Resplendent – Chapter 542

Chapter 542: Assassination

Grand Pharmacist Huang was not entirely unaware that his two disciples had suffered defeats at the hands of Gu Ye and Jiang Zhongtian, and were now seeking an opportunity to teach them a lesson. He harbored the thought: if he could make those two suffer a bit, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

Yet he never imagined these two disciples could be so foolish—failing to cover their tracks and leaving themselves vulnerable to exposure. He wanted nothing more than to squeeze the life out of them, crush them and reshape them from scratch!

“What are you still gawking at? If this scandal sticks, it won’t just be you and Yutang, but the entire Huang Sect who will be reviled throughout the apothecary world!” Grand Pharmacist Huang flung his sleeves and strode out of the teahouse, pushing through the crowd.

The insignia of a Grand Pharmacist on his robe made the onlookers immediately bow and step aside, respectfully opening a path.

“Master! Master—I’m being framed!” Li Yutang trembled like a shivering crow upon seeing Grand Pharmacist Huang. His last duel with Gu Ye and the others had earned him a severe punishment from his master, a memory that still haunted him. Not every master was as gentle and forgiving as Grand Pharmacist Jiang.

Gu Ye looked at this Grand Pharmacist Huang. Small and scrawny, with a rat-like face and a few strands of goat-like beard that made him look even more sleazy. The white robe, meant to be flowing and ethereal, looked like it had been dusted with dirt on him. Could someone like this really be counted among the great pharmacists?

Gu Ye curled his lips, her tone laced with sarcasm: “Oh! I beat the young one, and now the old one shows up. Don’t think you’re the only one with a master to back you up!”

The Sage Apothecary was notorious in the alchemist world for fiercely protecting his disciples. Regardless of who was right or wrong between his apprentice and an opponent, he would always side with his disciple first. Arguing reason with him was utterly futile. In his youth, Grand Pharmacist Huang had crossed paths with him a few times and had heard rumors of his glorious exploits.

He forced a smile and said, “I have heard of this matter. These two have insulted the apothecaries, plotted treachery, and sought to frame others. Exile is a light punishment. However, their parents, wives and children need not suffer…”

As the words ‘parents, wives and children’ left his lips, Grand Pharmacist Huang’s gaze drifted casually toward the brothers. 

Even the esteemed Grand Pharmacist Huang had been roused, so the two men knew their own fates hung in the balance. This Huang was the master of the pharmacist they sought. If they continued insisting he had ordered their actions, their wives and children might well suffer the consequences.

“Yes, yes! They’re just trying to shift the blame onto me to lessen their own punishment. I’m innocent… These past days, Master punished me by making me copy the pharmacopoeia. I dared not step outside. When would I have time to order someone to do such a despicable deed?“ Li Yutang straightened his back, regaining his swagger. He glared at Yin Hong, who was still gripping his collar. ”Let go! Do you think you can bear the guilt of assaulting an apothecary?”

Without orders from his mistress, Yin Hong ignored his barking like a dog, holding fast to his collar. He wouldn’t let go, no matter how much Li Yutang flailed and kicked.

“Indeed, Miss Gu, there must be some misunderstanding here,” Grand Pharmacist Huang said, putting on an act of kindness and benevolence.

Gu Ye snorted coldly. “Whether it’s a misunderstanding or not, we both know the truth. Neither of us is a fool…”

Before she could finish speaking, a dark figure darted toward her from the corner of her eye, a cold gleam flashing in its hand.

“Watch out!” Yue Yuan pushed her mistress aside amid the startled cries of the others. 

Gu Ye felt the collar of her back shirt tighten as she stumbled backward.

But the attacker, driven by desperation, closed in with overwhelming speed. Their reactions were split-second too slow. The dagger seemed poised to pierce Gu Ye’s throat. In that instant, a white figure shot forward like lightning, seizing the blade with an iron grip.

Slender, pale fingers gripped the blade tightly as crimson blood trickled slowly down its edge. Gu Ye lifted her gaze to meet a pair of beautiful eyes, clear as autumn water and deep as the night sky. Their owner asked in a magnetic voice, soft as if afraid to startle her, “Ye’er, are you all right?”

Gu Ye’s eyes instantly reddened. She forcefully wrenched free from Yin Mei’s grip on her collar and hurried to the side of the snow-white-robed Prince Ning. Carefully extracting the sharp dagger from his palm, she choked out, “I’m fine. It’s you who’s hurt!”

“It’s just a superficial cut, a minor scratch…” Ling Juechen sensed the girl’s emotional turmoil, his handsome face breaking into a gentle, ingratiating smile, the dimple at the corner of his lips faintly visible.

The onlookers were awestruck. When had such a strikingly handsome figure appeared in the capital? Even Qi Chexuan, the young marquis widely acknowledged as the most handsome man in the city, paled in comparison. They say the Grand Pharmacist Baili is a rare beauty; could this be the young girl’s senior brother, the very person himself?

“Your Highness, Prince Ning, are you all right?” The Crown Prince pushed his way through the crowd. He had been tasked with entertaining the envoy from the Yan Kingdom, nervously accompanying the ice-cold Prince Ning on a stroll through the West District today. He hadn’t expected to encounter this incident.

Gu Ye wiped the blood from Ling Juechen’s hand with an alcohol swab, confirming what he had said. It was only a shallow cut on his palm. She disinfected and bandaged the wound, but didn’t give him a single kind look. With his skills, he could have rescued her without getting hurt at all! His reckless disregard for his own safety made her furious, and she felt like biting him!

“Alright, I was wrong. It won’t happen again! I was too flustered just now to pay attention. You know I can never stay calm and composed when it comes to matters involving you.” Ling Juechen whispered softly in Gu Ye’s ear, pleading for forgiveness.

To others, the sight of the snow-white-clad, handsome and gentle man leaning close to the petite, lovely girl’s ear, speaking in a soft, gentle voice, created a beautiful scene too precious to disturb.

Across the teahouse, by an intricately carved window, a young girl in red stared intently at the handsome white-clad man. She turned to her maid and asked, “What is the identity of that white-clad gentleman beside His Royal Highness?”

The maid pondered for a moment before replying, “Your Highness, before I left the palace, I vaguely overheard that His Royal Highness was to accompany an envoy from the Yan Kingdom today.”

“An envoy from the Yan Kingdom? Then… it must be either the Fourth Prince or Prince Ning! Though his complexion is fair, he doesn’t appear frail. It must be His Highness Prince Ning. I never imagined he would be anything like the rumors described. He’s actually so gentle and kind!”

Princess Heyang twirled her teacup, her bright eyes reluctant to leave the handsome face. How could a man be so beautiful that one’s heart skipped a beat at first sight? That face was undoubtedly a masterpiece of heaven, a beauty transcending gender boundaries, making one… want to take him home and hide him away!

Another palace maid’s eyes flickered slightly as she smiled and said, “In all the world, only someone like him could be worthy of someone as graceful and exquisite as Your Highness.”