She Was Written to Die, So She Seized the Throne Instead

"Priiiiinceeeeessss..."

A figure with dark, listless circles under his eyes, a deathly pale face, and bloodshot eyes dragged his stiff body out, one step at a time.

Xiao Li almost thought she was looking at a zombie. He looked like he’d been dead for a long time—a truly frightening sight. Still, she could just barely recognize the face as Cen An’s.

"What happened to you?"

Cen An fixed his vacant gaze on Xiao Li, his voice dripping with resentment. "What do you think... Princess?"

’Doesn’t she have any idea what she’s done?’

Xiao Li genuinely didn’t think she had done anything that terrible. She had merely locked Cen An here, had him treat the soldiers, and, on the side, research some better medicinal formulas for her. Other than that, she hadn’t mistreated him in terms of food, clothing, or daily necessities.

’He looks like this... Could someone have abused him behind my back?’

Xiao Li then flipped through the record book and saw Cen An’s daily log. He would wake up in the morning and immediately go to check on patients—administering needles, preparing medicine, and dressing wounds. Afterwards, he would prepare medicinal herbs, develop formulas, adjust them, and produce the medicine. He had to make three hundred bottles of medicine a day. That might not sound like much, but many herbs required special processing to maximize their efficacy, with some taking three or four days to prepare.

If it were just the same medicine, he could have taught his assistants on the first day and had an easier time on the second. But, as it happened, the orders Xiao Li sent over were changed every two days.

She demanded he strengthen the formulas and maximize their effectiveness, forcing him to handle everything personally. On top of that, he had to check on the patients to see how the previous days’ experimental medicines were working.

Finally, Xiao Li saw them: ten large boxes containing nearly five thousand bottles of medicine.

Er... a pang of guilt suddenly struck her conscience. Just a pang, though. Nothing more.

Xiao Li asked the ten assistants, "Have you memorized it? Have you learned how?"

The ten nodded. "We have memorized it. We’ve learned how."

Prescribing medicine requires a doctor, and developing a formula requires constant experimentation and adjustment. But for a perfected formula, mass production could be achieved simply by having trained personnel follow the procedures.

As the successor of a Divine Doctor, Cen An’s medical skills were naturally beyond question. But Xiao Li wasn’t greedy; she only had him formulate a dozen or so medicines for internal and external injuries of varying severity, to be used to save her guards’ lives at critical moments.

And now, he had finished.

When Xiao Li came out again, Cen An had already washed and groomed himself. He finally looked human again, though the dark, bloodshot circles under his eyes remained.

"I recall Doctor Cen came to the Capital City in search of an old friend. Have you found him yet?"

Cen An was surprised Xiao Li would ask this. "Not yet."

Xiao Li, holding her teacup, said casually, "May I know what kind of person you’re looking for? If possible, I’m willing to lend Doctor Cen a hand."

Cen An didn’t believe for a second that Xiao Li was being so kind, but there was nothing secretive about the person he was searching for.

"The person I’m looking for is both an old friend and a patient. My master and I pulled him from a river. He was on the verge of death, and my master exhausted a great deal of effort to save him."

"Though young, he was erudite and worldly, with great ambitions. We got along very well and I considered him a kindred spirit. He had damaged his lungs from inhaling water, which shortened his lifespan. To treat him, I scoured ancient texts and tested new medicines. I never expected that by the time I returned from searching for a cure, he would already be gone."

"I knew he would definitely come to the Capital City, so I came here to wait for him."

Xiao Li found the "pulled him from a river" part a bit odd. The more she listened, the more something felt off. ’Why does this sound so familiar?’

"The person you’re looking for... his name wouldn’t happen to be Jun Zhan, would it?"

Xiao Li deliberately omitted the surname. Cen An’s eyes lit up. "The Princess knows him?"

Xiao Li’s vision went black.

She had guarded against every possibility, but she never imagined that the person Cen An was looking for was Song Junzhan—and that he had come specifically to treat Song Junzhan’s lung ailment.

She had even asked Song Junzhan before why he hadn’t tried seeking out the Divine Doctor’s successor.

And what was his reply? He’d thought about it, but hadn’t gotten around to it.

It made sense. After arriving, Cen An had gone to the Lu family to make a name for himself, probably hoping Song Junzhan would hear about him and seek him out.

But Cen An had first been busy at the Lu family saving Lu Yanzhi, then went to the Liu Family to save Liu Changge, and was then imprisoned by Xiao Li. He was released from that first imprisonment only to rush around saving people here and there. Then Xiao Li stirred up trouble and imprisoned him again.

It seemed that by the time Xiao Li asked Song Junzhan, Cen An had already been locked up here by her...

Seeing Xiao Li’s complicated expression, Cen An’s heart began to pound with anxiety. "Princess, what does your silence mean? Is Jun Zhan’s condition not good? Or has something happened to him?"

’What could have happened to make even her wear such an expression? How serious must it be?’

’Jun Zhan’s lung ailment is difficult to cure completely, but as long as he’s maintained with medicine, there shouldn’t be any major problems.’

For a moment, Xiao Li didn’t know how to respond. ’Should I tell him it was all because I imprisoned him, causing them to miss each other?’

But then again, tracing it back to the source, it was because Cen An had chosen Lu Yanzhi as his stepping stone. He’d walked right into the line of fire. He couldn’t blame anyone else.

"I’ll have someone send him a message. If he is willing to see you, he will come."

Cen An was pleasantly surprised. "Thank you, Princess."

The thought of seeing his friend soon completely revitalized Cen An. "In that case, I won’t disturb the Princess any longer. I’ll continue making medicine pills."

"There’s no need."

Xiao Li stopped him. Lan Yue handed over the prepared items.

Cen An took it, puzzled. He unrolled the document and saw a sum at the very top: five thousand taels of gold. Below it was a list of a dozen or so precious medicinal herbs from all corners of the land. It wasn’t that these herbs were unobtainable, but gathering them all would require a massive expenditure of wealth and manpower.

"Princess, what is the meaning of this?"

"Your payment." Xiao Li raised her hand slightly. "You are free to go."

Cen An, who had been enslaved for days and never once imagined he would receive payment: "..."

Unbelievable QoQ!!

’I was clearly imprisoned against my will. I was clearly forced to make medicine against my will. But now... why am I inexplicably moved?’

’Should I be thanking this kidnapper for having a conscience?’

"Is the Princess truly willing to let me leave?"

For once, Xiao Li explained patiently, "Keeping Doctor Cen here was a matter of necessity. Now that everything is resolved, it’s only natural to let you go free. I am grateful that you were willing to treat the heavily injured guards and develop new formulas."

"I know this payment might not be enough, so I will also grant you a promise. As long as I am alive, and as long as it is within my power, I will not refuse."

Cen An: ...’That’s not what you said back then.’

’The way you threatened me back then, you were practically one step away from stabbing me with a knife.’

It wasn’t that he’d never met worldly people before. He had traveled north and south in search of herbs, meeting many merchants along the way, both men and women, who spoke beautifully and handled matters with finesse, earning his sincere admiration and respect.

But this Princess Xuanyang before him was, without a doubt, the most unique person he had ever met in his life.

Noble and beautiful, yet ruthless and cold, her methods decisive. But such a person also spoke with courtesy, never giving off an air of condescension or arrogance. And yet, when she revealed her blade, she was three parts sharper than the coldest steel.

Many people said she was a madwoman, and she was indeed mad. Mad and vicious, with astonishing willpower. Of course, the most important thing was her stunning beauty, which tinged her crazed viciousness with a toxic charm. Like an intoxicating datura flower, she was alluring to the heart, yet fatally dangerous.

No wonder Lu Yanzhi, even after she had disfigured him, was still obsessed with her as if possessed, only to have his life end at her hands.

Even he, a doctor impervious to a hundred poisons, had nearly been ensnared.

He steadied his mind. "Thank you, Princess."

’Imprisoned, enslaved, and in the end, I still have to thank her. This poison is truly terrifying.’

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