Heart's blood? You are going to be buried along with Prince Jin!

Emperor Zongkang let out a cold laugh. "Why does it sound like you won't sign the annulment unless I let you treat Jun Buwen?"

Xia Jiujiang replied, "Since Grand Physician Zhang is also helpless against the Prince of Jin's condition, why not let me try? Once I've tried, I can leave with a clear mind. Besides, Your Majesty is bent on my death. If I truly fail to cure him, wouldn't that simply give Your Majesty a justifiable reason to execute me?"

He realized that this Xia Jiujiang and Jun Buwen were truly cut from the same cloth. Both loved to split hairs and twist things around to negotiate terms with Emperor Zongkang. If Xia Jiujiang's reputation hadn't been thoroughly ruined, Emperor Zongkang might have actually sighed with the thought, *She truly is worthy of being the Prince of Jin's consort.*

Emperor Zongkang sized Xia Jiujiang up. Currently, the entire Imperial Medical Academy was completely at its wits' end regarding the Prince of Jin; perhaps Xia Jiujiang really did have a way. Relaxing his stance, Emperor Zongkang said, "Fine, I shall see what kind of game you are playing."

Since Xia Jiujiang dared to claim she would treat the Prince of Jin right in front of Emperor Zongkang, she surely wouldn't dare pull any petty tricks.

The moment Emperor Zongkang gave his consent, Xia Jiujiang rushed toward the inner chamber. Jun Buwen lay upon the bed, his complexion as pale as paper and his body icy cold. Daring not to waste a single moment, Xia Jiujiang seized Jun Buwen's wrist to check his pulse: his internal energy was in total chaos, his pulse was feeble, and the symptoms of raging, scorching heat toxin were glaringly apparent.

Grand Physician Zhang watched Xia Jiujiang's practiced movements, realizing she indeed seemed to possess some genuine skill.

Through taking his pulse, Xia Jiujiang had already grasped the severity of Jun Buwen's heat toxin. It appeared that Jun Buwen had concealed this condition exceptionally well.

Without showing any sign of surprise, Emperor Zongkang asked anxiously, "Have you discovered anything?" The people from the Imperial Medical Academy were unreliable, so he could only place his hopes on Xia Jiujiang now.

Xia Jiujiang remained silent. She pulled the jade hairpin from her hair, and her tresses instantly cascaded down over her shoulders. The people from the Imperial Medical Academy had no idea what she was about to do. They only saw her hold the hairpin over a flame for a moment before plunging it directly into her chest without the slightest hesitation.

The entire sequence of actions flowed as smooth as moving clouds and flowing water. Before anyone could even react, fresh blood began to well up and stream down the jade hairpin.

Yesha exclaimed in astonishment, "Princess of Jin... Even if you cannot cure the Prince, there is no need to mutilate yourself. Do you intend to be buried with him?"

Enduring pain so intense that cold sweat drenched her, Xia Jiujiang rolled her eyes and retorted, "Who the hell said I'm self-mutilating to be buried with Jun Buwen? I still feel like I haven't lived long enough!"

Old Meng furrowed his brow. "Your Highness, what are you doing?!"

With a face as pale as chalk, Xia Jiujiang said, "To save Jun Buwen, I must use my own heart's blood as the medicinal catalyst."

Emperor Zongkang stood frozen in place, dumbfounded. He had never expected that Xia Jiujiang would plunge a dagger straight into her chest without a second thought.

Emperor Zongkang had assumed Xia Jiujiang was merely paying lip service when she offered to save Jun Buwen, yet she had genuinely put her life on the line to do so. This caused Emperor Zongkang to draw in a sharp breath, and the way he looked at her shifted subtly.

Jun Buwen's current flare-up of anger had triggered his heat toxin, and simple infusion of internal energy would likely fail to suppress it. Xia Jiujiang had to resort to fighting poison with poison. She carried the mother bug of the Five Poisons Gu within her body; by extracting her heart's blood for Jun Buwen to consume, she possessed absolute certainty in suppressing his heat toxin.

However, extracting one's heart's blood required a level of daring and fortitude that ordinary people simply lacked. A mere fraction of an error would mean plunging into the netherworld. Moreover, for Xia Jiujiang, extracting heart's blood inflicted pain multiplied several times over because the mother bug of the Five Poisons resided within her body.

Miao and Jiang Gu sorcery involved the art of planting Gu to allow insects to enter the human body, but the Gu worm inside Xia Jiujiang was an exception. It relied on the continuous propagation and lineage of the Xia family down through generations to achieve longevity, using the human body as a living vessel to nurture the mother bug.

Throughout this process of propagation, the female host was paramount, meaning the mother bug would transfer to the next generation only after the current host gave birth to a daughter. This constituted a symbiotic relationship; how could the mother bug of the Five Poisons ever allow its host to commit self-harm? Consequently, the moment the heart's blood was drawn, the agony caused Xia Jiujiang's vision to go black, nearly sending her crashing to the ground.

Fortunately, though her mind reeled in panic as she began to collapse, Xia Jiujiang managed to steady her footing. Clinging to the edge of the bed, she dripped the heart's blood into a cup of water. Then, with trembling hands, she drew a talismanic incantation, burned it into the water, and taking a mouthful of the liquid, leaned down to press her lips against Jun Buwen's, letting the talisman water flow into his mouth.

The last time Xia Jiujiang had saved Jun Buwen, she had cleared everyone out of the room. This time, however, she didn't care about any of that at all, kissing him directly in front of Emperor Zongkang. Since Emperor Zongkang did not trust her and naturally wouldn't leave her alone by Jun Buwen's side, there was no longer any need for her to conceal her actions.

Once all the talisman water had been administered, Xia Jiujiang stood up with a ghastly pale face and announced, "It is done."

Grand Physician Zhang hurried over to check the Prince of Jin's pulse. Stunned, he declared, "The Prince's pulse has stabilized!"

This was nothing short of a miracle! Grand Physician Zhang had no idea why Xia Jiujiang's heart's blood could heal the Prince, nor what that ghost-like talisman she had drawn actually was. Yet, the steady pulse proved everything: Xia Jiujiang had indeed saved the Prince of Jin.

Upon seeing Xia Jiujiang draw the talisman, Emperor Zongkang's expression turned grave and astonished. Why did Xia Jiujiang know Southern Realm Gu sorcery? Coupling this with her past entanglements with the Third Prince of the Southern Realm, Emperor Zongkang harbored even deeper suspicions toward her. Such a person could simply not be allowed to live.

The murderous intent in Emperor Zongkang's eyes grew increasingly palpable. Since he could not openly execute her on the surface, he would force her to sign the annulment with Jun Buwen, and then secretly dispatch men to silence her permanently. After all, one could never be too careful.

Maintaining his stern expression, Emperor Zongkang said, "Do not think that just because you saved the Prince of Jin this time, I will let you off the hook. The Prince's critical condition was your fault to begin with, so saving him was only your duty."

"Your Majesty may rest assured. Since I said I would leave, I naturally will." Xia Jiujiang walked over to a nearby desk, picked up the brush and ink, and wrote out the letter of annulment.

Emperor Zongkang had still been worried that Xia Jiujiang might cling stubbornly to Jun Buwen, but it turned out his concerns were entirely unfounded.

Old Meng looked at Xia Jiujiang's ashen face and hesitated. "Princess of Jin... Even if you wish to leave the Prince's estate, you should at least wait until he regains consciousness."

With a bitter smile, Xia Jiujiang shook her head. "Jun Buwen's critical illness this time is my fault. It was because I failed to trust him, because of me that his anger flared and his condition worsened. As a harbinger of misfortune, it is best that I leave his side sooner rather than later. However, once he wakes up, he must not exert his internal energy, or even the immortals of heaven will be unable to save him."

Having finished writing the annulment letter, Xia Jiujiang placed it on the desk and weighed it down with an inkstone. Her figure swayed unsteadily, yet she walked out of the Xuan San Residence step by faltering step.

The wound on her chest was already nearly healed; the mother bug of the Five Poisons possessed self-healing abilities, and the moment the heart's blood was drawn, the flesh began to knit together rapidly. So why did her heart still hurt so much?

Both Xia Jiujiang and Jun Buwen were people with no future. Xia Jiujiang carried the mother bug of the Five Poisons within her body; if she never married and bore children, she would suffer the agonizing death of a thousand poisons piercing her heart. Jun Buwen harbored heat toxin within him; without a cure, he would not live past twenty-five. Two similar souls huddled together for warmth would only grow colder and colder—better to make a clean break.

Yet why did her heart ache so? Leaving the Prince of Jin's estate, Xia Jiujiang felt like the Little Mermaid who had gained legs, walking the path with every step feeling like a bone-deep, soul-rending agony.