"Your Highness! Are you all right?" Gu Sinjie suddenly appeared from who knew where.
Xiao Ruyi nodded. "I'm fine."
Master Gu nodded back, this time with a more relieved expression. "Thank goodness. The Prince is fine as well. It seems our enemies have surfaced again tonight. And since today is your wedding day, the enemy has become even more aggressive."
Xiao Ruyi's eyes widened. "The Prince was attacked too?"
Master Gu nodded. "That's right, Your Highness. Fortunately, the Prince only suffered a small cut on his left arm."
"Master Gu, can you take me to see the Prince now? I want to see his condition with my own eyes." Xiao Ruyi pleaded. She was genuinely worried. And not without reason—she was worried because Qin Wujing was her husband now. If Qin Wujing were seriously injured and died, she would become a widow, and her status and position would be looked down on even more. She had to take the best possible care of Qin Wujing so that no one would dare underestimate her again. Wasn't this plan highly beneficial to both her and Qin Wujing?
Seeing the worry on Xiao Ruyi's face, Gu Sinjie glanced at Madam Su. Madam Su nodded and smiled in agreement.
Gu Sinjie looked back at Xiao Ruyi and nodded. "Very well, Your Highness. Please follow this subordinate. But before that, there is something Your Highness needs to know."
"What is it?" Xiao Ruyi asked curiously.
"Please don't discuss the people from the Imperial Palace in the Prince's presence unless he brings them up first," Gu Sinjie replied.
Xiao Ruyi nodded quickly. "I understand."
After that, the three of them promptly headed toward the main residence in the Qin Prince's Residence. As soon as Xiao Ruyi stepped inside, she was shocked to see the corpses of countless assassins strewn all along the path.
"This..." Xiao Ruyi murmured.
"Although the Prince has a problem with his legs, it has not diminished his martial abilities in the slightest. That's why the enemy agreed to surround him with so many assassins in an attempt to break through his defenses," Gu Sinjie explained.
Xiao Ruyi nodded in understanding before refocusing her thoughts on Qin Wujing.
Gu Sinjie stopped in front of Qin Wujing's bedroom and knocked.
"Your Highness, the Princess Consort has come to visit. She says she wants to see your condition for herself." Gu Sinjie asked for permission before allowing Xiao Ruyi to enter Qin Wujing's room. Xiao Ruyi was not offended by the procedure at all; she knew very well that she was a newcomer who had been forcibly married to Qin Wujing.
"Yes." The single-word answer was short and icy, making Xiao Ruyi's heart pound hard again.
Gu Sinjie turned around and said, "Your Highness, please enter. Madam Su, remain outside."
Xiao Ruyi and Madam Su exchanged glances, then nodded at each other to offer mutual encouragement.
As soon as Gu Sinjie opened the door, Xiao Ruyi stepped inside. She was now in Qin Wujing's room. In just a few more steps, she would see Qin Wujing himself.
The room was not very bright. Only the dim light of candles illuminated it.
Xiao Ruyi walked toward the bed, which was tightly enclosed by a bed canopy, making Qin Wujing's figure difficult to see clearly. Still, she knew he was sitting on the bed with his left arm wrapped in a bandage.
"Ruyi pays her respects to the honorable Qin Prince."
"So this is the woman who seduced my nephew? How kind of them to send a woman like this to me. I suppose I should thank the people from the Imperial Palace." His deep, cold voice rang out, and every word pierced Xiao Ruyi's heart.
Fine. It didn't matter. Qin Wujing didn't know the truth yet. If she were in his position, she would certainly be angry and unwilling to accept it too.
Xiao Ruyi knelt on the floor of Qin Wujing's room. Her body and gaze remained straight as she faced him.
"Your Highness, you've misunderstood. Please believe me, Ruyi was framed. I would never seduce the Emperor just for personal gain. I swear it on the names of my seven ancestors." Xiao Ruyi looked at Qin Wujing earnestly. She still couldn't see him clearly because of the canopy surrounding his bed. How annoying.
"Then how am I supposed to know whether you're still a virgin or not?" Qin Wujing replied indifferently, as though he didn't care that his words had hurt Xiao Ruyi.
Xiao Ruyi frowned. So Qin Wujing was a bastard too! But she couldn't fight back. She had to admit that the oppressive force of Qin Wujing's presence was truly overwhelming. Although he had not appeared in public for a very long time, his aura remained as powerful as it had been before that disaster befell his legs. He was still a powerful prince; regardless of the condition of his legs, the aura of a ruler radiated from him so strongly that it had not diminished in the slightest.
Xiao Ruyi drew a deep breath, trying to calm and clear her mind. "What does Your Highness want? Ruyi will grant any request."
Qin Wujing seemed to turn toward the empty side of the bed beside him. "What else could I want besides 'that'? You can prove it here. If you're lucky, you'll manage to conceive my child."
Hearing Qin Wujing's cutting words, Xiao Ruyi's ears burned. Was he looking down on her? He truly seemed to regard her as a lowborn woman because of those rumors.
When Qin Wujing saw Xiao Ruyi fall silent while continuing to stare at him coldly, he smiled faintly and said, "Forget it. I was only testing whether the rumor was true, and it seems it isn't. I believe you're still an untouched maiden."
Xiao Ruyi furrowed her brows, puzzled. However, she chose to ignore it and decided not to dwell on it.
Suddenly, Xiao Ruyi smelled a strong odor of blood coming from Qin Wujing's direction. Her brow furrowed even deeper this time. "Your Highness, is there something wrong with your bandage?"
"A little."
"Are you sure it's only a little? But the smell of blood is so—" Before Xiao Ruyi could finish, Qin Wujing cut her off.
"Come here. Stop talking so much."
Xiao Ruyi immediately rose and walked toward the bed, then lifted Qin Wujing's dark bed canopy. This time, she could see Qin Wujing very clearly.
Long black hair, sparkling dark-blue eyes, a high-bridged nose, fair skin, and striking sword-shaped brows. Qin Wujing's face was breathtakingly handsome!
"Take the box on that table, then come up here and change my bandage," Qin Wujing ordered. Even when asking for help, the man still looked incredibly arrogant.
Xiao Ruyi picked up the medicine chest from the table beside Qin Wujing's bed, then walked around to the other side.
"Ruyi will come up now, Your Highness."
Without waiting for Qin Wujing's reply, Xiao Ruyi climbed onto the bed and examined the bandage, which was already soaked with blood.
"Shouldn't we call a physician? You're bleeding so much," Xiao Ruyi suggested. She was worried that changing the bandage alone would not be enough.
"It would take too long. I've ordered Gu Sinjie to have everyone leave because you came here," Qin Wujing replied.
Xiao Ruyi nodded in understanding. It seemed they had deliberately given her and Qin Wujing time and space to talk.
Very carefully, Xiao Ruyi removed Qin Wujing's bandage. The smell of blood was millions of times stronger than before. Xiao Ruyi's brow furrowed, but she continued diligently replacing Qin Wujing's bandage.
In the middle of her work, Xiao Ruyi wanted to ask something related to Qin Wujing.
"Your Highness."
"Be quiet."
"But I want to ask you something."
"Not allowed."
"This isn't an external matter. It's an internal one."
"What?"
Qin Wujing finally allowed her to ask after rejecting her twice. Xiao Ruyi couldn't help grumbling inwardly about it, but once again, she set aside her irritation.