Chapter Seventeen: The Poison of the Heart and Mouth

  The faint sound of birds chirping gradually awakened her cloudy mind, and Zi Ruoye struggled to get up from the ground. She had been unconscious for a whole night?

  She stood up, using the soil to cover up the bloodstains. Her chest still felt stuffy and painful, her vision not quite clear. She leaned against a plum blossom tree, resting against it as she breathed lightly, coughing a few times. The pain had been so bad yesterday that it made her want to curse. After clearing out the air in her chest, she finally left the plum blossom forest.

  "Your Highness, the bath water is ready." The butler had been waiting outside and noticed that Ziyue Ye looked dazed, so he didn't say a word and just stood respectfully beside him.

  Zi Ruoye nodded, looked at her own disheveled brocade robe and thought that she couldn't meet Yun Cong in this state. She'd better clean up first before going to find Yun Cong.

  Walking back to the main house, a bathtub that could hold two people was filled with hot water, emitting warm steam. Zi Ruoye closed the door and took off her clothes one by one, needing to wash away the bloody smell on her body. As she undressed, what should have been a fair and unblemished body revealed a black mark at her heart, like a blood clot that had never dissipated, starkly ruining the beauty of it all.

  A poison in one's mouth... incurable!

  She gently exhaled, the warm water seeming to soothe the lingering pain from last night. Zi Ruo Ye's eyelids drooped slightly as she leaned against the edge of the wooden tub, the mark on her heart... seemed to have grown larger.

  Zi Ruoye had been secretly visiting famous doctors since she was poisoned, but each time she returned in disappointment. Not to mention the doctors' eyes filled with regret and hints for her to prepare for the worst after taking her pulse... A year later, she let go of it all. After all, being reborn should be a blessing, and living two more years was good enough.

  "Is it Xiao Wu? Just put the clothes aside." Upon hearing the sound of the door opening, Zi Ruoye said softly. Not hearing a response from the person who came in, she smiled to herself, thinking that Xiao Wu was still as shy as ever. Although she didn't often let people serve her, whenever she needed help with those troublesome official robes, he would always assist her. Each time, his red face as he helped her arrange her clothes would make her feel deeply guilty...

  Yun Cong's face was red with anxiety, standing by in a daze, unsure whether to leave or stay. He had been waiting for Wang Ye to wake up before quietly returning to his room, thinking that Wang Ye would come looking for him immediately. After waiting for a long time without seeing anyone, he came to the main house to look for her.

  Never thought that since running into Prince Wang while bathing...

  "Hey, Xiao Wu, can you go out and let the housekeeper come in to help me with a massage?" Her body couldn't be seen by others, especially the poisonous mark on her chest. If Ziyuan knew about it, she was afraid he would ask her questions, and she didn't want to get entangled in this trouble.

  Still keeping her eyes closed, she leaned against the edge of the bathtub. Yun Chen walked in and saw Zi Ruoye's back, a patch of snowy white skin. She felt a warmth at the tip of her nose and found that her nose was bleeding. Panicked, she wiped away the blood and trembled as she began to gently massage Zi Ruoye with both hands.

  "Hey, Little Wu, is that you? Ah... just get the housekeeper over here, it's not convenient for a man like you." Zi Ruoye was shocked that this child didn't run away with a red face this time, but she also didn't dare turn around. She wasn't wearing anything under her clothes after all. If she got seen, how would she be able to take responsibility?

  But for a long time, except for the massage movements that didn't stop, she still didn't answer her. Only when the faint peach blossom fragrance on the tip of her nose became more and more intense did she confirm in a soft voice, "Yun Cong?"

  Yun Ning's face was red, but he still didn't want to give up the task at hand and continued to massage Zi Ruoye. He found himself becoming bolder and... He thought of Wang Ye, but didn't know how much he yearned for him. When he heard Zi Ruoye call his name, although embarrassed, he weakly replied, "Wang Ye, does Yun Ning's massage feel good?"

  Zi Ruoye's face suddenly turned bright red after hearing Yun Cong's voice, and her clear water was almost completely exposed. Listening to his embarrassed voice, she couldn't help but want to find a hole to drill into. "Yun... Yun Cong, you... you go out first. I'll be right out."

  "I didn't expect Yun Cong to say something that made Zi Ruoye want to die on the spot, 'It's okay, Wang Ye is... it's fine even if he comes out directly.' Yun Cong pulled at her own clothes, creating several wrinkles, and although her voice was awkward, it carried a determined tone."

  "Cough, cough... That Yun Cong, you should go out first. It's not time to dedicate yourself yet~" Zi Ruoye secretly calmed herself down, her palm pressing against the dark shadow on her chest, preventing it from being seen by accident. Without even turning around, "My little beauty, hurry up and get out, or else I'll really turn into a hungry wolf and pounce over."

  Her eyelashes drooped slightly, covering the fleeting dullness in her eyes. She would speak to herself in a light and airy tone, proving that she didn't mean it at all. The woman was seen to have nothing on her body, but even though he had avoided many things at Penglai Pavilion, he still saw some of them.

  "Yun Ning just go out." But he didn't want to make Zi Ruo Ye more embarrassed, because he had already heard her trying to calm down... He quietly walked out and stood at the door.

  After hearing the sound of the door closing, Zǐ Ruò Yè finally relaxed her body, letting out a sigh of relief, hoping that Yún Níng wouldn't think wildly. She stepped out of the bathtub, saw a small drop of blood on the ground, and was stunned for a moment. She quickly put on her clothes, opened the door, stood in front of Yún Níng, and looked at him with a serious expression.

  "Prince? What's wrong?" Yun Cong stared blankly at Zi Ruoye, wasn't everything fine just now? What was going on again? Suddenly rushing out...

  "Yun Cong, are you hurt? I saw a drop of blood on the ground." Clearly not hers, her face was solemn with deep concern.

  Yun Cong heard her so nervous that he was both happy and embarrassed, slightly tilting his head to look at those eyes, only to find that he couldn't meet her gaze. His face red, he stuttered, "Recently... it's hot, so Yun Cong... has a bit of a fever." Each word seemed to be squeezed out, and after finishing, his face turned even redder.

  Is it hot? How can that be? It's still early spring, the evening breeze is slightly cool. Ziyu's eyes stared at Yun Cong without blinking, from top to bottom, from left to right, confirming that he was indeed not injured, eliminating any possibility of him lying. But a pair of warm and soft hands gently covered his eyes.

  "Don't look anymore, what Yún Chén said is true." Her eyes fluttered, and Yún Chén spoke softly, being stared at by her overly eager eyes made him feel quite uneasy.

  "Alright, I'll believe you." As she took his small hand, she found that it was slightly smaller than hers. His soft and weak hands were probably like this, thought Zi Ruoye as she held Yun Cong's hand.

  "His Highness didn't return last night, I'm afraid he's hungry. Yun Qing has prepared some light refreshments early this morning. Would His Highness like to have some?" She withdrew her hand, her face slightly red. Today... had she and His Highness grown even closer?

  "Ah... okay, okay." Zi Ruoye looked at Yun Ning with a hint of guilt in her eyes, and even her tone was conciliatory. She couldn't refuse him now, especially since she had planned to tidy up and look for him anyway. It seemed that last night's sudden departure and leaving him waiting indoors all night were really not right on her part.

  Liu Qingyou slapped Zi Ruoye again and then fled in a panic. Returning to the Chancellor's mansion, she didn't go to her father's or the Chancellor's quarters but went straight back to her own room.

  "Second Master, you..." The servant was about to smile and ask where he went today, but Liu Qingyou suddenly ran into his own room with a burst of energy. Hadn't he just seen the Second Master wearing coarse linen clothes? Rubbing his eyes, he thought that Liu Qingyou liked moon-white robes, just like the current Empress, their eldest master, and feared that he had mistaken what he saw.

  Liu Qingyu's shoes and socks were not removed, she buried herself in the quilt, her small face as white as jade was flushed with a tempting pink color, probably Zi Ruoye saw it and exclaimed that she was simply a beautiful woman!

  Liu Qing's eyes were closed, his lips pursed, and when he fell on that rotten person's body today, his heart almost skipped a beat. Although he occasionally practiced martial arts with women, he always used hidden weapons, and had no physical contact with them. When he landed on her body, he still felt the soft sensation spreading from his back.

  At this thought, he felt as if his whole body was burning. How could a man think of such things! He had only been in contact with her for less than a few days and had already picked up her bad habits! Liu Qingyu opened her starry eyes, filled with annoyance. After calming down, she thought back to tonight's test and couldn't understand why that rascal's kung fu foundation was good, but he still got beaten so badly by Li Yuxiu today...

  After thinking for a while, I felt regretful again, covered myself with the quilt and ordered myself to fall asleep quickly.

  He must have hit his head today and isn't thinking clearly, what's he doing thinking about that rotten person!

  Digression

  Sorry...... TAT updated again after two days, I was forced to drink for the past few days and fell dead asleep as soon as I got back, sorry......