The Prime Minister’s Daughter and the Marquis’s Fool – Chapter 94

Shifu, Do You Have a Lingxing Pill on You?

Qu Sheng supported Xiao Bingying, her brow furrowing slightly as she watched Cheng Xi’s panicked, hurried figure disappear into the distance.

Xiao Bingying now sat on the cold stone ground, her eyelids heavy with exhaustion. Through a blurry haze, she saw Cheng Xi’s retreating back.

Not long after Cheng Xi left, Xiao Bingying slipped into a brief spell of unconsciousness.

Qu Sheng and the others stood guard. Below, the enemy soldiers began to climb, but without exception, just as they neared the top, they were jabbed with swords and sent tumbling back down.

This path was blocked. Having lost soldiers and broken generals¹, the Haichao Kingdom’s guards decided to search for another route. Qu Sheng knew they couldn’t linger here, but Xiao Bingying was poisoned. Without an antidote, any rapid movement would cause her blood to surge, and the poison would surely attack her heart.

Cheng Xi had told her not to move, so Qu Sheng could only hold Xiao Bingying still.

Several minutes later, Cheng Xi came running back, still chewing something. Qu Sheng looked closely and saw her stuffing a handful of grass into her mouth, chewing it into a pulp, and spitting it into her other hand before repeating the process. By the time she reached them, the last of the grass had been masticated, oozing a bitter green juice.

It was the season when all things returned to life, and the mountain was rich with medicinal herbs. It had only taken Cheng Xi a short walk to find the newly sprouted plant—one that could counteract poison, yet was poisonous itself.

“Help me,” Cheng Xi said, still breathing heavily from her sprint. She looked at Qu Sheng, her eyes filled not only with panic, but with deep worry.

Qu Sheng glanced at the chewed herbs clutched in her hand and the green juice staining her lips. She lowered her gaze for a moment, then used her sword to slice open the back of Xiao Bingying’s clothing, exposing the wound.

Looking at the black blood seeping from around the arrowhead, Qu Sheng turned to Cheng Xi. “Are you sure about this?” she asked, a hint of doubt in her voice.

“Liu Wuxiang is my Shifu². Trust me.” Cheng Xi finally admitted her medical skills. She hadn’t hidden them when Liu Wuxiang had mentioned it before; Qu Sheng had simply not caught the meaning.

Her previous secrecy hadn’t been an intentional deception, but a means of self-preservation. The illness she’d feigned had been self-induced with medicine, all to escape Xiao Yaocai—though she hadn’t expected him to be completely devoid of sympathy. She had also hidden her martial arts; if the Xiao Family had known she could fight, they would never have let her walk freely in the courtyard. Her movements would have been restricted, and she might have even been imprisoned by Xiao Yaocai.

Speaking of which, the Qu Family could not escape responsibility for Cheng Xi’s current plight.

If the Qu Family hadn’t led troops to suppress the uprising, Cheng Feng would now be the monarch³ of the Haichao Kingdom, and Cheng Xi would never have been reduced to this.

Qu Sheng knelt behind her, her lips moving slightly as she pulled the arrow out.

The shaft was now coated not only in black blood but also in bits of shredded flesh torn out by the barbs.

The searing pain jolted Xiao Bingying awake, and a soft whimper escaped her throat. Qu Sheng stared at the mangled wound, puzzled as to why it had stopped bleeding.

While Qu Sheng was still wondering, Cheng Xi had already leaned over Xiao Bingying’s back, pressing her lips to the wound and sucking out the dark, clotted blood.

She spat the black blood onto the ground, then went back for a second mouthful, and a third. Seeing this, Qu Sheng’s gaze scanned Cheng Xi. “Aren’t you afraid of being poisoned?” she asked after a moment.

If it was a potent toxin, one couldn’t just suck it out like this. If she accidentally swallowed any, she would end up just like Xiao Bingying, or possibly worse.

“It’s fine,” Cheng Xi replied without looking up, spitting out another mouthful of poisoned blood.

After expelling the last of the black blood, Cheng Xi cupped the herbs in her hands, grinding and squeezing them for a moment before packing the pulp into the bloody hollow in Xiao Bingying’s shoulder.

Perhaps the medicine was too potent, because Xiao Bingying’s face flushed crimson with pain, and her body instinctively lurched forward, trying to escape.

Seeing Xiao Bingying’s agony, Cheng Xi’s eyes filled with compassion. She pulled Xiao Bingying into her arms, whispering softly in her ear, “It will be over in a moment. Just hold on a little longer.”

At the sound of Cheng Xi’s voice, Xiao Bingying’s struggles ceased, though her body remained rigid. She was forcing herself to endure the pain.

While Cheng Xi was treating the poison, the Haichao pursuers finally found another way up.

Hearing the commotion, Qu Sheng glanced over and kicked the sword she had set on the ground. As the longsword flew into the air, she reached out and caught it by the hilt.

Her guards immediately took defensive positions. Seeing them form a line, the attackers glanced cautiously behind them.

Qu Sheng stood in front of Xiao Bingying and the others, her cold gaze fixed on the enemy. As they closed in, her guards threw themselves into the fight.

Though the Qu Family’s people were few, they were elites handpicked from the military camps. Each one was a formidable fighter, capable of taking on two or three Haichao guards without a problem.

But the fight dragged on. Even as the enemy’s numbers dwindled, many still remained. Watching them continuously try to break through the chaos toward her, Qu Sheng spun her sword in her hand and joined the offensive.

The herb—a case of using poison to fight poison⁴—caused Xiao Bingying to lose consciousness again. Cheng Xi sat on the ground, holding her tightly. She couldn’t understand why Xiao Bingying had been so foolish as to take that arrow for her. If she could, she would rather have been the one who was hit.

Although this poison could be cured, it would leave lasting damage. If not cared for properly, Xiao Bingying could become a cripple, left perpetually weak and limp.

A sense of self-reproach washed over Cheng Xi. She had been using Xiao Bingying all along, yet Xiao Bingying had risked her life for a brother who meant nothing to her, and now had laid down her life again to protect her. The debt she owed Xiao Bingying was simply too great.

“I’m here. You’ll be okay,” Cheng Xi murmured, subconsciously leaning in to kiss Xiao Bingying’s sweat-dampened forehead.

“Mm…” Just as Cheng Xi finished speaking, Xiao Bingying let out a soft sound—whether from pain or in response to her words, it was unclear.

Cheng Xi froze for a second and quickly looked down at her. She thought Xiao Bingying had woken up, but her eyes were still shut tight.

A flicker of disappointment crossed Cheng Xi’s face. Just as she was about to lean in and nuzzle against her, a flash of cold light sliced through the air. Cheng Xi instinctively rolled to the side, clutching Xiao Bingying, and the descending blade struck empty ground.

After dodging the attack, she hurriedly checked on Xiao Bingying. Seeing that she was unharmed in her arms, Cheng Xi looked up at the man who had climbed up the steep cliff, her brow tightening.

There was more than one. In the time it took them to dodge, two or three more had scaled the cliff face.

Cheng Xi quickly sized them up. The dark clouds overhead parted, revealing the men in the moonlight. The raw killing intent rolling off them ignited a murderous rage deep within Cheng Xi.

She stared them down, slowly placing Xiao Bingying on the ground. The moment she was steady, Cheng Xi rose, drawing the sword from her waist. She moved with a speed that none of them could react to, her blade circling the first man’s wrist. His sword clattered to the ground. Seizing the opening, Cheng Xi swung her longsword horizontally across his abdomen. As a spray of blood erupted, she was already moving to the next target.

In a matter of moments, Cheng Xi had eliminated all of them.

She caught her breath, looking back at the dead Haichao Kingdom guards on the ground. These men had once knelt and bowed to her. But because of the new king’s prejudice against her and her brother, she was now being hunted down by her own subjects.

When the new king, Cheng Wei, ascended the throne, Cheng Feng had no intention of rebelling. But Cheng Wei was wary of him. He sent him away to his fiefdom, then used every excuse to provoke and humiliate him, backing the ever-compliant Cheng Feng into a corner until he had no choice but to rebel.

Cheng Xi returned to Xiao Bingying’s side, lifted her from the cold ground, and held her again. Meanwhile, Qu Sheng’s group was still locked in a difficult battle.

Cheng Xi looked toward the fighting not far away. Qu Sheng, having just dispatched a guard, glanced back at them.

She had seen everything Cheng Xi had just done.

Their eyes met. It wasn’t that Cheng Xi didn’t want to help, but after what had just happened, she was too worried about Xiao Bingying’s safety.

Qu Sheng held her gaze for a few moments before turning to face the next wave of guards, her sword flashing out. Soon after, Cheng Xi finished off a few more men who had climbed up from below the cliff and lifted Xiao Bingying onto her back.

Qu Sheng’s group had carved out a path. Xiao Bingying’s body needed a new antidote to be prepared.

The poison from the guards’ weapons had to be purged.

The toxin they used was so potent that she’d had no choice but to use the method of fighting poison with poison. The new toxin now in Xiao Bingying’s system was milder; she would be fine for the time being.

Seeing Cheng Xi leave with Xiao Bingying on her back, Qu Sheng ordered her own people to disengage and cover their retreat.

An hour later, having already withdrawn, Qu Sheng set an ambush in a low-lying area. After killing all their pursuers with a volley of arrows, she led the group down the mountain.

They had been separated from Qu Ting and the others. Qu Sheng left some of her guards at the foot of the mountain to wait for them, then took Xiao Bingying and the rest to the place where Lin Xizhao and Cheng Feng were hiding.

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Because they were fugitives, they didn’t dare stay in a city. Lin Xizhao and the others had taken shelter in an abandoned earthen house twenty li⁵ into the countryside.

Cheng Feng and the others were already resting inside, but Lin Xizhao had been standing outside the door since nightfall, waiting for Qu Sheng to return. Feng Qi stood guard nearby.

As the sky gradually brightened and the red sun slowly rose in the east, the worry in her heart grew heavier.

“Feng Qi.”

“What are your orders, Eldest Miss?” Feng Qi asked, bowing his head.

“I don’t need protection. You should go—”

Before Lin Xizhao could finish telling him to search for Qu Sheng, she heard the neighing of horses in the distance. The sound cut her off. She quickly looked up, and in an instant, her face lit up with joy.

Qu Sheng was on horseback, galloping toward her.

The moment she saw Qu Sheng, Lin Xizhao couldn’t wait any longer and started running toward her. Lin Xizhao’s few running steps covered far less ground than Qu Sheng’s strides. As she drew near, she worried her horse might lose control and injure Lin Xizhao, so she yanked hard on the reins and leaped from the saddle.

“Jiejie⁶,” Qu Sheng called out to the approaching Lin Xizhao.

After their brief separation, the longing Qu Sheng felt for Lin Xizhao had already entered her bones⁷.

Qu Sheng pulled Lin Xizhao into her arms. Though they were of similar height, Lin Xizhao felt incredibly small and delicate in her embrace.

Qu Sheng held her tight, burying her face in the crook of Lin Xizhao’s neck, greedily and unabashedly inhaling the intoxicatingly cool fragrance that emanated from her skin.

“Sheng’er…” Held so tightly, Lin Xizhao felt a slight squeeze, and her voice trembled as she spoke her name.

“Xizhao.” When the embrace couldn’t quell the ache of their short separation, Qu Sheng’s gaze found Lin Xizhao’s soft lips.

Lin Xizhao saw her intention. Though she was just as worried and missed her just as much, she was not nearly as bold as Qu Sheng. She lowered her head to avoid the kiss, but Qu Sheng anticipated the move, quickly dipping her own head and tilting it to capture her lips, forcing Lin Xizhao’s neck to arch back.

Lin Xizhao was kissed by Qu Sheng’s warm lips. Her breathing was already ragged from her short run, and it wasn’t enough to replenish the oxygen she’d lost. Her lips parted slightly to gasp for air, but Qu Sheng’s slick tongue took the opportunity to slip inside, tangling with her own soft one.

“Sheng’er…” Kissed so aggressively by Qu Sheng, Lin Xizhao wanted to satisfy her, but her body’s need for oxygen was overwhelming. She felt like she was about to suffocate.

She pushed lightly at Qu Sheng to no effect, then pushed again with more force, finally breaking away from the breathless entanglement.

“Sheng’er,” Lin Xizhao gasped, taking in large gulps of air. Qu Sheng, stunned for a moment, immediately understood why she had been pushed away.

Seeing the tip of Lin Xizhao’s rosy tongue as she parted her lips to breathe, Qu Sheng’s own lips curved into a smile, her mood soaring.

As Lin Xizhao’s breathing steadied, she realized that quite a few people were standing around them.

Feng Qi stood to one side, his face turned pointedly away. Cheng Xi was there too, with Xiao Bingying on her back, seemingly lost in thought.

The few remaining guards quickly lowered their heads when Qu Sheng glanced their way.

Realizing that everyone had witnessed what she and Qu Sheng had just done, a blush spread across Lin Xizhao’s fair face.

Lin Xizhao wanted to hide, but then her eyes fixed on the person Cheng Xi was carrying. Her expression changed from embarrassment to alarm. “What happened to Bingying?” she asked, her voice filled with fear and worry.

Qu Sheng followed her gaze to Cheng Xi and Xiao Bingying. Cheng Xi lowered her eyes for a moment before explaining, “She’s been poisoned. We need to prepare an antidote immediately.” Despite the urgency, she hadn’t interrupted their post-reunion intimacy.

Lin Xizhao was stunned for a moment. She didn’t know how to prepare an antidote, but there was an exceptionally skilled doctor inside.

Lin Xizhao led Cheng Xi and the others into the house. Liu Wuxiang was called out, and a frail-looking Cheng Feng followed behind him.

Seeing the unconscious Xiao Bingying, Liu Wuxiang didn’t even have to ask. Cheng Xi quickly explained the situation.

“She was poisoned with Hundred Ghosts’ Saliva⁸. I’ve already used Jade Toad Silk⁹ to neutralize it.”

“So she’s now poisoned with Jade Toad Silk?” Liu Wuxiang asked, looking up at Cheng Xi as he examined Xiao Bingying’s wound.

Cheng Xi nodded, her brow furrowed in worry. “Shifu, do you have a Lingxing Pill¹⁰ on you?”

Hearing Cheng Xi call Liu Wuxiang “Shifu,” Lin Xizhao also noticed the bloodstains on her clothes, which didn’t seem to have come from Xiao Bingying. She thought for a moment, then glanced at Qu Sheng.

Qu Sheng felt Lin Xizhao’s gaze and met her eyes, giving a slight nod that answered the unspoken question in her heart.

When Liu Wuxiang heard Cheng Xi mention the Lingxing Pill, a worried look appeared on his face. “Lingxing Pills are difficult to preserve, so I didn’t prepare any.”

At his words, Cheng Xi’s eyes widened, and she looked at him with a pleading expression.

“Hey, don’t look at me like that. It’s not like she can’t be saved,” Liu Wuxiang said, pulling out a few processed herbs from the medicine bag on his back.

Qu Sheng frowned at the herbs he had so casually grabbed. Just as she was about to ask if he was reliable, Lin Xizhao gently tugged on her sleeve.

Liu Wuxiang’s seemingly random handful of herbs was a skill honed through countless battles and years of practice. Besides, with Cheng Xi here, she would never stand by and watch Xiao Bingying die from poison.

Cheng Xi took the herbs from Liu Wuxiang’s bag without a shred of doubt and hurried off to brew them.

“It’s not safe here anymore,” Qu Sheng said. “After Jiejie Bingying takes the medicine, I’ll have Feng Qi take you all across the border. A few people will stay here to wait for Third Brother and the others to return.”

Qu Sheng had already left a good number of people at the foot of the mountain to meet Qu Ting’s group. Now that they had alerted the Royal City’s guards, this place would soon be searched. Every moment they lingered added to the danger.

“What about you?” Lin Xizhao asked, noticing Qu Sheng hadn’t included herself in the arrangements.

Seeing the worry in Lin Xizhao’s eyes, Qu Sheng’s lips curved into a gentle smile, and her voice softened. “I’m going to find Third Brother and the others.” She would never abandon Qu Ting.

Lin Xizhao grew even more worried. She wanted to stop Qu Sheng from going back, but she had no reason or right to do so. She admitted that for a moment, a selfish thought crossed her mind, but in the end, she said nothing.

After the medicine was brewed and given to Xiao Bingying, Qu Sheng helped everyone onto the carriage.

Lin Xizhao wasn’t afraid of death, but she knew that staying would only cause trouble for Qu Sheng. If the pursuers really came, Qu Sheng could protect herself, but having to protect her as well might cause a fatal distraction. And yet, a selfish part of her wanted to stay by Qu Sheng’s side. It was better to know she was safe at all times than to be tormented by anxious thoughts.

Sitting in the carriage, Lin Xizhao gazed at Qu Sheng, and the reluctance in her eyes was plain to see as the carriage began to move.

Qu Sheng watched as Lin Xizhao’s longing gaze followed her. She pressed her lips together, then ran after the carriage and lifted Lin Xizhao down.

“You all go on ahead. Jiejie is staying with me,” Qu Sheng announced. She didn’t want to be separated from Lin Xizhao again.

Watching Feng Qi leave with Xiao Bingying and the others, Qu Sheng led Lin Xizhao back to the earthen house.

“You two wait here for San-ge. If you haven’t seen him by noon tomorrow, leave this place,” Qu Sheng instructed two of the guards.

The guards acknowledged the order with a bow. They then watched as Qu Sheng lifted Lin Xizhao onto a horse, mounted another herself, and rode away with the remaining guards.

Lin Xizhao rode alongside Qu Sheng. They hadn’t gone far before they saw Qu Ting leading his people toward them.

Qu Sheng and Lin Xizhao’s faces broke into smiles when they saw that Qu Ting and Qian Shuangying were both safe.

The group returned to the earthen house. After changing out of their bloodstained clothes, they decided to split up again.

A large group was too conspicuous a target.

Qu Ting and Qian Shuangying gave them their share of Zhao Jiayu’s guards, and then they parted ways.

Qu Sheng and Lin Xizhao rode side-by-side. Though they didn’t delay, it would still take many days to reach the border¹¹.

That evening, they found a roadside inn¹² to stay for the night.

Inside their room, Lin Xizhao tested the temperature of the water in the bathtub, her slender fingers stirring ripples on the surface. When she turned to call for Qu Sheng, she jumped, startled to find her standing right behind her.

“Sheng’er,” Lin Xizhao said, her tone tinged with a soft complaint.

Qu Sheng heard the reproach in her voice but sensed something else beneath it. In that moment, Lin Xizhao seemed even more delicate and enchanting.

“Did I scare you, Jiejie?” Qu Sheng asked, a smile in her eyes as she stared at Lin Xizhao without blinking.

Lin Xizhao had intended to feign annoyance and ask her to move, but when she looked up and met Qu Sheng’s predatory gaze, her courage immediately failed her.

She lowered her eyes. “The water is just right. You can bathe now,” she said softly.

After speaking, she didn’t dare look up at Qu Sheng, who stood before her in complete silence.

Puzzled, Lin Xizhao raised her head. Before she could even see Qu Sheng’s face clearly, her breath was stolen away.

Qu Sheng’s kiss was reckless at first. When Lin Xizhao instinctively struggled, she slowly softened the pressure, gently suckling her lips.

She teased the corner of Lin Xizhao’s mouth, which was making her dizzy. Then, without getting permission to part her teeth, she pulled back for a fraction of a second, her hot breath ghosting over her skin as she called her name in a tone that was both impatient and coquettish.

“Jiejie…”

Hearing Qu Sheng’s tender tone, Lin Xizhao felt something strike her heart, and her entire body began to go soft.

After calling her name, Qu Sheng pressed her lips forward again, this time with more force. As she had hoped, she coaxed Lin Xizhao’s teeth apart, allowing her to surge inside.

Qu Sheng’s lips and tongue relentlessly assailed Lin Xizhao’s, moving from an initial entanglement to a gentle grinding.

The last of Lin Xizhao’s caution gradually melted away. She slowly raised her arms and wrapped them around Qu Sheng’s neck, kissing her back.

It had been so long since they had been like this.

Not long after Qu Sheng’s eyes had healed, Lin Xizhao had begun to retreat emotionally. Although she allowed Qu Sheng to kiss her, she always found some excuse to refuse a kiss as passionate as this.

Qu Sheng knew where the problem lay, but she didn’t plan to point it out. As long as Lin Xizhao still accepted her kisses, she wouldn’t force her to make a choice.

But if Lin Xizhao ever wanted to leave her, she would absolutely never let it happen!

The heart-stirring kiss continued. As she kissed back, Lin Xizhao gradually lost herself, temporarily casting her reason aside.

Qu Sheng kept her eyes open, trying her best to please the person in her arms, the person who held her heart. The arm around Lin Xizhao’s waist tightened uncontrollably, pressing their warming bodies together through the thin fabric of their clothes.

Lin Xizhao was so lost in Qu Sheng’s devoted kisses that she didn’t even notice when the sash at her waist came undone. It wasn’t until the searing heat of Qu Sheng’s fingers touched her skin that she realized she could no longer find a reason to refuse her.

As Qu Sheng’s lips and tongue roamed over her jade-like skin, they left a trail of tiny, tingling itches, drawing soft, broken sounds from her throat.

It wasn’t until she was being lifted into the bathtub that Lin Xizhao was shocked to realize just how much she craved the beautiful pleasure Qu Sheng gave her—a pleasure she had become addicted to from the very first taste.

After a long and repeated internal struggle, Lin Xizhao finally gave in to Qu Sheng, and to herself.

Outside the roadside inn, Qu Sheng had already arranged for guards to stand watch in shifts. High above, the moon hung in the sky; inside, the candlelight flickered and danced. Lin Xizhao was lifted onto the wooden stool pressed against the inside of the tub.

The cool night air was no match for the fire burning between them.

After a round of rapturous pleasure, Qu Sheng looked up at the dazed girl, whose eyes had lost their focus. She raised a hand to wipe away the sticky moisture from the corner of her lips and, without giving Lin Xizhao a chance to breathe, kissed her again, capturing her still-parted lips.

The tip of her tongue swept inside, jolting Lin Xizhao back to her senses.

As Lin Xizhao kissed back, she felt a new sensation stir within her body. A look of something between pain and pleasure crossed her face, and she called out the name of the person giving her both agony and ecstasy in a hoarse voice, “Sheng’er…”

“Does it feel good when Sheng’er does this, Jiejie?” Qu Sheng asked, her voice thick with desire, her eyes clouded yet bright.

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The author has something to say:

Qu Sheng: “I want to be poisoned too. I want to be limp and weak. I want to be Jiejie’s little good-for-nothing¹³.”

Lin Xizhao: “……”

Xiao Bingying: “……”

Cheng Xi: “……”

Zhao Jiayu: “Where’s your face?¹⁴”

Qu Sheng: “Buried in Jiejie.”

Lin Xizhao: “!!!”

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