How could this be?

The prince’s meridians, vital energy, internal cultivation — everything seemed normal. And yet his body was extraordinarily weak!

Physician Gu, filled with confusion, hurriedly lifted Jun Beiyue’s hand, and was struck with alarm — just moments ago it had still been fine, but now this hand… it had gone completely limp, without a trace of strength left!

Yingzi noticed the abnormality too. “How could this happen so suddenly, could it be…?”

The words nearly slipped out, but he swallowed them back, exchanging a shocked glance with Physician Gu.

This was clearly the work of someone tampering with him! And it had to be medicine lurking dormant inside his body, only now taking effect — otherwise, how could this have happened out of nowhere!

Just moments ago, when Madam Gu had been holding their master’s hand, it hadn’t gone limp like this at all!

If Physician Gu hadn’t caught it, their master’s hand would have already slipped and fallen!

“It must be them!” Yingzi said furiously.

“Shh…” Physician Gu immediately grew alert, glancing around before gesturing for Yingzi to shut the door!

Whoever could tamper with him right under their noses had to be no ordinary person — they had to be careful; walls had ears.

“This is too much. If we don’t show them we’re not to be trifled with, they’ll really think we’re pushovers!” Yingzi’s fury was boiling over, his usual calm restraint gone entirely.

“Old Gu, our master’s internal energy has already recovered anyway — let’s leave right now! We have to leave!”

But Physician Gu paid him no mind, carefully taking Jun Beiyue’s pulse, examining the bones of his limbs, his brow furrowed tight in deep concentration, saying nothing for a long, long while.

Seeing this, Yingzi gradually calmed down and asked quietly, “Old Gu, what exactly is wrong with our master?”

“Strange.” Physician Gu rubbed his chin, looking puzzled.

“What exactly is it?” Yingzi pressed urgently.

“If I’m not mistaken, our master must have been given some kind of unusual drug — similar to a seductive incense, something between a poison and a medicine. This kind of drug interferes with nutrient absorption. In other words, of all the medicine our master has taken these past months, very little of its effect was actually absorbed. That’s why his body hasn’t recovered — and worse, once he stops taking the nourishing medicine, his body will only continue to weaken!” Physician Gu said seriously.

“Isn’t that just attempted murder!” Yingzi said furiously.

“No! It’s not murder!” Physician Gu shook his head. “Whoever administered this drug must be a master of poisons. Even though our master has absorbed little of its effects, he’s been unconscious this whole time, so his body hasn’t needed to expend much energy. Whoever did this only wants him to keep taking medicine, to remain unconscious — not to actually die!”

Only then did Yingzi understand. “They don’t want our master to wake up!”

Physician Gu nodded. Whoever had done this, their goal was the same — they didn’t want Jun Beiyue to die, but they didn’t want him to wake either.

“It must be Jiang Chen! He’s the most suspicious one — in this entire Gu family, his is the only household that doesn’t want our master to wake!” Yingzi declared firmly.

Indeed, the two most suspicious people were Jiang Chen and Gu Meiting.

But more than who the culprit was, what Physician Gu really wanted to know was how the drug had been administered.

Ever since arriving at the Gu family, it had always been him and Yingzi taking care of their master. Beyond that, only Doctor Hua and Madam Gu had access — and Physician Gu had always carefully inspected whatever medicine they brought!

And no matter who came to visit, he and Yingzi had always been present. Even at night, the two of them took turns keeping watch.

Madam Gu had once offered to leave some maids to attend him, but Yingzi had refused immediately.

Suddenly, Physician Gu had a flash of realization. “Yingzi, when that Jiang Yuan boy was sick before — who was watching over our master while you went over there?”

Only then did Yingzi remember that incident, and he slapped himself hard. “No one — I rushed over on impulse without thinking. There was no one in the room at that time!”

“Sigh!” Physician Gu couldn’t help but let out a regretful sigh — despite always being so careful, they’d still overlooked this!

As for whatever drug now lay within their master’s body, there was nothing he could do about it.

“Old Gu, let’s just go straight to the family head and tell him everything. If he truly wants this son, he won’t tolerate this kind of thing!” Yingzi said seriously.

But Physician Gu only gave a bitter, helpless smile. “You, you — our master taught you so much, why can’t you see through this?”

Yingzi didn’t understand, but Physician Gu just shook his head. “Since they’ve already given him this strange drug, do you think it can be so easily cured? Once this becomes public, if the drug proves incurable and this drags on too long, won’t the family head lose hope eventually?”

Only then did a chill run through Yingzi. Physician Gu’s reasoning made sense — the family head, though advanced in years, wasn’t so desperate as to abdicate immediately. His urgency in finding and saving their master was surely tied to the ranking competition for rising talents at the end of the year on Liuxian Island!

If their master couldn’t take over the Gu family by year’s end, if his condition dragged on too much longer, if he could bring no benefit to the Gu family, then the family head would certainly start considering other options for the sake of the family’s future — and Madam Gu’s attitude wouldn’t remain as it was now either.

They had given their master internal energy — they could just as easily take it back!

And when that happened, who would save their master?

Unless they had the means right now to safely bring their master back to Da Zhou — otherwise, at this critical juncture, they absolutely could not afford to break with the Gu family!

And yet, leaving was terribly, terribly difficult for them.

Among the three of them, Jun Beiyue was so weak he couldn’t even open his eyes, Physician Gu had no fighting ability whatsoever, leaving only Yingzi — how could he possibly handle the entire might of the Gu family?

Never mind the Gu family’s massive guard force — Jiang Chen alone would be enough to trap them completely!

The risk was simply too great — they couldn’t afford to gamble on it!

And this matter had to be kept secret — they had to let the family head continue to see hope of their master’s recovery!

“Yingzi, send an urgent letter to the princess consort right away, and have her find a way to come. We can’t leave — we need reinforcements!” Physician Gu decided at once.

Yingzi nodded in agreement immediately. Since leaving wasn’t an option, they might as well stay and fight for their standing — they themselves had no standing, but once the Gu family had acknowledged the prince, surely the princess consort would have the right to speak for him!

“Yingzi, once the letter’s sent, go back to the storehouse and gather more nourishing medicine. Starting today, we double our master’s dosage. If the amount is greater, maybe more of the effect will still be absorbed! We have to hold out until the princess consort arrives!”

“Yes!” Yingzi bowed with clasped hands, nodding seriously…

No one knew quite how Madam Gu had managed to persuade the family head, but the very next morning, before Physician Gu and the others had even risen, Gu Meiting arrived at the door with a whole group of people in tow.

Physician Gu refused to leave his master’s side even for a moment, so it fell to Yingzi to go greet them.

But Gu Meiting didn’t even wait for him to greet her — she was clearly already familiar with the main residence, moving through it as though it were her own home, offering him nothing more than a passing nod before ordering the servants to start moving in furniture.