The case of Princess Yongning and Shen Yurun came to a close. The people of Yanjing City talked about it with great relish, though there were also those unmoved by it who continued with their usual affairs.

In the back courtyard of the Duke’s mansion, in the medicine refining room, Situ Jiuyue walked out from the room and went to the small room next door, pushing the door open and entering.

Inside the small room was only a bed and a chair. After Situ Jiuyue entered, she sat on the chair, looking at the person on the bed.

The person on the bed was someone Zhao Ke had carried back a few days ago, saying he had been brought back from the private prison at the Princess’s mansion. Ji Heng had personally given the order to save this person. Of course, the reason Situ Jiuyue saved this person wasn’t because of Ji Heng’s order, but because this person’s injuries were extremely severe. Anyone with ability always had some peculiar quirks, and Situ Jiuyue was no exception. She wasn’t a physician—she was the Poison Princess. The more severely injured someone was, the more interested she became in saving them, using her methods of fighting poison with poison that would make others retreat in fear. Or perhaps she just wanted to see how great a person’s endurance could be.

When this person was first sent here, he was covered in blood and filth. The young servants in the Duke’s mansion were skilled at growing flowers, quite good at martial arts, and even more handsome and bright-looking, but when it came to being assistants to Situ Jiuyue, not one of them would do. Originally, Haitang had come a while ago—diligent and clever—but lately she’d been busy with the Xue Family’s case and had moved to the Ye Family, so there was no one in the Duke’s mansion to help Situ Jiuyue. So when this person was sent over, washing his body, wiping him down, removing his clothes, and cleaning his wounds were all completed by Situ Jiuyue alone.

Situ Jiuyue didn’t think there was anything wrong with this. Men and women throughout the world, in a physician’s eyes, were probably only divided into the sick and the not sick. In Situ Jiuyue’s eyes, there were only those who could be saved and those who couldn’t, and among those who could be saved, there were further divisions of those she was willing to save and those she wasn’t. As for other matters, like the distinction between men and women, Situ Jiuyue paid no attention to such things at all.

The young man lying on the bed wasn’t asleep, but rather gazing up at the ceiling, lost in thought about who knows what. His entire body was covered with Situ Jiuyue’s silver needles and he couldn’t move at all. Situ Jiuyue knew he could hear, and when she left, she had frightened him, saying that if he moved and the needles shifted position, it was very possible he would lose his life, so he’d better not blame others later.

Actually, this was her malicious teasing—even if he moved, nothing would happen. But when Situ Jiuyue entered, she knew that throughout the past night, for several hours, this person had indeed not moved at all.

This required great courage, because during the needle treatment, the medicinal properties would slowly dissipate, and as time passed, it would become both painful and itchy, difficult to endure. Yet this person had endured it. Even upon seeing Situ Jiuyue enter, he still showed her a smile.

Situ Jiuyue was stunned.

Very fortunately, Princess Yongning hadn’t treated this person as cruelly as she had Jiang Youyao—gouging out his eyeballs or destroying his face—which allowed this person’s good appearance to be preserved. He was quite handsome, but this handsomeness was different from the young servants in the Duke’s mansion. The people in the Duke’s mansion had all crawled through seas of blood—even someone who looked like an ordinary gardener had an indelible silence and gloom in their bones. But this youth was like a piece of transparent crystal, with an inherent brightness and heroic spirit. Even though he had fallen to this state, one could say quite miserable, the smile he showed Situ Jiuyue was still as warm as if nothing had ever happened.

“What’s so funny?” But Situ Jiuyue only said coldly, “You’ve been reduced to such a wretched state.”

If Princess Yongning hated someone, she would throw them into her private prison and torture them severely. Looking at this person, he must have offended Princess Yongning quite seriously. Although his face remained intact, all his martial arts had been destroyed. Situ Jiuyue had examined him—this person shouldn’t be very old, probably only seventeen or eighteen, and his martial arts might have originally been quite good, but all his meridians were severed. In this lifetime, he could never practice martial arts again. And his legs were the most severe. Situ Jiuyue speculated that perhaps heavy objects had been used to crush the bones in his legs below the knees, then medicine was used to set the bones. After going back and forth like this several times, his two legs would never be able to stand again in this lifetime. Situ Jiuyue wracked her brains thinking of all the methods she knew, but in the end regretfully discovered that there wasn’t a single method that could change this person’s circumstances.

From now on, he would be a cripple.

From his appearance and his consistently smiling temperament these past few days, this youth should have been someone with an open mind and bright heroic spirit. But in the future he would be reduced to only being able to live seated in a chair—how lamentable.

Situ Jiuyue lifted his clothing and removed her silver needles one by one. Her movements couldn’t be called gentle—they were even somewhat rough—yet the youth’s face turned red. Situ Jiuyue found it amusing. Every time she lifted this youth’s clothing, he would blush.

He really was such an innocent person, Situ Jiuyue thought.

“Phy…physician…” Just as she was thinking this, the youth suddenly spoke without warning.

Situ Jiuyue was startled. “You can speak now?”

He nodded with effort.

Situ Jiuyue had discovered earlier that this youth hadn’t been fed muting medicine, but rather, during torture he had probably cried out from the pain until his voice had gone hoarse. These past few days, Situ Jiuyue had been treating him with medicine, thinking it would take several more days before he could speak. She hadn’t expected he could do so today.

His voice was very hoarse and carried a sense of exhaustion. When he spoke, he couldn’t help showing expressions of pain, which showed that speaking was also very difficult for him. Yet he tried hard to maintain his previous smile and said, “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me,” Situ Jiuyue said. “I can only save your life. Everything else, I have no way.”

When Zhao Ke had carried the youth over, he had said it was Ji Heng who ordered him saved. Ji Heng probably wanted to place this person among the Duke’s mansion guards. But with his legs crippled and his martial arts gone, it was impossible for him to become a guard at the Duke’s mansion. Moreover, the Duke’s mansion didn’t support useless people. This youth would eventually be driven out.

Situ Jiuyue didn’t easily sympathize with others. She just felt that the smile on this youth’s face might disappear after learning of this matter, which made her feel somewhat regretful.

After all, such purity was very rare.

“My… legs…”

“Can’t be saved.” Situ Jiuyue said, “I can tell you with certainty that I can’t treat your legs, and there won’t be a second person in the world who can cure your legs.”

The youth’s eyes dimmed. Situ Jiuyue clearly saw a glimmer of tears in his eyes, but he still smiled and said with effort to Situ Jiuyue, “It’s… alright… still, thank you… physician…”

“Don’t you think it’s a pity?” Situ Jiuyue raised her eyebrows. “I thought you’d be heartbroken. After all, if this hadn’t happened to you, you looked like you would have had a bright future.”

“Having… my life… is already… very good.”

“Do you have some obsession or unfinished business?” Situ Jiuyue asked. “That you need to preserve your life to accomplish?”

The youth was startled. His clear eyes gradually deepened, becoming misty with a fog that Situ Jiuyue couldn’t understand. He didn’t answer for a long time. Just when Situ Jiuyue thought he wouldn’t answer, the youth spoke. He said, “Re…venge.”

An answer within expectations. In this world, whatever obsession made people unwilling to die and determined to live no matter what—aside from repaying kindness, it was revenge. But those who felt gratitude were always fewer than those who were wronged, so those seeking revenge were always far more numerous than those repaying kindness.

Situ Jiuyue pulled out the last silver needle and asked, “Princess Yongning?”

Since this youth had been imprisoned by Princess Yongning in her private prison, his enemy would naturally be Princess Yongning.

“That’s… right…”

“Then you need not worry.” Situ Jiuyue smiled. This smile made her cold face become charming and animated. She said, “Princess Yongning and Shen Yurun have been imprisoned. In a few more days they’ll be executed. You don’t need to take revenge—your enemy will go to hell anyway.”

The youth was shocked, as if suddenly struck by lightning. After being stunned for a long while, he asked, “…How could this be?” He asked very urgently, as if desperately needing to understand how this could have happened.

Situ Jiuyue frowned. She wasn’t accustomed to talking so much with people. Just like with Wenren Yao—she would drive him away after less than three sentences. Yet facing this unfamiliar youth, Situ Jiuyue had truly said far too much. She said hastily, “What else could it be? A life for a life, that’s all. If you want to know, wait until you’re better, then go ask yourself!”

Situ Jiuyue packed up her medicine box and was about to leave the room. Just as she reached the door, she suddenly thought of something. After hesitating, she turned back to ask, “By the way, what’s your name?”

The youth was silent for a moment, then said softly, “My name is… Ah Zhao.”

Ah Zhao. Situ Jiuyue silently repeated this name twice in her mind, thinking that the youth only said his given name without mentioning his surname—his identity must be quite unusual.

But why should she care about such things? After all, he was just a stranger she’d met by chance.

In the dungeon of the Ministry of Justice, Princess Yongning and Shen Yurun were thrown into prison cells.

Here, even the jailers seemed to disdain looking at them. Ghostly wails and howls were everywhere. The original prisoners, seeing new people enter, lunged at the iron bars and shrieked loudly. Princess Yongning was caught off guard and frightened, unable to help screaming. Her scream seemed to please those people, and various malicious laughter rose and fell throughout the prison.

Princess Yongning was terrified. She remembered those filthy legends she had heard in the palace. Some female prisoners who entered the dungeons would be violated together by jailers and other prisoners, living worse than animals. She anxiously leaned toward Shen Yurun, trying to find some peace of mind from him.

But Shen Yurun wasn’t in the same cell with her. Shen Yurun was in the cell adjacent to hers, with a barrier between them. Princess Yongning could only clutch Shen Yurun’s clothing through the bars, preventing him from separating from her.

Shen Yurun sat woodenly, allowing Princess Yongning’s actions.

Princess Yongning said, “Shen Lang, what should we do now?”