Chapter 53

Chapter 53: It Was Too Risky After the Emperor gave his order, palace guards from before the emperor came and took Ling Ziqi and Ling Zixue away. Before Ling Ziqi was led off, she still shouted furiously at Ling Jiayue, “Ling Jiayue, even if I become a ghost, I won’t let you off! You won’t be lucky forever, either. I’ll keep my eyes open and wait for that day!” Ling Jiayue treated it as nothing more than a gentle breeze brushing her face and the bright moon shining over the hills. Mu Yuheng, however, could not stand listening to it any longer. He turned around and ordered Feng Yan to stuff a handkerchief into Ling Ziqi’s mouth. Only then did it become quiet. Watching Mu Yuheng do all this, Ling Jiayue felt a faint stir of emotion in her heart. Without realizing it, Mu Yuheng had done far too much for her. It was impossible not to be moved. But then Ling Jiayue remembered that Mu Yuheng had once proposed to her, and her face flushed. Mu Yuheng had just ordered Feng Yan to gag Ling Ziqi. When he turned back and saw Ling Jiayue’s flushed face, set off by her attire that day and illuminated by the candlelight, she looked like a perfectly ripened apple—delicate and temptingly vibrant. Yet Mu Yuheng was puzzled. Ling Jiayue was only sixteen years old; how could she possess such a beguiling air? “Which one of you is Ling Jiayue?” Emperor Mu Yuye asked. Ling Jiayue stepped out from the crowd and answered demurely, “Your Majesty, this daughter is Ling Jiayue.” “You are Ling Jiayue? The Ling Jiayue who broke off her engagement with the Third Prince?” “Yes, this daughter is.” “Raise your head.” Ling Jiayue raised her head as instructed. As the Emperor examined her, Ling Taian and Ling Jiaxuan grew anxious inside, while Ling Jiayue calmly met Emperor Mu Yuye’s gaze. Mu Yuheng also watched her with concern. Just then, a gentle breeze drifted by, making the candlelight flicker. In a trance, Mu Yuheng seemed to see once again the Empress he had taken captive. In truth, he did not know whether he had captured her or whether she had captured him. Somehow, he had ultimately gone so far as to persuade his Imperial Father to call off the war. “She is quite a lovely child. Breaking off the engagement is fine. However, since you were once betrothed to the Third Prince, in the future…” Emperor Mu Yuye had not finished speaking when Mu Yuheng interrupted him. “Imperial Father, Third Brother still hasn’t regained consciousness. We should first see what the imperial physician has to say,” Mu Yuheng said. Mu Yuye swept his gaze toward the imperial physician, who immediately said, “Reporting to Your Majesty, the Third Prince was poisoned just now. After taking the Prime Minister’s antidote, his condition has eased somewhat. However, if we wish to eliminate the poison at its root, we will still need to invite the physician who prepared the antidote for the Prime Minister.” “Reporting to Your Majesty, the medicine was prepared for me by Doctor Lin, who treats patients at my residence, and by my daughter, Ling Jiayue,” Ling Taian hurriedly replied. “Ling Jiayue knows medical arts?” Mu Yuye asked. “Your Majesty, this daughter was frail when she was young. When Abbot Huiguang of Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple came here to lecture on the sutras, he said that I was fated to have an affinity with the Buddha, so he took me back with him and raised me. The Abbot said that, since my health was poor, it would be good for me to learn some medical arts to protect myself. If I could help others in the future, that would be a great blessing. I never expected that I would now be able to help Father resolve his troubles.” Ling Jiayue once again attributed her medical skills to Abbot Huiguang. After all, Abbot Huiguang was not present. No matter how curious the Emperor was, he could not summon him over to question him. “Oh? You learned from the Abbot? Then Abbot Huiguang’s medical arts must truly be excellent. Go and examine the Third Prince first,” Emperor Mu Yuye ordered. Ling Jiayue did not want to treat Mu Yuyang. Not only did she not want him to recover, she even wanted to poison him to death once and for all. However, she could not refuse outright. “Your Majesty, men and women should not have physical contact, and Yue'er was once engaged to the Third Prince. Would it not be better to summon Doctor Lin to treat the Third Prince?” Ling Jiaxuan spoke up. “That is right, Imperial Father. Young Master Ling’s words are reasonable. I will send someone to summon Doctor Lin,” Mu Yuheng added. Seated above them, the Emperor remained unmoved by Mu Yuheng and the others’ words. He only looked at Ling Jiayue, lifted his wine cup, and regarded her with an inscrutable smile. Ling Jiayue knew that the Emperor was insisting that she treat the Third Prince. Ling Jiayue rose and gave the Emperor a graceful curtsy before lightly walking over to Mu Yuyang. As she moved, her sleeves fluttered, and as the shifting light passed over them, a subtle fragrance drifted through the air, captivating everyone. Ling Jiayue quietly reached Mu Yuyang’s side and said to the imperial physician, “May I trouble you to lend me the silk cloth you use during examinations?” The imperial physician took a silk cloth from the medicine chest he carried with him and handed it to Ling Jiayue. She laid the cloth over Mu Yuyang’s wrist and performed pulse diagnosis. At last, Ling Jiayue removed the silk cloth and returned to the Emperor. “Reporting to Your Majesty, the poison in the Third Prince’s body has been suppressed. For now, he only needs to rest quietly. He will regain consciousness in a few days.” “Miss Ling truly possesses excellent medical skills,” Mu Yuye said. “Your Majesty is too kind.” “Enough. Everyone is tired today. Let us disperse,” Emperor Mu Yuye said. “Yes.” The ministers saluted and withdrew one after another. Ling Taian and his family also left the banquet. They had been out of the palace for quite some time before Ling Jiaxuan finally spoke. “I wonder what was wrong with the Emperor. Why did he insist on having Little Sister examine the Third Prince?” “The Emperor’s thoughts are difficult to fathom. Today was truly dangerous. Fortunately, none of you were harmed, or I would have died of anxiety,” Ling Taian said. “Yes, Master. Who would have thought that having one Ling Ziqi in our family would not be enough, and that there would also be a Ling Zixue? They nearly got us all killed. And what happened to Lingxin? Wasn’t she executed?” Madam Wan asked in confusion. Everyone knew that Lingxin had been dealt with by Ling Jiayue. Now that Lingxin was still alive, could it have been Ling Jiayue’s doing? Madam Wan and the others all looked toward Ling Jiayue. Ling Jiayue smiled faintly, which amounted to an admission. From beginning to end, this had all been a scheme she had devised to eliminate the Ling Ziqi sisters. “Yue'er, you took too great a risk this time,” Ling Taian sighed. “Father, if we wanted to eliminate those two completely, it had to be done openly and lawfully. This was especially true of Ling Ziqi. She is now the Third Prince’s concubine, so dealing with her is not that simple. This time, it was the Emperor who dealt with them. We did not lift a hand,” Ling Jiayue said. “Little Sister is right. If we want peace in the Ling Residence, we have to eliminate them. There is no harm in taking a little risk,” Ling Jiaxuan agreed. “Ah, the two of you are far too aggressive,” Ling Taian said with another sigh. Before long, Ling Taian and the others reached the palace gates on foot. There, they saw the Seventh Prince, Mu Yuheng, waiting. Ling Jiayue said, “Father, I’ll go thank the Seventh Prince.” “Go ahead.” Ling Taian stroked his beard with his hands behind his back. “Yue'er, I’ll accompany you,” Ling Jiaxuan said. “No need, Older Brother. I’ll go by myself.” Ling Jiayue walked toward Mu Yuheng. “Thank you, Seventh Prince, for helping this daughter out of trouble today.” Mu Yuheng did not reply. He only stared fixedly at Ling Jiayue. Seeing that he did not respond, Ling Jiayue curtsied again and said, “This daughter, Ling Jiayue, thanks the Seventh Prince for his assistance.”