A single tear slid slowly down the corner of a long, narrow eye. A man in black, his face concealed, sat silently on the rooftop, unable to bear watching what was happening inside any longer. The winter sun was warm, the courtyard hushed and still, thin clouds drifting lazily across a gentle breeze.

The room had been in an uproar for the better part of the day, and only now, with the girl’s collapse, had it finally fallen silent. The tear at the corner of his eye seemed as though it had never fallen at all—his gaze remained calm and composed, head lowered, his heartache entirely silent.

Even he, like everyone inside, had believed Ziqing meant to flee, to leave, to give up on the cure—never expecting that she would instead knock herself unconscious by slamming her own head against the door.

She was determined to see the cure through!

And to think, she already had a wound on her forehead! When would that girl ever learn to be a little selfish, to cherish herself a little more?

Just then, Yingzi came dashing back from a distance, carrying a large basin of chili water. The man’s heart clenched, and he was about to turn to look further when he suddenly noticed Xuanyuan Lige had landed, unnoticed, on the other side of the roof, staring straight at him.

Their gazes met like crossing blades. The man in black immediately retreated, and Xuanyuan Lige’s wind blades shot out silently, streaking past on either side of him.

“Who are you?” Xuanyuan Lige demanded coldly.

“Heh. Little Qingqing already told you not to come, and yet here you are. Isn’t that a bit… shameless?” The man in black laughed, though his words carried no courtesy at all.

Such an insulting remark didn’t faze Xuanyuan Lige in the slightest. “None of your business. At least I don’t hide behind a mask like some coward too ashamed to show his face.”

Matching insult for insult, the man in black seemed just as unbothered, still laughing. “If you’ve got the guts, come down here!”

“If you’ve got the guts, stop dodging.” Xuanyuan Lige’s voice was cold as his fingers flicked out in quick succession, wind blades flying. The man in black naturally had to dodge, and even as he dodged, he shamelessly needled him further. “If you’ve got the guts, don’t dodge either!”

Xuanyuan Lige appeared cold and aloof, but inwardly he was puzzled and wary. This man seemed to be purely on the defensive, dodging without ever counterattacking—and yet his evasions cost him no effort at all, so effortless and natural, as if the slightest turn of his body was enough to slip past every fierce strike.

Whoever this man was, and whatever his reason for only dodging, one thing was certain: if he ever did attack, he would be a formidable opponent.

The man in black’s taunt—”if you’ve got the guts, don’t dodge either”—only put Xuanyuan Lige further on guard.

But to his surprise, the masked man didn’t press the attack. He wasn’t simply running his mouth for no reason.

This fellow was truly a difficult opponent. Xuanyuan Lige stopped his attack as well, saying coldly, “You seem to know quite a lot.”

At the very least, he clearly knew about the history between him and Ziqing—which was why he’d been so quick to insult him earlier.

Who exactly was this man? Was he, too, someone who had been quietly watching over Ziqing’s every move, just as he had?

“If you don’t want others to know, don’t do it in the first place. Crown Prince of Eastern Qin, you and Han Ziqing are destined to be enemies—why do you keep entangling yourself with her? Using a woman like this—are you not ashamed of yourself?” The man in black suddenly gave a cold laugh, no longer joking, contempt flashing in his eyes.

“I have not!” Xuanyuan Lige said coldly.

“Is that so?” The disdain in the man’s eyes only deepened, as if he knew something.

And it was precisely that disdain that left Xuanyuan Lige inexplicably unsettled, and abruptly, a killing intent rose in him, his long fingers curling tight into claws.

Yet the man in black didn’t seem the least bit afraid of him. He put on an exaggerated look of shock. “Heavens, could it be I’ve guessed something right? Are you going to silence me now?”

There was no telling whether his attitude was genuine or a bluff, whether he was merely probing or truly knew something—no one could tell.

But the killing intent in Xuanyuan Lige’s eyes was unmistakable. The man in black, still smiling, took a step back, steadying himself, the stance clearly the beginning of an attack.

For a moment, the air grew taut with tension, thick with the promise of violence in the silence. But just then, a scream of unbearable agony suddenly tore out from inside the room.

Both men froze instantly, dropping down together to peer inside.

Inside, Ziqing lay on the couch, her face as pale as paper. Though she had regained consciousness, she had no strength left in her body at all, watching helplessly as the poison master inserted needles into her leg.

At that moment, a thick bandage was wrapped around her forehead, blood already seeping through the gauze. Her arms hung limp, covered entirely in needles, and her legs, too, hung without strength—her left leg likewise studded with needles, while her right leg remained untouched, not because it had been spared, but because at that very moment it was burning, a searing agony that made even the worst pain she’d felt before seem trivial by comparison.

That violent collision had knocked her unconscious for a long while, and it was precisely during that time that the poison master, his assistant, and even Imperial Physician Gu had managed to insert over seventy needles together. Now, only twenty-odd remained—it would all be over soon—and yet it was at this exact moment that Ziqing had woken.

Even that brutal impact had not been able to overpower the strength of her addiction. Even unconscious, she had felt the unbearable craving stirring, and she’d woken so abruptly, so suddenly, that no one had time to react before she’d already torn a whole cluster of needles from her arm.

After suffering through so much already, no one wanted to give up now—least of all herself. But she simply couldn’t control her own body.

Imperial Physician Gu knew this cruelty should have belonged to his lord to inflict—but he had to take his place.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Imperial Physician Gu grabbed the chili water Yingzi had prepared and poured it directly onto the wound.

The pain—more searing, more excruciating than anything before—finally suppressed the craving. Ziqing herself didn’t even know how she’d managed to scream through it, how she’d endured it.

But that anguished cry shattered the hearts of both men on the rooftop completely.

Now, at last, she was truly lucid. In control of herself once more.

The burning chili water, seeping into her raw, bloodied wound, sinking into her exposed, red flesh—how could it not hurt?

She lay slumped on the couch, and after that agonized scream, she clenched her jaw and went completely still. But looking across at the peacefully sleeping Jun Beiyue, a faint smile tugged unconsciously at the corner of her pale lips.

It was that simple, really—as long as Beiyue cherished her in his heart, that was enough. She didn’t want him to worry, to fret over her; if anything, she wanted to be able to help him.

She didn’t know that women were meant to be protected. All she knew was that if you loved someone, you wanted them to live well.

“Hurry, insert the needles!” she said softly, knowing she couldn’t hold on much longer.

The poison master and his assistant didn’t dare hesitate any longer, paying no mind to the chili-soaked right leg, and hurried to insert the remaining needles—only twenty-odd left now!

Success was nearly within reach!

Imperial Physician Gu and Yingzi both let out an early sigh of relief. Almost there, almost there—now that the Princess Consort was lucid, she could surely make it through!

No more binding her, no more restraining her, no more knives, no more chili water!

Imperial Physician Gu had already begun preparing medicine to treat Ziqing’s wounds, while Yingzi stayed by her side, talking to her. Watching the expression on her face now, she genuinely feared their lady might be driven mad by the pain.

“My lady, hold on just a little longer, it’ll all be over soon. Don’t worry, I promise I won’t tell His Highness a thing!”

“I’ll go get Hongyi to prepare some clothes for you. It’ll all be fine soon!”

…

But gradually, Ziqing could no longer focus on what Yingzi was saying. Her gaze kept drifting, unconsciously, back to her own arm. At that very moment, she could clearly sense the last of the poison being drawn from her body entirely.

“No!” Suddenly, the word burst from her lips, sharp and fierce.

Instantly, everyone froze in shock. The poison master’s hand jerked, and the final needle went in slightly off-target.

He looked up instinctively toward Ziqing, only to find her staring right back at him—no, more precisely, staring at the needle in his hand.

“Quick!” Yingzi suddenly cried out in alarm, seizing both of Ziqing’s hands, while Imperial Physician Gu, no longer able to spare a thought for anything else, rushed forward and wrapped his arms around her legs.

Just one needle left—they couldn’t let it all fall apart now!