Grand Concubine Yi carefully examined Han Yunxi.
This girl’s mother was the empress dowager’s lifesaver. Today she had become her lifesaver as well. Did they count as lucky people?
Grand Concubine Yi had survived the arduous struggles of the harem for her entire lifetime. She wasn’t someone easy to deal with. Murong Wanru might have sent people over who didn’t explain any details, but Han Yunxi should’ve been intelligent enough to figure out what they meant. Even when Murong Wanru left to find her personally, Grand Concubine Yi had worried that this girl would bear a grudge and make things difficult. Unexpectedly, she’d shown up by her own will as soon as Murong Wanru left.
Actually, this girl could have come much later or even given her the cold shoulder during treatment. After so many poison doctors and imperial physicians had failed to treat her, her death by poison wouldn’t be blamed on Han Yunxi. After all, if she died then this girl would become the mistress of the Duke of Qin’s estate.
Still, not only had she hurried back, she’d given her all to treat her. As soon as she arrived, she created a prescription and used acupuncture, which proved that she at least had no malicious intent. Grand Concubine Yi silently sighed with emotion in her heart. Han Yunxi, ah, Han Yunxi. If you had never gotten mixed up with the empress dowager, I would’ve been able to accept you. Your brilliant poison skills might even become an asset to Feiye!
After taking the pulse, Han Yunxi did another scan to confirm that the poison had diminished before removing the needles from Grand Concubine Yi’s neck.
“Mufei really is fortunate. Most of the poison’s already gone beyond a few traces. They’ll need to be expelled via acupuncture and moxibustion, which I’ll start tomorrow. Chenqie will treat mufei every day for the next three days until you’re fully recovered. During then, I ask that mufei try to eat and drink lightly and pick foods that will moisten the throat,” Han Yunxi said.
Grand Concubine Yi was happy that she didn’t have to fear for her life. She’d also calmed down enough that she wasn’t as anxious as before. With a nod, she said, “Good, good…”
Han Yunxi grinned in her heart. “Then mufei should rest first. If there’s anything you need, call chenqie over at any time.”
Grand Concubine Yi sluggishly waved her hand. But after a pause, she still opened her mouth to speak. “This time…it was all thanks to you.”
Han Yunxi was surprised. Finally, she felt some sense of accomplishment after her rescue. Smiling, she replied, “It’s natural for chenqie to do this. Chenqie will take her leave now.”
Who knew that she hadn’t even left the room before Murong Wanru rushed through the doors. “Mufei! Mufei, I can’t find…”
As soon as she saw Han Yunxi, Murong Wanru turned dumbstruck. Why was this woman here?
She’d scoured the entire Han estate, but nobody knew where Han Yunxi had gone. She thoroughly regretted everything and feared that she’d be too late to save mufei’s life. Who knew that Han Yunxi was actually over here!
“Wanru, no matter what kinds of things happen in the future, you should just say it outright. Otherwise, neither of us can shoulder the aftermath,” Han Yunxi said simply before walking past Murong Wanru and out the door.
When the door closed with a creak, Murong Wanru recovered her senses to see Grand Concubine Yi staring at her with narrowed eyes.
“Mufei, I…”
“You? I nearly lost my life at your hands! Something this serious and you still dare act sulky towards your sister-in-law? Who gave you the gall?” Grand Concubine Yi said angrily.
Murong Wanru had calculated everything perfectly beforehand. If she went to invite Han Yunxi and she still didn’t come, she’d have mufei force her home with plenty of time to spare. How did she know that Han Yunxi would come back by herself?
“Mufei, I didn’t…I…I thought she knew. If we asked her to come back then, how could she not realize what was going on?” Murong Wanru could only explain things this way.
Grand Concubine Yi wasn’t concerned with such details. Instead, she grew even angrier. “Enough! Stop trying to defend yourself, you were clearly risking my life for such things. Don’t think I can’t tell!”
How could Grand Concubine Yi be ignorant of Murong Wanru’s true intentions towards Han Yunxi? She could overlook her pulling tricks on Han Yunxi, but she refused to allow her to play tricks against herself. How could Murong Wanru not understand Grand Concubine Yi’s tempers? She knew she had no more room to make excuses. Still, she was shocked that Han Yunxi could catch her unawares with the mufei who absolutely doted on her.
Han Yunxi, I, Murong Wanru, won’t give up until I get rid of you!
She withdrew in a pathetic state, choked with sobs. “Daughter was wrong. Daughter was completely mistaken, so please have mufei punish me severely!”
Grand Concubine Yi’s temper couldn’t be extinguished so easily. She pointed a finger towards the door. “You get out this instant! Shut yourself in your room and reflect on your mistakes. Without my orders, you’re forbidden to go out!”
Han Yunxi had been listening right outside the door. When she heard this line, she narrowed avoided laughing out loud. Her heart was fully satisfied by this happy turn of events. Only then did she truly walk away.
—
As soon as she entered the Hibiscus Courtyard, she knew that Long Feiye hadn’t returned by looking at his rooms. This fellow really was heartless. His mufei’s life was in danger from the poison and yet he hadn’t shown his face at all.
She ate breakfast as she asked, “Chu Xifeng’s not here either?”
“He hasn’t been back since he left yesterday afternoon. Esteemed wangfei, everyone in the estate heard about yesterday’s events. You’re truly formidable!” Zhao mama grinned as she gave a thumbs up.
Last night’s events would probably cause a sensation for a few more days. It wasn’t the first time that Han Yunxi had made news in the capital city. She didn’t care about such things, but Zhao mama’s words reminded her of Madame Li’s dying words.
‘The people all know that Tianning has a Duke of Qin, but not an Emperor Tianhui! The people all know that Qin Wangfei can treat poisons, but not that the detoxification expert is the true poisons master!’
How much trouble would these words bring her and Long Feiye? Could Long Feiye still even out the hurdles for the Han family after they were discovered to have a spy amongst their ranks? Who knew if that guy was in the palace or the Solitary Enclosure. She could only wait for him to return to find out the situation. Thinking up to here, Han Yunxi suddenly lost her appetite. She was exhausted after having stayed up all night, so she told Zhao mama not to disturb her as she went upstairs to rest.
After being kidnapped, fighting back against Lady Xu’s plot, and resolving her bet, Han Yunxi still hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep yet. Though her heart was full of cares, she was still tired out. Before she even reached the bed, she collapsed on the long seat and played dead, lying there for a long while until she turned over. And yet, this movement allowed her to see a pair of bewitching eyes staring at her from the ceiling.
“Ah!”
Han Yunxi cried out shrilly before sitting up. Her fright had completely banished her drowsiness. This fellow…wasn’t this fellow the Celestial Fragrance Teashop’s evil-looking owner, Gu Qishao?
“How did you get in here?” she asked in surprise.
The Duke of Qin’s estate was heavily guarded, especially this Hibiscus Courtyard. Yet this guy had managed to sneak in undetected. Seeing Han Yunxi’s reaction, he smiled even more brilliantly. His legs hooked over the ceiling rafters as he hung upside down like a bat and laughed at Han Yunxi. “I thought you weren’t afraid of anything, but you’re actually a scaredy-cat!”
Han Yunxi rolled her eyes, growing cautious as she asked, “What are you doing here?”
“Poison lass, is this how you treat your lifesaver?” Gu Qishao asked seriously.
Han Yunxi copied his tone of voice and asked back, “Where’s the lifesaver?”
Gu Qishao arrogantly jabbed at himself with his thumb. “Here!”
Han Yunxi put on a false smile. “I don’t know you.”
“You…” Gu Qishao immediately flipped onto the floor to sit next to Han Yunxi. “Hey, all things considered, I still risked my life to rescue you. You’re really turning against a friend like this?”
Han Yunxi immediately stood up and increased the distance between them, her face filled with dislike. “Speak quickly. If you have words to say, spit them out!”
No matter who this rascal was, his licentious, wild ways, unruly silk clothes and loitering habits made him an unprincipled ruffian without any morals. It was better to keep her distance.
“Tsk tsk, lass. You have no conscience,” Gu Qishao looked disappointed.
“That’s enough from you! If you had made your move earlier, you wouldn’t need to risk your life!”
Although Han Yunxi had pleaded for mercy on Gu Qishao’s behalf, that was just her acting difficult for Long Feiye. Gu Qishao’s reason for saving her was identical with Long Feiye. Both of them wanted to delay the rescue until the end, ignoring her safety to lure out the mastermind behind the scenes. Gu Qishao’s martial arts skills were definitely comparable with Qingyi, so he could’ve whisked her out when she was still in the cave if he wanted.
After being exposed by Han Yunxi, Gu Qishao tucked his hair behind his ears as he followed her without quibbling the point. Han Yunxi raised an eyebrow to look at him, sighing with emotion in her heart. Why did this fellow’s movements look even prettier than a girl’s when he tucked his hair away? Everything flowed so smoothly.
Could it be that when a person was beautiful, everything else about him turned beautiful as well?
Of course, Han Yunxi wouldn’t be bewitched by his good looks. She was very blunt. “Exactly what did you find me for?”
Long Feiye was unhappy even when she took off a shoe. If he found out that a man had barged into her rooms, Heaven knows what kind of reaction that Giant Iceberg would have.
“Business,” Gu Qishao replied immediately.
“Then speak.” Truthfully, Han Yunxi was still curious. He risked coming here to see her probably because he really did have things to discuss.
Gu Qishao gave a mischievous laugh before drawing closer. Han Yunix immediately backed away. “Stay away from me, or else I’ll call for help!” If you gave this guy a hint of sunlight, he’d insist on shining brilliantly. Yield him an inch, and he’d ask for a mile.
Only then did Gu Qishao still his steps and earnestly ask in a low voice, “Lass, who taught you your poison skills? Who told you that goldfish could be used to test for Ten-Thousand Snake Poison?”
Last night, Gu Qishao had been by the justice court doors and saw Han Yunxi’s poison testing clearly. Leaving aside Madame Li, even he didn’t know goldfish could sense Ten-Thousand Snake Poison. Perhaps the masked man behind Madame Li didn’t know, either.
This lass is truly impressive!
Who’s her master? Who taught her poison skills?
If Han Yunxi remembered correctly, this fellow had asked her the same question in the cave. He chased her all the way here just for this? “I thought you were coming to plea for the Celestial Fragrance Teashop,” Han Yunxi was surprised.
“This gentleman can afford to lose a trifling teashop,” Gu Qishao smiled easily. “This gentleman is more interested in you and your poison skills.”
What a bully and a rascal!
Han Yunxi actually felt quite sorry for that teashop. Originally, she wanted to find a chance to track down Chu Xifeng and ask how Long Feiye was dealing with the matter. It looked like there was no need to now. Her poison skills, on the other hand, could be attributed to three parts: her natural talents, her hard work and persistence, and her detox system’s assistance. If anyone were to ask about her master, she could only say it was her detoxification system. This formless system contained all the knowledge of ancient and modern-day poisons. Right now she was using it while she learned about them.
Of course, this was a secret, her biggest one. She definitely wouldn’t tell.
“Where did you learn your poison skills? A teashop owner skilled in martial arts and good with poisons, it’s no wonder Long Feiye would investigate you,” Han Yunxi cleverly changed the topic to Gu Qishao himself.
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