20. Wind-cold
◎Want to make a bet with me◎
Chapter 20
"Master Qiuye, these antidotes were all distributed by Pavilion Master Yanwu. If he says he won't give them to you, I wouldn't dare."
In the gray-black secret room, only two small candles were lit, and the shadows of Jiang Qiuye and Snow Owl were cast on the wall, stretching out very long.
Looking at the white-haired old man with a bitter expression, Jiang Qiuye suddenly felt helpless. Snow Owl was just a low-level person who obeyed orders, so she naturally would not make things difficult for him.
"I've considered forcing my way into the palace, but while it may appear to be safe, it's actually surrounded by secret guards. If I force my way in, not only will I be unable to find what he needs, but my identity will also be discovered. Since he needs me to find Ben Zhi, he naturally can't let my identity be discovered, right?"
The "he" that Jiang Qiuye was referring to was naturally the head of Feiyan Pavilion, Yan Wu, one of the few people who made her feel afraid.
"Yes, yes." Snow Owl wiped the sweat from his forehead and continued, "The Pavilion Master has also thought of this problem. He said that as long as you, Lord Qiuye, can enter Prince Qi's Mansion, he will give you the antidote for this month and next month."
"......knew."
Jiang Qiuye endured the burning pain in her bones, still trembling slightly, and murmured, "But Ji Ci won't let me into the palace. How can it be easy in such a short time?"
Recently, there has been a lot more trust between the two of them, and the distance between them has become closer, but that ice block Ji Ci really has no flaws.
Maybe we need an opportunity, or maybe we should take the initiative to stimulate it.
The two men came out of the secret room and returned to the drugstore where the crowd was noisy.
Jiang Qiuye couldn't help rubbing his hot arms and said, "Boss, please wrap some rhubarb, coptis root, honeysuckle, and Imperata root for me."
"Okay, Miss Qiu, please wait a moment."
Jiang Qiuye looked around, breathing weakly. After picking up the herbs, he walked out of the pharmacy slowly.
The sky was gloomy and dark clouds covered the sun, but she still felt the sting in her eyes. She raised her hand to block it and suddenly felt fortunate that it was winter.
When the poison takes effect in summer, the pain is equivalent to that of slow slicing.
Weary and exhausted, Jiang Qiuye walked straight to the shopkeeper, explaining that he had caught a cold and was developing a new medicinal diet, and that the shop would be closed for the next few days. He paid the employees and told them to go home.
Only the little fat boy in the hall stayed because he lived too far away from home and lived in a room on the second floor together.
Jiang Qiuye went to the kitchen, sorted the herbs he had bought, and made a very cold medicinal meal for him to drink.
The herbs I just got from Snow Owl are all cold medicines. Although they are only a drop in the bucket for the poison in the body, they are better than nothing.
She has been afraid of bitterness since she was a child and doesn't like taking medicine. Fortunately, she knows how to make medicinal food, so the effect is not too bad.
After dividing the remaining medicine into several portions, Jiang Qiuye went out again.
This time, she quietly slipped out from the second floor of Guihong Hall, shaking off the secret guards who usually monitored her.
He went directly to a dilapidated temple on the outskirts of the city. After opening the door and entering, he saw Jinhong lying on a straw mat, breathing heavily. He threw the medicine in his hand next to her.
Jinhong stood up in shock and weakness, reached out to take the medicine, and looked at Jiang Qiuye in confusion.
The other person seemed completely unaffected by the poison. He smiled and said sarcastically, "Why? You thought we couldn't get the antidote, so you came here to die?"
Jinhong's face was pale, her eyes bloodshot, and she spoke weakly, "That day, as soon as I left the palace, I went looking for Snow Owl. No matter how much I begged him, he wouldn't give me the antidote. I trained for over a decade before becoming a Bronze Ghost, but I didn't expect to die on my first mission."
Jiang Qiuye looked at Jinhong who was hugging him like an ostrich, sighed slightly, kicked the hay and bran on the ground with his toes, and finally sat down gently opposite her.
"Snowy Owl is just a follower of orders. Are you giving up so easily?"
Jinhong couldn't help crying again, "I, I didn't expect that the poison would be so painful."
Jiang Qiuye lowered his eyes and dug up the hay on the ground. He picked up a piece of hay and played with it in his hands. He chuckled and said, "This is nothing. This is just the beginning."
The assassins and spies of Feiyan Pavilion are all orphans or children who were abducted and bought.
When they first entered, they saw a group of children thrown into the snow to kill each other. She thought that the situation could not be worse than that.
Until later, after repeated training, she thought again that once she could get through it and become a bronze ghost, it would be fine. There shouldn't be a situation worse than becoming a bronze ghost.
Until today, she has gotten used to the life of a Feiyan Pavilion assassin. The situation is always worse than before, an endless hell.
She pointed at the packets of medicine and said, "I don't have an antidote, but this medicine is extremely cold. It may provide some relief after taking it."
After hearing this, Jinhong lowered her head and clenched her hands unconsciously.
"Why?"
"What why?"
"Why do you need to help me? I know I am dispensable to you."
Jiang Qiuye choked: "I'm talking to you..."
She claims to be neither a kind nor an altruistic person.
He has been like this since childhood, always telling lies and having no respect for life or his companions.
That's how she can move forward step by step and survive.
Because she wanted to know how many worse situations there were, and what the world would be like after she got through the worst situation.
What awaits her after crossing that mountain.
Jinhong was just one of those children who were killing each other in the snow, trying to survive.
"I really don't have any good intentions. Everything around me is just a tool I use. Want to make a bet with me?"
Jin Hong was stunned. Looking at Jiang Qiuye, whose smile showed two shallow dimples, she couldn't help but whispered, "What bet?"
"Within five days, I will definitely get the antidote."
"Five days... How is that possible?"
Jiang Qiuye ignored Jinhong's doubts and just smoothed his hair. "Bet? Five days."
"What's the stakes?"
Jiang Qiuye couldn't help but laugh. "These days, I know you don't really trust me and you've had quite a few complaints about me. If, in five days, I successfully enter Ji Ci's palace and get the antidote, from now on, you must obey my orders and be my tool, like cold iron, no longer having your own thoughts. You'll do whatever I say."
"And I will keep you alive."
"I no longer have my own thoughts..." Jinhong adjusted her emotions. "What if I lose?"
Jiang Qiuye smiled and said, "If I lose, I lose. I'm going to die anyway. I'll do whatever you want me to do."
"Yeah, it can't be worse than that." Jinhong couldn't help but murmur.
Even worse...
Yes, every step forward will be worse.
"Jinhong."
Jiang Qiuye stared at the person in front of her with her head lowered and called her name.
"What's your last name?"
Jinhong raised her eyelids and just shook her head.
Jiang Qiuye understood and said nothing more.
The poison in Feiyan Pavilion is a tool used by the rulers to control the people, and I am nothing more than a mindless weapon.
She stood up, patted her skirt, endured the pain gnawing at her bones, and left the ruined temple with seemingly light steps.
…
The carriage passed by Guihong Hall on the bluestone slabs. Ji Ci couldn't help but lift the curtain and look at the closed shop.
Guihongtang has been closed for two days, and he has not seen Jiang Qiuye since yesterday.
Suddenly thinking of the scene in the palace, he couldn't help but blush and feel annoyed.
He felt annoyed that he was like a pervert and had done such a thing to the unconscious young widow. He should have pushed her away at the first moment.
Before dinner yesterday, he was very hesitant about whether to go to Guihong Hall for dinner.
Fortunately, he did not hesitate or feel embarrassed for too long, and Jiang Qiuye sent the fat man in the store to bring him some medicinal food.
Still the familiar taste, still delicious.
Ji Ci pulled the curtain of the car, concealing the strangeness in his heart, and returned to the palace.
But after returning to the palace, he was always absent-minded. He read the files in his hands over and over again, and forgot them over and over again.
The old butler knocked on the study door, carrying a food box, and bowed respectfully, saying, "Your Highness, the people from Guihong Hall have delivered the medicinal food. Would you like to eat now?"
After sighing, Ji Ci put down the file, nodded slightly, stood up and went to the dining hall with the butler.
On the way, he couldn't help but ask, "Did Qiu Ziye personally deliver the medicinal food today?"
The butler walked in front, hunched over, and said with a slightly tilted face, "No, he's a servant from Guihongtang."
"Oh." Ji Ci rubbed his wrist, not knowing why he felt a strong sense of frustration and regret in his heart, "Then, did the guy say anything?"
He really couldn't understand where this frustration came from.
He had attributed it to his illness, which forced him to move closer to the food and be attracted to it.
But now, medicinal food is still medicinal food, and delicious food is still delicious food.
The young widow was neither a wife nor a concubine, but she had every meal of the medicinal food.
The housekeeper placed the food box on the table, glanced at Ji Ci who was lost in thought, and said, "The waiter said that Guihong Hall has been closed for the past few days because the owner, Miss Qiu, has caught a cold. I heard that she is seriously ill and has a persistent fever that won't go away."
Ji Ci was stunned and stopped moving to sit down.
Caught a cold...
Yes, the weather was so cold in the palace that day, but she was only wearing a thin white gauze skirt. If she didn't catch a cold, who would?
Looking at the steaming beef brisket on the table, it can be seen that it is still the work of the young widow.
Do I have to cook for him even when he is sick?
This young widow is really stupid. If she is sick, she should just lie down. Is she really crazy about making money?
The appetite that originally attracted him dissipated unconsciously.
But Ji Ci still sat down and took the medicinal food made by Jiang Qiuye bit by bit.
I ate dinner absentmindedly.
After the meal, it was already late.
After watching the old housekeeper pack up the soup bowls and food boxes, he was about to take them away.
Ji Ci couldn't help but stop him and said, "Wait."
He looked a little embarrassed, rubbing his fingers. He didn't look the old housekeeper in the eye, but remained indifferent and said, "I have something important to go out on. I will pass by Guihong Hall. I will drop off this food box today. Please put it down."
Prince Qi personally delivered the food box?
The old butler was stunned, answered yes and then retreated respectfully.
Today Tian went to take up a mission and left, and is not in the palace.
Ji Ci picked up the food box himself, called the coachman to prepare the carriage, and headed for Guihong Hall.
The author has something to say:
Jiang Qiuye: What is waiting for me after I climb over that mountain?
Ji Ci: It’s me…
There is another chapter at noon~
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