3. Anorexia
◎I wish to be a blade in the palm of your hand, a bait in your hand◎
Chapter 3
Jiang Qiuye couldn't tell whether Ji Ci believed her words, but she didn't continue to torture her. She just locked her up in the prison cell of the Ministry of Justice.
She looked around. The ground was covered with hay, with a broken low table in the middle. Daylight poured in from the small window outside the cell.
I never thought that I would be so unlucky and end up in such a situation.
Jiang Qiuye's appearance is very deceptive. Except for Ji Ci, who is a blockhead, not many people dislike her when they see her.
The young jailer stepped forward, put the water cup and kettle away, and then left the cell. Jiang Qiuye was the only one left.
She sighed and sat down slowly. Now that things had come to this, she should think about how to completely get rid of the suspicion.
She is used to living a comfortable life and not worrying about unnecessary things.
The kettle was lifted up and the water was slowly poured into the cup. When I picked up the cup to drink, I found a note stuck at the bottom.
Jiang Qiuye turned around and saw that no one was paying attention, so he quietly took out the note, looked at it, and swallowed it again.
After she was imprisoned, the wound, which was not serious at first, began to hurt badly.
Ji Ci has not been taken to prison for several days and continues to stand trial. After several inquiries, she learned that the man would only come during the next interrogation.
Lying on the straw mat, Jiang Qiuye tried to connect the causes and consequences of the Zhang family massacre, as well as Ji Ci.
She knew that someone had brought out a rumor from the palace that seemed both true and false.
It is obvious that Prince Qi is far more capable than the current emperor, and it is obvious that the emperor is sensitive and suspicious by nature. Why did he kill so many royal brothers and only leave behind Prince Qi, who is the most competitive and most popular?
But when Jiang Qiuye saw the legendary King Qi for the first time that night, he seemed to be able to confirm the truth of the rumor.
This makes things much easier...
…
Three days passed in a flash, and the second trial began.
The bailiff opened the chain on the cell door. Jiang Qiuye, who was lying on the ground with hay in his mouth, moved his ears after hearing the noise, and immediately spit out the hay, stood up and sat upright to salute, then put on a weak expression and raised his hand to rub his forehead.
After seeing him enter the cell, she looked up with joy, "Your Majesty!"
The light in the cell was a little dim, with only a beam of light coming in from the skylight high up.
Ji Ci glanced at Jiang Qiuye's slightly sunken eye circles and asked doubtfully, "I didn't ask the Ministry of Justice to mistreat you."
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, and with a forced, pale smile on her face, she said, "I understand the prince's kindness, but I'm naturally weak. Although the food in the Ministry of Justice is not bad, this prison cell is cold and gloomy. Even the best food is difficult to swallow, and I can't sleep well. Plus..."
She glanced at Ji Ci secretly and stopped talking halfway through.
Ji Ci raised his brows slightly and asked, "Additionally?"
"Besides, I'm afraid that if the murderer knows that I've escaped, someone will poison me."
After saying that, Jiang Qiuye hugged his arms and began to tremble with fear.
Ji Ci didn't expect that the young widow who was so smooth-talking a few days ago would be so timid now. He said, "This is the Ministry of Justice."
She took a moment to react before nodding in understanding. She didn't refute him, but just blinked her peach blossom eyes, pouted and lowered her head.
Ji Ci continued, "Today is the second hearing. If you don't want to be imprisoned, then tell the truth."
Jiang Qiuye nodded obediently.
Seeing this, he said no more and turned to walk out of the cell.
Before the bailiffs could urge or pull her, she quickly stood up, but as if she had been tortured for several days, she fell to the ground as soon as she stood up.
Ji Ci turned his head after hearing the voice. He never thought that this young widow was so frail. She had only lived here for three days.
He sighed helplessly and gave the yamen runner a look, and the man stepped forward to help him up.
Jiang Qiuye rubbed her temples, looked at Ji Ci tenderly and said, "It's all my fault. I've caused trouble for the prince."
“…”
The young widow talks a lot of nonsense.
Ji Ci didn't want to say anything more and just walked away. Jiang Qiuye, supported by the yamen runners, could only keep up with him from a distance.
Ji Ci's personal guards were between them, seemingly to prevent anyone from getting close.
But when Ji Ci walked into the execution room, he saw the table piled with food and poisonous herbs. There was a stove in the room, and all kinds of pots and pans were available. He looked up in confusion.
"What's going on?"
The yamen runner was stunned when he saw this and said, "Ah, isn't this the prince's order?"
Ji Ci frowned and asked, "What did the king order?"
Before the yamen runner could answer, Jiang Qiuye stepped forward and said with a faint smile, "Don't blame the yamen runner brother. I was the one who asked them for help."
Although Jiang Qiuye was only wearing a plain white shirt at this time, he seemed to have lost the consciousness of being a prisoner.
The young widow was quite resourceful and she was able to coax the officials from the Ministry of Justice into being polite to her in just three days. This had never happened before.
Jiang Qiuye observed Ji Ci's subtle expression, and just before he saw he was about to get angry, he quickly said, "Your Highness, I don't know how to clear myself of suspicion, so I could only come up with this method. I said I studied medicinal cuisine in Wuzhou. If I can make medicinal cuisine with these poisonous herbs and taste them myself, can that prove that I didn't use them to poison Zhang Liang?"
Ji Ci raised his eyebrows and said, "You felt so weak just now, but now you have the energy to cook?"
Jiang Qiuye sighed and said, "Even if I feel weak all over, I can endure it for the sake of clearing suspicion and for the sake of the prince. Besides, cooking is my joy. When I am doing something joyful, even if I am injured, exhausted, hungry, and cold, my body will instantly be filled with strength."
Injured, exhausted, hungry and cold...
Is this a condemnation of him?
Ji Ci sighed in his heart that whether this young widow could clear the suspicion or not was not important to him at the moment. Even if he sent her to prison, he would never let her leave his sight.
But looking at this innocent and somewhat foolish young widow in front of him, it seemed that no one could refuse her request as long as they stared into her peach blossom eyes.
Never mind, this second interrogation was just a formality. He wanted to see what tricks this young widow was up to.
Ji Ci nodded expressionlessly, waved his cloak and sat on the main seat, looking down indifferently, tacitly approving of Jiang Qiuye's behavior.
Jiang Qiuye secretly exhaled, rolled up his sleeves, washed his hands with clean water, and stewed several poisonous herbs that Ji Ci had found in the water.
At the same time, she also began to process the prepared mutton and other ingredients. She had skillful knife skills and cut the mutton into pieces and removed the bones neatly.
Ji Ci didn't like the smell of sheep. He turned his head away when he smelled the scent, but didn't leave.
Jiang Qiuye looked up and saw this scene. He smiled secretly in his heart, but did not show it on his face. He deliberately made the smell of stewed mutton stronger.
Seeing his frown deepen, yet he feigned composure, she pretended to be calm. She pretended to be confused and asked, "Your Highness, are you alright? It's all my fault. The mutton tasted a bit strong the way I prepared it. Your Highness... you won't blame me, will you?"
Ji Ci's Adam's apple rolled, and he turned to look at Jiang Qiuye, who looked innocent and pitiful, and said without any emotion: "Stop talking nonsense and continue."
"oh."
Jiang Qiuye lowered his head and continued to process the ingredients, but he was already very happy in his heart. It seemed that this piece of wood was not completely meaningless.
She took out the boiled poisonous weeds and dried them in a dry oven until they were completely dehydrated.
An hour later, the initial fishy smell in the torture room had long disappeared, replaced by another rich food aroma, which gradually spread outside the room.
Some prisoners couldn't help swallowing after smelling the smell and stood up to look for the source of the smell.
The only one who remained indifferent was Ji Ci, who was sitting in the main seat.
After it was completely done, another half an hour later, she took the mutton soup out of the pot, put it in a bowl, placed it on the table, and washed her hands again.
After finishing everything, he said, "Your Highness, this is Aconite Lamb Soup. It's a Wuzhou-specific medicinal dish that uses poisonous herbs as supplementary ingredients, with Aconite as the main ingredient. Aconitum is also known as Fuzi in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Its unique paralyzing toxicity produces a strong analgesic effect and is often used to treat rheumatism. I minimized the toxicity of various poisonous herbs when processing them, and then combined them with a variety of other medicinal herbs to create this Aconite Lamb Soup."
Ji Ci lowered his eyes and looked at the exquisite mutton soup in the bowl. Small pieces of mutton were floating in it, and the smell of mutton seemed to have long gone.
The bailiffs in the torture chamber looked at the mutton soup, smelled its aroma, and began to feel hungry unconsciously.
Including Ji Ci.
He rubbed his fingers, a little surprised at his sudden desire for this delicacy.
Jiang Qiuye took the initiative to step forward, scooped it out in a small bowl, glanced at everyone in the room, and slowly drank it.
In fact, there was no need for her to drink it actively. After seeing the cooking process that took an hour and a half, no one suspected that the aconite and mutton soup was still highly poisonous.
Jiang Qiuye raised her eyes and glanced at Ji Ci in front of her, took out a new small bowl, filled it with mutton soup, and walked slowly forward.
The guard on the side blocked it, his face expressionless and cold.
Jiang Qiuye stopped and didn't move forward. She lowered her head to think for a moment, then slowly raised her head, a faint light in her eyes. She said in a firm tone, "Your Highness, although I am an ignorant woman, I know I don't understand the great principles of this world. The laws of all things, from the ninth heaven to the smallest mayfly. I am a mayfly in this world, and I only ask to marry a husband and live in harmony. I don't ask for love, but I ask for mutual respect. But now, I know that I have been played by a trick. The Zhang family's massacre is of great significance. I don't understand the deep meaning, but on the surface, I also hope to track down the cruel culprit. From now on, I am willing to be the knife in your hand and the bait in your hand. I only ask for your mercy."
There was a moment of silence, and Jiang Qiuye forced himself to look at Ji Ci's scrutinizing eyes.
She was gambling, gambling on Ji Ci's heart, that her motive and suspicion for killing Zhang Liang could not be taken lightly.
It is also bet that Ji Ci's illness is anorexia.
After a while, Ji Ci finally raised his hand and said in a flat voice, "Tian Qu, step back."
"yes."
Without any resistance, Jiang Qiuye lowered his eyes, suppressed the smile on his face, stepped forward, and handed over the mutton soup in his hand.
Ji Ci took it and paused, a lingering doubt between his brows. He then took a final sip of the soup. The mutton soup, without a trace of mutton or fishy smell, rolled into his stomach, warming his entire body. He had no desire to spit it out.
He stared at the empty bowl in a daze, then whispered, "It tastes great."
The bet was right!
Jiang Qiuye did not tell Ji Ci that the secret medicine she added to the soup could stimulate people's appetite and hunger when it was cooked, and the herbs such as the prince's pepper and the shijunzi added to the soup were another remedy to relieve anorexia.
"Your Highness, then my suspicion... is lifted?"
Ji Ci raised his eyes and looked at the cautious, soft and pitiful little widow approaching him.
What is really important is not this bowl of soup, but her words, "I am willing to be a knife in the palm of my hand and bait in my hand."
Although it was a bit ridiculous, he did need a bait, a bait to uncover the truth behind the Zhang family tragedy.
He did not answer Jiang Qiuye, but handed the empty bowl back to her, then stood up and walked out of the torture room.
Jiang Qiuye held the empty bowl tightly in his hand, unable to guess what Ji Ci meant or what his attitude was.
The soup is finished, aren’t the words she said enough?
Ji Ci stopped at the door and said sideways, "The suspect, Qiu, is released without charge."
After he finished speaking, he asked the person to leave quickly.
Jiang Qiuye's hand holding the empty bowl shook slightly.
A bailiff came forward and bowed to her, saying, "Come this way, young lady. I will take you out."
After she came back to her senses, she smiled warmly at the yamen runner, two shallow dimples appearing on her cheeks: "Then I'll trouble you, yamen runner brother."
The other party smiled foolishly, scratched his head embarrassedly, and said, "No trouble, no trouble, this way, please."
Jiang Qiuye followed the yamen runner's footsteps, recalling Ji Ci's departing back in his mind, and smiled secretly.
Qiu, whose real name is Qiu Ziye, is naturally not Jiang Qiuye herself, but a layer of skin she puts on.
The note he received when he was imprisoned that day read: Change the mission target and approach King Qi Jici.
The author has something to say:
Qi (qi, second tone)
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