Chapter 595: Resolute to Death

Lin Jingyuan's body suddenly convulsed, and the people around stared in shock, all stepping back in unison.

Lin Jingyuan is indeed human; how could flesh and blood endure such pain?

He gasped heavily, thinking of his teacher.

Though his teacher had once fainted to death after hitting a stone tablet, this kind of tormenting pain would surely wake him.

He didn't expect he could endure it; he had thought this act might overthrow Xiao Yin and the other generals, but Gu Jiu Ling still uncovered the clue.

But it was just too painful!

"Save… save me…"

Lin Jingyuan finally lowered his head and raised his arm toward Gu Jiu Ling, pleading as he looked at her.

Gu Jiu Ling was unmoved; she was not a saintly reincarnation.

When these people schemed against her and Xiao Yin, they hadn't shied away from killing.

The hospital she had run for years was smashed to pieces, and just when Xiao Yin finally secured a posthumous exoneration for the soldiers wrongfully killed in Qi Sha Gu, a slew of new troubles erupted.

Gu Jiu Ling inhaled, crossed her arms, and watched with a cold gaze.

Suddenly, a clear, delicate voice came from outside the crowd.

"Princess Consort, please save my brother!"

Lin Rujun, supported by two maidservants, slowly walked up to Gu Jiu Ling.

Lin Rujun's child was now at term, so her movements were understandably clumsy.

She stood slowly before Gu Jiu Ling, lifted her head and stared, her face tinged with a hint of shame.

Lin Rujun suddenly regretted that she should never have taken her brother back to Shang Jing.

If her brother were now back in Jiangnan, he could build an academy there, teach, and live a leisurely life, but now it was too late for any words.

She also knew that after the former Crown Prince's downfall, her elder brother lost his backbone, yet she never expected his audacity to be so great as to scheme against Prince Rui!

What kind of person is Prince Rui?

Could an ordinary person possibly outwit him?

Now seeing that the situation could not be settled, I had to swallow my pride and stand before Gu Jiu Ling once more.

"Your servant wife pays her respects to the Princess Consort."

Lin Rujun bowed slowly; despite her bulky, sluggish body, there was no flaw in her etiquette.

Gu Jiu Ling's expression was calm: "Madam, you speak too harshly; you are merely a junior lady in the princess's residence—there's no need to address me with formal courtly etiquette."

Lin Rujun smiled lightly: "We Lin family must still observe the rules we ought to keep."

"Prince Rui is the current Regent King; even the Crown Prince must give him a sliver of respect. I, a mere junior lady of the Princess's residence, must naturally pay my respects to the Princess Consort."

Gu Jiu Ling only smiled without replying; her earlier words and deeds had already exhausted the friendship between the two.

Now only false politeness remained, and Lin Rujun pleaded again: "Princess Consort, please save my brother."

Lin Rujun knew Gu Jiu Ling—though clever and eccentric, her tactics were endless and hard to guard against.

Yet this woman had limits to everything she did and would not stand by while her elder brother suffered.

Gu Jiu Ling chuckled lightly: "Saving people is possible, but my family's Prince's reputation is spotless; who can prove otherwise?"

"Why can some people ruin my Prince's reputation with a single word, yet now, with just a word, I'm expected to save him?"

"I, Gu Jiu Ling, may be a physician, but I'm not that noble; when others hurt me, must I still greet them with a smile?"

Lin Rujun's face flushed a few shades; she realized this time Gu Jiu Ling was truly angered by her brother.

Lin Rujun pondered for a moment, inhaled sharply, and lifted her gaze at Gu Jiu Ling.

"Since the Princess Consort wants an explanation, let me recount everything. Could you first lift my elder brother onto the icy ground? Even a normal person would be ruined lying there."

Gu Jiu Ling sneered and made a gesture.

Several guards from Prince Rui's Residence approached, suppressing their nausea, and helped the insect‑infested Lin Jingyuan to his feet.

Gu Jiu Ling even thoughtfully ordered a chair to be brought, and helped Lin Jingyuan sit on it.

Lin Jingyuan now trembled all over from pain, his mouth quivering as if holding hot oil.

Being lifted, his facial expression instantly regained some color.

Having done this, Gu Jiu Ling stared at Lin Rujun and said slowly, "Since the junior lady has words, now in front of everyone, recount everything that has happened."

Lin Rujun nodded, though her heart felt uneasy; she feared this woman would never trust her again.

Looking at Gu Jiu Ling now, if she didn't reveal the truth, she would indeed let her brother die on this cold street.

Gu Jiu Ling now used her brother's life to grip her tightly.

Lin Rujun slowly turned and looked toward the onlookers.

At this moment the crowd swelled, blocking the plaza outside East Sima Gate so tightly it was impassable.

Lin Rujun inhaled; her voice now lacked the previous panic and steadied slightly.

"Princess Consort, you guessed correctly; this matter was indeed pre‑planned by my brother and Lord Chen."

As soon as Lin Rujun finished speaking, the Imperial Academy students were stunned into silence, and the onlooking townsfolk began murmuring.

"What… what is going on?"

"Could Lord Chen have known he would die from the gu poison?"

"It's utterly incomprehensible, incomprehensible!"

At this moment, Lin Jingyuan, slumped in the chair, was pallid, his handsome face twisted by excruciating pain.

Lin Rujun glanced anxiously at her brother, then continued, "Since the former Crown Prince's death, Prince Rui has risen in power, and the status of the accompanying generals has also increased."

"Civil officials in Shang Jing have no chance of advancement now."

"They intend to trade their lives for a way out for Shang Jing's civil officials!"

"Lord Chen, knowing his days were numbered, had my brother purchase this rare gu poison from the black market and take it early; coincidentally, as Prince Rui's Residence sought to overturn the Qi Sha Gu case, Lord Chen chose to act when the Peace Drum was struck…"

"After all, it's still a bit lacking; since that's the case, my older brother once helped the Princess Consort support Chancellor Chen, and took the opportunity to sprinkle a layer of medicine powder on his body that could trigger the gu poison inside him."

"That gu poison can't be detected by ordinary people; only someone exceptionally skilled can see it. At that moment, the worm breeds inside the body, and under the inducement of the powder, the person is already dead. Once dead and buried, who could still find out what exactly grew inside the body?"

"Xiao Yin frowned deeply; these civil officials actually worried about him to such an extent?"

"He actually came up with such a decisive scheme; for a moment, his heart was in turmoil."

"Lin Ru Jun took a sharp breath: 'I never imagined that my older brother would also have placed gu poison in his own body; originally, he personally inserted the gu seed into Chancellor Chen's body.'"

"His actions now are also a form of atonement."

"Lin Ru Jun slowly approached Gu Jiu Ling and knelt down."

"My Lin family's hundred-year legacy has left only this single sprout; I beg the Princess Consort to show leniency."