AUBTN -Chapter 128 Pretending to Be Unconscious

“The assassin’s blade technique—I’ve seen it before. Every strike is fatal, the work of a top-tier expert. Yet this particular blow, though it looked dangerous, happened to avoid every vital organ. If it had been even a hair off, the Third Prince would probably be underground meeting the Eldest Prince by now.”

He bent down, his delicate and strikingly beautiful face drawing close to Tuoba Yun’s, his tone dripping with mockery.

“Such a precise ‘mistake’… Without someone cooperating, I simply don’t believe it. I suppose the Third Prince must usually be so kind-hearted that he moved the heavens themselves, earning the protection of gods and Buddhas?”

On the bed, Tuoba Yun remained completely motionless. Even his breathing rhythm did not change in the slightest.

Lu Yan stood to the side with his arms crossed, watching the scene with a slight frown.

This guy was acting pretty convincingly.

Just then, a burst of commotion came from outside the door.

“I want to see the Third Prince! Let me in! I’m his… I’m his good friend!”

A woman’s voice, choked with sobs, rang out, followed by the helpless attempts of the guards to stop her.

The corner of Lu Yan’s mouth twitched.

He would recognize that voice even if it turned to ashes.

He shot Shen Jue a look, and Shen Jue gave a faint nod.

The door curtain was lifted, and Yu Qing stumbled in, clutching a large bouquet of purplish-red flowers.

Today she had deliberately changed into a plain white dress. Her hair was slightly disheveled, her eyes red and swollen—she looked exactly like a young widow who had just lost her husband.

【Action! Yu Qing, bring out the strength of the top student from the acting department! This crying scene must have layers—tragic beauty, a sense of shattering heartbreak! It must make this damned green-tea schemer feel guilty!】

Lu Yan: …

He silently took a step back, giving the “Best Actress” room to perform.

Yu Qing rushed to the bedside and dropped to her knees with a thud, placing the bouquet beside Tuoba Yun’s pillow.

“Third Prince! Why haven’t you woken up yet?!”

That single cry was both piercing and melodious—filled with sorrow yet laced with deep affection. Anyone who heard it would feel heartbroken; anyone who saw it would be moved to tears.

“Just the other day you were perfectly fine. How… how did it turn out like this?”

As she cried, Yu Qing reached out as if to touch Tuoba Yun’s face, but her hand stopped halfway when Lu Yan coughed at just the right moment.

She awkwardly withdrew her hand.

Instead, Yu Qing picked up the flowers she had brought.

“Look, I specially went to Puji Temple outside the city to pray for these milk vetch flowers for you. The master said these flowers have the most spiritual energy—they can calm the mind and steady the soul.”

Sniffling, she plucked a flower and waved it gently beneath Tuoba Yun’s nose.

“Third Prince, smell them. Aren’t they fragrant? This is the blessing of Great Wei. You must get better—you still have to take me horseback riding in Xifan to watch the sunset…”

【These onions are making my eyes sting so much! Why isn’t that damn Tuoba Yun getting up yet? My knees are already aching from kneeling! These flowers are Wanwan’s specially modified version—hurry up and take a couple of sniffs!】

Hearing her inner thoughts, Lu Yan could only press his lips together tightly, afraid he might burst out laughing and ruin the act.

This woman had way too much drama.

However, although Tuoba Yun lay completely still on the bed, his senses were far from shut down.

As a master of poison, his sensitivity to smells far exceeded that of ordinary people.

When the bouquet of so-called milk vetch flowers approached his nose, a strong, slightly cloying floral fragrance rushed straight into his nostrils.

This scent… wasn’t right.

Alarm bells rang instantly in Tuoba Yun’s mind.

He had seen the milk vetch flowers from Puji Temple before. Though they carried a fragrance, it was never this intense, nor did it have this strange sticky sweetness that made one’s scalp tingle.

This was… a test?

Or was Great Wei planning to seize the opportunity to poison him and eliminate him once and for all?

There was definitely something wrong with this bouquet of flowers.

Tuoba Yun’s breathing instinctively paused for a brief moment, but it quickly returned to that faint, barely perceptible rhythm.

When masters face off, what they compete in is composure.

After crying for a while and seeing that Tuoba Yun still showed no reaction, Yu Qing wiped her tears and stood up, glancing back at the bed with every step she took.

“Lord Lu, Chief Shen, you must save the Third Prince…”

She looked at Lu Yan with tearful eyes, her gaze full of pleading. Anyone who didn’t know better might think she and Tuoba Yun were the true lovers.

Lu Yan’s face darkened, and he replied stiffly, “We will do our best.”

【Heh heh, Lord Lu looks so cute when he’s jealous. Don’t worry, my heart is still yours—but the act has to be complete!】

The tips of Lu Yan’s ears reddened ever so slightly. He snorted coldly and turned his head away.

Shen Jue had seen enough of the show and couldn’t be bothered to waste any more time here.

He adjusted his sleeve cuffs and, as if casually, glanced at the vivid bundle of milk vetch flowers lying by the pillow before giving a calm instruction to the guard at the door.

“The Third Prince is blessed by fate; he will wake on his own. However…”

Shen Jue frowned in distaste and covered his nose and mouth with a silk handkerchief.

“The pollen in this room is too strong. It’s not good for the lungs of someone who’s injured. Although it’s Miss Yu’s kind intention, for the sake of the Third Prince’s health, it should be cleared away later.”

The guard quickly bowed. “Yes, Chief. You’re absolutely right. I’ll have someone remove it right away.”

“Mm.” Shen Jue cast a meaningful glance at the person on the bed before turning and striding out.

“Let’s go. What are you still crying for? We’re leaving.” Lu Yan grabbed the still “reluctant” Yu Qing and hauled her out of the room like a chick.

The door closed again.

The room fell into a deathly silence.

Only that bundle of milk vetch flowers remained quietly by the pillow, still giving off its strange fragrance.

After confirming that no one was inside and that the guards outside were in the middle of a shift change—

On the bed, Tuoba Yun, who had been unconscious all this time, suddenly had his eyelashes tremble.

Then, he abruptly opened his eyes.

The eyes that usually appeared gentle and refined were now completely clear—carrying even a hint of ruthlessness and vigilance.

He didn’t get up immediately. Remaining in his lying position, he stared fixedly at the bundle of milk vetch beside the pillow.

It was too fragrant.

So fragrant that it made his heart pound with unease.

This was definitely not the scent of ordinary flowers. There had to be some kind of drug mixed into it!

Had Shen Jue discovered something?

Or was that seemingly loud and careless Yu Qing actually a hidden expert?

Either way, this thing couldn’t stay by his pillow!

Tuoba Yun took a deep breath, held it in, and slowly—extremely carefully—extended his hand.

The moment his fingertips touched the purplish-red petals, an incredibly faint, almost imperceptible sticky sensation came from beneath his fingers.

Something had been smeared onto the petals!

Tuoba Yun’s heart skipped a beat. Instinctively, he wanted to withdraw his hand—but then another thought occurred to him. If he backed off now, it might instead leave traces behind.

He had to confirm exactly what kind of poison this was!

His pride would not allow him to stumble in such a trivial trap.

His fingers ground hard against the petals, trying to determine the toxicity through touch and the faint scent released in that instant.

And in that very moment—

The sachet at his waist, which he always kept hidden close to his body and never removed even when injured, swayed lightly with his movement.