Lied?

For a moment, everyone froze in shock. But then Ziqing suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Physician Gu by the throat—though this grip was nothing like the one Physician Gu had used on her moments earlier. Hers was a genuine, clawing grip, and if she hadn’t still retained some measure of self-control, she might well have injured him already.

“What exactly is wrong with him, tell me!”

Her fury spent, she abruptly flung Physician Gu aside. If it were possible, she would have wanted, more than anyone else, to avoid ever hurting Jun Beiyue. Even after suffering such humiliation at the Court of Judicial Review, she had been willing to take everything upon herself. And yet, how could she have ever imagined that the man she had spent every single day and night since the House of National Beauty incident thinking about, the man she’d wanted so desperately to kill with her own hands, would turn out to be Jun Beiyue himself!

Physician Gu, disheveled and defeated, suddenly broke down into sobs. “I don’t even know how many years it will take before he wakes up! His life has been saved, but his injuries are far, far too severe! No one knows when he might wake—perhaps tomorrow, perhaps… perhaps he’ll never wake at all!”

Ziqing froze, her body trembling, instinctively shaking her head!

That liar, that utter, thorough liar—the very man who had bullied her from the very first day she’d crossed over into this world, deceiving her all this time, and now deceiving her again!

Three years had already seemed impossibly long—how much longer might this uncertain, endless waiting stretch on?

“Is there truly no way at all?” Yingzi asked anxiously. This kind of indefinite unconsciousness was, after all, essentially no different from death itself!

Physician Gu, tears streaming down his weathered old face, shook his head repeatedly. “Not only is there no way here… to truly preserve his life, we must set out immediately for the Eastern Sea, to seek out the Gu clan.”

“Why!” Ziqing cried out in alarm.

“The blade entered his heart a full inch deep, damaging the heart meridians. The wound itself can heal, the blood can be replenished, but with the heart meridians in complete disarray and his internal energy entirely lost, someone must use their own internal energy to protect and stabilize his heart meridians—otherwise, he won’t survive more than a month or two!” Physician Gu explained, his voice choked with emotion.

“I know internal energy techniques, I’ll try!” Ziqing said anxiously, more flustered than she had ever been before, nothing like her usual cool, composed self. Aside from her relatively weak lightness skills, she was quite well-versed in Chinese martial arts, having trained in both internal and external techniques!

Though Physician Gu had calmed somewhat, lingering anger remained. He glared at Ziqing coldly. “Not even you. Not even someone as skilled as Young Master Situ could help. Prince Yao practices the unique internal energy technique of the Eastern Sea Gu clan—only someone from the Gu clan can protect his heart meridians!”

He paused, his face contorted with grief on the verge of tears, and said bitterly, “And even if his heart meridians are protected, waking him up will still be difficult!”

Suddenly, Yingzi sprang up, shouting angrily, “Gu Haicheng, calm yourself, would you? Our master’s life is still in your hands! Hurry and prepare—I’ll go make arrangements immediately, we set out for the Eastern Sea tonight!”

With that, Yingzi glanced at Ziqing, seeming to want to say something more, then held back and hurried off.

Physician Gu wept several more times, forcing himself to calm down. No one else had witnessed the horror of stitching that wound closed needle by needle; no one else could understand his panic, his fury!

Though he was a physician, he shouldn’t have been so afraid—but the one being pierced needle after needle had been Jun Beiyue, someone he loved as his own kin.

What physician could possibly remain expressionless, perfectly composed, while performing surgery on their own family? If such a person existed, they would have to be the coldest, most heartless person imaginable.

He didn’t dare look again at those blood-stained silver needles, hurrying off instead to check the wound, to wipe down the prince’s face and body, to find him fresh clothes, tending to him with the utmost care.

Meanwhile, Ziqing stood frozen off to the side, watching, her small hand twitching slightly as though wanting to reach out, yet never quite moving.

Jun Beiyue lay so still. If not for his terrifyingly pale complexion, anyone unaware of the truth would have simply assumed he was sleeping.

What did this man look like when he slept?

She had shared a bed with him once or twice before, and the memory remained vivid—he liked lying on his side behind her, one large hand wrapped around her neck, his long legs loosely tangled with hers, always falling asleep quickly, utterly exhausted.

By the time she woke, he had always already left. She had never once actually seen him sleeping.

Physician Gu had already wiped away all the blood, and was now carefully, painstakingly helping him into fresh clothes. Ziqing pressed her lips tightly together, watching, watching, and unconsciously took a step forward, wanting to help him, wanting to be closer to him.

Just then, Yingzi returned, saying earnestly, “Everything’s arranged. We’ll leave by carriage. This must not be revealed to anyone. We need to reach the coast within ten days—I’ve already sent word ahead to have a ship prepared. After these ten days, a storm will hit the Eastern Sea, and no one will dare set sail for at least a month afterward.”

“From the capital to the coast in ten days—how is that possible?” Physician Gu asked, alarmed.

“Possible or not, we have no choice. We’ll take the official road, and say… say…” Yingzi said earnestly, trailing off.

Situ Haonan, who had remained silent for quite a while off to the side, finally spoke up. “Just say my Situ City has goods to deliver!”

“Excellent idea!” Yingzi finally let out a breath of relief. “We’ll have to trouble Young Master Situ for this, then!”

“No need to thank me for anything. Jun Beiyue’s affairs are my affairs too. Using my Situ City’s caravan is the safest option—the court won’t grow suspicious, and no one in all of Da Zhou would dare investigate it either!” Situ Haonan snorted coldly.

“Then please, Young Master Situ, go make the arrangements right away. We don’t have much time before the ship must sail—we can’t afford any delays!”

“No need for such formality!”

Before Situ Haonan even finished speaking, he had already vanished.

Finally, Ziqing, who had been overlooked throughout all of this, finally found a chance to speak up. But just as she opened her mouth, Physician Gu urgently called Yingzi over. “Help me with something! Carefully lift the master up, we need to get these clothes on him, the wound can’t withstand any rough movement!”

Ziqing had wanted to help, had just opened her mouth to say so, but was cut off. Yingzi had already moved over, and he and Physician Gu, both wearing serious expressions, worked with extreme care!

She was terrified this would be the one time she finally spoke up on her own initiative, and yet she still didn’t dare ask, immediately following after them instead, reaching for the clothing, her voice so quiet even she could barely hear herself. “Let me help too.”

“No need, no need!” Physician Gu immediately refused, pulling the garment away from her.

Ziqing’s heart tightened, yet she remained persistent. “Let me do it, just hand me the sleeve.”

“Princess consort, there’s no need. The wound mustn’t be touched—Physician Gu knows what he’s doing, let him handle it. Please don’t hold him up.” Yingzi said earnestly, both hands supporting Jun Beiyue with the utmost care.

Hearing this, Ziqing immediately let go and stepped back, terrified of accidentally hurting him further!

Despite the thousand things she wanted to do, she never once dared step forward again, could only watch from a distance, longingly, waiting.

After a good while, Physician Gu finally finished dressing Jun Beiyue and arranging everything properly. By then, Situ Haonan had also arrived, the carriage already waiting right outside the door. Fearing the wound might reopen, none of them dared carry Jun Beiyue directly, instead bringing a stretcher to transport him.

Ziqing still wanted to help but was too afraid to touch anything, too afraid to get in the way. She watched as everyone carried Jun Beiyue safely out, then hurried to follow close behind.

Once Jun Beiyue was properly settled, Physician Gu and a young medicine boy stayed inside the carriage to watch over him. Yingzi personally drove the carriage, with Situ Haonan seated beside him. Ziqing moved to climb aboard as well, but Yingzi stopped her. “Princess consort, you cannot come with us!”