Chapter 360

Wen Shiyuan and the group of elders looked at each other in dismay.

Wen Shiyuan turned his head to look at Doctor Hua and said with a sunken face, "Elder Hua, did you not explain the rules clearly to her?"

All patients who signed up to participate in the Apricot Forest Assembly were screened by Doctor Hua, and the critical patients in the final two rounds, in particular, had to be handled with the utmost caution.

According to the regulations, every patient would sign a liability waiver in advance, which clearly stated that participation was voluntary; if cured, there was no charge, and if treated to death, a coffin would be provided as compensation—neither side would make things difficult for the other.

Although Du Mingzhu's face had not been cured, it had not been treated to death either, so logically, there should have been no dispute between the two parties.

Doctor Hua also looked bewildered and hurriedly began to explain, "Young lady, your condition is truly too unique; not a single contestant could come up with a good treatment plan, and this is just something that cannot be helped."

Cannot be helped?

Du Mingzhu did not believe it. "That woman, Lou Shi, was so sick she was nearly dead, and didn't you manage to save her? How is it that when it comes to me, there is no way?"

Doctor Hua was momentarily speechless.

Indeed, compared to Du Mingzhu, Lou Shi's condition had been even more severe, but who told her to have such good luck as to run into Du Ruo?

That woman was strange indeed; despite having a condition that was surely fatal, she had somehow managed to cure her.

It was all fate.

If one had to blame someone, one could only blame Du Mingzhu for having bad luck and not landing a brilliant contestant.

Doctor Hua sighed. "Sigh, originally, if the Fourth Princess hadn't withdrawn from the competition, there would still have been hope for your illness to be treated, but unfortunately, the Fourth Princess had a sudden emergency..."

Du Mingzhu seemed to have been enlightened, and her eyes suddenly lit up.

That's right, if Dongfang Qingyan and the others couldn't cure her, there were others.

The Fourth Princess was out of options, but wasn't there a ready-made candidate right in front of her whose medical skills were even more formidable than the Fourth Princess's?

Du Mingzhu raised her head, her hopeful gaze sweeping to the side, finally settling on Mu Shanyue.

She gritted her teeth and fell to her knees with a thud.

"Little Divine Doctor Mu, I beg you to save me!"

"Young lady, there is no need for this." Mu Shanyue hurriedly helped her up, his handsome and elegant face filled with shame. "Actually, Head Wen has already mentioned your condition to me. To be honest, you have been poisoned for too long, and the toxicity is so severe that it has destroyed your deep skin layers; I am powerless to help."

Even Mu Shanyue was powerless?

No, that couldn't be.

Du Mingzhu's eyes were bloodshot as she stared fixedly at Mu Shanyue. "You are lying to me, aren't you? You are someone who came out of the Medicine God Valley, a high disciple of the Divine Doctor Jun. How could you be powerless?"

Mu Shanyue did not know what to say and could only reply with an "I'm sorry."

And this "I'm sorry" completely destroyed the last shred of hope Du Mingzhu had left.

She collapsed powerlessly onto the cold ground, looking as if she had lost her soul, her face filled with despair.

Although Wen Shiyuan had no particular fondness for Du Mingzhu, he was kind-hearted after all, and seeing this scene, he felt a bit unbearable.

Thus, he comforted her: "You don't need to be too discouraged. Just because we can't cure you doesn't mean no one can. There are thousands of capable people in this world; it's just that you haven't met them yet. Regardless, it is best to take care of your health."

Doctor Hua had always looked down on women, but he was quite patient with Du Mingzhu and joined in the persuasion. "That's right, young lady, don't give up easily. As the saying goes, 'after the dark willow, there will be bright flowers'; as long as you have the heart, a turning point can happen at any time."

He used Lou Shi as an example. "Look at that Lou Shi; if it were ordinary times, she would certainly have been dead for sure, but in the end, wasn't she saved by the Du Clan?"

Speaking of this, Doctor Hua suddenly had a flash of inspiration and slapped his palm hard.

"That's right, you can go and beg the Du Clan. Let her take a look at you; perhaps she might have some method..."

Doctor Hua had originally intended to be good to Du Mingzhu.

Little did he know that this sentence deeply stimulated Du Mingzhu.

"Du Ruo..."

"Hehe, Du Ruo!"

Du Mingzhu suddenly laughed.

She laughed until she was swaying back and forth, laughing until tears streamed down her face, as if she had gone insane.

That face full of tumors became even more twisted and terrifying.

Wen Shiyuan and the others felt a chill in their hearts and collectively took a few steps back, trying to stay as far away from Du Mingzhu as possible, fearing that she might become overly agitated and lash out to hurt someone.

Zongzheng Yun, on the other hand, was rubbing his jaw with great interest, standing to the side to watch the show.

Jiang Li also watched coldly from the sidelines.

"You quacks, you actually picked that bitch Du Ruo as the first place, and even said it was well-deserved—you are simply blind!"

Du Mingzhu slowly raised her head, her cold, sinister gaze sweeping over the faces of all the judges one by one, her tone filled with endless mockery. "I tell you, that slut has never studied medicine at all; she is a complete and utter piece of trash!"

She sneered, "I know why you are elevating her—isn't it just because she has the face of a vixen? You hypocrites with your sanctimonious airs, colluding with each other, not hesitating to build momentum for a piece of trash just to curry favor with the powerful, harming us innocent patients! You are unworthy of being healers!"

Wen Shiyuan and the elders suddenly changed their expressions.

Zongzheng Yun also raised an eyebrow.

Powerful?

Surely she didn't mean him? After all, he was the only prince who had participated in the Apricot Forest Assembly.

So Du Mingzhu meant that Tangtang had seduced him, and then he had manipulated the results behind the scenes, which was why Tangtang had won first place in the competition?

Whoa, what a wild imagination.

He actually wished it were true, but unfortunately, Tangtang just refused to seduce him...

Zongzheng Yun sighed with regret and then subconsciously glanced at Jiang Li beside him.

Jiang Li's handsome face was as cold as polar ice, his lips pressed tightly together, but his eyes were clearly burning with a huge flame.

Clang!

It was the sound of a blade being drawn.

The next moment, a cold light was thrown from his hand, flying straight toward Du Mingzhu.

The target was none other than Du Mingzhu's head.

Everyone was shocked.

Wen Shiyuan hurriedly called out to stop him: "No!"

Although Du Mingzhu was detestable, her crimes did not warrant death. If Jiang Li took the law into his own hands and killed her, he would certainly not be able to avoid legal punishment.

The position of Divine Martial Colonel he had just been granted would undoubtedly go down the drain.

It wasn't worth it!

However, it was too late. The long blade drew a sharp shadow in the air, and with a loud 'bang', the flat of the blade slapped heavily against Du Mingzhu's cheek.

"Ah!!!"

Du Mingzhu let out a shrill scream, her body falling like a tattered piece of black cloth, tumbling several yards away.

Immediately after, her head tilted to the side, and she opened her mouth to spit out a large mouthful of blood.

Wen Shiyuan stomped his feet and hurriedly ran over to check Du Mingzhu's injuries, fearing she might be dead.

A moment later, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, it was only a superficial injury; it just looked scary, but it hadn't damaged any vital parts.

Du Mingzhu, however, angrily pushed Wen Shiyuan away, wiped the blood from her lips, raised her face, which was swollen like a water-soaked toad, and glared at Jiang Li with resentment. "What, was I right, and you're angry from embarrassment?"

She laughed out loud, but tears streamed down her face. "My good brother-in-law, if you are so capable, why don't you just kill me?"

"Kill me and avenge your good wife!"

"Kill me! Kill me!!"

Anyway, her face could never be cured, and rather than living in such pain, it would be better to just die.

But even in death, she would drag Jiang Li, that big fool, down with her.

And add to the misery of that slut Du Ruo!

Jiang Li glared at her coldly and truly walked toward her step by step.

He raised his foot to kick the long blade up from the ground and gripped it.

Du Mingzhu's expression gradually stiffened, and she braced her hands on the ground, shrinking backward.

In the end, she was still afraid of death...

Jiang Li curled his lips in contempt, sheathed his blade, turned to Zongzheng Yun, and bowed. "Your Highness, this woman once had a grudge against my wife and has poisoned her many times, even nearly taking her life on several occasions. Now, because her illness cannot be cured, she has become resentful and is again slandering my wife and spreading rumors. Her heart is punishable."

"I ask Your Highness to preside over justice for my wife and also restore the innocence of the Apricot Forest Assembly and Divine Doctor Wen and the others."

Zongzheng Yun nodded and pointed at Du Mingzhu. "Come, arrest her for this Prince and send her to Prefect Su for disposal. I imagine the Prison Department still has empty cells; let her go in and calm down."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Two Qilin Guards rushed over and, in a few swift moves, tied Du Mingzhu up like a rice dumpling.

Du Mingzhu finally knew fear and struggled desperately. "No, I don't want to go to jail! There are cockroaches in the jail; that is a place even more terrifying than hell!"

"Mother, Mother, where are you... save me, Mother!"

Zongzheng Yun waved his hand impatiently. "Take her away, take her away."

The noise was giving him a headache.

The two Qilin Guards immediately escorted Du Mingzhu out of the villa. They hadn't gone far when they bumped into a middle-aged woman walking in a hurry.