CHAPTER 228: CHAPTER 228 ANTIDOTE

Fengyu let out a light laugh and said, "The day is almost breaking. If I return home now, it will definitely alarm Father and Mother. I’ll rest at Mudan Building tonight. Tomorrow, Zhang Da and the others will come to find me."

Xie Xun thought for a moment and left Nuanyang to stay behind and guard her.

After the setup at Mudan Building, either due to Dugu Jing restraining them or some other reasons, the Beiman people no longer loiter in the brothels. As the date to depart the Capital City approaches, the Beiman remain secluded, and the situation appears calm.

Perhaps knowing that the Beiman are preparing to make a move, both Xie Xun and Fengyu feel this calm is merely the prelude to a storm.

The Marquis Mansion is on high alert, with specialized inspections for food, clothing, and other supplies. Xie Xun shares all intel obtained from Mudan Building with Xie Jue without reservation. In recent days, a military physician skilled in handling Gu poison has been stationed in the mansion, conducting thrice-daily examinations on Marquis Zhenbei, along with several young masters and ladies. No signs of Gu worms have been found.

The Beiman’s unusual quietness even leaves Fengyu puzzled.

Deep in the night, Marquis Mansion.

In Xie Jue’s courtyard, Shadow Guards One, Two, and Three appeared. Xie Jue sat at the main seat, a strip of silk half an inch wide covered his eyes as he sipped tea with a calm demeanor. Shadow Guards One, Two, and Three had just returned from the post station.

One of the Shadow Guards reported, "The Beiman Princess is indeed refining the Parent-Child Gu at the post house. This type of Gu requires not only the caster’s blood but also the blood of the victim it is to be cast upon to nourish it. Dugu Jing wanted to inflict the Gu on the Marquis, but she couldn’t obtain the Marquis’s blood. Without the blood, this type of Gu worm won’t obey commands and shouldn’t be able to harm the Marquis."

During the hunt, Marquis Zhenbei got injured and bled, but that small amount of blood isn’t enough to support the Gu worms. Dugu Jing also failed to get the blood of Xie Zhang, Xie Jue, or Xie Xun, meaning the Gu worms cannot be sustained.

The Beiman Princess can only nourish the Parent Gu.

Xie Jue lowered his tea calmly, his mind contemplative. When he entered Beiman years ago, Dugu Hongying was still a child and already revered as the Beiman Saintess, living isolated from the world, and little information was available about her. Xie Jue had meticulously compiled details about Beiman’s economy, mineral resources, population, main sources of income, and cultural practices, thoroughly investigating the Beiman King’s sons. However, information about the Beiman princesses remained a blank slate.

During his two years in Beiman, he only saw Dugu Hongying once during a prayer ceremony. He hadn’t expected her to learn such skills from the priests. The Saintess in Beiman had always been a symbolic figure, without any significant functions.

Gu poison... If Dugu Jing truly wanted to wipe out the Marquis Mansion, the best weapon would be planting Gu poison within the four father-and-sons, driving them to kill each other.

No wonder during the hunting trip, the Eastern Palace had cooperated with the Beiman so frequently.

"Send a message into the palace. Investigate whether the Emperor and Crown Prince are exhibiting any abnormalities."

"Understood!"

The Shadow Guards disappeared like specters. Only three days remained until the Beiman people left the Capital. After the hunt, the heavy cavalry had been stationed within the city, fortifying Kyoto City like an impenetrable fortress. With only Dugu Jing’s five hundred soldiers, it would be impossible to stir up any significant chaos.

Except for poisoning!

When Xie Zhang entered, the Shadow Guards had just left. Xie Jue’s courtyard exuded an air of scholarly refinement. The walls of the main hall were lined with bookshelves and a treasure cabinet, leaving the area by the window occupied by a warm lounging couch. To prevent him from bumping into things, the Marchioness and Lady Mudan had cleared out the central hall almost entirely. Ever since his eye injury, Xie Jue had become even more withdrawn and disliked allowing anyone to approach him, except for a few Shadow Guards. Few others could get close.

"Big Brother!" Deprived of sight, his senses of smell and hearing sharpened. He instantly recognized Xie Zhang’s footsteps.

"So late, and you haven’t rested yet?"

"Some matters require my attention." Xie Jue slightly tilted his head. Although he couldn’t see, he knew Xie Zhang had taken a seat opposite him. "Big Brother, is there something on your mind?"

Xie Zhang remained silent, withholding his words. Xie Jue waited patiently.

"After Dugu Jing leaves the Capital, the implementation of the new policies will rely on our uncles. Meanwhile, you... you should leave the city to seek treatment for your eyes."

"Agreed." Xie Jue’s tone was calm, as though he had expected Xie Zhang’s approval. He had already discussed this with Xie Zhang three times. If Big Brother agreed, Father would allow him to leave the capital.

"Ting Feng, don’t return to the Capital until after Big Brother’s wedding."

"...Very well."

"Bring Chu Ning with you."

"There’s no need!" Xie Jue replied flatly. "The Shadow Guards will suffice."

"Did you and Chu Ning have a quarrel?" Xie Zhang inquired. Since their return from the hunt, Fang Chuning hadn’t once visited the Marquis Mansion. When Ting Feng was injured in Ningzhou, Fang Chuning had cared for him with such devotion she practically fed him every meal. Yet this time, with Ting Feng’s vision injured, Fang Chuning had seemingly ignored him. They must have had a falling out.

In the many years they had grown up together, Xie Jue and Fang Chuning had almost never exchanged harsh words. Neither was known for having a gentle temper. Both possessed strong desires for control, but they had managed to find a way to co-exist peacefully, each tolerating the other.

The two shared a bond both mutual and intuitive. For Fang Chuning to refrain from attending to Ting Feng after his injuries, her anger must have reached its peak.

With an air of serenity, Xie Jue explained, "Anning belongs to the Yuwen Royal Family and with the Grand Marshal stationed in Jiangnan, his situation is ill-suited to entangle with the Marquis Mansion or the royal court’s disputes. I cannot bear to see him one day forced to choose between me and the Yuwen Royal Family. If my prediction proves correct and he becomes involved, every decision he makes will be tormenting agony. I couldn’t bear to let that happen."

Xie Zhang was shaken to his core. Ting Feng brought forth this tidal wave of sentiment with an almost indifferent air. Caught between words unspoken and an overwhelming understanding, Xie Zhang eventually just let out a low sigh. "Ting Feng, such words are for Big Brother to hear alone. Father must not learn of them."

Xie Jue responded softly, "No one else will hear a word of this again."

News soon came back from the people Xie Jue had sent out. Both Emperor Jianming and the Crown Prince were confirmed to be healthy, exhibiting no signs of poisoning or infestation by Gu worms. Xie Jue’s doubts only deepened—what was Dugu Hongying’s true purpose in coming to the Capital?

Xie Xun shared this confusion. In recent days, apart from monitoring the Kyoto Guard and keeping watch over the post station, there had been no other disturbances. With Xie Zhang guarding the mansion, Xie Xun felt assured. The behavior of the Beiman people, however, baffled him. Gone were their imposing aggression during the peace talks. Now, as they neared their departure, they were unnervingly silent. Despite his growing unease, he could find no clues to justify his suspicion.

The day before the Beiman were scheduled to depart, Xie Xun took a rare day off. After lunch, as he was preparing to attend to other matters and had just stepped out of the mansion, he spotted Zhang Lingzheng running toward him in haste, gasping for breath. The sight caused Xie Xun’s heart to sink. "Did something happen to Eldest Sister?"

"No!"

On this blazing April day, bathed in venomous sunlight, Zhang Lingzheng was drenched in sweat from his sprint. "Your leg’s poisoning... there’s a cure!"

Overjoyed, Xie Xun exclaimed, "After all these years, you’ve finally found an antidote?"

Still panting, Zhang Lingzheng replied, "The pills you brought back—one was poison and the other the antidote. It just so happens your leg’s poisoning can now be cured. You, my lord, have the luck of the gods!"

Xie Xun: "..."

The courtyard was no place for such a conversation. Xie Xun invited Zhang Lingzheng to his residence. The day he received the pills, Xie Xun had already handed them over to Zhang Lingzheng. He had long suspected the poison in his legs originated from Beiman. Otherwise, the Imperial Hospital wouldn’t have failed to find a cure for so many years. Yet, he would never have dreamed it would be so coincidental that the medicine Fengyu had casually picked up was the antidote for his condition.

"Are you certain?"

"Are you doubting my medical skills?" Zhang Lingzheng retorted passionately. "Your legs can finally be saved. If you had waited another year or two, not even an immortal could have helped. Who could have guessed things would take such a miraculous turn? Xie Xun, you’re saved!"

Emotion surged within Xie Xun, a slow-building wave of elation swelling in his chest. After two years battling this entrenched venom, which had turned into a chronic affliction, Xie Xun had braced himself for the worst. If he truly lost the use of one leg, he would resign himself to a life of idle luxury. Yet deep down, he couldn’t reconcile with this fate. The thought of a disabled future left him terrified. And another thought haunted him—if his leg were crippled, would he and Fengyu’s journey together reach an untimely end?