"Your Highness, Ghost Doctor! It's been so long! I heard someone came with a token, so I guessed it was you." Lu Li's voice revealed the joy of a long-awaited reunion.
Xu Yuehuai looked up at him and asked, "How is your injury? You look so energetic, you must be recovering well."
Lu Li patted his chest and said proudly, "I'm completely healed now. I've been looking for you with that guy recently, but I didn't expect you to find me first."
Xu Yuehuai waved for him to sit down, then turned to the Ghost Doctor beside him and said, "Ghost Doctor, could you please take a look at Lu Li? His complexion seems a bit off."
The Ghost Doctor narrowed his eyes, carefully examined Lu Li, and said in a deep voice, "Your complexion is indeed not good; you seem to have been poisoned."
Upon hearing this, Lu Li was shocked and quickly denied it, saying, "How could that be? I've been taken care of since I was injured, and the doctor said my wound is healing very well. How could I be poisoned?"
“Some poisons are colorless and odorless, making them difficult to detect. Perhaps the person who took care of you poisoned you,” the Ghost Doctor said.
Lu Li was shocked and repeatedly asked, "Wasn't that man in cahoots with the Princess? Why would he poison me?"
Xu Yuehuai coughed twice and said with a serious expression, "Ahem, actually, I was taken hostage by him at that time. He wasn't genuinely helping me; he had ulterior motives."
Lu Li was stunned, and it took him a long time to come to his senses. He muttered to himself, "How could this be..."
Xu Yuehuai reassured her, "His situation is complicated, it's best if you don't know. Now that you're back safely, don't have any more contact with him."
Lu Li looked confused, but still obediently replied, "Yes."
The Ghost Doctor slowly said, "Your poison is not incurable, it just takes some time. I will come over these next few nights to help you detoxify."
Lu Li was moved to tears and repeatedly thanked him, saying, "Thank you so much, Doctor Ghost, for saving my life!"
Xu Yuehuai was also a little touched. After thinking for a moment, she said to Lu Li, "Now that you're here, I have some things for you to do."
After she finished speaking, she whispered a few words of advice in Lu Li's ear.
Lu Li listened attentively and said he would definitely do a good job.
Afterwards, the three of them sat down at a table and began to enjoy their dinner.
During the meal, Xu Yuehuai and Lu Li reminisced about the past, while the Ghost Doctor silently took Lu Li's pulse and treated him.
After several rounds of drinks and five courses of food,
Xu Yuehuai stood up and bid farewell to the two, saying, "It's getting late, I'll head back to the palace now. Please enjoy your meal."
Lu Li and the Ghost Doctor quickly rose to see him off. Xu Yuehuai left Tianxiang Tower and disappeared into the night. The Ghost Doctor stayed behind to continue administering acupuncture to Lu Li to detoxify him.
When Xu Yuehuai returned to the palace, Bai Yu had already been waiting at the entrance for a long time.
When he saw Xu Yuehuai return, he went up to her and tugged at her arm: "Where did you go? Why did it take you so long to come back?"
Xu Yuehuai said coldly, "I went to see two friends. What? Is Your Majesty planning to restrict my freedom?"
“You know that’s not what I meant… I’m just worried about your safety. After all, the capital has been unstable lately, and if something happens to you, it would be a big deal.” Bai Yu reluctantly let go of her hand.
"I know what you mean. But I know what I'm doing, and you really don't need to worry about it."
Before she could finish speaking, she turned and walked into the depths of the palace.
...
Xu Yuehuai disguised herself as an ordinary villager and quietly arrived at Anhe Village.
The village scene remained unchanged. Along the roadside, some simple villagers were engrossed in their farm work. With each swing of their hoes, mud and sweat mingled, creating a vivid rural scene.
Xu Yuehuai walked slowly towards one of the elderly women who was working. She smiled and asked sincerely, "Auntie, do you know where Erzhuang lives?"
The old woman looked up at Xu Yuehuai and, seeing her kind face, put down her work and pointed in the direction of the village, saying, "Erzhuang's house is right next to that big plum tree in the village. Just follow this road and you'll see it."
Xu Yuehuai thanked the old lady repeatedly, and then, following her directions, quickly found the iconic plum tree.
She stood under the tree, looked up at the tree full of green fruit, and a distant scene suddenly appeared in her mind, her thoughts filled with complex emotions.
After calming herself down, she stepped forward and knocked on Er Zhuang's wooden door.
The door creaked open, revealing Erzhuang's familiar face.
When he saw Xu Yuehuai, he was first taken aback, then exclaimed with delight, "My lord, what brings you here?"
Xu Yuehuai did not speak first, but walked into the house with a smile.
Seeing this, Erzhuang quickly closed the door and turned to Xu Yuehuai, saying, "Sir, what are your orders?"
After Xu Yuehuai sat down, he asked, "Have you made any discoveries recently?"
Erzhuang reported, "As usual, we haven't found anything. The people in this village are very honest and simple; we can't see anything unusual."
Xu Yuehuai looked around at the scenery, as if she was thinking about something.
Suddenly, she said, "It seems we'll need to dig deep to find anything useful on this trail."
Erzhuang looked at her in confusion and asked, "Sir, what do you want to do?"
Xu Yuehuai took out a pill from his pocket and handed it to Erzhuang, saying, "This is a pill I made specially. After you take it, you will pretend to be poisoned and vomit blood continuously."
Upon hearing this, Erzhuang's eyes widened, and he stammered, "B-Sir, this...this..."
Xu Yuehuai interrupted him, saying firmly, "This is to lure out the mastermind behind it all; we must take the risk."
Although Erzhuang was uneasy, he eventually accepted the pill.
After swallowing the pill, Erzhuang immediately collapsed to the ground and began vomiting blood.
Upon seeing this, Xu Yuehuai immediately splashed water on her face, pretending to be heartbroken. She ran out shouting, "Something terrible has happened! Erzhuang is dead!"
The shout exploded through the village like a thunderclap, instantly causing a huge uproar.
Many villagers rushed over upon hearing the commotion, including the elderly woman from before. Seeing Erzhuang lying on the ground, her face filled with terror, she asked in a trembling voice, "Erzhuang was perfectly fine just now! How could he be dead?"
While wiping away her tears, Xu Yuehuai sobbed, "I saw him vomiting blood as soon as I entered the door. I don't know who fed him something poisonous."
Upon hearing this, some villagers asked in disbelief, "The food used to file the complaint was all pooled together by everyone, how could it possibly be poisonous?"
The others were also quite surprised and searched around for possible clues.
Xu Yuehuai silently observed everyone's reactions, secretly plotting how to make the matter even more intense.
Just then, a villager suddenly pointed at Xu Yuehuai and said, "I remember you never looked for Erzhuang before. Why did you suddenly come here? Do you know something?"
Xu Yuehuai was startled, but quickly calmed down. She feigned sadness and said, "I... I just came to ask Brother Erzhuang for a favor. How could I have known he would suddenly be poisoned and die?"
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