Chapter 7
Zhao Heng stood still in place, unmoving.
Li Wenjian had finished washing his hands, picked up a handkerchief to dry the water off his hands, then turned and sat back in his chair.
"Jiang Jin suffers from severe migraines," Zhao Heng's voice was soft, "when it strikes, the pain is excruciating, almost unbearable. The day Aunt Chen took me to the Jiang Residence, he happened to be in the midst of a migraine attack, in agonizing pain."
"In the village of Xuejia, there was a crippled doctor living behind my house, who had a remedy for migraines," Zhao Heng said, "I used that remedy to relieve his migraines."
Li Wenjian looked at her in surprise. Jiang Jin, suffering greatly from migraines, many doctors were powerless, yet a country girl like her could heal him.
"Jiang Jin, a man without mercy or honor, if he gets the remedy, will he let you go?" Li Wenjian asked her.
In the silent moment that followed, Zhao Heng took a deep breath, and after a pause, she used her uninjured right hand to undress.
Zhao Heng's movements were slow, as she lowered her head to remove her heavy cotton coat.
One by one, her belt and outer robe were removed, leaving only a pale inner garment on her body. Zhao Heng looked up at Li Wenjian, who was leaning back in his chair, observing her cautiously, his eyes calm like a tranquil spring, seemingly unconcerned about what she was about to do.
Zhao Heng's heart trembled suddenly, facing the embarrassment, she made a decision and lowered her head to remove the last layer of undergarments covering her skin, revealing her body adorned only in a blush-colored intimate garment.
Her skin was as smooth as condensed fat, shimmering in the sunlight.
She kept her head down, her gaze fixed on the tip of her shoe, feeling a deep sense of humiliation. She thought everything was in the past, but today she had to uncover her scars and trample on her dignity.
With a bowed posture, she extended her pure white arm towards Li Wenjian. His gaze lifted to settle on the prominent and unsightly scars that covered her arms. The delicate skin was covered with scars, making them stand out even more.
"Because I told him, in order to cure his migraines, he would need to use my flesh and blood as a sacrifice," Zhao Heng's voice was soft, "that's why he spared my life."
Li Wenjian looked up.
Zhao Heng lowered her eyelids and continued, "Your Highness may wonder, why would Jiang Jin, a cunning and suspicious man, believe my words alone?"
Li Wenjian's eyes brightened, seemingly acknowledging her intelligence.
Zhao Heng added, "The crippled doctor I mentioned earlier, is a strange man who is obsessed with medicine, especially unconventional methods. My grandmother was in poor health after years of hard work, and we couldn't afford the medicine. I begged him to treat her. He agreed, but with a condition."
She paused and then said lightly, "He asked me to be his medicinal subject."
Even if Li Wenjian was not well-versed in medicine, he understood what a medicinal subject was.
Some medicines need to be tested to see their effectiveness, and for that purpose, they need someone to try them out. The person used to test the medicines is called a medicinal subject. As a medicinal subject, one must constantly ingest the medicine. If a mistake is made, it could cost them their life.
His fingers on the chair slightly bent.
"I told him, I was once a medicinal subject, I have tried thousands of different herbal remedies, my flesh and blood are the best bait," as she spoke, her tone slowed down, as if the days of cutting flesh and blood were a distant nightmare, not something she had actually experienced.
After saying all this, Li Wenjian remained silent. In that moment of silence, Zhao Heng couldn't help but wonder if she had convinced him. Her heart was filled with hope and fear.
Zhao Heng still stood in place, unmoving, as a cool breeze brushed past her body, causing goosebumps to appear on her skin.
"Jiang Jin consumed my flesh and drank my blood, I hate him to the core, to this day, I wish I could dig him out and crush him into dust," Zhao Heng gritted her teeth, "I could never have any collusion with him, please believe me, Your Highness. The events of that day, were all out of fear of exposure, fearing the accusation of defiling the palace, that's why I temporarily lost my senses and harmed Your Highness. I know I was wrong, and I am willing to bear the consequences, Your Highness's judgment, exile, I... have no complaints."
One must take responsibility for their actions.
After attempting to knock him unconscious and fleeing, she felt uneasy for a long time. As time passed, no one mentioned that day's events, and she thought it was all in the past.
But what's done is done, and she couldn't deny it.
Li Wenjian did not raise his head, "You have committed a capital crime."
Zhao Heng was taken aback, glanced at Li Wenjian, hesitated slightly, then lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes casting a shadow: "Your Highness won't kill me."
Fearful of saying the wrong thing and completely angering Li Wenjian, she silently reassured herself that Your Highness was a compassionate ruler, a saint in exile, not someone who enjoyed killing.
When she looked up again, she found Li Wenjian staring at her. Subconsciously avoiding his gaze, she spoke, "If Your Highness wanted to kill me, I wouldn't have the chance to defend myself in front of Your Highness. You gave me the opportunity to explain... and couldn't bear to kill me again."
"Your Highness is a gentleman, showing mercy and compassion to those in distress."
Li Wenjian was not someone indulging in worldly pleasures, he had unfinished business.
The North was not yet pacified, the South was still in chaos.
He had no interest in romantic affairs or frivolous relationships.
In the palace, there were those ambitious individuals who wanted to climb to the top, at first, he thought it was just a simple love potion. He couldn't understand why she quietly left the next morning while he was still in a stupor.
He had been drugged that day, but his senses were intact, he could feel her resistance and struggle.
Before losing consciousness, he met her stubborn and desperate gaze.
He had never intended to kill her.
Yesterday, Mu Gui said that the poison in his drink was a paralyzing agent, and she had served him at Jiang Jin's residence, yet he never considered killing her.
The tearful eyes stayed in his mind unwaveringly.
Li Wenjian never expected her life journey to be so tumultuous.
As the wind blew through the corridor, swaying the smoke over the stove, Li Wenjian watched Zhao Heng kneeling on the ground. Finally, he picked up her fallen cotton jacket, walked over to her, and draped it over her.
Zhao Heng's frozen slender shoulders instinctively shrank as she stiffly tried to put on the jacket. However, she had been cold for so long, her body numb, and one of her hands injured, making movement difficult. She struggled for a while, but couldn't even get her hand through the sleeve.
Li Wenjian reached out to help her pull the sleeve, causing a blush to appear on Zhao Heng's face. She immediately said, "I dare not trouble Your Highness, I can do it myself."
Li Wenjian let go of her hand at her words, indicating that Zhao Heng should do it herself. She discreetly glanced at Li Wenjian, then quickly looked down, pursed her lips lightly, and with her fingers slightly curled on the edge of the garment, she tried to push her hand into the sleeve. However, the injured back of her hand immediately sent a sharp pain, causing her to frown and curl her fingertips.
As she was about to endure the pain and move her hand, Li Wenjian's hand came over and held her wrist.
After being exposed to the cool breeze for so long, feeling cold, his hand was surprisingly warm. The warm touch made Zhao Heng pause for a moment, feeling a bit embarrassed as she looked at him. She seemed to be afraid of his touch, every hair on her body standing up without warning.
However, Li Wenjian kept his eyes lowered, holding her wrist and helping her lift her arm, smoothly guiding it into the sleeve.
As he finished tying the belt, Zhao Heng took a step back.
Intentionally avoiding her guarded gaze, Li Wenjian said, "Survival is a human instinct, you have done nothing wrong."
The heavy burden on Zhao Heng's heart eased quietly for a few days.
Yes, she asked for very little, just wanting to live with dignity with her grandmother. To survive, she was willing to be a test subject for a monster; to survive, she entered the palace at a young age alone; to survive, she fed herself to the tiger...
She knew she was born unfortunate, even staying alive was a luxury for her, requiring efforts a hundred or a thousand times more than others. So, she walked cautiously in the palace, enduring the abuse and manipulation from the courtiers, and working tirelessly without complaint.
Her eyelashes trembled, she immediately lowered her eyes, not wanting him to see the tears welling up.
"I will not kill you," he said. "The fault that day was not yours, but mine."
"Why does Your Highness say that?" Zhao Heng raised her eyes in astonishment, but the movement caused her wound to twitch, making her involuntarily gasp in cold air.
Just as Li Wenjian was about to speak, a Fei Yu suddenly flew down from the roof and whispered something in his ear.
After hearing the message, Li Wenjian's expression visibly darkened.
Fei Yu seemed to realize his mistake, standing there unsure, lips tightly pressed.
Zhao Heng could sense Li Wenjian's displeasure and felt she had caused some inconvenience, so she spoke up, "Your Highness, I will take my leave..."
Li Wenjian simply responded with a grunt.
Zhao Heng returned from Yan Shan Ju Residence and saw Hui-niang pacing in front of the door with a piece of fabric in her arms from afar. She quickened her pace.
"I was busy with some matters, that's why I couldn't be there," she explained to Hui-niang.
"I just arrived," Hui-niang noticed the bandaged hand and asked, "How did you get injured?"
Zhao Heng, feeling relieved after resolving a concern, smiled and replied, "It was my carelessness, got burned by hot water. It's nothing, it will heal in a few days."
Hui-niang felt sorry for her and linked arms with her, leading her inside, saying, "You are so unlucky, first falling ill, now getting burned. You really can't adapt to the environment at the Duke's residence."
With a shy smile, Zhao Heng replied, "I can't fit in such a refined place."
"We have some burn ointment, I will bring it for you later," Hui-niang offered. "My young master at home accidentally burned himself once while playing with fire, applied the ointment for a couple of days and it healed."
Shyly, Zhao Heng responded, "I seem to always cause trouble for you."
Hui-niang was straightforward and kind, knowing a hardworking but not nosy maidservant, and it was hard not to love her, especially given her beauty and good nature. She said, "Don't use such polite words, come and see the fabric."
Zhao Heng was surprised at how quickly Hui-niang found the fabric for her. As she opened it, she was stunned. Working in the laundry, handling fabrics daily, she could tell that this piece was no ordinary material. "It's too expensive."
Hui-niang explained, "Miss Wei from the Wei family visited today and brought this fabric for the lady of the house. When Madam heard that you wanted to buy fabric, she sent it for you. It's a rare Qingzhou brocade that can't be found in the market."
"It's valuable," Hui Niang conceded helplessly. "But the Madam gave it to you, so keep it."
From Zhao Heng's perspective, a piece of Qingyun brocade would have taken her a year's worth of savings to buy even a small piece. But for Madame Liu, it was just a piece of fabric. In fact, because it was a gift from Wei Wanyu, she didn't even care to store it. Hearing that Zhao Heng asked Hui-niang to buy fabric for her, she rewarded Zhao Heng with it.
Madam Liu did not like Wei Wanyu.
Outside Yan Shan Ju, Wei Wanyu stood there elegantly, with a slight hint of anger in her eyes, scanning the maidservants in front of the courtyard with a gaze full of resentment.
But this was the Duke's residence, and there was no room for her tantrums. Even if she wanted to cause trouble, there were rules to follow, and she could only reluctantly have them inform Li Wenjian. However, the maidservants had already been instructed and dared not act on their own, so they respectfully asked her to leave without disturbing Li Wenjian.
Wei Wanyu refused to leave. At this moment, she spotted An Xuzhi, who was coming over to ask a question.
"Xiao Silang," Wei Wanyu seemed to see a savior and hurriedly ran towards him.
An Xuzhi, lost in thought, didn't notice the approaching figure until it was too late. Upon realizing it was her, he couldn't avoid her, as Wei Wanyu had already reached him.
He sighed silently, subtly pressing his temples with his hand as Wei Wanyu approached him.
Before a word could escape Wei Wanyu's lips, tears welled up in her eyes. "Xiao Siliang," she pleaded, "please intercede on my behalf with the Crown Prince. Beg him to grant me an audience. I'm at my wit's end. Please, help me. If he turns me away again, the Emperor will surely force me into marriage with a Xiongnu prince."