“Did you give it to him?” Jun Beiyue asked, suspicion in his voice.
“There happened to be a chance, so I didn’t have to make a trip to the Jiang family,” Ziqing said flatly. That one phrase—”there happened to be a chance”—breezily glossed over the unpleasant scene that had just taken place.
If she hadn’t had a purpose, she had plenty of ways to refuse Jiang Yuan—one warning glance from her would have been enough to make the child back off in fear. How could she possibly have actually gone and embraced him?
“Do you know what was in the porcelain vial?” Jun Beiyue asked with a mysterious smile.
“Poison.” Ziqing answered. She herself didn’t know exactly what kind of poison it was—it was something Jun Beiyue had given her to use in turning the enemy’s own scheme against them, and he had specifically named Jiang Yuan as the target.
“A medicinal poison,” Jun Beiyue said in a low voice.
The moment those words left his mouth, Ziqing was startled. “You— wouldn’t that alert the enemy and send them fleeing!”
Once Jiang Yuan fell ill, the mole within the Gu Shi household would absolutely suspect them—how could they still turn the scheme back on their enemy that way?
Jun Beiyue laughed heartily and explained, “Ever since you were struck by the Enchanting Incense, I’ve been studying medicinal poisons—it’s been the better part of a year now. I may not match the old man from the Poison Den in Nanzhao, but I’m certainly more skilled than that mole in the Gu Shi household. Don’t worry, that poison only produces symptoms of illness. Doctor Hua won’t be able to detect it.”
“What symptoms?” Ziqing asked quickly.
“A persistent low fever. It needs to be treated as soon as possible, and the treatment will require a particular red, yang-natured medicine,” Jun Beiyue said with a cold snort.
Ziqing’s heart skipped slightly. She hadn’t expected Jun Beiyue to play this particular hand—to actually strike at Jiang Yuan of all people. It was ruthless, and utterly decisive.
“Qing’er, do you know what the best way to strike someone is?” Jun Beiyue asked lazily, leaning against the high pillows.
“Striking the body is the lesser way; striking the face is the greater,” Ziqing answered.
“No. Striking the face is the lesser way; striking the heart is the greater,” Jun Beiyue said, then asked, “Do you know how to strike at someone’s heart?”
Ziqing shook her head. Jun Beiyue gently pulled her into his arms, patted her shoulder, and said with deceptive lightness, “You wound the people they hold most dear…”
Wound the ones they hold most dear—Jiang Yuan wasn’t just the treasured heart of Gu Meiting and Jiang Chen, he was also the beloved treasure of the entire Gu Shi couple. Even that heartless Second Miss Gu doted on him and spoiled him!
Jiang Yuan was the one person dearest to all of them—and yet Jun Beiyue, of all people, chose not to touch anyone else. He was determined to strike at Jiang Yuan specifically.
He would use Jiang Yuan as the target, returning the very poison that had been used against her, back onto them.
This man—this wasn’t just about drawing the snake out of its hole to find the culprit. This was outright revenge. He was avenging her.
“Qing’er, I can endure almost anything. But whoever strikes at my heart—that debt will always be repaid. A six-year-old child ought to learn some sense.” Jun Beiyue’s voice suddenly dropped, cold enough to be frightening.
Ziqing’s heart tightened. That feeling had returned at last—the feeling of being drawn into that man’s sphere of protection welled up in her chest all at once.
For a moment, all the vexing, infuriating things happening within the Gu Shi household suddenly seemed to matter not at all.
As long as he was here, everything was fine.
“The Gu family head said that Xuanyuan Lige studied under the Qu family—is that actually true?” After a moment’s hesitation, Ziqing spoke up anyway.
“Mm, both the Wuzheng and the Bloodzheng belong to the Qu family. Xuanyuan Lige is merely finding a proper place for the Wuzheng on his master’s behalf. He’s using the zither gathering as an excuse to probe the young master of the Bai Shi. Remember, we came here for the fusang tree.” Jun Beiyue spoke earnestly. Since Ziqing didn’t want to give up her bloodline ties to Liuxian Isle, they would simply have to hurry and uncover the secret of why the isle had vanished without a trace.
In this whole world there was only a single fusang tree that could be used to build ships. Before returning to Da Zhou, they had to get their hands on it!
“Where exactly in the Bai Shi is the sacred fusang tree? Guxi and Shiliang have snuck into the Bai residence several times now and still can’t find it,” Ziqing asked. Naturally she was well aware of their true goal—Gu Shi was merely the identity they kept up while on Liuxian Isle, one she had already come to look down on. How much less would Jun Beiyue care for it?
“I can’t find it either,” Jun Beiyue said, mulling it over. Just then, Yingzi came rushing in.
“Master, guess what Guxi and Shiliang discovered?”
“What is it?”
“It’s the Bai Shi. Every single red, yang-natured medicine on the entire Liuxian Isle has been bought up by the Bai Shi! Guxi and Shiliang are still investigating down the mountain—it took a great deal of effort before a few pharmacy owners let it slip. But none of them know what the Bai Shi wants the medicine for.”
The moment those words came out, both Ziqing and Jun Beiyue were startled. It went without saying—the mole within Gu Shi must be connected to the Bai Shi.
The one who administered the poison was the mole in Gu Shi; the one buying up the medicine was someone from the Bai Shi.
Such medicinal poison could only be obtained from Qinse Valley by someone of family-head rank. And buying up medicine on such a massive scale—unless it were someone of real weight within the family, how could something this significant be carried out so quietly, without a sound?
“Master, the mole in Gu Shi is colluding with the head of the Bai Shi!” Yingzi had figured it out too, and said so with indignation.
But Jun Beiyue shot him a sharp look, signaling him to be quiet.
“Wait—the fox’s tail will show itself sooner or later,” Ziqing said coldly. Though she felt no sense of belonging toward Gu Shi, she was, like Jun Beiyue, someone who despised nothing more than a traitor.
Jun Beiyue sneered. “This prince hadn’t even gone looking for them yet, and here they are, coming to my door first.”
Without a doubt, the Bai Shi had been watching the Gu family all along, aware of everything happening within it—and they knew perfectly well of his existence too.
They truly did need to wait. It seemed this “patient” of his would have to keep on being sick for a while longer.
Even as they spoke, Imperial Physician Gu’s voice could be heard outside, calling out a reminder, “Family Head Gu, Madam Gu, mind the threshold, watch your step!”
Jun Beiyue gave Ziqing’s cheek an affectionate little pinch, doing it so naturally before letting go, then lazily lay back down, closed his eyes, and fell utterly silent.
Ziqing’s face flushed faintly. She touched the cheek that had been pinched, coughed lightly a few times, and glanced over at Yingzi without quite meaning to.
Yingzi immediately turned his head away, avoiding her gaze, making it clear he had seen nothing at all.
Even so, seeing Prince Yao pinch someone’s cheek so affectionately was something Yingzi genuinely couldn’t get used to, no matter how he looked at it. He kept feeling like he must have seen wrong—how could this possibly be the same iceberg of a man he served?
But compared to Her Highness’s reaction just now, he found it even more… In the end, Yingzi couldn’t help himself and burst out laughing.
Ziqing’s brow furrowed sharply, but her face only grew hotter, completely beyond her control.
Gu Jun and Madam Gu arrived together with Doctor Hua. Gu Suying, who rarely came by at all, hadn’t gone to find her elder sister and brother-in-law—she had tagged along as well.
The moment the four of them walked in and saw the look on Ziqing’s face, they were all a little puzzled. But Ziqing acted perfectly natural, saying politely, “Why have you all come? Don’t you need to see to your guests?”
A flicker of displeasure crossed Madam Gu’s eyes. “Dear elder sister, it’s not as though they’re outsiders. Being so polite only makes things feel distant. I asked them to stay for a meal, but they insisted on leaving.”
Ziqing said nothing and went to sit beside Jun Beiyue.
Doctor Hua took the pulse, then shook his head helplessly all the same. “He still needs a large amount of medicine. Young Madam, has all the medicine that was collected before been used?”
“I didn’t dare use too much—I was afraid… that too much would do more harm than good. Every medicine carries some poison in it,” Ziqing said flatly.
“Increase the dosage, then. Judging by the pulse, there’s been considerable improvement, but the amount is still not enough,” Doctor Hua said earnestly.
Doctor Hua was not well-versed in medicinal poisons to begin with, and with Jun Beiyue deliberately controlling his own pulse at that moment, it was almost impossible for him not to misdiagnose.
“Exactly, exactly. Your Highness, you hear that? Doctor Hua says so too, so you can rest easy!” Imperial Physician Gu quickly chimed in agreement.
Madam Gu had by now completely lost any trace of the concern she’d shown earlier, but Gu Jun was still worried. He looked at Jun Beiyue and asked in detail about his condition several more times before finally taking his leave.
But just as they reached the doorway, a guard came rushing toward them. “My lord, madam, something’s wrong! The young master came down with a sudden fever at the foot of the mountain. The son-in-law insists on going back to the Jiang family, while the eldest young lady insists on coming up the mountain—the two of them are about to start arguing!”