Zhou Yun'an's study is always filled with the aroma of agarwood and ink.
His slender fingers gently caressed the edge of the letter. The parchment gleamed with an old yellow hue under the candlelight, a mark of having been soaked in a special tea.
"Make the ink three degrees lighter," he suddenly said, tapping the seal at the end of the letter with his fingertip. His nails were neatly trimmed, yet sickly pale. "Prince Jing is accustomed to applying a little more pressure to the lower left corner when using his seal; add another dark line here."
Xiao Cheng knelt in the shadows, and upon hearing this, he moved the forged secret letter closer to the candlelight.
The flames licked the edges of the letter, giving it a perfectly aged look, and the corners of the paper curled slightly, as if it had been read countless times.
Zhou Yun'an suddenly coughed, and a sickly flush rose on his pale cheeks.
He took out a handkerchief to cover his lips, and a red stain immediately spread on the snow-white silk, like a plum blossom blooming in the snow.
He stared at the blood-red stain for a moment, and a smile appeared on his lips.
"Tomorrow," he glanced at it indifferently, tossing the blood-stained handkerchief into the charcoal brazier, the flames instantly consuming the crimson stain, "have Qiu Xin find a way to get the item into Prince Jing's study."
——————
Qiuyue curled up on the bed, her clothes soaked with cold sweat, sticking stickily to her thin, bony body.
She stared at the moonlight filtering through the wall, its pale, blinding glow.
Each time she took the medication, the brief relief was followed by even more intense pain, as if someone was slowly gouging out her internal organs with a dull knife.
"Squeak—"
The sound of the door hinges turning startled her so much that she trembled all over.
Three dark figures slipped in silently. The one in the lead brandished the bronze token of the Prince Jing's mansion, which gleamed coldly in the moonlight.
Just as Qiuyue was about to cry out, a hand with thin calluses covered her mouth. The palm had hard calluses from years of holding a sword, but it was unexpectedly warm.
"It was your sister who sent us." The guard lowered his voice, then suddenly frowned, grabbed her wrist, and placed three fingers on her pulse. His expression changed drastically. "This pulse..."
The sound of the night watchman's drum came from outside the woodshed, and the leader of the secret guards immediately carried the person on his back.
Qiu Yue lay on his back and saw the bloodstains she had coughed up on his shoulder armor under the moonlight, like a string of withered plum blossoms, particularly glaring against the cold iron armor.
"I'm so sorry..."
Qiuyue wanted to apologize to him, but before she could even utter a word, most of the people had already dispersed.
——————
In Wang Xiuxiu's villa, Qiuyue was placed in the warmest east wing.
The imperial physician had just finished inserting the last needle, the tip of the silver needle still trembling slightly, when the old man shook his head and retreated behind the screen. His heavy sigh made the candlelight in the room flicker.
"Sister Xiu..." Qiu Yue's unfocused gaze suddenly sharpened, her withered fingers gripping Wang Xiuxiu's sleeve tightly, the fabric crumpling under her fingers. "Sister...she doesn't know...about that medicine..."
Before he could finish speaking, the door was suddenly kicked open.
Qiu Xin stumbled in, her hair disheveled, a few strands of hair clinging to her tear-streaked face, her clothes covered in mud, as if she had been running in the rain for a long time.
"Ah Yue!" She rushed to the bedside, her trembling hand stroking her younger sister's gaunt face. The touch tore at her heart. "Ah Yue... don't scare your sister..."
"Sister...don't believe him..." Blood frothed from Qiu Yue's lips, the bright red liquid dripping from her chin onto the snow-white sheets. "He...poisoned me...it was all...using...you..."
Qiu Xin stood frozen in place, countless images flashing through her mind: Zhou Yun'an's gentle smile every time she returned from the Zhou residence, the "antidote" he personally handed her, and the meaningful look in his eyes when he said, "This medicine is rare, it's only enough for your sister for seven days."
\"ah--!\"
A piercing wail tore through the night sky, like the final cry of a wounded beast.
Qiu Xin watched her younger sister die in her arms, the warm blood soaking through her front, the temperature so hot it made her tremble all over.
She frantically wiped away the blood that kept gushing from her sister's mouth, but she couldn't get it clean no matter what she did; her hands were covered in sticky, scarlet blood.
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