Chapter 434: Volume 1, Chapter 434: Hostage X Spoiled Princess (14)

His gaze was too sincere and gentle; Jiang Zhi almost sank into those eyes, her heart seemed to pause, and all she could hear was the rustling of treetops blown by the wind outside the carriage.

A few seconds later, she came to her senses, averted her gaze from his, and her dark pupils darted about uneasily.

"Not at all." Jiang Zhi clenched the outer robe covering her body, and the exposed skin flushed with waves of heat, "I... I merely..."

Before she could finish speaking, the young man lurched forward, his forehead suddenly resting against her shoulder, and his weak, hoarse voice fell into her ear.

"Princess, may I... kiss you?"

Jiang Zhi stiffened instantly, quickly reacted, reached out to push him away, but heard the young man pressing against her emit a pained groan.

Her fingertips touched his blood—wet, warm, and sticky—and she caught a faint scent of blood.

"You're hurt!"

After a long silence with no response, Jiang Zhi lowered her gaze.

Yan Shizhou fell into unconsciousness, his face devoid of color.

"Yan Shizhou!!"

…

The reinforcements finally found them.

The carriage returned to the imperial palace.

Imperial physicians rushed into the inner chamber to treat Yan Shizhou's wounds.

Jiang Zhi, crouched outside the palace gate, bit her lip, uneasy; her skirt was stained with dark red blood, the blood on her fingers had dried, but she didn't care, her mind worried for his safety.

She kept watch until deep into the night, when the imperial physicians finally emerged from the hall.

Jiang Zhi couldn't attend to anything else; she hurried forward and asked, "How is Yan Shizhou?"

Hearing her directly address the emperor's name, the imperial physicians were startled, wiped sweat from their foreheads, and replied in a hollow voice, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty is fine, Your Highness, rest assured."

Watching the imperial physicians leave, Jiang Zhi hesitated whether to go in and see him.

Chief Eunuch Defu said, "Your Highness, may I go see Your Majesty?"

Jiang Zhi thought for a moment, then shook her head.

She was covered in blood; she would wait until she was cleaned before coming to see him.

"I'm returning."

Having said that, she lifted her sleeves and hurried away.

Defu watched her retreating back, feeling that it was a shame for His Majesty.

But as a mere servant, he couldn't say anything.

As he turned to enter the hall, out of the corner of his eye he saw a figure approaching from not far away.

"Eunuch Defu."

Defu saw the visitor and hurriedly bowed, "I pay my respects, Officer Shi."

Officer Shi was a meritorious official who had served two emperors, over fifty years old, held high rank and power in the court, and was also one of the earliest ministers to serve His Majesty.

"How is His Majesty?"

Defu dared not be negligent, "Replying to Officer Shi, the imperial physicians have examined him; His Majesty is fine."

Officer Shi sighed in relief, "If so, then I can rest easy."

He added, "His Majesty has only recently ascended the throne; the inner palace is empty, and now that His Majesty is gravely wounded, someone naturally needs to attend to him. Eunuch Defu, my daughter has long admired His Majesty; upon hearing of the assassination attempt, she came to the palace with me. Why not let her attend to His Majesty?"

Defu, having climbed to this position, was sharp; upon hearing, he immediately understood Officer Shi's meaning.

He hesitated there, then said with difficulty, "Officer Shi, if His Majesty awakens and sees a young lady, he might impose a penalty."

Officer Shi waved his hand, "No problem; wait until dawn, before His Majesty awakens, my daughter will leave on her own. You need not worry about anything else."

Defu could only agree.

Not long after,

Officer Shi's daughter, Shi Yiyi, came forward gracefully, her figure slender and alluring, her appearance beautiful and striking; lowering her gaze, she revealed a hint of delicate charm.

The most crucial matter.

Shi Yiyi's brows and eyes resemble the Sixteenth Princess Jiang Zhi by about thirty percent.

Defu finally grasped Officer Shi's intention.

Everyone in Chongyuan Kingdom knows His Majesty favors the Sixteenth Princess of Jiang State; court officials have heard some rumors. For the past two months, the inner palace has had no consorts, and the officials, impatient, all want to send their daughters into the palace.

If she were to become empress, it would truly be a glorious achievement for her ancestors.

Officer Shi had seen the portrait of the reputedly most beautiful woman in the world, the Sixteenth Princess, and found that his sixth daughter, Shi Yiyi, bore a slight resemblance—though only thirty percent, it was enough.

Since His Majesty is enamored of the Sixteenth Princess of Jiang State, his daughter will surely win his favor.

Officer Shi's calculations were spot on.

Inner chamber.

Eunuch Defu cautioned, "Do not disturb His Majesty."

Shi Yiyi promptly replied, "I obey, thank you for the reminder, sir."

Defu waved his hand, "Go ahead."

He glanced at the woman's brows and eyes, suppressing his inner surprise.

Merely sharing thirty percent resemblance, her appearance is already this stunning—one can imagine how breathtaking the Sixteenth Princess truly is.

Recalling her departure, Eunuch Defu sighed inwardly; His Majesty treats her so well, yet she lacks even the intention to stay by his side and care for him—truly chilling.

She is even inferior to an official's daughter who has never met His Majesty outside.

Defu had not been gone long.

Shi Yiyi knelt cautiously beside the bed, and upon seeing the person on the bed, her face flushed red instantly; she remained rooted, hands and feet at a loss.

As it turned out, Your Majesty was this good-looking.

Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, there has never been a selection of consorts, not a single concubine.

If… she could catch Your Majesty's eye, would that mean she is Your Majesty's sole consort?

The more Shi Yiyi thought, the redder her face grew; joy overflowed her expression, impossible to suppress.

Just then.

Footsteps sounded outside the Palace Gate; she thought it was Defu the Eunuch returning, turned her head, and through the thin curtain saw the figure standing outside.

It was not Defu the Eunuch.

That person outside also saw her, strode forward, directly lifted the curtain, and candlelight poured onto the bed.

"Who are you?"

Shi Yiyi's pupils contracted; she hurried to her feet, that person's gaze too piercing, filling her with fear.

"I… I came to serve Your Majesty; who are you?"

Recalling her father's words, she straightened up, feeling justified and confident.

——In this inner palace, she would surely become the Empress.

Jiang Zhi never expected that after going to wash up and change clothes, she would find that Yan Shizhou no longer needed her by his side.

She had waited outside in the cold wind for most of the night, returning still worried about his safety, hastily washed up and came over.

Furious, she couldn't hold back, strode in, and shook the sleeping young man awake with a jerk.

"Yan Shizhou!"

Yan Shizhou woke quickly, opened his eyes to see the girl before him, and his thin lips curled slightly.

"……Princess."

Jiang Zhi's eyes reddened, she pressed her lips, then questioned: "If you no longer like me, just say so; this palace can pack up and leave. Why must you humiliate me like this?"

Yan Shizhou listened, listening, utterly bewildered. But seeing her draw near, even touching his body, waves of delight surged in his heart.

"I have not insulted the Princess."

How could he bear to?

Jiang Zhi saw his bewildered, at‑a‑loss expression, snorted coldly, released her grip, then pointed to the woman standing aside and asked: "Who is she?"

Yan Shizhou reluctantly shifted his gaze from her face to another direction, his brows suddenly knitting.

"Defu!"

Defu the Eunuch, who had been guarding outside the Palace Gate, hurriedly entered, kowtowing and saying, "Your servant is here."

Seeing the situation turn bad, Shi Yiyi also knelt: "Your Majesty, it is my fault; I have long admired Your Majesty, so I begged my father to let me enter the palace together to serve Your Majesty."

Yan Shizhou's dark eyes turned cold as he ordered: "Defu, I despise those who act clever. Take them, drag those two away……"

"Wait." Jiang Zhi interrupted what he was about to say.

She wasn't hurt at all; just now it was all her acting. Such a melodramatic scene rarely appears—if she didn't follow the script, how boring life would be.

Besides, this matter isn't worth their lives.

"Release them; this palace is no longer angry."

Yan Shizhou thought she was testing him, and immediately said: "Princess, rest assured; I will handle it properly."

Jiang Zhi saw the killing intent flash in his dark eyes, her eyelid twitched, she drew a deep breath and retorted: "Yan Shizhou! This palace told you to let them go—are you deaf?"

The two kneeling behind the curtain listened to those words with trembling hearts, their souls nearly fleeing their bodies.

Yan Shizhou had no choice but to suppress his thoughts, replying: "I obey your command."

"Get out, get out." Jiang Zhi waved her hand at them.

The two left the bedchamber and closed the door.

Jiang Zhi looked at the young man clinging to her, refusing to let go, and asked: "Does the wound still hurt?"

Yan Shizhou's body trembled slightly, revealing a fragile side: "It hurts, it really hurts."

Jiang Zhi snorted coldly.

Yun Jin, Yun Jin, pretending, pretend hard! After going through so many worlds, I'll still be deceived by you?