Chapter 4: Doubt

Chang Feng was already bewildered, his face full of confusion. "This... could it be, Your Highness, that you and she..." Chang Feng truly found it inconceivable. How could Qiu Shuiman, a dead woman, possibly be the one to detoxify the Prince?

"That’s right. When I woke up, I found a woman beside me. I assumed she was someone you had found to detoxify me, so I didn't think much of it." Xiao Jue’s voice was low. He remembered that after Mu Liufei told him the method of detoxification, he had pondered for a long time before agreeing.

The poison in his body had no antidote. However, Mu Liufei had found a grueling path to detoxification, but it required forty-nine days and seven women to serve as medicinal catalysts, with one-seventh of the poison removed every seven days.

Once he had finalized the plan, he took the medicine Mu Liufei gave him to feign death for seven days. During these seven days, the toxicity would slowly gather into the primordial yang in his abdomen. Upon waking, the task he had to perform was to engage in intercourse with a woman to transfer the toxic primordial yang into her body; the woman who bore his primordial yang would undoubtedly die.

This was only the first time, so only one-seventh of the poison in his body had been cleared.

"This... then is the Princess already dead?" Chang Feng truly couldn't wrap his head around it. Could it be that his Prince had been lying in a coffin for seven days and started hallucinating?

Xiao Jue’s gaze shifted back to the woman in the coffin. Mu Liufei had said that the woman who bore his primordial yang would surely die from bleeding from her seven orifices, yet no matter how Xiao Jue looked at her, she seemed as if she were merely sleeping.

With a skeptical attitude, Xiao Jue reached out to check her breath. Even, shallow breaths brushed against his fingers. Xiao Jue froze, his eyes widening as he said, "She isn't dead. Chang Feng, quickly, bring Mu Liufei to me."

What? It took Chang Feng a long moment to react. He hurriedly stood up and rushed out of the mausoleum in a panic.

Xiao Jue straightened Qiu Shuiman’s clothes and was about to lift her out of the coffin when he saw Chang Feng return, his expression anxious: "Your Highness, it’s bad. The State Preceptor is heading toward the mausoleum."

Chang Feng had just stepped out of the mausoleum door when he received a report from the hidden guards, prompting his hurried return.

Xiao Jue paused, thought for a moment, and suddenly asked, "You said the candidate for the ghost marriage was chosen for me by the State Preceptor himself?" Xiao Jue’s eyes brightened as he looked at Chang Feng.

Chang Feng nodded and replied, "Yes, the Emperor entrusted the handling of the ghost marriage to the State Preceptor."

Xiao Jue’s gaze darkened. He said to Chang Feng, "There must be something suspicious about this. Chang Feng, notify the men—do not stop him. Let him in."

"Yes." Chang Feng bowed and retreated.

Xiao Jue leaned against the coffin, his gaze slightly appraising Qiu Shuiman, who was still lying inside. He wondered in his heart: what exactly was Nie Rongze’s purpose in sending Qiu Shuiman here?

Just as he was thinking, the sound of unhurried footsteps approached. Xiao Jue looked up to see a man in pristine white Taoist robes, holding a snow-white horsetail whisk. He had an enchanting face, and the corners of his lips were curled into an evil, charming smile.

"Last night, I observed the stars and discovered that the Ziwei star, which had been dim and lusterless, suddenly emitted a faint light. I knew then that Your Highness was not destined to die. Therefore, I specifically requested an imperial decree to seek a way for your survival." As Nie Rongze spoke, his bright eyes held a faint smile.

Xiao Jue gave a cold snort, his gaze sweeping over Nie Rongze. "Don't beat around the bush with me. Speak, what is your objective this time?" In his daily life, the thing Xiao Jue despised most was this man’s sanctimonious appearance.

However, in the entire Zhaoyue Kingdom, the only person who could be considered his rival was Nie Rongze!

"I wonder if you liked the gift I sent you?" Nie Rongze said, walking to the coffin and glancing at Qiu Shuiman lying inside.

Although Xiao Jue had straightened her clothes, the lingering scent of their intimacy had not yet dissipated. Nie Rongze chuckled softly, "It seems I arrived a step too late."

Xiao Jue suddenly slammed the coffin lid shut, blocking Nie Rongze’s view of Qiu Shuiman. Nie Rongze shrugged and said, "She is indeed alive. Does Your Highness know why I chose her for your ghost marriage?"

"Speak." Xiao Jue’s expression was grim as he spat out the word.

Nie Rongze did not mind Xiao Jue’s attitude. Mimicking Xiao Jue, he leaned against the coffin and replied, "I knew you were poisoned by Qiu Gongjin, but what you don't know is that the poison you were afflicted with came from this woman in the coffin."