Judging by her pulse, the charm-scent’s effects were, indeed, faintly dissipating—this prompted Imperial Physician Gu, who had been carefully avoiding looking too closely at Ziqing’s flushed, bashful-seeming face, to finally study her more closely, unable to help himself.

Only then did he notice she had calmed considerably, brow still furrowed, eyes still closed tight, murmuring something under her breath he couldn’t quite make out—this state looked far more like simple drunkenness now, rather than the poison actively flaring up!

And yet the woman on the bed, wrapped entirely in thick brocade blankets, still bore that flushed color on her small face—anyone with any experience would recognize at a glance that this flush wasn’t simply from drinking alone.

What exactly had happened just moments ago? Imperial Physician Gu waited anxiously, not daring to make a sound.

“Find a way to save her!” Jun Beiyue said coldly, without looking up.

Imperial Physician Gu hurried forward, wanting to ask further but unsure how to phrase it, finally managing timidly, “My lord, let me check her pulse first!”

Only then did Jun Beiyue turn his head, his eyes still downcast, not even sparing Ziqing a glance, simply pulling her hand free from beneath the blanket.

Imperial Physician Gu, hands trembling, hurried to check Ziqing’s pulse—though truthfully, one hardly needed to check at all to see it plainly: the charm-scent was still active, only its effects were faintly fading!

“My lord, this is quite strange, given how much time has passed!” Imperial Physician Gu said quietly. Once the charm-scent triggered, it never usually took this long to run its course—hadn’t their lord, that very day, been forced by its urgency to rush off to the House of Unmatched Beauty without a moment’s hesitation?

By his estimate, it had been at least half an hour since the princess consort’s symptoms first appeared!

“My lord, shall we test it with poison?” Imperial Physician Gu suggested.

Jun Beiyue seemed to sense the same thing himself, hesitating only a moment before nodding.

Before long, both a vial of poison and its antidote were brought before Jun Beiyue.

“The most common poison—it takes effect the instant it’s administered,” Imperial Physician Gu explained earnestly.

Jun Beiyue nodded, carefully administering it to Ziqing. Sure enough, exactly as the physician had said, the effect was immediate—Ziqing’s lips instantly darkened, and her whole body began growing cold!

Jun Beiyue gripped the antidote tightly, watching intently, unnoticed flickers of pain crossing his complicated eyes, even he himself unaware of it.

Finally, after the time it takes to brew three cups of tea, Ziqing’s lips had darkened to their absolute limit—the deadline had arrived; without the antidote now, her life would be in genuine danger.

Jun Beiyue glanced questioningly at Imperial Physician Gu, who still had two fingers pressed to Ziqing’s pulse, and hurried to bring the antidote forward.

Suddenly, Imperial Physician Gu cried out urgently, “Wait!”

He stared intently at Ziqing’s lips, and to everyone’s astonishment, a miracle unfolded before their eyes—the once terrifyingly dark hue gradually returned to its natural, healthy red!

“Incredible…” Jun Beiyue murmured, genuinely stunned now.

Imperial Physician Gu checked her pulse carefully, exclaiming repeatedly in astonishment, “It’s gone! My lord, it’s gone! The poison’s effects have vanished entirely!”

The poison’s effects had simply disappeared—and she hadn’t even taken the antidote at all!

This woman’s very constitution possessed some innate ability to neutralize poison on its own!

“What about the charm-scent, then!” Jun Beiyue exclaimed in alarm.

“The charm-scent is both poison and medicine at once! My lord, if this old subject’s guess is correct, the charm-scent lies dormant within the princess consort’s body, ready to trigger at any moment—but as we’ve now seen, when it does trigger, it merely manifests its effects briefly before her body suppresses it entirely, never reaching a fatal outcome!”

Imperial Physician Gu could barely contain his excitement. In all his years practicing medicine, he’d only ever heard rumors of such a rare, extraordinary constitution existing—he’d never truly believed it was real, let alone witnessed it with his own eyes!

Jun Beiyue had heard of this particular kind of constitution as well!

“Prime Minister Han certainly isn’t from Nanzhao,” Jun Beiyue said gravely.

“My lord, it seems we’ll need to investigate the princess consort’s birth mother’s lineage!” Imperial Physician Gu said earnestly.

Legend held that this particular bloodline, possessing near-total immunity to all poisons, originated in Nanzhao—an extraordinarily mysterious lineage that had, throughout Longyuan’s history, been credited with numerous miraculous feats, yet had long since vanished from recorded history entirely!

Just who exactly was this woman, truly?

Imperial Physician Gu studied Ziqing, about to speak further, when Yingzi’s voice suddenly called out from outside, reporting urgently, “My lord, Miss Situ is thoroughly drunk and causing quite a scene in the camp! This subordinate is genuinely at a loss for what to do!”