Chapter 100 Equally Terrifying

Chapter 100: A Frighteningly Even Match

Jiang Shuning was startled.

"Your Highness, this... it's not proper! I can wait here alone. I couldn't possibly trouble you, Your Highness? You should return first!"

If Xiao Lingchuan woke up later and found out she had been waiting outside the viewing pavilion with Xiao Huaijin, who knows what kind of fit he might throw.

Seeing her so resolutely reject him, Xiao Huaijin felt a sharper sting of bitterness in his heart.

"Alright... then I'll go back first. Since you're staying alone, please be careful." He suppressed the disappointment in his heart, his tone low.

Jiang Shuning nodded and said softly, "Your Highness, if you see my maid Ling Wu at the entrance of the polo field, could you please inform her that I will return later?"

"Alright." Xiao Huaijin's throat went dry as he agreed with difficulty.

She seemed determined to wait until Xiao Lingchuan woke up.

He had just turned and taken a few steps when, as if suddenly remembering something, he turned back. His gaze was gentle as it rested on her. "Miss Jiang, there's a new fawn in my mother's garden. If you have time, perhaps you could come see it."

His tone carried a hint of cautious expectation.

Looking at his refined and gentle features, Jiang Shuning simply couldn't bring herself to refuse.

"Alright."

Only after receiving her reply did he show a satisfied smile, then turned and left.

Watching his receding figure, a pang of indescribable sorrow welled up in Jiang Shuning's chest.

_I'm sorry, Fifth Prince._

Henceforth, I'm afraid I can no longer have any interaction with you.

Not long after Xiao Huaijin left the viewing pavilion, he ran into Third Prince Xiao Xiuzhan, who was smiling meaningfully.

"What's wrong, Fifth Brother? You look utterly dejected. Could it be you were rejected by Miss Jiang?"

Xiao Huaijin's expression suddenly turned gloomy.

"This has nothing to do with Third Brother!" His voice was low and icy, carrying a hint of warning.

"Fifth Brother, you are far too soft-hearted. How could you possibly be Fourth Brother's match? He merely used a 'self-injury' ploy, and it has already thrown Miss Jiang into turmoil. If this continues, you'll only be able to watch helplessly as Fourth Brother wins the beauty!"

These words pierced Xiao Huaijin's heart like sharp arrows, making his pent-up emotions erupt instantly.

He abruptly raised his head, his gaze suddenly turning cold and sharp, like icy blades in the depths of winter, shooting straight at Xiao Xiuzhan. "Does Third Brother have a way to help me win Miss Jiang's heart? If I recall correctly, Third Brother also once considered seeking to marry Miss Jiang, didn't he? And didn't that end in failure as well? Since Third Brother couldn't accomplish it himself, what right do you have to stand here and lecture me?"

"You..." Xiao Xiuzhan was left speechless, as if he had been slapped hard across the face, his expression turning extremely unpleasant.

He never expected his usually gentle and harmless fifth brother to have such a sharp tongue at times.

"I was worried that you and Miss Jiang might not end up together. Why are you dragging me into this?" Xiao Xiuzhan forcefully suppressed the anger in his heart, his tone softening slightly. "Alright, Fifth Brother, I didn't mean anything else. I just wanted to cooperate with you. Look, your maternal clan, the Cui family, is in business. I've recently become quite interested in business as well. Even if you have no interest in vying for power, can't we, as brothers, still do business together?"

"Business?" Xiao Huaijin sneered. "What kind of business does Third Brother want to do with the Cui family? Is it those filthy brothels, the underground gambling dens that never see the light of day? Or perhaps the utterly inhumane human trafficking trade?"

Hearing this, Xiao Xiuzhan's face changed drastically.

"You... you investigated me?"

"I don't have that much free time." Xiao Huaijin said coldly. "Someone simply told me about it. Third Brother, since someone already knows about these dirty businesses of yours, perhaps Father Emperor has also become aware. I advise you to quit while you're ahead!"

After saying this, he turned and left directly.

Xiao Xiuzhan stood rooted to the spot, cold sweat beading on his forehead, his face growing paler.

Damn it, who told him?

Could it be... Xiao Lingchuan?

No, impossible. He had always been cautious and careful. How could Xiao Lingchuan possibly have the capability to uncover these matters?

The more he thought, the more wrong it felt, as if a tangled mess was clogging his chest, making him restless and irritable.

He couldn't pinpoint when it started, but Xiao Lingchuan, this fourth brother he had looked down upon since childhood, had actually transformed into someone he now feared.

What on earth had happened in between?

No, he couldn't just sit back and wait like this.

If Xiao Huaijin refused to ally with him, he needed to quickly find a new ally.

He refused to believe he couldn't bring Xiao Lingchuan down!

After the sun set, the vast polo field was gradually enveloped by the night, and the cold deepened.

Jiang Shuning pulled her outer robe tighter around her shoulders.

Just then, Xiao Qiyu walked out of the viewing pavilion, a relieved smile on his face. "Sister-in-law, Fourth Brother is awake!"

Jiang Shuning sighed with relief and hurriedly followed him into the viewing pavilion.

She saw Xiao Lingchuan, his face pale and his lips devoid of color.

He was reclining on a soft couch, his right arm wrapped in thick bandages, like a mighty eagle with a broken wing, exuding an air of fragility and dishevelment.

An indescribable mix of emotions surged in Jiang Shuning's heart—gratitude and a sense of indebtedness.

She never expected that in such a critical situation, Xiao Lingchuan would risk his life to save her without a second thought, even sustaining serious injuries because of it.

She stepped forward and asked cautiously, "Your Highness, are you feeling better?"

Xiao Lingchuan gazed at her intently, a turbulent darkness swirling in his peach blossom eyes.

He extended his uninjured left hand and gently grasped her right hand, saying in a low voice, "I wasn't feeling well before, but now that I see you, I feel much better."

These words carried a hint of lingering affection and dependence, very much like a lover's whisper.

The white-bearded elder nearby coughed lightly and said to Xiao Qiyu, "It seems we should take our leave now, lest we disturb the Fourth Prince and this young lady as they pour out their hearts to each other!"

Jiang Shuning's face instantly flushed crimson.

She withdrew her hand from Xiao Lingchuan's grasp, stood up, and bowed to the elder. "You must be Divine Physician Sun, I presume? Might I ask, Divine Physician, what is the extent of His Highness's injuries? Why was he poisoned?"

Divine Physician Sun replied, "The poison His Highness was afflicted with is extremely rare. In my decades of practicing medicine, this is the first time I've encountered it. However, judging from the wound on his neck, it was likely caused by a bite from a small snake or venomous insect carrying a potent toxin."

"A small snake?" Jiang Shuning was startled and instinctively touched her wrist. The little white snake was still coiled around her wrist as usual. If one didn't look closely, it could easily be mistaken for a pure white jade bracelet, utterly harmless in appearance.

She took the little white snake down and handed it to Divine Physician Sun. "Divine Physician Sun, is it a snake of this size?"

Before she could finish speaking, the originally docile and well-behaved little white snake suddenly opened its mouth toward Divine Physician Sun, emitting a threatening hiss.

If Jiang Shuning hadn't acted quickly, tightly gripping its tail, it would have already lunged forward and bitten Divine Physician Sun hard.

At that moment, she spotted some dried bloodstains remaining in the little white snake's mouth!

A terrible thought struck her.

Divine Physician Sun narrowed his eyes, carefully examining the little white snake. "Miss Jiang, why do you have this snake?"

"It's a pet my third brother gave me." Jiang Shuning asked uneasily, "Divine Physician Sun, is it venomous?"

Divine Physician Sun took out a silver needle and, while the little snake was off guard, swiftly pierced the spot behind its eyes where the venom glands are. When he pulled it out, the silver needle had already turned black.

"It seems this snake is not only poisonous but extremely venomous!" Divine Physician Sun said gravely. "If I hadn't arrived in time, the Fourth Prince might have actually been killed by this seemingly harmless little snake!"

Jiang Shuning instantly felt a chill run down her spine.

She looked guiltily at Xiao Lingchuan. "I'm sorry, Your Highness. I didn't know this snake was poisonous, and my third brother didn't tell me either. He only said it was very docile and gave it to me for self-defense. ... Perhaps I should kill it now!"

Although she said this, looking at the little white snake that had become extremely docile in her hand, she was at a complete loss.

Xiao Lingchuan knew that the third brother she mentioned, Jiang Tianze, was a descendant of the Nanyue Poison Master, so he wasn't surprised that the little snake he gave her was poisonous.

"Since it's a pet your third brother gave you for self-defense, just keep it."

"That's out of the question! What if it hurts you again next time?"

"I've already taken the antidote. From now on, its venom won't harm me." Xiao Lingchuan said with a relaxed expression, clearly not concerned.

"But it could hurt others!"

Jiang Shuning felt a chill run down her spine. Jiang Tianze had actually given her such a dangerous venomous snake as a pet—didn't he consider the consequences?

What if Divine Physician Sun hadn't arrived in time? What if it had hurt someone else today...

Jiang Shuning didn't dare to think further.

"The snake bit me just now because it thought I was going to harm you," Xiao Lingchuan said. "It was only protecting its owner and wasn't at fault. Just like the black leopard—if someone tried to hurt me, it would also lunge and bite without hesitation. Protecting its owner is a pet's instinct; it's not to blame."

These words didn't comfort Jiang Shuning; instead, they made her even more uneasy.

She had always felt that Xiao Lingchuan and Jiang Tianze were strikingly handsome and bore a slight resemblance to each other.

Now, thinking about how they both enjoyed keeping poisonous pets, she found them terrifying in equal measure.