Chapter Thirty-One: Qin Xiaoxiao's Background Seems to Have a Source
"It's alright." She stepped forward to examine him, then took Zhou Lichen's pulse, and concluded that the cold toxins had been basically cleared away, with only the residue of other toxins remaining, which was not a big problem.
Fortunately, his anger overwhelmed him, causing him to vent his pent-up frustrations, which turned out to be a lucky accident.
"Send her...send her a head maid to help her." Zhou Lichen's face was ashen, but he could still speak and had regained some strength. He instructed Prince Jing and Grand Secretary Zhang, "My benefactor—she must not be wronged."
Prince Jing breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that his uncle was safe and sound, and quickly agreed, "You can rest assured and recover. I will send someone to fetch Granny Guan right away."
Zhou Lichen nodded slightly, let out a long breath, and turned to look at Qin Zhining. "From now on, you are my benefactor. If... if anyone is blind, just take action."
Others might not understand why he would suddenly show such goodwill towards the daughter of a minor official, but Grand Secretary Zhang and Prince Jing both knew.
Prince Ruiqin's mother was wrongfully killed and suffered the pain of not having a mother's protection. Therefore, he has always deeply hated parents who harm their own children. Hearing such things makes him extremely agitated and indignant.
Qin Zhining was delighted to have such an unexpected reward from her rescue mission, but she didn't show any particular reaction. After Zhang Ge Lao paid her 600 gold coins for the consultation and medicine, she took the money and left without any hesitation.
She informed Grand Secretary Zhang that she would come for a follow-up visit in seven days.
Qin Xiaoxiao followed closely behind her, her eyes scanning the dark streets outside the Zhang residence warily. Her tense back was still not completely relaxed. She reached out and tugged at Qin Zhining's sleeve, her brows furrowed, her eyes filled with worry about whether the assassin behind them would follow.
"If they catch up, they can make another round of nursing fees."
Qin Zhining's voice was light and quick, but her steps were not slow at all. She deliberately chose to walk westward through quiet, narrow alleys.
It was past noon, and the streets were bustling with people and traffic, a scene of extraordinary liveliness and prosperity.
But she hadn't gone far when Qin Zhining suddenly stopped and sniffed the air—in addition to the various smells of the market, there was also a very faint bitter almond scent.
Hold your breath.
She suddenly grabbed Qin Xiaoxiao's wrist and dragged her into the shadows of the corner.
Just as Qin Xiaoxiao was about to raise her hand and point to the alley entrance to ask a question, she saw two men in black slowly walking towards her. The knives at their waists gleamed coldly, and their steps were as light as ghosts, clearly indicating that they were tracking someone.
What's even more chilling is that both of them had a silver plum blossom embroidered on their cuffs, exactly the same as the mark on the black-clad man's corpse that the Zhang family guards had mentioned earlier.
Qin Xiaoxiao clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white, and took half a step forward, clearly wanting to confront him, but Qin Zhining pressed down on her shoulder.
By the moonlight, she looked at her sister and saw that Qin Zhining showed no panic in her eyes. Instead, she took out a small porcelain bottle from her bundle, uncorked it, and gently sprinkled it into the air.
The pale blue powder drifted in the wind. The two men in black had just reached the alley entrance when they suddenly staggered, as if something had blinded them. They rubbed their eyes and cursed under their breath.
"Walk."
Qin Zhining pulled Qin Xiaoxiao along, quickly leaving through another alleyway until they turned into an inn three streets away, got a room, and then let go of her hand.
Qin Xiaoxiao leaned against the door frame, panting heavily. After catching her breath, she pointed out the window, then pointed to her temples, and made a "grab" gesture, her eyes full of confusion as she wondered, "Why not just take them down directly? Maybe we can find out who ordered them."
Qin Zhining placed the bundle containing the consultation fee, house deeds, land deeds, and household registration on the table, poured herself a cup of herbal tea that had been prepared on the table, and drank it all in one gulp.
“We should withdraw after receiving the consultation fee. This conspiracy is too deep. The Zhang family, Prince Jing, and that poisoned boy—judging from his tone, he's also a prince—plus the people hiding in the shadows, none of them are easy to mess with.”
That powder only blinded us for a moment; if we actually used it, we'd only drag ourselves down with us.
As she spoke, she suddenly recalled the mouthful of black blood that the boy spat out when he was being detoxified—the substance mixed in with the cold poison clearly carried the fishy smell of the Gu worms from the Southern Frontier, which was completely different from the cold poison from the Western Regions. It was obvious that someone was deliberately trying to confuse the public.
Just as they were pondering this, a commotion suddenly arose downstairs at the inn, accompanied by the sound of clashing swords.
Qin Zhining walked to the window, lifted a corner of the curtain and looked down. Qin Xiaoxiao also came over and stood close to her.
Just then, the two men in black were locked in combat with another group of masked men. Amidst the flashing swords, a silver token fell from the waist of one of the men in black, and under the sunlight, the four characters "Zhenbei Marquis's Mansion" were clearly visible.
Qin Xiaoxiao's pupils contracted sharply as she read the words on the token, and she instinctively grabbed Qin Zhining's arm.
Qin Zhining was in pain from being grabbed, and looked up at the overly agitated Qin Xiaoxiao, asking, "Do you know anyone from the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion? Have you remembered something?"
Qin Xiaoxiao's face was now deathly pale, her eyes wide open. She pointed at the token, babbling and gesturing, but no one could understand what she was trying to say. Qin Zhining stared at her for a long time before finally understanding. "You mean, you went to the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion and almost died there, so you hate the people there, right?"
Qin Xiaoxiao nodded quickly, then gestured and mumbled something for a while.
Qin Zhining shook her head reassuringly, "You—no matter what your relationship with the Zhenbei Marquis's Mansion was before, as long as you don't acknowledge them, then you are mine."
"Don't worry, you are Qin Xiaoxiao, and you have no connection whatsoever with the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion. Unless you yourself choose to have contact with them, no one can take you away from me."
Upon hearing this, Qin Xiaoxiao became suddenly excited, her face flushed red with emotion. She bowed to Qin Zhining, expressing that she was Qin Xiaoxiao and would never belong to anyone else again.
It was only at this moment that Qin Zhining began to understand that Qin Xiaoxiao's identity was related to the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion.
If that's the case, then Qin Xiaoxiao must be literate.
After comforting her only friend and sister since the time travel, Qin Zhining looked away, lightly tapping the table with her fingertips, a cold smile playing on her lips.
"It seems that getting these six hundred gold coins wasn't easy. Just because we saved that boy who was probably also a prince, someone doesn't want us to live, and even less does he want us to know the secret of the Cold Poison."
Besides, I see a group of people eyeing us. They look like hooligans trying to cause trouble. Xiaoxiao, go out for a walk later. If you run into any fools, drag them into the alley and I'll give them a good beating.
Upon hearing about beating someone up, Qin Xiaoxiao immediately forgot about the troubles of the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion, rolled up her sleeves, and revealed a bloodthirsty smile on her face, gesturing a few more times.
"Alright, whatever you say." Qin Zhining understood her meaning and smiled, "If they dare to invade, break their arms and legs and make them wish they were dead."
Qin Xiaoxiao was even happier, eager to get started.
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