Chapter 106: Not Happy? Come Down and Fight Me
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Yu Zhi Yi smiled faintly, her expression brimming with a peculiar “kindness” as she sought to enlighten him. “Healing and divination are not the same. While divination also requires energy and spiritual power, for someone like me, the effort is barely a drop in the ocean.”
She paused, her tone growing more somber. “Your Highness, you’re now completely paralyzed. Though the Imperial Physicians have done everything in their power to stabilize the injury to your waist, their efforts only serve to delay its deterioration. Surely, they’ve told you this already? If the injury continues to worsen, you’ll have three to five days at best, perhaps ten to fifteen at most, before your very life is in peril.”
Yu Zhi Yi leaned in slightly, her voice sharp. “If we cannot completely halt the decline, Your Highness will not survive the month.”
The Carefree Prince fell into a heavy silence.
The Imperial Physicians had indeed delivered such a grim prognosis. Desperate, they had resorted to seeking renowned healers from every corner, even turning to mystical methods in their search for a miracle.
The Dowager Empress, clearly agitated, spoke up urgently, “If you can save the Carefree Prince, restore his health, I will grant you twenty thousand taels! And the rewards promised by the Emperor shall be yours as well!”
Yu Zhi Yi nodded solemnly. “Your Majesty, I am not one to covet riches. The money I request is simply what I am owed. The ten thousand taels? Compensation for the effort it will take.”
She turned her gaze to the Carefree Prince. “The additional fifteen hundred taels? That covers the cost of mental anguish and a Transfer Talisman. Consider it a reimbursement, Your Highness.”
The Carefree Prince, well acquainted with the likes of You Bing Yue, understood what “mental anguish” meant. Although he had no idea what a Transfer Talisman entailed, it was clear to him that this woman was using the situation to exact revenge for his earlier assassination attempts.
Grinding his teeth, he gave a reluctant nod before the Dowager Empress or Emperor could interject. “Fine!”
Yu Zhi Yi’s smile broadened, becoming even more dazzling. “Your Highness, how magnanimous of you.”
The Carefree Prince’s jaw tightened.
Magnanimous? He didn’t want this kind of compliment.
When he had arranged for her assassination, he had used hired mercenaries from the martial world to avoid direct ties. The cost? A thousand taels.
Now, Yu Zhi Yi was demanding fifteen hundred. For the first time in nearly thirty years, the Carefree Prince truly understood the meaning of losing both the bride and the dowry.
“Your Majesty, Your Grace,” Yu Zhi Yi said, addressing the Emperor and Dowager Empress, “perhaps it’s best if you wait outside. The treatment will take considerable time, but I assure you, the moment the door opens, the Carefree Prince will be able to stand.”
The Emperor and Dowager Empress exchanged a glance. The Emperor, after a moment’s thought, issued a pointed reminder. “Yu Lang Zhong, the Carefree Prince is my younger brother. Please… take good care of him.”
The Emperor’s words carried a deliberate undertone. He was well aware of the history between the two. After the palace banquet, he had uncovered the Carefree Prince’s foolish reasons for his behavior that day—actions taken for a woman who had already entangled herself with someone else. Not only had his brother used his influence to secure her a spot at the banquet, but he had also gone so far as to employ an underhanded scheme to make a spectacle of himself.
The sheer absurdity of it all had nearly sent the Emperor into a fit of rage. If the concoction the prince had used had worked, perhaps he could have praised him for being resourceful. But instead, the prince had fallen victim to his own plan, embarrassing no one but himself.
In that moment, the Emperor had nearly disowned him.
Yu Zhi Yi understood the Emperor’s implicit warning: past grievances were one thing, but when it came to life and death, she was to act professionally.
The door creaked shut, leaving only Yu Zhi Yi and the Carefree Prince in the room.
As the silence deepened, the once-jaunty prince felt a chill. He couldn’t help but stammer, “W-what are you planning to do?”
It wasn’t cowardice, exactly. But he was now entirely defenseless, and the person he had wronged stood before him with no one to intervene.
If Yu Zhi Yi truly sought to settle their grievances once and for all, no one could stop her. Even if she faced retribution later, what would it matter to a dead man?
Yu Zhi Yi seemed to savor the unease flickering across his face, a laugh escaping her lips. “I thought Your Highness was a figure of great power and influence. Yet here you are, cowering.”
“You dare!” the prince barked, his voice shaking with a mix of fury and humiliation. “Yu Zhi Yi, do you even know who you’re speaking to?”
Yu Zhi Yi snickered, her tone dripping with mockery. “Why, to none other than the Carefree Prince himself. If my words displease you… come down and fight me.”
The prince’s jaw dropped. “What—?!”
“Yu Zhi Yi! How dare you humiliate me! Once I recover—”
“Oh? And then what?” she interrupted, her voice sweet yet laced with venom. “When you recover, what do you plan to do?”
The prince froze, realizing the futility of his threats. Unarmed and immobile, he had no leverage.
Forcing his temper down, he thought of softening his tone but found the words caught in his throat. There was only one woman in the world he would lower himself for, and that woman wasn’t Yu Zhi Yi.
Closing his eyes tightly, he opted for silence. If Yu Zhi Yi broke her promise, the Emperor and Dowager Empress would deal with her. For now, he would endure.
Yu Zhi Yi, unbothered by his seething presence, helped herself to the tea and pastries on the table. Taking a leisurely sip, she couldn’t help but remark on their quality.
“The palace’s provisions truly are exceptional,” she mused, savoring the tea’s fragrant aftertaste and the warmth it spread through her chest. The pastries, delicately sweet and melt-in-your-mouth, surpassed even the best snack offerings.
Meanwhile, the Carefree Prince seethed inwardly. Minutes passed, and he heard nothing but the sound of tea being poured and pastries being nibbled.
When he risked a peek, his blood nearly boiled over.
That woman—the audacity! Drinking his tea, eating his pastries as if she were on holiday!
“Are you even capable of healing me? If not, get out!”
Yu Zhi Yi barely lifted her eyes, her voice calm. “I am not a man, Your Highness. There’s no need to provoke me.”
She resumed her leisurely tea-drinking, entirely unbothered by his outrage.
The Carefree Prince clenched his fists in frustration, unable to do a thing. This was his own palace, and yet he felt more like a prisoner. The soundproofing ensured no cries for help would reach outside, and his weakened state left him powerless to call for aid.
Anger simmered beneath the surface, but the Carefree Prince could only watch helplessly as Yu Zhi Yi settled into her chair, closing her eyes as if preparing for a nap.
She wasn’t just tormenting him physically. She was making a mockery of his pride.
And there was nothing he could do about it.