Chapter 177: The Phoenix Ring, Royal Secret Treasure

Jun Zhihao hated Jun Zijin so much he gnashed his teeth. Although he could not prove that Jun Zijin had set the fire, his intuition told him that the matter was inseparable from that damned witch.

That witch Jun Zijin had brought disaster upon his family, and he swore he would make her pay.

Jun Zhihao’s curses reached the ears of two faint shadows on the roof, word for word.

Feiying was so angry he wanted to go down and stir up some trouble, but Jun Zijin held him back:

"Let’s watch a bit longer."

Feiying could not help but speak:

"Master, that Jun Zhihao threatened to make you pay; are we just going to let him off like this?"

A trace of disdain flashed in Jun Zijin’s eyes, and she chuckled softly:

"Him? If he’s sensible, I’ll leave him some dignity. If he remains stubborn, hmph, the good show at the Jun residence has only just begun."

Below, Jun Zhengyuan’s rage was replaced by disgust and fear, and he stumbled out of the room.

Left behind were the silent tears and deep despair of Lady Li.

Jun Zijin and Feiying crouched on the roof, taking everything in.

She curled her lips into a wicked smile and whispered to Feiying:

"The drama at this Jun residence could be turned into a storybook."

"However, Feiying, your fire-setting skills are top-notch; Lady Li will likely be sporting that bald head for the rest of her life."

At this, Jun Zijin laughed out loud in amusement.

Feiying almost couldn't resist reaching out to cover her mouth.

"Master, keep your voice down."

Seeing his own masterpiece, Feiying also wore a look of pride; he had set that fire with his own hands.

Jun Zijin felt there was nothing left to see, mainly because the roof was strangely cold, and she feared she would turn into an icicle if she stayed any longer.

She couldn't help but shiver and said to Feiying:

"Feiying, let’s retreat. This roof is truly unbearable; if we stay any longer, my title of 'witch' will have to be changed to 'ice-sculpted beauty'."

Jun Zijin wrapped her cloak tighter, exhaled a puff of white mist, and muttered:

"This hellish weather, a roof is really no place for a human to stay."

How pretentious; didn't he spend every day on roofs or in trees?

Feiying pursed his lips and was about to take Jun Zijin away quietly when he saw a raging fire ignite in the direction of the Wen residence in Chengdong; in just a moment, the sky-high flames reddened half the sky.

The smile on the corner of Jun Zijin’s mouth deepened:

"It’s truly lively tonight."

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Early the next morning, Jun Zijin went to the hospital as usual.

As soon as she entered the office, He Linger, who had arrived earlier, approached her like a cheerful little bird, looking gleeful:

"Zijin, the Wen residence was burned to the ground last night. I heard Wen Jiahe’s hair was burned off."

Jun Zijin raised her slender eyebrows slightly. In her mind, she pictured that disheveled look with the hair burned away—another bald head. This plot was even more exciting than she had imagined.

A half-smile played on her lips:

"Did you set the fire?"

He Linger’s bright eyes blinked and fluttered, and she said with an air of feigned innocence:

"I don't have that kind of skill; my brother did it."

Jun Zijin smiled slightly and said in a relaxed tone:

"I'll treat your brother to a meal another day."

A glimmer of anticipation flashed in He Linger’s eyes, and she asked:

"Can we invite Prince Chen?"

Jun Zijin chuckled, understanding her intent, and teased:

"Oh~~ have you taken a fancy to Prince Chen?"

He Linger laughed heartily, her face not even turning red:

"Just pretend it’s because my brother wants to see him!"

Jun Zijin smiled slightly:

"Alright, I’ll try. But Prince Chen isn't someone who is easily seen."

Hearing this, He Linger immediately perked up and looked at Jun Zijin:

"Then you must help me."

The carefree, playful memories from their school days flashed before their eyes like a movie.

The two laughed and joked before returning to their respective tasks.

With incidents occurring at both the Jun and Wen residences, things were quiet for two days.

On this day, as sunlight spilled through the window into the laboratory, Jun Zijin suddenly received a secret letter from Quan Aoyu.

Her hands trembled slightly as she opened the envelope. Seeing the news that he would arrive in Jingcheng in a few days, she was instantly overjoyed.

She worked while waiting with peace of mind; every minute and every second became exceptionally long, yet filled with anticipation.

That night, the moonlight was like water, spilling over the streets and alleys of Jingcheng.

Jun Zijin returned to the residence late after being busy at the hospital; the day's exhaustion made her want to rest quickly.

Miaozhu and Chen Mama had been transferred to the hospital to handle the accounts, so the ones serving her these days were Guazi and a young maid.

The two maids entered the inner room, lit the candles as usual, attended to Jun Zijin’s washing, and watched her fall asleep before exiting the room on tiptoe.

Jun Zijin never had the habit of having maids keep watch at night. Even with the recent dangerous situation, the maid on duty stayed outside the room, and Feiying and Feiyan, being men, were chased off to the courtyard.

Quan Tianchen had also sent guards to protect her residence, but when the hospital opened, she had transferred most of them there.

She regretted not having more manpower, allowing someone to find a loophole into the inner courtyard, and even more, she regretted having the night-duty maid stay outside.

Because not long after she lay down, she felt something was wrong. She tried to get up, but her body had no strength at all, and she couldn't call out.

Her heart skipped a beat, and a thousand curses ran through her mind—which bastard had plotted against her?

Jun Zijin was always vigilant and had a habit of checking her room whenever she entered.

She was certain there was no problem when she entered; Guazi was guarding the outer room, and Feiying was guarding the courtyard, so it couldn't be that someone had tampered with things after she entered.

Her body grew increasingly hot and restless. As someone who studied medicine, she naturally knew she had been drugged with a potent aphrodisiac.

In her daze, her eyes suddenly locked onto the candle burning by the bed.

That was it; the candle must be the problem.

But if it were just this kind of drug, it shouldn't have caused her to completely lose the ability to move.

A familiar drug flashed through her mind, but she had no time to think.

Her vision grew increasingly blurry, but she could not lose consciousness at this moment.

Using her last bit of strength, she drove the Phoenix Ring on her finger into her own flesh; the pain brought a moment of clarity to her chaotic consciousness.

This was the very Phoenix Ring that Quan Aoyu had personally placed on her finger—a royal treasure that no emperor or empress in the history of the Tianqi dynasty had ever been able to fathom.

Just then, a miracle occurred.

The blood-stained Phoenix Ring suddenly emitted a soft light, and as a phantom of a phoenix circled above Jun Zijin’s head, she suddenly vanished from where she lay.

Just as she lost her final shred of consciousness, in a daze, she seemed to see the laboratory she was once familiar with.

It was only a glance; she had no time to think before she fainted completely, falling into an endless darkness, losing all sensation.

Outside, the moment she was taken away by the phantom, the candle by the bed suddenly snapped, and the flame fell onto the bed, igniting the curtains.

The flames flared up instantly, spreading from the curtains to the bedding in a flash; in the blink of an eye, the solid wood bed was all ablaze.