Free Web NovelChapter 73: Chapter 73: My Body as the Medicine, Saving You This Once
Ji Qingwu found Ji Changyan’s words absurd.
She asked, "You and Prince Yong have always been on good terms, whereas I barely know him. If you can’t resolve this, what use would I be?"
Ji Changyan said with certainty, "As long as you go, it will definitely work."
’If I go, how is that any different from a lamb entering a tiger’s den? Besides, our relationship isn’t worth me putting myself in danger.’
After a moment of thought, Ji Qingwu suggested, "Why don’t we tell Grandmother and have the family help us figure something out?"
"No, that won’t work. If Grandmother finds out, she’ll kill me."
’This definitely isn’t as simple as just ’making a small mistake’ like Ji Changyan claims. It must be much more serious than he’s letting on.’
Ji Qingwu calmly pointed him toward a clear solution.
"Third Brother, I will not go plead with Prince Yong. I’m well aware of my own standing. If you think the situation is that dire, then go tell Grandmother, or go to Anju Garden and speak with my mother. Our families are related by marriage; if the Qiao Family can help, they will."
"I can’t tell them! I can’t tell outsiders. I promised Prince Yong... Fifth Sister, please, help your Third Brother."
Ji Changyan simply refused to reveal what he had done.
Having lost her patience with his pestering, Ji Qingwu turned to leave.
The moment she turned, the man behind her grew frantic.
A sharp pain struck the back of her neck, and a damp cloth was pressed over her mouth from behind.
Whatever was on the cloth, Ji Qingwu’s struggles gradually weakened, and she soon lost consciousness.
「When she next awoke.」
She didn’t know where she was. A cloyingly sweet scent filled her nose, her head throbbed, and her body felt weak. She was being rocked back and forth, so violently it felt as if her brain might be shaken loose.
Her eyelids were heavy and weak; she couldn’t open them no matter how hard she tried, yet her mind was crystal clear.
Someone seemed to be talking at the door, but their voices were a low drone, and she couldn’t make out a single word.
Instinctively, Ji Qingwu called out to the system.
...
「Not far away, on a painted pleasure boat by the water.」
Two men stood at the entrance to the front cabin.
For the past few days, Ji Changyan’s requests to see Prince Yong had been denied. He had come here specifically to wait, and sure enough, he had finally cornered him.
During morning court today, Prince Yong had failed to stop the investigation into Yan Zongrang’s death. He was in a foul mood and had drunk heavily. The sight of Ji Changyan only irritated him further, and he gestured for his guards to drag the man away.
Four guards moved to restrain Ji Changyan, but he hurriedly shouted, "Prince, I’ve brought my fifth sister over! She’s waiting for you on the dragon boat next to us."
Having often caroused with Prince Yong, he naturally knew what the Prince desired. He was at a dead end, which was why he had resorted to using Ji Qingwu.
’This fifth sister of mine is no innocent maiden from a noble family anyway. She’s a widow who’s already had a child. What’s the harm in spending one night with the Prince? If she gets to enter the Prince Mansion as a concubine, she might even thank me for it.’
Hearing this, Prince Yong stopped in his tracks. He toyed with the thumb ring on his finger, a smirk playing on his lips as he asked inscrutably, "What is the meaning of this? I don’t recall ever telling you I wished to see my Fifth Cousin."
Ji Changyan broke free from the guards, stumbled forward a few steps, and knelt before him.
"I beg you, Prince, save me! That matter... I was only following your..." Seeing Prince Yong’s expression darken, he quickly changed his tune. "I was just overcome with anger and made a terrible mistake! The Prince never forced me. It was all my own doing."
’Last time I saw Ji Qingwu, she was avoiding me. Why would she suddenly agree?’ Prince Yong raised an eyebrow. Though he was a man of pleasure, he prided himself on his status and had never forced a woman.
He asked, "You acted of your own free will, but was my Fifth Cousin willing?"
Ji Changyan nodded vigorously. "Of course, my fifth sister is willing! She’s over there waiting for you right now."
Prince Yong scoffed. ’The Ji Family only has its current power because of the Empress Dowager and me, the Prince.’ fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
’So Ji Qingwu’s coldness toward me was all just an act of feigned modesty. She was just playing hard to get.’
"Fine. I understand."
Eager to leave, Prince Yong started to walk away, but Ji Changyan grabbed his boot, desperate for a clear promise.
"You must save me, Prince! Otherwise, I’m a dead man!"
"I know what I’m doing." Seeing him groveling at his feet, Prince Yong pulled him up.
He added with a hint of a threat, "I can help you with this matter, but I’m doing it for the sake of the Ji Family. If you dare say a single word you shouldn’t, that goodwill will vanish completely."
A weight was lifted from Ji Changyan’s heart. "What do I need to do? Just give the order, Prince."
"Go to Yucui Building and find Manager Wang. He will arrange a place for you to hide until this blows over."
Ji Changyan pinned all his hopes on Prince Yong. Hearing him finally relent, he scrambled away in a hurry.
Prince Yong left the pleasure boat and boarded the dragon boat. Pushing open the door to the second-floor chamber, he was met with a strange fragrance.
He walked over to the bed and parted the pink gauze curtains. The woman on the bed was drenched in sweat, her face a deep, flushed red.
Her exquisitely seductive figure was enough to make even a seasoned veteran of the pleasure quarters like Prince Yong feel an unbearable rush of heat.
But it was obvious at a glance that she had been drugged.
He instantly understood what Ji Changyan had meant by "willing."
He clapped his hands to summon the people outside and ordered, "Have the physician from the pleasure boat come over."
An old, bearded physician came to check her pulse. After a long examination, he said with a grave expression, "My Prince, the young lady appears to have been poisoned with One Life’s Joy."
"What is One Life’s Joy?"
The old physician replied, "My Prince, this drug is a powerful neurotoxin. If the poison isn’t neutralized in time, it will be fatal. One lives only this one life, hence the name ’One Life’s Joy.’ A victim will also gradually lose their ability to see, hear, smell, move their hands, and speak."
Prince Yong was taken aback. "It’s that serious?"
’That Ji Changyan is truly ruthless. Afraid I wouldn’t be tempted, he used such a potent dose on his own sister.’
The old physician continued, "From my examination, the young lady has taken a large dose. If it isn’t neutralized within two hours, she will die. Her pupils are already dilating; she can no longer see. Her hearing should be gone by now as well. In a little while more, she will lose her sense of smell, the ability to move her hands, and the power of speech."
With a complicated expression, Prince Yong asked, "And the antidote?"
"The only way to neutralize it is through physical union between a man and a woman. The drug has another characteristic: after the poison is neutralized, because she will have lost her senses, she will not remember who it was that she lay with."
Just as Prince Yong had expected.
The woman on the bed was panting in short, quick breaths, her crimson lips parted. Her hair, soaked with sweat, clung to her fair forehead, revealing the torment her body was enduring.
Prince Yong’s gaze turned fervent. He waved his hand. "Take the physician away to collect his reward. What happened here today is to be taken to the grave."
The old physician was wrong about one thing. Ji Qingwu couldn’t see and couldn’t control her body’s reactions, but she could still hear their conversation.
’Ji Changyan was utterly despicable!’
Her eyes were closed, but she felt a hand touch her face. She wanted to pull away, but her body was limp. Waves of heat washed over her, and her breath grew scorching hot.
"Fifth Cousin, your weak and helpless appearance is truly pitiable."
Prince Yong sat on the edge of the bed, admiring her beautiful face, which looked as delicate as a hibiscus flower weeping dew. He caressed her cheek with his thumb.
"The physician just said that this poison of yours can only be cured through... intercourse. This Prince shall offer his own body as the medicine and save you."
