Chapter 75

  Simazhe sat there, his heart filled with worries, not knowing how to express himself. He also knew that this trip to see his fourth brother would surely end in another round of cold ridicule and hot sarcasm. But he couldn't shake off the feeling of unease about Hongyu. If Hongyu really was like Yuemei, she wouldn't think of abandoning her life, would she?

  Suddenly, I thought of that little girl who hurt Hongyu. Who is she? I heard it was Li Fei's maid, can we get some information from her? Sima Qiang shouldn't think that Yu Jiao is his woman Sima Zhe, so he shouldn't make things difficult for Hongyu because of this.

  As I came out of the front hall, I happened to see Murong Feng standing in the corridor in front of the hall. I also saw Murong Feng's expression, with a hint of pity, sorrow, and a subtle, almost imperceptible, disdain. His eyes held too many things, yet they were still clear and intoxicating.

  Did she hear something?

  It turns out I forgot that there's also a younger sister of Murong Xuan here. If she heard something, she'll definitely stand up for her sister.

  Simazhe avoided Murong Feng's gaze, a few points of guilt rising in his heart. Murong Xuan was a good wife and a good candidate for empress - steady, magnanimous, intelligent... But she wasn't Hongyu, not the Hongyu he had grown up with since childhood. Even though he knew Hongyu had married his second brother, he couldn't shake off the feeling that Hongyu hadn't been willing. That one time, if Hongyu hadn't gotten drunk, how could something like that have happened? She was always a very self-loving woman; even when they were together, it was because he had lost control of his emotions.

  "Good morning, big brother." Murong Feng gave a slight bow, his expression calm.

  Simazhe nodded as if he had done something terribly wrong, hung his head in shame and quietly walked away, not daring to look at Murong Feng.

  "He still can't let go after all." Sima Rui sighed softly.

  Murong Feng gazed at Sima Zhe's back and softly said: "If he had given up on Hongyu, perhaps the one who would be left with regret now wouldn't be him, but Hongyu. It was Hongyu who left him first, so he has always been discontented in his heart. Unfortunately for Yuejiao and Murong Xuan, two clever and lovely women."

  Simarui stood quietly beside Murong Feng, gazing at Sima Zhe's back.

  Lihui found out that Xiao Wu was kidnapped last night, and she was really angry in her heart. That Sima Qiang actually dared to oppose herself and kidnap her own person under her nose, just like the time he locked her up before, which made her detest him even more. So she must think of a way to vent her anger!

  "Xiao Wu, I want you to seduce Sima Qiang!"

  Xiao Wu's eyes widened like bronze bells, "Empress Li, you, what did you say?"

  Lihui smiled and said, "Look at the state you're in. I just asked you to seduce Sima Qiang, it's not like that. You're from the Drunken Flower House, even if you're not one of the women inside, you should have some experience."

  Xiao Wu's head shook like a rattle drum, this was unbearable, let her go seduce that dark and evil second prince, it would be better to stab her to death with a knife!

  "Concubine Li, please spare Xiao Wu, Xiao Wu didn't dare, that, that Second Prince, Xiao Wu is really afraid."

  Lì Fēi smiled again, leaned in close to Xiǎo Wǔ and said with a sly tone: "Xiǎo Wǔ, you are my loyal servant, I tell you to go up the knife mountain and down the fire sea, you must listen. I tell you to seduce Sīmǎ Qiáng, you must go and seduce him. Even if you're afraid, you still have to go, besides, I'll be there too, I will naturally teach you." As she spoke, she looked at Xiǎo Wǔ with a series of "tsks" sounds, "Actually, Xiǎo Wǔ, although you're not considered a beauty, you don't look bad either. You're a pretty decent-looking girl, just need some proper training and seducing Sīmǎ Qiáng shouldn't be too difficult. Not bad at all! You'll be avenging your young mistress's grievances and becoming the second prince's concubine, great!"

  Xiao Wu looked at Li Fei, thinking to herself, "This princess is so strange, how could she possibly think of letting her, an unattractive maid, seduce the Second Prince?"

  "What are you muttering to yourself?" Lì Fēi said unhappily, "Are you even listening to me? I'm trying to help you out of the goodness of my heart!"

  "Yes, Princess Lihui." Xiao Wu didn't dare to make another sound or let his mind wander. He simply couldn't think of a way to 'seduce' the Second Prince.

  Hongyu's condition is getting worse and worse, the medicine used by the imperial physician has no effect at all. The skin around the wound is slowly festering, the pain is unbearable. Sima Qiang feels more and more strange, he always thinks that this matter is related to Li Fei!

  "The second prince, a maid named Xiao Wu from the residence of Consort Li has arrived. She said that Consort Li sent her." The servants in the Second Prince's residence were also somewhat afraid of him, as he usually didn't return home and when he did, he wasn't very talkative, so they spoke with caution.

  Simar furrowed her brow, what did she come for? "Let her in!"

  Xiao Wu walked in from outside, looking very refreshed today. He was wearing a clean and tidy outfit, with a neat and clean apron, holding a square box in his hand. When he saw Sima Qiang, he knelt down to pay his respects and said softly: "Xiao Wu has seen the Second Prince."

  Simarong gave her a cold glance, "What did Empress Li ask you to come here for?"

  Xiao Wu's heart skipped a beat, his voice sounded a bit tense but still fluent. "Empress Li said that the country of Wumeng where she is has many medicinal herbs, which are not inferior to those of the Great Xing Dynasty. She specifically asked me to bring some medicine over and apply it to the Second Princess Consort."

  Simar nodded, "This is indeed true, since it's like this, you can go."

  Xiao Wu quietly carried the medicine into Hong Yu's room, Hong Yu was suffering from pain and didn't expect that this medicine would be so terrifying! No wonder Yue Jiao chose death, when the pain came, it was truly a fate worse than death.

  Xiao Wu looked at the woman lying on the bed, thinking of his mistress's painful appearance before her death, and his anger had burned to almost uncontrollable levels. However, thinking of Li Fei's entrustment, Xiao Wu forcibly swallowed the anger in his heart, walked up to the bed, and lightly paid his respects. "Xiao Wu has seen the Second Prince's Consort."

  Hong Yu looked at Xiao Wu with hatred in her eyes. "What are you doing here? Get out!"

  "Keep your voice down." Xiao Wu was not afraid of her at all now. Sima Qiang stood outside the door, unable to hear their conversation. She said softly, "The Second Prince still doesn't know that you were the one who poisoned Miss Yuejiao. I won't hide it from you, this ring on my hand is what Miss Yuejiao gave me before she died, and it has the poison you gave her on it. I didn't accidentally scratch you, I did it on purpose. It's to make you understand how cruel and despicable your actions were! You're feeling pain now, but that's just the beginning. The real pain is yet to come. If I don't help you change the dressing, and if you don't send someone to get the antidote from Wumeng Country, this hand of yours won't be saved."

  Hong Yu's anger was almost enough to burn her whole body, but at the same time, the pain had already shrunk her entire being into a ball. "You, you, you get out of here! ——"

  "You don't look very good right now, if you don't want the Second Prince to see you like this, it's better for you to quietly let me help you apply some medicine." Seeing Hongyu in pain, Xiao Wu thought of her own master, Yu Jiao, who was also in a similar state of unbearable pain, and so her words became even more cutting.