Chapter 22

Chapter 22

"I can walk by myself."

Gao Zhen struggled as he spoke, but the Ninth Prince showed no intention of putting him down. Instead, he quickened his pace.

"Your Highness?"

"……"

Just moments ago, he’d at least hummed in response, but now he didn't even make a sound.

Did he not hear? Or did he hear but choose not to respond?

Gao Zhen took a deep breath and asked again, "Your Highness, can you put me down?"

"……"

Still no response, only the pace quickening further.

From this reaction, he must have heard. Gao Zhen bit his lip, thinking that when someone hears but doesn't respond, it usually means one of two things: either they're holding back anger or seething. If left unaddressed, things might get messy.

Although the Ninth Prince usually seemed easygoing, when someone like him truly got angry, it was the most difficult to handle. Besides, Gao Zhen's original intention wasn't to upset the Ninth Prince.

Seeing the Ninth Prince remain silent, Gao Zhen felt uneasy.

He thought that tonight, at the very least, he needed to get him talking again. So he quickly changed the subject to something casual and asked, "Your Highness, why were you spreading mud on the ground earlier?"

The Ninth Prince's steps hesitated briefly but didn't stop. He seemed to ponder something, and after a moment, finally spoke, but asked instead, "Where is the deposed empress?"

He’s speaking at last!

Gao Zhen breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Beauty Feng put her in the neighboring courtyard."

"Is she awake?"

"Her wound is inflamed. She probably won't wake for two or three days," Gao Zhen replied.

"Mm."

The tone was unreadable.

Gao Zhen pushed against the Ninth Prince's back to lift his upper body, trying to turn and see the Ninth Prince's expression. Unfortunately, the moonlight tonight wasn't bright enough, and he couldn't see clearly.

The Ninth Prince hauled Gao Zhen into a narrow alley.

Gao Zhen lay over the Ninth Prince's shoulder, watching the road behind them, and guessed they might be heading toward Beauty Feng's courtyard. Recalling how Beauty Feng had previously prevented the Ninth Prince from contacting the deposed empress, he felt a strange unease.

By now, it was completely dark. The palace path was empty, and the surroundings were eerily quiet, making the heavy, distinct footsteps on the path even more pronounced. Gao Zhen wondered if Beauty Feng had heard these footsteps from afar, because as soon as they stopped at the courtyard gate, the door was pulled open before them.

Beauty Feng, favoring her bad leg, limped over anxiously and said, "Why are you here? Hurry back!"

"Do you have enough talismans?" the Ninth Prince asked.

"Yes, enough!" Beauty Feng urged anxiously, "Go quickly, don't let anyone see you!"

"Don't forget the talismans," the Ninth Prince added, then said, "The path to her courtyard has been smeared with mud, like claw marks. Under cover of darkness, move her there. Don't keep her here—if the eunuchs come tomorrow, it'll be hard to explain." As he said this, the Ninth Prince's face showed no expression.

Beauty Feng had been eager to rush the Ninth Prince off, but after hearing this, she smiled.

She looked at the Ninth Prince, her eyes shimmering with a motherly warmth, lowered her eyelids slightly, then raised them and said, "I'm not afraid of them. Although I'm trapped here for now, my elder brother is still the Assistant Minister of the Dali Temple. Those lowlifes wouldn't dare do anything to me. I only ask... ah, anyway, as long as you're not involved. By the way, did you clean the bloody handprints on the door?"

Even to Gao Zhen, these words sounded unusual. Just the mention of "talismans" made no sense to him. Wanting to see Beauty Feng's expression now, Gao Zhen struggled to lift his upper body from the Ninth Prince's shoulder, craning his neck to look back.

Thinking carefully, it seemed that from the first time the Ninth Prince introduced him to Beauty Feng, she had always been looking out for the Ninth Prince, even acting like a stern mother-in-law, pointing out Gao Zhen's flaws in front of the Ninth Prince...

Could it be that today, when she went to move the deposed empress, it was also to protect the Ninth Prince?

Regardless, her protective instinct toward the Ninth Prince was worthy of respect.

The Ninth Prince let out a sigh so faint that if Gao Zhen hadn't been lying on his shoulder, he might not have noticed it.

Gao Zhen was somewhat surprised and was about to observe further when he heard the Ninth Prince say to Beauty Feng, "You don't need to make such sacrifices for me. Listen to me—under cover of darkness, move her back tonight. I don't want to see you implicated."

Beauty Feng lowered her head in thought, weighing her options. After a moment, she lowered her voice and asked Zhou Yunning, "You don't want her to die?"

Zhou Yunning's brows furrowed slightly, then relaxed, and he said helplessly, "At this point, let heaven’s will decide."

"Since you say so, I know what to do."

With that, the two turned away—one returning to the courtyard, the other leaving the alley.

Gao Zhen, lying over the Ninth Prince's shoulder, felt the night wind unusually chilly, slithering down his neck. His ears rang, echoing the words between the Ninth Prince and Beauty Feng—

"You don't want her to die?"

"...Let heaven decide."

It would be a lie to say he wasn't shocked.

Gao Zhen had always thought Beauty Feng was handling the deposed empress's situation to save her. But now, it seemed she never intended to save her at all? What if the Ninth Prince had said, "I want her dead"—would she have truly finished her off for good?

But she had taken care of the deposed empress, hadn't she? Even washed her clothes.

Gao Zhen was genuinely curious now—what had the deposed empress done to the Ninth Prince before to push a good person this far?

Should he ask?

Gao Zhen took a deep breath. He had a vague feeling that the truth of this matter was extraordinary, and hearing it might be too much for him...

Maybe it was better to let it go?

While he hesitated, the Ninth Prince had already carried him back.

The blood handprints on the courtyard door had been scrubbed clean.

The Ninth Prince pushed the door open, dumped the bucket of mud down, and immediately turned to bolt the door.

Gao Zhen thought that since they were back, His Highness would surely put him down now. So he patted the Ninth Prince's shoulder lightly and whispered, "Your Highness, I can walk by myself."

"No."

The Ninth Prince's voice was almost flat, which took Gao Zhen by surprise.

Since they were back, why wouldn't he put him down?

Why was he still being carried?

"You weren't obedient," the Ninth Prince said.

Gao Zhen: "..."

What he did today indeed didn't go along with what the Ninth Prince wanted, and because he had accepted a system task, he didn't even have a leg to stand on. But: "But Your Highness also said, 'Let him be'..."

Gao Zhen mumbled softly, deliberately close to the Ninth Prince's ear, making it impossible for him to pretend not to hear.

The Ninth Prince turned his head to look at him. The scars on his left cheek were deeply etched, appearing creepy and terrifying under the dim moonlight tonight. When he suddenly saw it, Gao Zhen was so frightened that he jerked back, lowering his eyelids to block the sight, leaving only his heart pounding in his ears.

Over the past few days, the Ninth Prince had looked out for him in every way, and Gao Zhen had thought he had become immune to that half of his face. But just now, he was still freaked out.

The Ninth Prince stopped briefly by the water vat, fetched a bucket of water, and carried Gao Zhen straight into the northern room.

He set Gao Zhen down on the ground, seating him in a chair. Then he opened the wardrobe, took out the large cloth used for bathing, and finally pulled a little book from the top shelf. He tore out a page, brought it to the wooden bucket, lit it with a fire starter, and watched as the ash fell into the water and disappeared instantly. Only then did he say to Gao Zhen, "Hold out your hand."

Gao Zhen's gaze had been following the Ninth Prince, observing his expression, but the Ninth Prince was unusually silent today.

Was he angry or not?

—He obediently stretched out his hand.

The Ninth Prince held his small hand, knelt down in front of the chair, threw the cloth into the bucket to wet it, wrung it half-dry, placed it over Gao Zhen's hand, and began wiping carefully. He wiped with great care, not even missing under his fingernails, over and over again, until the skin of both small, soft hands turned slightly red. Only then did he let go.

This made Gao Zhen feel really uncomfortable. Not wanting to bother trying to figure out the Ninth Prince's intentions, he asked directly, "Your Highness, do you think I'm dirty?"

The Ninth Prince looked up. His eyes, filled with stars, showed a hint of helplessness but not a trace of anger. He only said, "The deposed empress has Gu insects on her."

"Gu insects?!"

Gao Zhen was startled. Was it the thing he was thinking of? The one that releases poison and kills people without leaving a trace?

Whether it was psychological or not, he suddenly felt itchy all over.

"Your Highness, I feel itchy all over."

Gao Zhen said, uncomfortable, "Although this is the cold palace, it's still inside the imperial palace. Why would there be Gu insects here?"

The Ninth Prince was silent for a moment before saying, "Twenty years ago, a Gu Master infiltrated the circus troupe that came as tribute by the Southern Barbarians. He set up a Gu array, with the core in the palace, spreading outward and affecting the entire imperial city. If not for the Taoist masters from all eighteen sacred mountains working together, the people of the capital would have been eaten by those Gu insects in less than seven days."

"Are you saying the Gu insects on the deposed empress are related to the Gu Master case from twenty years ago?" Gao Zhen asked, shocked and doubtful.

The Ninth Prince shook his head and said, "The scale of that incident was too large. Although the Taoist masters tried their best to get rid of the Gu, some inevitably slipped through the net. Over the next decade or so, Gu insects became commonplace in the capital. The Gu on her is of unknown origin."

"Your Highness!" Gao Zhen said anxiously, "Will I get Gu if I touched the deposed empress?"

"Infected?"

The Ninth Prince focused slightly, thought for a moment, and said, "You will only get Gu miasma on you, which easily attracts other poisonous insects to attack. After washing with talisman water, the Gu miasma can be removed. Poisonous insects won’t bite you anymore."

"What about Beauty Feng and the others?"

"I gave them talismans. There’s no need to worry."

Now Gao Zhen understood. So the "talisman" the Ninth Prince mentioned at Beauty Feng’s courtyard gate earlier was this kind of talisman paper. Then: "Could there be Gu insects in the deposed empress’s blood?"

"Only Gu miasma is in the blood."

"So, Your Highness, when you scrubbed the palace path, you also used this talisman water?" Gao Zhen asked in surprise.

"Mm," the Ninth Prince said patiently. "It must be scrubbed clean. Otherwise, the ground will be densely covered with poisonous insects tomorrow."

"But there’s still a puddle of blood in the outer courtyard square. Why didn’t Your Highness wash that away too?"

"If I washed that away, how would the eunuchs notice anything unusual?"

As he spoke, the Ninth Prince took off Gao Zhen’s shoes and socks.

Gao Zhen stared at the Ninth Prince, feeling that he was really strategic, setting everything up quietly without a sound. But: "What good will it do if the eunuchs notice something unusual? Will they save the deposed empress?"

"Of course not," the Ninth Prince said, looking up and holding one of Gao Zhen’s small feet in his large hand. "But they will take her away."

Gao Zhen: !

A strong sense of "disgust" washed over him. Gao Zhen now realized that the Ninth Prince showed no mercy to those he disliked. Moreover, he was quite skilled at using other people to do his dirty work, quietly setting up a situation to use the eunuchs to remove the deposed empress who was an eyesore.

Gao Zhen was stunned.

The Ninth Prince glanced at him, then lowered his eyelashes, cradling those smooth, jade-like feet with one hand and gently wiping them.

The cool sensation on his feet brought Gao Zhen back to reality. He hurriedly said, "Your Highness, let me do it myself!"

The feeling of having his feet held by someone else made Gao Zhen weirdly flustered.

"Don’t move."

The Ninth Prince suddenly gripped Gao Zhen’s ankle and lifted the foot to his eyes.

It was too close. Gao Zhen could even feel the Ninth Prince’s breath on the top of his foot, making him curl his toes involuntarily.

The Ninth Prince’s finger pressed against the inside of his ankle and slid upward. The roughness of his finger against the delicate skin made Gao Zhen shiver, making all the hairs on his body stand on end.

However, the Ninth Prince frowned, staring at the spot where his finger had passed, and pushed up Gao Zhen’s pant leg.

Gao Zhen was startled and quickly asked, "What’s wrong?"