It was not until nightfall, when Qiao Mu rose from the bed, that Feng Jiu’er was still seated at the table.

“What’s wrong — haven’t you figured it out yet?” Qiao Mu stood up and walked over to her.

An ordinary medicine would not stump Jiu’er. For something to have cost her this much time, this medicine was surely no ordinary thing.

“Almost there.” Feng Jiu’er’s voice carried a trace of hoarseness.

Qiao Mu looked at her and furrowed her brow. She picked up the teapot and walked out of the room.

A short while later, when Qiao Mu returned carrying a freshly poured pot of tea, Feng Jiu’er had risen from her seat and was stretching languidly beside the table.

“Well? What is it?” Qiao Mu came over and poured her a cup of tea.

“It’s poison.” Feng Jiu’er picked up the teacup and blew at the tea froth floating on the surface.

“Poison?” Qiao Mu nearly lost her grip on the cup in her hand. She looked up at Feng Jiu’er. “But I don’t feel anything wrong with me. What about you — how do you feel?”

“It is a slow-acting poison. Having inhaled it for a short while, we won’t be in any danger.” Feng Jiu’er sat down and looked at the box on the table. “I’ve already sealed it in an airtight pouch — the toxicity can’t spread anymore.”

“Nanmeng Rong’s jade pillow actually contained a slow-acting poison. You detected the scent on her a long time ago, didn’t you?” Qiao Mu asked softly.

“Yes.” Feng Jiu’er nodded and took a small sip of tea. “This kind of medicine will exhaust itself eventually. Once its potency fades completely, the sachet must be replaced.”

“Who would have had the opportunity to keep poisoning Nanmeng Rong? And why poison her in the first place?”

“Can this kind of poison kill?” Qiao Mu also raised her own teacup.

“Whoever made this poison is absolutely a master of medicine.” Feng Jiu’er pressed her lips together.

She had not finished speaking before Qiao Mu gave a vigorous nod. “I believe it!”

“What do you believe?” Feng Jiu’er looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

“That this poison is something formidable,” Qiao Mu replied with a smile. “Even our Ghost Doctor Feng Jiu needed this long to analyze it — could it be anything less?”

“And if the poison is formidable, the one who made it must also be a master.”

Feng Jiu’er shot Qiao Mu a sideways look and continued, “This medicinal powder is not toxic in itself. It is nothing more than a calming remedy — yet once it has absorbed the breath of a person, it transforms into a poison. The severity of the toxicity can be controlled by adjusting the proportions of the fragrant ingredients. The exact same powder can be made either deadly potent or entirely inert. For now, this is all I can determine. A deeper investigation is still needed for the full picture.”

“Remarkable!” Qiao Mu nodded. “Then who on earth would want to harm Nanmeng Rong — and the Empress Dowager Ning? Was it Zhan Liyue as well?”

“Giving birth to sons as formidable as the Ninth Prince and Mu Mu, it is hardly surprising that Zhan Liyue would be a ruthless figure.”

“But for her to have such influence even within the palace — isn’t that a little too extraordinary?”

“All these years, my mother has been inside the palace, with her legs and feet crippled. Zhan Liyue had the chance to strike at both the Empress and the Empress Dowager — yet my mother alone was left untouched…”

Feng Jiu’er’s thoughts reached this point, and her delicate brows creased into a frown.

“Could it be that behind all of this, there is some other powerful figure at work?”

“Perhaps Zhan Liyue simply didn’t know your mother was alive — she may have assumed your mother died in that battle.” Qiao Mu said softly.

“Impossible.” Feng Jiu’er shook her head. “My mother said that six years ago, someone poisoned her and severed the tendons in her hands and feet. It was Zhan Liyue’s doing.”

“If that is so, then Zhan Liyue must certainly know that my mother is still alive.”

Qiao Mu composed herself and nodded. “Just who is Zhan Liyue? She has harmed so many people — what is her purpose?”

“She harmed General Long because she didn’t want General Long entering the palace and sharing her man.”

“But didn’t she achieve that goal? For the sake of a petty jealousy, to then go after the entire Long family seems hard to justify.”

“Furthermore — with the Di family reduced to such a state, shouldn’t she have devoted herself entirely to fighting against the Zhan imperial dynasty? Where would she find the energy to go after the Long family?”

Qiao Mu looked up at Feng Jiu’er and gently pressed her lips together.

“Jiu’er, I’m not trying to speak well of our common enemy, and please don’t feel any pressure. Setting aside what happened between you and the Ninth Prince, let’s just talk about Zhan Liyue on her own merits.”

“If she truly hated your mother that deeply — deeply enough that she wouldn’t rest until the entire family was wiped out — then we’d still have to ask whether she had the spare energy for that.”

“General Long was harmed before she entered the palace. At that time, Zhan Liyue was still Empress — she had all the time in the world.”

“But afterward, when the Di family was exterminated and the Zhan family seized the throne, Zhan Liyue had barely managed to preserve herself. She would have been focused entirely on avenging the Di family.”

“At that point, where would she have found the mind to go after the Long family? Where would she have found the will to harm General Long, or to kill your wet nurse?”

“If Zhan Liyue truly had that kind of ability, why didn’t she simply poison Emperor Qiwen and the Crown Prince of that time? With the Zhan line cut off, restoring the Di family’s throne would have been far easier.”

“Once the Di imperial dynasty was restored, dealing with the Long family would have been a trivial matter.”

Qiao Mu finished her long train of thought and raised her teacup, drinking from it in large gulps.

When she set the cup down, she found that Feng Jiu’er had been watching her.

“What is it? You think my analysis makes a great deal of sense, don’t you?”

Feng Jiu’er took a small sip of tea and offered no response.

The side room fell quiet for a moment before Feng Jiu’er spoke softly. “I believe that my mother would not lightly wrongly accuse someone.”

“I believe that too,” Qiao Mu nodded. “General Long is such an upright person — of course she would not do such a thing.”

“But I always feel that things are not this simple. Jiu’er, what do you think yourself?”

“Everything you said makes sense — but until evidence is found, it is all still conjecture on our part.” The words had barely left her lips before Feng Jiu’er took another sip of tea.

“There is also one other thing that matters greatly: why did we find no similar sachet in the Empress Dowager Ning’s quarters?”

“Could the culprit have taken it away?” Qiao Mu pressed her lips together, a slight crease forming between her brows. “But then why was Nanmeng Rong’s still there?”

“Could it be…” Qiao Mu looked at Feng Jiu’er, her delicate brows suddenly knitting together. “Is there any possibility that it was the Empress Dowager Ning who was trying to harm Nanmeng Rong?”

Feng Jiu’er drained the last of the tea from her cup and stood up.

“All right, stop guessing at random. Let’s go eat first — I’m absolutely starving.”

“Mm.” Qiao Mu pressed a hand to her stomach and got to her feet. “Now that you mention it, I didn’t even realize I’ve gone so weak from hunger.”

The two of them tidied themselves up and left the side room.

……

In the early evening, Yu Jingfeng appeared at the tent where Yanu was being held.

Yanu sat on the bed and did not so much as glance at the person who had entered.

“Let’s go.” Yu Jingfeng looked at Yanu and said softly.

Standing before him now was the Third Imperial Prince — how could he be anything less than courteous?

Yanu, unaware of this, stood up and swept Yu Jingfeng with a look.

Yu Jingfeng gave a soft cough, turned around, and lifted the tent flap.

As for matters concerning Yanu, Zhan Liyue had issued no orders whatsoever, so Yu Jingfeng naturally said nothing more.

Yanu likewise asked not a single question and simply fell into step behind him.