Chapter 6: Poisoned Blade
Wang Gege’s eyebrows furrowed because of the question.
Briefly, she wondered if she had heard him correctly.
Of all the things that had happened during the last few moments, that was the part he wanted to discuss?
Not the fact that she was not Shen Yurou.
Not the fact that the Shen family had secretly swapped brides.
And not even the fact that she had just admitted the deception herself.
Instead... He was concerned about the sword.
Wang Gege looked down at her hand. Only then did she notice the thin red line stretching across her palm.
Apparently, the blade had cut her when she pushed it aside.
The wound was not deep. It was so minor that she had not even felt it until now.
Seeing it, Wang Gege became even more puzzled, "It’s just a small cut."
The moment the words left her mouth, the atmosphere around her became strangely quiet.
Several guards exchanged glances. One of them even lowered his head as though trying to calm himself.
Wang Gege blinked.
’Why is everyone acting so strangely?’
Before she could think further, Xie Rong’s voice sounded once more, "Small?"
For some reason, that single word sounded colder than the sword had felt against her neck.
Wang Gege lowered her head and looked at her palm again. A thin line of blood stretched across her skin, but the wound itself was so shallow that she had not even noticed it until now. No matter how she looked at it, she could not understand why everyone was reacting as though she had done something outrageous.
"It really is just a small cut," she said honestly, "Nothing to worry."
The moment the words left her mouth, the atmosphere became even stranger.
Several guards exchanged glances, while the man in black who had escorted Xie Rong earlier seemed to hesitate for a moment before finally speaking.
"Miss Shen," he said carefully, "the sword you touched belongs to Young Master."
Wang Gege blinked and blinked. She couldn’t understand and waited for the rest of the explanation, but none came.
After several breaths of silence, she cautiously asked, "And?"
The guard’s expression became complicated but obviously she couldn’t see it, "Miss Shen, you truly do not know?"
"Know what?" Her brows raised in confusion.
The guard subconsciously glanced toward Xie Rong before lowering his head again.
"The Xie family’s weapons are treated with poison."
Wang Gege’s mind went blank as she stared at him in disbelief.
Her heart had already begun pounding wildly, but her gaze still slowly drifted downward toward the thin cut on her palm.
Only now did she realize that the wound she had dismissed moments ago might be far more serious than she thought.
"You mean..." she began carefully, "the sword that just cut my hand was poisoned?"
Nobody said anything. The group exchanged glances, but not a single person spoke.
That was enough to tell her everything she needed to know.
Beneath the wedding veil, Wang Gege’s face gradually lost its color.
Her heart, which had already been beating wildly since the moment the sword was pointed at her neck, suddenly seemed intent on escaping from her chest altogether.
For a long moment, she simply stared at the thin cut on her palm.
Next she looked at the sword lying on the ground.
Then she looked back at her palm again, "How... poisoned?"
The question slipped out before she could stop herself.
The black-clothed guard hesitated and that hesitation alone was enough to make Wang Gege’s scalp tingle.
"Miss Shen..."
"Wait." She immediately raised her uninjured hand. "Before you answer, let me prepare myself mentally."
The guards fell silent.
Wang Gege took a deep breath and then the second one and continued for the third.
Only after feeling somewhat prepared did she say, "Alright. Tell me."
The guard opened his mouth.
But then, Wang Gege suddenly raised her hand again, "No, wait. I am not ready."
The corners of several guards’ mouths twitched. Even they seemed unsure how to react.
Xie Rong, however, remained expressionless.
"The poison on that sword is enough to kill an ordinary person within an hour," Xie Rong said coldly.
His words landed like a thunderbolt, even though his voice remained unnervingly calm.
Wang Gege stood frozen, "An hour?"
For a brief moment, she suspected that she had misheard him.
One hour. Just one hour?
Wang Gege abruptly pushed herself upright.
The movement was too sudden. A wave of dizziness hit her immediately, forcing her to brace a hand against the edge of the seat.
Her heart pounded uncontrollably and she once again froze as her mind went blank.
Then she took a slow breath and forced herself to calm down.
’Panicking would not help.’
She pushed herself forward and stepped toward the entrance of the bridal sedan, hoping the fresh air would help clear her head.
After only two steps, however, a wave of dizziness struck her without warning.
Her vision blurred, the world tilted, and Wang Gege swayed.
She could not react in time. Her knees gave way and she pitched forward.
Luckily, Xie Rong’s hand shot out and caught her by the waist.
The expected impact never came.
As Wang Gege stumbled forward, the veil covering her face slipped loose and drifted silently to the ground.
For a brief instant, the entire surroundings seemed to fall silent.
The young woman’s features were revealed beneath the daylight. Delicate brows, clear eyes, and skin as pale as fresh snow came into view. Even the guards who had been keeping their heads lowered could not help glancing up in stunned surprise.
Only when Xie Rong turned his head slightly did every gaze immediately drop back to the floor and by then Xie Rong steady her effortlessly, his grip firm as he pulled her back upright.
Unfortunately, at that time, Wang Gege was no longer aware of any of it.
The last thing she heard was a deep calm voice calling out to her.
"Miss Shen, can you still hear me?"
Then everything went black.