Chapter 14: Have You Gone Mad?


Mu Wuxia trembled, lifting his eyes to Shen Zaije, whose expression remained unchanged.

“Do you have nothing to say?” he asked through gritted teeth.

Shen Zaije smiled slightly and replied, “What is there to say? I had arranged to meet Prince Jing at the North Gate Pavilion today and had just parted ways. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Prince Jing. This instead proves that Madam Jiang is lying. She wasn’t heading to the North Gate Pavilion at all.”

“Do you find that convincing?” Mu Wuxia sneered. “Jiang Shi is newly married and unfamiliar with this place. If not for your instructions, would she have left the mansion?”

“Your servant did indeed order her to leave the mansion, but for no other reason than to stroll around and see the sights of the capital.” Shen Zaixian replied smoothly: “I just don’t know why she encountered assassins. Did Your Highness carefully examine her injuries?”

Mu Wujian paused and shook his head: “There are differences between men and women. Lady Jiang is your concubine—how could I look at her?”

“Then why is Your Highness so anxious?” Shen Zaixian smiled: “Whether she is truly injured or falsely injured, we must first get to the bottom of it.”

“……”

She stared at him for a long while, then thought it over. Mu Wuxia finally stepped aside, signaling him to go in first.

Shen Zaijie gave an elegant nod and unhurriedly stepped into the main room.

Jiang Taohua lay pale-faced on the bed, still clad in blood-stained clothes that hadn’t been changed. Even with the blanket half covering her, the sight was still jarring.

The physician nearby, upon seeing them, clasped his hands together and said, “Your Highness, Prime Minister, the young lady is injured on her waist, so this old man is not in a position to examine her. I have already summoned a female healer, who is on her way. For now, I have had her maids roughly bandage the wound and prescribed some blood-replenishing herbs.”

“Cease your bustling,” Shen Zaoye remarked with a light laugh, glancing toward the bed. “Everyone else may leave now. It will suffice to have the Prince stay with me.”

The physician was taken aback, lowering his head in acknowledgment. Moss remained motionless by the bedside, and it wasn’t until Peach Blossom half-opened her eyes to glance at her that she rose reluctantly, exiting the room and closing the door behind her.

“To think the Prime Minister came in person.” After struggling for a moment, Jiang Peach Blossom leaned halfway against the headboard, her eyes filled with wariness. “Have you come to punish me, your humble servant?”

Shen Zaiye looked down at her, a hint of mockery and amusement in his expression. “Have you done anything wrong?”

“Leaking your plans was also a capital offense.” Peach Blossom replied with a pale smile. “In my desperation to survive, I resorted to any means necessary. I hope you will forgive me.”

“You wish to live—no one will stand in your way.” His gaze fell upon her bloodstained clothes, and the mockery in Shen Zaiye’s eyes grew even thicker. “But someone originally living perfectly well now turns around to accuse me wrongfully—what is your true intention?”

Peach Blossom was taken aback, staring at him in shock. “This humble concubine accuses you wrongfully? Did you not send me to keep the appointment at Jingwang’s North Gate Pavilion, intending to kill me and frame Jingwang? Isn’t that the case?”

…That was indeed the truth, and Shen Zaiye truly couldn’t fathom how this woman had discovered this fact. But now, in front of Nanwang, he absolutely could not admit it!

“You are overthinking it,” he said calmly. “I had no such intention.”

“None?” Peach Blossom sneered, clutching her waist, tears welling in her eyes. “Then does Your Lordship mean there is someone else in the capital who dares to attack the Prime Minister’s carriage? Who dares to harm a princess from the State of Zhao sent for marriage? What purpose would my death serve to anyone else?”

“This injury of yours…” Shen Zaije paused, a faint smile curling his lips. “You may have deceived Prince Nan, but do you think you can deceive me too?”

How could someone who had bled so much still be awake and talking? This blood doesn’t look at all like human blood. It’s clearly a well-directed play she staged herself.

Peach Blossom pressed her lips together. “What does Your Lordship mean?”

“It’s very simple,” Shen Zaijie smiled, turning to look at Mu Wuxia. “Lady Jiang is probably harboring some resentment toward this humble servant. Somehow learning that I hold Your Highness in great esteem, she pretended to be injured and came to my door to falsely accuse me, hoping to use this as leverage.”

“Though I don’t know what she intends to threaten this subject to do, her motives are reprehensible and she cannot be trusted lightly!”

Mu Wuxia frowned, “Are you implying that the Jiang clan is feigning injury?”

“Yes.” Shen Zaijie reached out, pinching a corner of Taohua’s garment. “This is likely pig’s blood, which clots into lumps and appears purplish-red.”

Slightly taken aback, Mu Wuxia looked towards Jiang Taohua.

Leaning against the bed, Taohua didn’t even lift her eyelids, letting Shen Zaife pinch her: “My lord’s skill in slandering others has truly become more formidable. I genuinely received a sword strike from someone; how could I possibly fake it?”

“Heh.” Shen Zaife raised an eyebrow, letting out a soft chuckle as he leaned in closer to her. His voice was gentle and soft, yet filled with sarcasm: “Are you truly foolish or just pretending? When it comes to injuries, one can tell at a glance. Do you really think you can keep up this charade to the end?”

Peach Blossom’s eyes glimmered like water, her gaze shifting slightly with a hint of challenge as she stared directly at him. “Then let your lordship take a look.”

Did she really think she could scare him off? Shen Zaiju couldn’t help but chuckle, no longer caring about the Southern King’s presence. He yanked the quilt off the bed and reached straight for her waistband.

Mu Wuxia was startled; after all, having been taught the ways of a gentleman, he immediately turned away.

Jiang Taohua’s face turned pale, but she didn’t struggle, allowing him to pull off her outer robe and reveal her fair, slender waist wrapped tightly in thick white cloth.

“Your complexion really looks like someone who has been seriously injured.” Continuing to fiddle with the white cloth, Shen Zaijie remarked nonchalantly, “If I hadn’t seen your skill in applying makeup, I might have been fooled by you too.”

“In Master’s mind, am I really that impressive?” Taohua laughed, her almond-shaped eyes curving into crescents. “Then your heartfelt trust may have been misplaced.”

Even if she knew how to apply makeup, she couldn’t possibly paint a face so pale it resembled a ghost.

Shen Zaiye sneered, his expression clearly disbelieving, his hands moving nonstop. Losing patience with the endless layers, he simply exerted a fierce force and ripped them off in one go.

Even though she was prepared, Taohua was still in so much pain that her lips turned pale, and she gasped sharply.

The wound that had just stopped bleeding was torn open by his action, gushing with blood!

A three-inch-long gash, flesh torn open, its shape horrifying, stretching from her lower back all the way to her waist. Just looking at it was enough to make one’s skin crawl.

Is there actually an injury?

Shen Zaizhe trembled heavily, the mockery on his face vanished completely, his expression stiff as he stared at her: “Are you crazy?”

How important a woman’s body is—how could she bear to make such a large wound? Moreover, even though this wound is on the waist, if it were just a bit deeper, it could be fatal!

Tears welling up from the pain, Peach Blossom managed to force a smile at him: “Isn’t this all thanks to you?”

He hadn’t planned to take her life, but she wouldn’t have been forced into such a corner either! She was so afraid of pain and so afraid of scarring—if it weren’t for having no other choice, who would willingly suffer this blade!

That’s right, she had prepared a bottle of pig’s blood, but when dealing with a venomous snake like Shen Zaiye, fake blood simply wasn’t enough—real wounds were necessary. The pig’s blood was only meant to make her appear more pitiful on the surface, to strike a deeper chord in the King of Nan’s heart, not to fool anyone with it.

Shen Zaiye truly had underestimated her, and that slight underestimation was enough for her to catch him completely off guard.

And caught off guard he was—the cunning and eloquent Shen Zaiye was now left speechless, his eyes like the biting winds of a harsh winter, so cold they made Jiang Taohua sneeze.

He should be thrilled, after all, in these two years in Great Wei, he has never met a worthy opponent. Finally discovering such a formidable character today means the days ahead will surely no longer be dull.

Yet for some reason, the sea of crimson before him made him feel terribly uneasy, his face ashen as if smeared with soot, his hands unconsciously clenching tight.

He had never seen a woman so ruthless toward herself. Was it really necessary to make such a deep gash? What if she didn’t die by his hand, but by her own instead—wouldn’t that be utterly absurd!

What a madwoman!

“Judging by Chancellor Shen’s silence, Lady Jiang must be severely injured.”

With his back to them, the young prince stood with hands clasped behind him, his voice low. “Since the injury is so severe, the chancellor’s earlier slander holds no ground. Have you anything more to argue?”

The room remained silent for quite some time, but Jiang Taohua waited patiently. She knew that with Shen Zaiju’s ability, he could at least fabricate five hundred words of nonsense, bewilder the young Southern Prince, and then pin the blame right back on her head!

So, she was already organizing her mental draft, preparing for the next round of counterattack!

However, unexpectedly, after a long silence, Shen Zaishan calmly replied, “I did indeed intend to use King Jing’s name to kill the Jiang family.”

Peach Blossom was stunned, so frightened that she covered her waist and retreated deeper into the bed. Mu Wujian turned around even more fiercely, glaring at him angrily: “You admit it?”

“Yes, but Your Highness should understand why this humble servant would do so.”

Mu Wujia frowned, about to retort, when he seemed to suddenly remember something and his expression changed slightly: “Did you go back on your promise to me?”

“This is a different time now.” Shen Zaiye looked up at him. “Did you come to the Great Wei Dynasty intending to live a life of ease and comfort?”

Slightly stunned, Mu Wujia fell silent, his expression a mix of anger and guilt, leaving Jiang Taohua completely bewildered.

What are these two talking about? The Southern King was furious just a moment ago, so why does he have that expression now?

Picking up the medicine set aside, Shen Zaoye slowly sat down by the bedside and reached out to grab Peach Blossom.

Startled by his sudden move, Jiang Taohua struggled and cried out, “Your Highness, save me!”

Mu Wuxia snapped back to his senses and was about to step forward to help, but his eyes were suddenly filled with the sight of fair, snow-white skin.

His face stiffened, and the young prince quickly turned away, gritting his teeth as he said, “Lady Jiang is already injured. Couldn’t you be a bit gentler?”

Shen Zaiye raised an eyebrow, pulling her into his arms and pinning her down. With a cold glance at her profusely bleeding wound, he sneered, “Some people, if you treat them gently, only become more and more arrogant, unaware of their limits. It’s better to handle this quickly, lest we add another life to the Prince of Nan’s estate!”

Tao Hua cried out in pain, but Shen Zaiye didn’t hesitate in the slightest, pouring half a bottle of medicine directly onto the wound. Then, grabbing a piece of white cloth, he commanded in a low, stern voice, “Press down!”

Startled, Tao Hua trembled and tearfully pressed the gauze and cloth against the wound, then felt him begin to wrap it tightly around her, layer by layer.

Shen Zaiye’s chest was sturdy, his two arms crossed over her sides as he took hold of the white cloth behind her, effectively wrapping her in his embrace, his breath brushing against her ear.