"Let me go."
Zhao Xiuzhu picked up a pillow from the side and threw it at His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince dodged the pillow and smiled coldly. He looked at Zhao Xiuzhu and said, "My concubine, this is not right. If you hit me, you will be punished."
"Don't touch me." Zhao Xiuzhu clutched the quilt tightly, trembling all over.
The Crown Prince's eyes turned cold, and he said indifferently, "Not touch you? Zhao Xiuzhu, you think too highly of yourself. You are married to me; alive, you are mine, and dead, you are my ghost. You still want to preserve your chastity for Prime Minister Song? Do you think I will let you have your way?"
The Crown Prince suddenly lunged forward, restrained Zhao Xiuzhu, and pinned her down. Zhao Xiuzhu screamed madly. Even Xue Xingyue, who was under the bed, found it deafening. She never expected that the gentle man she knew would now be like a wild beast.
"Please, let me go, let me go!" Zhao Xiuzhu pleaded desperately.
The Crown Prince tore open Zhao Xiuzhu's crimson wedding gown. "Let you go? Impossible! I must taste the flavor of the most beautiful woman first."
Xue Xingyue felt a pang of anguish. By rights, she should have intervened in such a situation, but her own selfishness caused her to hesitate for the first time.
"No, save me, save me... Shancha, Shancha..." Zhao Xiuzhu cried out desperately, but the Crown Prince ignored her pleas.
"Miss..." Someone suddenly broke through the door from outside. The Crown Prince stood up and looked coldly at the person at the entrance.
"Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince, please, spare my young lady! I beg you." Zhao Xiuzhu's maid, Shancha, kowtowed repeatedly.
"Get out..." The Crown Prince shouted angrily.
Shancha trembled. The Crown Prince waved his hand and looked at the maids who entered. He roared, "Drag her out! Do you want to watch me do my business here?"
The maids who arrived later stuffed Shancha's mouth with a handkerchief and dragged her out. Only Shancha's muffled whimpers could be heard from outside the door.
The Crown Prince turned back and looked at Zhao Xiuzhu, who was clutching the quilt tightly. He smiled sinisterly. "What's wrong? Did you think your maid could save you? Why would she be able to save you? In this world, besides the Emperor, who can be greater than me?"
After speaking, the Crown Prince lunged at her again, pressing Zhao Xiuzhu down. Zhao Xiuzhu's heart-wrenching screams were unbearable for Xue Xingyue, who was hiding under the bed. She gently nudged the wall, and her body slithered out like a snake. By the time she emerged, she saw that the Crown Prince had already torn her wedding gown to shreds, revealing the red undergarment beneath.
At that moment, Zhao Xiuzhu caught sight of her. Her eyes, filled with pleading, met Xue Xingyue's. "Save me."
Xue Xingyue stepped forward and delivered a palm strike. The Crown Prince's body instantly went limp.
Zhao Xiuzhu pushed the Crown Prince away and wrapped herself tightly in the quilt, gritting her teeth to prevent tears from falling.
"I..."
"Thank you for saving me, without holding any grudges." Zhao Xiuzhu said, choked with emotion.
This was the first time she had seen Zhao Xiuzhu in such a state. She quickly waved her hand, "I just happened to see it. Please, don't be so polite."
Zhao Xiuzhu took a cloak from beside the pillow and put it on. She got out of bed and looked at Xue Xingyue, saying, "Today, it's all thanks to you. I won't forget this kindness. Since there's wine here, why don't we have a drink and let bygones be bygones?" As she spoke, she picked up the wine pot from the table, poured two cups, and handed one to her.
Xue Xingyue looked at the wine in Zhao Xiuzhu's hand and sneered inwardly. She knew Zhao Xiuzhu wouldn't be so kind. Let bygones be bygones?
How could that be? If she hadn't hidden under the bed beforehand, she might not have known that the wine pot had been poisoned. But Zhao Xiuzhu hadn't offered the poisoned wine to the Crown Prince, and now she was asking her to drink it. What kind of conspiracy was this?
"Does Miss Xue still not trust me? Are you afraid the wine is poisoned?" As Zhao Xiuzhu spoke, she drank one of the cups of wine in her hand and then looked at her, saying, "Miss Xue, don't you believe me yet?"
"How could I doubt the eldest daughter of the Zhao family?" She took the wine cup and, under Zhao Xiuzhu's gaze, drank the wine in one gulp.
Zhao Xiuzhu suddenly stepped forward, took her hand, and sat down, saying, "On such a long night, could Miss Xue accompany me for a chat?"
She wanted to see what Zhao Xiuzhu was up to. She nodded, "Alright, since Madam Zhao has so kindly invited me, I shall accept."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xiuzhu covered her mouth and smiled. "Still calling me eldest daughter of the Zhao family? Call me Xiuzhu! May I call you Sister Xue?"
"Naturally, it's fine." Xue Xingyue said, then her body swayed slightly. "Why do I feel a bit dizzy?"
A hint of malevolence flashed across Zhao Xiuzhu's eyes. She smiled and said, "Why would you be dizzy? Perhaps Miss Xue hasn't rested well? Maybe it's too hot in the room. I feel a bit warm. Do you feel the same, Miss Xue?"
"Yes, it's very hot, very hot. Let's open the window!" she said, following Zhao Xiuzhu's words.
Zhao Xiuzhu shook her head. "That wouldn't be good. Opening the window might catch His Royal Highness the Crown Prince a chill."
"So hot, so hot. Is there anything to cool down?" Xue Xingyue asked.
Zhao Xiuzhu pointed at the Crown Prince on the bed and said, "Miss Xue, look, isn't there a block of ice over there?" She then pulled her towards the bed.
Xue Xingyue suddenly pushed Zhao Xiuzhu away and stumbled back several steps, finally crashing into the table. She lay on the table, panting heavily. "You... you poisoned the wine?"
Zhao Xiuzhu chuckled upon hearing this, a sinister look appearing on her beautiful face. "It's a pity you know too late."
"Zhao Xiuzhu, you are truly despicable and insidious. You actually drugged me, you..." Xue Xingyue gripped the wine pot on the table tightly, trying to smash it at Zhao Xiuzhu, but she had no strength left.
Zhao Xiuzhu laughed heartily. "I'm despicable and insidious? I can only say you're too foolish, more foolish than a pig. Knowing that I hated you, that I wished I could kill you, how could I be grateful? But it wasn't in vain that I set this up, and you actually fell for it."
"You..."
She suddenly had an epiphany. "Could it be..."
"You look so ridiculous. But I am a kind person, so I'll let you die knowing the truth. Do you remember the palace maid who said Consort Wan wanted you to come over?"
Xue Xingyue's heart sank. It was indeed Zhao Xiuzhu. Although she had suspected it before, she thought that no matter how capable Zhao Xiuzhu was, she couldn't reach into the imperial palace. She hadn't expected that she had been careless. Although the Zhao family had produced a fallen Empress, their connections within the palace couldn't be small.