Chapter 49 The portrait suggests someone is deliberately trying to kill her.

Emotions are always a complicated matter, impossible to unravel.

Even Jiang Xu, faced with the myriad thoughts that suddenly welled up in his mind, still felt hesitant at this moment.

Reason told him that he should abandon Wan'er without a doubt, but... just thinking about making this choice made his heart beat even more violently.

"Bang bang..."

"Bang bang..."

Each blow struck my heart clearly, lingering for a long time.

As his thoughts returned, Jiang Xu stood with his hands behind his back and slowly walked to the window.

The night outside the window was pitch black. The long-lost outline of the bright moon appeared out of nowhere. The full moon hung high in the sky, casting a frosty white moonlight on the ground.

Jiang Xu's armor was still on; its cold gleam was further amplified by the sweeping white shadows cast upon it. He strode into the courtyard, where snowflakes drifted down. After a moment, he murmured a few words in a low voice.

As if asking himself, or perhaps sighing, Jing Yan stood a few steps behind, not daring to get too close.

After a long while, Jiang Xu returned to the study, came to the desk, spread out the Xuan paper, and placed the inkstone on it. "Grind the ink for me." Since Wan'er, Jiang Xu had been served by his personal guards. This time, the situation was sudden, and only the two of them were left in the room. Upon hearing this, Jing Yan immediately took over.

Seeing his king take two or three sheep-hair brushes, he paused, as if he had realized something.

Before long, Jiang Xu first dipped his brush in a lighter shade of ink and sketched the outline with a few strokes. Then he carefully painted the facial features, followed by lotus root color to render the skin texture. He then used light green, pinkish-white, and other colors to depict the features layer by layer. Finally, he carefully added a few embellishments.

He wrote several times with a calm and composed demeanor, as if he had practiced many times before, completing the work in one go.

The winter wind timidly climbed to the window frame, spreading across the desk. My fingertips, a little distance away, lightly brushed across the paper, making a rustling sound.

The thin, cool night wind brushed against my palm, feeling as if I were touching ice, chilling me to the bone.

Jiang Xu examined the painting for a moment, and the woman's features gradually became clear. He was momentarily distracted, then picked up his brush and filled in the two blank spaces in her eye sockets. Instantly, her eyes sparkled, her amber eyes serene and beautiful, filled with boundless tenderness.

Once the time was up and the painting had dried, he handed it to Jing Yan. "Take this portrait and examine it carefully." He half-closed his eyes; after working non-stop for several days, there were faint dark circles under his eyes, but his eyes were still cold. "...Go and search in secret, and do not disturb anyone else."

Jingyan watched the whole process and was secretly shocked. Seeing that the king was thinking carefully when he wrote, he was quite impressed: it seems that the king cares about Wan'er more than he thought.

Upon hearing this, she looked up and saw that Jiang Xu's expression was calm, as if he had returned to his usual demeanor, so she quickly lowered her head and responded.

The fact that he was leading his personal guards to search meant... that they were trying to avoid Wan Houyi? This thought only lasted a moment before Jing Yan dared not think any further and accepted the order to leave.

Jiang Xu stared at the figure as it gradually disappeared, then suddenly turned around and went to the table. The Xuan paper was still pressed down by the inkstone. He picked up the brush again, and with a flick of his wrist, the ink flowed again. This time, each stroke was faster and more determined.

Holding her breath and concentrating, she had already sketched out a graceful figure in just a few breaths. Two strands of her dark hair were loosely draped over her chest and gently tied into a bun. If Jing Yan were here, he would definitely recognize that this was Wan'er's makeup from yesterday.

Jiang Xu gripped the scroll so tightly that his knuckles almost crumpled it. He stared at the painting, where a beautiful woman's hair was piled high and her skirt flowed like smoke and clouds to the ground. In the next instant, he couldn't help but add a jade hairpin with a lotus blossom design to her hair.

After a short while, the scroll was placed in a high place.

......

*

Chenling, a post station.

As soon as Zhang Xun received the letter from the postmaster, he scanned it carefully, packed it up, and rode back home.

Upon returning to the inn, the other four immediately surrounded him. Wan Hou Fulin looked impatient. "How did it go?"

Zhang Xun hurriedly took out the letter, unfolded it, and the four of them carefully examined it, their expressions varying.

Remarks such as "This woman seems to be quite favored" and "The Prince of Jingbei is young but indulging in beautiful women" were heard one after another. After the discussion, the group dispersed.

Zhang Xun mingled among the group, listening silently, while also having some calculations in his mind.

It seemed that the Prince of Jingbei attached great importance to this matter. Thinking of this, Zhang Xun's eyes flickered slightly, and he couldn't help but recall Wan'er's appearance along the way. She was a rare beauty with a beautiful face and a graceful figure. However, if it were him, he would never have spent any extra effort on this woman.

The Prince of Jingbei, who came to power at a young age, still couldn't escape the allure of beautiful women! Zhang Xun sighed inwardly as he followed her out the door.

Inside a private room on the second floor of the inn.

The doctor was kept outside the door until he nodded in approval before being allowed to enter. The old doctor was over sixty years old, and his white beard trembled uncontrollably. When he caught sight of the fierce-looking stranger next to him, he subconsciously lowered his head even further.

The world is tough, and even though he knew these people might have illegitimate origins, he dared not interfere. He followed them into the room, around the screen, and from behind the layers of curtains, a pair of fair, lotus-white wrists suddenly emerged.

Upon seeing that it was a woman, the old doctor became even more cautious, his mind filled with many guesses. Finally, he sighed, sat down on the soft stool with trepidation, and gently took her pulse through the handkerchief. After a moment, he said, "This... young lady has a weak constitution. The journey has been bumpy and she has been overly worried. I can prepare a dose of medicine to alleviate her symptoms."

Hidden behind the curtain, Shi Wan didn't react much upon hearing this. Having been ill for a long time, she had become quite knowledgeable about medicine. After drinking the medicine a hundred times, she could now name the ingredients with her eyes closed. Before long, she heard the man's intermittent words, "Astragalus, Atractylodes macrocephala, Poria cocos, Ginseng, Angelica sinensis, Licorice... I need these herbs. Please allow me to write down a list."

Zhang Xun listened silently from the side, "Old man, astragalus, atractylodes... the first few herbs are still manageable, but this ginseng stuff at the end, I'm afraid it will be difficult." Chenling is extremely remote, and there is only one inn. He looked inside and out, and the conditions were acceptable. If he wasn't afraid that Wan'er would die on the road, why would he be in such a hurry to find a doctor nearby?

The old doctor pondered for a moment, took the paper Zhang Xun handed him, picked up his pen and edited it, finally writing a simpler prescription. Recalling the man's warning from moments before, his wrist trembled uncontrollably as he held the pen.

Shi Wan vaguely saw this scene, remained silent and lowered her eyes. After a moment, she heard the old voice reading out the medicinal materials and dosages required in the prescription. The soldiers were all rough men. Although they had some seniority in the Jingbei Army before their defection and knew a few words, they were not cut out for treating illnesses and dispensing medicine.

Seeing the old man's relaxed expression, though his tone was tense, he didn't think much of it.

Only Shi Wan's expression hardened when she heard the last part.

While she was with Jiang Xu, the military doctors under her command had developed different prescriptions and brewed medicinal liquids for her many times. Unconsciously, Shi Wan had already memorized all those medicinal materials and even prescriptions.

But... Veratrum nigrum?

Astragalus membranaceus tonifies qi and strengthens the exterior, while Veratrum nigrum promotes vomiting and eliminates phlegm. Both have their own benefits, but these two herbs cannot be decocted together.

The five people changed trains several times, but they were always considerate of her health. Although she felt their malicious gazes from time to time, they never harmed or overstepped their bounds in any way; at most, there were only some bumps and scrapes.

Wan Hou Fulin even bluntly stated that he wanted to save her life and asked for an experienced doctor. So... was this prescription a case of the thief crying "stop thief," or was someone deliberately framing her and trying to kill her?

Before long, Wan Hou Fulin came to find her with a medicine cup. Seeing her sickly appearance, he looked annoyed. The woman had been coughing all the way and couldn't even speak a coherent sentence. He was concerned about Wan Houyi's orders and couldn't really let someone die at her hands.

It was the dead of winter, and the medicine cooled down very quickly. It was only warm for a short while after it was served. Shi Wan stared at the bowl of medicine. Seeing that the other party insisted, she could only smile gently, hold the bowl and blow on it a few times, then stretched most of her body out of the bedside as if she wanted to drink it.

Upon seeing this, Wanhou Fulin subconsciously stood up. In that instant, when he looked up again, he saw that Wan'er had accidentally knocked over the bowl.

The medicinal liquid spread freely along the folds of the satin bedding, soaking through the brocade quilt, and its bitter fragrance suddenly exploded. Instantly, the light brown liquid spread across the mattress, leaving mottled marks that were extremely conspicuous.

"What are you doing?!" Wan Hou Fulin jumped up and hurriedly kicked away the broken porcelain shards. Seeing that Wan'er seemed frightened and was trembling, he choked on his words, "Alright, alright, I'll have the doctor brew another dose of medicine for you."

"Hey... don't move! Behave yourself!"

Let's settle this as soon as possible, lest this woman cause any more trouble.

After muttering a couple of curses, Wan Houfulin swept the porcelain shard away and left in a flash. At that time, the night outside the window was deep, the snow weighed down the branches, and a lone lamp illuminated the wall. Shi Wan was afraid that someone else would come and bring her another bowl of medicine with unknown ingredients, so she simply kicked off the quilt and pulled another quilt over herself.

Fortunately, the private room was well-furnished and had two quilts provided; otherwise, it would have been hard to say what would have happened tonight.

The room was quiet, and a slight chill crept in. The embers in the charcoal brazier had long since turned a faint red, leaving only a tiny bit of warmth around half of my body.

Shi Wan lay on the couch, staring at the top of the bed curtains. Her chaotic thoughts began to clear up a little. After a moment of blankness, she closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep.

A very light, very faint scraping sound suddenly rang out, extremely noticeable in the silence.

Shi Wan woke up almost instantly, subconsciously slowing her breathing, her whole body tense, almost motionless, while using her only hand hidden under the quilt to try to reach for the hairpin under the soft pillow.

But as soon as she touched the hairpin, she felt a chill on her neck.

A chilling coldness, quite familiar.

It carried a deadly killing intent.