Chapter Sixteen: Sudden Onset of Poison

  General Li and Li Yu returned to the General's Mansion, but what was originally a joyful face suddenly turned cold and stern. The aura of killing that had been accumulated on his body through years of battle experience became even stronger, causing the surrounding servants to not dare approach him, fearing they might accidentally trigger a time bomb.

  "General, we have clearly won the war, why are you so angry?" General Li Yang's wife, who had given birth to their son Li Yu, stepped forward and asked lightly. As the mother of the general's only son, she held a significant position in the household, while the other concubines were all mothers of sons as well.

  "Hmph! You'd better ask your good daughter!" General Li stepped up to the main seat, his eyebrows furrowed sternly, his voice carrying an irresistible intimidation. "Yuer, do you know what mistake you've made?"

  Li Yumei's eyes were full of arrogance as she stood in front of General Li, saying, "Yuer doesn't even know what wrong she has done, and hopes that Mother will enlighten her."

  "You! Yuer, do you know the way of military campaigns? Be cautious and avoid being reckless, and especially beware of seeking great achievements through impulsive actions!" After a pause, he spoke in a deep voice to Li Yu, "This war has been going on for three years, and it should have taken several more months to conclude. But you acted rashly, entering the enemy's army alone. If Vice General Chen hadn't followed closely behind you, do you think you would still be alive? And would you have had the chance to present the enemy commander's head to the Emperor?"

  If it weren't for her being a rebellious girl, the young man's vigor and recklessness would be understandable, but his impulsive actions without considering the consequences would only bring disaster to the soldiers and even lead to the downfall of the entire army.

  "If I hadn't taken down the enemy general's head, how could this battle have ended so quickly!" After listening to General Li's words, Li Yu didn't reflect on herself at all, but instead thought that her own merits were indispensable. If it weren't for her, how could they have returned triumphantly!

  General Li was so enraged by Li Yu's words that his eyes widened, and the servant beside him had been trying to calm him down. Seeing that Li Yu showed no fear or remorse, but instead glared back at him defiantly, General Li became even more furious, "You ungrateful girl! Before you reflect on your mistakes, go kneel in the ancestral hall!"

  Li Yu pursed her lips and walked out of the hall in silence, with a hint of arrogance and discontent still lingering between her eyebrows, but she headed towards the ancestral temple nonetheless.

  "General, Yu'er has made contributions, why is she still being punished to kneel in the ancestral hall?" Li Yang's heart ached, his daughter wasn't born to him, he didn't feel pain for her, but it pained him, the beating was on her body, the ache was in his heart!

  "Alas! Foolish husband!" How could she discuss these matters with her husband's attendants? Even if she had two mouths, she couldn't explain it clearly. They didn't know that because of her daughter's achievement, a thousand soldiers were sent to their deaths in vain. Clearly, those one thousand people could have returned safely to their hometowns. How would she face the families who lost their daughters?

  On the battlefield, he only wants to achieve meritorious deeds. Firstly, he is impulsive and doesn't consider the overall situation. Secondly, he refuses to admit his mistakes even in the face of death. Thirdly... General Li shook his head and let out a soft sigh as he walked back to his study room step by step. Forget it, I'll just go sleep in the study tonight... I don't want to see those foolish men tonight.

  Li Yang saw General Li leave for the study, so he directly headed to the ancestral hall. The emperor's edict has arrived, and his daughter is finally going to get married. If she didn't get married, he would be worried to death. What kind of 18-year-old girl doesn't have a husband?

  What kind of magical ointment was in the small, emerald-green bottle that Yun Cong held? The slightly swollen half of Zi Ruo Ye's face returned to its original state in an instant. Yet, Yun Cong continued to gently rub her cheek, his eyes filled with a tenderness and heartache that could drown a person.

  "Yun Ning, your ointment is indeed miraculous." In less than an hour and a half, her face was restored to its original state, but she still gritted her teeth thinking about tonight's commotion, and couldn't help but sigh in her heart. Just as she was about to say something, her expression suddenly changed, and she rushed out of the room like a bird in flight, leaving Yun Ning with only an afterimage in the air.

  The cloud solidified hand had not yet come to urgent collection, and stared blankly at the empty half of the bed, hastily getting up to prepare to chase out, Wang Ye! What's wrong with Wang Ye, why was her face so pale just now?

  "Yun Ning Gongzi, the king ordered her to return immediately. Please wait for Yun Ning Gongzi inside the house." Rushing to the door, he found that two guards were already standing at the door, their expressions clear and refusing to let him out of this door.

  "Get out of the way, something's wrong with Wang Ye." Her slender body seemed to contain immense power, and her eyes were chillingly cold.

  The guards were shocked and asked, "Why does Yun Cong Gongzi have a murderous aura on him?" But they still opened their mouths and said, "The king ordered us to guard here and protect the safety of Gongzi, so we can't obey your orders!"

  Compared to the master's punishment, Yun Cong Gongzi was not worth fearing. The master had never physically punished his subordinates in recent years, but who knew what the master was thinking?

  Yun Ning bit her lip, furrowed her brow, and grasped the hem of her skirt tightly. After a moment, she compromised, "Then... I'll wait inside." Yun Ning's slender figure walked into the inner room. He thought that after a year of companionship, the prince wouldn't hide anything from him, at least he would be the one to listen to the prince's confessions. But... perhaps it was because he was too greedy, he recalled the pale face of Zi Ruoye when she rushed out of the door, a look he had never seen before... which inexplicably tugged at his heartstrings.

  After Zi Ruoye rushed out, she came alone to the plum forest. The distance from the main house to the plum forest was not long, but it made Zi Ruoye feel longer than any other road. Finally arriving at the plum forest, she could no longer support herself and fell to the ground.

  Why did I get sick at this time? Just now, Yun Cong didn't see it, right... If he saw it, he would be heartbroken again. This time, I was only slapped once, and Yun Cong's expression seemed to hurt a thousand times more than me. If he saw me in this state, I'm afraid he would faint.

  Zi Ruoye crouched on the ground, her deep purple long gown stained with mud. Her face was deathly pale, and her lips were bitten tightly together, their color a faint purple that seemed to verge on black. Her entire body seemed to have fallen into a fierce fire, as if she had been roasted over an open flame, and even her skin could feel the scorching pain of charred flesh. She looked like neither human nor ghost.

  If people see it, they will inevitably be puzzled. The symptoms of Zi Ruoye's illness are clearly the signs of cold poison, but her body is burning hot, and yet there is a thin layer of frost on her lips. It's really as if she has seen a ghost.

  Her palm was pierced by her fingernail, and blood came out, but the color of the blood was blackish. At a glance, it was clear that she was doomed. Zi Ruoye's delicate eyebrows were tightly furrowed in pain, and she opened her mouth slightly to gasp for air, but couldn't make a sound. Since she was six years old, Zi Ruoye had been hiding behind Zi Yanran, which meant that the mysterious poison in her body must have been planted by an internal enemy. Even Zi Yanran didn't know about the poison. In order not to let the benevolent emperor feel guilty towards her, she had been accumulating the poison and letting it erupt at midnight. Today, she had used up all her energy, and Li Yucold's unexpected punch had struck her in a vital spot, causing the poison to erupt prematurely.

  Even Yun Ning didn't know that for a year, accompanying Zi Ruoye, before midnight, Zi Ruoye would poke his sleep spot and then roll under the bed to continue suffering every day.

  A thread of blood trickled down from the corner of her mouth, she had secretly asked the doctor how much time was left, at most two years... In these two years, she would drag that person who poisoned her to accompany her in burial even if she died. The purple robe that was originally dry and refreshing was now soaked through, Zi Ruoye's consciousness gradually became blurred.

  The clouds have gathered... don't wait for her anymore, it's likely we can't return today.

  When consciousness was blurred at the end, only saw plum blossoms blooming everywhere. Every time she fainted in pain, fortunately, as long as she entered the plum blossom forest, the people below would automatically seal off the exit of the plum blossom forest, so no one saw it. Zi Ruoye curled up and fainted, but didn't know that a moment later, pink fluttered and arrived.

  Yun Cong stood still, three steps away from Zi Ruoye, looking at her as if she was a discarded little dog lying helplessly on the ground. He saw a small patch of blood on the ground and his heart skipped a beat. He quickly walked over, only to find that the blood was actually from Zi Ruoye's own hand, which she had pricked herself.

  She knelt down carefully beside him, her gentle eyes misty with tears that fell lightly to the ground, feigning a pained expression. Yun Qing gently stroked Zi Ruoye's bitten lip, fearing she didn't want anyone to know and had run alone to the plum forest. At this moment, Zi Ruoye was no longer her usual lazy and mischievous self, but rather lay helplessly on the grassy ground.

  He waited for a moment until the guards relaxed, then quietly came to this plum forest from the window. But he didn't expect that what he saw was such a scene. Looking at her appearance, it seemed like it wasn't the first time. Was the prince poisoned?! Who? Who?! Beautiful eyes were full of anger and killing intent, gently leaning his face against Zi Ruo Ye's pale face, leaving the plum forest after a moment.

  Master Wang... Master Wang... repeatedly murmuring to himself in his heart, Yun Cong looked at Zi Ruoye like this, and his heart ached so much that he couldn't breathe. He wanted to take her back to the house, change her into clean clothes, but he knew that she had run all the way to Mei Lin by herself, and even pushed aside the guards who blocked him, definitely not wanting him to know...

  Master Wang, Yun Cong is waiting for you. The day you say it out loud to Yun Cong, this is a play, an entanglement of the two people's play...

  Digression

  Rabbit bid farewell to the old year! Auspicious dragon comes to congratulate ~ ! (╯3╰) Wishing everyone a healthy and happy Dragon Year ~

  Look! A huge diamond covered in snow and frost! Kkaammee's three fresh flowers, instantly made the fish's eyes turn into starry eyes! Thank you!