"But if they have no cure then his highness is going to die if they feed on him," Xiaodi stated in helplessness knowing that is the only way they can save his life but the risk is too much for them to bear.

"That might not necessarily happen, with his highness thousands of years of cultivation, the Gu ants might not be able to poison him to death," She remarked, turning back to face them with a serious yet hopeful expression on her face.

​​

"What do you mean?"

"The Gu ants are very deadly for ordinary people but for someone like his highness it will take a lot of time for the ants to fully poison him, if Xiaodi channels her internal force into the fourth prince after the essence from the fire element grass has fully entered the fourth prince bloodstream then we might be able to force the Gu ants out but it is inevitable that they might secrete an insignificant amount of poison into his heart,"

"I have heard about the Mongolian Gu ants before, even a drop of poison from their body can kill a person, his highness is in a weak state now, what if his body is unable to withstand the poison? We must absolutely not take the risk," Xi Feng argued while Xiaodi nodded in agreement, both of them couldn't risk taking such a risky chance.

"You have known his highness for many years, are you saying that you don't believe his highness is strong enough to overcome this," she paused for a moment and straightened her poise.

"His highness has detached his shadow from himself since he left the palace just to protect a girl he loves but doesn't even know he exists, it requires a thousand years of cultivation to be able to do that, by now, he should be nearing death considering how many years it has been but he still remained strong, the prince I know is definitely able to overcome this," she scanned their faces to see if they were willing to trust her method but they still had a reluctant look on their faces, she sighed and walked closer to them.

"If you don't trust me then at least trust the fourth prince,". They raised their head with a sentimental look on their faces, both of them glanced at each other then they nodded their head in agreement, she smiled and patted their shoulders.

"Let's begin, he doesn't have much time left,"

He poured the Gu ants into the box containing the fire element grass and in no time, the grass was fully consumed by the ants then she helped the fourth prince up and disrobed his undergarment, exposing his broad chest, she placed the Gu ants on his chest while they bored their holes into his heart.

The three of them waited for a while in anxiousness, they couldn't risk taking too long and too short to let the Gu ants work their magic.

They fixed their eyes on him without moving a bit, they could see the blue lines on his chest changing shape, it went up and reduced sometimes, Xiaodi bit her finger in anxiousness with her eyebrows furrowed.

In her heart, she was not only blaming Ruo Rufei and Wei Xianlu but she was also blaming the flame sect young mistress for his predicament, if he didn't leave the palace because he detached his shadow from his being to protect her then he wouldn't be in this condition today.

The thought of the young lady not knowing that the fourth prince is suffering because of her annoyed her to the point that she wished she could kill the girl with her own hand then the fourth prince won't be burdened.

"Until when do we have to wait, what if..."

"Keep quiet, we have to be patient or our effort will be futile," Madam Ju cautioned in a stern tone and her eyes squinted at his chest, she observed every slight movement of the ants moving in his chest, as a Mongolian, she has mastered the art of poison but the fact that she has never been able to find the cure of the Gu ants poison burdened her even till this day.

"But h...."

SPLAT!!

Their eyes went round at the sight of the shower of blood on the floor, dying the bedsheets and his undergarment crimson red, he regained his consciousness which is good news but the sudden shower of blood took them by surprise.

"Quick Xiaodi!" Madam Ju shouted, understanding what she meant, she quickly moved to his back and sat behind him in a lotus position, she gathered her Qi and placed her hands on his back, channelling her Qi into his body.

"You have to use your full strength to force the poisons out," she sat in front of him and wiped the blood off the side of his lips while he looked at them with a lifeless look in his eyes, she was already starting to sob but she held back knowing that is not the moment to cry.

"Your highness, please hang on," she held his hand and squeezed it tightly, sniffing her nose.

Meanwhile, Ruo Rufei and Wei Xianlu had already arrived at the governor's manor, she requested her father's tally then she took it with her to gather the city soldiers along with Wei Xianlu who lead them.

As the soldiers walked across the street in search of the criminals, they harassed the people to inspect them in order to check for a girl with a small figure and an injured man wearing a black robe with gold tints.

Wei Xianlu disorganised the entire street with Ruo Rufei seating in a carriage as the inspection went on, even if she admits that she is interested in this man it doesn't mean that she would allow herself to be blinded by her desire, she would never go for anyone below her status since she even considers Wei Xianlu unworthy of her.

"Young mistress, we have been looking for them for a while now but they are nowhere to be found, why don't we just return to the manor and wait for Young master Wei to bring the news back," Xixi stylishly complained, she wished her young mistress would just agree so she can just rest in the manor instead of staying in the carriage all day.

"No, I have to be there when he is caught or God knows what Wei Xianlu might do to him," she responded, looking outside the window and scanning around for him.

"Young mistress, have you really fallen in love with this young man, you haven't even seen his face,"

"Foolish, have you not been with me long enough to know my character, he is the same man we saw on the street that day so I recognise him, I don't know if this is just a coincidence or fate but I must get him myself, It will really be interesting to have such a skilled and good-looking man by my side," Ruo Rufei answered with an evil an intrigued smile hanging on her lips and her elbow resting on the window while she rubbed her fingers together.

Xixi observed her, then she finally understood what was going on, that is something her young mistress always does when she finds something interesting to play with or has an evil plan she can't wait to execute, she sighed deeply, pitying the young man for crossing her young mistress.

"What of Wei Xianlu, I think he is fit for you, he has really good martial art skills and he also has a powerful influence in court, young mistress must be considering him right?"

"Wei Xianlu.....I have to wait to see if he is really useful to me and my grandfather, even though his father is the most powerful minister in the court right now, his power is still being restricted by the emperor, tides always change in the court,"

"So..."

"Why are you so slow?" she turned to face her with a disappointed look on her face while Xixi bit her lower lips and lowered her head as she always does when she calls her 'slow'.

"Wei Xianlu might be powerful now but no one can predict what will happen in the court, the only way for me to gain the power I want is to become someone greater than all the women in the country and overpower the men and to do that, I have to marry a prince," she concluded with her chin firmly raised and confidence written all over her face, it seemed to Xixi that her young mistress has really planned it all.

"A prince!"

"Yes, a prince and not just a prince, I must marry only the future emperor of this nation in order to become the empress,"

"But..."

"There was a time when I had a crush on the fourth prince whom I had only seen once before he left the palace, back then, I didn't set my heart on him only because of my feelings but because he is the most favoured prince but now that he had forgoed everything he had, there is no reason for me to set my heart on him anymore, I am on a hunt for the strongest," then she turned to Xixi with a serious look on her face.

"That is why you need to be smarter, in the future I will need your help to achieve these things and then you will also have influence," she concluded and looked outside the window again, after hearing all the revelation, Xixi wasn't surprised, after all, this is her young mistress we are talking about.