Rebirth on the Day She Was Poisoned by an Aphrodisiac - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Love Poison

Princess Liyang was the first daughter adopted by the current Emperor. She was deeply beloved, though her parentage was unknown. She was famous for her mastery of dance and her ability to endure bitter hardship. However, for as long as Pei Xi could remember, Liyang had stopped dancing.

The only time she had danced in many years was on a night when her poison flared up. Refusing to drink Pei Xi’s blood, Liyang’s steps had been chaotic. She had stood on the surface of a drum, swaying precariously—a scene of shattered beauty, breathtaking and soul-stirring.

Pei Xi stopped in her tracks. Pear blossoms filled her vision. The young Princess Liyang’s face was flushed, and the skin of her neck glowed with an unnatural pink hue.

Why is Liyang here? How did she get here? And how did she become infected with the Love Poison?

Pei Xi’s mind went blank. Liyang sat beneath a tree, clutching the collar of her robes with one hand. Blue veins bulged beneath the fair skin on the back of her hand, and her eyes were bloodshot. She looked at Pei Xi blankly: “A-Chen, it’s you.”

She was Pei Chen, seventeen years old this year—only one year younger than Liyang. In her previous life, she had been seventeen years younger than Liyang.

That seventeen-year gap had forced her to watch helplessly whenever Liyang’s poison flared. She took a deep breath, crouched down, and reached out to grasp Liyang’s wrist.

The scorching body temperature nearly made her recoil, but in an instant, she gripped it tight, feeling the vibrant life force. The regrets and grievances of her past life could be redeemed here.

Liyang looked at her, the corners of her crimson lips curving slightly. “A-Chen, help me find a doctor. I feel so unwell… I’m sick.”

Pear blossoms fluttered down like a heavy snowfall. The two locked eyes, the silence of the surroundings punctuated only by Liyang’s ragged breathing.

Liyang looked at “Pei Chen.” Her burning gaze made Pei Xi’s heart tremble. It felt as though thousands of logs were burning inside Liyang—an agonizing, torturous heat.

Pei Xi watched her, her brows furrowed. Her heart felt like an overturned jar of five spices—sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy flavors all rushing to her chest at once. Seeing the young Princess—graceful, elegant, and ethereal—the white of the pear blossoms only served to make her flushed skin look more vivid. Her posture was like a blooming peony, radiating an incredible brilliance.

She was devastatingly beautiful.

Pei Xi was dazed. Suddenly, Liyang grabbed her forearm and leaned half her body toward her. “A-Chen, help me… help me…”

Liyang was practically soaked through, her silk clothes clinging to her body. To her, the Pei Chen before her seemed different from usual—dazed and clumsy, but with a magnificent light blossoming in her eyes. Pei Chen’s usual sickly constitution meant she rarely stood in the sun; her pale, dry face often reminded one of white snow. Liyang breathed deeply, her fingertips tracing patterns on Pei Chen’s forearm. “A-Chen… A-Chen.”

That weak, low murmur struck Pei Chen’s heart like a heavy hammer. Pei Chen fiercely suppressed her own hair-trigger emotions.

The Princess was the bright moon she had always longed for but could never reach.

From birth, Pei Chen had been treated as nothing more than a blood vessel. Pei Ming had fathered her only to discard her; she had no kindness from a father nor pity from a mother. It was the Princess who had given her a glimmer of light, illuminating the path of her childhood.

“Your Highness,” Pei Xi started to speak but hesitated. She was startled to find her forearm was burning hot. She wanted to pull back, but the Princess’s scorching breath fanned across her ear.

Liyang said, “A-Chen, I know you are a girl… you needn’t be afraid. Help me back.”

Her breath was too hot, leaving Pei Chen at a loss. She knew nothing of this body’s current standing, other than the fact that she was destined for an early death.

Pei Xi closed her eyes with difficulty. At this moment, her strength was worth nothing for the sake of the Princess. She took a deep breath and reached out to support her. “You have been infected with the Love Gu (Poison). You are not sick.”

“Hm?” Liyang’s tear-stained lashes fluttered. A single tear escaped, sliding down and vanishing into her collar in an instant.

Pei Xi helped Liyang stand. The figure of an eighteen-year-old was different from that of a thirty-two-year-old; it was a mix of youthful provocation and cold elegance. The sight of that pink-flushed skin against the apricot-colored palace robes made Pei Xi tremble violently.

Liyang steadied herself and took a slow step. Pei Xi noticed her earlobes were so red they looked as if they might drip blood.

Beside the pear orchard was the high platform for dancing, and behind that were the temporary guest quarters. Where could they go?

The pear garden was filled with dancers. If word got out, what would happen to Liyang’s reputation?

After standing straight for barely a moment, Liyang leaned against Pei Xi. Pei Xi’s tongue felt stiff; she could hardly speak. Liyang, seemingly losing control, pressed against her ear, trying to steady herself. “How do you know about the Love Gu?”

“I… I obtained the Mother Gu from Pei Ming. You were poisoned with the Child Gu…” Pei Xi’s tongue was tied, her words incomplete. What she knew of the Love Gu was this: Once the Child Gu is planted in the body, if the Mother Gu is not also taken into a body, the Child Gu will die, and Liyang will die with it.

Liyang was shocked. The poison in her body seemed momentarily suppressed. She suddenly gripped Pei Chen’s hand. Pei Chen’s body was weak and naturally cold; that chill seeping into Liyang’s skin felt wonderful.

Pei Chen snatched the Mother Gu…

Liyang trembled, her gaze toward Pei Chen turning feverish. In the next breath, she went limp, leaning her entire weight against her.

Pei Xi felt the change. In her mind, Pei Ming’s disgusting voice from the past echoed: She is poisoned. Since my nephew lacks the fortune to enjoy her, why not give her to his Uncle? You must take good care of your health.

Thinking of this, she suppressed her nausea. She untied her outer robe to cover the Princess’s upper body, then bent down to pick her up. She didn’t know where the strength came from, but she took a steady step forward.

“Your Highness, forgive my offense.”

In her last life, her greatest mistake was being too young. Now, she and the Princess were both in the prime of their youth.

“You mean to say Pei Chen gave Liyang improper medicine?” Empress Mingzhao looked up abruptly, her gaze fixing on the eighteen-year-old youth before her. In an instant, a wave of revulsion rose in her heart.

Pei Ming was kneeling, his upper body almost pressed to the floor. He replied cautiously, “This lowly official heard my Young Uncle ordering a confidant to lead the Princess to the pear orchard, saying he had put something in the tea she was to drink. This official feared the Princess would suffer, which is why I have informed you.”

Mingzhao stared at the youth prostrate in the hall, her gaze dark and unreadable. She only said, “Go and inform the Empress Dowager.”

Pei Chen’s health was poor, and the Empress Dowager had summoned famous doctors for her. As a descendant of the Gu family—even if she was a sickly thing—the entire court kept their eyes on her.

The eunuch moved quickly upon the order, racing to the Palace of Longevity and Peace to seek instructions from the Empress Dowager.

Mingzhao remained unmoved, her expression cold. “You go to the Palace of Longevity and Peace as well.”

“Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager favors my Young Uncle. If things go that way, the Princess might suffer and not dare to speak the truth,” Pei Ming said anxiously. His wheat-colored skin radiated health, and the perfect lines of his jaw showed a robust constitution.

Mingzhao realized the complexity of the problem. She could not let her daughter be wronged, but in the urgency of the moment, she didn’t know which choice to make.

Pei Ming observed the Empress’s expression. He was skilled at reading people and immediately surmised her thoughts. After a moment’s consideration, he persuaded, “If you go to the Pear Garden and look, you will know the truth.”

“Fine. To the Pear Garden.” Mingzhao finally relented. A woman’s chastity was a grave matter. Pei Chen was not the Crown Prince; if she made a mistake, she should be punished.

The Empress rose. Pei Ming smiled inwardly, a triumphant smirk touching the corners of his lips. Why must that sickly wretch be so restless?

If one didn’t know how to neutralize the poison or plant the Mother Gu, Pei Chen was headed for a dead end.

Thinking back, the humiliation he suffered half an hour ago was worth it.

Liyang lay on a soft couch in the resting quarters, her body curled up. Her long, curled lashes were wet with tears. Pei Xi stood five steps away like a wooden statue, watching her quietly.

Pei Xi hesitated: Should I plant the Mother Gu?

She opened the brocade box. Inside was a pill. She knew the Mother Gu was within; it would wake upon coming into contact with blood.

After growing up in her previous life, she had searched everywhere for the source of the Love Poison. The Gu poisons of the Southern Borders were the finest in the world. Legend said it was created for an Emperor who deeply loved his Empress, but the Empress did not love him. In a fit of rage, he had the poison developed to control her.

The Empress became gentle and obedient, and the Emperor was satisfied. This poison then became popular in the Southern Borders, though it had never reached the Great Zhou. In the Great Zhou, political marriages were the norm; even if a couple was estranged, they wouldn’t use such a sinister method.

A window was open, and the wind rushed in, ruffling their hair. Liyang squinted her eyes and beckoned the young woman before her as if she had lost her mind.

Pei Xi trembled. With just that beckon, her heart felt like it was floating. She couldn’t remember when it started, but as long as she saw the Princess beckon, her heart would spiral out of control.

Liyang sat up, her eyes misty. She seemed to see someone familiar. She beckoned her, her heart filled with joy. That little girl who would smile, let her stroke her hair, and leap into her arms.

She closed her eyes. Her body was in terrible pain; the fire was spreading. She could no longer bear it. She closed her eyes and told the person before her: “Take the medicine, then come over.”

Pei Xi was shocked and instinctively took a step back. How could I desecrate…

No, she had desecrated her once. She had pressed the dignified, cold, and noble Eldest Princess against the pillow. At that time, the Great Zhou was falling. She wanted to take the Princess away, but the Princess refused, calling her a rebel and a traitor, yet pulling her into the room nonetheless.

The woman her father had spent his life scheming for but could never have had willingly been with her.

It had already happened once… Pei Xi suddenly snapped back to reality, a flush rising on her pale face. She gripped the box tight, her slender, weak fingertips picking up the pill. She was late; if she had come to find the Princess the moment she woke up, Pei Ming would not have succeeded.

Her mistake—she would be the one to pay for it.

Pei Xi held the medicine. The sound of low moans reached her ears. She was still wavering, hesitating, filled with anxiety and a deep sense of confusion about the future.

However, the Princess opposite her had a glazed look in her eyes. She clutched the quilt, her body drenched in sweat.

Pei Xi walked over and stood before the Princess. Before she could even steady herself, her hand was grabbed. The Princess said, “Pei Chen, what you want, I will do my best to help you. Help me… just this once.”

Rather than dealing with the sinister Pei Ming, it was better to place hope in the kind-hearted Pei Chen.

Moreover, Pei Chen was a woman.

Pei Xi looked at her, her gaze burning. The eighteen-year-old Princess was matchlessly beautiful, her eyes bright and soul-stirring. Pei Xi watched quietly, while Liyang gripped her slender wrist tightly, as if wishing she could pull Pei Xi onto her.

The room was unnervingly quiet, echoing only with their breathing. One lay, one stood; in the silence where words were left unsaid, an ambiguity permeated the air.

Pei Xi thought for a long time. The familiar scent of Liyang’s body filled her nose. Her heart beat like a drum, like a deer racing.

After a long while, she closed her eyes and swallowed the pill. Liyang stared at her without blinking, her eyes bloodshot. Her long lashes slowly lowered as her strength finally gave out.

But her grip on Pei Chen’s hand did not loosen.

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