Xiao Shan, have you changed? Does standing at the pinnacle of power make one lose their way?
He never treated her like this before.
Xiao Shan waited for her, waiting for her to admit her mistake. However, seeing her eyes dim, he panicked.
"You, you still feel wronged? I'm the one who's wronged!" he blurted out, his bravado masking his unease.
Qing He knelt down, "It is this servant's fault. It was this servant who instigated the Princess, General. If you wish to punish, punish this servant."
She simply hadn't expected the General to care so much.
He had disappointed the Princess.
Xiao Shan gritted his teeth in hatred, "I knew it was you, you lowly servant! Guards—"
"Presumptuous!" Ling Yao's gaze sharpened, the vulnerability in her eyes slowly receding. She no longer looked at Xiao Shan, but at the guards who had entered the doorway, speaking each word distinctly, "Get, out!"
The guards glanced at Xiao Shan and slowly retreated.
Xiao Shan felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. He vaguely felt that she had spoken to him just now.
Didn't she say he was the most important?
Now, even a mere servant was more important than him?
He didn't know what cold wind blew, but his usually strong body trembled.
A fine, dense pain spread through his chest, and the light in his eyes was swallowed by darkness, inch by inch.
"What can a little girl decide? This method was told to the Princess by this old man. Can the Princess not even control her own body? General, you are being too overbearing," the Great Shaman said with a somber face.
景国 (Jing Guo) couldn't do without him now, but how could the Princess endure such humiliation?
It was all their fault for being useless.
Qing He gave a bitter smile, "Great Shaman, what are you talking about!"
However, after speaking, she jolted and looked at Ling Yao.
Ling Yao sat there with her eyes cast down, silent.
Xiao Shan stared at her intently, unmoving.
Never mind, she would ask.
"Why is the General angry?"
Xiao Shan withdrew his gaze, suddenly feeling weak all over. He didn't want to ask anything anymore. He wanted to sleep; he was very tired.
He let out a self-mocking laugh.
"This General is not angry, not angry at all..."
Saying this, he walked towards the exit.
Ling Yao looked up, a string of tears rolling down. Her lips parted slightly.
"General!" Qing He crawled forward a few steps, "It is this servant's fault. It was this servant who instigated the Princess to drug the General. The Princess was unwilling; it was this servant who forced her—"
"Drug what?" Xiao Shan turned back, looking at Ling Yao blankly.
The Great Shaman was confused, "Drug? The Princess drugged the General? With poison?"
Xiao Shan's face changed. The hand that had slammed onto the table began to burn, the pain making his entire arm tremble.
Seeing this, Qing He breathed a sigh of relief. So, they had misunderstood.
Then the General's anger this time was because the Princess took blood without telling him?
Was that possible? Just this little bit of blood?
"It's not poison," Ling Yao's voice was numb, like an emotionless puppet. "It will be fine in three months; there's no harm. General, you don't need to worry."
After she finished speaking, she clutched her chest and slid from the soft chair.
"Xue Niang!" Xiao Shan rushed over and hugged her, "What's wrong? Don't scare me!"
Qing He quickly got up to check, "Qi stagnation and depression. Just now, the Princess was too heartbroken."
"Oh! What is going on! What exactly are you two up to! Qing He, you wicked girl, what are you instigating!" The Great Shaman's beard bristled with anger.
It was fine to scold Xiao Shan, but hurting the Princess was unacceptable.
Ling Yao was already suffocating and didn't understand what Qing He said afterward. She was too heartbroken; her heart felt numb with pain.
Xiao Shan's anxious face loomed above her. She felt an urge to reach out and touch him.
After being placed on the bed, Qing He pricked a few needles into her, but she felt nothing. She just stared at Xiao Shan, her eyes devoid of any light, vacant.
"Xiao Shan, if you don't want to be content, then I don't want you anymore."
She heard herself say this, but afterward, her heart felt as if it were being torn apart. A sweetness rose in her throat, and she coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Xue Niang—" Xiao Shan was terrified, his hand trembling as he wiped away the blood. "How could this happen? How could this happen?"
He didn't know who he was asking. He was completely distraught, panicked and at a loss.
Qing He hadn't expected the Princess's feelings for the General to be so deep.
She seemed to have truly made a mistake.
She withdrew the silver needles and choked out, "Princess, we misunderstood. The General is angry because you secretly cut your hand to draw blood, not about the drugging."
"General, the Princess is fine. She'll be alright after spitting out the blood. Please stay and talk to her!"
Qing He lowered her head and moved away from the bedside. Seeing the Great Shaman still there, unwilling to leave, she pulled him out with her.
"This is utter nonsense! Such a trivial matter of blood, and it turned into spitting out such a large mouthful. You troublesome ones, what exactly did you drug him with?"
Qing He covered her face, "An impotence drug."
"Im...potence..." The Great Shaman stared with wide eyes for a long time, "Truly venomous."
"It's good that it was administered! It's the right thing to do. It seems this fellow still cares for the Princess, just that he's a bit scary when he gets angry. It's as if we've done something to the Princess, isn't it? It's just a few drops of blood, really, what a brute! So barbaric!"
Whatever drug he was given, he had to accept it. Whatever the Princess did was right.
The Great Shaman cursed, then glanced at Yu Liu, who was shrinking by the wall, and narrowed his eyes, "You weren't the one who reported the news, were you?"
"This servant, this servant heard they said to drink it for eight consecutive days, and thought, thought..."
"Thought what? That was for drinking medicine! The blood was just a catalyst! What a mess!"
After the Great Shaman left, Qing He knelt on the corridor.
"Qing He girl?" Yu Liu called out apologetically.
"I acted on my own initiative and caused the Princess to be sad. I deserve punishment," Qing He said softly. "You reported false information and caused the Princess and General to misunderstand, so you also deserve punishment."
Upon hearing this, Yu Liu quickly knelt down as well.
The two knelt there, one after the other, straight and still. The cold wind blew softly, caressing their hair, and the chill permeated from all directions, yet they seemed not to feel it, like two statues.
From under the eaves of a distant house, a corner of a garment was revealed.
Deep eyes gazed coldly at the long corridor.
Stupid woman, you're in trouble, aren't you?
A servant girl who was sent back, does she think anyone still remembers her kindness? She's truly naive.
She refused to be a princess and eagerly returned to be someone's servant.
And she thought she was so clever! If it weren't for his repeated forbearance, did she think she could do whatever she pleased with a little poison? She would have died countless times by now.
Stupid woman.
"Serves you right! For coming back! Do you remember this King's kindness?"
"Hmph! This King doesn't care for you now. If you want to return to this King's side, you'll have to show some sincerity."
Qing He seemed to feel uncomfortable, her cheeks flushed by the cold wind. She looked around, her brows furrowed in confusion.
This woman, did she not even think of him after returning? Why was she becoming more and more beautiful?