Chapter 46: No Need to Rush

    So even when pushed to the brink.

    Even when pride and dignity are stripped away.

    Even when she falls from grace to hell, becoming the lowest of prisoners, she never gives up on herself.

    Though in the end, she couldn’t turn the tables, perhaps the heavens were moved by her strong and unyielding will, thus granting her a chance at rebirth.

    Shen Ning believes in fate, but she does not take destiny for granted.

    “In a few days, I’ll introduce you to some people.” Ji Yucang turned around, reaching out to ruffle Shen Ning’s hair, “In case something happens to me in the future, with them around, they’ll still protect you.”

    “I’ll help you.” Shen Ning calmly refused, “I don’t need your people to protect me, but if I can cure your poison, I hope you won’t refuse to help me in the future.”

    She added, “After all, your life is quite valuable, even if it’s something as serious as killing or arson, you should agree to it.”

    The corners of Ji Yucang’s mouth couldn’t help but lift, “Even if you don’t save my life, I’ll fulfill any request you have.”

    Shen Ning asked, “Why?”

    “You are my wife, the person I will spend my life with.”

    “The closest person doesn’t necessarily mean the most reliable.” Shen Ning retorted, “In this world, only benefits are the most enduring.”

    “Shen Ning.” Ji Yucang’s expression softened, his tone calm and firm, “There are countless people in the world, many who are good at pretending, some are selfish and unfeeling, others are insincere, you can’t judge everyone in the world as untrustworthy just because you misjudged one person.”

    Shen Ning pursed her lips, gazing out the window, “If the price of misjudging someone is enough to be etched into one’s bones, making it unforgettable for a lifetime, she no longer has the strength to trust others.”

Because the cost of trusting someone too easily is something she can no longer bear.

“There’s something you’ve misunderstood.” Ji Yucang tried to persuade her, “Trusting someone doesn’t mean you have to completely depend on them, nor does it mean you have to entrust your trust entirely to them.”

Shen Ning’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she couldn’t help but ponder deeply.

To like someone but not be able to give them your complete trust, is that still liking them?

She didn’t know.

She only knew that, whether before or after marrying that person, she was never someone who easily depended on others. She was not weak, not blind, and did not believe that love was the most important thing in a woman’s life.

She hadn’t even given up her power because of marriage, nor had she abandoned everything to become a gentle and weak woman confined to the inner quarters, devoted to her husband and children.

Yet, she was still schemed against and harmed.

There are only those who steal for a thousand days, how can there be those who guard against thieves for a thousand days?

If the person beside you wants to harm you, they will succeed sooner or later.

“Indeed, there are good and bad people in the world, but some disguise themselves as the best of people. Until the very last moment, no one would know that they are actually cold-blooded and heartless villains.” Shen Ning’s voice was somber, her eyes seemingly veiled with frost and snow, “Like Qin Yanshu, if it weren’t for the scheme on the outskirts of the mountain, I might have really married him according to the engagement, but who can guarantee that he wouldn’t reveal his true colors after marriage?”

Today, he schemed against his fiancée to marry Princess Pingyao, and tomorrow he could do the same to the person beside him for the same reason.

To achieve his goals, he could resort to conspiracies and deception, could scheme and lie, could even demote his wife to a concubine.

Worse still, once a woman marries into the family, the man has a whole household of helpers, while the woman is alone.

If they gang up to bully her, then Shen Ning would truly be left with no one to turn to, calling out to the heavens and the earth in vain.

Ji Yucang’s lips thinned slightly as he wanted to say that not all men in the world are like Qin Yanshu, and that there are still good people out there.

But considering that he himself might not be considered a good person, he didn’t know how to refute her for a moment.

However, having some caution is not a bad thing.

After all, living in a world of power, one is constantly faced with the schemes and plots of others, and trusting someone too easily can indeed lead to unpredictable consequences.

He just selfishly wished that she could trust him a little more.

Oh well, things can’t be rushed.

Ji Yucang spoke softly, “It’s getting late, you should go back and rest early.”

Shen Ning nodded and turned to walk out briskly and decisively.

Ji Yucang stared at her back for a long time, not taking his eyes off her.

……

Shen Ning found it hard to sleep.

The moonlight outside the window was bright, and she sat by the window looking out, her brows slightly furrowed, her thoughts somewhat dazed.

She was very sensitive to smells.

Although the antidote given by the Emperor was covered with a strong fragrance that masked other scents, she could still distinguish the ingredients of the herbs. She had bought everything she needed, except for the despicable drug that causes addiction. For the rest, she just needed to prepare them according to the required dosage of each type of medicinal herb.

But there was a most critical issue at hand.

The antidote required a catalyst.

The catalyst was not the snow lotus from the Tianshan Mountains, nor the thousand-year-old ginseng, but the heart’s blood of a virgin.

Moreover, not just anyone’s heart’s blood would do, the chosen person needed to have a special kind of Gu (a form of magic or curse involving insects or other creatures) implanted in them. When the Gu was at its most intense in the lungs and viscera, it would secrete a gas.

This gas, mixed with the blood, made the extracted heart’s blood useful.

So now there were two critical issues: many people could not endure the pain of the gu poison’s effects, often screaming in agony, which in turn would alarm the Gu; and weak individuals, after being tormented by the Gu, would likely die if their heart’s blood was extracted.

There was also the most critical problem: the person preparing the medicine could not control the other’s sense of pain, making it impossible to determine the best time to extract the heart’s blood.

If it were implanted in one’s own body…

A look of anxiety appeared on Shen Ning’s forehead. The skills she had painstakingly trained these past few days would likely be severely compromised because of this.

Without the ability to protect herself, it meant she would need to rely on others.

Shen Ning gazed at the night outside the window and suddenly thought of that phrase again.

“Repay grudges with revenge, repay kindness with gratitude.”

Saving Ji Yucang at this moment was not just for that bit of kindness.

The Yong Kingdom was powerful, and Ji Yucang held control over much of its military power.

For Shen Ning to return to Nan Dynasty alone to seek revenge was obviously not very feasible.

Therefore, she must rely on Ji Yucang.