Chapter 727 Set up a Scheme, then Leaving Like a Cicada Sloughing Its Skin
It was very quiet in the carriage as there was no sound for a long time. After a while, Bai Yihao opened his eyes and smiled, “Not yet. The poison hasn’t spread to your lungs, so it’s not the worst. When we arrive at the capital of the Yan Kingdom, I’ll write a prescription and get medical herbs.”
Mo Xuetong thought for a while and said, “If you want that jade token, I’ll go back and find it for you. It’s not mine anyway.” She had sensed that those secret guards had long since wanted to work for Bai Yihao. Only Shopkeeper Xing was willing to work for her for old times’ sake. The assistant leader of the secret guards had already had his own idea, and it was meaningless for Mo Xuetong to stop him. Besides, the old master of those secret guards was King Jin. Now they worked for the most powerful man, Bai Yihao, which meant that they found a good master.
As they were able to quietly leave the capital of the Qin Kingdom, those secret guards must have played an important role in it.
Since she was not on his side, she might as well do him a favor. However, she had to do it after she returned to the Qin Kingdom. She had carried the fake jade token with her. Mo Xuetong knew that she could deceive others with it, but it was impossible to deceive Bai Yihao with it. As such, she did not even take it out.
“You can keep the secret guards for you, and you don’t have to be in a hurry to ask them to protect me. The situation in the Yan Kingdom has changed. I can rest assured when they are by your side,” Bai Yihao said with a smile.
“There’s no need. Take them if you need. I came to the Yan Kingdom as a secret. It’s useless for the First Prince and the Empress of the Yan Kingdom even if I got captured. No one will pay attention to me.” Mo Xuetong refused decisively. She did not want to have too much to do with Bai Yihao; furthermore, those secret guards had never been loyal to her.
Bai Yihao picked up the teacup and took a sip. Then he turned it slightly and said gently, “There are spies in the capital of the Qin Kingdom, and they’ve already known about it.”
Mo Xuetong paused for a moment before she asked back nonchalantly, “So what if they know?”
Anyway, she had nothing to do with them.
“They will catch you in order to threaten me, so your safety is very important.” Bai Yihao looked at her lightly and frowned slightly. His pretty eyes darkened a little.
Mo Xuetong’s hand, which was holding the teacup, trembled slightly. She bit her lips and changed the topic, asking. “Did Mother go to the Yan Kingdom with you?”
There was no need to continue this topic. The more they talked, the more chaotic this matter would become. No matter what Bai Yihao planned to do, Mo Xuetong did not want to get involved.
Seeing that she did not want to probe further, Bai Yihao answered lightly, “As both of us have left, Second Aunt felt it was pointless to stay there.”
Mo Xuetong thought for a while and asked, “I want to sit in the same carriage with Mother. Is that okay?” She really did not want to face Bai Yihao alone even though Qing Zhu was by her side.
“Don’t worry. I’ll leave in a while. You’re in poor health, and it’s more comfortable here. Take a rest. I’ve already asked someone to book an inn.” Bai Yihao immediately understood what she meant. He still looked gentle as usual, and smiled, “I’m leaving now. I was in a hurry to come here since I’ve traveled 250 kilometers on horseback.”
Then not waiting for Mo Xuetong’s reply, he stood up, lifted the curtain in front of him, and jumped away. The curtain fell down and hid his trace in front of Mo Xuetong.
“Master was afraid that someone would hurt you, so he especially came here. He traveled more than 250 kilometers a night and didn’t stop until he arrived here. You drove him away before he had a rest. You’re too much!” Qing Zhu said angrily in the corner. She was defending Bai Yihao.
“So what?” Mo Xuetong did not even raise her head as she commented coldly. Her eyes were indifferent.
“How can you be so heartless? Regardless of the fight with the First Prince, my master left everything behind in the capital and came all night long here just for you. But you just lightly said ‘so what’. Someone like my master takes you to heart. How could you not be grateful to him?” As she saw Mo Xuetong being so arrogant, Qing Zhu’s face turned pale with anger.
Her mighty master was like an immortal and was extremely noble. Even though Mo Xuetong was not bad looking, she was still young. How could she win her master’s favor? According to common sense, no matter which woman was so cherished by her master, they should be grateful!
“If you lived a good life but were taken away from your home, would you be grateful to the person who took you away?” Mo Xuetong looked up indifferently, and there was a slight ripple in her watery eyes.
Qing Zhu was stunned by the question and opened her mouth. After a while, she said defiantly, “You were poisoned. My master wanted to detoxify you, so he took you here.”
Mo Xuetong had already found a medical book and flipped through it casually. At Qing Zhu’s words, she just looked up but then looked down again, not replying.
Mo Xuetong would never believe that this was the only reason. Since when did Bai Yihao have such medical ethics? He kidnapped her from the Qin Kingdom in order to treat her? No one would believe it if he said that. It did not accord with his later reputation as an iron-fisted Emperor in the future.
Qing Zhu seemed to also feel that her words were not very credible as her face turned red and she was speechless for a moment.
Silence fell in the carriage as it moved forward slowly. Mo Xuetong flipped through the medical book on one side. She had never read this book before. She calmed down and stopped thinking about anything else. Seeing that Mo Xuetong ignored her, Qing Zhu, who could not find a topic to talk about, sat by the window and lifted the curtains slightly to admire the scenery outside.
Mo Xuetong read the book for a while and got tired, so she reclined and lay down. The book fell on the floor. Then, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
After a while, Qing Zhu walked to Mo Xuetong’s side and reached out to grab her limp, drooping wrist. Then she took out a set of needles from a hidden compartment. Just as she was about to stick a needle into her wrist, a figure flashed to her. Bai Yihao had come back.
“Your Highness!” Qing Zhu raised her head.
“Step aside. I’ll do it.” Bai Yihao nodded.
“Yes.” Even though Qing Zhu was confused, she still put down Mo Xuetong’s wrist and stepped aside.
Bai Yihao took a few steps forward and sat down in front of Mo Xuetong’s couch. He reached out and grabbed her pale wrist. His expression was calm as he picked up a long needle and pierced it into Mo Xuetong’s wrist with great speed. Then he turned it slightly and ordered, “Bring me a bowl!”
“Yes!” Qing Zhu skillfully took out a jade bowl from the secret compartment on the other side. After that, she picked up the jade bottle on the side and poured some milky white liquid into the bowl. A light, refreshing fragrance wafted out. A few butterflies flew past the window and especially fell on the fluttering gauze curtain, waving their colorful wings.
Qing Zhu screwed the lid back on the jade bottle and handed it to Bai Yihao respectfully. The latter took it and then tapped Mo Xuetong’s body twice. Mo Xuetong slept even more soundly.
After that, he lifted Mo Xuetong half up and allowed her to lean against his shoulder. He picked up the jade bowl and placed it beside Mo Xuetong’s lips, feeding her slowly.
As Mo Xuetong fell asleep, she swallowed subconsciously in a slow way. Bai Yihao was not in a hurry. He held her wrist, which was stuck with a needle, with one hand, and took the bowl with the other. As she swallowed, he fed her slowly.
Qing Zhu witnessed for a while and suggested, “Your Highness, let me do it!”
“There’s no need. I’ll do it myself.” Bai Yihao’s expression didn’t change and he did not even cast a glance at her, but his gaze landing on Mo Xuetong’s face looked gentler than ever. Qing Zhu felt bitter when she noticed it. She spontaneously clenched her fists and lowered her eyes. Her master… really cared about this woman.
She had never seen such a gentle expression on her master’s face, which was completely revealed from the bottom of his heart, not the gentleness on the surface. Everyone in the world claimed that her master was easygoing and as gentle as jade. However, only those who served him knew that her master was the most difficult to get close to, and he had never taken the initiative to get close to any woman.
After a long while, Mo Xuetong nearly finished the liquid, but there was still a little left in the bowl. Bai Yihao gently put her down and twisted the needle with his fingers. Then, the needle on Mo Xuetong’s wrist came out. The tip of the needle drew a horizontal line in the air and fell into the jade bowl. The liquid in the jade bowl immediately overflowed the tip of the needle. The silver tip of the needle was slightly dim and lost its luster. Slowly, it turned black.
“Your Highness…” Qing Zhu’s expression changed and she could not help but cry out.
Bai Yihao turned around, but the gentleness on his face had disappeared. His eyes were as bright as stars, filled with coldness and ruthlessness that he had never had before. His eyes were so cold that they could make people breathless, immediately making Qing Zhu pause.
With a quick flip of his slender fingers, the tip of the needle fell into the secret compartment. With a backhand push, the secret compartment was closed.
“Take good care of her and let her have a good sleep.” Bai Yihao stood up straight, flicked his sleeves gracefully and instructed Qing Zhu before he strode out.
“Your Highness, if Consort Xuan…” Bai Yihao turned around and cast a cold gaze at her. Qing Zhu timidly corrected her words. “What if Third Young Miss Mo wants to see Princess Royal?”
“Then let her see Princess Royal!”
When Mo Xuetong woke up this time, the sunset had already come. The setting sun swept past clouds and even the horizon turned red. She did not know if it was because she had slept, but she felt that she was in good spirits. She pressed the table and sat up. Then she discovered that there were some fresh fruits on the table.
The Yan Kingdom was located in the north, so these fruits should be rare.
“Miss, we’re in a hurry on the way. You’d better get some fruit for your stomach first. When we get to the destination, you can have dinner.” At this time, Qing Zhu actually became polite.
Mo Xuetong could only let them do as they wished and did not say anything else. After all, she was now in Bai Yihao’s hands. Given his character, he would definitely not let her go as he had contrived Princess Royal to leave. What she had to do now was to be obedient until she found a suitable opportunity to escape.
She believed that Feng Yuran had already known that she was missing. He would definitely think of a way to find her. Given Feng Yuran’s strength, it would not be difficult for him to know that she had been taken away by Bai Yihao. Perhaps, he would find her sooner or later. As such, the most important thing right now was to preserve her strength.
She even had a vague feeling that Feng Yuran had always known about this matter…
She had intentionally angered Qing Zhu earlier because she wanted to know Bai Yihao’s intentions. Now that Bai Yihao had appeared, she did not need to spend any more effort on Qing Zhu.
Seeing that Qing Zhu was speaking politely, she cooperatively picked up a fruit on the table and ate one.
Perhaps because she was hungry, the fruit tasted sweet, crispy, and delicious.
After wiping her hands, she suddenly felt no pain on her face. She reached out and touched it, but it didn’t feel hot. She knew that it must be Qing Zhu who had applied medicine on her face while she was sleeping. She frowned slightly and thought that she slept longer and heavier now.
It must be because she was poisoned. She wondered if Bai Yihao would be able to make the antidote to it.
Of course, it was not something that could be solved after she thought about it. Right now, she was unable to do anything and could only resign herself to fate. As such, she picked up the medical book beside her and read it with interest.
That day, they rested in an inn. When Mo Xuetong got out of the carriage, Princess Royal had already walked into the inn. Qing Zhu handed Mo Xuetong a curtained hat. She put it on and went into the inn. Before she could see the people around her clearly, Qing Zhu took her into the guest room. The food had already been placed there, and they were all Mo Xuetong’s favorite dishes.
Mo Xuetong was very cooperative. She did not hesitate to eat and didn’t stand on ceremony when she had anything she wanted. She finished her meal gracefully under the watch of Qing Zhu.
After the meal, she fell into a deep sleep!
It was a quiet night. When she woke up, it was not yet dawn. Qing Zhu brought her a set of men’s clothes and gave her a man’s hair. After Mo Xuetong put on the clothes, she looked like a decent man in the secular world. Qing Zhu also changed her clothes and turned into another young man. The two of them went out of the room together. There was a young waiter waiting outside the door. Seeing them come out, he hurried to greet, “Elder Young Master, Second Young Master.”
“Let’s go!” Qing Zhu ordered as she walked in front, waving the fan in her hand.
“Yes.” The young waiter led the way. Several other guards stood on both sides and surrounded them as they went downstairs. Because it was not yet dawn, the other guests in the inn had not yet gotten up. They got on an ordinary carriage by the road. Through the curtain, Mo Xuetong saw that the luxurious and spacious carriage they took yesterday was still parked at one side.
Shortly after they left, most of the guests in the inn woke up. A young lady wearing a curtained hat and a beautiful maidservant came out of the room where they had lived before. The maidservant helped the young lady down the stairs and entered the luxury carriage parked outside. A few other maidservants helped a sick woman into the carriage behind them.
The two carriages, one in front of the other, hurried along the main road.