Chapter 150: The Probe of a Bowl of Blood

Seeing that Xia Jiujiang was able to explain the situation clearly, Madam Jing let out a sigh of relief and asked, "Does the Princess of Jin have a way to lift the Gu worm?"

Xia Jiujiang replied, "If the Gu has not yet crossed his arm, it is still manageable to treat. But once the Gu poison crosses the arm, it becomes extremely difficult."

Xia Jiujiang deliberately drew out the end of her sentence, causing Madam Jing's heart to leap into her throat.

Tian Xiaoyuan said keenly, "Difficult to treat still means it can be treated, right? Please tell us whatever items you need, Princess of Jin. Even if I have to dig and forage for them without sleeping or resting, I will definitely get them for you."

Xia Jiujiang calmly said, "Talismans and cinnabar are easy enough to handle, but lifting a Gu is not like curing ordinary poison. It requires the blood of someone close to Prince Ning to serve as a catalyst, and it must be a full bowl of it."

Xia Jiujiang picked up a small bowl from the round table and placed it in front of Madam Jing and Tian Xiaoyuan.

Tian Xiaoyuan knew what a catalyst was; some medicinal herbs required one to bring out their full efficacy, and lifting a Gu followed the same principle. Tian Xiaoyuan did not mind at all: "A catalyst? Using mine will do."

Madam Jing frowned and said, "No, use mine."

Without a moment of hesitation, Tian Xiaoyuan declared, "Use mine. I know a bit of medicine myself, so if there is any danger from losing a bit more blood, I can figure out a way to protect myself. But Mother Consort, you often suffer from headaches and discomfort. If you were to really lose a full bowl of blood, then..."

Madam Jing hesitated for a moment, feeling that Tian Xiaoyuan made sense.

Xia Jiujiang reminded them, "You must think carefully. Once this bowl of blood is drawn, you might lose your own life. This is a method of trading one life for another. Have you decided whose blood to use as the catalyst?"

Xia Jiujiang observed the reactions of Tian Xiaoyuan and Madam Jing.

Tian Xiaoyuan said without hesitation, "Mine. I am Prince Ning's wife, and it is my inescapable duty to save him with my life."

Madam Jing angrily scolded, "What are you talking about? Shut your mouth. Do you want me, an elderly person, to witness the death of someone younger? I am your mother consort, will you still not listen to my words? I said use mine, so we will use mine."

Without giving Tian Xiaoyuan a chance to hesitate, Madam Jing rushed over to the dressing table nearby, grabbed a pair of scissors, and prepared to slash her own wrist.

Xia Jiujiang's eyes were sharp and her hands were quick; with a flick of her wrist, a silver needle flew through the air, and with a snap, the scissors in Madam Jing's hand dropped to the ground. Had Xia Jiujiang been even a fraction of a second later, Madam Jing probably really would have slit her wrist and bled.

Madam Jing looked palely at Xia Jiujiang and asked, "Princess of Jin, what is the meaning of this? Is my blood not acceptable as a catalyst?"

Xia Jiujiang still held some suspicions toward Madam Jing and Tian Xiaoyuan. Sesame Gu was easiest to plant by someone close to the victim, which was why Xia Jiujiang had intentionally claimed that the blood of someone close to Prince Ning was needed to lift the Gu. Her primary goal was to see how Madam Jing would react.

Madam Jing had ignored Tian Xiaoyuan's words, causing Prince Ning's sesame Gu to spread to his arm and nearly cost him his life, and she had even tried to stop Tian Xiaoyuan from bringing back the wisteria flowers. When Xia Jiujiang stated that a bowl of blood was needed as a catalyst with the risk of trading life for life, Madam Jing had hesitated...

All these factors heightened Xia Jiujiang's suspicion of Madam Jing. Yet, in the end, Madam Jing put on a display of sacrificing herself for Prince Ning, which momentarily dispelled those doubts.

Perhaps Xia Jiujiang was just overthinking it. Madam Jing and Tian Xiaoyuan lived in close quarters with Prince Ning every single day; if they wanted Prince Ning dead, it would be effortless. Why would they wait until they arrived in the capital to harm him?

Xia Jiujiang smiled and said, "I forgot to mention, there are specific requirements for this blood. A woman's blood cannot be used; it must be a man's blood."

This put Madam Jing and Tian Xiaoyuan in a difficult position. Both of them were the closest people to Prince Ning, and there were no other close male relatives left in the estate. Who on earth were they supposed to find to provide the blood?

Xia Jiujiang turned to Jun Buwen and said, "As for a man's blood, that depends on whether the Prince of Jin is willing or not."

Madam Jing looked somewhat apprehensive and said, "This simply will not do."

Madam Jing's fearful reaction actually raised new doubts in Xia Jiujiang's mind. It was just a single drop of blood—why was Madam Jing acting so cowardly?

Xia Jiujiang began to improvise: "The Prince of Jin and Prince Ning share some family ties, so the Prince of Jin only needs to provide a single drop of blood."

Tian Xiaoyuan frowned and asked, "Didn't you say a whole bowl of blood was needed earlier?"

Xia Jiujiang casually replied, "Women belong to the Yin element, while men possess the Yang constitution, so we don't need too much Yang blood—just a single drop will suffice."

In truth, the moment she saw the sesame Gu on Prince Ning's arm, Xia Jiujiang had known that Jun Buwen's blood could be used to lift it. Everything she said before was just to test Madam Jing and the Princess of Ning.

Why was Xia Jiujiang never worried about anyone planting a Gu in Jun Buwen? Because the scorching poison within Jun Buwen's body was the ultimate nemesis of Gu worms, though it could not subdue the Gu mother.

Even if people from the Southern Kingdom tried to plant a Gu in Jun Buwen, it would be useless. On the contrary, if a certain Gu poison was difficult to treat through conventional methods, one could use blood containing Jun Buwen's scorching poison to fight poison with poison and force the toxic pests out.

Xia Jiujiang was unpredictable; at first, she demanded a bowl of blood, and then when it came to Jun Buwen, it became a single drop. Jun Buwen saw through Xia Jiujiang's intentions, but he didn't say much.

Madam Jing looked at Jun Buwen with a troubled expression, yet she dared not speak up. Madam Jing held only an empty title, and Prince Ning was a prince in name only without real power. In the capital, they were merely insignificant figures without a backing. Unlike the Prince of Jin, who held a prominent position, how could they ever dare to let the Prince of Jin bleed for Jun Mo?

However, much to Madam Jing's surprise, Jun Buwen spoke up: "It's just a drop of blood; of course it's fine."

Jun Buwen showed no hesitation whatsoever. Madam Jing hurriedly poured a bowl of clear water to catch it, her expression still filled with awe and trepidation. This caused Xia Jiujiang to cast a few extra glances at Jun Buwen.

Jun Buwen's mother was a former saintess of the Southern Kingdom. Such a background could hardly even be mentioned in polite society in the Li Kingdom, and the fact that Emperor Zongkang even treated him with a modicum of regard was already a miracle. Why was Madam Jing showing him such deep reverence?

It seemed there were still many secrets hidden within Jun Buwen. Since Jun Buwen had already unreservedly shared the secret matters regarding the Southern Kingdom's saintess and the Gu master, it meant he held no secrets from Xia Jiujiang.

Xia Jiujiang knew that Jun Buwen was not keeping things from her out of deceit, but rather because the right time had not yet arrived.

Jun Buwen's blood was bright red yet carried a dark undertone. Once it dissolved into the water, Xia Jiujiang used cinnabar to draw a talismanic incantation, burned it to ashes, stirred the ashes into the water, and instructed: "Feed this water to him, and place a bucket nearby. When he vomits until there are no more bugs left, he will be cured."

Although Madam Jing remained somewhat skeptical—she always felt this kind of Gu arts carried a rather sinister vibe—Prince Ning's life took precedence. Only a few moments after swallowing the talisman water, Jun Mo began to convulse and vomited out a large number of Gu worms.

Madam Jing and Tian Xiaoyuan showered Xia Jiujiang with waves of emotional gratitude.

On the other side, the scandalous rumors about friction between the Prince of Jin and the Princess of Jin due to the Third Prince of the Southern Kingdom turned out to be merely a fleeting flash in the pan. With the Prince of Jin embracing the Princess of Jin while riding through the streets, coupled with the fact that Jun Buwen arranged for personnel from the Tianxiang Pavilion to spread countering rumors, the gossip naturally collapsed without being attacked.

Within the estate of the Seventh Prince, restless and unusual sounds echoed through the quiet night, lingering with a sense of unease.

Inside the bedchamber, the heavy breathing of the Seventh Prince and loud thumping noises could be heard. Following a wave of agitated commotion, the door was kicked open with a heavy thud, and the Seventh Prince stormed out of the room in a rage. Ruyi, a maidservant standing trembling by the doorway, prostrated herself flat on the ground and waited until the Seventh Prince's figure vanished entirely before she dared to carefully scurry back into the bedchamber.

Ruyi was Xia Yue'er's personal maid who had accompanied Xia Yue'er to the Seventh Prince's estate. Seeing the Seventh Prince's consort, Xia Yue'er, covered in bruises ranging from purple to blue, Ruyi helped her up and tearfully said, "My Consort, His Highness has beaten you again."