Chapter 21

There really was witchcraft in the blood-red pill.

Shi Yanqing's intuition was correct.

She had only read a few books on witchcraft and had only been learning witchcraft from Pang Guan for more than ten days. She did not recognize this kind of witchcraft.

I can only go to Pang Guan for help.

Thinking of this, Shi Yanqing was about to get up and tell Dan Ye to prepare the car.

When she walked to the outer room, she paused, remembering that today was Han Gui's birthday, and she hesitated for a moment whether to go out.

After all, after today, Zhou Hangui will leave them and go to Shaoshan to study under a master. It is unknown when he will be able to come back to see them.

But she remembered Qingfeng's sad expression and decided to go out.

As for Han Gui, she would visit him more often in Shaoshan if she had the chance in the future.

Shi Yanqing quickly took a carriage to Pang Guan's residence.

After getting off the carriage, she knocked on the door. The door was quickly opened from the inside, revealing a little girl.

Shi Yanqing didn't see her when he came here yesterday, and he was a little confused for a moment. Could this girl be the teacher's granddaughter?

The girl looked about seven or eight years old, with a small bun on her head, and looked lively and cute.

She opened her eyes, staring straight at Shi Yanqing, and asked with her little mouth chattering, "Sister, who are you? Why are you knocking on the door? What's going on?"

Shi Yanqing squatted down, looking at the girl at eye level, and they looked at each other.

She smiled lightly and said in a gentle voice, "I'm Shi Yanqing. I'm knocking on the door because I have something to ask my teacher. My teacher is the owner of this courtyard. May I ask who you are? Why are you in my teacher's house?"

The little girl bit her fingers and looked at Shi Yanqing blankly. She was too young to react to what Shi Yanqing said.

Seeing this, Shi Yanqing planned to get up and walk inside.

At this moment, an old man in a long robe walked out. His hair was combed neatly and his beard was shaved. He looked particularly energetic and different from his usual decadence.

Shi Yanqing was stunned and looked at Pang Guan in surprise.

Where was her slovenly, careless teacher? Who was this neatly dressed Pang Guan?

Seeing that he had successfully amazed the student, Pang Guan smiled proudly. He walked over to the girl and held her hand. "Didn't you take a day off today? Why are you here again?"

Shi Yanqing remembered the purpose of her coming here. She didn't care about Pang Guan's changes and the extra girl. She said, "Let's talk inside."

She didn't want to ask, but Pang Guan couldn't help but say it.

As they walked in, Pang Guan cleared his throat and introduced, "Yanqing, she is the disciple I accepted yesterday, her name is Pang Jiuan. You can just call her by her nickname An'an."

"An An, this is your half-senior sister. You can call her sister from now on."

Upon hearing this, Shi Yanqing looked at Pang Jiuan beside him, only to see that she was looking towards him, tilting her head back and smiling very sweetly: "Sister!"

"An An."

She had no choice but to reply.

Seeing that the two got along very well, Pang Guan nodded with satisfaction.

When they entered the front hall, Shi Yanqing asked Dan Ye to take Pang Jiuan out to play, while he and Pang Guan stayed inside to talk about things.

She put the medicine bottle given by Qingfeng on the table and motioned Pang Guan to open it.

"What is so mysterious?" Pang Guan muttered, his hands moving non-stop, pouring the pills on the table.

When the blood-red pill appeared, Pang Guan's pupils shrank slightly. He glanced at Shi Yanqing, then lowered his head to look at the pill.

"Where did you get this...?"

Shi Yanqing told everything he knew and described what had happened in detail.

Pang Guan listened quietly at first, then frowned, and his frown grew deeper and deeper. Finally, he stood up with his back to Shi Yanqing.

It's hard to tell his expression.

"Teacher, I've checked this medicine and it does contain witchcraft. However, I'm not very knowledgeable and don't know what this witchcraft is, so I came to ask for your advice."

Pang Guan's voice was deep and full of experience. "I know you've read a few books on medicine. Those books record most of the witch doctors' sorcery and medical techniques. I recognize the sorcery you brought today, but I can't tell you."

Shi Yanqing was puzzled: "Why can't you tell me? Could it be the witch doctor's treasure?"

Pang Guan shook his head. His originally straight waist was now slightly bent, as if there was a heavy object weighing down his shoulders, making it difficult for him to maintain his demeanor.

"I can't tell you what it is, not yet."

"Tell that kid that this medicine is indeed the evidence that killed his grandma. Tell him to leave Yunshui County quickly and not to cause trouble at Xinglin Hall. If he continues to investigate, he will be killed."

Shi Yanqing's eyes narrowed slightly. She pursed her lips, her nails digging into the flesh of her palm, causing a slight pain. What on earth was it? Why did the teacher become so serious when he saw it, even with a hint of regret and guilt?

"Teacher, I will tell him the truth." Shi Yanqing finally said. She did not ask any more questions, as there would be no answer if she continued asking.

Continuing to question may only hurt yourself and those around you.

The teacher said that at least she couldn’t tell him now, which meant that he would tell her later.

Shi Yanqing put the pills on the table into the medicine bottle and said goodbye and left.

On the way back, the carriage suddenly fell backwards, and Shi Yanqing and Dan Ye fell heavily against the rear wall.

Their backs hit the hard car wall, and they both let out a cry of pain.

"Madam, someone fainted in front!" Sake's voice came from outside.

Just now, he was driving on the road when a woman suddenly walked in front of the carriage. Before Qingjiu could scold her and ask her to leave, the woman fainted on the ground. Qingjiu was so scared that he immediately pulled the reins to stop the carriage.

This also caused the two people in the car to hit the wall.

Shi Yanqing lifted the car curtain, stepped on a small stool and got out of the car, followed by Dan Ye.

Sake stood aside and explained everything one by one.

Shi Yanqing nodded: "You stay here first, Dan Ye and I will go check on the woman."

As she spoke, she took out a silver needle dipped in anesthetic from the medicine bag at her waist and walked towards the fainted woman in front of her.

This silver needle is used for self-defense. If this woman has any bad intentions, she can protect herself quickly.

When the two men approached, the woman who had fainted on the ground did not move at all.

Shi Yanqing squatted down, and he and Dan Ye turned the woman over, revealing her face.

A hint of surprise appeared in the eyes of both of them.

The fainted woman had fair skin, a face like a peach blossom, and the red mole at the corner of her eye was like a peach petal, making her look charming and attractive.

"Madam, she... is so beautiful." Tan Ye couldn't help but sigh.

Shi Yanqing didn't say anything, but he agreed in his heart.

She put away the silver needle on her fingertips and took the woman's pulse. "Fortunately, she just fainted from weakness."

"But she fainted here, we can't just ignore her. Madam, do we have to take her back home?" Tan Ye said with a hint of reluctance in his tone.

She liked the woman's appearance, but she was too beautiful. What if she brought her back home and the master saw her, and he fell in love with her and took her as a concubine? What would she do then?

Dan Ye's guess was not groundless. When she and Shi Yanqing were practicing medicine outside, they had seen many ladies encounter such things.

Shi Yanqing and Dan Ye grew up together and understood her thoughts to some extent. She smiled helplessly and said, "If we don't take her back home, will we put her in the clinic?"

Dan Ye's eyes lit up and she nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes! Let's send her to Xinglin Hall."

Shi Yanqing sighed, "Xinglin Hall is not safe. We can only take her back home."

Dan Ye lowered his head: "Okay."

Afterwards, the two of them worked together to help the woman onto the carriage and let her sit against the wall. Dan Ye sat between the woman and Shi Yanqing, separating the two.

For some reason, apart from being shocked by the woman's appearance when she first saw her, every time she looked at this person, she felt uneasy and alert.

After returning home, Dan Ye called Liu Niang to help carry the woman into the side room.

This is the only room in the mansion where guests stay, and it is usually cleaned and the bedding is changed.

Shi Yanqing returned to the backyard to look for the brothers Zhou Hanzhang and Zhou Hangui.

When she went out, the two of them were painting in the study. She didn't know how their paintings were going or whether they had finished them.

"Sister-in-law! You're back!" Zhou Hangui shouted hurriedly when he saw Shi Yanqing's figure.

"Sister-in-law, come and take a look. This is a painting drawn by my eldest brother."

The voice was lively, and it sounded like the painting was pretty good. Shi Yanqing thought so and quickened his pace.

"What did you draw? Let me see." She said, walking around to the stone table.

I saw a familiar figure standing under the pear tree on the table and on the drawing paper.

She was a little surprised and a little happy: "Is this me?"

Zhou Hanzhang's eyes were smiling, and the warmth in them was as gentle as spring water. "I painted this for several days and just finished it today. Do you like it? Does it look good?"

Shi Yanqing's ears felt hot. She lowered her head to look at the painting on the table, no matter how attractive the man's gaze was. "It's a good painting."

Zhou Hanzhang laughed softly.

"Sister-in-law, come and take a look at what I drew. It's very beautiful too!" Zhou Hangui just felt that the atmosphere between the two was weird. He didn't understand, so he destroyed it directly.

Upon hearing this, Shi Yanqing walked to Zhou Hangui's painting, where there were many figures, under the eaves, beside the lake, in the courtyard, and on the swing.

This is······

"I drew a family. Sister-in-law, you and brother are here." Zhou Hangui pointed to the two figures on the swing.

In the painting, a woman is sitting on a swing, and next to her a man is maintaining the movement of the swing.

Shi Yanqing couldn't help but laugh: "You're not afraid that your elder brother will be angry with you if you draw him like this?"

Zhou Hangui said nonchalantly, "Don't be afraid, Big Brother won't be angry with me for something like this."

As he spoke, he stared at Zhou Hanzhang eagerly.

Zhou Hanzhang stared at him and shook his head: "You."

Shi Yanqing saw this scene and couldn't help feeling a little envious.

She had been away from the Shi family since she was a child, and although her relationship with her sisters was good, it was not as harmonious and comfortable as this one.

They also grew up separately, but they would play and fight with each other from time to time.

Thinking of this, Shi Yanqing shook her head gently again. No, her relationship with her sisters was good, but their personalities were not as lively as Hangui's, so it was difficult for them to play around.