Xiao Jingyan's hand playing with the dagger paused slightly. A flicker of interest flashed in his deep, dark eyes. Then he let out a cold sneer.
"Someone like you, a mere concubine's daughter of a Marquis's household, whose biological mother was hunted to death by the legal wife, dares to talk business with me."
Before his voice could fade, he suddenly raised his hand. The distance of seven or eight paces between us vanished as he swept up from his wheelchair like a phantom. In the blink of an eye he was right in front of me. A cold, bony, large hand clamped tightly around my throat.
He was not so crippled that he couldn't use his inner force. The rumors saying his legs were broken from the hips, and that he could only sit in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, were nothing but absolute nonsense.
A feeling of suffocation instantly washed over me. I was forced to tilt my head up to look at his face, which was inches away. A very real, tangible murderous intent surged in his eyes. If the very next word out of my mouth failed to satisfy him, he would snap my neck instantly.
I did not struggle. Instead, using every ounce of my strength, from the wide sleeve of my wedding gown I slid out the hidden silver needle. I did not stab him. Instead, I stabbed myself — an acupuncture point on my left wrist. As the silver needle pierced in, a subtle, warm current flowed along my meridians toward my fingertips. I reached back and grabbed his arm, the very one that was choking me, my fingernails digging deep into his pulse point.
Xiao Jingyan's brow furrowed imperceptibly. He felt it.
"Your Highness's legs are not broken. You were poisoned with a rare venom from the southern border known as the Blood Gu." I squeezed the words out of my throat with great difficulty, my voice raspy yet exceptionally firm. "The poison has already spread above your knees. On the night of the full moon, the fifteenth of every month, Your Highness will feel the pain of ten thousand ants gnawing at your bones. Against this poison, the quacks of the Imperial Academy of Medicine are completely helpless. The Crown Prince even believes Your Highness will not survive past this New Year's Eve."
Xiao Jingyan's hand jerked violently. The grip strangling my neck loosened by half. The murderous intent in his eyes did not fade. Instead, it grew even more intense.
"Who told you?"
In this entire world, those who knew what kind of poison he was afflicted with could be counted on two hands, and they were all his absolute confidants. How could a concubine's daughter raised in the inner chambers recognize his affliction at a single glance?
Forcing down the acute pain in my throat, I took a deep, gasping breath and looked back at him without a trace of fear.
"If I tell Your Highness that not only do I know what poison Your Highness is afflicted with, but I am also certain that within this month I can control the poison so that it stops spreading, and even enable Your Highness to stand up again within three months — Your Highness, do you believe me?"
The moment those words left my mouth, the temperature in the room seemed to plummet to freezing point. Xiao Jingyan stared intently at me, as if looking at a lunatic, yet also as if examining a highly dangerous and rare treasure.
After a long silence, he suddenly let go of his grip. I collapsed onto the floor, clutching my neck and coughing violently. Xiao Jingyan looked down at me from above, sitting back in his wheelchair. He pulled a pristine white silk handkerchief from his robe and slowly, methodically wiped the hand that had just touched me.
"Three months," he said, his lips curling into a cold, mocking smirk. "If I cannot stand up in three months, your death will be a hundred times worse than my previous two brides. One was made a hostage, and the other was skinned to make a folding screen. Which way to die do you want to choose?"
What a psychopath. A total psychopath. But the more psychopathic he was, the more it proved he was powerful enough and cautious enough.
Having caught my breath, I supported myself against the floor and stood up, completely unfazed by the bloody threat in his words. Instead, I patted my sleeves. "If I cure your legs, Your Highness, what will you give me in exchange?"
"You dare to negotiate with me?" Xiao Jingyan's eyes turned icy once more.
"Of course." I straightened my back, my tone showing not the slightest hint of retreat. "First, I want the authority to manage the household of this manor. Second, I want a promise from you, Your Highness. No matter how the imperial court changes in the future, if you ascend to that throne, you must guarantee me a lifetime of glory and wealth, and that I will never be bullied by anyone — especially Shen Biwei and Lu Yanzhu."
Xiao Jingyan looked at my eyes, which were full of ambition and calculation, and suddenly smiled. His laughter was extremely low, carrying a sort of tactical appreciation for finding a kindred spirit.
"A concubine's daughter of the Pingyang Marquis household, yet you possess no small ambition." He casually tossed the silk handkerchief onto the bright red wedding bed. "Since you have such courage, this prince shall grant you this opportunity. As long as you can fulfill your promise, the things you desire, this prince will give them to you with interest."
"It is a deal," I responded immediately.
"But." Xiao Jingyan shifted his tone, his gaze falling upon the tightly closed doors. "Tomorrow is the return visit to your family. This prince would like to see how you, the newly elevated side consort of the prince's estate, will deal with your dear father and your dear stepmother, as well as that legitimate elder sister of yours who swapped marriages with you."
He indeed knew everything. It seemed that even though he rarely went out, every single movement within the capital was under the surveillance of this disabled prince.
"Your Highness need not worry. A mere Marquis household is not something this consort concerns herself with. For tomorrow's return visit, I must trouble Your Highness to cooperate with me in putting on a show." I curled my lips into a smile, took a few steps forward, and stood before the canopy bed.
"Putting on a show is fine."
Xiao Jingyan suddenly reached out and yanked me toward him with force. I was caught off guard. My entire body tumbled against his hard chest. A faint, cold fragrance mingled with the scent of medicine instantly enveloped me. His hand wrapped around my waist, while his other hand tilted my chin up with complete naturalness. His voice was low and raspy, right against my ear.
"To prevent anyone from spotting any flaws tomorrow, on this wedding night we must leave some marks, shouldn't we?"
I froze. Before I could react, he had already lowered his head and bitten down hard on the side of my neck. I gasped as a sharp pain instantly shot through me. He did not bite too deep, leaving only on that fair skin a conspicuous and intimate red bite mark.
He then let go of me, a trace of malicious satisfaction flashing in his eyes.
"Shen Nanzhao." He called my name for the first time, his tone carrying a deadly danger beneath its laziness. "Remember this. From today on, you belong to me. If I ever find you harboring a divided loyalty, I will personally wring your head off. Go to sleep."
He pointed to the spacious canopy bed, while he rolled his wheelchair over to the daybed by the window and lay down fully clothed.
I touched the burning bite mark on my neck, cursing him as a madman in my mind. But there was no denying that I had won this round. I had not only saved my life, but had also successfully driven an unshakable nail into Xiao Jingyan, this towering tree that would soon touch the sky.
Oh, Shen Biwei, Shen Biwei. You plotted so hard to push me into this fiery pit. Yet you have no idea that what is hidden within this fiery pit is a blaze powerful enough to burn down the entire Great Xuan Dynasty. As for me, I shall walk through the fire.