Chapter 269: This Prince Is Your Antidote

With a loud crash, the potted plant smashed through the window and fell to the ground, sending shards of porcelain and dirt flying everywhere.

The sharp noise finally caught someone's attention.

Liu Ye caught a glimpse of Jiang Shuning through the broken window and hurried over to her.

The door had been locked from the outside; she managed to smash the lock with a stone after some effort.

Pushing the door open, she quickly helped up Jiang Shuning, who was limp on the ground, and asked urgently, "Your Highness, Your Highness, are you okay?"

Her eyes swept to the side and suddenly landed on the gardener's pale face—a hairpin stuck in his neck, blood pooling on the floor in a shocking red.

Liu Ye's pupils contracted sharply, and a stifled scream escaped her throat.

"Don't... scream..." Jiang Shuning was drenched in sweat, her cheeks flushed unnaturally from the drug, and she panted, "Quick... take me back to... my room..."

"Yes, yes!" Liu Ye nodded quickly, suppressing her fear, and half-dragged, half-carried Jiang Shuning away from the bloody scene and back to the bedchamber.

Back in the bedchamber, Liu Ye clumsily wiped the blood off Jiang Shuning, then poured a bucket of cold water and helped her immerse in it, trying to use the cold to suppress the terrifying heat inside her.

But even as the water rippled, Jiang Shuning's body stayed limp, her complexion unchanged—clearly, it wasn't working.

The drug was too strong; Jiang Shuning's fingers were too weak to even hold a silver needle to perform acupuncture to detoxify herself.

She leaned against the edge of the tub, her breath ragged: "Ling Wu... where is she?"

"Concubine Wang and Concubine Huo said that Miss Lingwu stole their hairpins, so she is now locked in the woodshed..."

Despair washed over Jiang Shuning.

If Ling Wu were still by her side, maybe she could knock her out with a palm strike, temporarily cutting off the drug's erosion, sparing her this heart-wrenching torment.

Her gaze fell on the hairpin on Liu Ye's head, a trace of determination flashing in her eyes, and she spoke with difficulty: "Quick... use that hairpin... to cut my wrist..."

Now, the only option left was bloodletting to get the poison out; even if it's just a temporary fix, it was better than letting the drug take over her mind.

Upon hearing this, Liu Ye shook her head in panic: "No, I can't let you hurt yourself, Your Highness! I'll go find the steward and have him send someone to the palace to invite the Wangye back!"

Before the words even faded, she turned and ran out in a panic, not waiting for Jiang Shuning to say anything else.

Jiang Shuning watched her stumble away, her despair deepening.

Right now, Xiao Lingchuan was the most terrifying thing of all.

——

In the palace, Xiao Huaijin had just stepped out of the Imperial Study when his gaze landed on a familiar figure nearby. After a flicker of hesitation, he made up his mind and quickly stepped forward to block Xiao Lingchuan's path.

"Fourth Brother, I want to discuss a deal with you." His voice was low and firm, his gentle face hiding an unyielding determination.

Xiao Lingchuan stopped, his peach blossom eyes narrowing with suspicion and disdain: "Oh? What kind of deal do you want to make with me?"

Xiao Huaijin took a deep breath, meeting his eyes, and said firmly: "Let Miss Jiang go, and from now on, the Cui family and I will serve you!"

Xiao Lingchuan sneered, his tone dripping with disdain: "Once I take that supreme position, why would I worry about the Cui family not submitting? Fifth Brother, your bargaining chip is far too weak."

"But Fourth Brother, you haven't taken that position yet." Xiao Huaijin pressed on, his tone urgent, the obsession in his eyes intensifying: "As long as you return Miss Jiang's freedom, I'll persuade my grandfather and uncle to switch sides and fully support you right away!"

"Fifth Brother, you're really lovesick!" The mockery in Xiao Lingchuan's eyes deepened, his voice low yet carrying bone-chilling coldness: "A few days ago, Shuning had a clear chance to escape, but she didn't leave with you. Know why? Because she simply doesn't want to be with you! You had better give up this hope sooner!"

"That is not the truth!" Anxiety and pain flickered across Xiao Huaijin's gentle face, his voice trembling with agitation: "It's not that she doesn't want to be with me; she figured you would find her and purposely didn't come to me. She didn't want me to get caught up in your mess! It's exactly because she's that kind of woman that she's worth me giving up everything for!"

He stared at Xiao Lingchuan, desperation and determination in his eyes: "Fourth Brother, I know your ambition. I'm different—I've never wanted the throne. All I want in this life is to live in peace and be with the one I love forever. As long as you agree to let Miss Jiang leave, I am willing to serve you for life, at your disposal!"

The mockery on Xiao Lingchuan's face deepened, but a shadow of gloom appeared in his eyes.

He leaned in close to Xiao Huaijin, his voice low and cold, as if from the depths of hell: "Do you know why I'm so determined to get that position?"

Xiao Huaijin said nothing, pursed his thin lips tightly, and silently awaited his next words.

"Because only with an emperor's power can I make sure Shuning never leaves me!" Xiao Lingchuan said word by word, his tone filled with chilling obsession and arrogance: "So, stop your wishful thinking. I will never trade her with you for anything! I want her to belong to me alone, for eternity!"

Xiao Huaijin's face instantly turned pale, his gentle brows and eyes full of anxiety and unwillingness, his voice tinged with powerlessness and sorrow: "But she doesn't want to stay by your side at all. Fourth Brother, can't you see that?"

"So what?" Xiao Lingchuan sneered, a sliver of undeniable cruelty flashing in his eyes: "As long as I am willing, that is enough!"

At that moment, Ling Feng hurriedly rushed over from afar with a panicked expression. He leaned close to Xiao Lingchuan's ear and reported urgently in a low voice, his tone tense: "Wangye, something terrible! A messenger from the mansion reported that the Wangfei... she has been drugged!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Lingchuan's face changed drastically. The original mockery and coldness in his eyes were instantly replaced by a terrifying gloom, and a fierce killing intent surged around him like a storm.

He clenched his fists, his voice fierce with anger: "Return to the mansion!"

Jiang Shuning felt like she was trapped in a giant steamer, every inch of her skin and every bone being repeatedly steamed by hot vapor.

Her consciousness was sometimes clear, sometimes blurred; everything before her eyes was covered in a layer of mist, swaying and indistinct.

Liu Ye had not yet returned, and the bedchamber was empty; she was forced to fight alone against the beast inside her that was almost breaking out of its cage.

She struggled to climb out of the ice-cold bath, completely drenched, water droplets dripping from her black hair, forming a small puddle on the floor.

But this brief coolness was soon swallowed by the more violent heat waves inside.

No... she couldn't just wait like this...

Wait for Liu Ye to find the steward, wait for the steward to send someone to the palace, and then wait for Xiao Lingchuan to return...

When he returns, what will he see?

A disheveled, delirious self, controlled by drugs, reduced to begging him humbly for mercy?

Just imagining that scene was more humiliating than death.

Her gaze fell on the dressing table not far away, where her pearl hairpins and ornaments were neatly arranged.

At this moment, she desperately wanted a sharp, pointed object to cut her skin, to give even a moment's relief to the unbearable heat inside her.

Using all her strength, she crawled little by little toward the dressing table.

A distance of just a few steps seemed to drain all the energy from her life.

Finally, the hairpin on the dressing table was grasped by her trembling fingers.

The coolness of the hairpin spread through her palm, giving her chaotic mind a moment of clarity.

She aimed the sharp tip of the hairpin at her own fair and slender left wrist, where the skin was so thin that the blue veins underneath could be seen, pulsing with her rapid heartbeat.

As long as she cut down hard, the pain would sober her, and the flowing blood would carry away the drug's effect...

She closed her eyes, clenched her teeth, gathered the last of her strength, and fiercely stabbed the hairpin toward her wrist—

"Bang—"

The bedchamber door was kicked open from outside!

Jiang Shuning opened her eyes in shock, and through her blurred vision, a tall, familiar figure burst in, exuding a chilling aura like a demon from the underworld.

It was Xiao Lingchuan.

He was back.

How... how could he be so fast?

The man took one look at her, collapsed on the floor, soaking wet and disheveled, and the hairpin in her hand poised to stab herself.

Xiao Lingchuan's pupils constricted sharply, and in those deep, unfathomable eyes, a devastating storm erupted.

He lunged forward in one stride, snatched the hairpin from Jiang Shuning's hand, and hurled it away.

The hairpin struck the wall with a crisp, mournful sound, then fell weakly to the ground.

Exactly like her at that moment—utterly despairing.

Her last hope of saving herself was completely crushed.

Xiao Lingchuan bent down, scooped Jiang Shuning's limp body into his arms, and his hot breath brushed against her ear: "I won't let you hurt yourself!"

The skin he touched trembled as if seared by a hot iron, sending a shiver through her.

Her rationality was crumbling. Panting, she pleaded with all her might: "Your Highness... please... give me the antidote..."

She vaguely remembered that he had the antidote for the aphrodisiac on him.

Xiao Lingchuan's fingers slowly moved upward, his rough finger pads stroking her lower lip, which she had bitten open and was still oozing blood, his eyes dark enough to devour everything.

"Why bother with that?" He stared into her dazed, limpid eyes, his voice hoarse, brimming with a mad possessiveness. "I am your antidote."

With that, he carried the writhing, struggling woman in his arms and strode toward the bed in the inner chamber...