In a moment of impulse, I forcibly kissed my brother's best friend.

Zhou Xuan'an quickly repeated the sentence loudly. However, the crowd was so frightened by the sudden assassination attempt that some people left and others scattered, and no one responded.

On the other side, after Li Zhiwei and Li Zhige dealt with several assassins, when they returned to Xie Yige's side, they found two bloodied people and an unconscious Cui Yutang.

"I have wound medicine!" Li Zhige quickly took out a small white porcelain bottle from his personal storage bag, squatted down, and helped Xie Yige stop Cui Yutang's bleeding.

Xie Yige was trembling all over, but her movements were very professional—she pressed hard on the acupoints around the wound to slow the bleeding, then poured wound medicine powder onto the wound and tightly bandaged it with a strip of cloth. Looking at Cui Yutang, who seemed to be lifeless, she felt as if her heart had been crushed.

Zhou Xuan'an and Zhang Zhiyi found a cart from somewhere.

"Yige, we need to get him back to see a doctor right away." Zhou Xuan'an's voice was urgent and heavy.

Several people carefully lifted Cui Yutang onto the cart. Xie Yige knelt beside him, supporting his head with one hand and tightly holding his cold hand with the other.

"Brother, have them take off their outer garments and fold them under his neck so he can lie face down," Xie Yige said in an extremely hoarse voice.

The men immediately obeyed, took off their outer garments, folded them, and placed them under Cui Yutang's neck to keep him in a prone position so as not to put pressure on the wound on his back.

They hurried along, carefully carrying Cui Yutang onto the painted boat.

As soon as the boat returned to the opposite bank, Prime Minister Cui Zhinu rushed up with his guards. He glanced at Cui Yutang, who was covered in blood on the cart, and his expression changed drastically. His eyes turned bloodshot, but without saying anything unnecessary, he waved his hand, and the guards carefully took Cui Yutang from him.

Cui Zhinuan turned to look at Zhou Xuan'an and the others, leaving behind a weary remark: "I will repay the kindness you have shown to Yu'er in the future."

After saying that, he took Cui Yutang and quickly disappeared from everyone's sight. Xie Yige stood there, looking in the direction Cui Yutang was taken away, looking at the long trail of blood he left behind, her eyes empty. Her hands were still covered in his blood, the warmth gradually turning cold.

Then, everything went black before her eyes, and she instantly lost consciousness.

The Prime Minister's Residence, Liantang Residence.

Several imperial physicians were urgently re-treating Cui Yutang's wounds. Cui Zhinuan stood outside, her expression calm, but her hands, hidden in her sleeves, were trembling slightly. After a short while, the leading imperial physician came out from inside.

His beard was half-white, and his face was grave: "Master Cui, Young Master Cui's wound has been properly treated. Fortunately, the person who performed the emergency treatment was very professional, and his recovery should be fine. But..."

"Please speak freely, Physician Jiang." Cui Zhinuan clenched her fist inside her sleeve.

"When Lord Cui was stabbed in the back, a worm egg was implanted in him. Judging from his unconscious state, this worm egg is probably very vicious. The Imperial Hospital has no one skilled in treating worm-related poisons."

Cui Zhinuan's face turned deathly pale instantly. She stepped forward and grabbed Physician Jiang's hand: "Isn't there any other way?"

"Master Xuanji of the Great Ci'en Temple is no less skilled in medicine than we are; perhaps we could seek his help."

"Thank you for your guidance, Physician Jiang," Cui Zhinuan said before hurriedly leaving the room.

An hour later, a high-ranking Buddhist monk dressed in white robes sat beside Cui Yutang's bed. His slender fingers rested on Cui Yutang's wrist as he carefully examined the wound. The man on the bed was deathly pale, with beads of sweat on his forehead.

"It's a rare Gu worm used by the Miao people to suppress their emotions." Monk Xuanji's expression was calm, but his brows furrowed slightly. "It needs to be implanted when the body is at its weakest, and we'll probably have to wait one or two months until it matures before we can find a way to remove it."

"The Miao people's Gu worms? How could Yu'er have offended the Miao people?"

Cui Zhinuan's face was ashen as she turned to the person behind her: "Cui Zu, how's the investigation at the scene going?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, according to the on-site investigation report, the man in black is targeting Miss Xie Yige of the Zhou family. He is ruthless and determined, aiming to kill her. The man in gray, on the other hand, is after the eldest son."

"What is the relationship between Miss Xie and Yu'er? Why did they both encounter danger together?" Cui Zhinuan looked at Cui Zu, who was clearly confused. He then looked at Baoyu, who had been silently guarding Cui Yutang's side.

Bao Yu hesitated for a moment, then bowed and replied, "Thank you, Miss Xie. She is the master's beloved."

The air in the room suddenly became quiet for a moment.

"The person behind that is already quite clear," the monk Xuanji said calmly.

"Please enlighten me, Master," Cui Zhinuan said, clasping her hands in a fist salute.

"The so-called suppression of emotions is to suppress memories and feelings for one's beloved," the monk Xuanji said slowly. "It is said that this method was developed by the sixth generation of the Miao people's holy maiden, but because it was too insidious and violated the laws of nature, the adult insects have long been extinct. I never thought that there would still be insect eggs in the world."

"As long as you figure out who wants A-Yu the most, wants to sever his feelings, kill the person he loves, and is also connected to the Miao people."

"Princess Chaoyang." Cui Zhinuan uttered four words with a sinister expression.

The fiefdom of the Prince of Rong'an included most of the Miao people.

"How dare you touch my child!" Cui Zhinuan's voice was as cold as ice. "Prince Rong'an and his daughter are truly courting death."

The monk Xuanji seemed uninterested in learning more about the matter, so he said to Cui Zhinuan, "Master Cui, please excuse us. The insect eggs have just been planted, and their impact is still limited. I need to use some methods to suppress them to avoid bigger problems later."

When the monk Xuanji came out again, it was already late at night. There were beads of sweat on his forehead, and his already fair skin had become even paler.

"Ayu is awake for now, Master Cui, please go in and take a look."

Cui Zhinuan strode into the bedroom. Seeing the faint blood seeping from the wound on his back and the paleness on his face, she choked up.

"Yu'er, how are you feeling?"

"Father, I'm sorry to have worried you." Cui Yutang's voice was very soft, like a wisp of wind about to dissipate.

He looked at his father, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke: "Can I ask you for a favor?"

"What is it?" Cui Zhinu sat down on the edge of his bed and leaned over to listen attentively.

"Could you help me propose marriage to the Zhou family?"

"Nonsense." Cui Zhinu frowned. "You're already like this, why are you still talking about marriage?"

"But there are other people who like her too." Cui Yutang's voice was weak, but every word was clear. "I'm afraid she'll be taken away from me. I... I finally waited until she was alone."

As he said this, tears suddenly streamed down his face.

Seeing his infatuated expression, Cui Zhinuan felt a few strands of her hair turn white with worry. He remained silent for a moment before softening his voice: "Yu'er, listen to me. If that young lady truly loves you, she will surely wait for you."

"But I don't want to make her wait."

"But you're so badly injured and haven't fully recovered yet. You'll scare that young lady." Cui Zhinuan reached out and gently touched his head. "Listen to your father. Wait until you're healed, then go in person, okay? That way you'll show more sincerity."

"Um, then..."

How about we get engaged first?

Before he fell into a deep sleep again, only this unspoken sentence remained in his mind.