Mu Wuxia was startled. He looked up at Shen Zaiye, whose expression remained unchanged.
“Do you have nothing to say?” he asked through gritted teeth.
Shen Zaiye smiled, “What is there to say? This official had indeed arranged to meet Prince Jing at the North Gate Pavilion today. We just parted ways. You can ask Prince Jing if you don’t believe me. This proves that Lady Jiang is lying. She wasn’t going to the North Gate Pavilion at all.”
“Do you think this explanation is convincing?” Mu Wuxia sneered, “Lady Jiang is newly married and unfamiliar with her surroundings. Would she leave the manor without your orders?”
“I did indeed instruct her to leave the manor, but not for any particular reason—just for a casual stroll to see the sights of the capital,” Shen Zaiye replied smoothly. “I don’t know why she was attacked. Has Your Highness carefully examined her injuries?”
Mu Wuxia paused, then shook his head. “There are propriety rules between men and women. Lady Jiang is your concubine. How could I examine her?”
“Then why is Your Highness so anxious?” Shen Zaiye smiled, “Whether the injuries are real or fake, shouldn’t we investigate thoroughly first?”
“…”
After glaring at him for a while and thinking it over, Mu Wuxia stepped aside, gesturing for him to enter first.
Shen Zaiye nodded gracefully and unhurriedly stepped into the main room.
Jiang Taohua lay pale-faced on the bed, her blood-stained clothes unchanged. Even with the blanket half-covering her, the sight was still shocking.
The doctor beside them bowed and said, “Your Highness, Prime Minister, this young lady’s injury is on her waist. It’s not appropriate for me to examine. We’ve summoned a female doctor who is on her way. For now, the maid has helped with a rough bandage, and I’ve prescribed some blood-replenishing herbs.”
“No need to fuss,” Shen Zaiye glanced at the bed and smiled. “Everyone else can leave. Just leave His Highness and me here.”
The doctor hesitated, then bowed in acknowledgment. Qingtai remained by the bedside, not moving until Taohua half-opened her eyes and looked at her. Only then did she reluctantly rise and go out, closing the door.
“The Prime Minister has come in person,” Jiang Taohua struggled to half-sit up against the headboard, her eyes full of wariness. “Have you come to punish this concubine?”
Shen Zaiye looked down at her, half-mocking and half-smiling. “Have you done something wrong?”
“Revealing your plan is indeed a capital offense,” Taohua smiled palely. “To survive, this concubine has resorted to any means necessary. Please forgive me.”
“If you want to live, no one will stop you,” His gaze fell on her blood-stained clothes, the mockery in his eyes deepening. “But when you were originally living well, why turn around and falsely accuse me? What are your intentions?”
Taohua was stunned, looking at him in shock. “This concubine falsely accused you? Didn’t you want me to keep the appointment with Prince Jing at the North Gate Pavilion, then plan to kill me and frame Prince Jing? Isn’t that how it is?”
…It was indeed like that. Shen Zaiye didn’t understand how this woman had discovered this fact. However, in front of the Prince Nan, he couldn’t admit it even if it killed him!
“You’re overthinking,” he said calmly. “I had no such intention.”
“No?” Taohua sneered, clutching her waist, tears in her eyes. “Then are you saying that in this capital, there are others who dare to attack the Prime Minister’s carriage? Who dared to harm a princess who came for a political marriage from Zhao? What use would my death be to others?”
“Your injury…” Shen Zaiye paused, then curled his lip. “You might fool the Prince Nan, but do you think you can fool me?”
How could she be awake and talking with all this blood on her? This blood didn’t look like human blood at all. It was probably just a show she had staged herself.
Taohua pressed her lips together. “What do you mean, sir?”
“It’s simple,” Shen Zaiye smiled, turning to look at Mu Wuxia. “Lady Jiang probably harbors some dissatisfaction towards me. Somehow learning of my deep respect for Your Highness, she feigned injury and came to make false accusations, intending to blackmail me.”
“Although I don’t know what she wants to blackmail me into doing, her intentions are condemnable. She really can’t be trusted lightly!”
Mu Wuxia frowned. “Are you saying Lady Jiang is pretending to be injured?”
“Yes,” Shen Zaiye reached out and pinched a piece of Taohua’s clothing. “This is most likely pig’s blood. That’s why it’s congealed and purple-red.”
Slightly stunned, Mu Wuxia looked towards Jiang Taohua.
Taohua leaned against the bed, allowing Shen Zaiye to pinch her clothes without even raising her eyelids. “The Prime Minister’s skill at falsely accusing others has indeed improved. This concubine was truly struck by someone’s sword. How could it be fake?”
“Heh,” Shen Zaiye raised an eyebrow, chuckling softly as he leaned down close to her. His voice was soft but full of mockery. “Are you truly stupid or just pretending? With injuries, one look is enough to tell. Do you think you can deceive us completely?”
Taohua’s eyes shimmered, her pupils moving slightly left and right, challenging him directly. “Then why don’t you take a look, sir?”
Did she think she could intimidate him? Shen Zaiye laughed. Disregarding the Prince Nan’s presence, he directly pulled back the blanket on the bed and reached out to undo her waistband.
Mu Wuxia was startled. Having learned the etiquette of a gentleman, he immediately turned to look away.
Jiang Taohua’s face turned pale, but she didn’t struggle. She allowed him to pull open her outer garment, revealing a stretch of fair skin at her waist and the thick white cloth wrapped around it.
“Your complexion does look like someone who’s been seriously injured,” Shen Zaiye continued to pull at the white cloth, saying flatly, “If I hadn’t seen your skill with makeup before, I might have been fooled.”
“In your heart, am I really that capable?” Taohua smiled, her almond eyes curving into crescents. “Then your trust might be misplaced.”
Even if she was skilled with makeup, she couldn’t create such a ghostly pale complexion.
Shen Zaiye sneered, his expression disbelieving. His hands didn’t stop moving, impatient with the layers of wrapping. He finally used brute force, yanking it off in one go.
Even though she was prepared, Taohua still turned pale with pain, sucking in a sharp breath.
The wound that had just stopped bleeding was reopened by his action, blood flowing freely!
A three-inch-long gash, with flesh turned outward, formed a horrifying shape from her lower back to her front waist, making one’s skin crawl just looking at it.
There was an injury?
Shen Zaiye was heavily shocked. The mockery disappeared completely from his face, his expression stiffening as he stared at her. “Have you gone mad?”
A woman’s body is of utmost importance, yet she dared to inflict such a large wound? Moreover, even at this location on the waist, if the wound was any deeper, it could be life-threatening!
Tears welling up from the pain, Taohua managed to smile at him. “Isn’t this all thanks to you?”
If he hadn’t planned to take her life, she wouldn’t have been forced to this extent! She was so afraid of pain and scarring. If she had any other choice, who would willingly suffer such a cut?
True, she had prepared a bottle of pig’s blood, but when dealing with a venomous snake like Shen Zaiye, fake blood wasn’t enough. A real injury was necessary. The pig’s blood was just to make her appear more pitiful on the surface, to shock the Prince Nan’s heart more deeply. It wasn’t meant to truly deceive them.
Shen Zaiye had indeed underestimated her slightly, and this underestimation was enough for her to catch him off guard.
He was truly caught off guard. The usually eloquent Shen Zaiye now couldn’t utter a word, his eyes like the biting wind of midwinter, so cold that Jiang Taohua sneezed.
He should have been excited. After all, in these two years in Great Wei, he had never met a worthy opponent. Today, he had finally discovered a formidable character. His future days would certainly not be boring anymore.
But for some reason, the sight of all this blood made him extremely uncomfortable. His face looked as grim as if it had been smeared with soot, and his hand unconsciously clenched.
He had never seen a woman so ruthless towards herself. Was such a large wound necessary? What if she didn’t die by his hand but by her own? Didn’t she find that absurd?
She truly was a madwoman!
“Hearing Prime Minister Shen’s silence, it seems Lady Jiang’s injury is not light,” said the young prince, standing with his back to them. “Since the injury is severe, your previous accusations are completely unfounded. Do you have anything else to argue?”
The room was quiet for a good while, and Jiang Taohua waited patiently. She knew that with Shen Zaiye’s abilities, he could still fabricate at least five hundred words to confuse the young Prince Nan, and then pin the blame back on her!
So, she was already preparing her counterarguments for the next round!
But unexpectedly, after a long silence, Shen Zaiye calmly said, “This official indeed had the intention of killing Lady Jiang in Prince Jing’s name.”
Taohua was stunned, frightened into shrinking back against the bed, clutching her waist. Mu Wuxia turned around, glaring at him angrily. “You admit it?”
“Yes, but Your Highness should understand why I wanted to do this,” Shen Zaiye said.
Mu Wuxia frowned, about to refute, when he suddenly seemed to remember something. His expression changed slightly. “Does your promise to me no longer count?”
“Times change,” Shen Zaiye looked up at him. “Did you come to Great Wei planning to live in peace and comfort?”
Slightly taken aback, Mu Wuxia fell silent. His expression showed both anger and guilt, leaving Jiang Taohua completely confused.
What were these two talking about? Prince Nan had been furious just moments ago, so why did he now have such an expression?
Picking up the medicine placed aside, Shen Zaiye slowly sat down on the edge of the bed and reached out to pull Taohua over.
Frightened by his action, Jiang Taohua struggled and shouted, “Your Highness, save me!”
Mu Wuxia snapped back to his senses and was about to go help when his eyes caught a glimpse of snow-white skin.
His face stiffened, and the young prince quickly turned away, gritting his teeth, “Lady Jiang is already injured. Can’t you be gentler?”
Shen Zaiye raised an eyebrow, pulling her into his arms and holding her down. He glanced at her blood-flowing wound and sneered, “Some people, when you’re gentle with them, become increasingly arrogant. It’s better to deal with them efficiently to avoid adding another life to the Prince Nan’s Manor!”
Taohua cried out in pain, but Shen Zaiye didn’t hesitate at all. He poured half a bottle of medicine directly onto the wound. Finally, he pulled over some white cloth and commanded her in a low voice, “Press it!”
Startled, Taohua tearfully pressed the gauze and cloth against the wound. Then she felt him start to bandage her, wrapping round and round.
Shen Zaiye’s chest was firm. His arms passed from her sides, connecting the white cloth behind her back, effectively embracing her. His breath was at her ear.
(End of Chapter)