Chapter 150 Oath

Chapter 150: The Oath

Cheng Ge was grinning as he figured out how much silver those precious medicinal herbs could fetch.

Suddenly, he heard Zhou Zhan blurt out, "If you're not recovering day after day, maybe someone's put a curse on you."

Cheng Ge looked up at Zhou Zhan, somewhat unwilling to engage with this silly idiot.

Undeterred, Zhou Zhan continued, "A few days ago, I met an incredible Taoist at the stone bridge in the eastern part of the city. He looked like a real celestial being and could tell fortunes with scary accuracy."

Cheng Ge uttered a casual "Mm," his fingers lightly tracing the hidden patterns on the brocade quilt, his mind still fixated on that eight-hundred-year-old ginseng.

"That Taoist was truly amazing." Zhou Zhan's eyes lit up, his voice involuntarily rising.

"The moment I approached his fortune-telling stall and exchanged a few words with him, he hit the nail on the head."

Zhou Zhan grew more excited as he spoke, "The Taoist also said that Zhou... someone is cursing me, and told me to curse them back!"

Cheng Ge: "???"

Cheng Ge's fingers suddenly froze. This spiel... why does it sound so familiar?

"Moreover, he also said..." Zhou Zhan's voice dropped noticeably here.

"He also said something is wrong with my ancestral graves! A few days ago, Taizu's imperial mausoleum was flooded—isn't that creepy?"

Cheng Ge's mouth twitched, staring at Zhou Zhan in silence.

"Did he... also set up a luck-changing formation for you?"

Zhou Zhan's eyes brightened. "How did you know? That Taoist set up a super mystical luck-changing formation in my Eastern Palace, claiming it could resolve my calamities."

Cheng Ge's mouth twitched again, a wildly absurd suspicion forming in his mind.

"By the way!" Zhou Zhan suddenly pulled out a peach wood talisman from his sleeve. "The Taoist also gave me this peach wood talisman, saying it can suppress whoever's cursing me, ward off evil, and change my fortune..."

As he spoke, Zhou Zhan produced a glossy peach wood talisman from inside his robe, so smooth it bore not a single scratch.

Looking at the talisman, Cheng Ge almost burst out laughing and quickly turned away.

"Uh... from what you're saying, Your Highness, this Taoist does seem to have some skill."

Cheng Ge could never have imagined that this boomerang would come flying back at him in such a way.

"Naturally!" Zhou Zhan said with some pride. "The Taoist said that as long as I carry this peach wood talisman, I will surely turn bad luck into good luck."

"Your Highness, since this talisman is so miraculous, you must take good care of it," Cheng Ge said with a straight face.

"Of course." Zhou Zhan carefully returned the talisman to his sleeve, then looked at him with concern.

"Your illness—maybe someone's cursing you too. When I go back, I'll have that Taoist take a look at you as well."

Cheng Ge: "!!!"

Oh crap, oh crap!! If Zhou Zhan found out that the phony Taoist was him, wouldn't he have him skinned alive!

Cheng Ge was freaking out, waving his hands like crazy. "No need, no need. I'll get better with time, no need to bother the Taoist."

But Zhou Zhan wouldn't let it go. "How can that be? Your health can't be delayed any longer."

Cheng Ge grabbed his sleeve, saying urgently, "Your Highness, please don't do anything rash. His Majesty can't stand all that superstition stuff. If he learns that you invited a Taoist, he will surely punish you."

Zhou Zhan frowned hard, about to retort, when Cheng Ge suddenly grabbed his sleeve.

With tears in his eyes, speaking pitifully, he said, "Your servant's life is worthless; dying means nothing. But if I implicate Your Highness, even dying ten thousand times wouldn't make up for it!"

Zhou Zhan looked at Cheng Ge holding his sleeve, eyes rimmed red, and his heart jumped.

Those eyes were now glistening, the corners of his eyes slightly red, making his pale face look even more delicate.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and the anger in him was more than half put out, leaving only a stubborn spark still smoldering inside.

"...Alright." Zhou Zhan took a deep breath, forcing down his irritation. "Since you say so, I won't call that Taoist over."

Hearing this, Cheng Ge immediately loosened his grip on Zhou Zhan's sleeve.

"Thanks for understanding, Your Highness..."

Cheng Ge: Finally, not gonna die. Sweet...

Zhou Zhan's heart softened at his demeanor, and impulsively, he pulled out the peach wood talisman from his sleeve and pressed it into Cheng Ge's hand. "Take this."

Cheng Ge looked down—it was precisely that peach wood talisman he'd bought wholesale for two coppers.

Its surface was so smooth it could reflect one's image, not even any runes carved on it.

His mouth twitched, and he quickly covered it with a cough. "Cough... Your Highness, this... I can't possibly accept this..."

"Take it!" Zhou Zhan closed his hand over his, not taking no for an answer, his tone firm yet with a hint of awkwardness in his eyes. "I see you're not getting better; maybe something really did get to you. This talisman..." He paused, lowering his voice, "it's at least something to protect you."

Cheng Ge blinked and promptly tucked the talisman into his bosom, thinking that if things ever went south, he could always go back to his old scam.

Seeing him accept it, Zhou Zhan couldn't help but curl his lips slightly, then quickly suppressed the smile, clearing his throat with a straight face. "You..."

Before he could finish, Cheng Ge beat him to it, asking with a grin, "By the way, Your Highness, what brought you here today?"

Zhou Zhan: "..."

The air suddenly froze.

Zhou Zhan's expression stiffened bit by bit, his pupils widening as if struck by a blow.

—He had almost forgotten he came to question Cheng Ge!

"Cheng! Mu! Yu!" Zhou Zhan abruptly stood up.

He ground out the name between his teeth, the brief warmth vanishing in an instant. "How dare you ask?!"

Cheng Ge: "???" What did I do now?

He watched helplessly as the Crown Prince's expression shifted from clear to overcast, then to a storm, and finally black as ink, sending a chill down his spine.

Great. It seemed he had walked right into a trap.

Tell me the truth—are you having an affair with that maidservant of yours, Lü Rou?”

Cheng Ge was dumbfounded, his brain nearly short-circuited: "No... no, nothing..."

With that, he leaped off the bed, jumped to higher ground, and shouted indignantly.

"Which bastard is out there ruining my spotless reputation?!

Your Highness! Don't listen to their slander!!"

Zhou Zhan, seeing him so earnest, hesitated for a moment: "Re... really?"

Cheng Ge immediately raised his right hand in a solemn oath and began swearing to heaven.

"If I'm lying, may I be struck by lightning and die a miserable death!"

Cheng Ge swore with a righteous face, his eyes so sincere he looked utterly wronged.

After speaking, he met Zhou Zhan's gaze directly, his eyes unwavering.

"If Your Highness doesn't believe me, feel free to have that scoundrel confront me face to face!"

Seeing this, Zhou Zhan was already almost entirely convinced, thinking that Zhou Yinyun had probably just heard some nonsense from others.

He breathed a sigh of relief: "I believe you..."

"How dare you, Cheng Muyu!!! Were all the words you said to me just lies?!!!"

Zhou Yinyun's furious shout suddenly exploded in their ears as he stormed into the room, pointing at Cheng Ge, his chest heaving violently.

And behind him, Zhou Mingqi stood outside the door in a bright yellow dragon robe, his face clouded with gloom.

Yun Xunyu lounged lazily against the doorframe, the corners of his eyes slightly raised, watching Cheng Ge with a half-smile, the jade pendant in his hand swinging in a way that made everyone uneasy.

"CRACK—" A sudden thunderclap roared from the sky, as if about to tear the heavens apart.

Cheng Ge: "!!!"