Chapter 253: Falling from the Clouds into the Abyss

Chapter 253: Crashing Down from the Clouds

The clamor and splendor of the banquet were left far behind. The deep night at Prince Jing’s mansion was as still as water.

When Xiao Lingchuan returned to the main courtyard, the face that had remained clear and stern throughout the palace banquet was now taut to its limit.

His steps were steady, but only he knew that every step consumed immense mental effort to suppress the intensifying heat surging within him.

As soon as he stepped into the bedchamber, he spoke in a low voice to Ling Feng, who was beside him: "I’m feeling unwell. Help me inside."

Ling Feng, a blunt man, instinctively began to speak: "Your Highness, you seemed fine in the palace just now..."

Before he could finish, Xiao Lingchuan shot him a glare laced with warning and murderous intent.

Ling Feng shuddered and immediately caught on, hastily changing his words: "Ah, Your Highness must be drunk—your steps are unsteady! I’ll help you to your room to rest!"

With that, he supported Xiao Lingchuan’s arm, half-dragging and half-guiding him into the bedchamber.

Inside, candles were brightly lit. Jiang Shuning sat by the lamp, holding a medical scroll. She looked up at the commotion and saw the scene.

She stood up in slight surprise: "What’s wrong with Your Highness? Did you drink too much at the palace?"

She saw Xiao Lingchuan’s flawlessly handsome face flushed with an unnatural redness, even the corners of his usually cold eyes tinged with a rosy hue.

Ling Feng was about to play along with her assumption, but Xiao Lingchuan impatiently waved his hand, signaling him to withdraw.

He was afraid that Ling Feng, who liked to add unnecessary details, might say one more thing and make Jiang Shuning think he was faking it.

Tonight, despite all precautions, he had forgotten to bring the special remedy prepared by Divine Physician Sun. He hadn’t expected Wang Bishan to be brazen enough to drug him at the palace banquet, and with a poison far more insidious and potent than he had imagined.

Though he had forcibly suppressed most of the drug’s effects with his profound internal energy, a part of it remained, like a stubborn parasite, rampaging through his limbs, meridians, and energy channels, constantly eating away at his reason.

Ling Feng wisely withdrew and thoughtfully closed the chamber door.

With a soft click, the outside world was sealed off.

Inside, only the two of them remained.

The moment the door clicked shut, Xiao Lingchuan’s composure shattered. He stumbled and lunged toward Jiang Shuning, wrapping his arms around her like iron vises.

His heavy breathing mingled with the smell of alcohol and a strange, sweet fragrance, instantly enveloping Jiang Shuning.

He buried his face deep in the hollow of her neck, breathing heavily and hotly, his breath caressing her sensitive skin.

"Shuning..." His voice was hoarse, barely recognizable, filled with suppressed pain and a hint of hurt he himself hadn’t noticed. "I’ve been drugged."

Jiang Shuning’s entire body stiffened.

She could clearly feel his body trembling abnormally and the astonishing heat transmitted through the fabric, almost burning her.

She didn’t need to guess what kind of drug it was.

"Does Your Highness need the antidote?" she asked, forcing herself to stay calm.

"It’s too late." Xiao Lingchuan tightened his embrace, pulling her into him, as if this alone could ease the mind-consuming, bone-deep agony.

As he spoke, his breathing was already labored, whether from the drug’s torment or from her unique, cool fragrance that haunted him, stirring his most primal desires.

"Concubine Wang... the drug she used is vicious and has already invaded the bloodstream... ordinary remedies might not work..."

He, so proud a man, was now revealing his most vulnerable, disheveled side to her.

Listening to his fragmented explanation, a rush of indescribably complex emotions stirred in Jiang Shuning’s heart.

She pitied him a little.

That a concubine had schemed against the mighty Prince Jing.

A concubine daring to drug him so openly—behind this had to be the tangled aristocratic clans, eager to use their daughters as pawns to tie him to their agenda.

A man as proud as him—how could he give in to their wishes?

"Don’t worry, Your Highness." Jiang Shuning raised her hand and gently patted his tense back, said in an unusually calm, comforting tone, "I know how to help you handle this."

Xiao Lingchuan’s head snapped up. His usually sharp, deep eyes were now actually moist and hazy.

His eyes widened in shock, then filled with a huge, disbelieving anticipation.

He gazed at her, his voice hoarse: "Are you willing... to use your hands... to help me out?"

In their past life, she had been so shy in bed that she wouldn’t even dare to look at his body directly, let alone take the initiative.

Now, she was offering...

Jiang Shuning met his hopeful gaze, calmly eased out of his arms, lowered her gaze, and avoided his too-intense stare.

"Your Highness, bear with me a little longer. I’ll go wash my hands."

"Good..." His Adam’s apple bobbed, forcing the word out through clenched teeth. "I’ll wait for you."

In just a moment, Jiang Shuning returned.

Xiao Lingchuan held his breath, listening to her footsteps approach, until they stopped before the bed.

The clean scent of soap from washing her hands after her bath filled the air. The fresh scent hit his nostrils, making the suppressed heat inside him roar even more fiercely.

He had already impatiently stripped off his outer robes, wearing only a thin undergarment, his collar open, showing his sharp collarbone and a patch of burning chest.

Clearly, they had been husband and wife sleeping together countless times in their past life, but now, under the dim, flickering candlelight, waiting for her to make the first move, Xiao Lingchuan felt a strange shyness and tension.

It was butterflies in his stomach, spreading from the depths of his heart to his limbs.

She sat by the bed, and a cool hand gently grasped his burning wrist.

The touch, like a piece of cold jade in the scorching summer, made him almost want to moan in comfort.

He turned his head, his eyes deeply fixed on her focused profile, his Adam’s apple moving involuntarily.

"Shuning..."

He began in a hoarse voice, but before he could utter two words, the corner of his eye caught a flash of cold, steely light!

The next moment, a sharp pain came from his forearm!

Xiao Lingchuan’s pupils contracted sharply. He looked down in disbelief to see a small, sharp dagger stabbed into his arm, bright red blood seeping out along the blade.

He raised his head to look at Jiang Shuning, his eyes filled with shock, bewilderment, and a blank emptiness, all desire doused.

But Jiang Shuning’s expression was utterly calm, without a ripple. Meeting his complex gaze, she explained coolly: "Don’t worry, Your Highness, it’s just a scratch. The drug Concubine Wang gave you has entered your bloodstream. By letting blood and using acupuncture at the acupoints, no matter how strong the aphrodisiac, I can help you flush it all out of your system."

Bloodletting?

Silver needles?

Expel the poison from the body?

Xiao Lingchuan only felt as if a basin of icy water mixed with ice shards had been poured over him from head to toe, chilling him to the bone.

His mind was buzzing, and it took him a long while to find his voice, which was as dry as sandpaper.

"You... you only wanted to help me by letting blood and removing the poison? Then why... did you say you were going to wash your hands just now?"

"Of course, for cleanliness," Jiang Shuning replied matter-of-factly.

"Your Highness's body is so delicate. If the wound is unclean and gets infected or catches a chill, wouldn't the loss outweigh the gain? Cleaning my hands is the first step in treating your injury."

"..."

Xiao Lingchuan choked up, unable to utter another word.

Utterly exhausted, he slowly closed his eyes, burying all the surging emotions under his long eyelashes.

So that's what she meant by "help you relieve it."

And that's what she meant by "wash hands."

It turned out, from start to finish, he was just addled by the drug, alone here letting his imagination run wild.

It was truly... utterly ridiculous. Falling from cloud nine to rock bottom—it only took an instant.