You take on two husbands, I'll turn around and marry the tyrant and rule the world.

Chu Nianci was stunned for a moment, then abruptly pulled her hand back, feeling a tightness in her chest from anger.

His Majesty is still unconscious outside, and he's in such a state, yet he has the mind to say these things here?

Anyone could see that he was just trying to take advantage of the chaos to get her out of there.

For the sake of his own pride and desires, he was willing to drag her entire family down with him.

If she escapes successfully, she won't escape his grasp; if she is discovered, he will deny everything and use his royal status to clear his name, leaving her the only one who will suffer in the end.

He had already been rebuffed when he asked His Majesty for himself last time, but he still wouldn't give up.

This person is not only heartless and ungrateful, but utterly devoid of loyalty and righteousness.

His obsession with himself was not a sign of deep remorse, but rather a result of resentment and greed.

Does he really think of her as his brainless half-sister? And what does he think the palace and His Majesty's place are?

Chu Nianci suppressed her nausea and said coldly and distantly, "Lord Lin, if that's all you want to say, then I'm afraid I won't keep you company."

After saying that, he turned to leave.

"Wait." Lin Jingrui rushed forward and blocked her way.

When I looked up, I was met with eyes that had gone from gentle and beautiful to sharp and piercing.

His throat tightened.

His voice was low and hoarse, tinged with tension: "I know now is not the right time... but I've wanted to ask you this for a long time, but I just haven't had the chance. Just one question."

Chu Nianci didn't say anything, but she didn't leave either.

He stood before her, his gaze fixed intently on her eyes: "Why have you kept your medical skills a secret from me all this time?"

Even if he were slow-witted, he could tell from her helping her mother develop wind-dispelling pills to these events after she entered the palace that her medical skills were superb, far surpassing Shunqing's.

Chu Nianci didn't even look up, and said, "What's it to you?"

Lin Jingrui paused, then thought, "What does this have to do with me?"

She married him to be his wife, not to open a clinic, so why did she insist on telling him that?

After a moment of silence, Lin Jingrui looked somewhat dejected: "It really has nothing to do with me. I've known you for so long, and I never knew you were skilled in medicine. I don't understand, if you have such abilities, why didn't you come to Nanzhao with me back then, but instead chose to stay in the inner quarters?"

Chu Nianci remained silent, the candlelight casting a dim glow that made her jade-like face appear as cold and emotionless as ice.

Why not go to Nanzhao with him?

She recalled that in her previous life, she had also seen the recruitment notices posted by the government.

I was once tempted by it.

A few days before his departure, he came to see me and said, "Nianci, someone has to take care of the family, so I'm entrusting it to you. I hope that when you return, the whole family will be safe and sound."

For those words, she broke her own wings to protect his rear.

In this life, she will never do it again.

Her wings and her ambitions will never be broken by anyone again.

There's no need to tell him that now.

"Do you think you have the right to ask me these questions?" Chu Nianci asked in a cold tone.

Lin Jingrui looked at her and gave a bitter smile: "Yes, I'm not qualified. You don't have to answer... I just can't understand it. Even if your mother is a merchant, you're so outstanding. If you had told me earlier, things could have been different between us."

"Ever since you came back from Nanzhao, I feel like you've become a different person. Is it all because I chose Shunqing? All she wanted was a respectable identity. Shouldn't I even give her that much recognition...?"

Chu Nianci was so angry she almost laughed.

Then, a cold laugh interrupted his mutterings: "As long as you have a clear conscience."

Lin Jingrui narrowed his eyes, a shadow of gloom flashing within them, and said, "You entered the palace only to annoy Shunqing, so that I would regret it every day."

Chu Nianci suddenly raised her head, her dark eyes like ice, piercing straight at him: "Fine, I'll make it clear to you today. The reason I didn't go to Nanzhao back then was because I was fulfilling my duty as a wife and taking care of this family for you. Now, entering the palace is not to cause trouble for anyone, nor is it to make you regret it!"

She took a step closer, her words piercingly scathing: "I entered the palace, firstly to serve His Majesty, and secondly to live freely. I never stopped you from allowing her to live 'honorably,' but I've realized that I've married the wrong person. Am I not allowed to find another way out?"

Lin Jingrui didn't expect her to speak so bluntly.

Especially the last sentence, "She married the wrong man," stung him like a needle.

He remembered Chu Shunqing always saying in his ear that his sister deliberately wanted to outdo him, just to make him regret it...

So, he had misunderstood?

His mind was in turmoil; she didn't seem to have any feelings for him at all.

No, that can't be the case.

Why did he agree to marry me in the first place?

So, Lin Jingrui instinctively pressed on, "When you married me, was it out of genuine love, or was it simply to obey your mother's wishes, that you would have married anyone?"

Chu Nianci really wanted to kick him to death.

What place is this?

And what is her identity?

How dare he ask such questions!

Suppressing her anger, she scolded while laughing, "Back then, it was an arranged marriage by our parents and a matchmaker. Now, you are Shunqing's husband, and I am His Majesty's woman. You had better remember that forever!"

"So... it was just an arrangement by our parents," Lin Jingrui's eyes darkened, then his gaze turned sinister as he stared at her, his tone turning cold. "Since you had no feelings for me, and I was merely marrying for my brother, why is it that my marriage to Shunqing is considered a betrayal? Why does everyone think that I abandoned my wife to remarry?"

"Heh..." Chu Nianci laughed out loud this time, a cold laugh devoid of any warmth. "Since stepping into your Lin family, I have never neglected serving my parents-in-law, and I have devoted myself to managing the household affairs, all while waiting for your return. But what did you do? You made solemn vows when you proposed, then turned around and made me wait for half a year. The first thing you did upon your return was to ask to marry my sister. You were blinded by lust and betrayed your promises. Now you have the nerve to push the responsibility onto me?"

This barrage of questions left Lin Jingrui pale-faced.

He was like a cornered beast, and suddenly he gritted his teeth and said with a sinister look, "Fine, fine... Since you see me this way, I have nothing to say. But if you want me to use the token to invite Physician Zhang, you must promise me that you will leave the palace with me."

Chu Nianci was so angry that a metallic taste rose in her throat, and she almost spat a mouthful of blood on his face.

Is this person crazy?

How dare he threaten His Majesty's safety?

Doesn't he understand that this isn't about threatening her, but about threatening the king?

Consort Bai was banished to the Cold Palace after only performing a dance at Plum Blossom Pavilion, and Consort Qiao and her father were nearly beaten to death by him.

With His Majesty's resolute and strong character, how could he tolerate such humiliation today?

He didn't seize such a good opportunity to serve His Majesty, and instead made demands; he was simply digging his own grave.

"Lin Jingrui!" Chu Nianci's voice trembled slightly with extreme anger.

She clenched her fist, barely suppressing the urge to slap him hard. "I thought you were just heartless and ungrateful, but now it seems you have absolutely no sense of loyalty or righteousness. As a husband, you have failed in your duties; as a subject, you have deceived the emperor. I can forget the past, but I will never forgive this scheming against His Majesty and this disloyal and unrighteous thought!"

He said, word by word, "My loyalty to His Majesty is as clear as the sun and moon, as bright as heaven and earth. From the day I entered the palace, I have never thought of leaving. If you are using this as leverage, for His Majesty's sake, I can agree, but..."

She straightened her back, her eyes like cold stars, and suddenly pulled a gold hairpin from her hair, handing it to him.

"I will not leave Your Majesty no matter what. You might as well kill me now and take my corpse with you out of the palace!"

Lin Jingrui was completely stunned.

He didn't expect...

She was so resolute and determined, her eyes filled with unwavering resolve as she looked at Qingyan.

He knew she wasn't making empty threats or being deliberately threatening.

She always keeps her word.

These words were like a red-hot branding iron, leaving him speechless.

This hairpin also resembles a sharp sword.

It thoroughly exposed his ambition and selfishness.

Looking at his bewildered and stubborn appearance, Chu Nianci thought he was hopelessly stupid.

Saying another word would be a waste.

"You decide for yourself." She glared at him fiercely, holding the hairpin in her hand, and went straight to pull the doorknob.

Lin Jingrui came to his senses.

He could only adopt the posture of "a scholar encountering a soldier," pointing at Chu Nianci and stammering "you, you" for a long time, but unable to say anything more.

Seeing her turn away, he hurriedly spoke, but his voice was already weak: "Wait, I can't agree with what you're saying. How am I disloyal and unjust? His Majesty is seriously ill, and you're anxious. Don't I worry? At this moment, I have no other request, only one thing..."

Chu Nianci turned half her face to the side, and the candlelight cast a faint golden edge on her cool and beautiful brows.

Lin Jingrui said in a low voice, feeling guilty, "His Majesty is seriously ill, and my mother's illness cannot be delayed either. I don't ask for anything else, I only ask that you write down the prescription for the wind-dispelling pill for me."

"That prescription was developed by my master," Chu Nianci said calmly. "If I want to give it to you, I need his approval."

"Well...can I have a few boxes for emergencies first?" Lin Jingrui asked as a second choice.

His voice carried a pleading tone.

"I only have one box left right now. Please ask Physician Zhang to come and get it from me later." After she finished speaking, she didn't linger and reached out to open the door.

A night breeze swept in, and the candlelight suddenly flickered violently.

Lin Jingrui's stiff figure was pinned to the wall, stretched until it was hunched and deformed.

As Lin Jingrui watched that resolute, upright, and graceful figure leave, he felt that at that moment, she was truly so far away from him that she was unreachable...

The cold wind that swept in through the wide-open door gradually brought him to his senses, leaving him utterly dejected.

Suddenly.

He suddenly caught a glimpse of something she had just said.

Yes.

She said she would forgive herself for her past.

His Majesty is lying in the next room.

There are many things she cannot say openly.

Lin Jingrui clenched his fists, lifted the corner of his robe, and with a hint of resentment and a glimmer of hope, hurriedly left the Hall of Mental Cultivation and headed towards the Lizheng Gate in the southwest corner.