Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1399: Chapter 1401: Putting on a Full Show_1

In the blink of an eye, they had exchanged glances several times. Bai Ruozhu gave Lin Lian a meaningful look towards her arm, and Lin Lian, catching on, swung her sword toward Bai Ruozhu. With a swift move, Bai Ruozhu’s sleeve was slashed, and crimson blood instantly flowed out.

Lin Lian was startled. Over these past few days, she hadn’t had any contact with Bai Ruozhu and didn’t know the blood was fake, so she was so frightened that her hand trembled, nearly dropping her sword.

Fortunately, Bai Ruozhu grunted while clutching her arm, but her eyes conveyed another message, this time regarding her shoulder.

Bai Ruozhu saw the hesitation in Lin Lian and, with a quick glance around, moved her lips silently, forming the words: ”Fake.”

Lin Lian had an epiphany and finally let out a sigh of relief, shouting, ”Wretch, let’s see who can save you now!”

Her sword struck towards Bai Ruozhu’s shoulder, but this time she was confident, carefully controlling her force just enough to cut through Bai Ruozhu’s clothes without wounding her flesh. Yet immediately after, a considerable amount of fresh blood surged from Bai Ruozhu’s shoulder.

”Master!” Jianqi called out, his voice filled with sudden ferocity, which of course had been pre-arranged with Bai Ruozhu.

Bai Ruozhu put on a look of panic, but said, ”Good, you seek revenge on me and even resort to seeking help from the Holy Hall. Do you think you can kill me?”

She burst into laughter, grabbing something from her bosom and throwing it at Lin Lian. Xuan Jizi from the side hurriedly shouted, ”Dodge it, she’s using poison!”

Lin Lian dodged, and a dead hand fell to the ground. Oddly enough, there was no blood at the severed end, nor did it have the appearance of rot. It seemed fake, but upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a real human hand.

Bai Ruozhu then threw several smoke bombs containing a faint, soporific effect, and said to Jianqi and the others, ”Let’s go!”

Jianqi dashed forward, grabbed Bai Ruozhu, and along with Muyu and Chen Feng, they took advantage of the chaos to escape.

The trio quickly returned to the palace, pretending to be anxious to make it more believable, so even the royal palace’s guards believed Bai Ruozhu had sustained serious injuries.

Back in Qingyou Hall, Jianqi couldn’t help but let slip two words: ”So fishy.”

Bai Ruozhu’s lips twitched, and she sniffed the air. She had been so focused on the performance she hadn’t noticed before, but now the smell was indeed both pungent and foul.

She gave Jianqi a glare and said, ”What, you thought fish blood wouldn’t smell? It’s been almost a morning. I haven’t even complained yet. Look at you, being so squeamish.”

At her words, Jianqi choked up and silently retreated to a distance.

”Go heat water for your madam; I need to treat my wounds!” Bai Ruozhu declared indignantly.

Damn it, it stank to high heaven.

Jiang Yichun ”received the news” and ”hurried” back to Qingyou Hall in ”panic.” He winked at Bai Ruozhu and said, ”Now the whole palace knows you were the victim of an assassination and suffered serious injuries. As your husband who loves you more than life itself, I must throw a fit, right?”

”Exactly, you need to berate Jianqi and Muyu. Your voice must be loud, and your demeanor fierce,” Bai Ruozhu replied, stepping back, ”You go ahead and start yelling, just don’t get too close to me; it reeks.”

Jiang Yichun, however, completely ignored her words and suddenly stepped forward to embrace her, chuckling, ”It’s okay, my dear wife is hurt, how could I not hold you?”

”Alright, then stay away from other people, lest the fishy smell gives us away,” Bai Ruozhu said helplessly, shaking her head. Fortunately, his clothes were dark, otherwise such an embrace would have ruined them.

Next, Jiang Yichun ordered three men to stand on the top of the wall on one leg under the scorching sun, then hurled insults at them. He had a naturally cold temperament, and his scolding was infused with threads of inner strength, making his voice seem particularly fierce. News that Lady Bai had been attacked and was scolding her guards quickly spread throughout the palace and reached the ears of the sovereign.

In the meanwhile, Bai Ruozhu had already cleaned herself up inside the house. She hastily bandaged the wound with gauze, and in order to make it look convincing, she even smeared a bit of blood on the gauze to mimic the seepage from the wound. Then, she changed her clothes and consumed some medicine to make herself look truly like she was suffering from a deficiency of Qi Blood.

Before long, the sovereign came to visit with Princess Yingtong, both wearing expressions of concern on their faces that didn’t seem feigned.

Bai Ruozhu lay weakly in bed, thanking the two without getting up to perform the courtesy. She planned to keep the monarch in the dark about the matter, not because she distrusted him, but because there must be spies among his entourage. The issue concerned the safety of Xuan Jizi and his wife, and she could not afford any carelessness.

”This great elder and the holy woman are truly despicable, having sent someone to assassinate you again. Yet, their available resources shouldn’t be many. How did Lady Bai get hurt?” the sovereign asked.

Bai Ruozhu cast a frail glance at Jiang Yichun and said, ”Let Jianqi and the others come down and explain, I really don’t have the strength.”

Jiang Yichun’s face was stern. ”Even if you want to plead for them, killing them wouldn’t be too much given they failed to protect you!”

The sovereign, hearing this, hurried to smooth things over. ”Young Master Jiang, cool your anger. The fault lies with the great elder and his scheming and malicious ways. The few guards were also victims of an unintended lapse. Give them a chance to redeem themselves through meritorious deeds.”

Jiang Yichun, however, remained unyielding, addressing the guards at the door, ”Call those three to roll down here.”

Soon, Jianqi and the other two were brought down from the wall. Upon meeting the sovereign, with the morning breeze blowing, they fully confessed the episode. They explained that Xuan Jizi and his wife were their old enemies from Jianghu, adversaries since their time in Danliang Country. The woman had spoken insolently, and thus received a lesson from Bai Ruozhu. Unexpectedly, the couple had followed them here and even been bought off by the great elder.

”So, the assassin who came to the royal palace a few days ago was one of them?” the sovereign inquired.

Bai Ruozhu nodded, ”I apologize for troubling your majesty.”

”Lady Bai, don’t speak like that. You just focus on your recovery. I will issue a decree immediately to capture the assassin within the city,” the sovereign said.

”Thank you, Your Majesty,” Bai Ruozhu replied, feigning a lack of energy. The sovereign saw this and said he would arrange for more nourishing delicacies to be sent over shortly, then took his leave.

Who would have known that Princess Yingtong would speak a few words to her father outside the room, then turn around to come back, insisting on staying by Bai Ruozhu to take care of her?

Jiang Yichun, afraid she would discover that Bai Ruozhu’s injuries were fake, said with a cold expression, ”There’s no need, my wife isn’t used to having others take care of her. I can take care of her myself.”

Princess Yingtong’s face grew very unwell as she lowered her head, ”I owe Lady Bai a life-saving debt and have yet to repay it. Please let me take care of her.”

”What do you, a noble princess, know about taking care of someone? You’re not a doctor, so how would you know how to care for the injured—when to give her medicine, or how to change her dressings?” Jiang Yichun scoffed coldly, ”You may go. We don’t need you causing more trouble here.”

In the end, Princess Yingtong left with tears in her eyes. Her face showed no anger, only shame, as she left with her head bowed low, as if she couldn’t lift it in mortification.