Chapter 36

“Your Highness, can you wait here? From the looks of the steward, the prince may be in a critical condition.” Shen Wan squeezed He Qingning’s hand, her eyes conveying that she would not hurt herself.

He Qingning is not a person who easily follows orders. She is the royal princess and her father’s favorite daughter. No matter what she did, her third brother wouldn’t dare touch her.

Shen Wan is his wife. Logically, she belongs to him. From the day of their marriage, she would be trapped in this position for her whole life. She will only live and die here. General Shen is gone and the Shen family is considered to be no one important. Even if she was a little clever, what can a weak woman like her change? If her third brother forcefully wants to make Shen Wan his, then there are also certain means to do so.

He Qingning loosened her hold on Shen Wan’s hand and watched her leave with a medicine bag. She gazed at the other woman’s back and stood there thinking. She always felt herself on top of everything as the royal princess, but this is the first time she felt so weak. Her feelings for Shen Wan went from disgust to curiosity. Now that she knows her secret, she knew that the woman was not as stupid as she thought. Instead, she had plans of her own which surprised her.

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What if her idea’s not that stupid?

Life’s not about struggling to live in this quagmire.

What can Shen Wan change and what can He Qingning change?

When her father, the emperor, and her mother were young, they were obviously in love with each other. They only had each other in their hearts. It’s a pity that she became the empress and had to shoulder the burden of the world. At the same time, her young father could not withstand the pressure from the previous emperor and had to accept concubines. When his reign was stable, her father finally had the power, but with her mother’s weakened body, she could no longer accompany her father to go on. This situation is just as helpless; Shen Wan is just a daughter of a deceased general. Her father’s intention to have her married was good, but it was the wrong move.

Shen Wan pushed the door open. She saw He Qingning standing outside with a thoughtful expression and a sorrowful atmosphere. The moment Shen Wan allowed He Qingning inside her room, the sadness in her body immediately dissipated.

She didn’t walk over; only looked at Shen Wan and spoke with a cold voice. “Did you deliver the medicine?”

“It has been sent.” Shen Wan answered honestly. Her Highness didn’t seem happy when she looked at her.

“Close the door.”

Shen Wan lightly sighed and obeyed. This little princess’ temper is really one of a kind. It doesn’t matter, she chooses to forgive her. It’s fun playing with Her Highness’ temper when she can coax her out of it.

Shen Wan moved a small step in front of He Qingning, “Your Highness doesn’t look very happy. Who made you angry?”

“My third brother obviously suspects the blood you gave him.” He Qingning kept her gaze firmly on Shen Wan’s face, “he already noticed that before which is why they would suddenly ask you to send blood over. You cut yourself, so they’ll find out that your blood still has medicinal effects and doubt you instead. In the future, you may be asked to cut your hands and bleed while they watch before they let you go. Didn’t you say that you wanted to live well and not hurt yourself because of others?”

He Qingning grabbed Shen Wan’s white silk-wrapped wrist and saw the bright red blood that had stained it. “Is this what it means to live well and not hurt yourself?”

“Your Highness, I suggest that you untie it and see for yourself.” Shen Wan suggested.

This statement instantly dispelled all of He Qingning’s anger.

Untie it and take a look?

She a slight frown marred her lips as she pointed her gaze at the white silk. Her slender fingers fell on it as she gently untied the silk wrapped on the other woman’s wrist. It’s in between this moment that she remembers Shen Wan was not a fool. Except for a spatter of blood stains on the white silk, her wrists were as smooth and pale as always. The cuts she imagined were not there. No matter how much He Qingning tried to keep her serious expression, she couldn’t help, but let it crumble.

So, she didn’t cut her hand?

He Qingning considered Shen Wan deeply before she placed the white silk on top of her hand and looked away, “Wrap it again. Don’t let anyone find out.” She didn’t know how the other woman did it. “You have too many secrets.”

Shen Wan beamed. She loosely wrapped the white silk in a circle around her wrist and presented it to He Qingning, “Your Highness, please help tie the knot for me.”

He Qingning did not refuse. Her nimble fingers touched the white silk and easily tied a beautiful knot. Once she was done, Shen Wan used her sleeves to cover her wrist.

“With my third brother’s disposition, it won’t be long before he insists on securing a place for Shen Shi in the palace. What will you do then?”

Who cares if the crown prince takes a concubine? She just felt that He Xiyan is too infatuated with Shen Shi, but Shen Shi is not a suitable candidate. Shen Wan will also have a hard time in the future because of this.

“Let them be together. They can do whatever they want.”

“Life is very long.” He Qingning couldn’t help saying, “My third brother has ambitions. If you want to live a quiet life, then I’m afraid it won’t work.”

“Your Highness, you support the prince, don’t you?”

He Qingning was silent for a while then said, “Previously, that was my plan.”

Oh… so, you no longer want to support the prince?

“Your Highness, shall I give an eye opener about the prince?”

He Qingning was amused by this and all the heaviness fell away. “I have never seen you like this. Giving me insight is only fair. Let’s talk about how you’re going to open my eyes about my third brother.” ¹

“The crown prince is not a man of affection or justice. There’s no one he cares about except for the one he loves. Even if you support him in the future, he does not have a place for you. If he can’t even protect himself and you manage to have the power to help him despite being a woman, sooner or later this will cause him to fear you. Need I say more for you to understand, Your Highness?”

Of course He Qingning understood that the choice she made was also futile. If her mother’s health was good and she was given a younger brother, there wouldn’t have been a He Xiyan. Although He Xiyan was given her mother’s name, he was presumptuous, and to be precise, uncultured in the ways of royalty. Choosing other brothers to reign is even worse. They are all opposed to her. If she tries to control them, it would probably not end well for her. Her father will step down in the future and a new emperor will take the throne. They’ll most likely give her to someone to marry and that’s it. As a princess who has no power, how can she resist?

She shouldn’t think too far ahead. Her father is the emperor still. Without her father as the emperor, she would have no power to support He Xiyan. Due to this reason, He Xiyan still has a symbiotic relationship with her. Now, it seems that He Xiyan may not give her a way of life in the future. It is also through her father and his position as the emperor who controls all the power. Her cunning brothers dare not draw attention to themselves, so as not to arouse her father’s scrutiny. Even her third brother is also careful to hide himself.

“You’re right.”

He Qingning smiled bitterly, “Me being a princess may not last for many years.”

“Your Highness, don’t be discouraged. There’s always a silver lining. You can always think of a perfect solution. Look at me. The prince doesn’t love me. He wants to take my blood, but I wanted to live well for myself. By relying on my own abilities, didn’t I escape this predicament? After today, the prince will find that my blood is useless. He will be busy trying to cure my second sister and will temporarily forget me.”

“It’s not as simple as you think.” He Qingning listened to her words. She had always thought about this before she resigned herself to helping a new heir.

But those who love power wouldn’t want to be controlled by an insignificant woman. In the end, she’s lucky to have lived half of her life only fearing to be a wedding dress for others.

It is better to rely on oneself than to lean against mountains and be run over by everyone. Destiny is in your own hands and if you don’t depend on others, you will not have these worries. It is a pity that she was not born a man. If she was a man, she would not have been so passive. Not only can she protect herself, she could have also taken the burden of being an emperor from her elderly father.

“Your Highness is a clever woman. To win against this world full of men, she will surely think of the best solution.

“Your Highness, I’m hungry. Would you like to eat?” ²

He Qingning was contemplating about what Shen Wan had just said, but the other woman suddenly flipped and said she was hungry. He Qingning was stunned.

“Your Highness, let’s eat. It’s already noon. I’m hungry.”

He Qingning: Just to clarify everything, you want to eat? What the hell is this and where is it going? She’s thinking about serious matters, but Shen Wan’s flippant enough to think about eating. This is terrible timing.

“Your Highness, do you want to eat?”

“Let’s eat.” ³

He Qingning’s heart fluttered. It seems that Shen Wan has magical powers. Her words were so profound that it makes people feel heavy with its meaning. Then she’d say a word and it will banish all of your troubles. She’s in such a tough situation, but she’s able to smile as if fearless in the face of a vast sky.

===HX===SS===HX===

“How’s it going?”

“Your Highness, this blood does not have detoxification properties. Were you mistaken? The blood of Princess Wan does not have any magical qualities.”

He Xiyan couldn’t believe it. He confirmed this with the person he sent to observe on her.

“Your Highness, I clearly saw the princess cut her wrist with a knife. Blood spilled into the bowl drop by drop.”

He Xiyan is still a person who believes in his own people. Was his information really inaccurate and Shen Wan was not one of the mysterious bloodlines in the legend? Her blood was unable to cure the toxin.

“How is Shi’er?”

“Not very well. The toxin has invaded her internal organs. If we can’t completely remove the toxin, she won’t be able to survive over the age of twenty.” The doctor said with a heavy voice.

Shen Shi is sixteen this year.

In other words, if the toxin is not removed, Shi’er will only have four years to live.

When He Xiyan thought of this, his heart felt like it was twisted with a knife. He slammed the teacup on the table, breaking it completely. The pieces of the teacup sunk into the palm of his hand.

His servants panicked at the scene, “Your Highness! Doctor, please check on him.”

The doctor stepped closer to help He Xiyan take out the fragments imbedded into his palm. He Xiyan did not resist. He just couldn’t hold back his desperation. The pain coming from his hand also made him regret this sudden impulse. The doctor was carefully applying medicine to He Xiyan when he suddenly froze. He wiped the blood with his fingers and placed it under his nose to take a sniff.

He Xiyan felt something strange was going on, “What’s wrong?”

“Your… Your Highness.” The doctor was horrified. His face turned pale with fright as he knelt directly on the ground, “You… your blood…”

He Xiyan sensed something. He waved his hand and told everyone to go. Once done, he asked seriously, “What’s happened to my blood?” Could it be that he was also poisoned? It would be difficult to understand the doctor’s panic otherwise.

“Your Highness, your blood has the detoxification effect. I sniffed it just now and I felt a special scent coming from your blood. There’s no mistaking it.” It’s unbelievable. The blood of the crown prince is capable of curing all kinds of poison.

“Are you sure?”

The doctor tested it again believing that his discovery was correct. He allowed He Xiyan to try feeding his blood to Shen Shi to prove what he said.

He Xiyan didn’t really think much of it at the time. He was surprised how his blood can now detoxify, but thinking of the toxin inside Shen Shi, he listened to the doctor’s words and fed a small bowl of blood to Shen Shi.

Shen Shi has always been conscious. In the first few days, she knew that she was drinking Shen Wan’s blood. While she frowned and swallowed reluctantly, in her heart she was overjoyed. The prince actually let Shen Wan cut her wrist to bleed for her. It clearly shows how much he values her and how Shen Wan was not the prince’s favorite. She was nothing in the eyes of the prince.

Before, she was disappointed to hear that Shen Wan’s blood was unable to cure her. Now the tides have turned. The blood of the prince is the cure all along. She was given blood to drink on the spot and her heart felt warm and satisfied.

After drinking the blood, Shen Shi looked at He Xiyan’s wrist and said with a pale face, “Your Highness, were you the one giving me all the blood these days?”

He Xiyan did not expect Shen Shi to misunderstand. It was probably because she saw him bloodletting just now and he was a little chagrined. Still, he said, “Don’t think so much about it, Shi’er. As long as you are well, this is what I chose.”

“Your Highness, will this affect you? You shouldn’t hurt yourself for my sake.”

“No.” He Xiyan said firmly. He can endure a little bit of it every day. He was a strong man, not a weak woman. Recently, he asked the doctor to prescribe some medicinal tonics to remove the toxins from Shi’er’s body first.

Now that his blood can detoxify, he can’t let anyone know. He was puzzled as to why his own blood became like this. He observed Shen Shi’s face and saw that she now had a rosy glow. He hurriedly asked the doctor to check on her. After the doctor took her pulse, his voice was laced with surprise, “Your Highness, the toxin in Shen Shi’s body has indeed been reduced.”

After the doctor finished speaking, he felt that He Xiyan was looking at him wrong. His heart thumped in fear. For such an important secret, how could the prince let him go after he found out? He was afraid of losing his life.

“Doctor Liu, you will stay here for the time being. Take care of Shi’er at all times and get me some more medicinal tonics. As for your family, you don’t need to worry. I will send someone to take care of them while you’re staying here.”

What else can he do?

He blamed himself for not reigning in his sudden impulse. He should not have blabbed his mouth when he found that the prince’s blood was not right.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

After Shen Shi fell asleep, He Xiyan questioned Doctor Liu again. He was sure that his blood had no detoxification effect before. As soon as he asked, he remembered that he drank a bowl of Shen Wan’s blood before. Now her blood did not have any detoxification effects where as she had it before. Could there be a reason for it?

After listening to this, Doctor Liu pondered and said, “A person who owns this kind of blood is already very special and magical. Perhaps there is a specific day in which the blood’s special properties can be transferred. It may have been by chance that Your Highness drank this blood on that particular day and you became like this.

Except for this reason, He Xiyan could not think of anything else. Shen Wan’s blood no longer had any special medicinal effects and is now useless to him. He will be able to save Shen Shi himself without giving any attention to the other woman. As for Doctor Liu, he will stay here forever in the future.

===HQ===SW===HQ===

He Qingning sat on a palanquin returning back to the palace. Before entering the palanquin, one of the ladies serving her handed a note. She only opened the note once the palanquin started moving. After reading its contents, her beautiful eyes exuded a smile with a little curiosity.

“My third brother’s blood…” He Qingning murmured in a low voice, “Why does it have such an effect? What Doctor Liu is saying is unbelievable.”

So, who caused this?

Was it her? Shen Wan, was this all in her plan? How did she do it? What a brilliant performance this was. Unlike before, this was done without the slightest intention of gaining her third brother’s love. Once you’re obsessed with a person, was it really possible to forget them in such a short time?

He Qingning placed a hand on her forehead and laughed, “If you have so many secrets, it’ll make people want to dig them out one by one.”

[188: “Wan Wan, what do you plan to do next? He Xiyan’s biology has been transformed and now he wants to save Shen Shi himself. There won’t be any trouble for you for the time being.]

What he really wants to ask is: With the little princess in the palace, how will you two get together?

If it’s not sweet, the readers will be anxious.

“I can’t go into the palace. I can only wait for the princess to come to me. Rest assured, now that she’s curious about me, she won’t be able to stop approaching me.”

188: Common sense dictates that He Qingning determined Shen Wan as an anomaly. As a settler, she should be arrested and burned to death. After all, his host was acting too strange in front of He Qingning. On the contrary, He Qingning did not think anything of this at all. Instead she fell into the host’s trap step by step.

[188: Wan Wan, for safety’s sake, you can now take the remaining genetic modifier and you won’t have to worry about anyone finding out your special blood.”]

“I’ll do it after a while. I haven’t been free recently.”

188: He was produced by high-end space. Just a moment ago weren’t you free? She really thinks he’s fool enough to be easily deceived?

[188: “Wan Wan, where did all the money we made go? Even if you purchased a lot of items and paid off the instalment debt, shouldn’t you still have a lot saved up?”

Shen Wan responded vaguely, “I’m planning on something big. This is a secret. You don’t need to ask and even if you do, I won’t tell you anything.”

188 knew that it would turn out like this, but once she returns to the real world and leaves the Time and Space Administration, this will shield him from any backlash. Who knows what she used all that money for.

===HX===SS===HX===

From that day on, He Xiyan would not take the initiative to see Shen Wan. Even more so, he blatantly placed Shen Shi within his property. The entire royal family knew that Shen Shi was the one the crown prince loves. In the background, they gradually came to look down on Shen Wan. Despite this, He Qingning came to visit her every day, so the servants of the palace didn’t dare neglect her.

He Qingning is now in control over the movements in the palace. Knowing He Xiyan’s actions did not make her as angry as before. Seeing that Shen Wan did not seem to care and was living her life leisurely made it hard for her to feel even a little frustrated.

“In a little while, I’m afraid that my third brother will directly take Shen Shi as a princess on the side. Do you not feel any sense of crisis?”

Shen Wan raised her head slowly, “What can I do?” Her face full of helplessness made He Qingning speechless. Yes, what can she do? Fight this? Her third brother doesn’t have Shen Wan in his heart, how will she fight this? At the same time, deep inside her heart, He Qingning did not want Shen Wan to continue chasing after He Xiyan.

“Do you still have thoughts about my third brother?”

Shen Wan’s opened her eyes lazily, “It’s been gone for a long time, Your Highness. My heart is already dead.”

He Qingning was a little angry. Why is it dead? Was it for her third brother? He’s worth nothing.

He Qingning suddenly took out a book from her pocket and handed it to Shen Wan. She sat next to Shen Wan and whispered, “I read a book recently and I came across something insightful from it. I wanted to know more about how we can move further into the future.”

Shen Wan held the book and flipped through it. Not long after, she fell on the ground in shock. Her eyes shone brightly at He Qingning. He Qingning smiled with her eyes and bent down slightly. She took Shen Wan’s hand and helped her up, then she moved her lips close to the curve of her ear, “Shen Wan, this princess also wants to sit in the highest position. I’m unwilling to become seaweed drifting in the ocean, unable to control their own destiny. I can’t rely on anyone. It’s best that I only make use of those in my hands.”

“Your Royal Highness, I am timid.” Shen Wan hastily shoved the book back into He Qingning’s hand and covered her eyes. “Your Highness, my eyes are not good today. I couldn’t see anything. I couldn’t quite see the book with the beautiful female emperor, in control of all the power to support her favored handsome men. I also don’t understand what you mean by being a female emperor.”

“You, a coward?” He Qingning laughed coldly, leaning against Shen Wan’s ear, whispering, “Who is it that stays awake at midnight and skillfully leaps over a wall? Who is it that with a fist can crush every stone? Shen Wan, lately you’ve bought a lot of stores within the imperial city. Don’t pretend now. Your little secrets have been in the palm of my hand for a long time. Is this really what you want, a pathetic life behind closed doors?”

Shen Wan: Really? Are all the secrets I’ve hidden for so long finally dug out by the little princess?

“You are not an ordinary woman. Are you willing to be trapped here for a lifetime and waste your life? Shen Wan, you’re a smart girl. You shouldn’t be buried here.” Such a person should stand in a much brighter place and shine with their true elegance.

Shen Wan whispered, “Your Highness, truth be told, I’m a person who’s indifferent to fame and fortune.” Seeing some loss in He Qingning’s eyes, she slowly released her hand and continued, “But you seduced me with your words, Your Highness. ⁴ Plus, you have already discovered my many secrets. So, tell me, what do you want me to do? Do you want me to use my fist to beat those few brothers you have that are particularly competitive?”

He Qingning: “…” A person who’s indifferent to fame and fortune doesn’t open their mouth to count money every day.