With her deceased husband as her dowry, would Your Highness dare to marry her?

The three-foot-long sword flew out of his hand, transforming into a cold light that pierced through the darkness of the bamboo forest and plunged fiercely into Xuan Jing's back.

Xuan Jing groaned and collapsed. The swaying bamboo swallowed his figure.

Pei Jinxuan disregarded Xuan Jing and rushed to Lin Ci's side, squatting down to help her up. Her head rested limply in his arm, blood still seeping from the side of her neck.

"Lin Ci." He called her name, his voice low and hoarse, his throat tight.

She didn't respond; her clear, cold eyes were closed, and her breathing was so shallow that he could barely feel it.

He called out again, softer than before, but she still kept her eyes closed.

Pei Jinxuan was at a loss.

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves grew louder as they approached.

Amo arrived with a light cavalry force; several of his men were wounded, and several empty horses followed behind.

Amo dismounted and rushed to Pei Jinxuan, gesturing repeatedly: "Are you alright?"

Pei Jinxuan remained silent as he stood up, holding Lin Ci in his arms. Her head rested against his chest, as if she were asleep, but one side of her neck was covered in blood, with two bloody holes faintly visible.

"That evil monk is in the bamboo forest. Find him." Pei Jinxuan finally spoke, his voice deep and cold. Amo was stunned; he had never seen such murderous intent on Pei Jinxuan's face before.

Pei Jinxuan added, "Also, give me the fastest horse."

Amo brought his horse. The horse was splattered with blood—the blood of Pei Jinxuan's Akhal-Teke horse. They had been ambushed on their journey; it was undoubtedly the work of the Prince of Liang.

Pei Jinxuan carried Lin Ci as he mounted his horse. He held her close, one hand on the reins and the other still pressing firmly on the wound on her neck, before turning the horse around and heading straight into the city.

**

Inside Cheng'an Hall, the manager was copying prescriptions at his desk when suddenly the door was kicked open. Startled, he looked up, and upon seeing who it was, quickly put down his pen and went around the counter to greet them.

"Your Highness, what's wrong?"

Pei Jinxuan was covered in blood, and he was holding someone in his arms. The person's face was ashen, and large patches of dark red had seeped into his frost-colored collar.

The shopkeeper squinted and looked closely; wasn't that Physician Lin?

"Quick, quick, quick! Close the doors and shut out customers!"

The shopkeeper hurriedly instructed the pharmacy staff.

The workers were on high alert and quickly covered the planks one by one.

"Send a letter to the palace, requesting the arrival of Imperial Physician Xu." Pei Jinxuan spoke very quickly, and then went to the back hall.

The shopkeeper beckoned a doctor over and said, "Go and take care of him quickly, I'll go to the palace to deliver the petition right away."

The doctor nodded repeatedly, then chased after Pei Jinxuan into the back room, running ahead of him.

The physician led Pei Jinxuan to the bedside, brought a medicinal pillow and warm water. He first examined Lin Ci's injuries, found them strange, but dared not say anything.

Pei Jinxuan gently laid Lin Ci down, his movements tender, as if afraid of accidentally breaking her. Lin Ci lay on the couch, her face even paler than the plain silk beneath her, two bloody holes clearly visible on the side of her neck, the edges already beginning to turn an ominous bluish-purple.

Pei Jinxuan stayed by the bedside, carefully wiping away the bloodstains from her lips. Lin Ci coughed, thinking she had woken up and was overjoyed, but seeing her eyes tightly closed, his heart sank again.

He withdrew his hand, placed it on his knees, and clenched it into a fist.

About half an hour later, Judge Xu arrived on a donkey, covered in sweat and out of breath. He stepped into the back hall and froze at the door.

Pei Jinxuan sat motionless by the couch, like a wooden sculpture, his soul seemingly adrift. Even as Judge Xu approached, he still hadn't returned.

Disregarding etiquette, Judge Xu strode to the bedside, and his face paled when he saw who was on the bed.

"Dr. Lin...this is..."

As her soul seemed to reunite, Pei Jinxuan slowly turned her eyes to look at Judge Xu and said, "She was bitten by the demonic monk. The wound is on the side of her neck, and the blood that is flowing out is red, but she vomited a mouthful of black blood before."

He spoke calmly, one sentence after another.

Judge Xu dared not delay and carefully lifted the blood-soaked handkerchief. Two bloody holes on the side of Lin Ci's neck were clearly visible, with slightly swollen edges and a bluish-purple tinge.

"I've only ever seen dogs bite people, never people bitten like this. How did this person's teeth grow like this!" Judge Xu lowered his head, carefully examined the wound several times, and even measured it with a ruler.

"Is now the time to talk about this?"

Pei Jinxuan stared coldly at Judge Xu.

Judge Xu dared not be presumptuous. He knew Pei Jinxuan was anxious, so he didn't waste any more words. He directly took Lin Ci's pulse, concentrated on examining her for a long time, and then raised his head.

"Your Highness, please rest assured. Although his pulse is weak, it is still relatively stable. Physician Lin has always been healthy and has a good constitution. He has only lost some blood and energy and fainted temporarily. He should not be in any danger to his life. However, we must wait until Physician Lin wakes up before we can make a final judgment."

Pei Jinxuan took a deep breath, and the tension in his heart eased slightly.

"I need to go to the palace. I'll leave her with you for now."

After saying that, he turned and left, afraid that if he looked at Lin Ci again, he wouldn't be able to bear to step out of the door.

Pei Jinxuan rode his horse into the palace. Seeing his appearance, none of the guards dared to stop him. He dismounted before the palace gates and strode straight towards his bedchamber.

Eunuch Gao was standing guard outside the palace when he saw a figure covered in blood approaching from afar. He was taken aback at first, but when he saw that it was Pei Jinxuan, he hurriedly went to greet him.

"Prince Jing'an, what's wrong? Has something happened at your residence?"

"It's a long story. I need to see the Emperor."

Eunuch Gao looked troubled, holding his whisk and bowing respectfully: "Your Highness, please forgive me. His Majesty does not look well today and has just taken medicine and rested. I dare not disturb him. Your Highness, why don't you sit in the side hall for a while and wait for His Majesty to wake up..."

Before he could finish speaking, Pei Jinxuan shoved him aside and stormed into the Qian Yuan Palace.

The eunuch Gao stumbled a step after being pushed, and when he came to his senses, Pei Jinxuan had already strode into the palace. He flicked his whisk, hurriedly took two steps after him, but stopped outside the threshold, ultimately not daring to follow him in.

"His Majesty!"

The palace doors were flung open with a bang.

A cold wind blew in, and the blue smoke rising from the Boshan incense burner instantly dispersed.

The Yan Emperor was dozing off on his couch when he was startled awake by the noise and sat up abruptly, his cloak slipping off his shoulders.

Eunuch Gao hurriedly stepped forward to drape the cloak over him and whispered, "Prince Jing'an wants to see His Majesty, and this humble subject was truly unable to stop him."

Emperor Yan raised his eyes and saw the newcomer's blood-stained body and disheveled hair. He then slightly raised his hand.

Eunuch Gao understood and led the group of palace maids out quietly.

The palace doors closed, shutting out the sounds of the wind and people.

Pei Jinxuan strode up to Emperor Yan, flicked his robe, knelt on one knee, and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, today Prince Liang brought a wicked monk to the banquet. The monk injured several people in my household with poisonous snakes and abducted the physician Lin Ci. His methods were cruel and demonic. This monk was introduced by Prince Liang, who cannot escape blame. I implore Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate this matter to bring peace to the court and the people."

He finished speaking in one breath, each word as firm as iron and resounding with conviction.

Emperor Yan frowned slightly, leaned forward involuntarily, and asked anxiously, "Has Physician Lin been found?"

"Physician Lin was injured by the evil monk and is currently unconscious." Pei Jinxuan raised his head, his peach blossom eyes no longer bright and charming, but filled with anger. "Your Majesty, that evil monk can clearly see, yet he deliberately pretended to be blind. Taking advantage of my confrontation with Prince Liang, he kidnapped Physician Lin. It's utterly despicable!"

The Yan Emperor did not respond.

He looked at Pei Jinxuan, his gaze calm as still water, and after a long while asked, "Is the demonic monk in your hands?"