The woman took out a pill. "This Gu is extremely small, invisible to the naked eye. I have hidden it inside this pill. As long as you can find a way to get that person to eat this pill, or dissolve it in water and drink it, this matter will be settled."

"How can I know if the Gu worm has successfully entered her body?"

"Within three days of being infected by the Gu, she will have a high fever. After the fever subsides, a bloodshot vein will appear in her eye that will never disappear. Other than that, there will be no other abnormalities. About three months later, she will experience her first headache." The woman thought for a moment and then said, "If you want her to have a headache sooner, you should give her some nourishing food and medicine. The more nourishing the food, the faster the headache will occur."

Zhou Qingqian generously slapped out a silver note and took the pills from her hand, saying, "It's a deal!"

The woman had no choice but to agree.

Zhou Qingqian walked away, full of pride and satisfaction.

The woman also left the courtyard and returned to her residence in the suburbs of Beijing.

No sooner had he entered the house than someone pressed a hard object against his waist.

She gave a bitter smile; today, it was a case of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

Su Youran asked in a hoarse voice, "A few years ago, Princess Qingping ordered you to use a Gu poison at the Yun residence. What Gu poison did you use? And to whom did you use it?"

The woman shook her head frantically, not daring to speak.

"Tell the truth, and I won't kill you." Su Youran lowered her voice. "The princess ordered you to attack the eldest princess, but you suggested she use a curse on the imperial advisor. Surely you don't want to be enemies with the eldest princess?"

Upon hearing this, the woman immediately understood that the person behind her must be someone from the Princess's faction.

The woman nodded hurriedly and said, "Yes, in the past, the eldest princess and the former consort fought against the enemy in the southern border and were kind to my clan. I really didn't want to do anything to her, but the princess used my clansmen as a threat, so I had no choice but to be manipulated by her several times."

Su Youran said, "Princess Qingping dared to target the Eldest Princess and the Imperial Preceptor; she probably won't be able to cause trouble for long. She can no longer use her clan to blackmail you."

The woman was overjoyed to receive her promise. "In that case, I will tell you the truth, young lady. Several years ago, about ten years ago, she took a liking to Marquis Yun and ordered me to make a move on Marquis Yun's wife. I dared not disobey, but I couldn't bear to see Marquis Yun's wife die young, so I found an excuse to use the Brain-Eating Gu. I hoped that the Gu would take effect slowly, so that Marquis Yun's mansion would notice, or perhaps I would encounter a divine physician who could cure the Gu. I never expected..."

She sighed, "I know that the current Marquis of Yun is now the Duke of the State and has long since changed his wife. I suppose the original Marquis of Yun's wife has already passed away. I am sorry for her."

Su Youran's eyes were bloodshot with rage. She never expected that her maternal aunt, Zhou, had been murdered by Princess Qingping.

No wonder she couldn't diagnose her aunt's illness by taking her pulse. She had initially thought it was a brain tumor, but it turned out to be a brain parasite.

Later generations of medicine almost completely stopped researching Gu worms.

"Young lady, I've told you everything, will you let me go now?"

Su Youran asked again, "You used the Gu poison without anyone knowing, didn't you ever think of targeting Princess Qingping?"

The woman sighed again, “I don’t want to be controlled by her all the time, so a few years ago I put a pleasure-seeking curse on her. An ordinary woman who seeks pleasure every day might only live for three to five years, but I never expected that she would be so healthy and strong since she was born into a life of luxury, and with the help of the family physician, she is still alive and kicking. I haven’t been to the capital for five years, and I came back this year to see how many years she has left to live.”

"Oh, how is she?" Su Youran had only heard her voice but had not seen her.

"Judging from the princess's expression, she has at most a year left," the woman hesitated before saying. "If... she uses that Heart-Connecting Gu... it will activate the Play-Seeking Gu within her, and she will constantly need to be with men... I'm afraid she won't even last a month..."

Su Youran sheathed her dagger. "Now that you have Zhou's money, I advise you to leave this place of trouble as soon as possible."

The woman did not turn around. "What you say is absolutely right, young lady. I came back to pack my things."

Su Youran left quietly.

The woman waited for a long time before daring to turn around and pack her things.

...

On her way back to the Yun residence, Su Youran kept recalling when Princess Qingping died in her previous life.

In her previous life, she grew up in the Su family with her brother after her mother passed away.

When she got married, the Su family prepared a grand dowry for her, with a procession of ten miles of red procession.

Even after marrying into the Duke's Mansion, which was only a few streets away from the Yong'an Earl's Mansion, she never set foot in the Jiang family home, let alone the Qingping Princess Mansion where her biological father, Jiang Mingyi, lived.

Therefore, Princess Qingping did not pay much attention to her.

After thinking for a long time, it suddenly dawned on her.

It was during her last year at the Duke's mansion that I heard she had suddenly died.

Prince Rong then used the excuse of attending a funeral to summon his heir, who had been living alone in his fiefdom, back to China.

However, she didn't know what happened after that, because a few days later, her brother died, followed by a year of torment that felt like an eternity.

When she returned to the Yun residence, she thought for a moment and then left a note in Wu Xinxin's courtyard, reminding her not to take any medicine casually these days and to be careful about everything she puts in her mouth.

Although she knew that Wu Xinxin was no saint either, and that the rumors about her promiscuity in her previous life were true, she still gave her a warning, adhering to the belief that "I can help someone who hasn't harmed me."

...

Kyoto suddenly became lively again.

The play's ending was "to be continued," with the mistress imprisoned in a nunnery, her fate unknown, while the top scholar rose rapidly in rank.

The troupe leader, Yuan Hao, even declared that he welcomed talented individuals to write sequels, and that Su Yun's troupe would pay a hefty sum for any good scripts.

For a time, all the talented men and beautiful women in Kyoto were discussing this wonderful drama, waiting for the sequel to appear.

Meanwhile, the wealthy merchants of Kyoto were all thinking about what products they could use as a form of advertising in this sequel to boost sales again.

Zhou Qingqian secretly took the opportunity to watch it several more times, and each time she watched it, her plan became more and more firm!

Most importantly, she learned from Su Youran that her cousin, the young master, was short of money recently. She managed to get some money from her mother and grandfather and even met with her cousin twice. He clearly treated her well, which made her very happy.

The third time she gave her cousin a silver note, she put the pill in an exquisite box, lying that it was a rare and precious pill, given by her mother to help her two cousins ​​who had not yet had children. She claimed it was guaranteed to work.

She used Yun Tianbai to deliver the pills; surely that wouldn't arouse suspicion from the two women?

No matter which woman takes this pill, she'll always find a way to deal with the other one.

Yun Tianbai, still mindful of their past relationship, gave the "Thousand Gold Pill" to Shi Wenxia.

Shi Wenxia felt a chill run down his spine when he saw the pills.

She recognized the pill that contained the brain-devouring gu.

In her previous life, she had been on good terms with Princess Qingping and had sought out that Miao woman for this curse.