Shen Zaiyi stood with his back to her, his hands clenched into fists inside his sleeves, seemingly hesitating. Taohua didn’t urge him, simply kneeling on the ground and waiting. After a long while, he finally turned around and looked down at her:
“Your poison won’t take effect for another hour. I can’t accompany you for such a long time.”
An hour.
Jiang Taohua laughed bitterly, almost losing control: “My lord, do you remember that fool who said she wanted to be with you forever? That fool was truly foolish. You think even an hour is too long, yet she dreamed of spending a lifetime with you.”
Feeling a pang in his heart, Shen Zaiyi closed his eyes and took a deep breath before saying: “Wasn’t that just a joke you made?”
“My lord still doesn’t understand women,” Taohua looked up at him, her eyes shimmering with tears. “No woman would joke about such things. We call it a joke only when we realize we’re the only ones taking it seriously, while others pay no mind. One-sided feelings can only be a joke, after all, people need to save face.”
“I truly thought that perhaps, with our interests aligned, I could help you for a lifetime. After achieving what I wanted, I could stay by your side, making peach blossom cakes for you, and embroidering pillows for you. When we both grew old, we could still bicker, keeping each other company.”
Master had said that falling in love was foolish because, in this world, only your parents and yourself could love you for a lifetime. Other people’s feelings were in their own hands, changeable at a moment’s notice.
Jiang Taohua had listened to these words seriously but didn’t truly believe them. After all, many stories told of talented scholars and beautiful ladies living happily ever after. Though she claimed not to believe it, deep down she did. However, reality proved that experience prevails – her master had predicted the outcome correctly. It was her recklessness that made her jump into the pit, and she had no one else to blame.
Sighing lightly, Taohua said with a soft laugh: “Thank you, my lord, for teaching me the rules once again. From now on, I will never indulge in such foolish thoughts.”
Shen Zaiyi remained silent, his face as still as a stone statue, showing not even a ripple of emotion. Yet no one could see his eyes, where storms raged and waves crashed. He almost wanted to hand her the antidote directly, to tell her he wasn’t that cruel, wasn’t that… heartless.
Many women had called him heartless before. Every woman who saw him for the last time would ask him why, then curse him for being cold and ungrateful. He truly felt no gratitude towards those women, so their words didn’t affect him.
But Jiang Taohua… he didn’t want to hear such words from her, not a single word, not even a sound.
“You can hate me if you want, resent me if you wish,” he said, pursing his lips slightly. “If there’s a chance in the next life, I’ll stand still and let you take your revenge.”
Slightly startled, Taohua smiled: “How can my lord be so foolish?”
“This is what I owe you,” Shen Zaiyi said, looking at her. “Whatever method you use to kill me, I won’t move.”
“Don’t misunderstand,” Taohua tilted her head and smiled. “When I say you’re foolish, it’s not a compliment, it’s criticism. Why would you think my hatred for you would be enough for me to remember you in the next life, let alone take a life for revenge?”
Shen Zaiyi froze, staring into her eyes.
Would the vengeful Jiang Taohua not seek revenge against him?
“The opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s forgetting,” Taohua said seriously, looking at him. “Hating someone is punishing yourself along with them. Forgetting someone is much easier. My lord can live on with your guilt towards me? When I’m reborn, I certainly won’t remember you.”
After saying this, she kowtowed to him once more, her forehead touching the cold ground as she said word by word: “From this day forward, all ties between us are severed!”
Narrowing his eyes, Shen Zaiyi said with slight annoyance: “Even if you die, your tombstone will still read ‘Shen Jiang-shi’. How can you say all ties are severed?”
Taohua didn’t speak anymore. After kowtowing and getting up, she walked to the bed, supported herself on the table, and obediently lay down.
Shen Zaiyi stood frozen, looking at her for a long time before angrily sweeping his sleeves and walking out.
A deathly silence fell over Zhengchun Pavilion. No one noticed that Qingcao had disappeared, nor did anyone check on Jiang Taohua in the main room. Taohua lay quietly, like an elderly person on their deathbed, waiting for the arrival of the messengers of death.
Shen Zaiyi didn’t go anywhere else but directly to the medicine room. He suddenly grabbed the female doctor Li, who had previous dealings with Jiang Taohua and was currently brewing medicine.
“My Lord?” Startled, Doctor Li looked at him in confusion. “What’s the matter?”
“Jiang-shi is gravely ill, on the brink of death,” Shen Zaiyi said in a low voice. “Take this to Zhengchun Pavilion and give it to her to eat. Don’t say it’s from me. Then come to the study room to find me.”
Doctor Li received a small jade-colored bottle, utterly bewildered. She hadn’t even processed the information before Shen Zaiyi pushed her out of the medicine room.
As she walked, Doctor Li wondered: Was Lady Jiang sick? Why hadn’t anyone informed her, but the Prime Minister came personally? The Prime Minister’s expression looked so strange. He gave her the medicine himself and told her to go to Zhengchun Pavilion, yet his face looked extremely reluctant as if someone had forced him.
She wasn’t mistaken. Shen Zaiyi did feel forced, with two little figures in his heart engaged in a fierce battle.
One little figure said: “Letting Jiang Taohua go this time is leaving you a future trouble. She will resent you. There’s no benefit at all!”
The other little figure said: “I heard your inner voice. You want to let her go. Since that’s what you truly want, there’s no need to regret it after doing so.”
Closing his eyes, Shen Zaiyi laughed softly. So be it. He wasn’t a god; everyone makes mistakes in their lifetime. At most, he had just used up all his chances to make mistakes on Jiang Taohua. Whatever consequences might come in the future, he deserved them.
Come to think of it, it had been a long time since Jiang Taohua had used her seduction techniques on him. Perhaps she didn’t dare, or maybe she knew it was useless. But suddenly, he was very curious: was there a kind of Zhao country’s seduction technique that could captivate people imperceptibly? Did Jiang Taohua happen to know it? Otherwise, how could such a hypocritical and cunning woman make him…
How could he not let her go?
“You gave her the antidote?” Xu Yangui was still in the study room. Seeing him return, he raised an eyebrow and said, “I just thought of it earlier. You had no reason not to take that bottle of medicine. Were you just talking nonsense to fool people?”
Ignoring him, Shen Zaiyi crossed the threshold and found a chair to sit down, rubbing his brow rather wearily.
“Hey, but have you thought about it?” Xu Yangui pouted. “What to do in the future? Isn’t there any way to protect Lady Jiang once and for all?”
If there was, would he have come to this point? Shen Zaiyi sneered, looking down at his hand: “Rather than thinking of ways to protect her, why don’t you think about how to make her stop being angry? She must hate me to death now.”
“She’s not stupid,” Xu Yangui frowned. “After taking the antidote and saving her life, and you not making a second attempt on her, she should know that you’ve spared her. What’s there to hate?”
Is that so? His eyes brightened slightly as Shen Zaiyi looked up at him: “Are you sure?”
“I understand women better than you do,” Xu Yangui snorted lightly. “After she recovers for a few days, and incidentally avoids the Crown Prince’s banquet, you can coax her gently afterward, and everything will be fine. The key is to be sincere when coaxing.”
Like last time? Shen Zaiyi pursed his lips. This he could do. If it was really this simple…
“Master!” Before he could finish his thought, Zhanlu suddenly rushed in from outside, his face full of panic: “Master, there’s no one in Zhengchun Pavilion!”
Pausing slightly, Shen Zaiyi raised his eyes to look at him: “What do you mean by no one?”
Zhanlu was too anxious to speak, so he simply pulled Doctor Li in. Doctor Li knelt on the ground, still very puzzled, and said in a relatively calm voice: “When this servant went over as per Your Lordship’s instructions, Lady Jiang was no longer in Zhengchun Pavilion.”
His pupils contracted, and Shen Zaiyi looked at the antidote she was holding in her hands. His face instantly turned pale, and he rushed out.
“Have you searched the mansion?” He wanted to ask calmly, but his voice was trembling slightly.
Zhanlu frowned: “We’re having people search now, but haven’t found her yet. We’ve asked the Madam’s side, and Lady Jiang didn’t take a pass, so she shouldn’t be able to leave the mansion gates…”
“Are you stupid?!” Hearing this, Shen Zaiyi exploded in anger, immediately turning to head towards the side gate: “She doesn’t need the Madam’s pass to leave the mansion! The jade pendant I gave her last time can let her out. Why haven’t you sent people to chase after her?”
Zhanlu was shocked and hurriedly complied. Xu Yangui, who had realized what was happening, followed with his hat on, constantly asking along the way: “How could this happen? She’s poisoned, how can she run? That poison was personally concocted by the old man, and there’s only one antidote in the world. Does she think she can find a cure elsewhere?”
“Shut up!” Pulling the reins and mounting his horse, Shen Zaiyi pinched his trembling fingertips and gritted his teeth as he spurred his horse toward the direction of the Prince Nan’s mansion.
She had missed the only antidote to that poison. In less than an hour, she would surely die! How could such an intelligent person be so impulsive? Why wouldn’t she trust him just once and wait a little longer?
She had no relatives or friends here, and the only person she could turn to was the Prince Nan. Shen Zaiyi tried to calm himself down. An hour was enough time for him to reach the Prince Nan’s mansion. There should still be time, everything should still be in time…
However, when he faced Mu Wuxia’s bewildered expression, Shen Zaiyi truly experienced what it meant to be in despair.
“She hasn’t been here,” Mu Wuxia looked at him in confusion, then frowned: “Did you bully Sister Jiang again?”
Shen Zaiyi didn’t answer him. He only felt his body starting to freeze from his feet, gradually encasing his entire being. An endless cold enveloped him, making it impossible to breathe.
“Prime Minister?” Mu Wuxia was startled and quickly had someone help him into the prince’s mansion, pouring hot tea: “Are you ill? You look terrible.”
Xu Yangui stood in the shadows, silently sighing, his heart also beginning to ache.
The lamp in the room flickered once. An hour had already passed.
(End of Chapter)