She… I cannot save her. Let us return.
Looking at the little girl in Hu Biao's arms, even without taking her pulse, she could tell the girl was not well.
"Save her. Take my life."
Hu Biao knew he had no right to make demands of Gu Qianying.
Yet, he still wanted to try, despite his shame.
His daughter was his life.
He was willing to exchange his life for hers.
Looking at Hu Biao kneeling before her,
Gu Qianying's eyes held no warmth.
She gestured for Lu Zhu to leave first.
And dismissed the attendants in the hall.
Once only Gu Qianying, Hu Biao, and the little girl in his arms remained,
Gu Qianying sat coldly before Hu Biao.
"Why would you think I would save the child of someone who betrayed me? Hu Biao, do you think I am a saint?"
Gu Qianying's words made Hu Biao's body tremble.
He gently put down the girl in his arms and knelt at Gu Qianying's feet, kowtowing three times.
"Miss, I was bewitched at the time and betrayed you. A traitor deserves death."
As he spoke, Hu Biao took out a dagger he had prepared from his sleeve.
He held the dagger to his own throat.
His voice was sincere, "Miss, I, Hu Biao, have wronged you. I will atone with my death, but I beg you, Miss, to show mercy and save my pitiful daughter."
Hu Biao's address to Gu Qianying reverted to how he spoke when they were at the Gu manor.
With that,
He did not hesitate, tightening his grip on the dagger and applying force.
"Clang!"
Suddenly, a walnut was flung, knocking the dagger from his hand.
Hu Biao looked up and met Gu Qianying's cold gaze.
"If you die here, I fear it will soil my place! Get up."
As she spoke,
Gu Qianying crouched before the little girl, took her pulse, and then opened the girl's eyelids to examine them.
After a thorough check,
She had a general understanding of the poison afflicting the little girl.
It was precisely because she understood that she found the current situation quite amusing.
She stood up and turned to Hu Biao, "Your daughter is poisoned, not ill. There is an antidote for this poison, but it is not I who will administer it. Do you understand?"
Her words, though explanatory, were also a test.
Hu Biao stared blankly at Gu Qianying.
He did not fully comprehend what Gu Qianying had said.
Gu Qianying saw the expression on Hu Biao's face.
"Do you truly not understand?"
Hu Biao shook his head.
"Then, do you want to find out what poison your daughter has been afflicted with, and who the poisoner is?"
Hu Biao nodded.
He had not known his daughter was poisoned; he had always thought she was simply ill.
"If that is the case, then follow me."
Gu Qianying called for Lu Zhu, asking her to take Hu Biao's daughter to the side hall and to care for her closely.
As for Hu Biao,
Gu Qianying gave him a maid's outfit and a human-skin mask.
She instructed him to disguise himself as a woman and follow her.
Hu Biao did not know where Gu Qianying was taking him.
But he asked no further questions and followed behind Gu Qianying.
A moment later,
Gu Qianying, in her capacity as a consort, led the disguised Hu Biao to the imperial prison.
The imperial prison was gloomy and damp.
In Cell Number One,
Luo La Zhen Er was still dressed in the clothes she wore before being imprisoned.
Now, her delicate features and luxurious attire were gone.
Her clothes were torn in several places, her hair disheveled, and her shoes and socks were nowhere to be found.
She sat on a worn wooden plank, surrounded by piles of straw.
At her feet lay overturned bowls of stale food and leftovers.
She bore no resemblance to a princess now.
Despite this, when she saw Gu Qianying enter, her expression remained as haughty as ever.
"Gu Qianying, you've finally come! I knew you would!"
Luo La Zhen Er tidied her appearance and turned towards Gu Qianying, her feet bare.
As if she had been certain Gu Qianying would come.
As Luo La Zhen Er looked at Gu Qianying, a smile of "control over the situation" curved her lips.
But that smile fiercely pierced the one following behind Gu Qianying.
No! Impossible!
It couldn't be what he thought!
Absolutely impossible!
Hu Biao tried to convince himself.
Seeing that Luo La Zhen Er was not surprised by her arrival,
All of Gu Qianying's doubts were resolved.
"Looking at your expression, I presume my guess is correct. Your true intention was not to kill your daughter, but to lure me here using your daughter's poisoning."
"You knew that in the palace, I am the only one who could discern that your daughter was poisoned by a蛊 (gu) poison. And you also knew that when Hu Biao was desperate, he would come to me to save his daughter."
As she spoke,
Gu Qianying stepped forward, looking at the cold-blooded and vicious woman before her through the prison bars.
"And you also figured that I would agree to Hu Biao's plea and help him cure his daughter. However, I cannot concoct the antidote for this type of蛊 poison myself. To save your daughter, I would have to come to you for the antidote, and thus your objective would be achieved.
But, as the saying goes, even a tiger doesn't eat its cubs. Yet, to lure me here, you poisoned your own daughter! Are you even human?"
The moment she saw the smile on Luo La Zhen Er's lips, she had already realized this was a conspiracy, a plot to lure her.
"Hahaha."
Luo La Zhen Er suddenly burst into laughter. "Gu Qianying, you've guessed correctly. My intention was to lure you here. My daughter will only suffer for a few days; she can endure it. Of course, if you still wish to play the saint in front of Hu Biao, then I can give you the antidote for the蛊 poison first. However… before that, I wish to strike a deal with you."
Gu Qianying glanced at her, remaining silent. Her meaning was clear.
She was waiting for Luo La Zhen Er to continue.
"Of course, this deal would be very beneficial to you."
"Oh? What deal? Tell me."
Gu Qianying appeared very interested.
But only she knew she was trying to wake someone who was pretending to be asleep.
Hu Biao, who had lived with Luo La Zhen Er for so many years,
Could not be unaware of Luo La Zhen Er's character.
What he was hesitant to face was only his own heart.
"Get me out of this prison, and I will tell you Nan Rong Qi's true intentions. Furthermore, once I return to court, I will persuade my father to send troops to assist you. How about it?"
Luo La Zhen Er was not foolish; she saw things very clearly.
Gu Qianying's return this time was solely for revenge.
She had some understanding of whom Gu Qianying sought revenge for.
Ninth Prince Nan Gong Mo, a deceased, stunning man.
A prominent figure whom any woman would fall for.
And the bits and pieces between Gu Qianying and the Ninth Prince,
Though she had not witnessed them firsthand, she could still find out.
Seeking revenge for her beloved, she considered it the act of a foolish woman.
Of course, it was by seeing through this that she had leverage for a transaction with Gu Qianying.
"Heh!"
Hearing Luo La Zhen Er's words, Gu Qianying laughed.
She turned and looked at the person behind her, "Have you seen her true face clearly? What you do next is your decision."
With that,
Gu Qianying turned away, no longer looking at Luo La Zhen Er.
It was then that Luo La Zhen Er noticed the person standing behind Gu Qianying.
The wig and human-skin mask were removed, revealing Hu Biao's true face.
Luo La Zhen Er looked at the man walking towards her in disbelief.
The man shattered the prison lock with a single palm strike.
A sharp dagger was revealed from his sleeve. He held the dagger, his face filled with grief and anger as he looked at his beloved wife before him.
Seeing Hu Biao approaching with the dagger,
Luo La Zhen Er panicked.
"Hu Biao, you… you listen to me, I… I…"
She wanted to explain, but there was nothing she could say.