“No rush. The medicine isn’t ready yet. Rushing to detoxify will only make it less effective,” Zhou Tianhao said. “Could you teach my apprentice some cooking skills? You only need to teach him for an hour. He’s incredibly talented and will learn it in no time.”

"..." Su Peisheng glanced at the Taoist priest several times, and could only suppress his discomfort and nod.

It was completely dark outside, and a few stars on the horizon shone like jewels against the black velvet-like sky.

Su Peisheng had already explained to Xiuzhu the methods for all the dishes he had made that day. As he spoke, he asked questions. But no matter what he asked, Xiuzhu and his master gave the same answer.

Fourth Master sat in Lanqin's room, watching the purple on the little woman's lips grow darker and darker. He couldn't bear it any longer and stood up abruptly, ready to go out and talk to Zhou Tianhao, but he saw that Zhou Tianhao had already reached the door.

"The herbal medicine is ready; let's begin the treatment," Zhou Tianhao said to Fourth Master.

"How do we begin?" Fourth Master glanced at Xiuzhu and Su Peisheng behind him, the two of them carrying a large wooden bucket.

"Take off your wife's clothes and put her in the wooden tub," Zhou Haotian said.

"What!" Fourth Master's eyebrows immediately shot up. This Taoist priest!

“Those medicinal decoctions need to be administered to your wife through her skin. Moreover, you yourself must personally detoxify her. I will teach you the method: simply rinse her with the medicinal water and keep the water in the wooden tub warm. Let the medicinal properties enter her skin with the steam. Repeat this for three days, and feed her some decoction each day, and she will be detoxified,” Zhou Tianhao said.

"..." Fourth Master stared at Zhou Tianhao, this Taoist priest! Wasn't it said that only he could cure the poison? Is this all?

Zhou Tianhao roughly understood the meaning behind Fourth Master's eyes, touched his nose and said, "Your Excellency doesn't need to feel that the ten thousand taels was not well spent. Think about it, if it weren't for the channel, Your Excellency's wife would probably be dead."

The Fourth Prince nodded and then ordered Si Hua and Shui Ling to help Lan Qin change her clothes. Everyone else was naturally dismissed, leaving only the Fourth Prince and the two maids in the room.

Zhou Tianhao instructed Gesang and Lingfeng to continuously carry hot water to the door, and Fourth Master would bring the hot water inside every now and then. Because it was winter, the water cooled down very quickly, so the water in the wooden buckets had to be changed constantly.

Lanqin was stripped naked, leaving her only in a bodice, and sat cross-legged in a wooden tub. Two maids each supported her with one arm, while the Fourth Master simply sat in the tub as well, continuously pouring hot water mixed with medicinal broth over her body with a ladle.

This went on for nearly half an hour until all the medicine was used up. Only then did the Fourth Master order two maids to wipe Lanqin's body and change her clothes, while he himself was already soaked. After the two maids left, he changed his own clothes.

Xiuzhu was ordered to bring a bowl of medicine, saying it was for Lanqin to take. Fourth Master was worried, so he picked up the bowl of medicine and even used a silver needle from his own medicine box to test for poison before giving it to Lanqin.

That Taoist priest, when he's swindling people, he really knows how to swindle! He takes 10,000 taels of silver from me, yet he does all the dirty work himself!

That night, the Fourth Prince was exhausted and instructed two maids to take turns watching over Lanqin. He himself had Su Peisheng prepare a bed and slept on a makeshift bed in Lanqin's room.

The next day, when the Fourth Master woke up, Lanqin's face did not look so pale, and the color on her lips had also faded.

Outside, Zhou Tianhao continued to receive patients as usual, only instructing Xiuzhu to prepare medicine for Fourth Master and the others. He didn't concern himself with anything else. When Fourth Master went for a stroll outside, he asked an old man about being bitten by the four-legged monster. The old man's answer almost made Fourth Master vomit blood in anger.

"That stuff won't kill you. You'll just be unconscious for a few days, and the poison will dissipate naturally, then you'll be fine," the old man told Fourth Master.

That Taoist priest!

Fourth Master then asked if the antidote required picking some herbs from the mountaintop. The old man replied that there were indeed antidotes, but there was no need to go to the cliffs to pick them; they were actually found where the Four-Cornered Monster roamed.

Fourth Master's face darkened; he wished he could rush into the room where Zhou Haotian was practicing medicine and give the master and apprentice a good beating. They had made him worry terribly, fearing that Lanqin would die from poisoning, and they had even tricked him into going up the mountain with them to gather herbs, making him feel that the ten thousand taels of silver were well worth it!

However, when Fourth Master saw Zhou Haotian's attitude when treating these people in need of medical care, he just stood at the door and looked around without rushing in, and then left.

When they returned to their room, Lanqin was already awake.

"My lord, Consort Lanqin has awakened!" Si Hua said, tears of joy streaming down her face. Lanqin, already helped up by Shui Ling, looked at the Fourth Prince blankly as he entered. Clearly, she had no idea what had happened in the past day and night.

"Go and prepare the bath medicine for her!" Fourth Master said. He had just asked the old man, and he knew that without the medicine, it might take three to five days for her to wake up, but with the medicine, she would wake up in one or two days.

"Master, I've been bitten by a snake?" Lanqin asked as she saw the Fourth Master sitting in front of her.

“In the dead of winter, snakes hibernate. But it’s not a snake, it’s a unique wild animal native to this area,” Fourth Master said gently.

"But I clearly saw that it looked a lot like a snake!" Lanqin was still somewhat weak.

"It's just a mimicry. You're fine now. Drink a few more bowls of medicine, and you should recover." Fourth Master pulled the blanket up for Lanqin and said, "Are you hungry? I'll have Su Peisheng make you something."

Lanqin hadn't eaten anything since yesterday, so she was naturally hungry. She nodded and said, "Eunuch Su can cook?"

"Yes. When you were away, that servant did all the cooking. He was quite skilled," Fourth Master said.

When Su Peisheng brought out the wild vegetable noodles he had specially prepared for Lanqin, Lanqin's taste buds were instantly captivated by this seemingly ordinary bowl of noodles.

Lanqin discovered that this bowl of noodles had been enhanced with a variety of flavors. Seasonal winter ingredients such as bamboo shoots, daylily buds, greens, and mushrooms brought out the full potential of this bowl of noodles.

"Master, this is so delicious. I've never had such fresh noodles before," Lanqin said.

"So delicious?" Seeing the little woman enjoying her food, Fourth Master felt a little less uncomfortable. Although that Taoist priest seemed kind-hearted, he had really tricked him too much!

"Master, what's wrong?" Lanqin looked at Fourth Master and felt that something was off about him.

"It's nothing! I'll take a medicinal bath after I finish eating," Fourth Master said.

While being bathed by two maids, Lanqin learned about the events that had occurred over the past day and night.