Wan Jimiao was originally a mountain doctor with excellent medical skills, who lived in a valley away from the hustle and bustle. He was once chased by wolves while searching for poison in the wilderness and was by chance saved by Xie Jingyuan. He then became an army doctor.
He was about fifty-nine years old and had grey hair on his temples, so it was a bit difficult for an old man to come late at night. But as soon as Wan Jimiao heard that the origin of the poison on Xie Jingyuan’s body was found, he was immediately filled with energy, and with a spirit of research no less than that of Chu Xinian, he read the “experimental manuscript” over and over again in front of the candlelight.
Jiu Yong was still worried about the thief that had just escaped, and said to Xie Jingyuan with a dark expression on his face, “General, Chu Xinian is not a doctor. How is it possible that he can figure out this strange poison? He must have bad intentions, you must not fall into his trap. His people can’t be trusted either.”
Xie Jingyuan was waiting for Wan Jimiao’s result. Hearing this, he frowned and said to Jiu Yong in a gloomy voice, “You talk too much today.”
Too noisy.
Jiu Yong choked and had no choice but to plead, “This subordinate deserves to die.”
Xie Jingyuan closed his eyes and waved his hand, indicating to step back, and ordered, “Go and watch both of them, don’t take a single step out of the room.”
Jiu Yong took the order, “This subordinate will carry out your orders. If they dare to act rashly, they will be mercilessly executed!”
However, Xie Jingyuan opened his eyes sharply and said in a cold voice, “Stupid! I told you to watch, who ordered you to kill!”
Jiuyong paused, “…Yes”.
Does the General mean to say that… he can’t kill them?
At the same time, Yun Que was packing their things. As she did so, she looked at the man in white dozing on the sofa and hesitantly asked, “Master, are we going back?”
Although she wanted to go back too, it was clear that they could not. She feared the Palace people would know before they could get through the door.
“Of course not.”
Chu Xinian lazily kept his eyes closed.
“Pack slowly, the slower the better. Just put on a show for others to see.”
Yun Que looked towards the closed door and couldn’t help but ask quietly, “Master, what is the purpose of this drama today? Not only did we not steal anything, but we also scared the snake. What should we do if General Xie wants to hold us accountable later?”
Chu Xinian suddenly raised his eyes to look at her, his light-colored pupils flashed with a dark aura, and smiled, “Who said today’s drama is useless?”
Not only did he know where the military list was hidden, but he also wanted to make Xie Jingyuan never dare to suspect him again. Isn’t this much better than rashly stealing things?
…For example, blaming it on those idiots sent by Prince Jin?
Chu Xinian put his hands behind his head, and closed his eyes again, “We will soon get what we want.”
And it was the kind that was done without anyone knowing, as if by magic.
On this dark and windy night, visibility was limited. Chu Xinian’s lantern was specially made with five candles inside. When the candlelight shone on the paper cover, it created a natural shadow. With a movement of the paper cutouts of human figures, the shadows flickered, creating the illusion that there was someone inside the room.
However, Jiu Yong, suspicious by nature, would rush into the room to check upon hearing any movement. Yun Que only had to time it right, silently open the window, and create a fictitious “thief” that did not exist.
Xie Jingyuan had foreseen that someone from Prince Jin would steal the military list, so he had deployed many extra men beforehand. When Xie Jingyuan learned of a thief’s intrusion, he would first check if the most important item had been stolen, naturally leaving a trail.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Of course, this ploy had some risks, requiring Chu Xinian’s interpretive skills, Yun Que’s kung fu, and… Xie Jingyuan’s lack of confidence.
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Chu Xinian opened his eyes at the sound of the voice. With a tilt of his head, he saw Jiu You leading soldiers, guessing that Xie Jingyuan would have ordered it. It was a different kind of house arrest, but it was better than being cut with a sword.
Jiu Yong did not want to pay attention to Yun Que, so he did not respond.
Yun Que was carrying her luggage, “I repeat, what are you doing here?”
She had one foot outside the door.
Jiu Yong stopped her with his sword and said sternly, “Go in!”
Yun Que was sick of being pointed at by his sword, “We have to leave today, get out of the way!”
After she finished speaking she ran out. But Jiu Yong couldn’t draw his sword to kill people, he didn’t even think about it when he hit Yun Que’s shoulder with his palm as fast as lightning, knocking her back.
Yun Que could not dodge in time and was hit in the shoulder, and fell to the ground. She covered her shoulder and said with a pale face full of hatred, “You…”
How dare you hit a woman!
Chu Xinian was watching the spectacle from behind and was a little surprised to see Jiu Yong’s move. He got off the sofa and approached Yun Que to help her up, saying in a low voice, “Since he won’t let us out, we should stay here and not cause trouble.”
Yun Que got up from the floor, covered her shoulder, and nodded, “Yes, Young Master.”
Then, Jiu Yong saw the door closing with a slam. He paused and continued to watch.
At the same time, the results of the poison in Xie Jingyuan’s body were obtained. Wan Jimiao had mixed the fruit of the Bigen tree, the incense ash, the spices of the perfume ball, and the aromatic juice of each of the flowers, as written in Chu Xinian’s experimental manuscript, finding the poisoning origin.
“It turned out that they are a mixture of four things”.
Wan Jimiao put those four things into the small medicine cauldron he carried with him, sniffed for a long while, and couldn’t help his expression from changing. Just as Chu Xinian had guessed, it was a rare and advanced poison.
“This old man has only seen two poisons mixed in his life, I never imagined that there were four kinds of poisons in the General’s courtyard!”
For some reason, Xie Jingyuan seemed unexpectedly calm. With sharp eyes, he picked up some incense and crushed it, “You mean the poison was put here?”
Wan Jimiao was studying the spice ingredients and, after several comparisons, stroked his beard, frowned, and said, “The three ingredients are Tian Nan Qi Xing Zhu, Xiang Si Zi, and Cang Ji, and it is not at all strange that they are used as spices, but all these herbs are highly poisonous when unripe. And if they become spices, they are also harmful to the human body.”
“Once burnt and mixed with the fruit of Bi Geng, it will reduce its toxicity by half, and when mixed with the musk of the aromatic ball, it will add the other toxic half. The aroma of the seasonal flowers in the vase also acts as a stimulant, and when these four things are mixed, they can cause the deterioration of the five organs”.
After all, Wan Jimiao was a professional, and after conducting a second investigation of the results that Chu Xinian had leaked, he quickly discovered the cause.
Tian Nan Qi Xing Zhu, Xiang Si Zi, and Cang Ji, together with the Bi Geng and the vase of seasonal flowers plus the musk of the aromatic ball, created a powerful poison.
All these tricks showed that the person who created the poison was quite thorough.
Xie Jingyuan clenched his fists, his nails poking skin as he coldly ordered his assistant, “Go and find out how these things came to be and by whose hands! Find out even if you have to dig up a mountain!”
Wan Jimiao shook his head, turning a leaf in his hand, “I believe this scenario has been carefully prepared. To my understanding, the tree planted outside the courtyard is not a Bi Geng but a Shi Yun Shu. Despite its similar appearance to the Bi Geng, the Shi Yun Shu is not commonly planted because of its low survivability and unpleasantly sweet smell”.
He handed the leaf to Xie Jingyuan as he spoke, “Look, General, the leaves of the Bi Geng are yellow in color, while those of the Shi Yun Shu are light gold.”
“This tree has been planted for at least a few years, and it is the responsibility of the Ministry of Home Affairs to fix it. If you want to dig deeper and find out the truth, it will only make it more difficult for you to do so.”
Xie Jingyuan stared at him, “What is the solution to this poison?”
Wan Jimiao stroked his beard, “This poison has invaded the muscles and damaged the five organs, so we can’t say it can be cured. This old man still needs to examine it carefully.”
Then he put pen to paper and wrote some prescriptions.
“General, let’s stop taking the old medicine. After all, the toxicity is too severe. From today, I will give you acupuncture every day to regulate the five organs. This old man will come back tomorrow.”
Too many things happened today, and Xie Jingyuan was a little uneasy. He frowned and nodded hesitantly.
Wan Jimiao suddenly asked, “By the way, General, who is the author of this manuscript? I would like to talk to him.”
“I’ll tell you another day.”
Xie Jingyuan confirmed what had happened and quickly walked back to his quarters. When he saw Jiu You guarding the door, he slowly stopped on the steps, covered his mouth with a handkerchief, coughed twice, frowned, and asked, “Are they inside?”
Jiu Yong paused and then nodded.
Xie Jingyuan looked at him sympathetically, “Did you hurt someone?”
Jiu Yong’s neck stiffened, neither nodding nor denying, “…”
Xie Jingyuan didn’t bother to wait for his reply and directly pushed open the door, only to see Chu Xinian lying on the sofa with his eyes closed. The maid beside him was pitifully packing her suitcase, crying and wiping her tears at the same time.
Xie Jingyuan naturally didn’t care why she cried, “Come out.”
Hearing this, Chu Xinian opened his eyes, slowly sat up from the sofa, and fixed his slightly wrinkled clothes, “The General means me?”
To those behind the scenes, taking Xie Jingyuan’s life was more important than an expendable military list. But Chu Xinian’s hasty revelation of the poisoning incident saved Xie Jingyuan’s life in a sense, removing any suspicion.
It would be unfair for anyone to suspect that he was trying to steal secrets.
Xie Jingyuan raised an eyebrow, “If not, who?”
After he finished speaking, he turned his gaze towards the corner and saw that Yun Que was not moving, “What, you still want this General to ask you out?”
Yun Que was startled and immediately stopped crying, stood up quickly, and backed away.
Chu Xinian smiled, “The General is so powerful that even your underlings can beat up my maid. Doesn’t the General want to repeat the old trick?”
Underlings? Who? Jiu Yong?
Xie Jingyuan’s expression was strange for a moment, his mental activity was probably the same as Yun Que’s right now; how could Jiu Yong even hit a woman?
Seeing that he did not respond, Chu Xinian stood up, put on his boots, and slowly sighed, “Forget it, we will return to the Quyang Marquis Manor, I’m afraid there is no place for this master and servant here. ”
However, before he could leave, someone grabbed his wrist.
Chu Xinian turned his head indifferently and saw Xie Jingyuan frowning and staring at him, “What exactly do you want?”
The meaning of this sentence was mixed with a bit of softness. If you stretch it, it can be translated as; Well, I misunderstood you. I will accept whatever you want, but not too much.
“I don’t want anything.” Chu Xinian obediently sat back down, “It’s just that I’m disappointed.”
And he sighed.
“From the beginning, I sincerely wanted to marry the General. Although I may have been a little careless on our wedding night, my heart was still sincere. I didn’t expect things to turn out this way. I always thought of the General’s welfare, but I have been treated like a spy. Since it’s like this, I’d better go home.”
He said this as if Xie Jingyuan had done something cruel and inhumane to him. But fortunately, Xie Jingyuan didn’t even lay a finger on him.
Xie Jingyuan did not want to take the blame, “When has this General ever wronged you?”
Chu Xinian, “Just now.”
Xie Jingyuan, “I just asked some questions. Is that considered suspicious?”
Chu Xinian, “If you don’t suspect me, why didn’t you let me into Yuheng Pavilion?”
Xie Jingyuan instinctively replied, “Who didn’t let you in?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he saw Chu Xinian strangely staring at him, and then he realized his slip. Xie Jingyuan was about to say something to make up for it, but he heard Chu Xinian say, “General does not need to deceive me with these words. If he does not allow me to enter, then he does not. After all, the General has suspected me for a long time.”
He finished with, “However if he suspects me again next time, there is no need to ask such questions. Kill me outright. I can’t stand to be accused unjustly.”
“…”
Xie Jingyuan was speechless for a moment, and the room suddenly fell silent. The only sound was the hissing of candles.
Xie Jingyuan looked out the window and saw that the courtyard was empty, and the trees had been cut down. Thinking about what Wan Jimiao had said, something in his heart, which had always stood firm, stirred a little.
It was like a crack in a high wall, you never know whether the crack was there to let in a ray of sunshine or for it to collapse.
Xie Jingyuan finally said, “Chu Xinian, who are you loyal to?”
To the Marquis of Quyang? To Prince Jin? Or to the Emperor?
In any case, no matter how you look at it, it will not be the Crown Prince.
In this world, no land is not ruled by a king, no border that is not guarded by a subject of the king. In this chaotic age, every person has a monarch in his heart, and everyone desperately seeks a king to submit to.
I hope CXN says something like: I’m loyal to myself
Thanks❤️
Would love that for an answer too XD saying ‘I’m loyal to you’ would be cheesy and uncharacteristic of him haha
Extremamente inteligente,o maior de todos .❤️🩹