There are still many unclear aspects to what happened back then, so it's possible that the King was the murderer who killed the master's father. If that's the case, then it's even more important not to let the King know about the young master's existence.
As the prince watched her struggle, seeing the fear and confusion on her face, he suddenly softened his expression. She couldn't help but grab the wet nurse's wrist and ask anxiously, "Are you... Heng'er?"
The wet nurse's eyes widened suddenly, filled with shock and disbelief.
She was naturally shocked, because she hadn't expected the King to mistake her for his master! If she impersonated the master, she could draw all the danger onto herself, and the young master would be safe. She could lie to protect the young master when everything was about to be exposed.
She knew that once the Prince knew about this, the Emperor would soon find out as well. And that would be followed by the frenzied killing by the person who had hunted her down years ago. She couldn't let her young master be caught in this disaster! It seemed she could no longer hide it. So she decided to tell a complete lie. As long as she could protect Luo Zhiheng, as long as she could keep her promise to her master, she would do anything!
Wang Quanhou occupied the territory. The wet nurse clenched her hands, her lips were pale, and her voice trembled: "I, I..." 17.
The King stared intently at the wet nurse. She had observed her for a long time, and the more she thought about it, the more convinced she became that this person might be her long-lost relative. She was also afraid of mistaking her for someone else, but Luo Zhiheng's traits were too strange. Her lustful nature was called "romanticism" in the Silver Moon Kingdom, and was considered perfectly normal. Luo Zhiheng would pursue other men without any scruples, which was shocking in this world, but in the Silver Moon Kingdom, it was very common.
But Luo Zhiheng was too young, and too different from the person she knew. Only this wet nurse was suspicious. She knew the martial arts techniques of the Silver Moon Kingdom, she was about the same age as that person, and most importantly, she was still a virgin. Yet, she remained in a minor noble family as a wet nurse. This made Luo Zhiheng naturally believe that she was escaping—escaping the past, avoiding disaster.
The king pressed on impatiently, "What? Tell me! Are you Heng'er?"
The wet nurse's throat went dry with nervousness. She dared not look the king in the eye, struggling to calm her breathing, and finally gritted her teeth and said, "I am! What do you want?"
The King was completely stunned. The person he had been searching for for so many years had been discovered and dragged out by her. The wet nurse seemed about to deny it, but then suddenly admitted it, which made the King suspicious: "Are you really Heng'er? What is your full name?"
Startled by the King's wariness, the wet nurse, her face pale, sneered, "Qin, Yin, Heng! My name is Qin Yinheng! Are you satisfied now, my dear sister!"
Master, I am sorry. I will temporarily use your name. Once I have protected the young master through this great crisis, I will definitely restore your rightful name!
The King's expression changed drastically!
If the person in front of her is an imposter, how could she possibly know that her long-lost younger sister is named Qin Yinheng? How could she possibly know their relationship and how they address each other? So, is this person really her half-sister who disappeared more than thirty years ago?!
She took a few steps back in shock, scrutinizing the wet nurse closely, looking down at her face with particular care. But she couldn't see any resemblance to their mother on the wet nurse's face. Could it be that Qin Yinheng looked like her father?
The King suddenly remembered the cause of that incident from years ago. Wasn't it because Qin Yinheng didn't resemble either her mother or her father? The child wasn't considered outstanding in the Silver Moon Kingdom, as it was known for its many beautiful women and handsome men. The strange thing was that Qin Yinheng didn't resemble either of her parents. So, who did she resemble? Thus, the courtiers and the people began to discuss it. As Qin Yinheng grew older, even after she reached a few years old, no trace of her parents could be seen on her face, and the discussions turned into various rumors and suspicions.
Because of this incident, the Empress Dowager distanced herself from Qin Yinheng's father and sent people to investigate who he had been in contact with. However, all their efforts were in vain, which only angered the Empress Dowager. A series of tragedies followed, leaving the Empress Dowager filled with regret: Qin Yinheng's father died, the Empress Dowager was overcome with grief, and Qin Yinheng herself disappeared completely.
This event, which caused a sensation throughout the entire Silvermoon Kingdom, lasted for a long time. Today, she finally found the rumored child, and she was naturally both excited and hesitant.
To ensure accuracy, the King suppressed his excitement and asked in a cold voice, "Then do you know what kind of country Silvermoon Kingdom is?"
The wet nurse grew increasingly calm and said indifferently, "A kingdom of women's rights! I wonder how Her Majesty the Empress is doing now? She hasn't breathed her last yet, has she? Otherwise, Her Highness the Empress would not be the Crown Princess, and you should be promoted to Prince Shi."
The Queen finally realized that the person in front of her was her long-lost sister! If she wasn't the child being hunted down, how could she possibly harbor such deep hatred for the Queen?
"You really are Heng'er! How come you're working as Luo Zhiheng's wet nurse?" The Prince stepped forward and couldn't help but pat her head as he had when she was a child. Even for the Prince, finding a child he loved in his youth still made him excited and happy.
The wet nurse flinched slightly, uncomfortably, and said coldly, "Naturally, it was to escape that damned pursuit. I never knew when someone would come to assassinate me. All those who protected me are dead, and this old servant died in the end too. Fortunately, the young lady's mother was kind-hearted and took me in. Knowing that I was pitiful, she let me stay by Luo Zhiheng's side. She said I was a wet nurse, but really it was just to give me a title so that I could stay by the young lady's side and have some peace."
The Queen's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed, and she smiled, "So you're so good to that girl Luo Zhiheng? Is it to repay a debt of gratitude?"
"Mm." The wet nurse lowered her head slightly and remained silent.
The King was helpless. Knowing her past would truly break his heart. He said, "You are a princess of the Silver Moon Kingdom, a noblewoman without a title. You are qualified to inherit the throne. I... I can't, there's Emperor Xian above me, even twins can't, but you can. Your status means you can't continue to be Luo Zhiheng's slave. Don't worry, I will send people to protect Luo Zhiheng. I will help you repay the debt you owe her mother. Now, regain your status as a princess and return to your country. Your mother misses you very much."
The wet nurse couldn't help but feel heartbroken for her deceased mistress: "Do you miss her? If you really do, then why was there such a desperate pursuit back then? And don't try to act like an elder sister in front of me anymore, I can't bear it. Besides, I will stay by the young lady's side forever. I promised her mother that I would die for the young lady. I will never leave the young lady!"
Back then, it was you and one of the Emperor Xian who personally led troops to hunt them down. She'll never forget those ferocious and ruthless faces! And surely her master, who has been dead for many years, will never forget them either!
Second update! Hua Sha will keep working hard for the third update! Please wait a moment, my darlings. Please vote, leave comments, and give monthly tickets! Group kisses!
270 Poison or antidote? Say "I love you" before you die! A desperate gamble!
Updated: 2013-08-20 12:36:15 Word Count: 7813
Mu Yunhe's whole body was convulsing, his face was bluish, his lips were cracked, and he was struggling in great pain.
Luo Zhiheng stood stiffly to the side, watching Madam Huoyun and the Poison Saint try various treatments on him. She listened to Mu Yunhe's voice, which he could no longer call out, heavy and labored, like a war drum pounding on her heart, causing her both pain and fear.
“Ordinary medicines are no longer effective in controlling the toxins in his body. The only solution is to detoxify him. But we dare not attempt detoxification now, as Mu Yunhe’s body is gradually weakening. There is another way to alleviate his pain: knock him unconscious, or wait for him to faint from the pain,” Madam Huoyun said breathlessly.
"Really... is there no other way?" Luo Zhiheng seemed to be driven to the brink of despair, her heart sinking continuously, unable to find the bottom or the ground, just sinking in that terrifying way.
"No, unless we have the complete antidote, combined with the blood of the World King," the Poison Saint said grimly. To be unable to save Mu Yunhe was a profound disgrace. Was his illustrious reputation as the Poison Saint to be ruined like this?
The antidote! The antidote! Looking at Mu Yunhe's face contorted in agony, Luo Zhiheng felt her heart clench, her mind filled with that damned antidote. She had never hated herself so much! If she hadn't let the wet nurse intervene that day, Nalan might not have died! If she could have found a way to get the antidote, Mu Yunhe wouldn't be suffering like this today!
Where was she going to get the antidote? Luo Zhiheng suddenly squatted down on the ground, as if all her strength was about to be exhausted, and despair overwhelmed her. Her clever mind was also a complete mess.
"Knock him out, it's too painful for him," Lady Fire Cloud suggested in a low voice.
The Poison Saint nodded, pulled Mu Yunhe's almost convulsing body up, and draped a cloak behind his neck. Mu Yunhe fainted, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but the immense oppressive atmosphere made them feel even more suffocated.
Tong Lao and the others stared blankly at Mu Yunhe. Was this diviner who had suddenly appeared a hundred years later really going to leave them like this?
"Damn it! Mu Qingya, that bitch, should be dragged out and whipped! Who cares if she's the little prince's sister or not? Such a vicious bitch deserves to die! She should go to hell! She doesn't even have a shred of remorse, and she even caused the death of her own brother after her own death! If she could leave behind an antidote, then she wouldn't have lived in vain!" General Murong roared angrily.
Her words struck Luo Zhiheng like a thunderbolt. She abruptly raised her head, her eyes red, and shouted, "What did you just say?"
General Murong was taken aback, his face turning slightly embarrassed. He assumed that Luo Zhiheng didn't want him to swear: "Well... I didn't say anything."
"What did you just say about Mu Qingya?" Luo Zhiheng pressed. Something flashed clearly through her chaotic mind, but it wasn't quite clear. It was as if she had touched the edge of something, but couldn't quite reach it.
"Is Mu Qingya's death a good thing for her?" General Murong asked tentatively.
"Not that sentence. What did you say in your last sentence?"
General Murong frowned, somewhat confused. Old Master Tong said in a deep voice, "He said that if Mu Qingya could leave behind the antidote, it would be a good thing that she didn't live in vain."
Luo Zhiheng's pupils constricted, and she murmured, "Mu Qingya, the antidote, the... the antidote!" Suddenly, she realized something, stood up abruptly, and frantically searched her body. The group of old men were startled and quickly looked away. But Luo Zhiheng couldn't find the porcelain bottle that Mu Qingya had handed her before she died.
"Where did it go? Where did you put it? How did it disappear?" Luo Zhiheng's anxious voice was trembling with tears. That might be her last straw; without it, there was truly no hope left.
"What are you looking for? Tell us and we'll help you look for it," Madam Huoyun asked.
Luo Zhiheng pushed her aside and hurriedly ran back to the room where she had changed clothes. She hadn't shared a room with Mu Yunhe since returning from the palace; her clothes were in this room. Three days had passed—had someone touched them? She rummaged through everything, like a ruthless bandit, leaving the room in a mess in no time. But when she found the clothes she had worn to the palace that day, she was dumbfounded.
Because the clothes had been washed clean and folded neatly in the closet. And the black porcelain bottle was no longer inside the clothes!
It's gone!!
"Who touched my clothes? Who washed them?!" Luo Zhiheng roared instantly, grabbing her clothes and rushing out of the room, almost colliding with the person chasing after her.
"What's wrong, Miss?" The wet nurse rushed over from a distance, followed by the Prince.
"Nanny! My clothes! The black porcelain bottle inside my clothes is gone! Who washed these clothes?" Luo Zhiheng's voice was distorted.
The wet nurse quickly said, "Don't worry, don't worry, the clothes were washed by Qiwan. Miss's things are not lost. I took them out a long time ago, and they are here."
As she watched the wet nurse take the black porcelain bottle from her purse, Luo Zhiheng's despairing gaze suddenly brightened. She threw down her clothes, grabbed the bottle, and gently stroked it, her mind in turmoil.
This was Mu Qingya's last possession, given to her. She had seen it; inside were two pills, but she didn't know what they were. If, if these were the antidotes to the two most difficult-to-cure, extinct poisons in Mu Yunhe's body, wouldn't Mu Yunhe be saved?
But could this be the antidote? Would Mu Qingya be so kind as to give her the antidote? If so, why didn't Mu Qingya explain it clearly? Her last expression before she died could be described as eerie; that smile still sends chills down Luo Zhiheng's spine whenever she thinks about it.
Or is this yet another huge trap? Is Mu Qingya, unwilling to give up hope of killing Mu Yunhe, trying to create this illusion to lure her into a trap? To make her believe this is Mu Qingya's deathbed confession, or the antidote?
Luo Zhiheng knew this was a high-stakes gamble. She faced two choices: believe it was the antidote, but Mu Yunhe might die immediately after taking it; or believe it was poison, and if she threw it away, Mu Yunhe would have even less hope. Both options were uncertain, both extremes, and she had no confidence in either one, so she dared not try.
At this moment, she was truly outmaneuvered by the deceased Mu Qingya!
Mu Qingya had exploited this contradictory and anxious state of mind, wanting to give her hope while simultaneously filling her with despair. At this moment, Luo Zhiheng finally understood the meaning behind Mu Qingya's eerie smile before her death.
Mockery and contempt!
Was this a provocation against her cowardice or courage? Was she trying to provoke her into giving the drug to Mu Yunhe? Was she trying to use her to kill Mu Yunhe? What exactly did Mu Qingya want? Was she seeking revenge? Mu Qingya had said that she was now the person Mu Qingya hated most. So, was Mu Qingya trying to plunge her into deep despair and pain in this way?
A wrong judgment led to the death of the man she loved. This method of revenge is so typical of Mu Qingya! So ruthless and vicious!
But is that really what she thought? If Mu Qingya only wanted to teach her the antidote, if Mu Qingya really knew she was wrong and wanted to make amends, wouldn't not giving Mu Yunhe these two pills have made things even worse for Mu Yunhe?
Luo Zhiheng had a splitting headache; her head felt like it was about to explode.
"What's wrong with you? What are you holding in your hand?" The King asked, glancing sideways at the wet nurse. She disliked the fact that a princess of the Silver Moon Kingdom called herself a servant! Although Luo Zhiheng's mother had been kind to her, and although Luo Zhiheng was a good person, if her sister called herself a servant, then what was she?
Luo Zhiheng looked up and suddenly saw the Poison Saint. Her eyes lit up: "You can make poisons and prepare antidotes, so you must be able to tell what kind of antidote is what kind of antidote, right? Look at these things here, can you figure out what they are?"
The Poison Saint took the porcelain bottle, opened it, looked inside, and sniffed it. Suddenly, his expression changed drastically, and he put it away. He then pulled a broken gourd from his disheveled clothes, stole a few white pills, swallowed them, and roared angrily, cursing, "You damn Luo Zhiheng! You actually used deadly poison to harm me!!"
The last glimmer of hope on Luo Zhiheng's face shattered bit by bit. She screamed in disbelief, "Impossible! How can this be poison? Look again, smell it! This should be the antidote, right? Isn't this the antidote?"
"What kind of antidote is this! It's obviously poison. I just couldn't cure Mu Yunhe, and you're trying to harm me with poison! Truly, the most poisonous heart is a woman's!" The Poison Saint roared, his face ashen.
"Impossible! This doesn't belong to my young lady. She doesn't know what it is, and she wouldn't harm you," the wet nurse said coldly. 16628389
The king suddenly felt a headache coming on, as if he too was caught in the agonizing dilemma of being torn between his loved ones and his beloved. One was the man he adored, the other his sister whom he had finally found. He couldn't afford to offend either of them.
"Alright, you two! I believe Luo Zhiheng wouldn't be foolish enough to harm my beloved concubine in front of me. Luo Zhiheng, tell me, what is this?" the Prince said.
Luo Zhiheng told them where the item came from, and General Murong immediately said, "It was given to you by Mu Qingya? She hasn't even said what it is or what she's trying to do. I think she's just being hypocritical. Didn't you hear that even the Poison Saint said it's poison? Mu Qingya is indeed a vicious woman."
Old Master Tong's face was extremely grim. Princess Tong and Mu Qingya were both considered members of the Tong family, and their various misdeeds had caused Old Master Tong great embarrassment. Now, Mu Qingya had left behind such a huge mystery and poison before her death, which made Old Master Tong feel both grief and heartache.
Luo Zhiheng cried and laughed in a daze, "I thought she would leave behind an antidote, but I didn't expect..." It was poison!
For a moment, everyone's faces were filled with anger and disappointment.
"Actually, there might be another possibility." The Poison Saint spoke dryly, and seeing everyone looking at him, he hesitated for a moment before saying, "The Nalan family are masters of poison making, and their ancestor was also a strange person. The poisons he researched could only be cured by his antidote; all others were useless. Moreover, he was skilled at using poison to fight poison."
"What do you mean? Explain it clearly!" The World King wished he could give the Poison Saint's butt a good pat.
The Poison Saint snorted coldly and said, "Fighting poison with poison means that sometimes the antidote to a deadly poison is not necessarily non-toxic, and a deadly poison may also be the antidote to another deadly poison. Do you understand now?"
Luo Zhiheng's eyes lit up, and she asked eagerly, "Are these two pills the antidote?"
The Poison Saint shook his head and said, "Not necessarily. I can't be sure if this is the antidote for those two deadly poisons. Moreover, it would take at least two or three months to get into the research, but Mu Yunhe couldn't even last three days."
"What should we do?" The group sighed in unison, at a loss for what to do.
The group barely slept from day to night, and then again until dawn. Mu Yunhe had been unconscious since being knocked out, and Luo Zhiheng stayed by his bedside, her brows furrowed with deep conflict. She didn't know whether she should give Mu Yunhe the medicine.
Using it, hope and death are evenly matched. Not using it, then certain death.
Lost in thought, she felt her hand move slightly. Looking up, she saw that Mu Yunhe had woken up and was looking at her with a dry yet tender gaze.
"You're awake. Are you thirsty?" Luo Zhiheng half-lyed beside him, affectionately kissed his cheek, and asked with a smile.
Mu Yunhe could no longer speak; his throat was very sore. He nodded slightly, his breath weak.