Seeing Kou Qinglan’s face show signs of pain, Kou Zimo hurriedly asked: “Second Sister, what’s wrong?”

“I—” Kou Qinglan instinctively pressed her abdomen.

Why would her stomach have this dull, dragging pain? Could her monthly period have come?

Kou Zimo obviously thought of this too and asked tentatively: “Second Sister, is it—”

“Impossible!” Kou Qinglan hastily denied it.

Kou Zimo understood her sister well, knowing she would stubbornly refuse to admit defeat for the sake of face. She deliberately teased: “I was asking if you had an upset stomach?”

“Right, right, I probably ate something bad. Elder Sister, let me borrow the privy for a moment.”

After quite a while, Kou Qinglan’s weak voice came from the privy: “Elder Sister, please have a maid fetch my monthly cloth from my room…”

Kou Zimo shook her head with amusement and instructed a maid to bring Kou Qinglan one of her unused monthly cloths.

Soon, Kou Qinglan emerged from the privy with an awkward expression.

Kou Zimo smiled: “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. All girls go through this.”

Kou Qinglan bit her lip before saying: “Elder Sister, how do you think Third Miss Li knew? Even if she was guessing blindly, she couldn’t have guessed so accurately.”

“Exactly.” Kou Zimo personally poured a cup of hot water and handed it to Kou Qinglan. “So she definitely wasn’t guessing blindly.”

Kou Qinglan unconsciously gripped the cup tighter, her face pale from the abdominal pain: “Are you saying she can tell when someone will have their monthly period? Even the imperial physicians at the Imperial Medical Bureau probably couldn’t do that, right?”

“The imperial physicians at the Imperial Medical Bureau also can’t cure Cousin’s burns. Alright, Second Sister, since you’re not feeling well, go back and rest quickly.”

After persuading Kou Qinglan to leave, Kou Zimo sat down, her fingers tapping the bed frame intermittently.

Third Miss Li was even more capable than she had imagined. She hoped Cousin’s facial burns could be improved.

Three days passed in a flash.

Qiao Zhao once again entered the gates of Minister Kou’s residence.

The meeting place was still the clearing in front of the bamboo grove.

“Third Miss Li, I’m entrusting this to you.” Kou Zimo bowed slightly to Qiao Zhao, then pulled Kou Qinglan to the path entrance to prevent any outsiders from intruding again.

Qiao Zhao stared intently at Qiao Mo.

After being stared at for too long, Qiao Mo coughed lightly and asked: “How is it?”

“Oh, what?”

Seeing the girl in front of him looking as if she had just awakened from a dream, Qiao Mo smiled helplessly: “I was asking Miss Li whether there’s more Zero Fragrance poison in my body?”

“You can’t tell by looking, because the time is too short. I need to test it.”

Qiao Mo: “…” Then what was Miss Li staring at so intently just now?

“Extend your hand.”

Qiao Mo obediently stretched out his hand.

Qiao Zhao took out a silver needle and a peanut-shaped object from her pouch. She first used the silver needle to prick Qiao Mo’s fingertip, then twisted the silver peanut, which surprisingly opened up. One half was hollow, while the other half contained a cream-like substance resembling congealed fat.

Qiao Zhao squeezed several drops of blood from Qiao Mo’s fingertip into the half of the silver peanut containing the cream-like substance, explaining softly: “If there’s Zero Fragrance poison in the blood, this white jade-colored cream will turn light red.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the cream in the silver peanut half visibly turned light pink, gradually deepening in color.

Qiao Zhao looked up and met Qiao Mo’s gaze.

Qiao Mo’s expression didn’t change much, and he said calmly, “Our family has suffered misfortune, and I prefer quiet. Since coming to the Minister’s residence, only one servant has been assigned to attend to me personally and deliver meals.”

“Who assigned this servant to Elder Brother Qiao?”

“The Minister’s residence is managed by my maternal grandmother, though now most affairs have been handed over to my eldest aunt. When we siblings came to seek refuge, all matters of clothing, food, housing, and daily needs were arranged by my eldest aunt.” Qiao Mo stated objectively, adding: “However, this doesn’t prove anything.”

Qiao Zhao nodded.

Since the grandmother was gradually transferring housekeeping authority to the eldest aunt, it was natural for the eldest aunt to arrange these things. The servant she assigned couldn’t necessarily implicate her in the poisoning.

As long as people were involved, variables existed. The servant might have been following the eldest aunt’s arrangements, or he might have been secretly bought by some unknown faction.

“So this remains a difficult matter to resolve. I’ve troubled Miss Li.”

Qiao Zhao showed no sign of discouragement on her face, instead smiling: “At least now we’ve confirmed the servant is problematic, so we can start with him.”

Qiao Mo’s expression remained calm: “Open attacks are easy to dodge, but hidden arrows are hard to guard against. Now that we know the servant is problematic, we can be somewhat prepared. But if we dismiss him, we’d be beating the grass and startling the snake.”

“Elder Brother Qiao is right.” Qiao Zhao nodded.

Currently, the mastermind behind this was only having the servant secretly administer the slow-acting Zero Fragrance poison with a long incubation period. If they were pushed to desperation, they might give Elder Brother arsenic instead, and then it would be too late for tears.

Elder Brother and the younger sister were dependent on others’ charity and had no one at their disposal. They were concerned about this point and couldn’t act rashly.

But how could she feel at ease without rooting out the culprit?

Thinking of someone scheming against her elder brother like this, Qiao Zhao’s eyes turned ice-cold, though she said calmly: “To root out the mastermind now, the servant is our best breakthrough point. Elder Brother Qiao is concerned that dismissing the servant would startle the snake, which is reasonable. However, I have a method that can beat the grass without startling the snake.”

The girl’s calm and composed manner as she spoke confidently stirred something in Qiao Mo’s heart, and he smiled faintly: “I’m all ears.”

Worried that talking too long would arouse the Kou sisters’ suspicions, Qiao Zhao continued while administering acupuncture to Qiao Mo: “It’s simple. Elder Brother Qiao should find a way to have Miss Kou arrange our next meeting place outside the residence…”

After she finished speaking, when her elder brother didn’t respond, she couldn’t help but glance at him.

Was the content too shocking, and did it frighten Elder Brother?

“Elder Brother Qiao, what do you think of this approach?”

Qiao Mo suppressed the turmoil in his heart and nodded: “Excellent. Let’s proceed as Miss Li suggests.”

Qiao Zhao couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, revealing a faint smile.

“Miss Li, may I presumptuously ask your given name?”

Qiao Zhao’s heart stirred.

Given Elder Brother’s nature, he would rarely proactively ask a young lady’s given name upon only their second meeting, as it would seem too frivolous. Yet Elder Brother couldn’t help but ask.

Qiao Zhao secretly rejoiced.

Did this mean Elder Brother felt she greatly resembled his younger sister?

Deep in her heart, Qiao Zhao desperately wanted to acknowledge her relationship with her elder brother, but the matter of soul transmigration was too bizarre. If she rashly revealed her identity, she would very likely face Elder Brother’s wariness and estrangement.

She couldn’t risk it.

As long as Elder Brother lived well, she wasn’t afraid to wait slowly for the day when circumstances would naturally lead to their sibling recognition.

Then she wouldn’t be alone anymore.

Thinking this way, Qiao Zhao’s smile grew sweeter.

Qiao Mo, however, was completely puzzled.

His asking a girl’s given name was somewhat presumptuous. He could understand if Miss Li was unwilling to answer, but not answering and just smiling foolishly—what did this mean?

“Oh, I was being presumptuous—”

Qiao Zhao quickly waved her hands: “Not presumptuous at all. My given name is ‘Zhao.’ Elder Brother Qiao can call me ‘Zhaozhao.'”