Chapter 22: Poisoning

The royal family of Xin Kingdom was surnamed Shen?

Shen Tang suppressed the urge to vomit blood and forced a smile: "You might not believe it, but you're really overthinking it."

Qi Shan said, "Am I overthinking things?"

Shen Tang nodded vigorously: "Yes, you're overthinking it."

Her "sinking" has absolutely nothing to do with the Xin royal family!

It really, really, really was just a coincidence!

Furthermore—

"Yuanliang, don't you find this absurd? If I were truly the person you suspect, how could things have turned out like this..."

If Shen Tang weren't the person involved, she would have believed it. Logically speaking, Qi Shan's guess was more likely, but there was a major premise for the guess to be valid: the body had to be a boy, and Shen Tang was certain that her body hadn't grown any strange "tumors".

She! Is! The! Real! Item! A! Girl!

"Not to mention anything else, the officials escorting the prisoners to their exiles wouldn't let me go easily, and the Gong clan members traveling with me wouldn't treat me like I was nothing..." Therefore, this body could not be the Gong Cheng he mentioned, nor could it be the illegitimate son left behind by the King of Xin in the Gong clan.

Even if it were true, would Shen Tang admit it?

What chance do princesses/princes of a fallen king have to survive?

Qi Shan pondered deeply upon hearing this.

On the surface, he remained calm and composed, and Shen Tang could hardly discern his true thoughts—whether he had been persuaded by her or was simply clinging to his own stubborn ideas.

"I understand."

Shen Tang: "..."

Dude, what have you figured out now?

At that moment, she had an urge to make a hole in Qi Shan's skull.

"Go, fill all the water bags with tea. We're in a hurry."

"And the master's..."

"There are some here too..."

The shouts of soldiers rang out outside the teahouse.

Because the transport route was remote and the weather was too hot, the water bags were long gone. They laughed and threw the water bags at the shopkeeper's face. The shopkeeper endured it, his face red and swollen from the slaps, forcing an awkward smile as he bent down to pick up the water bags and tucked them into his pocket, humbly saying, "Yes, yes, yes, I'll go right away—"

His worried gaze still lingered on his wife.

Seeing him dawdling, a soldier kicked him in the buttocks and urged, "What are you dawdling for? Hurry up and get going!"

The boss stumbled and almost fell to the ground. The boss's wife, who was being held back by the soldiers, was so angry that she trembled all over but dared not struggle.

The couple's expressions of anger without daring to speak out or resist amused the soldiers, and their arrogant laughter, accompanied by the proprietress's fearful sobs, reached the ears of every tea drinker. The crowd was indignant, but dared not speak out; even Chen Tang silently recited, "A moment of forbearance brings a brighter future."

I stopped reading it on the third time.

"Damn it, to hell with the vast ocean and sky!"

Qi Shan, who clearly heard Shen Tang swearing, was speechless.

Unexpectedly, despite his refined and noble appearance, Young Master Shen had quite a roguish air about him; only a street thug or an uncouth brute would utter such vulgarities. Seeing Shen Tang stand up, he asked, "Young Master Shen, are you going to stand up for someone in need?"

Shen Tang: "I'm not stupid."

Standing up for someone requires strategy. Direct confrontation is unrealistic, but that doesn't mean you can't use underhanded tactics. Shen Tang rolled up her sleeves, adjusted her innocent and harmless expression, and went to help her boss.

The boss was flattered and quickly declined.

"Young master, you mustn't..."

Shen Tang: "What's wrong with that? There are nearly a hundred water bags. How long will it take to fill them? I see that this teahouse is just for the two of you. I'm worried that you'll be too busy and get harassed. If you finish up quickly, send them away. It's just a small token of my appreciation..."

The boss's eyes welled up with tears upon hearing this.

He choked up and said, "Thank you so much..."

The couple were being harassed, and only they knew the feeling of isolation, helplessness, and despair they felt. They also knew that the tea drinkers had no obligation to help. Who didn't know how arrogant the soldiers of the Geng Kingdom were? They burned, killed, looted, and committed all sorts of atrocities for their own amusement; everyone was afraid of death.

During this time, soldiers came to check on him, their gazes sweeping over Chen Tang, who was huddled in a corner working diligently. Because of his young age, efficient work, and slender figure, he was mistaken for a teahouse waiter. After watching him for a while and finding nothing amiss, they went back out.

The two worked together for fifteen minutes, until sweat beaded on their foreheads, before filling all the water bags and handing over their work.

Qi Shan asked curiously, "What did you do?"

Shen Tang took a sip of tea, her eyebrows clearly showing her "pleasant mood": "Yuan Liang will find out soon enough."

Qi Shan raised an eyebrow, guessing: "Poisoning?"

"You guessed right."

"Where did you get the poison from?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Qi Shan suddenly realized something.

He asked again, "Words of power?"

Shen Tang smiled and replied, "That's right."

Qi Shan took a deep breath: "Which sentence?"

Or rather, which phrase of spiritual power has been "ruined" or "subverted"?

Shen Tang, with an air of mystery, slowly recited: "Green bamboo snake's mouth, wasp's stinger."

Qi Shan frowned: "This incantation?"

Like the previous phrase "The Zhouyuan Plain is fertile, and even bitter herbs taste sweet," this phrase has never been used before, or rather, it has been deemed unworthy of study in terms of the power of words. Literally, the poison should be snake venom and wasp sting venom.

"Well, I was worried that the poison wouldn't be enough to kill, so I added another ingredient. Yuanliang, why don't you guess what it is?"

Qi Shan possesses the ability to remember everything he sees.

The medicine that Shen Tang mentioned must also be among the incantation scrolls he copied. The only thing that can be called medicine is...

Without hesitation, he asked, "Strychnos nux-vomica?"

You guessed right.

Unfortunately, there was no reward.

Strychnos nux-vomica may be unfamiliar, but you'll recognize it as the famous "tracing drug".

Qi Shan: "..."

The look in her eyes as she gazed at Shen Tang grew increasingly complex—

This young master Shen's "way of the feudal lords" is not only related to "agriculture," which can fertilize the soil, but also create medicinal herbs out of thin air.

Seeing his strange expression, Shen Tang assumed he disagreed.

"Does Yuanliang disdain this way?"

A virtuous and upright person may not be able to tolerate the use of poison.

Qi Shan shook his head: "No, the means by which these people are murdered are not important, what matters is the result."

He had previously traveled through many defeated counties, places where there were far more women forced into pregnancy or afflicted with serious illnesses, where every household had mourning, and where severed limbs and remains were everywhere. Judging from the soldiers' conduct just now, how could their hands be clean?

If he dies, he deserves to die.

only--

"You added so much in, do you really think others won't be able to taste it?" They'll spit it out as soon as they taste it wrong.

Shen Tang laughed and said, "Water is fine, but they are serving tea. If the taste is different, people will just assume it's because of the hot weather."

Qi Shan: "..."

While the two were chatting, over a hundred soldiers had already packed up and left. They had taken so much advantage, yet they only gave the teahouse owner three copper coins, which they practically threw in his face. And the owner had no choice but to swallow his anger, put on a smile, and verbally thank him for the treat.

Seeing that the group had disappeared, Shen Tang got up and stretched: "Yuan Liang, let's go watch the good show."

Shen Tang led out the motorcycle, then mounted the mule.

Praying for goodness, he continued walking.

The two followed at a leisurely pace. Suddenly, Shen Tang said, "Yuan Liang, poisoning and assassinating Geng soldiers is a serious crime."

"You knew it was a sin, yet you still did it?"

Shen Tang didn't care at all: "I'm not worried about having too many lice! I'm a fugitive who's only half a step away from death. Every extra day I live is a bonus. What's there to be afraid of if I add another crime to my list? But Yuan Liang, you're still following along. Aren't you afraid of getting into trouble?"

Qi Shan lifted his eyelids slightly and said in a calm voice, "As I have said before, I am not a kind person."

As for names, you can fill in whatever's missing.

If it were a prosperous era—

Looking at the young master Shen, who was riding happily on a white mule, Qi Shan sighed inwardly—that was probably the most beneficial "way of the feudal lords" for the world.

Unfortunately, he was born at the wrong time.

(End of this chapter)