Masquerade in Bridal Attire and Marry the Prince

240. A Risky Move

Translator: Bryan

Du Chuxuan was not annoyed, a sly look in his eyes, “You’re not thinking of it, but you’ve already done it. You’re giving me the silent treatment. You said you’d be with me forever, but now you’re giving me the silent treatment.” Du Chuxuan was powerless to stand up, but he had been having meals as usual, so he still had enough strength to yell.

Having noticed that Du Chuxuan’s voice was getting louder, Yuxing Tianrui sprang to his feet and covered Du Chuxuan’s mouth with his hand; but unexpectedly, Du Chuxuan instantly wheeled himself backwards and with that Yuxing Tianrui lost his balance and fell into Du Chuxuan’s arms.

“What are you doing, Your Highness?” Du Chuxuan exclaimed with mock alarm. When Luo San attempted to enter the room to check, Du Chuxuan threw a stone at the door and closed it. Then he lowered his head and said with a wicked smile, “Are you annoyed that I might not be able to serve you anymore, Your Highness?”

Yuxing Tianrui would give anything in exchange for something to block Du Chuxuan’s mouth. He irritably gave Du Chuxuan a push and straightened himself. “Don’t you think you owe it to me to explain the whole thing?” Yuxing Tianrui had restrained himself until now solely because of Du Chuxuan’s poor health.

However, Ashina Yi had kept talking about Du Chuxuan as if they were very close, which struck Yuxing Tianrui as a blatant provocation. He couldn’t tolerate that. Du Chuxuan was somewhat regretful about his words, feeling that he had gone too far in teasing Yuxing Tianrui. Now he had really ignited Yuxing Tianrui’s jealousy.

“It hurts. Zizheng, it hurts so bad.” Du Chuxuan couldn’t remember that sentence in the book named Master Sun’s Art of War, but he was positive that Yuxing Tianrui cared about him. Clutching his heart, Du Chuxuan sneaked a glance at Yuxing Tianrui. Unsurprisingly, the instant Du Chuxuan let out the first pained cry, Yuxing Tianrui got tensed up.

“Don’t you lie to me. Luo Feng said the poison wouldn’t take effect in the next two days as long as you rest well.” Yuxing Tianrui sounded more uncertain with his every word. He turned to look at Du Chuxuan’s face and was taken aback by what he saw. Du Chuxuan was trembling all over, his face pale, his lips purple, his forehead covered with beads of sweat. Clearly, he was in pain.

Du Chuxuan had an urge to stab himself, feeling that he had jinxed himself. He had merely wanted to scare Yuxing Tianrui, but it had never crossed his mind that the poison would really take effect at this point in time, and the pain was really killing him. He didn’t even have a chance to deaden it.

“Guards! Get Luo Feng! Now!” Luo San reacted very quickly. He promptly went to the neighboring house, grabbed Luo Feng by the scruff of the neck and brought him to the room. However, at the sight of Du Chuxuan’s symptoms, Luo Feng knew that there was nothing he could do. “Sire, we have only two options. The first one is to risk it and have His Highness take the pill.

“The other one is to let His Highness tough it out, but the pain he’ll have to endure… If His Highness’s willpower is not strong enough, there might be a blowback.”

“Blowback?” There was nothing Yuxing Tianrui hated more than when he was powerless to make a difference. “What do you mean by that? What will happen to him? Will he suffer injuries? What kind of injuries?”

“No, sire!” Luo Feng was a little anxious. He withdrew the needles in his hand. “The best-case scenario would be for His Highness to suffer some stimulation and lapse into some kind of dormancy. I mean, he’d be in suspended animation.” Yuxing Tianrui almost buckled at the knees after hearing those words. Du Chuxuan would be in suspended animation even if the blowback was minor?

“The worst-case scenario would be… Well, if His Highness fails to tough it out, his brain might lose the function to coordinate with his other body parts and his head would suffer blood impact which might cause His Highness to…” Luo Feng didn’t finish his sentence, but Yuxing Tianrui knew what he meant. No matter what, Luo Feng’s conclusion was that they shouldn’t let Du Chuxuan try to tough it out.

“Okay then, give him the pill!” Yuxing Tianrui said through gritted teeth. “Stay here and watch over him. Tell me immediately if he shows any symptoms of side effect.” The others wanted to help, but there was nothing they could do. If only they had arrived earlier. Every one of them was willing to fall victim to the poison in Du Chuxuan’s stead. They felt that their lives were nothing compared to Du Chuxuan’s.

Du Chuxuan furrowed his brows in pain. He was still conscious, unlike the last time he fainted. This time, he could feel his body fighting against the virulent poison. Every round of resistence meant a fresh stab of pain. He felt as though he were being roasted, and he had trouble breathing.

Luo Feng took out a pill. Before he could even hesitate, Yuxing Tianrui snatched it from Luo Feng’s hand and shoved it into Du Chuxuan’s mouth. “Don’t be afraid. If you don’t make it, wait for me at the gate to the underworld. I won’t keep you waiting for long.”

“Please stop saying such inauspicious words, Your Highness!” Everyone knelt down in anxiety and frustration, but there was nothing they could do.

After taking the pill, Du Chuxuan felt as if something rough were rubbing against the inside of his throat, but he couldn’t even swallow to wet his throat. He clenched his teeth to keep from crying. He didn’t want Yuxing Tianrui to know that he was in agony. He could only endure it while the pill melted in his mouth.

Yuxing Tianrui was gazing at Du Chuxuan’s face, watching his facial expression change. Yuxing Tianrui balled his hands into tight fists. He didn’t know what he was holding on to. He had thought that he was strong enough, but in fact, he had never even been able to protect his loved one.

He had just taken a deep breath when a soldier burst into the tent and reported, “Your Highness, Ashina Fei the Turkish prince is now only one day’s ride from the Turkish encampment.”

Everyone was shocked. They received a message only yesterday. By rights, the prince should be at least two days’ ride away. It seemed that Ashina Fei, in order to get the goods on Ashina Yi, had taken even these factors into consideration.

In the conference hall, everyone appeared somewhat anxious. Looking at Yuxing Tianrui who was standing at the front, they expressed their opinions. “Your Highness, Ashina Fei will sure as hell take action after his arrival. The firstborn son of the Turkish emperor has always been anxious to achieve quick success and get instant benefits. I think he might launch an attack on us.”

“I agree. Ashina Fei never cared about politics, but neither did he ever stop contending for the throne. Currently, the Turks have Manlou at their backs. There’s no telling if Ashina Fei has control over Manlou as well. We need to take precautions.”

Watching Yuxing Tianrui standing at the front with his hands crossed behind his back, the deputy general knew that the crown prince’s mind was still occupied by the military counselor, so he stepped out and said, “We have enemies both ahead of and behind us. Chances are that the third prince and his army will arrive within half a month. We need to get prepared.”