Chapter 27: The talisman appears in the Imperial Master's residence
Chu Xuanyi slowly woke up amidst a series of gurgling sounds and a strong... uh, smell of unknown herbs mixed with burnt flavor.
As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Ah Jiu sticking out her little butt, standing on tiptoe, struggling to lift a clay pot that was bigger than her head, trying to pour some black, sticky, unknown liquid into his mouth.
"Master is awake! That's great! Take the medicine quickly! Sister Xiao Cui said that this is a prescription written by the imperial physician, and Ajiu made it personally! It's very nutritious!" Ajiu cheered when he saw him wake up, and his hand shook, and the "loving medicinal food" in the earthenware jar almost all smeared on Chu Xuanyi's face.
Chu Xuanyi felt an indescribable stench rising straight to his head, his stomach churning. He saw the "medicine" in the earthenware jar, which was black with green, green with yellow, and with a few whole vegetable leaves and unidentified lumps floating in it. Then he looked at Ah Jiu's face, stained with pot ash and covered with the words "Praise me!", and his vision went dark again, and he almost fainted on the spot.
"Stop... stop!" Chu Xuanyi shouted hoarsely with all his strength, his voice shaking like a fallen leaf in the autumn wind.
Ajiu was startled by his sudden rise in voice, and the earthenware jar in his hand fell to the ground with a clang. The "loving medicinal food" instantly spread out on the precious carpet, emitting an even more intoxicating smell.
"Oh... Master, don't you like the medicine that Jiu brewed?" Jiu pouted, tears quickly filling her big eyes. She looked at him aggrievedly, "Jiu put a lot of goodies in it! There are the sweet dates that Master loves to eat, the hundred-year-old ginseng roots given by Aunt Wang in the kitchen, and the fragrant herbs that Jiu found in the garden..."
Chu Xuanyi: "..."
Sweet dates? Centuries-old ginseng roots? Fragrant vanilla?
He just wanted to know whether the prescription written by the imperial physician contained these "good things"! He seriously suspected that he was not dying of illness, but was being poisoned by this girl's "love"!
The housekeeper heard the noise and rushed in. Seeing the horrific scene on the floor, Chu Xuanyi's expression of despair, and Ah Jiu's expression of "I screwed up, but I'm so wronged," he immediately understood everything. He quickly had the maid take Ah Jiu downstairs to wash up, and then ordered the servants to clean the carpet. At the same time, with a bitter face, he said to Chu Xuanyi, "My lord, you're finally awake! The imperial physician said you need to rest and avoid anger..."
Chu Xuanyi waved his hand and said weakly, "I just want to be quiet now." He felt that his nerves had been destroyed by this girl and were more fragile than a spider web.
"Oh, sir," the butler recalled, and hurriedly reported, "Just now, the Prince Regent's Palace sent someone with news that...something happened at the Yongning Marquis's Mansion."
Chu Xuanyi perked up and managed to stand up: "Oh? What happened?"
The housekeeper lowered his voice, "It's said that the eldest son of the Yongning Marquisate was at a villa outside the capital last night, having a gathering with a group of prostitutes. It even caused a murder, and he was caught red-handed by the Jingzhao Yin! The Yongning Marquis was so angry that he vomited blood, and Madam Liu fainted. The Yongning Marquisate is now in turmoil, and Concubine Liu in the palace has been reprimanded for this incident. I heard she's crying in the palace!"
Chu Xuanyi was stunned when he heard this.
Prostitution? Murder case?
This... isn't this what Ah Jiu said at the flower viewing banquet, about the "drooping white flower" on Liu Ruoyan's head and the "little moth that wanted to eat it"?
When a moth flies into a flame, isn't that self-destruction? When a white flower withers, isn't that the shattering of hope? It even... carries a bit of an ominous, funeral connotation?
And that buzzing sound of "There's no hope, there's no hope"... is simply a brilliant verdict!
Chu Xuanyi felt a chill running from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.
This girl...is she really a living god?
No, no, no, she's just a clueless troublemaker! It must be a coincidence! Absolutely a coincidence! Chu Xuanyi brainwashed himself frantically in his mind.
"Also..." Seeing Chu Xuanyi's expression change unpredictably, the butler hesitated for a moment before continuing, "The people from the Prince Regent's Palace also specifically mentioned that Miss Jiu's 'comments' on Miss Liu at the flower viewing banquet... seem to have some... well, subtle connection with this matter. His Royal Highness the Prince Regent asked you... to 'take good care' of Miss Jiu."
Chu Xuanyi: "..."
He could hear that Xiao Yu was reminding him and warning him - this girl Ajiu is very evil, you, Chu Xuanyi, have to keep an eye on her, don't let her cause trouble again, and don't give certain people the opportunity to take advantage of her.
"Got it." Chu Xuanyi waved his hand tiredly, "Let me lie down for a while." His mind was in a mess right now, and he needed to digest this information carefully.
The butler bowed and retreated.
Chu Xuanyi was alone in the bedroom. He looked out the window at the bright sunshine, but felt a heavy weight on his heart. Jiu's "ability" was increasingly making him feel uneasy and confused. Was this a natural talent, or... was there some hidden secret he didn't know about?
At this moment, Ajiu, who was coaxed by Xiao Cui to go to the garden to "find more fragrant herbs to nourish his master's body", was squatting by the koi pond, tilting his little head and looking at the newly added koi in the pond.
"Huh?" She suddenly pointed at an inconspicuous bluestone slab at the bottom of the pond and said to Xiao Cui beside her, "Sister Xiao Cui, look! There seems to be something shiny hidden under that stone! Is it the treasure that the Fish King once hid?"
Xiao Cui looked in the direction she pointed. The bluestone slab was half-hidden in the weeds, unremarkable. She was a little unconcerned: "Miss, are you dazzled again? What kind of treasure could there be?"
"Yes, yes!" Ah Jiu insisted. She tried to reach out, but the water was too deep and out of reach. She paced around the edge of the pond anxiously, and finally her eyes fell on a long-handled bamboo sieve used to scoop up duckweed.
Her eyes lit up, and she ran over, dragged the bamboo colander with great effort, put it into the water, and poked and pried at the bluestone slab.
It was too late for Xiao Cui to stop it.
There was a slight "click" sound, and the bluestone slab seemed to be moved. Then, a small object wrapped in oilcloth rolled out from under the slab and sank to the bottom of the pool.
Ajiu cheered and carefully scooped up the oilcloth bag with a colander.
Opening the damp oilcloth, he revealed a crudely carved wooden bird. Two black, shimmering stones, the size of rice grains, were inlaid in its eyes. And beneath its wings, a strange symbol seemed to be scribbled crookedly in cinnabar.
"What is this?" Jiu looked at the wooden bird curiously, his face full of confusion. "It's not pretty, and it doesn't have the majesty of the fish king's crown."
Xiao Cui also came over to take a look. She couldn't recognize what it was, but she felt that the wooden bird was indescribably strange. She suddenly remembered the tragic death of the koi a few days ago and how someone had put a "gold foil crown" on it, and she couldn't help but shudder.
"Girl, this thing... looks scary. Let's give it to the housekeeper." Xiao Cui said in a low voice.
Ah Jiu thought about it and nodded: "Well! Let the housekeeper take a look and see if it was hidden by a thief!"
So, when Chu Xuanyi was still lying in bed thinking about life, Ajiu had already handed the wooden bird with a strange aura to the housekeeper as if presenting a treasure.
When the butler saw the wooden bird, especially the two obsidian eyes and the cinnabar symbols under its wings, his expression suddenly changed!
"This... this is a 'worship curse'!" the housekeeper exclaimed, his hands shaking. "It's an evil object used to curse people! How could... how could it appear at the bottom of our koi pond?"
He suddenly remembered the bizarre death of the koi a few days ago, and that ridiculous yet terrifying "gold foil crown"...
Could it be... that wasn't a prank at all, but...
The housekeeper felt a chill rising from his spine, and his whole body felt cold in an instant!
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