Hibiscus as a Painting

Chapter 197

Qi Yongyue said, "It's strange, Sikou Xunle had clearly lost most of his martial arts skills to the antidote, but for some reason he didn't tell Sikou Xunxiang anything about it. From my observation, it seems that even his personal guard didn't notice, so Sikou Xunxiang and the others all thought he was just weak after taking the antidote."

Jun Lin glanced at him and thought for a moment, then said sarcastically, "I'm afraid Si Kou Xunle already knew that there was no antidote for the Corrupted Bone Marrow, but he just didn't tell his brother."

"How could this be?! If that's the case..."

Jun Lin laughed, "How intelligent is Sikou Xunle? How did he become infected with this poison? With just a little thought, he would know that the antidote for this poison has long been lost. He probably knows that Sikou Xunxiang's actions are only to obtain the suppressing antidote, but he never expected that we had tampered with the medicine. Even so, he dares not say anything. If Sikou Xunxiang knew that the antidote was fraudulent, how could he be willing to play along with us? Sikou Xunle, he would rather lose his life than see them together."

Qi Yongyue said, "So, in that case, he has helped his master? But... these past few days, I've been following Sikou Xunxiang closely, and I've noticed that you've been secretly following me. In my opinion, you might... you might have fallen for Sikou Xunxiang... I think... I think..."

Jun Lin's phoenix eyes gradually turned cold: "What did you think?"

"I think that to prevent things from getting complicated, Master should first give the young lady a title and a factual status," Qi Yongyue continued, bowing his head. "As long as the young lady is devoted to Master, there is no need to worry about Sikou Xunxiang playing any tricks."

Jun Lin stared intently at Qi Yongyue with his phoenix eyes for a long time before asking, "Who taught you all this?"

Qi Yongyue was stunned for a moment, then knelt down: "This subordinate dares not hide it. Although this was instructed to me by Madam Yu, I thought this plan was feasible, so just now... just now I took the liberty of having the maids who serve the young lady brew the Hehe Soup, so that the young lady... may give birth to a son for my Yue Kingdom as soon as possible."

After a long silence, a glint of light flashed in Jun Lin's cold phoenix eyes: "That's fine too."

When Zi Jin woke up, it was already late. She sat up and cautiously looked around. There was no one in the room, only a dim lamp. Zi Jin glanced at the incense burner beside the bed, then sat up and picked up some ash from the burner to smell it.

The ethereal, priceless incense, when burned for two hours daily, is extremely beneficial for those suffering from mental exhaustion and excessive fatigue. It nourishes both the mind and body; long-term use can strengthen the body and provide immunity to various poisons. However, burning it for more than two hours at a time is comparable to a potent poison, damaging the mind and spirit and weakening the body.

Zi Jin pressed her temples. No wonder it was so valuable; it was indeed a good thing. At this moment, her mind seemed less chaotic than it had been in the morning, and the fatigue of the past few days had subsided in a single day.

"Is the young lady awake?" An old nanny pushed open the door and said respectfully.

"Hmm." Zi Jin glanced at the person who came and responded indifferently.

The old nanny walked to Zi Jin's side and said respectfully, "Now that you're awake, young lady, please drink your medicine first."

Zi Jin frowned slightly: "Medicine?"

The old nanny smiled faintly: "The doctor said that the young lady has overworked herself and damaged her mental health, so he specially prescribed some tonics and told her to be sure to drink them."

"No need, I feel almost better."

"This... the instructions are that you must make the young lady drink it, please don't make things difficult for me," the old nanny said with difficulty.

Zi Jin didn't want to get entangled any further, so she agreed.

The young maid who had been standing to the side carried the medicine bowl to Zi Jin and respectfully presented it to her.

Zi Jin picked up the medicine and took a sip. It contained Cistanche deserticola, Poria cocos, kelp and seaweed, deer placenta, donkey-hide gelatin and pearl. What a precious and harmonious soup.

Seeing Zi Jin standing there thoughtfully with the bowl of medicine in her hand, the old nanny couldn't help but ask, "Why aren't you drinking it, young lady?"

"Where is Jun Lin?" Zi Jin asked, holding a bowl.

"His Majesty has finished his dinner and gone to his study." After the old nanny finished speaking, she glanced at the bowl in Zi Jin's hand. "Miss, you should drink your medicine while it's hot."

Zi Jin smiled, drank the medicine in one gulp, and casually tossed the bowl onto the tray.

The old nanny looked at the empty medicine bowl and said with a smile, "Miss, you've had a long day. Would you like to take a bath or have a meal first?"

Zi Jin smiled and casually sat down on a chair nearby: "Let's eat first. There's a kind of black datura in Nanshan. Have someone pick some; I'll need it for my bath later."

The old woman said with difficulty, "Datura flowers bloom in August, and it's not even July yet, so many datura flowers probably haven't bloomed yet. Besides, black camellias are not easy to find... Miss, would you like to choose a different flower?"

Zi Jin seemed displeased: "Because of the earth dragon in Nanshan, the flowering season always comes earlier than elsewhere. You should find a few people with good lightness skills to go up and look for them. I estimate that you can find the black datura before you even reach the mountainside."

The old nanny said, "Yes, yes, please don't be angry, young lady. I will give the order right away. What would you like to eat?"

"Whatever," Zi Jin waved her hand lazily.

Jun Lin sat in the study, deep in thought, glancing towards the door every now and then. When he saw Qi Yongyue enter with a hint of joy, before she could even bow, Jun Lin quickly asked, "Has she had a drink?"

Qi Yongyue nodded heavily: "The nanny watched her drink it, and she didn't leave a drop. She's having her meal right now."

Jun Lin glanced at him and thought for a moment, a hint of joy creeping onto his brow: "Jin'er is well-versed in pharmacology, she will surely be able to identify the herbs in the bowl. Since she drank it all, does that mean... she was willing?"

Qi Yongyue thought for a moment and said, "Master must not underestimate her... Master, have you forgotten the lessons of the past? At this moment, the young lady's master is in your hands, and the young lady has lost her martial arts skills. Naturally, she will be obedient to you. But Master, you must not forget that the young lady has always been exceptionally intelligent. You must not be careless."

Jun Lin's face instantly turned cold: "Was Cheng Qingsong sent away overnight?"

"Rest assured, my lord, I have already sent forty secret agents disguised as merchants to travel back to the capital via the mountain road."

Jun Lin glanced at the bright moon outside the window and pondered for a long time: "...We must not let Cheng Qingsong make any mistakes. Let's send some more people."

Qi Yongyue was slightly taken aback: "Master should know that we left just before the coronation ceremony, and to avoid suspicion, we didn't bring many people. Now that most of them are gone, and we have to travel in secrecy along the way, what if something happens to us on the road..."

Jun Lin sighed, "Don't say any more. If Cheng Qingsong gets away, I'm afraid Jin'er..."

"Don't worry, Master, I'll take care of it right away."

"Master," the old nanny called softly from outside the study door.

Qi Yongyue said, "Come in and give an answer."

The old nanny lowered her eyes and entered the study, performing a proper courtly salute: "Your Majesty, the young lady has finished her meal and is currently taking a bath. Would Your Majesty like to go over there?"

Jun Lin glanced at the old nanny: "Is the food to your liking, young lady? How much did you eat? Did you pick the flowers you requested for your bath?"

The old nanny said, "Your Highness can rest assured. The young lady seems to have realized that it was a nourishing medicinal meal, and she seems quite happy about it, having eaten quite a bit. The datura were added to the young lady's bath early on, but she seems to dislike people getting close to her while bathing, and she chased all the servants away."

Jun Lin gazed at the bright moon high above, a slight smile playing on his lips: "She's been like this since she was little, she doesn't even allow fish to fall into her water when she bathes... Alright, you can go now."

Zi Jin removed her outer robe, tested the water temperature with her hand, and then picked up a black datura flower and sniffed it. She glanced casually at the figure guarding the door through the screen, then scooped up four or five more flowers, rubbed them in her palm, and walked step by step to the incense burner by the bed. She opened the burning ambergris incense, rubbed the flowers in her hand to extract the black liquid, and dripped it into the incense, one drop at a time. She repeated this process, using almost twenty datura flowers. After tidying everything up, Zi Jin then took out the jade bottle she had secretly hidden in her robe, took out a pill, and swallowed it.