Chapter 13: Why Help Me

"Perhaps there is another possibility," Jiuling added calmly, with a penetrating insight in her tone that was enough to make one's heart skip a beat. "Your Highness must be aware that there is something wrong with this medicine. However, every time you take this pill, it is probably when you are in a state of severe injury and unconsciousness. By the time you wake up, there is no way to force the medicine out of your body."

At this moment, Yejin was seriously injured, both externally and internally. Faced with Jiuling's incisive words, he showed a guarded expression, but without his usual dignity and imposing manner.

Jiuling pulled a chair over and sat down in front of the bed. Her gaze swept over the numerous scars on Yejin's back, and in her calm eyes, a complex and unusual light emerged.

It didn't matter when he was unconscious, but now that he had awakened, Yejin realized how disheveled he looked. This kind of dishevelment was now laid bare in front of this woman, making him feel embarrassed.

Turning his head coldly, he looked at Jiuling, who had covered her face with a veil again, and sneered, "Are you satisfied with what you've seen?"

"Satisfied with what?" Jiuling calmly asked in response, apparently not understanding his meaning. Her gaze remained fixed on the scars as she said in a calm tone, "The medicine for the wounds has been absorbed by the skin, so there is no need to waste effort forcing it out. But from now on, you should not use those medicines anymore."

"Why?"

"Although those wound medicines can heal the wounds quickly and without leaving scars, they cause too much harm to the body and are easily addictive," Jiuling said with a hint of indifference. "Is someone trying to control you through such means? Or perhaps the person who gave you the medicine completely overlooked this? However, for a man like you, having some scars on your body should not be an unacceptable thing."

Pausing for a moment, she added, "The desire for beauty is something only women have."

At this, Yejin's face turned pale in an instant, and then he chuckled softly, his laughter filled with mockery and coldness. As he laughed, he simply lay down on the bed, burying his head in the pillow, laughing until he almost ran out of breath, tears streaming down his face.

Jiuling frowned, staring at his unusual outburst, and a pensive light flashed in her eyes.

For the first time in her life, she sensed a sense of despair and desolation in a man's laughter.

"Yejin," Jiuling spoke, her voice as calm as snow, "although I don't yet know what has happened to you, please believe me, from the moment I stepped into the palace, all the misfortunes that have befallen you— if you consider them misfortunes—will end at this moment. Please believe me, I can help you."

As the laughter gradually subsided and fell silent, Yejin's hoarse voice carried a hint of sarcasm as he asked, "Where do you get such confidence to think that you can help me?"

"You don't need to know where I get such confidence," Jiuling said, "I said I can help you, so I will help you."

"Then tell me, why do you want to help me?" Yejin raised his head, his exquisite face still showing a hint of mockery and a trace of coldness. "Why do you want to help me? What benefit do you gain from helping me? Do you want something from me? Gold, silver, jewels? Wealth and power? Fame and prestige, or perhaps... the favor of the emperor?"