Chapter 64: The Sickly Prime Minister, Poisoned to Death by Her Beloved

The road seemed endlessly long, as if it had no end. The Eldest Princess, who had always lived a life of luxury, struggled through the vast mountain forest. The wind blowing in the midsummer night felt exceptionally chilling, and in this prolonged darkness, it seemed that only each other’s warmth could be relied upon.

Xiao Jinse’s pale fingers dug into Shi Qingyi’s shoulders one by one, a stark contrast to her earlier resolute determination to let her go. They nearly pinched into her flesh.

It was said that at the end, people clung to their last breath. Shi Qingyi feared that if Xiao Jinse couldn’t hold on, that breath would be gone. Every so often, she provoked her. Xiao Jinse wasn’t sure if she heard or not, but occasionally, she would glare with anger, gritting her teeth and calling out her name.

All that talk of remarriage, peace marriages, keeping beauties and playing games with the world—Xiao Jinse felt that she might not die from her severe injuries after all, but from sheer fury.

How could there be someone like Shi Qingyi in this world? Every word was like a knife stabbing at her heart, making her wish she could leap out of her coffin in rage.

At the edge of the hunting grounds, Xinyi confronted a woman. The woman had elegant and refined features, dressed in a light-colored official robe. A few strands of long hair fell over her shoulders, accentuated by a green sash that outlined her slender waist. Her voice was gentle and refined.

“This hunt was fully under my command. I understand your and the generals’ anxiety over the disappearance of the Prime Minister and the Eldest Princess. I will naturally do my utmost to search for the Prime Minister. But you bringing your household troops directly into the hunting grounds is far too presumptuous.”

Xinyi was covered in blood and filth, her long saber drawn, making her eyes appear even icier. “Does Lady Gu intend to stop me?”

Gu Ciyan lowered her gaze slightly, neither humble nor arrogant. “Without His Majesty’s decree, no one is permitted to enter the hunting grounds.”

“Today, I want to see who dares to stop me!” With a whoosh, her long saber was unsheathed, followed by thousands of blades and swords pointed toward the forest. The air was thick with tension.

They hadn’t even searched half the forest when the Emperor directly mobilized the imperial guards. This was blatant obstruction, a clear intent to ensure Xiao Jinse’s death at all costs. Her followers looked to her for leadership; without Chancellor Xiao, the rest were no threat.

Gu Ciyan said no more. She simply raised one hand high. In the distance, the archers were ready, bows drawn. Success or failure hung on this moment. As long as she held Xinyi back here, someone inside would silence them permanently.

For a moment, the forest fell into an uncanny silence. Bows were drawn like full moons, everyone awaiting that final order. Suddenly, a flurry of light footsteps echoed from the woods.

Gu Ciyan was momentarily stunned, then turned her head almost simultaneously with Xinyi.

From the endless, deep forest, the cold night had passed. The sunrise burst forth, and in the hazy glow, a figure emerged slowly—no, two figures. The usually arrogant Eldest Princess carried a frail woman out of the woods. The person on her back had arms wrapped around her neck, eyes tightly closed, her face ghostly pale under the moonlight, nearly transparent.

Shi Qingyi walked with extreme difficulty, each step unsteady, as if she might collapse at any moment.

Gu Ciyan’s gentle eyes widened bit by bit—that was the Eldest Princess, who hated Chancellor Xiao the most and wished her dead. How could she have saved her?

The archers were in position. Her hand hesitated in the air, undecided. After all, that was His Majesty’s aunt. Should she give the order to shoot?

In that instant of hesitation, Xinyi spurred her horse forward. The moment she saw Xinyi, the breath Shi Qingyi had been holding finally relaxed. As her legs gave out and she fell, she still managed to catch Xiao Jinse in her arms.

—With her tofu-like fragile body, who knew what a fall might do to her.

In a flash, all their trusted subordinates surrounded the two women protectively, eyes scanning warily.

Shi Qingyi had carried Xiao Jinse through the forest for a full two hours without daring to stop, fearing discovery or that any delay would mean Xiao Jinse would stop breathing.

The fallen grass was soft, with cold dew clinging to it. Holding Xiao Jinse, she gazed at the moon fading from the sky and finally let out a long sigh of relief.

Xinyi approached, trembling as she tried to separate them. Only then did she notice Xiao Jinse’s fingers still dug viciously into Shi Qingyi’s shoulders, blood seeping from the points of contact. She couldn’t pry them loose. The woman who had been so imposing moments ago now nearly sobbed.

“Prime Minister, Miss, please let go.”

Xiao Jinse’s wrists were bluish-white, rigid as if lifeless, her face bloodless. Xinyi didn’t even dare check her breathing.

It was only when Shi Qingyi weakly grasped the back of her hand that she said, “Jinse, let go.”

The forest fell into a terrifying silence. Almost everyone held their breath, waiting. It dragged on so long that Xinyi shook like a sieve. Finally, those fingers twitched and released.

Tears streamed down Xinyi’s face. “Prime Minister—”

—She was still alive.

Not far away, Gu Ciyan unwillingly closed her eyes and waved for the archers to stand down.

—In the end, she had failed by a hair.

Xiao Jinse might have looked fragile, bedridden half the year with colds or heatstroke, but her life proved remarkably tenacious.

She wasn’t wrong. Xiao Jinse’s body was indeed as fragile as tofu. After all that ordeal in the woods—not only shot in the thigh, but she had also suffered heatstroke.

The imperial physician rushed from the palace overnight. The Little Emperor put on a show of concern for his loyal ministers and generals, getting up in the dead of night to visit and inquire after her welfare. He nearly teared up, spouting nonsense about heaven blessing Great End and the Prime Minister’s good fortune. In the end, he gravely announced that the incident had been linked to the barbarians, vowing severe punishment.

Xinyi and Jiang Changche looked ominously grim, while the straightforward martial generals openly frowned, clearly disgusted.

—They had been thoroughly sickened.

Xiao Jinse kept her eyes closed, silent. Her face was deathly pale, too weak even for pleasantries.

The Little Emperor prattled on at length before veering circuitously: “The assassination attempt on the Prime Minister and my royal aunt filled me with worry. I mobilized the imperial guards overnight to search for the Prime Minister. They didn’t inform General Jiang beforehand, which may have caused some misunderstanding. But the Prime Minister and royal aunt’s safe return was greatly due to Minister Gu’s efforts.”

Xinyi: “…”

Xiao Jinse had just awakened, her head splitting from his noise. Unable to hold back, she turned and vomited, coughing heartbreakingly. Xinyi hurried forward with water and a cloth, offering insincere apologies as the Little Emperor’s face turned green with rage at the stains on his dragon robe.

He endured it repeatedly before finally leaving a parting word for the Prime Minister to rest well and storming off in fury.

Xiao Jinse’s stomach churned; she coughed for a while before catching her breath. After sipping water to moisten her throat, she barely opened her eyes and asked, “Where is Her Highness?”

“The Eldest Princess is fine; don’t worry.” Xinyi gave reassurance first before continuing slowly. “She stayed by your side after returning, watching over you. Only after Imperial Physician Lu said you were stable did she see the physician herself. You’ve been unconscious for hours; she couldn’t hold on and went to rest in the side chamber.”

Xiao Jinse’s lips moved. She wanted to ask how Shi Qingyi could possibly have watched over her, but even if Xinyi was just placating her, it made her happy. Then the next words made her frown weakly. “She saw the physician? What happened?”

She had been shielding Her Highness the whole time—how could she be injured? Unless it was afterward—

“It’s nothing serious!” Xinyi felt pierced by her Prime Minister’s gaze and hurried to explain. “Carrying you through the forest for two or three hours—even an iron man couldn’t endure it.”

Even she, biased toward the Prime Minister as she was, was moved. A delicate woman carrying another through dense woods for hours, taking wrong turns yet finding a way out— even she might not manage it.

Sometimes she wondered why the Eldest Princess had carried the Prime Minister back. She didn’t need to act; simply leaving her or abandoning her would have ensured no survival. Yet she stubbornly brought her out. Did that mean—

Perhaps the Prime Minister’s years of stubborn waiting weren’t in vain.

In the end, Xiao Jinse went to see Shi Qingyi, carried by Xinyi. The side chamber was dimly lit with only faint light. Shi Qingyi had washed hastily; her long hair still damp, scattered over her shoulders. Her striking brows and eyes showed exhaustion, and surprisingly, she slept deeply.

The summer heat lingered; ice blocks cooled the room. Xiao Jinse reclined on the couch beside her, her hands still trembling.

The brocade quilt wasn’t fully covering her, exposing part of her calf smeared with ointment. Beneath it, bruises and marks were faintly visible—scrapes from falls and collisions. Yet Xiao Jinse, aside from the arrow wound, had scarcely any other injuries.

Xinyi whispered nearby, “When we first saw you and the Eldest Princess, her legs were shaking.”

Xiao Jinse’s hand hovered lightly before touching her calf. The woman’s leg was long and fair, previously only roughly kicked at things in bed. It had never endured such wounds.

Her heart felt suffocatingly heavy, waves of dizziness washing over her.

When she had brought Her Highness into the estate, she had secretly sworn to shield her from all hardship, to pamper her for life. But what was this now?

In her past life, she had driven her to death. In this one, she dragged her into mortal peril. Perhaps her love was truly no good for Her Highness.

She sat by Shi Qingyi all night, that night dreadfully long. As moon set and stars faded, she traced her features with her eyes over and over, never daring to touch.

As dawn broke, she stared at Shi Qingyi’s face almost obsessively, her voice faint and pained, as if questioning herself or some unknown god, murmuring like a sigh.

“Should I… let her go?”

No one answered. Only the sun rose as usual, another new day.

Xinyi lifted the curtain, hesitant to speak. “Prime Minister, time to change the dressing…”

A porcelain tray held ointments and medicines. Seeing Xiao Jinse’s expression off, she retreated silently. Xiao Jinse frowned in silence for a long while before undoing Shi Qingyi’s clothes.

She wore only thin sleepwear, easy to remove. But as the collar loosened, the sleeping woman abruptly opened her eyes.

At the twilight boundary, the light was hazy. Shi Qingyi, just awakening, saw someone leaning over, unfastening her clothes. With her hair cascading like a waterfall and free of her official robe, she didn’t seem so ruthless and suspicious—instead, vulnerability dominated, giving her a frail, willowy grace.

But no matter how beautiful, it wasn’t justification for taking advantage while she was ill.

Shi Qingyi: “…”