The guards were visibly stunned. Seeing Ming Tan’s jade token, they quickly bowed and apologized, “Forgive us for not recognizing you, Princess. Please wait while we announce your arrival.”
Inside the room, the martial experts heard the exchange. Those who had previously hidden in the Prince’s secret chamber glanced at Jiang Xu, wondering about the Princess’s unexpected appearance at Bieyu Tower.
After a moment of silence, Jiang Xu responded to the guard’s announcement: “Enter.”
Ming Tan stepped in, still dressed as a servant boy without any jewelry or makeup. She stopped at the doorway.
Jiang Xu looked at her, thinking how embarrassed she would normally be in such attire before so many people.
The room fell silent as they locked eyes. With a slight gesture from Jiang Xu, everyone else withdrew. Mr. Zhou was the last to leave, briefly pausing as he passed Ming Tan. She glanced at him, her expression unreadable.
Once alone, Ming Tan slowly approached, stopping a few paces from Jiang Xu.
“You came through the secret passage?” he asked.
Ming Tan stared at him silently.
“It’s not safe. Part of it has collapsed. Don’t use it again.”
“Is that why Mr. Zhou had to leave through the back door that night?” she questioned.
Jiang Xu remained noncommittal. While Mr. Zhou was indeed his plant in her uncle’s household, such arrangements were common among court officials. There was little to explain.
Changing the subject, he said, “This isn’t the place to talk. I’ll have my guards escort you home. I’ll return to the residence tomorrow—”
“What can’t be said now that must wait until tomorrow?” Ming Tan interrupted, her eyes reddening. “Jiang Qizhi, look at me. Are you still going to ask me to trust you? I want to believe you, but my father has been charged with treason. Do you understand how serious that is? What can’t you tell me now? That’s my father, my clan. I don’t even understand why you married me. How can you expect me to wait and trust?”
Jiang Xu moved to approach her, but Ming Tan instinctively stepped back.
After a long pause, Jiang Xu turned away and ordered, “Escort the Princess back to the residence. No one is to enter or leave without my command. Everything will be addressed when I return tomorrow.”
Two guards immediately appeared to block Ming Tan’s path.
Ming Tan stood frozen. He had always been reluctant to speak, but now he refused even when she asked directly. Had he ever truly treated her as a wife?
“Princess, please,” the guards urged.
As Ming Tan slowly backed away, the room’s carved windows suddenly burst open. Arrows flew through the night air, aimed directly at Jiang Xu.
Whether prepared or not, Jiang Xu swiftly drew a sword from the nearby table. The blade flashed brilliantly as it deflected the incoming arrows. He turned back, ordering sharply, “Protect the Princess and get her out of here!”
“Look out!” Ming Tan cried, lunging towards Jiang Xu as the guards moved to obey.
Jiang Xu reacted instantly, pushing her away and sidestepping. He deftly deflected another arrow that narrowly missed him.
However, a second arrow from the western window targeted not Jiang Xu, but Ming Tan.
“Ah Tan!” he exclaimed, catching her as she stumbled with a pained groan. His push had caused the arrow to strike her shoulder instead. The arrowhead glowed eerily, its poison turning her blood black.
Jiang Xu’s eyes darkened as he quickly pressed several acupoints. “Summon Imperial Physician Feng,” he commanded.
The moment the arrow struck, Ming Tan’s senses seemed to vanish. Only when she fell into Jiang Xu’s arms did she feel the excruciating pain spreading through her body. In an instant, her forehead was covered in sweat and her lips turned pale.
Fighting through the pain, she pleaded with reddened eyes, “That arrow… was meant for you. It… it missed. I took this arrow for you. No matter what, please spare the Jing’an Marquis’s household, alright?”
She knew avoiding arrows wasn’t too difficult for someone of his skill. But if she didn’t claim this favor, how else could she beg for mercy? Whether it was exploitation or affection, their relationship always seemed bound by debts of gratitude.
Jiang Xu didn’t respond to her plea. His usually concealed murderous aura suddenly burst forth. With one arm supporting Ming Tan, he wielded his sword with the other. Flashes of steel sent poisoned arrows clattering to the floor. For the final arrow, he reversed his grip and sliced it in two mid-air.
Hidden Jin Yun guards emerged from the darkness, surrounding the Empress Dowager’s elite archers after two volleys of arrows.
A signal was given.
The room’s guards slowly sheathed their swords, awaiting Jiang Xu’s orders.
Without looking up, Jiang Xu uttered a single word: “Kill.”
The guards hesitated briefly, recalling the Emperor and Prince’s earlier discussion about potentially recruiting these archers. But they didn’t question the order, disappearing into the night to carry it out.
…
“The poison can be cured,” Imperial Physician Feng said in a low, trembling voice. “I fortunately obtained some snow grass recently. However, we must remove the arrow immediately to prevent excessive blood loss and infection. I’m afraid I lack the strength to extract it in one attempt, which would cause the Princess unnecessary pain.”
Without further questions, Jiang Xu sat beside the bed.
“I’m going to remove the arrow. Bear with it,” he told Ming Tan.
At the mention of arrow removal, Ming Tan shook her head frantically, sweat pouring down her face. “No, I’m scared!”
“If we don’t remove it, you’ll die from blood loss.”
The word “die” made Ming Tan flinch, but she still resisted. Even so, the pain was unbearable. She felt as if she were already dying.
She had never imagined herself in such a situation. Tears streamed down her face, her eyes and nose completely red.
After a while, she weakly conceded, “Then… I’ll let you remove the arrow if you promise to spare the Jing’an Marquis’s household. Alright?”
“Spare the Jing’an Marquis’s household?” Jiang Xu looked down at her coldly. “Impossible.”
Ming Tan gazed up at him through tear-filled eyes, shocked. No matter how she had imagined this, she never thought he would refuse her plea so ruthlessly, even in her current state. Did she truly mean nothing to him? So—
“Ahhh!”
Still reeling from Jiang Xu’s merciless rejection, Ming Tan suddenly felt an indescribable pain in her shoulder. She cried out involuntarily. In the moment before pain overwhelmed her consciousness, she caught a blurry glimpse of the bloody arrowhead and Jiang Xu’s slightly softened expression.