Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Isn't It Just Breaking a Few of Your Things? Do You Have to Be Like This? "This..." "Steward, I assure you that I will make the Prince well again." The steward had heard these words too many times. At first, he had believed them and held onto hope, but later, even the divine physicians were at their wit's end, and the steward understood. His master, the Prince, could not be saved, it seemed. Never mind. "Then this old servant will wait outside for you, miss. Please be quick. When Black Shadow returns, he won't allow anyone to approach the Prince." Black Shadow? Who was that? Jia Qingcheng nodded. After the steward left, she prepared to begin. This was the first time Jia Qingcheng had seen the legendary Prince Chu. He lay in a deep sleep, his brows furrowed tightly, as if deeply troubled. This was her future husband. Prince Chu was exceptionally handsome—his brows like distant mountains tinged with ink, his features finely carved, with a striking air of heroism between his brows. Unfortunately, he was ill. Even in sickness, he carried a morbid handsomeness. If he could recover, how dashing and debonair he would be. In her previous life, Prince Chu Xiao Zhiheng died in the same month Song Jiaojiao married into the household. He died quickly. Because of his death, the emperor ordered three days of court suspension and a half-month curfew to mourn this great prince. Prince Chu had rendered extraordinary service to the court, and the people held him in great esteem. "Chunyan, go stand guard outside." "Miss, the Prince's breathing is very weak. Moreover, many sores have appeared on his body, and it smells foul up close. These are signs of impending death. Are you confident?" Confident? If she weren't, why would she have come at all! Pei Wuliang was scheming to take advantage of Prince Chu's death—she would make him regret it for the rest of his life. For three consecutive days, Jia Qingcheng secretly went to Chu Wangfu to plant the Gu in Prince Chu, checking whether the Heavenly Silkworm Gu showed any signs of rejection within his body. Fortunately, the moment the Heavenly Silkworm Gu entered his body, it quickly devoured the poison Gu that had originally been planted in him. But he had been poisoned too deeply, and the toxins in his body would need to be cleansed slowly. Still, she was no longer anxious. However, because she had been going to Chu Wangfu these past few days and had completely ignored the tasks Pei Wuliang had assigned her, the moment she returned to the Jia residence, she saw the steward rushing over with a look of impending crisis. "Eldest Miss, you've finally returned." "Steward, what's happened?" Seeing the steward rushing toward her, Jia Qingcheng's first thought was that her stepmother was throwing another tantrum, or perhaps Song Jiaojiao was up to something again? "Miss, it's Young Master Pei. He's been waiting in your room for an hour already. If you didn't come back soon, he was going to smash all the antiques in your room." What? In her previous life, Pei Wuliang had never shown this ferocious, vicious side! "Miss, what should we do?" "Let's go see!" When Jia Qingcheng arrived at her room, she happened to see Pei Wuliang about to smash her favorite blue-and-white vase, while Song Jiaojiao stood nearby pretending to dissuade him. "Brother Wuliang, you can't! This is sister's most beloved blue-and-white porcelain vase—you mustn't break it!" "Jiaojiao, get out of the way. Let's see how much longer she can hide!" Just as Pei Wuliang was about to hurl the vase to the ground, Jia Qingcheng shouted, "Stop!" "Sister is back! Sister, quickly persuade Brother Wuliang. I really couldn't do anything—you haven't prepared the things these past few days, and Brother Wuliang is angry!" Jia Qingcheng's eyes burned with fury. "Pei Wuliang, put my things down." Seeing her return, he refused to let go. He was furious now—if Jia Qingcheng didn't apologize to him, he would absolutely not let this go. "So you finally know to come back. I thought you'd gone out to find yourself another man!" "Put the thing down!" "I won't. What are you going to do about it?" Seeing her frightened, a wave of satisfaction washed over him. He knew Jia Qingcheng wouldn't dare disobey him. At the same time, he felt a hint of contempt for himself. In his previous life, he had never flown into such a rage. But if he didn't do this, she wouldn't know he was a man with a temper! He couldn't unconditionally accept her nonsense—he had to set rules for her. Women—the more you indulge them, the more they lose their place! "Pei Wuliang, what exactly are you trying to do? You come to my house and smash things—aren't you afraid I'll report you to the authorities?" "Report me? Qingcheng, you're so flustered you're not even thinking straight, saying things like reporting me to the authorities. Today, I'm smashing these worthless trinkets no matter what!" "Don't!" Jia Qingcheng was about to lunge forward to protect her blue-and-white porcelain when suddenly—bang!—the sound of shattering ceramics echoed through the room... Shattered. All shattered. "Qingcheng, do you still dare to make me angry now?" Having vented his anger by breaking things, Pei Wuliang immediately stepped aside. Jia Qingcheng, seeing the porcelain fragments scattered across the floor, crouched down and frantically tried to gather the broken pieces with her hands... But the sharp shards quickly cut her fingers... "Miss, your hand is bleeding!" "Sister, don't pick at them—be careful!" Song Jiaojiao tried to pull her away, but suddenly let out a sharp cry. A shard of porcelain had cut a gash across her finger. Instantly, she screamed and clutched her hand... "It hurts!" "The young lady from the other branch is injured, young master, what should we do?" "Find a doctor, quickly, go!" Both sisters were injured, but Pei Wuliang could only see that Song Jiaojiao's finger was hurt, completely ignoring Jia Qingcheng, who was crouched on the ground with her hands already blurred in blood... "Brother Wuliang, I'm sorry, it's all my fault." "Silly girl, why are you so foolish? Didn't you know that was dangerous?" Pei Wuliang gave a cold glance at Jia Qingcheng, still crouching on the ground. He hadn't expected things to turn out this way—he only wanted to scare her a little... "The doctor is here!" A doctor hurried in from outside. "Whose hand is injured?" "My young lady is injured very seriously, doctor, please attend to her immediately!" Chunyan wanted the doctor to bandage Jia Qingcheng first, while Song Jiaojiao's maid also urged the doctor to see Song Jiaojiao first. The doctor was momentarily caught in a dilemma. "Oh dear, who should I see first?" "See Jiaojiao first—her hands must play the zither and cannot be damaged. Doctor, hurry!" Pei Wuliang scooped up Song Jiaojiao in his arms and led the doctor inside, without the slightest regard for Jia Qingcheng, who remained crouched there with blood on her hands. "Young lady, how could the young master do this? You're clearly injured more seriously!" Chunyan protested on her young lady's behalf, but Jia Qingcheng's tears burst forth instantly. Ignoring her wounded hands, she silently watched the porcelain her mother had given her lie shattered into pieces. This was the coming-of-age gift her mother had given her, and now it was all completely gone. At that moment, her heart was as good as dead, and she wished she could tear that worthless man Pei Wuliang into a thousand pieces. "Mother, it's all my fault—I couldn't even keep the gift you gave me." Suddenly, her vision went black, and she fainted completely beside the porcelain shards. That day, the Jia household was in complete chaos. When Jia Qingcheng woke again, the first thing that met her eyes was her father. Father—the man who had abandoned her mother after leading her on! "You're awake?"