"But what?"
Wu Zhiruo looked at Gu Qianying anxiously, her peripheral vision falling on Gu Qianying's bulging belly.
"It's just... these dishes taste a bit..."
The chopsticks in Gu Qianying's hand snapped under her forceful grip.
Half a chopstick fell to the ground.
"My stomach hurts so much, I..."
Gu Qianying clutched her slightly protruding belly, leaning over the table, head bowed.
Her expression seemed to be in great pain.
Her complexion was not good.
At this moment, the dark figure that had been hidden outside the door in a secret corner, disappeared.
"Divine Doctor Gu, what's wrong? I didn't..."
Seeing Gu Qianying like this, Wu Zhiruo was terrified.
She stammered, her face pale.
She moved closer, her expression flustered.
But... at this moment, Gu Qianying suddenly raised her head, and the hand placed on her abdomen relaxed.
"Nothing? You didn't want to harm my unborn child, but you still put a little Bai Zhu San in this table of dishes, didn't you?"
Gu Qianying looked at her coldly, speaking each word deliberately.
Wu Zhiruo's expression froze instantly. She looked at Gu Qianying with disbelief.
"Divine Doctor... how... how could you know..."
"Don't forget, I am a divine doctor."
Gu Qianying's voice grew colder.
She stood up and flipped over the silk tablecloth with gold thread edging on the table.
Clatter...
Bowls and plates fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.
The dishes on the table mixed with their juices, dripping onto the carpet, a messy sight.
Gu Qianying intended to walk past Wu Zhiruo, but Wu Zhiruo suddenly grabbed her sleeve.
"Divine Doctor Gu, I'm sorry, I... I had no choice, I... I..."
Gu Qianying didn't look at her, her cold gaze fixed on the door.
"Heh! Your 'no choice' is to make me, who is pregnant like you, suffer unbearable abdominal pain and miscarry?"
Gu Qianying turned back, looking at Wu Zhiruo with cold eyes.
Tears welled up in Wu Zhiruo's eyes. She tightly gripped Gu Qianying's sleeve, refusing to let go.
It was as if if she let go, she would lose her forever.
"No, it's not like that, Divine Doctor Gu. These past few days, I know you've also been taking the pregnancy-stabilizing medicine with me. You said your pregnancy was very stable, and you were only taking it with me to consolidate the pregnancy, just in case."
"So, I also know that a small amount of Bai Zhu San will only cause you abdominal pain and some discomfort, but it won't endanger your child."
"Today, I also made some medicinal dishes that can stabilize the fetus for pregnant women, and you ate some just now. Therefore... I thought... this way, I could create the illusion that you miscarried due to abdominal pain, and then... I... I could explain to my brother."
This way, I... I can protect you... Divine Doctor Gu... I..."
Clang...
A white jade bottle fell from Wu Zhiruo's sleeve and rolled to Gu Qianying's feet.
Gu Qianying looked down at the white jade bottle with a cold gaze. She frowned.
Bending down, she picked up the white jade bottle, held it, opened it, and sniffed it.
More than half of the white powder inside was gone.
"It's Ling Xiao Hua Fen? This is an abortifacient!"
The hand gripping her sleeve suddenly loosened.
Gu Qianying turned to look.
A pool of blood was flowing from beneath Wu Zhiruo's white dress.
Gu Qianying's pupils contracted.
Wu Zhiruo clutched her stomach, swaying precariously, and began to fall backward.
Gu Qianying, with quick reflexes, caught her.
Wu Zhiruo collapsed into Gu Qianying's arms.
Her white dress was quickly stained red with blood.
Even her white shoes and socks were splattered with blood.
Without a second thought, Gu Qianying took out silver needles and inserted them into Wu Zhiruo's San Zu Jiao Xue and Xue Hai acupoints to stop the bleeding.
However... Wu Zhiruo stopped her.
Her trembling hands grabbed Gu Qianying's wrist.
Wu Zhiruo's face was pale, and due to the severe abdominal pain, her forehead and cheeks were covered in sweat.
"Divine Doctor Gu, can I call you... Qianying?"
Wu Zhiruo's voice was weak.
Gu Qianying remained silent, looking at Wu Zhiruo with great confusion.
She truly did not understand why Wu Zhiruo would do this.
"If you don't speak, you consent. Qianying... my brother wants your child as a medicinal ingredient to restore his physical body, but... I couldn't bear to harm you."
As she spoke, Wu Zhiruo took Gu Qianying's hand and let her feel her seven-month pregnant, though slightly bulging, belly.
Wu Zhiruo was slender, and even seven months pregnant, her belly was not very noticeable.
"Qianying... I cannot defy my brother, but I also don't want to hurt you. This is good. I have completed the task my brother assigned, and I haven't harmed you. This way..."
Blood trickled from Wu Zhiruo's lips.
Gu Qianying's body trembled violently.
She grabbed Wu Zhiruo's wrist and took her pulse.
"You also drank Duan Chang Cao?"
Upon hearing the words "Duan Chang Cao," Wu Zhiruo actually smiled.
Her smile was fleeting, as stunningly beautiful as a night-blooming cereus, but only for a moment.
"Qianying... do you know? I am the murderer of my child. I am a cruel mother, I don't deserve to live... in this world. It's just... I am not reconciled... I am so not reconciled!"
Wu Zhiruo gripped Gu Qianying's wrist with all her might.
She lay in Gu Qianying's arms, looking at her.
Perhaps remembering something, Wu Zhiruo's entire body began to tremble: "Qianying... he abandoned me, he broke the vows between us, he... made me... live like a joke. Qianying... please... I beg you... help me... help me kill him... okay?"
Blood continued to spread from Wu Zhiruo's lips.
Blood pooled beneath her.
Gu Qianying held her. Although her red robe was stained with blood, it was not very noticeable.
"Okay, tell me who he is, and I'll help you kill him!"
Using silver needles to stop bleeding, the best time is when spotting first occurs, but earlier, Wu Zhiruo had stopped her.
"Qianying... you... you are so good to me."
Wu Zhiruo smiled foolishly.
As she released Gu Qianying's wrist, she extended her trembling index finger.
Gu Qianying cooperatively opened her palm.
Wu Zhiruo wrote stroke by stroke in Gu Qianying's palm.
As Wu Zhiruo finished writing the three characters on her palm with great effort,
Gu Qianying closed her palm, tightly grasping Wu Zhiruo's index finger.
Wu Yangxuan! She remembered this name!
"Qianying... thank you. I hope in the next life, I can meet you sooner and be your lifelong good friend."
Her voice grew weaker until it was silent.
The hand that had been tightly gripping Gu Qianying's wrist loosened and fell.
Gu Qianying sat in the pool of blood, holding Wu Zhiruo.
Tian Ji Wu Chang had not seen his daughter for a long time and came to look for her.
"Daughter!"
That day.
Nangong Mo, Du Chun, the Sixth Prince Nangong Li, Meng Yi, and four other men, led by a guide, ascended Yin Mountain. Because they held a permit, they passed through without any obstruction.
However, it was precisely because of this that when the four of them reached the summit of Yin Mountain, the people of the Wu Yang clan appeared!
"Oh! Where did these handsome young gentlemen come from? Look, each one of them is so handsome! I wonder if these young gentlemen are married and have children?"
A group of people blocked Nangong Mo and the others' path, surrounding the four of them.
The leader was an exotic woman covered in gaudy decorations, adorned with tinkling jewels and beast teeth.