Is the person brought in Chapter 85 good-looking? (White gloves)

After a short rest, the carriage started moving again.

Ancient transportation was nothing like modern cars and roads; it was bumpy and noisy, making it impossible to find peace of mind and giving one a buzzing headache.

Xi Congshuang only drank a few mouthfuls of porridge before the nausea returned, starting from her stomach and churning her internal organs into a mess.

Thinking of her empty stomach and the medicine still warming on the stove, she gritted her teeth and continued eating.

Lu Hongdou watched her eat nervously.

Considering Xi Congshuang's condition, the food Lu Hongdou brought was light and easy to digest. This porridge only had some shredded chicken and side dishes added, making it fresh and delicious.

But once the food entered Xi Congshuang's mouth, the physical sensations became obvious. The car was shaking violently, her stomach was constantly tightening, and she could smell the earthy smell of horses' hooves kicking up mud outside.

The more fragrant the chicken porridge in the bowl is, the stronger the earthy and horse manure smell is outside.

She couldn't eat anymore and put down her bowl.

Sitting on the footstool, Hongdou asked nervously, "Isn't the sect leader going to eat?"

The headmaster hasn't eaten properly for over a month, and if he doesn't eat soon, he'll get even sicker.

Xi Congshuang glanced at her and suddenly asked, "Can't you smell it?"

Hongdou was puzzled, then became nervous. She said, "What did you smell? Did someone release poisonous smoke? Or did someone spread poison with the wind? Is there something wrong with the fumigation cage?"

Xi Congshuang didn't say a word before Hongdou bombarded her with a barrage of questions. She said, "It smells terrible outside, can't you smell it?"

"Does it smell bad?" Hongdou tilted her head, sniffed carefully, and shook her head. "No, I hung a sachet by the head of the hall. I only smelled the sachet."

Xi Congshuang also smelled it, but it was just one of many scents she detected, and it wasn't very noticeable.

Sitting on the footstool, Hongdou rested her chin on her hands: "But the Hall Master's nose has always been very sensitive, and he can smell many things that we can't smell."

Indeed, Xi Congshuang suddenly remembered her long-standing identity, one of which was that of a disguised poison doctor. A person skilled in poisoning couldn't possibly have a bad nose.

Thinking of this, Xi Congshuang was a little worried that Hongdou might discover her incomplete memory, so she lowered her eyes and looked over.

If possible, we should transfer her back; it's better to leave her alone than to keep a potential threat around.

Hongdou knew nothing about this, and only said sadly, "The hall master must be delirious from illness, thinking that everything smells bad."

The little girl with a red ribbon in her hair was filled with righteous indignation. She found the red butterfly whip she had left behind: "When I get back, I will definitely find a way to trick Prince Xin into going to the dark alley and whip him like a spinning top."

Xi Congshuang: "..."

Remembering that the sect leader was still sitting next to her head, Hongdou turned around and assured him, "Don't worry, sect leader, I won't take this whip. When Prince Xin asks me who ordered it, I'll shout that I was ordered by the King of Wu. Anyway, these two brothers are fighting so fiercely that Prince Xin will definitely believe me."

Xi Congshuang: "That makes sense."

Hongdou's eyes lit up, and she gripped the edge of the bed with both hands: "Really? Master, you really want me to go and draw the letter from the Prince?"

Xi Congshuang: "He's made it so I can't even eat chicken porridge now, what reason do I have to stop you?"

She felt no remorse whatsoever for corrupting fifteen-year-olds; it was all instigation.

That makes so much sense, there's no way to refute it.

As expected, Hongdou stopped urging Xi Congshuang to eat her porridge and take her medicine. Instead, she devised a perfect plan to steal the letter from the king, and chuckled to herself as she thought of how perfect it was.

Xi Congshuang didn't care. It was still early before returning to Beijing, and Hongdou couldn't smoke right away even if she wanted to. Letting her think about it wouldn't hurt.

She was only curious about what her mission would be and what the female lead's identity would be.

Seeing that the porridge was getting cold and Xi Congshuang still wasn't eating, Hongdou felt sorry for the food and brought her a spoon instead.

Xi Congshuang wanted to stop her and let her eat the snacks on the table, since she had already eaten a few bites of the porridge.

Thinking that she was only weak due to poisoning and not actually suffering from a cold that wouldn't be contagious, she let it go.

She pulled open another compartment in the white mist inside the carriage and took out a medicine bottle.

There were only two pills inside, given to me by the Prince before I set off, to alleviate the poison of the Scorching Flower.

Prince Xin wasn't stupid; he was confident in his ability to poison a master poisoner.

Zhuohua is an extremely poisonous medicine that is extremely rare in time. Once ingested, it can only be relieved by a specially prepared antidote; it is an incurable poison.

Even the head of Yihaotang was helpless. The original owner had tried many times, but there was indeed no solution. All they could do was alleviate the symptoms.

Even she was helpless against the poison, let alone others. The only hope lay with Medicine Valley, but she was a discarded disciple of the Valley Master and could not go back to seek help, nor could she be helped.

Xi Congshuang had nowhere to turn for help, and could only let the poison spread throughout her body, tormenting her for a long time. Her internal organs felt like they were being roasted on a raging fire, while her whole body was ice cold, destroying her will from her body.

Those who have been poisoned must not be exposed to cold or heat; the effects of either one are very noticeable, causing them to fall ill for more than a month.

Hongdou stuffed her mouth full and mumbled, "It's not time yet, are you going to eat now, Master?"

The medicine to alleviate the scorching poison shouldn't be taken now; it should be taken three days after the full moon.

What a coincidence! Three days later, and then another half day later, the supervising eunuch led his entourage and officials to the Thirteen Camps of Northern Yan.

If you don't take this medicine, you'll die; if you do take it, you'll be half-dead.

"Eat." Xi Congshuang poured out a pill and ate it along with the medicine that had been warmed on the red bean stove.

In no time, the burning sensation in Xi Congshuang's internal organs completely subsided. The tightness in her chest remained, but she was too weak to care and fell into a deep sleep on the bed.

Hongdou put down her bowl, stood up, pulled the fox fur over Xi Congshuang, and pushed the incense burner to her feet.

*

For the next three days, the caravan continued its journey, resting at inns at night.

Xi Congshuang only got off the bus when there were few people around. She wore a white gauze hat that reached her ankles and was accompanied by a young girl with a bad temper who wore different clothes every day.

Anyone who dared to look away would be met with a glare from her almond-shaped eyes. She was also incredibly skilled with her legs; on the very first day she set off from Yongdu, she broke the leg of a disrespectful attendant.

Hongdou doesn't easily use the whip in front of others; it's her secret weapon. Ever since she had the idea of ​​whipping Prince Xin, she's even less willing to take it out and hide it by wrapping it around her arm.

Although she wanted to slap Prince Xin from the very first day she saw him.

The person wearing the white gauze hat was not to be trifled with either. The next day, the person who delivered the food was poisoned. Within an hour, the person returned, weeping and begging for the antidote, but Xi Congshuang ignored him.

She then fell ill and refused to see anyone, even if the sky were to fall, she would not leave her carriage.

Although this person was just a retainer in Prince Xin's mansion, he was still backed by Prince Xin. Only someone with a brain full of water would easily offend him.

The man had no other choice but to plead with the supervising eunuch.

The supervising eunuch was too lazy to offend Xi Congshuang, nor did he want to go to her. He coughed all day long, like he had tuberculosis, and who knew if it was contagious? He also had to go back to serve His Majesty.

Besides, Xi Congshuang didn't even touch him, and before he could even say a second word, she was poisoned. What if he breathed on her and smelled the poison powder and got poisoned himself?

Someone like her must be covered in poison; even her fingernails are filled with toxic powder. One breath from her could be fatal.

Can His Majesty manage without him?

So nobody cared, and the man was left in the post station, his fate unknown.

A life and a leg were lost, and after that, no one dared to mistreat the master and servant, and they only wanted to keep to themselves.

The closer they got to Wuzhou, the faster it got dark. When Xi Congshuang got off the carriage, it was already dark.

The inn was lit and bustling with activity. The young eunuch was being directed by the old eunuch to clean the rooms, and the accompanying guards helped carry down the large boxes one by one, which would be carried back one by one when they set off the next day.

We have no choice but to carry it. The military supervisor said we have to replace the things with our own. The things in the post station are all rotten and broken, crawling with fleas. If we sleep on them and get sick, how will we go back to serve His Majesty?

The postmaster, who remained behind, stayed behind with his men to welcome the people in the gray cloth carriage, holding torches.

These supervisors didn't care about the master and servant. Even when they saw the little girl carrying a white-robed scholar who was much taller than her into the room, no one would come near her, for fear of poison.

Thanks to that food delivery person, everyone now suspects that Xi Congshuang is poisoned, that her breath is poisonous, and that she could be poisoned at any moment.

This did make the red beans much cleaner.

Hongdou can lift a cauldron with ease, let alone carry a hall master on her back. She prefers to work without anyone bothering her.

After taking a nap today, Xi Congshuang recovered completely and was able to walk down on her own, which surprised Hongdou, who was subconsciously half-squatting.

Xi Congshuang was also taken aback. She asked, "What are you doing?"

Hongdou stood up straight awkwardly and chuckled, "No, it's nothing."

She then picked up her packed bag and prepared to go downstairs.

The young man standing next to the postmaster felt cold outside and was getting impatient, so he muttered, "Such a big shot."

He was kicked by the postmaster and stopped talking and stood up.

Finally, the gray carriage made a sound, and a fair and slender hand lifted the curtain, revealing a youthful and lively face.

The girl in purple jumped off the carriage first, making way for Xi Congshuang to step on the clean bench.

With such a stunning young girl leading the way, it always makes people subconsciously look forward to who will appear next.

However, those who were waiting were disappointed. A person dressed in white and wearing a white gauze hat stood on the rut, tall and elegant, as if floating like an immortal.

Everything is fine, except I can't see their faces.

The girl in purple strode over and raised her hand, saying, "Miss, please help me with my hand."

A fingertip emerged from the wide sleeve; at first glance, it looked a bit rough, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a gloved hand. She grasped the purple-clad girl's hand and stepped out of the carriage.

Clad in flowing white robes, her face, partially obscured by the firelight, was instantly revealed to the person perched in the tree: her features were undeniably those of a beauty.

They say a beautiful woman is paired with a luxury car, but the luxury car is old and not very appealing, it's all dusty and grimy. As for the woman... her back view is quite beautiful, but you can't see her face, so even a fairy-like back view is useless.

The person who had been waiting for most of the day was a little disappointed. He nudged the man in black lying next to him with his elbow and said, "Let's go back. Wenwen is too weak and boring."

The person lying in ambush remained motionless, peering out through the gaps in the leaves from the treetop. Luckily, the old man and the child's torches were big enough that they could barely see what was happening.

She said with great interest, "Let's wait a little longer. I haven't even had a chance to look at it much. It would be hard to explain if I got caught when I got back."

The thought that the person hated doing useless work and that she might be ridiculed made her stop moving and continue lying down to watch.

Suddenly, the man in black who had taken off his mask said, "Wait a minute, does that old man know her?"

"What?"

As they spoke, the woman in white and the girl in purple beside her looked at the postmaster and the young man, about to miss each other.

The postmaster met the gaze of the person behind the white veil and nodded almost imperceptibly.

Xi Congshuang lowered her eyelashes, unable to understand or recognize them, so she walked past the two people and went inside.

The reason she wore the ankle-length conical hat was not because she was afraid of the wind or didn't want to be seen, but because she wanted to see everything without restraint and without being noticed.

Just as they were about to step through the gate, the figure in white suddenly turned around and looked at the tree branch where someone appeared to be.

"!"

We've been discovered!

The two people in the shadows were startled and instinctively suppressed their urge to escape, clinging tightly to the tree like cicadas.

The best thing they should do now is not to flee quickly, as that would only expose their hiding place and hope that she didn't notice them and just glanced at them on a whim.

There were only three people around Xi Congshuang: a young man who would only stare blankly at the little girl in purple, an old man, and a little girl who stayed by her side. She would not make any rash moves.

Those who only know how to poison, and who have been coughing from Yongdu to Fuzhou, probably don't have that kind of good eyesight.

As if things were going as they expected, Xi Congshuang only glanced at it, her expression obscured by the white veil, before quickly turning and going inside.

Unable to convince themselves any further, the two men in the shade of the treetops cursed inwardly, slipped away, found their hidden horses, and galloped northward with a flick of their whips.

Passing through the hall, past the attendants busy arranging a golden chamber for the supervising eunuch, and the guards who were busy eating, the group of eunuchs were already annoyed enough by their shouting and commotion, and no one paid any attention to Xi Congshuang and her entourage as they moved through the hall.

Even if they noticed, they would only assume that the postmaster was acting out of kindness and leading Xi Congshuang, who was covered in poison, upstairs.

Just as they were about to go upstairs, the postmaster suddenly remembered something and said a few words to the boy beside him. The boy reluctantly left and headed towards the kitchen.

Back inside, Hongdou reached out and removed the conical hat from Xi Congshuang's head. Xi Congshuang sat down in the armchair, pointing in the direction they had just been: "Is this what you meant by everything being arranged? Can't you smell the gunpowder in this place?"

The postmaster broke out in a cold sweat.

The closest place with the largest storage of gunpowder was the Thirteen Camps of Northern Yan.

Fuzhou was within the defensive line, surrounded by Wuzhou like a giant hand. Defending Wuzhou was equivalent to defending Fuzhou. Therefore, the garrison did not store much gunpowder, and nearly 70% of it was transferred to the Thirteenth Battalion for support.

The postmaster reported: "The news that His Majesty had dispatched a military supervisor to oversee the battle reached the Thirteen Camps more than a month ago. Perhaps the Northern Yan commander harbors wolfish ambitions and sent someone to scout ahead. Your subordinate..."

Xi Congshuang sneered: "A wolf in sheep's clothing."

The postmaster realized his mistake: "Please enlighten me, Master."

Xi Congshuang feigned exhaustion, took a sip of the hot tea that Hongdou handed her to moisten her dry throat, and noticed the white gloves on her hands. She put down the teacup amidst the postmaster's unease.

"Stand by orders; do not act without authorization."

The postmaster breathed a sigh of relief and quickly withdrew.

After everyone left, Hongdou asked again, "Why did Miss speak up for the Northern Yan commander? Should we still go and 'huh' her?"

Xi Congshuang: "..."

What does "嗯嗯" mean?

It took her a while to realize that it meant to frame someone.

Hongdou was told by Xi Congshuang not to speak carelessly, since people from the Thirteenth Battalion of Northern Yan had appeared nearby today. She took his advice to heart, but unfortunately, she wasn't well-educated and didn't know how to address them properly, so she just used interjections to make do.

Xi Congshuang gave the universal answer: "I haven't thought about it yet."

"Okay." Hongdou's face fell. It must be difficult for her to think about it for so long.

*

The two horses trampled the starlight, took a shortcut, and flew back to where they started, neither daring to make a sound, and circled around the courtyard where the commander lived.

Eager to return to her own courtyard, she asked around and found that no one had asked about them in the past two days, so she went to sleep peacefully.

As dawn broke, the courtyard gate opened, and two people carried a box out. The people following behind them gradually emerged into the sunlight, resembling an endless and diligent ant colony when viewed from above.

The supervising eunuch, dressed in fine clothes, was helped out. He had served others his whole life, but now that the emperor was far away, he was being waited on so long that he swayed as he got into the carriage.

If any small scraps are left, Xiao Suiqu will pick them up, gather them up, and then chase after them.

Those who remained in the end were naturally the master and servant.

The little girl in purple changed into a bright yellow dress today, which was eye-catching and vibrant, and her yellow hair ribbon swayed with her movements.

She helped the woman in white into the car. Heaven knows how many white dresses Xi Junshi has, a different one every day. She wondered where the girl had pulled them out from.

Xi Congshuang's current status is that of a commoner, a commoner without any official rank or title.

Therefore, he could only be a nominal military advisor under the military supervisor, without a proper official position, and could be dismissed at any time.

Commonly known as the scapegoat temporary worker.

After the group left, the post station returned to its previous deserted state. The postmaster led people to clean up and asked the cook to clean the room where Xi Congshuang had stayed.

The cook carried the basin of water in and took one look. She was used to the exquisitely decorated room. How could the master's room be like that of the eunuch who loved to shout all day? It must be carefully decorated.

After collecting the clothes and cleaning up, the cook left. Someone would unpack and take everything away later, so she didn't need to worry about it.

Everything returned to calm. The postmaster grabbed the boy by the ear and dragged him into the room, preparing to teach this unruly brat a lesson so he wouldn't feel comfortable revealing his true identity.

With a loud bang, a tall figure strode in and kicked the door open. The two people who had run back overnight after causing trouble sat up sleepily.

The drowsiness that had been crawling all over them vanished instantly, and they instinctively threw off the covers and got out of bed to look for their weapons under the bed.

"What's wrong? What's going on? The barbarian people are here again?"

"I don't know, I fell asleep in the bed next to yours as soon as I got back."

"She didn't come," a woman's voice replied. The voice was very familiar, but it made the two of them even more afraid. "It's me who came."

"General." Two men carried a grand chair to the middle of the room.

The woman in red, with her elegant and unrestrained demeanor, slumped into the armchair, a half-smile playing on her lips: "What's wrong? I was about to ask you what's going on. The people the supervising eunuch brought, aren't they good-looking?"

Upon hearing this, only two words came to their minds—it's over.

The general has discovered us; we're doomed.

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Looks great! We'll see it tomorrow! [eating popcorn emoji]