I Married a Disabled Prince in Prison

Chapter 79

After a good night's sleep, Yan Shuixin was awakened by a kiss.

Raindrop-like kisses fell on her body. Feeling the familiar breath, she didn't need to guess to know that it was Xiao Yeheng who initiated it.

The dawn light seeped into the huge room from outside the window, and she saw Xiao Yeheng's face, which was half ruined and half handsome.

And there was only a hole left in his left eye socket.

Yan Shuixin's heart ached; her man was so pitiful.

Sensing that he was about to take the final step, she reached out and pressed his acupoint.

"Sorry," she whispered softly.

She was already his; it wasn't that she was unwilling to give herself to him. But...

Although he had taken the pill she provided, his emotions were still unstable, and he was prone to losing control. She was pregnant now and couldn't bear to be harmed.

Secondly, he absolutely couldn't engage in intimacy until the detoxification was complete; otherwise, it would only deepen the toxicity.

She turned him over and let him lie on his back while she got up to dress and covered him with a thin blanket.

It was hot in the summer, and the bedding didn't need to be too thick.

After putting on her shoes, she opened the door of the room, and Emperor Xiao Jing's somewhat thin figure stood in the morning sunlight. He turned around, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Miss Yan, good morning."

Yan Shuixin looked at his dragon robe, which was damp with mist, and affirmed, "Your Majesty, did you stay outside all night?"

Emperor Xiao Jing nodded slightly, his handsome face filled with guilt. "When my mother was alive, I promised to take care of Yeheng well. Now, he... I haven't fulfilled my duty as an older brother."

Yan Shuixin didn't think Emperor Xiao Jing was entirely at fault either. If it weren't for King An's efforts to stabilize the country for Xiao Jing, why would he be seen as a thorn in King Jin's side? But in this era, she couldn't blame the emperor.

So, she remained silent.

Emperor Xiao Jing sighed softly. "In the past six months, you must have spent a lot of time with the Third Prince, right? Otherwise, he wouldn't only recognize you."

"Except for four... five days ago when I fell off the cliff, the rest of the time, I was with King An." Yan Shuixin saw no need to hide anything.

"Then you must know how his leg was chopped off." Xiao Jing looked eager. "And what happened between you two in the past six months?"

"It was the Empress Dowager who added poison to the Huagong Powder. After Xiao Yeheng and the Empress Dowager had dinner together, he lost consciousness and woke up with his left leg chopped off below the knee." Yan Shuixin had just finished speaking when Xiao Jing's face filled with anger. "That despicable Liang Qingzhen, the Third Prince was adopted by her and regarded her as his mother since he was two years old. She's so malicious! Yeheng must be so heartbroken..."

"The ones who harmed King An and me are King Jin and the Empress Dowager behind the scenes. So, Your Majesty, do you have a way to deal with them now?" she asked.

Emperor Xiao Jing shook his head and said, "Many of my trusted ministers, including the closest ones to me and the Third Prince, have fallen victim to the Qihuan Poison. Now, even I am poisoned by it." He sighed bitterly, "King Jin and the Empress Dowager held great power even when my father was on the throne, so they're not afraid to challenge my authority. Now, I'm struggling to protect myself. In recent days, I have found it increasingly difficult to control my emotions. It won't be long before I become crazy, bloodthirsty, and irrational. Unless King An and I can detoxify ourselves, I'm afraid there's little we can do against them."

Yan Shuixin also felt a sense of helplessness in her heart. "Your Majesty once ordered King An to investigate the enormous funds of unknown origin associated with King Jin. King A found out that King Jin colluded with the nobles to set up secret prisons, betting on the lives of prisoners to amass wealth. Like me, I was eliminated by someone, and King Jin paid a hefty sum to have me thrown into prison."

"This is a matter of life and death. The Third Prince told you, indicating that he considers you the closest person to him." Emperor Xiao Jing glared. "King Jin deserves to die; I won't spare him!"

Yan Shuixin recounted everything that happened in and out of the prison to the emperor. She didn't want to go into too much detail initially, but he asked specifically, so she had no choice but to tell him everything.

Of course, she didn't portray herself as Xiao Yeheng's savior but leaned towards saying that King A took care of her all the way.

After talking for a while, the two went separately to have breakfast and then continued in the hall.

It wasn't until noon that Yan Shuixin finished recounting everything that happened along the way.

Emperor Xiao Jing was a wise man. "Miss Yan, if it weren't for you resolving the Qihuan Poison for the Third Prince and taking care of him all the way, he might not have survived the journey back to the capital. As for General Tu Zhenguo, I will immediately relieve him of his duties by decree! I don't believe he can still resist now!"

With that, he stood up and bowed to Yan Shuixin.

Yan Shuixin quickly helped him up: "Your Majesty, there's no need!"

Emperor Xiao Jing shook his head and said, "You deserve it. I'm not bowing to you as the emperor but expressing my gratitude to you as Yeheng's brother." His eyes were full of sadness. "Now, I'm going crazy too, and in the future, I entrust Yeheng to you, Miss Yan."

"Your Majesty, you're exaggerating." Yan Shuixin gently touched her stomach. "I am King An's woman and have already conceived his child. Whatever I do for Xiao Yeheng is my duty."

Emperor Xiao Jing's face lit up. "The Third Prince has an heir! That's wonderful!" He was even happier than when he became a father himself. Then he asked, "Does the Third Prince know about this?"

She nodded.

Steward Fang Yi was not an outsider, so he overheard their conversation.

Fang Yi couldn't help but admire Yan Shuixin's ability to save the prince from danger several times and felt ecstatic to the point of tears.

Because the imperial physician had said that anyone affected by the Qihuan Poison would lose their fertility. He thought King A would have no heirs, but unexpectedly, the prince had been with Miss Yan before being poisoned, and now Miss Yan was pregnant.

This was truly a great joy!

Fang Yi was filled with tears for a moment.

"Bad news, King An has gone mad again!" A guard rushed in to report.

Yan Shuixin and the emperor hurriedly ran in the direction of Tingyu Pavilion, with Fang Yi following quickly.

In the courtyard of Tingyu Pavilion, Xiao Yeheng kicked away several guards, and it seemed like he was about to start another massacre. A slender figure dashed into his arms.

He immediately held the woman in his arms tightly, refusing to let go.

Emperor Xiao Jing raised his hand, and a group of guards with bruises and swollen eyes retreated in embarrassment.

"Husband, I will always be by your side," Yan Shuixin said softly in his embrace.

Xiao Yeheng's eyes were dull; his red eyes had returned to normal black and white, seemingly devoid of reason, but he no longer harmed anyone.

"Shall we sit there for a while? Is that okay?" Yan Shuixin changed her approach and took Xiao Yeheng's hand, leading him to sit down at a stone table in the courtyard.

Fang Yi immediately ordered someone to prepare a meal for Xiao Yeheng.

Yan Shuixin sat at the stone table and once again fed Xiao Yeheng until he was full in front of the emperor.

The emperor was very surprised. "Miss Yan, Yeheng is so calm. The medicine you gave him really works wonders. I suppose he only got angry earlier because he couldn't find you."

"Yes, the medicine I prepared can suppress the poison in his body."

Emperor Xiao Jing spoke up, "Could you prepare more pills? Many of the generals under my command and King An's have gone mad, each becoming crazed and bloodthirsty..."

"I'm pregnant and shouldn't exert myself too much," Yan Shuixin thought for a moment. "I'm willing to provide the prescription. Please order the imperial physician to make the medicine. After the medicine is prepared, it should be checked to prevent tampering."

"Miss Yan, you've done a great service." The emperor sighed. None of the imperial physicians under his command seemed to be able to handle the situation.

Finally, there was a lead with a physician named Liu Ji who could produce the antidote, but he mysteriously fell into the river and died.

Claiming it was an accidental fall into the river was too convenient. It must have been King Jin's doing.

With this in mind, the emperor immediately ordered, "No one is to leak a word about Miss Yan's ability to make medicine, or else they will face execution along with their entire family!"

"Yes," Fang Yi immediately instructed.

Yan Shuixin felt that the punishment of nine generations was excessive. She thought perhaps if the emperor went mad again, the country would be in jeopardy.

When the servant brought ink and paper, she quickly wrote down the prescription, which was then taken by the emperor's attendant, Eunuch Lin De, and presented to the emperor.

Emperor Xiao Jing thought that someone as extraordinary as Yan Shuixin must be able to write beautifully... Little did he know, her handwriting was like dog excrement, the ugliest he had ever seen in his life.

Yan Shuixin wasn't a calligrapher from ancient times. Seeing the emperor's expression, she really wanted to challenge him to a handwriting competition with a fountain pen!

But, alas, in this era, there weren't even fountain pens.

Emperor Xiao Jing said solemnly, "Miss Yan, rest assured, I will decree to reward Secretary Yan. Let your family be honored." Although Yan Qing was not worth much, having a daughter like Yan Shuixin was considered a blessing.

Wait a minute... Rewarding Secretary Yan? What's that supposed to mean? Yan Shuixin immediately said, "Your Majesty, please don't. I am not the daughter of Secretary Yan Qing. I am the only closed-door disciple of the late Medicine God Sima Jing. Although I'm called a disciple, in fact, I am... his illegitimate daughter, and I take my mother's surname."

Anyway, Sima Jing was all alone in the world, with no son or daughter.

She might as well pretend to be his daughter for a bit. It's better than acknowledging that scumbag Yan Qing as her father.

"So you're just sharing the same name and surname as Yan Qing's daughter." The emperor didn't doubt her. "That's what I said. According to my investigation, Yan Qing's daughter, Yan Shuixin, is weak-willed and illiterate. How could she possess such remarkable medical skills?"

Well, that's what you said, not me. Yan Shuixin felt embarrassed and said, "Your Majesty, you praise me too much. My medical skills are not exceptional; I can only suppress poisons."

Emperor Xiao Jing ordered someone to take the prescription to the imperial physician for preparation, ensuring the secrecy of the prescription, then said, "Miss Yan, can't you try to come up with an antidote?"

"I'll give it a try," she added, "but please, Your Majesty, don't get your hopes up. After all, if so many imperial physicians couldn't do it, I'm sure I wouldn't be able to either."

"I'll have all the research on this poison sent..." Xiao Jing saw Xiao Yeheng holding Yan Shuixin in his arms, letting her sit on his lap, so he cleared his throat. "Yeheng probably can't bear to be separated from you for a moment, so you'll stay with him. The research will be sent to Tingyu Pavilion."

"Or just prepare a separate research room for me, right next to the bedroom."

"Why haven't you gone yet?" Emperor Xiao Jing glanced at the eunuch Lin De standing behind him.

Lin De complied, "Yes."

In just a few hours, the research room was set up. Several medicine cabinets against the wall were made up of various small drawers, stocked with all kinds of medicinal materials, pestle and mortar, alchemy furnaces, and everything else needed.

One of the bookshelves not only contained books and handwritten records about the Qihuan Poison but also many lost medical books.

Yan Shuixin immediately entered the research room and began to study the books.

Xiao Yeheng followed her like a big tail; wherever she went, he followed.

After a day passed, Yan Shuixin came up with a pile of medicine paste. Emperor Xiao Jing had been staying at King An's Mansion all this time, partly to spend more time with King An and partly because he was eager to get the antidote.

The antidote she prescribed calmed down all the mad courtiers who took it.

Even he felt much calmer after taking the medicine, and his frenzied emotions were subdued.

He believed she would surely be able to come up with the antidote, right?