look after Shen Lingjun and Shu Yao, kindly answered her.
"If we had waited for you to come, would the children still be alive?"
Seeing that Liu Sanniang had finally arrived with a large group of sect members, Lin Ziyan went to help carry the now unconscious Shu Yao, leading Shen Lingyun along as she walked toward her.
She handed over Kong Ming, who had already been tortured until he wished he were dead, to Liu Sanniang. After explaining the cause and result of everything, Lin Ziyan leaned in and whispered in her ear, “I will take these two children back first to treat their injuries. You all stay here and keep an eye on that Princess. I think Chang’an seems to care about her very much.”
At the same time, Leng Shaoyin had also happened to rescue the wounded Ye Chi and the others from that swordsman along the way and now rushed over with that man tied up.
"I know, I know. You can go back without worry."
If Liu Sanniang and Leng Shaoyin had not seen how close Chang’an was with that one a few days ago and sent word back in time to call for help, things might not have gone so smoothly today.
After speaking, Liu Sanniang pointed at the Jinwei Camp soldiers who had already rushed into the battlefield and surrounded the people of the Prince's Manor, raised her brow, and said, "Besides, just look—does that Princess even need us to worry about her anymore?"
The leading General Ying, at this moment, was already kneeling before Li Qiubai, crying out loudly, “This subordinate arrived too late to protect Your Highness. I beg your forgiveness!”
With that, the Prince of Yu’s rebellion had failed, and his crimes were exposed. The charge of attempting to murder the imperial princess and the prince consort to silence them was also confirmed.
The Prince of Yu was already taken away by General Ying, and all the people of the Prince’s Manor had been captured.
The overall situation was settled.
Before leaving, Shen Lingyun especially sent a white jade bottle to Li Qiubai.
“This was given to me by our Sect Leader’s wife, and she asked me to pass it to you. It can cure the poison in the Prince of Yu’s body. You can use it as you wish.”
Li Qiubai was stunned.
Not only did the Prince of Yu fail to realize he had been poisoned, but even she had not seen how Gu Qingyin had done it.
Knowing how skilled that one was in the art of poison, it did not seem difficult for her to poison someone without anyone noticing. Li Qiubai had no doubts about it, only felt a little dazed. She had not expected that person to actually leave the antidote for her.
The Princess gripped the white jade bottle tightly and said solemnly, “Thank you. One day, I shall personally visit and thank all the seniors for saving me today.”
“All right. Do you really think they came for you? If not for Chang’an, the Blood Flame Sect would never interfere in your court affairs.”
Young Master Meng was deeply cherished within the Blood Flame Sect. Let alone the Prince of Yu’s Manor—even if she had been in danger inside the imperial palace, they would have charged in at all costs.
Shen Lingyun pointed this out without mercy, and reminded her as well, “But, I believe they have already guessed the relationship between you two. Looks like they were not too pleased today. If you plan to visit Chang’an another day, you had better be careful.”
“Thank you.”
Li Qiubai tugged helplessly at the corner of her mouth. If it were only that she and Chang’an were in love as two women, those like-minded seniors should not have had any objections.
The hard part to explain was that, at this moment, she still had not yet severed her ties as husband and wife with He Changping.
Now that she had suddenly met those seniors, things between them likely could not go as smoothly as she had once imagined...
“These next few days, I will have to trouble you to look after A’Yao and Chang’an. If anything happens to them, send someone to inform me at once.”
Shen Lingyun gave a slight nod, which counted as her agreement. Then she turned and walked toward Lin Ziyan, leaving the Prince of Yu’s manor with her while carrying Shu Yao along.
Ye Wuyou bumped into Li Qiubai, who was still in a daze, and urged, “Why are you still standing there like a fool? You finally managed to gain a slight upper hand, so should you not hurry and wrap things up? If you do not deal with all this mess quickly, how will you have the energy to go and pay your respects? Do not forget about those fifty thousand private soldiers on Mount Qingcheng. With Li Xinyi’s petty tricks, I fear she will not be able to hold out for long.”
What Chen Ruiyun believed to be an incident on Mount Qingcheng was actually just Ying Siling, working with Li Xinyi, successfully leading troops to launch a surprise attack on one of their camps. They captured several hundred soldiers, tricked them into revealing the signal flares used to communicate with the Prince of Yu’s manor, and used that grand display to mislead the Prince of Yu.
Otherwise, if it had truly come to a major battle, Jinwei Camp’s mere twenty thousand troops would not have stood a chance against the Prince of Yu’s fifty thousand private soldiers.
Though the Prince of Yu had been subdued today, there were still quite a few people in the prince's manor who had sensed things were going badly and fled in secret. Some of them might know the truth. Once the Prince of Yu came to his senses, even with the help of many people from the martial world, it might not be possible to win again with so few casualties as today.
The Princess naturally understood as well what Ye Wuyou was worried about.
But at this moment, she had no strength left to carefully think about how to deal with it.
Right now, her mind kept replaying the look in the Young Master Meng’s eyes as she fell into her arms—so full of longing, pain, regret, and deep obsession.
She still faintly felt that something was not quite right.
Li Qiubai clutched the fabric over her chest, suppressing the faint pain in her heart, and murmured,
“I just feel uneasy.”
And at this very moment, the Young Master Meng she was worried about—her condition was indeed not looking good.
After leaving the Prince of Yu's Manor, Gu Qingyin still didn't take the easy path. She continued to leap from roof to roof, swiftly returning home with her qinggong. Meanwhile, Young Master Meng, who was nestled in her arms, could no longer hold back and burst into loud crying. Her tears flowed uncontrollably as if a dam had broken.
Gu Qingyin’s once pristine white clothes were now stained with blood and tears.
In the past, Master Zhong would have already stepped forward and pulled this little brat away. But now, seeing her in such a pitiful and wronged state, Master Zhong couldn't bear to treat her the way he had before. She reluctantly allowed her wife a brief moment, letting the little brat cling to Gu Qingyin and cry out of breath. The sight of it only made her feel even more heartbroken.
It wasn't until the Young Master fainted in Gu Qingyin's arms from crying that Zhong Shujin quickly moved forward to stop her. She carefully avoided the little one's injuries and took her into her own arms.
"Rest for a bit. I will hold her."
The little one had been pampered by them since she was young. Aside from the occasional spanking when she got on their nerves, she had never suffered like this. Seeing her in such a sorry state, Zhong Shujin couldn't help but ask, "What is wrong with her?"
Only then did Gu Qingyin sigh and tell the truth.
“Three-Day Yellow Spring. It clashed with the poison already in her body, and now she is blind… If the poison is not cleared out, it will only get worse. In time, she may even lose all five senses…”
