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墨書 Inktalez
After that night, Xiao Yuchen did not come to find me for a long time.
"I heard that the poison affecting the Ninth Prince is quite troublesome," Gu Yao handed me a cup of tea.
"Even the Lord is at a loss."
I held the teacup in silence.
"What are you suspecting?" She seemed to see through my thoughts.
"Poison." I set the cup down.
"He can clearly control toxins; why can't he cure it?"
Gu Yao's expression changed slightly.
"So this is a trap."
I smirked.
"Don't investigate any further." Gu Yao said anxiously.
"There are too many complications involved..."
"I have to investigate." I looked at Gu Yao.
"My life depends entirely on him."
That red pill for prolonging life, there was only one each month. If he had other plans...
"I'll take you to a place," Gu Yao suddenly said.
In the middle of the night, she led me to a secluded courtyard.
"What is this...?"
"This is Xiao Yuchen's secret chamber."
We passed through a hidden passage and suddenly found ourselves in a spacious room filled with shelves of jars and various texts.
"These are all poisons and antidotes."
Gu Yao pointed at the bottles.
"He has been researching."
I picked up a book and began to flip through its pages.
Suddenly, a note fell out.
It read:
"Sixteen Years Ago, Pingyang Su Residence - the case, Poison Formula has been completed..."
My hand trembled, and the note dropped to the floor.
"A Rou!" Gu Yao exclaimed in shock.
I clutched my chest as a mouthful of blood surged out.
Sixteen years ago... the murderer who poisoned my entire family...
"This is impossible!"
I shook my head.
"How old was he?"
"Twenty-four."
Gu Yao sighed.
"But that formula was indeed written by him."
I trembled all over.
"Back then, the Southern Border Grand Witch Doctor took him as a disciple because of his talent in poison."
Gu Yao continued, "At just ten years old, he could concoct the deadliest poisons in the world."
"So..." I forced a bitter smile.
"He knew my identity from the very beginning?"
"Yes."
"And he knew I was looking for the murderer?"
"Yes."
"Then he approached me..."
"A Rou," Gu Yao interrupted me.
"It's not that simple."
"That's simple enough," I said, wiping the blood from the corner of my mouth.
"He is using me."
"No," she shook her head.
"He is saving you."
I was taken aback.
"Although he wrote the Poison Formula, the one who truly poisoned you is someone else."
"Who?"
" Luo Ruyan."
I closed my eyes.
"She is his sister and also his nightmare," Gu Yao said softly.
"Sixteen years ago, she forced him to write that Poison Formula, making him choose between family and conscience."
"And he chose family."
"Yes."
Tears welled up in Gu Yao's eyes.
"He has lived with guilt ever since. Until he met you."
I slowly stood up. "Take me to see him."
"Now?"
"Right now."
---
We passed through the heavy palace walls and arrived at the Ninth Prince's chambers.
Xiao Yuchen was checking the Ninth Prince's pulse.
Upon seeing us, his expression changed dramatically.
"You know everything?"
I stared directly at him. "Is that medicine... an antidote or poison?"
He paused for a moment before answering, "Both."
"What do you mean?"
"You can cure the poison in your body, or you can take your life," he said calmly. "It all depends on whether I want to save you."
I laughed. "So my life has always been in your hands?"
He stepped closer to me. "My life has always been tied to yours."
"What?"
"The Poison Formula harmed your entire family and ruined my life," he said with a bitter smile. "For these years, I have been researching the Antidote."
"Why?"
"Because I discovered that the poison is hereditary." He looked at me. "The illness in you is a sign of the poison manifesting."
I took a step back. "If the poison isn't cured in time, you will perish at the age of twenty..."
He nodded. "Just like your mother."
"So you approached me..."
"At first, it was guilt," he said. "Then it became heartache. And later..."
"Later, I realized I couldn't live without you."
My eyes grew warm. "You're lying to me."
"I've deceived you many times," he admitted. "But not this time."
"What about the Ninth Prince's poison..."
"It was Luo Ruyan who did it. She wanted to eliminate me, her thorn in the side."
"Why?"
"Because I intend to settle the score from back then." A cold glint flashed in his eyes.
“She thought that by controlling My Weakness, she could make me obey her forever.”
“Not anymore.”
He held my hand tightly.
“Because I have you now.”
I looked into his eyes. “So you’ve become even more dangerous.”
“Yeah,” he said with a bitter smile.
“So you should leave.”
“But…”
“Obey me.” He kissed my forehead gently.
I grasped his hand. “I’ve waited for so many years, not to run away.”
He was taken aback.
“Your Grudge is My Revenge.”
I stared directly into his eyes.
After a long moment, he pulled me into his embrace.
“Alright.”
In the deep of night, I sat alone in the Embroidered Room.
On the table lay a letter sent by Pingyang’s brother through someone else.
“Yuru, it’s good to know you’re alive. Don’t investigate anymore; forget about that hatred. All I ask is for your safety.”
I crumpled the letter in my hands.
Brother, I’m sorry.
“What are you looking at?” Xiao Yuchen appeared silently.
“Nothing.”
I tossed the crumpled paper into the candle flame.
“Have you found anything?”
“Hmm.” He sat down across from me.
“Luo Ruyan goes to a secret place every month.”
I perked up with interest. “Where is it?”
"A farmhouse on the outskirts of the city."
He scoffed.
"She is raising a mysterious person there."
"Who?"
"I don't know." He shook his head.
"But it must be related to that incident sixteen years ago."
My gaze flickered. "We..."
"No."
He cut me off directly.
"It's too dangerous."
"A Rou..." His tone was stern.
"Do you know how malicious Luo Ruyan is?"
I retorted, "And what about you? Playing along with her every day isn't dangerous?"
"I'm a man."
"Bullshit!" I glared at him.
"Should men face danger alone?"
"......"
"You clearly said we were in this together."
His expression softened. "I am heartache for you."
I took his hand in mine.
He sighed, "I can't argue with you."
I flashed a victorious smile.
"But," he said seriously,
"You have to promise me one thing."
"What?"
"If things go wrong, run away immediately."
I paused for a moment before replying, "Okay."
Of course, I wouldn't run away.
I would rather die by his side.
Because I know, Gu Yao has already told me the whole story.
Images from that day flashed in my mind. "Do you want to know the story of the Empress?" Gu Yao poured me a cup of tea, his gaze heavy.
"Twenty years ago, she was not yet the Empress; she was just a priestess from a small tribe in the Southern Wilderness. Back then, she was called A Ya, the last shaman in the Southern Wilderness capable of concocting Soul-Severing Incense."
" Soul-Severing Incense?"
"It's a drug that can gradually drive a person to lose their sanity. The people of the Southern Wilderness used it against their enemies, but A Ya used it... to gain love."
Gu Yao's voice carried a note of sorrow. "That year, the Former Emperor traveled incognito to the Southern Wilderness and met her. Who would have thought that the noble heir would fall in love with a wild shaman? But the Former Emperor was already betrothed."
"A Ya was unwilling to accept this. She used Soul-Severing Incense to drive that noble fiancée insane. But she did not expect that the Former Emperor would be heartbroken and nearly take his own life."
"What happened next?"
"Later, she understood that the Former Emperor could never let go of that person in his heart. Even after she became Empress and bore Luo Ruyan, she could never truly possess his heart."
Gu Yao sighed. "A woman’s greatest hatred is to have gained a shell but never the true heart. She began to use poison, slowly eroding the Former Emperor's sanity. She wanted him to experience what it felt like to watch someone he loved slowly go mad before his eyes."
"So she taught Luo Ruyan to use poison?"
"She wanted her daughter to be stronger than herself. She said there was no true love in this world, only power. Luo Ruyan grew up watching her mother kill with poison; her nature had long been twisted."
"What about Xiao Yuchen?"
"He is A Ya's child brought from the Southern Wilderness, her half-brother. Born with an innate ability to control poisons, he is a rare talent in the Southern Wilderness. She made him write down the Poison Formula so that he too would be stained with blood debts, forever under her control."
"But she did not expect that Xiao Yuchen would fall in love with you. Just like how she fell for the Former Emperor back then—knowing it was wrong but unable to turn back."
I tightened my grip on the teacup. "So she wants to kill me?"
"She hates you. She hates how pure your feelings for Xiao Yuchen are. What took her a lifetime of scheming to obtain, you acquired so easily."
The tea had gone cold. Suddenly, I understood why the Empress would target my father. It wasn't about any court secrets; she wanted everyone to be like her—everyone must die.
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