The Rui Prince’s Attendant, upon learning that Wu Ciyun had been detained on Chu Mingyi’s orders, rushed over in haste.
The Lieutenant of Liang Army didn’t bother with pleasantries and dragged the attendant over to confront them directly.
The Rui Prince’s Attendant was completely in the dark about what had happened. Now, seeing Chu Mingyi gripping Wu Ciyun’s neck, he was so frightened that he nearly lost his soul. He hurried forward, trying to save her.
“General Chu, please show mercy!”
Chu Mingyi withdrew his hand with a look of utter disgust. He looked coldly at Wu Ciyun, who had collapsed to the ground, coughing non-stop, and questioned in a frosty tone, “Are you sure the plague is only in Ping Su now?”
The Rui Prince’s Attendant was bewildered by his words. Instinctively, he turned to look at Wu Ciyun, whom he was shielding behind him.
Wu Ciyun’s face was deathly pale, so weak she could barely get up. The attendant quickly tried to help her up, but before he could ask anything, a cold sword was already pressed against his neck.
The attendant’s body instantly stiffened. He raised his head with some difficulty and met Chu Mingyi’s icy gaze, stammering, “General Chu, you… what do you mean by this?”
Chu Mingyi looked down at him from above and asked bluntly, “A plague broke out in Ping Su, Ning Prefecture, three days ago. Are you telling me Prince Rui knew nothing about it?”
The attendant was stunned for a moment. He glanced at Wu Ciyun, then braced himself and replied, “The plague… I truly know nothing about this matter. There must be some misunderstanding.”
Although the Main Force of the Ruijing Army was now in Ning Prefecture, Prince Rui himself was currently leading his troops from Ying Zhou straight to the Imperial Capital, preparing to form a pincer movement with the Main Force advancing from the south.
As an attendant, he was only accompanying the army and had merely been ordered to escort Wu Ciyun back to the capital after entering Ning Prefecture.
How could he possibly know about any of this?
“Of course Prince Rui doesn’t know, because this matter…”
Wu Ciyun forced herself to lift her head and look at Chu Mingyi.
Her body was so weak that even her voice was fading.
Chu Mingyi frowned deeply. Seeing that she had no strength left, he could only lean closer, trying to catch her words.
Wu Ciyun let out a faint laugh and moved close to Chu Mingyi’s ear, speaking slowly, “Idiot, I lied to you.”
“…”
Chu Mingyi was so furious he actually laughed.
The Rui Prince’s Attendant saw him about to draw his sword again and immediately shielded Wu Ciyun with his own body, protesting, “General Chu, Master Wu is still ill.
How can you take the ramblings of a sick person seriously!”
Ramblings?
She’s still scheming when she’s delirious from illness—who knows what she’d do when she’s clear-headed?!
Chu Mingyi was half driven mad by Wu Ciyun, but he couldn’t just stand by and let her die here.
He could only say coldly, “Call a doctor to come examine her.”
Whether Wu Ciyun’s words were true or false was unclear, but the Secret Letter found in the Pingnan Prince’s Residence was solid evidence.
If she really died just like this, it might bring even bigger trouble.
Wu Ciyun was on the verge of fainting, but upon hearing the word ‘doctor,’ she forced her eyes open and gritted her teeth, “Send me back to the mansion first.”
“Master, it’s better to have the doctor take a look first…”
The attendant tried to persuade her, but Wu Ciyun remained stubborn. She looked at Chu Mingyi and said coldly, “If you don’t want trouble in Ning Prefecture, send me back to the mansion!”
“…Fine, you really have guts.”
Chu Mingyi was being threatened by her again and again. His expression was vicious, and he wished he could tear her apart on the spot.
He gritted his teeth and said, “Wu Ciyun, you’d better hold on and not die.”
The attendant didn’t dare risk Wu Ciyun’s life.
He sent for the Famous Physician within the city to wait at the Wu Mansion, then helped Wu Ciyun onto the carriage himself.
As for the Liang State Physician that Chu Mingyi had summoned, he also accompanied them to the Wu Mansion to keep an eye on Wu Ciyun’s condition.
Rong Tan returned from the Jail to the mansion.
As soon as he reached the gate, he saw soldiers from both the Ruijing Army and the Liang Army stationed all around, the two sides faintly at odds with each other.
Servants and doctors delivering medicine hurried in and out of the mansion.
A sense of foreboding filled Rong Tan’s heart, and upon learning that Wu Ciyun had suddenly fallen gravely ill, he dared not delay a moment and rushed toward the main courtyard.
Wu Mingzhu and Wu Liangyu were anxiously waiting outside Wu Ciyun’s room, huddled together and crying like two little bundles of tears.
No matter how the young servants and attendants tried to comfort them, they wouldn’t stop crying.
“Young Master, Young Miss, the doctors all said Master just has a Marrow-Chilling Illness—it’s really nothing serious…”
“You’re lying! How could a Marrow-Chilling Illness be this bad!”
Wu Liangyu wiped his sister’s tears with his left hand and his own with his right.
The sleeves of his fine clothes were wrinkled and pitiful, making him look as miserable as could be.
“Housekeeper Rong…”
Wu Mingzhu saw Rong Tan approaching and immediately threw herself into his arms, sobbing, “Big brother is in trouble. So many doctors have come to the mansion, and they won’t let me or Second Brother inside…”
The two children, though young, were sensitive to such matters.
Wu Ciyun was often unwell, and seeing doctors and taking medicine was a common occurrence, but never before had so many doctors crowded in all at once.
Everything had been perfectly fine when they left in the morning—how could things have changed so drastically in just a few hours?
Wu Mingzhu and Wu Liangyu cried so heartbreakingly that Rong Tan could only offer hurried words of comfort, repeatedly assuring them that Wu Ciyun would be fine.
Though still doubtful, the two children ultimately chose to trust Rong Tan and were led away by the attendants to wash and change, glancing back with every step.
Rong Tan pushed open the door and entered. Doctor Li, who usually treated Wu Ciyun, had just finished taking her pulse.
A doctor dressed in Liang attire silently approached Wu Ciyun’s bedside and placed his hand on her wrist.
Unlike the doctors who treated the sick in Ning Prefecture, this one had been specially sent by Chu Mingyi to prevent Wu Ciyun from playing any tricks or pulling any schemes.
Wu Ciyun lay quietly against the soft pillow, eyes closed.
Her complexion was extremely pale, and only after taking two Marrow-Chilling Illness Medicine pills in the carriage did she manage to perk up a little.
Now, as the Liang State Physician took her pulse in silence, she grew impatient and frowned, “Well?”
The Liang State Physician was carefully observing her face. Caught off guard by Wu Ciyun’s gaze, he quickly lowered his head and respectfully gave the same diagnosis as the previous two doctors.
“Reporting to Master, it’s only a Marrow-Chilling Illness. Take two doses of medicine and rest well for a few days, and you’ll recover.”
“In that case, all of you may leave.”
With so many people crowding the room, Wu Ciyun’s dizziness only worsened. She ordered everyone out, leaving only Rong Tan by her side.
Wu Ciyun’s fever had subsided a little, but her body still felt cold.
She burrowed into the quilt and mumbled, “I think I heard Mingzhu and Liangyu crying just now…”
“They were worried about you. I had the attendants take them to wash up first.”
Rong Tan tucked the quilt around her and softly asked, “Do you want them to come in?”
“Forget it.”
Wu Ciyun shook her head.
“Don’t pass the sickness to them.”
Rong Tan nodded. Seeing how wretched Wu Ciyun looked today, he knew it must have something to do with Chu Mingyi.
He wanted to ask what had happened but didn’t know how, so he decided to find another way to learn the truth.
The Famous Physicians discussed and wrote prescriptions. Fortunately, though the mansion lacked other things, it had plenty of Herbal Medicine.
The attendants delivered the freshly brewed medicine to Rong Tan and hurried away so as not to disturb Wu Ciyun’s rest.
After drinking a bowl of pitch-black Bitter Medicine Soup, Wu Ciyun grew even more drowsy. Rong Tan wanted to help her lie down, but Wu Ciyun frowned and said unhappily, “You reek of blood.”
Rong Tan was startled. He glanced at his freshly changed clothes and, seeing no bloodstains, steadied himself and apologized, “Perhaps I picked it up in the Jail. I’ll go change…”
“No need.”
Wu Ciyun stopped him and asked calmly, “Is Xiao Boming dealt with?”
“…It’s done.”
Rong Tan’s voice faltered slightly at the mention of Xiao Boming, but he still replied gently, “I used the Poison you gave me. He went quickly and didn’t suffer. I’ve already arranged his burial.”
“Thank you for your trouble.”
At these words, Wu Ciyun suddenly let out a strange laugh.
The abruptness of it made Rong Tan tense up.
He opened his mouth, wanting to explain further, but Wu Ciyun had already closed her eyes, unwilling to continue the conversation.
Wu Ciyun’s health had always been frail, and now she would need a long time to recover from this illness.
The System, seeing her bedridden, was exasperated and said, [Honestly, there was no need for you to take such risks today. You could have just explained the situation in Ping Su…]
Wu Ciyun was, without a doubt, a qualified schemer.
She knew when to conserve her strength and bide her time, and in the past four years of disgrace, she had learned to swallow her pride step by step.
In the past, she’d looked down on the likes of Xiao Boming—those wicked, spoiled heirs—but now, to achieve her goals, she could even pretend affection and toy with them.
The so-called plague in Ping Su County was nothing but a story fabricated by the Prince of Pingnan to extort the Disaster Relief Fund.
Had Wu Ciyun politely revealed the truth, Chu Mingyi might not have pressed her so hard.
The System couldn’t understand why Wu Ciyun acted this way.
From its godlike perspective, knowing all the future plots, as long as Wu Ciyun followed its advice, everything would go smoothly.
[You trust me…]
Wu Ciyun was clearly scornful of this.
Liang, Prince Rui, the System, even the Rong Tan before her—she trusted none of them.
She only trusted herself.
[System, since you want me to trust you, let me ask: How did Xiao Boming really die?]
The System paused for a moment, hesitating, but still replied, [He drank the Poison you gave him and died instantly.]
[Did he say anything before he died?]
[…No, nothing at all.]
Wu Ciyun fell silent.
The System recalled everything that had happened in the Jail, feeling a little guilty.
Xiao Boming was truly foolish. Even at the end of his rope, he didn’t realize it was Wu Ciyun who had done him in.
He even believed his Yun Lang was only delayed by the Snow, and that once it stopped, she would come to take him home.
So he kept pestering the Jailer, asking when the Snow would finally stop.
But when the Snow finally stopped, the person who came for him was not Wu Ciyun, but Rong Tan, who wished nothing more than to see him dead.
Rong Tan said he wanted Xiao Boming to die understanding, so he smiled gently and told him the whole truth.
Xiao Boming was driven to despair. In utter hopelessness, he drew out the Dagger Wu Ciyun had given him—the one he’d begged his beloved for, the one he cherished and carried everywhere—never imagining he’d one day use it to end his own life.
Blood spattered across the floor of the Jail. In the end, he left behind only a single Prophecy.
“Yun Lang betrayed me.”