Qi Wang’s face looked unpleasant, yet there was still a mocking smile tugging at his lips.
Eunuch Feng quickly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Though he had always been envious of how favored Eunuch Xu was, he couldn’t deny that Eunuch Xu truly understood Qi Wang better than anyone.
Whenever Qi Wang was enraged, Eunuch Xu always had a way to calm him down.
Now, terrified and trembling, Eunuch Feng suddenly heard the prince give a low laugh.
Had His Highness gone mad?
Lately, the prince had been fuming every single day because of Xiao Yunting, especially after the incident in Xunyang. Since then, Qi Wang had been in a constant state of fury, and bodies were carried out of the manor daily.
Now Xiao Yunting had not only ruined the trap Qi Wang set with Xiong Liangyong, but even killed Wang Weiqi and Huang Hongzhong before escaping. What did this mean?
This was a blatant provocation, a direct challenge to Qi Wang!
And someone as proud as Qi Wang, how could he possibly swallow this?
Yet… this time, he did.
He curled his lips slightly and said in a soft tone, “This might be for the best. Heaven’s will, perhaps.”
Heaven’s will?!
Eunuch Feng’s heart leapt, convinced now that Qi Wang had truly lost his mind.
But the prince’s eyes darkened, storm clouds gathering in his expression. He plucked a few strings on the ancient zither beside him, then, with a flick of his hand, snapped them.
In a cold voice, he ordered: “Very good. Announce the news, I’m getting married.”
In the last life, Xiao Yunting had fallen deeply for Qi Yuan. This life, it was no different.
Now that she had been taken, Xiao Yunting would certainly come to retrieve her.
But of course, Qi Wang had no such noble intentions. Qi Yuan was simply bait. Once Xiao Yunting was eliminated, everything else would fall into place.
And as for Qi Yuan, by the time she woke, she’d find that Xiao Yunting was already dead.
Eunuch Feng returned to himself and quickly responded. Then, hesitating, he asked: “Your Highness… if they’ve gone to Xinyu and Pingxiang, it might be difficult to get a message to them.”
Qi Wang smiled faintly: “If I want him to know, he’ll know.”
He lowered his gaze, flipped over the hourglass on the table, and said to Eunuch Feng: “Fetch Divine Physician Xue.”
—
When Physician Xue returned, his mood was already quite sour.
Though trapped inside Qi Wang’s manor, he’d heard enough whispers to know Jiangxi was suffering from flooding and plague. The situation was dire.
Yet Qi Wang had turned a blind eye to it all, focusing only on “treating” Qi Yuan’s strange illness.
Physician Xue felt utterly disillusioned.
It wasn’t until Qi Wang tapped the table again that he came back to himself and forced some patience: “What did Your Highness just say?”
“I asked if there’s a way to wake her up… and make her forget everything.”
Qi Wang’s voice was calm, gaze fixed on the doctor. “I want her to wake up with no memories at all.”
No past lives, no grudges, nothing.
Erase it all, and there would be no hatred between them.
Physician Xue frowned deeply. Yet again, he was struck by how absurd this man was.
What did Qi Wang think people were?
That he could just command someone to forget at will? Now he even wanted to induce amnesia?
Physician Xue shook his head, annoyed: “There’s no such medicine. Yes, some people do suffer memory loss from head trauma, but that’s often accompanied by severe injury, paralysis, or long-term damage. The risks are enormous.”
And wasn’t Qi Wang planning to marry this girl?
Was this how he treated his future consort?!
Qi Wang’s face darkened: “Just tell me, if you were to use acupuncture or seal certain pressure points, could it be done?”
But Physician Xue didn’t hesitate: “I’ve never heard of such a method.”
Cold sweat poured even faster down Eunuch Feng’s back. He feared the prince might snap and kill Physician Xue on the spot.
Surprisingly, Qi Wang held it in.
He only gave the physician a long, cold look before sitting back down: “If that’s impossible, then just heal her quickly. That much you can do, right?”
Physician Xue took a deep breath, restraining himself: “I’ll do my best.”
He picked up his medicine case and left the room.
The moment he stepped outside, his expression darkened.
Qi Wang was becoming more deranged by the day.
If he kept working for him, his own fate might end in public condemnation, reviled by all.
Was this really what he’d trained his whole life in medicine for?
Distracted, he arrived at Qi Yuan’s room. It wasn’t until Qiu Mama called to him that he snapped out of his thoughts. Nodding, he asked as he entered: “She still didn’t move at all last night?”
Qiu Mama quickly shook her head: “No movement at all, Divine Physician! Not even a finger twitched!”
Physician Xue stopped and gave her a long, meaningful look: “You certainly remember the details well, ‘not even a finger’? You recall that clearly?”
Qiu Mama’s heart skipped a beat. She rushed to explain: “His Highness cares deeply for Miss Qi. We wouldn’t dare be careless. We watch over her all twelve hours of the day, and we have to bathe and dress her too, so of course I remember.”
She mentally slapped herself, why had she said so much?
Physician Xue gave a casual “oh,” half-smiling, and walked around the screen to Qi Yuan’s bedside. Sitting down, he began to take her pulse.
Qiu Mama watched nervously. She had the distinct sense he had meant something more by his earlier words.
Her heart was pounding when she suddenly heard Physician Xue click his tongue.
“Miss Qi,” he said slowly, “I’ve seen a lot of so-called coma cases in my years of practice. But I’ve never encountered one with your pulse or symptoms.”
Qiu Mama was frozen in shock.
He’d seen through it?
She hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly, her soul nearly flew out of her body in terror.
Physician Xue had just made an offhand comment, but he already knew. For someone like Qi Yuan to deceive the many experts in Qi Wang’s manor and make it this far, she was clearly plotting something.
Someone with that kind of willpower wasn’t going to crack just because of a single probing sentence.
But then, in the next moment, Qi Yuan opened her eyes and slowly sat up.
Qiu Mama panicked. She rushed to shut the door and then planted herself in front of it, heart pounding furiously in her chest.
Even Physician Xue was a little surprised, raising an eyebrow: “So, you’re done pretending, Miss Qi?”
This so-called mysterious illness?
Complete nonsense.
He honestly had no idea why Qi Wang ever believed it.
Qi Yuan tugged the corner of her lips into a faint smile: “In front of someone clever, there’s no point in pretending.”
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