Chapter 25

Xiao Yin slowly sat up, a fleeting hint of annoyance crossing his eyes.

He had doted on this girl too much before, causing her to develop thoughts she shouldn't have.

This time, in front of the Empress Dowager, Su Wanrou's performance made Xiao Yin somewhat displeased. He had brought her from the countryside to the capital intending to raise her well, marry her off, have children, and let her live a peaceful life, thereby fulfilling her father's wish.

But she actually wants to become his woman—what is going on?

"Go fetch a doctor from the clinic!"

Xiao Yin said slowly, showing no intention of going to see her himself.

The maid outside felt a stir; previously, whenever they said Miss Rou'er was ill, the Prince would come to see her no matter how busy he was, but now that he has taken a Princess Consort, he has left Miss Rou'er aside, ignoring her completely?

She forced herself to say: "Prince, Miss Wan is seriously ill; you should go..."

Clatter!

Xiao Yin violently smashed the teacup in his hand onto the bluestone floor, startling Gu Jiu Ling so much that she jumped up.

A flicker of coldness crossed Xiao Yin's brows and eyes; the maid outside who was reporting also trembled and knelt on the ground, daring not to speak further.

Xiao Yin coldly said: "If you're ill, go call a doctor; I, the Prince, don't know how to treat illness—why are you calling for me?"

The maid outside no longer dared to say anything, quickly got up and hurried away.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the Warm Pavilion grew a little stiff; Gu Jiu Ling coughed and said, "Um... shall I go take a look?"

"What are you looking at? Are you going to give her another laxative?" Xiao Yin raised his eyebrows and glared at Gu Jiu Ling.

Gu Jiu Ling lowered her head embarrassedly, giving an awkward laugh: "It's not... mainly..."

"You had something to say earlier, so speak," Xiao Yin said, leaning back against the chair and closing his eyes slightly.

Su Wanrou can no longer stay in the mansion; she needs to find a better husband's family to marry into as soon as possible, and he has also been made somewhat vexed by her.

How could raising her in the mansion for several years result in such a twisted personality?

Moreover, she has developed feelings for him—how can he face his deceased brother?

Gu Jiu Ling looked at Xiao Yin and said: "Prince, I suspect the poison on your body is not ordinary; perhaps something has grown inside you."

Xiao Yin suddenly opened his eyes, raising his eyebrows at her.

Gu Jiu Ling weighed her words: "If the Prince wants me to completely detoxify him, I only have one method."

"What method?" Xiao Yin slowly sat up straight and looked at Gu Jiu Ling.

Before, he had some doubts about Gu Jiu Ling's medical skills, but Gu Jiu Ling had once helped the Prince of Bei Di heal his wounds at the Imperial Villa, and that ability to bring the dead back to life is not something ordinary people possess.

He is now increasingly taken with this woman.

Gu Jiu Ling pondered for a moment and said: "I need to perform a surgical procedure on the Prince."

"Surgery?" Xiao Yin found the term novel.

Gu Jiu Ling pressed her lips and said: "It means using a knife to open the Prince's abdominal cavity so I can examine the root of the lesion; if it's some kind of tumor, I can remove it on the spot, and if there's an organ lesion, I can supplement with medication and further surgery."

Gu Jiu Ling explained everything in as much detail as possible, making sure he understood each point.

Xiao Yin's eyes darkened as he stared fixedly at Gu Jiu Ling: "Princess Consort, do you mean to cut open my belly, take out my organs for inspection, and then sew it back up?"

Gu Jiu Ling nodded.

Xiao Yin stared at her in silence; the Warm Pavilion's atmosphere turned cold for a moment, and Gu Jiu Ling noticed it.

She knew that Xiao Yin had not yet fully established trust in her, and to him this surgery was tantamount to demanding his life.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Xiao Yin stared fixedly at Gu Jiu Ling, and she felt a chill run down her spine.

"It's getting late, Princess Consort; you should rest early."

Xiao Yin slowly rose to his feet, didn't even glance at Gu Jiu Ling, and walked straight out of the Warm Pavilion.

Gu Jiu Ling watched through the window as that tall, straight figure disappeared beyond the courtyard gate, couldn't help but wryly smile, knowing it would turn out this way.

Xiao Yin still does not trust her enough to let her do as she pleases on his body; she felt that bringing up this topic today was premature.

However, this person is indeed quite sensitive, suffering from a persecution complex that makes her feel as if villains are always out to harm her.

Gu Jiu Ling secretly gave a wry smile and saw no point in saying anything more.

Tanchun Garden, the Warm Pavilion echoed with the sounds of things being smashed.

Hongyu and the other maids knelt on the ground, not daring to breathe, waiting until Su Wanrou grew tired of smashing things before carefully picking up the scattered shards of cups, plates, and bowls.

Su Wanrou wore a lotus-pink dress, her hair styled in a hanging horse bun, and she leaned gracefully against the bedpost.

Though her face was delicate, it was tinged with a twisted, resentful hatred as she gritted her teeth and spat: "Gu Jiu Ling! This wretched woman!"

Beside her, Hongyu bowed her head carefully and said: "My lady, don't let anger harm your health."

"I just went to fetch the Prince; he was chatting and laughing with the Princess Consort, clearly his heart is tied to her."

"This Princess Consort is quite capable; who would have thought that in just a few days of marrying in, she would have bewitched the Prince into this state!"

Su Wanrou's eyes reddened slightly as she drew a harsh breath, a chill flashing in her gaze.

"Hmph! I'd like to see how long this fool can remain arrogant."

Su Wanrou suddenly recalled something, sat up straight, and gently touched the vermilion hairpin on her bun, saying: "I heard that when Gu Jiu Ling married into the Prince's mansion, she emptied out her sister's entire dowry?"

Hongyu quickly chuckled softly: "I heard from the servants who came back from gossiping that it wasn't just her sister's dowry she cleared out—even the bed her father slept on was taken apart and carried away."

Su Wanrou snorted coldly, her eyes flickering, and she leaned lazily against the pillow, saying: "I suppose that Second Miss Gu must be feeling quite heartbroken."

"After all, without a dowry and being a concubine-born daughter in the mansion, even if her mother were elevated to principal wife, it would still be improper, and she would forever be suppressed by Gu Jiu Ling."

"Like this: go to the Gu family, personally deliver a note to Second Miss Gu, and say I invited her to the Auspicious Fortune Tower for tea to relax."

Hongyu blinked, then understood and whispered with a laugh: "I'll go right away!"

Su Wanrou lazily waved at her, then turned her gaze to the gemstone inlaid on the canopy of the gauze curtain, a cold glint flashing in her eyes.

Gu Jiu Ling's medical skills make her a tough opponent, so poisoning her is simply out of the question.

Gu Jiu Ling is skilled in medicine; she's really tough to handle, so poisoning her is simply not an option.

I can only think of another way.

She cannot allow the Prince Rui's mansion to have these despicable people, stepping on her head—not even for a moment!

The next morning, Gu Jiu Ling got up and began to sort out the remaining tenth of her dowry.

Even though Xiao Yin had taken ninety percent, the remaining tenth of her dowry still held a considerable amount of silver.

There were still about thirty to forty thousand taels of silver, the two shops on Zhu Que Street, and a manor of five hundred mu in the suburbs—unfortunately, both the shops and the manor have now been seized by Lin Qingxue's people.

She slowly rose, stretched, and said: "Jiu Yue, let's go! Let's collect the shops!"