8.6

A few days later, the Queen sent someone to deliver the Silver Snake Grass poison and antidote. She also had that person relay that only he had both the poison and antidote, so he needed to use it carefully.

Mandy had been hiding in the room to recuperate from having his face scalded. He barely stepped out the door. Farley had the doctor treat him with the best medicine possible. The doctor said that because the treatment was done relatively immediately, there shouldn't be any scarring on Mandy's face. He said that there might be some faint marks, but they'd disappear after a while.

Qiao Chen picked a time to visit Mandy in his room. He saw Mandy lying in bed with a white bandage on his face. In reality, Mandy didn't really need to wrap his face up like that, but he didn't want to let Farley see his face marred by the burns and medicines. Furthermore, he wanted Farley to feel even more distressed over him, so he insisted that the doctor wrap his face all up like this.

Mandy heard someone enter the room and though it was a servant who came to deliver some stuff. He opened his eyes to see Qiao Chen standing by his bed. He was stunned for a bit before he immediately sat up and glared at Qiao Chen, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to give you something." Qiao Chen said with a smile.

Mandy was disturbed by Jovin's weird smile, "What are you giving me?"

Qiao Chen took out a glass bottle with his long fingers and said, "This is the medicine that the Queen gifted to you. It's good for the injuries on your face. You won't even feel pain ever again."

"Why would you bring me medicine sent by Her Royal Majesty?" Mandy had a gut feeling that the medicine in Jovin's hand was too suspicious. "You take it and leave. I won't drink it!"

"This is the medicine that Her Royal Majesty has personally bequeath to you. It's not up to you on whether you will drink it or not." Qiao Chen opened the bottle by removing the lid. Then he grabbed Mandy's neck and forced the medicine down his throat.

"Unhand me. I won't drink it! Let go of me right now!" Mandy desperately struggled.

Farley opened the door to witness this scene. He endured the pain radiating from his chest and rushed forward. He pushed Qiao Chen away and roared, "What are you doing?"

"Farley! Farley! He wanted to kill me. He wants to feed me poison." Mandy cried and latched onto Farley.

"How dare you give Mandy poison. Who gave you the courage?" Farley glared at Qiao Chen and angrily asked.

"This isn't poison. This it medicine sent by the queen to heal his scars." Qiao Chen said calmly.

"Impossible. It's definitely not. He's lying!" Mandy cried.

Farley stood up and quickly snatched the medicine bottle in Qiao Chen's hand. Then he poured the rest of the medicine into Qiao Chen's mouth. "Since it's not poison, then you can finish the rest of it."

Qiao Chen pushed Farley's hand away after he swallowed the medicine. Then he ran to the door and yelled out while holding his stomach. Then he collapsed to the floor.

When a servant outside saw him, he immediately came to help Qiao Chen. Qiao Chen weakly gasped, "D-doctor…call the doctor…"

Then Qiao Chen fainted. The servants carried Qiao Chen back to his room. The butler immediately called the doctor to give him medical aide. Unfortunately, it was too late. The butler quickly told the servants to go to Jovin's room and find the antidote. The servant rushed in to find that all the antidotes were destroyed by Qiao Chen.

The queen immediately rushed over after hearing the news. The doctor told her that the poison had already reached Jovin's internal organs. They required at least a year to even find the herbs required to remake enough of the antidote to save him. Furthermore, even if they used other medicines to temporarily prolong his life, it'd be impossible for him to even leave his bed or live life like a normal person let alone bear a child. The poison would have had an entire year to run through and wreck Jovin's body.

The Queen didn't care if Jovin would be able to recover to the point of a normal person. She didn't care if he'd be bed ridden for the rest of his life. All she cared about was whether or not Qiao Chen would be able to give birth to a child.

The doctor informed her that the Silver Snake Grass was too toxic. He drank such a large amount that the potency was very high. If he had immediately taken the antidote, then he might still have had a chance to bear children. However, if they waited an entire year before removing the toxins, then many of his organs would have already began to fail. It was impossible for Jovin to give birth. There was no hope.

The Queen trembled with anger. There were so many ways to make Mandy drink the poison. She never expected that Qiao Chen would used the stupidest one. She had even notified the butler in advance that he and the other servants should turn a blind eye if Jovin wanted to tamper with Mandy's food. Furthermore, she never expected Qiao Chen to destroy the entire stock of antidote she had.

She did everything in her power to force Jovin and Farley to marry. Now everything was falling apart. The Head Consort was barren. Was there any point in keeping him anymore?

Once the doctor confirmed that Jovin was barren, Farley was the most excited. He immediately kicked up a fuss to divorce Qiao Chen. They only got married to have children. Now that Jovin wasn't able to fulfill his end of the deal, they no longer needed to maintain this farce of a marriage.

The Queen agreed to Farley's request to divorce Jovin. She was still going to look for a suitable marriage partner for Farley again. However, she told Farley that Mandy was no longer allowed to take one step into his palace again. If he did, then Mandy would no longer be a part of this world.

Qiao Chen was the only person on the entire capital planet with the fertililty level 5 and the 'emperor yang energy' gene. The queen was forced to expand her scopr and begin searching on other planets within the empire in order to find an eligible partner once more.

Qiao Chen lay on the bed as he completed the divorce procedures. He and Farley completely dissolved their marriage contract and Qiao Chen was sent out of the palace. However, instead of returning to the van der Woods' estate, Qiao Chen went to a house in the civilians' area.

The civilians' area was quite luxurious and neat on the capital planet. Qiao Chen lived in a three-story building with a front and back yard. This was the place that Qiao Chen asked Tang Ao to help prepare in advance. The home was owned by his father's former friend on paper, even if the Queen had people investigate it, they wouldn't be able to figure it out that easily. Furthermore, she was far too busy looking for the new marriage partner for Farley. She had no time or energy to care about where Jovin lived anymore.

In the evening, Tang Ao secretly smuggled Qiao Chen into his residence on the capital planet. There were people arranged to make it look like Qiao Chen still lived there.

"Was this what you meant when you said that you'd be able to shed your identity and status as the Crown Prince's Head Consort?" Tang Ao asked quietly. He looked at Qiao Chen's pale face and weak breath. It looked like he was on his last breath. Tang Ao's heart couldn't help but deeply ache. If he had known that this was what Qiao Chen intended, then he wouldn't have agreed to any of it.

"Don't worry…" Qiao Chen replied with a weak smile to comfort Tang Ao. "I'll… get better soon."

The doctor that Tang Ao brought from the southern region checked Qiao Chen's body and came to the same conclusion as the doctor from the imperial palace. Jovin wouldn't be able to live like normal even if they prepared the medicine and all the toxins were removed. They were afraid that he'd be bed bound for the rest of his life.

Therefore, Tang Ao didn't believe a single word Qiao Chen said about getting better. Tang Ao felt a deep sense of regret and remorse. He should have asked Jovin to give him the specifics on how he planned on leaving so quickly. He never would have allowed Jovin to use the worst method possible that never should have even been thought. He was reduced to living life like this now because Tang Ao didn't make sure.

Tang Ao sat on the bed and gently brushed his hand against Qiao Chen's face. He felt such a complicate inner turmoil. He thought that he'd be ecstatic once Jovin dissolved his marriage with Farley. However, he wasn't happy at all. Not even one bit.

Tang Ao knew that hope was slim, but he still had the doctor give Jovin the best medical treatment possible.

The doctor was shocked at the speed of Qiao Chen's recover. The toxins in his body were disappearing at a rapid rate. This was something that couldn't be explained by science or medicine.

In just three days, Qiao Chen recovered so well that no one could tell the difference between a healthy person and him anymore.

Tang Ao walked into the room and saw Qiao Chen standing by the French windows. It all felt unreal to him. He couldn't imagine that Qiao Chen was the same person at death's door three days ago.

Qiao Chen turned around to see Tang Ao stood like a statue and smiled.

Tang Ao walked over to Qiao Chen and took a closer look at him before saying, "Are you really okay?" Tang Ao still had some worries in his heart even though the doctor performed a comprehensive examination and made sure that there were no major issues with Jovin's body.

"Aren't my acting skill top notch? I was able to trick every single one of you." Qiao Chen said with a smile.

"Acting? You mean you weren't really poisoned? It was all an act?" Tang Ao asked. He couldn't believe that it was all pure acting. How would Jovin be able to fool all those medical devices?

"It was true that I was poisoned. However, even if there wasn't an antidote, I could still detoxify myself. If I wasn't completely sure, then why would I get rid of my marriage with Farley in this manner? I wouldn't leave myself half dead just to get away. It's not worth the loss when there are so many other methods."

"You should have told me earlier, so I wouldn't have been as worried." Tang Ao complained.

"You were worried? Why? Were you worried because I was the one who could get you the prophesy?" Qiao Chen tiled his head up and asked. He used a serious tone, but there was a playful smile in his eyes.

"This is one of the reasons." Tang Ao looked at Qiao Chen and replied. There was an indescribable feeling that wormed its way into his heart. He knew how he felt about Qiao Chen, but it was too sudden and unexplainable. He was sure that he liked the man. However, he didn't know if it was love. If he did love the man, it was covered with a hazy layer like tulle on a dress. It felt a little unreal.

Qiao Chen didn't continue asking questions. He knew that Tang Ao would understand in time. In fact, it was only a matter of time. He still had a long life ahead of him and wasn't afraid of waiting.

"There's another thing that you have to arrange."  Qiao Chen said.

"What's the matter?"

"Spread the story of Farley's infertility."

Tang Ao looked at him in surprise before asking, "A rumor?"

"It's also not a rumor. Let's let you in on a secret." There were only the two of them in the room, but Qiao Chen leaned closer to Tang Ao's eat and whispered, "Not only am I an expert at detoxification, but I am also an expert as using poisons. I made it myself. No one can detect it, and there is no cure."

Qiao Chen's breathe tickled Tang Ao's ears. It made his ears itch and his heart tingle. "You mean you gave Farley a drug that caused male infertility?"

"Not only is he infertile, but because it's been this long he's impotent as well." Qiao Chen smiled and said. In his previous life, Farley killed Jovin. In this life, Qiao Chen got revenge by killing Farley's ability to create life. He felt like this was a fair enough trade.

Tang Ao's heart itched even more when he saw Qiao Chen's naughty smile. He couldn't even be bothered to be shocked that the 'sole crown prince' was infertile and impotent.