Chapter 561 - 562: Probing
Chapter 561: Chapter 562: Probing
Rong Ruiyuan knew that if he actually tried to help her up with his own hands, it would only be more humiliating. Thus, he could only say dryly, "You don’t have to do this. Whatever you have to say, let’s get up and talk properly."
Gu Antong looked up, her small eyes—now squeezed into slits the size of mung beans—looking straight at Rong Ruiyuan. "Prince, I know my current appearance is no longer worthy of staying by your side. For the sake of the time I spent serving you, I beg you to give me a quick death."
It was true. Gu Antong had figured it out over the past few days. She had lost her value. Even if whatever was wrong with her body could be cured, things could never return to how they were before.
As long as Rong Ruiyuan spent time with her in the future, he would inevitably be reminded of this ghastly state.
Even she herself found her appearance disgusting, and she didn’t want to continue living in such a nightmare.
"Don’t speak such nonsense here," Rong Ruiyuan said. "I have already sent people to invite famous doctors. We will try every possible method to cure you.
"It’s not like you want to be this way; it’s because you are sick. Rest assured, I will have the Princess Consort arrange for people to serve you well. Once you recover, we still have a bright future ahead of us..."
Suppressing his nausea, Rong Ruiyuan delivered a string of heartwarming words. When he finally couldn’t make up any more, he awkwardly surveyed the room. It was the same room as always, but why did it feel so much smaller now? It even felt somewhat cramped.
"Thank you for your concern, Prince." Gu Antong was young, but she was no fool. These were merely pleasantries. Besides, he likely had another motive for coming here.
Otherwise, why hadn’t he come to take a look at her before, back when she wasn’t quite this miserable?
Was he going to grant her plea for a release today? Rong Ruiyuan must have come for this exact purpose.
Let it be. She was completely disgusted with her current life and appearance anyway. It would be fine to just end it all like this.
At the very least, Rong Ruiyuan still had some shred of affection left and knew to come see her off. Her time with him hadn’t been completely in vain.
Rong Ruiyuan coughed dryly. "I haven’t seen your grandfather in a while. See if there’s anything you want me to bring him. I can make a trip for you later."
Gu Antong looked around. Ever since she had inexplicably become obese, all the money she had saved up had been spent trying to find outside doctors and buying folk remedies. Now, her savings were completely wiped out.
Some of the precious ornaments that used to be in this room had also been taken back by the storehouse managers under various excuses as she fell out of favor.
"Prince, look around. Do I have anything left that’s presentable?" Gu Antong immediately guessed that the main reason Rong Ruiyuan had shown up today was probably related to her grandfather.
So he had an ulterior motive after all. It was just as her mother had said—once you married into the royal family, you had to guard your heart. The minds of royals were only ever used for calculation and political maneuvering.
Rong Ruiyuan’s mouth twitched slightly. The Princess Consort’s handling of the situation was indeed a bit excessive, but he still had to maintain her dignity on the surface. "These damned servants, this is completely outrageous.
"Don’t worry. I’ll have them prepare a suitable set of gifts from the storehouse later, and I’ll go visit the elder on your behalf.
"You don’t need to worry while you’re in the Prince Mansion, either. I will tell the Princess Consort to look after you a bit more."
Gu Antong shook her head frantically in fear. "That won’t be necessary. The Princess Consort has been quite good to us. There has been no shortage of our three daily meals."
She was currently clinging to life with just a cup of water per meal. Sometimes, she even considered cutting off water entirely to see if it would bring her release.
But whenever it came down to it, she couldn’t help herself. Subconsciously, she still wanted to live.
"I haven’t told your family about your current condition. But this news can’t be kept hidden forever. I was afraid Lord Gu wouldn’t be able to handle the shock if he found out, which is why I issued a gag order," Rong Ruiyuan said.
Rong Ruiyuan didn’t know that his so-called gag order was already riddled with holes. Someone had long since gone out of their way to inform Gu Baijiang.
"There’s nothing much to say about it." No one knew what Gu Antong was thinking at this moment. After saying this one sentence, she gazed leisurely into the distance.
"I’ve disgraced my family by becoming like this. If they still don’t know, I hope you can help keep it a secret a bit longer, Prince.
"Once you grant me a quick end, please tell them that I passed away from a sudden illness. And don’t let them see me for the last time."
Rong Ruiyuan looked at Gu Antong with a strange expression. "Don’t you want to see your mother?"
"What good would it do to see her? It would only give one more person cause to worry.
"Imperial Physicians have come before, and I’ve drank so much medicine, yet my weight continues to increase every day.
"The Imperial Physicians have stopped coming entirely now. I know they’ve given up on me. Someone like me is probably beyond saving.
"What I can’t accept most right now is not knowing who my enemy is. Why would they target me like this?
"I’ve never done anything heinous. If I’ve gotten in someone’s way, they could have just given me a quick death. Why must they humiliate me like this?"
These pointed words further confirmed Rong Ruiyuan’s suspicions: the ones who had laid such vicious hands on Gu Antong were likely the women in his inner estate. Back when Gu Antong hadn’t even entered the Prince Mansion, they had already managed to arrange assassins to kill her. What else were they not capable of?
Since he hadn’t caught the culprit yet, Rong Ruiyuan honestly didn’t know who it was. Thus, all the women in his backyard were suspects. Since they were currently staying out of his sight, Rong Ruiyuan didn’t want to force the issue.
He was afraid that if he accidentally angered these women one day, they might extend their treacherous hands toward him.
"There is still hope." Since Rong Ruiyuan needed something from her now, he naturally had to speak pleasantly. "I have already sent men to seek out renowned doctors. Even if the Imperial Hospital has no solutions, there might be folk remedies out there.
"However, as you know, my mother’s family is not prominent, and I don’t have much surplus funds on hand. I can only entrust familiar households to help me think of a way.
"If I had more silver in my hands, I could post a bounty. Perhaps that could bring you a chance at survival."
Rong Ruiyuan stared fixedly at Gu Antong, waiting to see how she would respond.
Gu Antong replied, "I know of your hardships and difficulties, Prince. This is just my fate. Please don’t worry about me anymore.
"Right now, I only beg that you grant me a bowl of poison, so I don’t have to die in such an embarrassing state. For your great kindness, if there is a next life, I, Gu Antong, will gladly serve as a slave or a maid to repay you."
That was definitely not the answer Rong Ruiyuan was looking for. "They say there must be brave men under heavy rewards. Are you really resigned to this?"
Of course she wasn’t resigned. Gu Antong smiled bitterly. "What does it matter if I’m not resigned? You’ve investigated for so long without finding anything, Prince. With just my own strength, how could I possibly find out who my enemy is?
"Even if I manage to cling to life, I’m nothing more than a monster.
"Instead of dragging this out, it would be better for you to send me on my way early, lest I tarnish the reputation of the Prince Mansion."
Gu Antong had now completely figured out why Rong Ruiyuan had made this trip. It was just a pity that she didn’t have the answers he wanted.