Chapter 24

By the time they returned to the Eastern Palace, the night was already deep. A thick darkness swept over the pavilions and palace walls, and the cool wind sang with a sobbing wail, sounding remarkably like the rhythmic chanting of the opera heard earlier in the Great Hall.

Huo Qiu strode ahead, his expression as cold as icicles hanging from the eaves in the twelfth lunar month, completely disregarding how difficult it was for Tang Zhuozhuo to keep up behind him.

Tang Zhuozhuo suspected that his Gu poison was acting up, and all along the way, she furrowed her brows, deep in thought regarding the Southern Border Gu insects.

Arriving at the Eastern Palace, Huo Qiu’s figure was like the wind, his back immersed in the watery texture of the moonlight, possessing a unique noble coldness.

Seeing him stride toward the Zhengda Hall without looking back, Tang Zhuozhuo trotted a few steps to keep up and grabbed the tasseled jade pendant tied at his waist.

“Your Highness, the thing on your hand…”

Huo Qiu frowned coldly and pried her soft, slender fingers away. His tone rarely carried a hint of coaxing: “Go back to your palace. I will take you to the West River lands in a few days.”

After saying this, he gave her a deep look, allowing her to pull the jade pendant from his waist, while instructing Zhang Desheng: “Escort the Crown Princess back to Yiqiu Palace.”

Tang Zhuozhuo’s pretty face turned slightly cold, making Zhang Desheng’s skin twitch. He said with a flattering smile: “Your Ladyship, it is getting late. This servant will escort you back to the palace to rest.”

The tasseled jade pendant she held still had an exquisite, small sachet attached to it, from which the scent of ambergris slowly drifted out. She tightened her grip on the sachet and silently gritted her teeth.

It serves him right if he dies of pain!

Seeing that she didn’t move for a long time, Zhang Desheng tucked his fly-whisk into the crook of his arm, bent his waist, and persuaded: “Your Ladyship, the wind is strong out here. You should return to your hall. His Highness will not see anyone right now.”

A faint light shimmered in Tang Zhuozhuo’s glazed almond eyes. The moonlight spilled like water onto the spacious front courtyard, casting several small black shadows on the ground.

“When was His Highness’s Gu planted?” She lowered her gaze, focusing intently on the sachet in her palm, having no intention of moving.

Since he wanted to send her away so badly, she would stubbornly stand guard outside.

Zhang Desheng looked at An Xia in distress, thinking to himself that things were going poorly.

“Your Ladyship, how could we servants know about things His Highness forbids us from managing?”

Tang Zhuozhuo pursed her lips, then toyed with the coral bracelet on her wrist. She said to An Xia: “Go fetch a chair for me, one that is more comfortable.”

An Xia was caught in a dilemma but eventually went. This made Zhang Desheng panic; he didn’t know the situation with His Highness inside, and Imperial Physician Li was due to arrive soon. If this lady saw him, there was no telling how much of a fuss she would make.

“Your Ladyship, are you refusing to listen to His Highness’s command?”

Tang Zhuozhuo lifted her eyelids. Her features were like a painting, her eyes full of life. She smiled softly and delicately, but the words she spoke were sharp and firm: “Of course I listen to him. But His Highness is currently unwell. Could it be that I should truly return to Yiqiu Palace and sleep until dawn?”

Zhang Desheng fell silent and spoke no more.

If she truly did that, there was no telling how much His Highness would brood in his heart.

He recalled the antiques and treasures that had been smashed last time and suddenly felt the wind grow quite chilly.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Tang Zhuozhuo was lying on a lounge chair brought by the nannies. Her body was covered with a thin, moon-colored gauze, her eyes cool and her face like ice.

As the night deepened, Tang Zhuozhuo shivered slightly. An Xia was extremely worried; receiving a look from Tang Zhuozhuo, she persuaded with a sob in her voice: “Your Ladyship, you only recently recovered. Now is the time to nurse your health. How can you withstand being blown by such a wind?”

Zhang Desheng stood by like a wooden post. Hearing this, his face twisted into a knot. He turned to look at the brightly lit Zhengda Hall behind him and closed his eyes in resignation.

If anything else happened to the Crown Princess, they would all be in serious trouble.

“It’s no matter. I know my own body. Don’t let your crying disturb His Highness’s peace.” Tang Zhuozhuo’s eyelashes fluttered. Her body had long since curled into a ball, and the expression in her eyes flickered.

In her past life, she had been completely unaware of him being poisoned by Gu. He had always been cold and noble, appearing in everyone’s eyes as powerful and omnipotent. Why would he reveal such a thing in front of her?

Of course, even if he had told her then, she would have only let out a light laugh, wishing he would die sooner.

But now that she knew, how could she remain an outsider?

Although Zhang Desheng clearly understood the Crown Princess’s scheme, he still had to step forward and say: “Your Ladyship, this servant will report to His Highness once more. If he still refuses, you must return to your palace.”

Tang Zhuozhuo nodded slightly, her long lashes veiling the darkness in her almond eyes. Her thin lips parted: “I shall trouble Eunuch Zhang then.”

Zhang Desheng sighed inwardly. He braced himself and entered the inner chamber, only to see Huo Qiu’s thin chin slightly tilted up. Fine beads of sweat covered his brow and hair. Hearing footsteps, he opened eyes that were slightly red. “Did the Crown Princess go back?”

Zhang Desheng’s knees went weak, and he immediately knelt, saying in fear: “Your Highness, Her Ladyship is waiting outside the hall and refuses to go back no matter what. The wind is strong outside; this servant fears her health won’t be able to take it if she continues to be exposed.”

Huo Qiu’s noble eyes looked toward his numb left arm. Large patches of dark black were knotted and writhing. Upon closer inspection, black lines were moving under his bronze-colored skin, rapidly spreading from his palm to his forearm and back again, causing a piercing, heart-wrenching pain.

He withdrew his gaze indifferently and gave a self-mocking laugh. His voice was comparable to bone-chilling icicles: “You are certainly becoming more ‘capable’ at handling matters now.”

The sound of the wind outside grew louder. Huo Qiu pushed away the eunuch applying hot towels for him and paced to the window. Even from a distance, he saw the person under the lantern at a glance, fragile as a kite whose string might break in the wind at any moment.

Truly, the thing he feared most had come.

If she saw him in such a pathetic, disheveled state, he didn’t know how much she would loathe him.

It had taken so much effort for their relationship to finally soften.

The emotions in Huo Qiu’s eyes were deeply suppressed. What surged out from his fingertips, however, were thick, black blood clots.

Zhang Desheng was scared out of his wits, but Huo Qiu casually wiped it away with a handkerchief. A moment later, he said: “Until the Crown Princess returns, the Imperial Physician is not to be summoned.”

“Your Highness, this Gu poison can no longer be suppressed. This… how can we not call the physician?”

Huo Qiu didn’t even lift his eyelids. He understood Tang Zhuozhuo’s stubborn temper; the more you forbade her from doing something, the more she insisted on doing it. Her staying outside today didn’t necessarily mean she cared for him much; it was simply because he wouldn’t let her in.

Just as Zhang Desheng was at his wits’ end with anxiety, Imperial Physician Li arrived in a hurry upon receiving orders. Before he even climbed the steps, he saw the Crown Princess, who rarely made an appearance.

He couldn’t help but be stunned.

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