In the eyes of the crowd, although Xiao Jin still held the title of the Prince Yan, she had lost the possibility of inheriting the throne due to her crippled legs.
In addition, she suffered from a serious illness and appeared weak in her daily life. Even when they heard that this person had boldly drawn a weapon at Princess Zhao Hua’s birthday banquet, they thought it was only because she had Xiao Shuang’s support and could do as she pleased.
The achievements of defeating the Yao Country’s army and hee incredible archery skills were completely forgotten and disregarded by everyone.
It wasn’t until today when the courtiers watched Xiao Jin slowly retract her hand and lower her bow and arrow that they suddenly realized that the Prince Yan was not an easy person to mess with, even with her crippled legs.
Xiao Jin herself didn’t care about what others thought.
After all, her shot was quite reluctant, and the life or death of the Fifth Prince seemed to have little to do with her.
The main reasons why she took action were twofold.
Firstly, she happened to notice that the Crown Prince sitting opposite her had already taken out a carved bow and pulled out an arrow, clearly preparing to nock it.
At this moment, Xiao Jin understood that even if she didn’t take action, the Crown Prince would.
Instead of letting the Fifth Prince owe the Crown Prince a favor and serve him in the future, it was better for her to save him and reduce one enemy.
Secondly, it was because of a sudden mechanical sound that came from the disappeared system. “A friendly reminder to the host! You have not obtained the crucial information for completing Subtask 2 from the Fifth Prince.”
Xiao Jin had no idea how many unfinished subtasks she had, nor did she care about any crucial information.
She simply weighed her remaining lifespan and asked the system, “What is the reward for saving the Fifth Prince?”
“…”, the system began to suspect that the one doing the tasks was not Xiao Jin.
Perhaps Xiao Jin was the system, and it was the host.
Otherwise, how could this person still have the leisure to bargain in the face of mandatory tasks?
However, since Xiao Jin had a firm grasp on the system, the system had no choice but to compromise: “If the host saves the Fifth Prince, you will receive a reward of seven days of additional lifespan.”
Upon hearing the system’s response, Xiao Jin was quite satisfied.
Satisfied enough to pull her bow, string the arrow, and reluctantly put on a show.
Her shot was impressive, leaving everyone in awe and catching the slightly stunned Crown Prince holding the feathered arrow.
It could be said that it was unexpected and caught him off guard, achieving the effect of killing two birds with one stone.
Xiao Jin looked at the Crown Prince with his half-drawn bow and knew that he was not feeling pleasant at the moment.
But that was fine, if the male lead was unhappy, then she would be content.
However, Xiao Jin didn’t expect that the wounded White Tiger,
with an arrow in its leg, would see the tragic scene of its blood splattering everywhere and let out a mournful roar before rushing towards her.
Its eyes were red like flames, and its attacking speed was so fast that it was almost invisible.
In the next moment, three people in the field made their move even faster than the guards surrounding them.
Those who stood farther away couldn’t easily see how the other two acted.
With a loud “bang” as the White Tiger’s body heavily hit the ground, they finally saw the three feathered arrows embedded in its head.
And they also saw a figure that was as pure as snow but had been stained with blood in an instant.
The Crown Prince lowered his bow and arrow and met the eyes of the blood-stained figure standing in the center.
The smile on his face was the most hideous it had ever been.
Chu Shao also smiled as she looked at the Crown Prince.
She raised her left hand, which had not held a sword, and gently wiped away the blood splattered on the side of her face.
The movement was extremely slow and elegant, as if she was using silk to wipe away the dew on a jade railing.
Then she turned around and looked at Xiao Jin, who was clearly somewhat bewildered, and called out in a gentle voice, “Your Highness.”
After being examined and treated by the accompanying imperial physician, the lives of the Fifth Prince and Xiao Qing were basically out of danger.
Xiao Qing was wearing armor, and the injury on her back was only a superficial wound, not fatal.
However, the situation of the Fifth Prince was a bit worse. His left wrist was almost severed by the White Tiger’s teeth.
Even the chief physician from the Imperial Medical Academy, who had traveled a long distance from the capital, knelt on the ground and shook his head, saying, “Your Majesty, this humble minister is powerless. It seems that the left hand of the Fifth Prince…”
Emperor Qi sat on a chair, looking at the Fifth Prince’s pale face on the bed.
Suddenly, he aged, and even the sound of his coughing and breathing became sluggish and heavy.
The smell of blood in the tent was strong.
Xiao Jin coughed twice and whispered to Xiao Shuang beside her, “Auntie, Jin’er needs some fresh air.”
Xiao Shuang looked up at Xiao Jin, then glanced at Chu Shao, who had already changed into a new outfit.
She didn’t say much, just nodded and said, “Go ahead.”
After leaving the tent and getting farther away from the crowd, Xiao Jin said to Chu Shao, “When Prince Shen collapsed on the ground just now, it seems that he lost the jade pendant and sachet from his waist belt.”
Chu Shao was slightly surprised. “What do you mean, Your Highness?”
Xiao Jin looked around and, after confirming that no one was nearby, revealed her true thoughts. “I want to go to the venue and take a look.”
Chu Shao didn’t ask further, nor did she need to.
She simply pushed Xiao Jin’s wheelchair and continued forward.
The wheels rolled over the bloodstained ground and stopped next to several bright red and enchanting flower petals.
Chu Shao took a step forward, squatting down, and stared at the only intact flower on the ground. She gently picked it up and sniffed it.
Xiao Jin watched Chu Shao’s slightly furrowed brows, the graceful arc as beautiful as a mountain after rain, displaying an exquisite and serene elegance.
She didn’t show the slightest trace of worry.
Lost in her imagination for a while, Xiao Jin finally came back to her senses and coughed lightly. “Did the princess discover something?”
In fact, due to her extended lifespan, Xiao Jin’s coughing condition would no longer relapse.
Her recent coughs were mostly to alleviate the awkwardness of drifting off.
Chu Shao was also not an ordinary person.
When she heard Xiao Jin coughing, coupled with that cold and icy tone, an inexplicable sense of pleasure arose in her heart.
Her smile on her lips was gentle, and her shaking of the head was gentle as well. “This Princess didn’t discover anything.”
“… I don’t believe it.”
Xiao Jin, not convinced, asked again tentatively, “Really?”
Chu Shao still smiled. “Really.”
Xiao Jin fell silent for a moment, filled with incomprehension.
If she didn’t discover anything, why did Chu Shao furrow her brows just now, and why was she smiling so happily?
Chu Shao casually picked up the sachet from the ground and smiled again. “However, this princess thinks there is one person who should know.”
“Who?”
“Doctor Su, Su Tan.”Â
….
Inside the tent, under Xiao Jin’s gaze, Su Tan opened the sachet without pretending to sniff it and straightforwardly said, “It’s the scent of the Seven Emotions Flower.”
“Doctor Su, don’t just mention the name, tell me about the flower’s effects.” Xiao Jin choked on her words, reaching up to massage her temples.
Not everyone is like Su Tan, who can casually glance at a plant and know where it originates from and what their ancestors looked like for eighteen generations.
Su Tan suddenly started putting on airs, speaking with a serious tone, “The Seven Emotions Flower, as the name suggests, is a poisonous flower.”
?
That’s how it’s used?
Xiao Jin didn’t quite understand the thought process of the divine doctor and could only nod to indicate for her to continue.
Su Tan spoke rapidly, as if reciting from a book.
After listening for a while, Xiao Jin roughly understood the role the flower played in the venue today.
The sachet of the Prince Shen did not contain the Seven Emotions Flower, so the problem did not lie with the sachet.
But through Su Tan’s deduction, it was likely that the incense the Prince Shen usually used had been mixed with a small amount of Seven Emotions Flower petals.
After burning the Seven Emotions Flower, the fragrance becomes stronger and remarkably similar to the other aroma in the Prince Shen’s sachet, making it difficult to detect.
Su Tan picked up the intact Seven Emotions Flower from the table and continued, “Although the Seven Emotions Flower itself contains toxins, as long as it is not ingested, it will not harm a person’s life. Moreover, it often grows near swamps and marshes, making it difficult to harvest, so few people are aware of its poisonous nature.”
“Sometimes, even if it grows near swamps, it may not be safe.”
Xiao Jin remembered a certain mischievous child and said expressionlessly, “After all, there will always be people with dangerously strong curiosity who want to pick it.”
Su Tan smiled and said, “The Seven Emotions Flower is poisonous, but it looks beautiful. If it is simply picked, there won’t be any problems.”
Chu Shao sat beside Xiao Jin and asked Su Tan with a smile, “Doctor Su, in your opinion, where did the problem arise?”
“The problem lies in the hallucinogenic effect of the Seven Emotions Flower. If the flower is used in conjunction with a Gu to poison someone, once they smell the fragrance of the mother Gu, they will go mad.”
“They go mad if ingested? What about if it’s given to animals?” Xiao Jin asked.
Su Tan pondered for a moment and replied, “It should be the same.”
After hearing Su Tan’s words, Chu Shao keenly noticed a doubt, “But not only Princess Qing picked the Seven Emotions Flower, several other women also picked it. And I was close to Princess Qing, so I should have also caught some fragrance, but the White Tiger didn’t attack me.”
“The fragrance on Princess Qing was the strongest, which is why she became the primary target of the White Tiger’s attack.”Su Tan pondered for a moment and continued to explain, “Furthermore, the controller of the Gu can indirectly manipulate the target of the Gu’s attack.”
Xiao Jin fell silent.
Even animals can be controlled?
Is this turning into a fantasy novel?
Chu Shao smiled faintly, “So, the controller first poisons the White Tiger to make it go mad, and then uses the White Tiger to attack Princess Qing and the Prince Shen, who were exposed to the fragrance of the Seven Emotions Flower. It’s a series of linked plans.”
“That should be the case.” Su Tan nodded.Â
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jin shook her head, “No, that’s not right.”
Chu Shao looked at Xiao Jin sitting in the wheelchair, her eyelashes as dark as lacquer, casting a shallow shadow on her eyelids.
Seeing this scene, Chu Shao couldn’t help but smile softly and asked, “Your Highness, where do you think it’s wrong?”
Xiao Jin touched the smooth surface of the wheelchair’s armrest and said slowly, “If the controller of the Gu can truly indirectly manipulate the White Tiger, then his real target might not be Prince Shen and Princess Qing.”
“Although Princess Qing was injured, her crucial meridians were not harmed, and Prince Shen was fortunate enough to escape because of the rescue by Fifth brother. The only one who actually suffered severe injuries and had his left hand severed is Xiao Cheng alone.”
“In other words, the appearance of the little White Tiger might just be to attract the big White Tiger. And Princess Qing and Prince Shen are likely just bait. The true goal of the controller is to provoke the intervention of the Fifth Prince.”
Su Tan was stunned, her expression full of disbelief, “The true target of the controller… is the Fifth Prince? But how does he know that the Fifth Prince will definitely come to rescue Prince Shen?”
Xiao Jin smiled, “Well, that’s a question for the person hiding behind all this.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Translator’s note: Some people are really greedy and cruel. Sigh…
Finally, the system is back! I thought the system was dead. 🙂”
TO BE CONTINUE…
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