Shen Ninghua tightly gripped the gold needle in her hand, feeling her vision becoming more and more blurry. “Second Prince, you just said you wanted to be my brother.”
“Yes, I just said that. I wanted to be your brother a moment ago, but it doesn’t mean I still want to be your brother at this moment.” Baili Jinchuan seemed to be enjoying Shen Ninghua’s helpless struggling in his arms. His face that was always cold carried a satisfied smile as he continuously brushed past Shen Ninghua’s face with his fingers.
“Even if you want to have me in this method, once I regain my freedom, I will immediately commit suicide. Then you can just face a lonely grave.” Shen Ninghua’s eyes were filled with determination as she said firmly.
Baili Jinchuan sneered. He lowered his head and approached Shen Ninghua’s neck. He took a deep breath, “Ninghua, do you think I don’t understand you at all?”
Shen Ninghua tightened her grip on the needle and, taking advantage of the time when he approached, suddenly raised her hand to prick the gold needle into his neck.
A sharp light flashed in Baili Jinchuan’s eyes. He grabbed Shen Ninghua’s wrist firmly and took the gold needle in her hand to throw on the ground. “Look, just like what you are doing now. Even if you are at the end of your tether, you still try to protect yourself instead of committing suicide. Ninghua, am I right?”
Baili Jinchuan raised his hand to pinch her chin and took out a porcelain bottle from his clothes. “Ninghua, isn’t it good to choose me? If you marry me, you can directly become the legal wife of the emperor’s son. Then with my prestige in the army and Father Emperor’s favor for you, the two of us will surely get the supreme throne.”
“The supreme throne?” Shen Ninghua sneered, “Baili Jinchuan, with everything you’ve done to me, you’ll never get that throne!”
“Heh heh, Ninghua, you know what? This is what I like best about you. You look like a superior phoenix, flickering with golden flames all over. You’re so lofty and arrogant. I feel extremely happy when I think that I can subdue you like this by my side.”
As Baili Jinchuan spoke, he wanted to force open Shen Ninghua’s mouth and pour the porcelain bottle of medicine into her mouth. That porcelain bottle was filled with aphrodisiac which could stimulate sexual desire…
Shen Ninghua clenched her teeth tightly, and the killing intent in her eyes became more and more strong.
Baili Jinchuan sneered and forcefully pinched her mouth open. His fingers left blue bruises on her fair face, looking exceptionally obvious.
“Ninghua, don’t be afraid. I will definitely treat you well in the future.”
Shen Ninghua curled the corners of her lips and landed her gaze on Baili Jinchuan’s hand.
Baili Jinchuan felt everything went dark before his eyes. The porcelain bottle in his hand dropped on the ground with a bang. He lowered his head and looked at his right hand which had turned black from fingers to his arm. He felt nothing when touching it. “When did you poison me?”
Shen Ninghua ignored him and used all of her strength to break free from his hand. Then she reached out and took the broken gold needle and pricked it into her fingertips. The intense pain made her sober up immediately.
“Baili Jinchuan, let me teach you another lesson today. Remember, in the future, when you want to do something, you should do it quickly and successfully. Never show off your cleverness as you did just now, because cleverness may overreach itself!”
Within just a short time, Shen Ninghua and Baili Jinchuan’s situation was completely reversed. Now it was his turn to lie on the ground. “Ninghua, I was just joking with you. Don’t take it seriously.”
Shen Ninghua sneered and took out a small pill from her hidden sleeve pocket. She forced open his mouth and fed the pill to him. Then, she picked up the dagger and cut a few wounds on his limbs. The smell of blood immediately spread out. “Your Highness, I hate people joking with me the most.”
“Ninghua, what do you want to do? Are you really going to kill me?”
“No, I’m not the one who will kill you. It’s the pack of wolves in the forest. You get accidentally injured during the hunt, and then the smell of blood attracts the pack of wolves. So you will die without leaving a corpse.”
“Shen Ninghua, how dare you!”
“Why wouldn’t I dare?”
Baili Jinchuan felt that his line of sight had become blurry. He relied solely on his strong willpower to keep himself from fainting. “Shen Ninghua, I’m the emperor’s son. If I die…”
Before he could finish speaking, Chu Junyi suddenly jumped out of the forest. He fiercely pierced through Baili Jinchuan’s thigh with the long sword in his hand, and the intense pain caused the latter to faint.
Chu Junyi’s voice was cold as ice, “You are the emperor’s son, but if you die, you will be nothing!”
Shen Ninghua’s extremely tense nerves suddenly relieved and she staggered before falling into Chu Junyi’s arms. “Chu Junyi, you’re finally here.”
Chu Junyi threw Baili Jinchuan to the side and immediately hugged Shen Ninghua into his arms, “Ninghua, I’m sorry I’m late.”
“No, it’s not late.”
Chu Junyi frowned tightly and carefully pushed away Shen Ninghua’s wet hair with sweat. The dark blue bruises directly displayed before his eyes, causing his pupils to shrink abruptly. The murderous look in his eyes was growing when he looked at Baili Jinchuan. “Ninghua, don’t worry, I’ll let him pay for this!”
Carefully supporting Shen Ninghua, he led her to sit down against a tree in a clean place. Then he walked up to Baili Jinchuan, pulled out the sword stabbed into his thigh, took out a jade pendant carved with a dragon, and carefully hid it in the bushes. Finally, he threw the sword he had just snatched from the assassins beside Baili Jinchuan.
After doing all of this, Chu Junyi picked up the dagger and suddenly cut through his own clothes on his arm and chest. The tip of the dagger cut through his skin. He paused slightly, making the wounds on his skin look exceptionally scary, but it did not actually hurt him badly.
Then he took out the evening pear pollen and used his internal force to scatter the pollen far away. Not long after, the roars of the wild beasts came from the forest.
Qing Que carried her wounded arm and returned to the camp. Seeing that she was like that, Baili Anning was frightened so badly and immediately had a bad premonition. She hurriedly sent guards to report to the Emperor.
Hearing that something had happened to Shen Ninghua, Baili Qingcang turned his horse around and rushed into the depths of the forest.
When they arrived, what they saw was Shen Ninghua was unconscious and Chu Junyi was struggling to fight.
The guards hurriedly moved forward to stop Baili Qingcang from going further.
Baili Qingcang ordered coldly, “Save the princess and her husband-to-be!”
Immediately, the guards joined the hunting for wild beasts. After Baili Anning arrived on her horse, she cried out in alarm and pointed at a place where many wild beasts were gathered. “It’s Second Brother!”
Baili Qingcang’s expression changed. He hated his sons for seizing power, but he didn’t want to lose Second Prince. “Someone, save the Second Prince!”
Many of the guards were injured, but in the end, they still managed to wipe out the beasts after more than half an hour. Chu Junyi bent down and picked up Shen Ninghua. He staggered over on the corpses and walked to Baili Qingcang’s side. “Your Majesty, please ask the imperial physician to check on the princess.”
Without needing the Emperor’s orders, Doctor Chen went straight forward to check Shen Ninghua’s pulse. He was suddenly shocked, “Was she drugged by the incense which can make people feel sleepy?”
Chu Junyi hinted at him, “Doctor Chen, just now the princess was injured by a wolf and directly fainted. Is she okay?”
The expression in Chen Yun’s eyes changed slightly. “Your Majesty, Her Highness is suffering from internal injuries. It’s better to send her back to the tent for some rest.”
“Alright, guards, escort the princess back to the camp first!”
Chu Junyi left with Shen Ninghua. Baili Qingcang saw it but didn’t say anything.
When Baili Jinchuan was rescued, there were already many wounds on him, and his clothes were almost soaked in blood. “Ah… The wounds are so serious!”
Xiao Jingran narrowed his eyes as he watched the scene before him, and he frowned, “Your Majesty, the wounds on His Highness were not just caused by the biting of wild beasts, there were also some sword wounds caused by human beings!”
Baili Qingcang’s expression suddenly turned serious, “Sword wounds? So you’re saying that the reason why Second Prince has become like this is most likely because of a secret murder?”
Thinking of Chu Junyi who had just left, Baili Qingcang denied this possibility in his heart. The two of them had no grievances or enmity against each other. There was no need for Chu Junyi to take such a big risk. Moreover, there were so many wild beasts nearby, so there was no need for him to cut Baili Jinchuan with his sword.
Then who would it be?
Chen Yun checked Second Prince’s pulse and frowned. “Reporting to Your Majesty, His Highness is covered in wounds all over. Four of the most serious wounds are on his limbs.”
“Any other clues?”
Suddenly, a guard came running over with a small piece of stuff in his hand, “Your Majesty, I found a jade pendant in the bushes.”
When Baili Jinchuan saw the item in the eunuch’s hand, his expression changed abruptly. The dragon pattern on it was exactly the same as the pattern of Panlong Villa!
He couldn’t help but recall what the man of sacrifice who had been captured said. He said that the Villa Master of the Panlong Villa was a member of the royal family whose surname was also Baili.
“Reporting! Reporting…to Your Majesty, we found a large number of corpses of men in black in the forest!”
Baili Qingcang’s resolute lips curled into a straight line. The anger in his eyes was like the night sky before a storm. “Bring Second Prince back. Tell everyone to go back to the camp. I must investigate clearly this time!”
Since the Villa Master of the Panlong Villa was a member of the royal family, even if he needed to turn the royal palace upside down, he must find him!
Shen Ninghua had been unconscious the entire time. Chu Junyi took good care of her. Baili Qingcang didn’t say anything about that. So naturally, no one else would dare to gossip about them. The two of them hid in the tent and completely avoided the storm of the night.
The next day, not long after Shen Ninghua woke up, she heard a commotion outside the tent. Patrolling soldiers were coming and going outside the tent. The friction between the armors as the soldiers moved past sounded very frightening.
“What’s going on?”
“Ninghua, you’re awake. Get up and drink some water first.” Seeing that Shen Ninghua had woken up, Chu Junyi was delighted. He hurriedly helped her up carefully and fed her some water.
Shen Ninghua drank more than half a bowl of water before shaking her head, “What’s happening outside?”
Chu Junyi curled his lips and helped to put a pillow under her back before narrowing his eyes and replying, “His Majesty has investigated some things about the Panlong Villa and is getting angry now!”
In the tent a little far away, Baili Jinze sat upright on the chair and was feeling uneasy after hearing the word “Panlong”, with his fingers constantly stroking the back of the chair. “Why is this…”
Before Baili Jinze could finish his sentence, the guards rushed into the tent and surrounded him!
“How dare you! What are you doing?”
The Governor of Capital Guards slightly cupped his hands and said, “Your Highness, sorry I have offended you. But I’m here to detain you on the orders of His Majesty!”
“Detain me? Why would Father Emperor give such an order? Let go of me, quickly, let go of me!”