90. Poison (Additional Update)

◎The final answer◎

Chapter 90

After Jiang Qiuye vomited blood, she fell asleep before she could react. Before she fell asleep, she was still thinking about how to explain the poison to Ji Ci.

For some reason, this time the poison reaction was so rapid and severe, completely different from the previous ones.

The lights in the entire palace were on all night. The imperial physician was woken up from his sleep and escorted all the way to the palace.

Ji Ci stood aside, his face calm, his hands tucked under his sleeves, his eyes fixed on the imperial physician who was taking his pulse.

However, the imperial physician was completely confused. After examining the patient for a long time, he still couldn't figure out what the illness was.

He put away his pulse-taking hand, wiped the sweat from his forehead, first glanced at Ji Ci's murderous gaze, then stood up and bowed, but didn't know how to start.

Ji Ci lost his patience, his brows furrowed into a frown, and he shifted his gaze from her red lips to the Imperial Physician. "What is wrong with her? Does the Imperial Physician have any diagnosis?"

He frowned, thought for a moment, and finally bowed and said, "Your Highness, the princess's pulse is steady, her heartbeat is strong, and her tendons and veins are unobstructed. She doesn't seem to be ill. If she is poisoned, she has no symptoms. Her eyes are not bloodshot, and her tongue and fingertips are not black..."

"So what? Why exactly? Why did she suddenly vomit blood and faint?" Ji Ci breathed hard and asked a series of questions, as if trying to control the anger in his body.

The Imperial Physician swallowed hard, thought deeply, and said anxiously, "Your Highness, I have a guess. Perhaps the Princess isn't suffering from any illness or poison, but rather... a Gu."

"Gu?" Ji Ci was slightly stunned. It's not like he had never heard of Gu insects, but this thing was very mysterious. He had never seen one with his own eyes and always thought it was just some kind of trick similar to witchcraft.

He turned to look at her lying on the bed with her eyes closed, "Are you sure?"

"The burning sensation in the princess's body is not caused by a cold, but I am not proficient in witchcraft."

Seeing Ji Ci's increasingly ugly expression, he immediately added, "However, when I was traveling around the world studying medicine, I met a man who was good at Gu, named Fei Zhi. As it happens, he is in Shengjing right now. I will find him as soon as possible."

"Well, thank you for your order, Imperial Physician." Ji Ci nodded seriously.

"No, no, I will go find this person for the prince." After a moment of fear, the imperial physician left the palace, and Ji Ci sent several guards to follow him.

He sat down beside the bed, feeling uneasy. He reached out and held her delicate hands tightly. His hands were trembling a little, but he didn't say a word, just staring at her quietly.

The imperial physician was very quick and brought Fei Zhi to Prince Qi's mansion within an hour.

This man, with a feminine appearance and a shrill voice, bowed to Ji Ci as he entered, looking a little apprehensive. He then stood up and went to the bedside to investigate. After a moment, he stood up and bowed to Ji Ci again.

He spoke very respectfully, saying, "Your Highness, I have examined it for the Princess, and it is indeed a poisonous Gu. I have seen this Gu before when I was traveling in the north. The person who casts the Gu plants the mother Gu in their own body, and the child Gu can be planted in multiple people. When the child Gu attacks, it causes a painful sensation like ants gnawing at your bones, followed by a burning sensation from the inside out, which is unbearable for ordinary people, and it will also cause vomiting of blood."

The pain of ants gnawing at my bones...

It is unbearable for ordinary people...

Ji Ci was shocked as he held her hand. The first thing that came to his mind was Feiyan Pavilion. This organization must have planted the seed Gu in order to control the people in the pavilion.

"Is there a solution?" He didn't notice that his voice was trembling.

Fei Zhi gritted his teeth and said, "Perhaps... there is a solution, but we must find the person who planted the mother Gu in their body to find out. I only know that the child Gu attacks once a month, and as long as you take the mother Gu's blood every month, you can temporarily suppress the attacks of the child Gu. The severity of the child Gu attacks is related to the time of day, weather, and mood. If the weather is hot and you are depressed for a long time, it will aggravate the poison."

"But Your Highness, there's no need to worry too much. This poison will only cause pain, but it won't take a person's life."

Ji Ci's fingertips twitched, and he nodded, "Understood. Thank you, sir. In the coming days, I hope you can secretly research the solution to this poison. If you can, I will definitely reward you handsomely."

Fei Zhi's heart stirred. The Gu technique he had learned was different from the Imperial Physician's, and it was extremely profound. Furthermore, since the Jin Dynasty banned witchcraft, few people would use it, and he had been frustrated for decades. Now that Prince Qi had personally given him this opportunity, although he didn't know how the Princess had been poisoned, this was a great opportunity for him.

He immediately bowed in thanks, "Thank you, Your Highness! I will do my best for you, Princess!"

Thinking of something, Fei Zhi added, "Your Highness, although I cannot currently develop a method to cure the poison, I can prescribe some medicine to relieve the pain."

"Yes." Ji Ci raised his hand to signal him to stand up, his eyes cold, and whispered: "Then I'll trouble you, sir. Also, this matter must be done in secret, and no one else must know about it, and the princess's condition must not be disclosed."

Fei Zhi was stunned, and without hesitation, he immediately said "yes".

Ji Ci arranged accommodation for Fei Zhi and asked someone to take her downstairs. He turned around and looked at Jiang Qiuye, who was still frowning in her sleep. His heart, which had originally been determined to be cold and hard, softened at this moment.

Perhaps, all her lies were forced?

At this moment, Uncle Fu suddenly knocked on the door and came in. He glanced at the unconscious Princess Qi and said, "Your Highness, I wanted to report yesterday, but I didn't have the chance."

"What is it?"

"The one in Orange Garden also developed the same symptoms as the princess. I sent a doctor there, but he came back without success."

Ji Ci closed his eyes and asked Uncle Fu to leave. After a while, Fei Zhi brought the medicine she had prepared and left Guihong Courtyard.

Following his suggestion, even though it was not yet midsummer, he asked the servants to deliver the ice from the ice storage into the house in advance.

He took the medicine bowl from the table and, as he was familiar with it, personally poured the medicine into her mouth. Soon, he saw her breathing begin to stabilize.

He watched her sitting there for a long time, then soaked a handkerchief in the cold water beside him and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

The depressed mood these days seemed to turn into another kind of uneasiness at this moment.

Oh, Jiang Qiuye, Ye'er, you are so cruel.

How could he resent her when she was like this?

…

Shortly after dawn, Ji Ci left the palace and took Fei Zhi to Chengyuan.

As soon as he opened the door of the Chengyuan dormitory, his body shook violently.

I saw Jinhong lying on the ground with her limbs twisted and her whole body trembling. Her eyes were wide open in pain, the whites of her eyes were red, her fingers were digging into the ground, her nails were broken, and blood was flowing all over her hands.

I've only heard of the pain of ants gnawing at my bones, but seeing it with my own eyes is another story.

Unlike the torture of prisoners in the imperial prison, he felt panicked when he thought of his little wife, Ye'er, who was also suffering such severe pain.

Seeing this, Fei Zhi immediately stepped forward, took out a silver needle, and after a few injections, Jin Hong fell asleep. Then he fed her the medicine he brought.

An hour later, she slowly awoke. After a moment's confusion, she suddenly remembered that it was the people Prince Qi had brought with him who had relieved her pain. Although she still felt as if she were on fire, it was much better than before.

As she was trying to prop herself up and sit up on the bed, the dormitory door was pushed open and the dazzling sunlight from outside shone in, causing her to squint.

Ji Ci asked Fei Zhi to leave, closed the door, and stood beside Jin Hong's bed, watching her weakly trying to stand up and salute.

He waved his hand, omitting the formality.

"Thank you so much just now, Your Highness!"

"No need." Ji Ci didn't sit down, but stood beside the bed with a gloomy look in his eyes. "Was the Gu in your body planted by Feiyan Pavilion?"

"Gu?" Jinhong was stunned. She hadn't expected this to be a Gu, not a poison. "Yes, Your Highness. On the day I became a bronze ghost, I was asked to take it. However, I always thought it was some kind of poison, but I didn't expect it to be a Gu."

Ji Ci said coldly, "Now that you have rebelled against Feiyan Pavilion and are being hunted by them, I am the only one who can save you. Furthermore, you are poisoned by the Gu poison, and they will not give you the antidote. I have a talented person under my command who is currently developing a method to cure the poison. If you obey me, I can have him suppress the poison for you."

Jinhong was delighted. She had been feeling uneasy these days, and now with the clear guarantee from King Qi, her future was guaranteed.

"Yes, Your Highness. What do you need me for?"

Ji Ci was silent for a long time, and finally said calmly: "You don't need to do anything. I only want you to tell me everything about Feiyan Pavilion and... Jiang Qiuye. Don't hide anything."

Jinhong didn't expect it to be so simple and was a little surprised. "Yes, Your Highness."

She thought for a moment and slowly spoke, "Jiang Qiuye, I had never seen her before this mission. It wasn't until I met her in Wuzhou that I realized she was the Silver Ghost of Feiyan Pavilion."

"Where is the original Qiu Ziye?"

"She died in Wuzhou, but we didn't kill her. She went to the river to wash clothes and accidentally fell into the water and died. Duke Anguo abandoned her in Wuzhou and never cared for her. An old woman raised her, but when she died of old age, Qiu Ziye took care of herself. It was just a coincidence that we took her place."

Seeing Ji Ci's silence, Jin Hong continued to tell what she knew, "After I met Jiang Qiuye, I only knew that she entered Feiyan Pavilion at the age of six, became a Bronze Ghost at the age of eleven, and was promoted to Silver Ghost at the age of thirteen for completing a mission that no one else could complete and seizing a batch of weapons. As for the details and her past experiences, I don't know."

"However, as a ghost from Feiyan Pavilion, my experience is not much different from mine."

Ji Ci pondered and said, "Then tell me about yours."

"yes."

Jinhong thought for a long time, not knowing where to begin. She smiled wryly and said, "I'm an orphan. I was sold to Feiyan Pavilion by a trafficker when I was about four years old. There are many people like me. Before entering Feiyan Pavilion, you must go through a test of fighting with your own kind. Only the qualified number of people left can survive and enter the pavilion for training."

She shook her head and said sarcastically, "Actually, our experience was very simple, nothing much. It was just one training and test after entering the cabinet. Many people died during each test, and only those who survived and caught the attention of the superiors could become bronze ghosts."

"Our lives repeat day after day, and there's no room for cowardice or retreat. If we don't fight our way out, death is the only thing that awaits us." She suddenly smiled bitterly, "Perhaps death is the simplest and most comfortable. Living is simply too difficult. This mission is actually my first since becoming a Bronze Ghost, and I didn't expect it to fail so badly..."

Ji Ci stayed in Chengyuan for a whole day until dark, then he got on the carriage and headed back to the palace.

He sat in silence in the carriage, recalling everything Jinhong had told him during the day.

He naturally knew about the famous Feiyan Pavilion, which was a major threat to the State of Jin. The killers above the Silver Ghost level in the Pavilion were incomparable to those of ordinary organizations.

It was just the first time he heard about the cruelty inside.

After knowing all this, the hatred he had for Jiang Qiuye had completely disappeared.

He asked, did they have any choice? It seemed they had none. From the first day they were sold into Feiyan Pavilion, they had been pushed forward by the organization, with a bottomless abyss behind them.

If you don't move forward, you will die.

His little wife, who was only six years old, had been experiencing this kind of life every day since she was so young. What right did he have to ask her to be a good person?

At this moment, he suddenly felt fortunate that she was intelligent and cunning, scheming deeply, and able to abandon kindness and take action. Otherwise, how could she appear before him in such a charming manner?

His heart, which had been dry for many years, and his sick body, which was on the verge of death, were all healed because of her. It seemed as if he had regained a vibrant life because of her.

How could he ask so much of her?

The carriage stopped at the gate of the palace. The coachman called out several times outside, but Ji Ci didn't respond. He pulled open the curtain and found that he was still in a daze, so he retreated and didn't dare to disturb him.

After an hour of stagnation, he finally got off the carriage and headed for Guihong Courtyard. The flowers in the mansion were in full bloom. After several days of continuous rain, some sunlight finally appeared, reflecting off the water droplets on the petals.

After thinking for a whole day, he finally made up his mind and gave himself the final answer.

The author has something to say:

I added a comment in Chapter 87 about the two of them not having mouths. You can go back and read it~

Babies, can you praise me in the comments? I will update more tomorrow~~~~ Love you guys

Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided me with nutrient solution between 2024-08-03 06:00:00 and 2024-08-04 06:00:00~

Thanks to the little angel who irrigated the nutrient solution: 1 bottle of Sponge Baby;

Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!