âHold it, what kind of eyes are you using to see me murder your young general?â Han Yunxi asked angrily. Even the ancients like to smear the motivations of people with good intentions?
Li Changfeng kicked the dagger on the ground into his hands, voice cold. âAll of us saw with our own two eyes. Woman, I donât care who sent you, but prepare for death!â
Theyâd already detained the anxious driver, who wanted to reveal his mistressâ identity but found the timing inappropriate. Instead he shouted, âMistake, itâs a misunderstanding! We just passed by and saw the young general on the ground, so my mistress wanted to save him. She has no ill intentions, the real culpritâs run off long ago.â
Li Changfeng raised his eyebrows at Han Yunxi and gave a snort. âIf you were going to save him, why use a dagger? Who are you trying to fool? Someone grab her.â
âI used the dagger to save him. A poison needleâs struck him deep inside. If it isnât recovered, the consequences wonât be something a guard like you can bear.â Han Yunxi said seriously, intimidating all those present.
Li Changfeng hesitated slightly. Four hours ago, the young general had chased an enemy spy into this area and disappeared. As to what happened exactly, nobody knew. He glanced at the dagger in his hand but dared not risk it. This was really something he couldnât handle.
âStop with your nonsense. Take her to the house, weâll clear up any misunderstandings with the general himself!â Li Changfeng lifted Mu Qingwu in his arms and hastily walked away.
âYouâll regret it!â Han Yunxi shouted. That damned man, how dare he move Mu Qingwu after heâd been poisoned? Itâd only speed up the circulation of toxins into his organs. Fine, sheâd go to the generalâs estate. It wouldnât do to fear them when sheâd done nothing wrong. Would an upright place like that make her confess to false charges under torture?\nAs it turned out, sheâd overestimated the the Mu House. All the members of the Mu family had joined the military. There were rough and blunt, more apt to use their hands than their mouths. When Mu Qingwu was delivered to his rooms, a summoned imperial physician hurried after him. Han Yunxi and the driver were left in the middle of the hall, where General Mu and his thick eyebrows, big eyes, and beard glared at them. He pointed a finger at Han Yunxi. âSpeak, who sent you?!â
Who sent her?
Did she look like an assassin or enemy agent? She didnât even resist when they brought her here. This blockhead was going to drive Mu Qingwu to his death sooner or later. Han Yunxi kept calm without losing her temper. âIâll say this for the last time. I was just a passerby who wanted to save him. The young generalâs been poisoned and his situation is urgent. If heâs not treated now, the effects will be too ghastly to imagine.â
âWhat a joke. Iâve seen plenty of women like you before. You dare argue against conclusive evidence?â As General Mu spoke, he walked closer and closer to Han Yunxi, noisily flicking his whip so that the people around them quaked with fear. Han Yunxi kept a serious, steady gaze and stood there fearlessly, cold eyes unyieldingly boring into General Muâs own. It was the first time the general had met such a bold woman. But so what?
âIâll see if you keep up your lies!â He raised his whip and snapped it right at her.
Han Yunxi didnât dodge. She knew she couldnât avoid it, so she bore the brunt of a lash harsh enough to rip the skin off her arm. Yet her eyebrows didnât even twitch as she stared at him.\nâYouâll regret it!â
âIâll make you regret it first!â General Mu said, lashing her again. Right then, Li Changfeng escorted Imperial Physician Gu back into the hall. Imperial Physician Gu Beiyue[1] was a young man just over 20 years old, but he was head of all the other court physicians. He didnât wear the complicated robes of the Imperial Physician Courtyard, but clean and simple white robes. Refined and cultivated, he had a serene face that exuded warmth even when he didnât smile. He was a doctor that looked more like a scholar.
General Mu gave Han Yunxi a hateful glare before hurrying to Gu Beiyueâs side, rough and boorish. âHurry and tell me, is my son well?â
âHeâs fallen into a coma with a constant high fever. Iâll need to observe him for two more days,â Gu Beiyue said with a slight frown, as if considering something.
âBut whatâs the matter with him? He was perfectly all right until he fainted! Tell me now!â General Mu had a deafening roar as if he might eat Gu Beiyue up.
Though the general controlled the military, Gu Beiyue was a second-rank official and the emperorâs personal physician. No matter how he felt, General Mu couldnât just yell at him. Gu Beiyue looked obviously helpless but didnât press the issue. Instead, he spoke as earnestly as before.
âHe has no injuries or pains. His pulse is normal as well. Thatâs why Iâm puzzled and requested two days for further observation.â Gu Beiyue was the head of all the imperial physicians. If this was his diagnosis, there was no need to invite any of the rest. General Mu was both irritated and unhappy.
âAll right, give Imperial Physician Gu the guest room, heâll stay here for the next two days.â
Right at this moment, Han Yunxi laughed out loud. âWhat a joke! A joke as big as the Heavens! An impressive head physician like you canât even tell heâs been poisoned. If you observe him for two more days, I guarantee youâre helping Mu Qingwu into his grave.â\nThe entire area fell silent at these words. Everyone stared at Han Yunxi. What exactlyâŠhad this woman said? Gu Beiyue looked over as well, finally noticing Han Yunxi for the first time. He suspected it was poison as well, but didnât speak because he was uncertain.
âYou! You dared to curse my son!â General Mu had an explosive temper, charging over with the intention to whip her.
But the carriage driver couldnât hold back anymore. âGeneral Mu, you canât afford to hit her! Sheâs the Qin Wangfei!â he cried.
Ah?
Qin Wangfei?
General Muâs whip hovered in the air, never managing to land. The entire room was in shock. How could this be?
âWhat did you say?â Now the general was shouting at the driver.
âEsteemed general, this is Qin Wangfei. This morning she just went with his highness the Duke of Qin to pay respects to the court. We saw the young general lying on the road on our way back. Esteemed Wangfei absolutely did not plot to kill the young general! Please use clear judgment, esteemed general!â the driver cried. Afraid that they wouldnât believe him, he pulled out the Duke of Qinâs entry gate plate to prove it. How would he explain things back home if someone hit the Wangfei?
When the crowd saw the identifying plate from the Duke of Qinâs residence, they had no choice but to believe him. Then they noticed the injury on her arm. One by one, their expressions turned complicated. So this woman was the useless trash of the Han Family, the one who alighted from the wedding sedan by herselfâŠQin Wangfei Han Yunxi?
Han Yunxi didnât want to reveal her identity so abruptly. The status of a Wangfei gave her plenty of privileges, but plenty of restrictions as wellâespecially an unrecognized Wangfei like herself. It was better to be subtle. But since the driver revealed everything, these people should behave themselves, right?\nWho knew that General Muâs whip would violently lash out as before? Though it didnât touch her body, it gave her a sizable scare.
âSo what if itâs the Qin Wangfei? Deliberate murder of the young general is still a capital offense! Speak, who was it that sent you?â General Muâs face was flushed with hate, making him look like a demon. If someone dared to hurt his precious son, heâd explode at them regardless of Qin Wangfei or even the Duke of Qin himself. Moreover, this woman wasnât favored by the duke. He didnât even appear for his wedding day, so she had no real clout. With an empty title like that, who feared her?
Han Yunxi couldnât help such an unforeseen thing. But neither did she dwell on it. When she met General Muâs furious gaze, her voice was cool. âI donât want to waste words with you. Iâll say it one last time. Your son has been poisoned. If you donât treat the toxin within two hours, I can promise that even immortals wonât be able to save his life!â
âHahahah!â General Mu laughed loudly. âListen to this! Did you all hear what she said? Even the useless trash of the Han Family knows how to diagnose illnesses now? More like the sunâs going to rise from the west!â
General Mu smiled as he glanced towards Gu Beiyue. âImperial Physician Gu, you heard her talk. Her diagnosis is completely different from yours. A useless trash and the head physician, whose words should I heed?â These words were full of mockery that stirred the entire hall into laughter. Yet Gu Beiyue didnât laugh when he looked at Han Yunxi. His eyebrows knitted slightly as if thinking of something. Very quickly, General Mu stopped laughing.
âSomeone take this woman away! When the young general wakes up, weâll let the courts of justice decide her punishment!â\nHan Yunxi couldnât bear it anymore. She turned back with a fierce glare, enough to awe the approaching guards into backing away a few paces. These people were squandering Mu Qingwuâs life! She stared viciously at General Mu before simply taking a seat.
âImperial Physician Gu, you should examine two cun up from the young generalâs navel, specifically the Profound Spirit and Obscure Serenity acupoints[2]. Use a needle to test for poison and youâll see whether or not Iâm lying.â
And yet a woman wearing light yellow robes walked in with pretty features and an arrogant gaze. She was the same woman who shot the dart that knocked off Han Yunxiâs veil on her wedding day, General Muâs daughter Mu Liuyue. Like countless other females in the capital, sheâd hoped that no one would ever marry the Duke of Qin. Even if she couldnât marry him herself, she wouldnât allow another woman to do so in her place.
A useless trash like Han Yunxi not only stole him away, but was now here to plot against her elder brother. Sheâd never let her off! As soon as Mu Liuyue walked in, she grabbed General Muâs hand and gave Han Yunxi a provoked glance.
âFather, hurry up and send her to the courts. Everyone saw her trying to hurt elder brother with a dagger! Why are you bothering to talk nonsense with her? What can a useless trash know about the medical arts?â
Han Yunxi couldnât remember how sheâd slighted this lady, but she felt her hostile enmity. Her head seemed on the verge of exploding as she mentally calculated the time. Mu Qingwuâs poison would reach his internal organs very soon. Naturally, General Mu didnât trust Han Yunxi, so he just yelled at the guards.
âAre you guys just rice buckets? Hurry and take her again!â\nâHold it!â At this point, Gu Beiyue suddenly called out.
He knew about the Profound Spirit and Obscure Serenity acupoints. They werenât just ordinary acupressure points because no one beyond adepts in the field would have heard of such names, much less know their locations. Two cun above the navel, and yet Han Yunxi was the one who marked them out precisely. In addition, these two acupoints were extremely sensitive to poisons affecting the internal organs. It really was the best place to test for them.
If Han Yunxi knew this, then it meant she wasnât useless trash. Though her words might be doubtful, Gu Beiyue had been debating whether or not Mu Qingwu was poisoned. His skills at detoxifying poisons were weak so he couldnât make a wild diagnosis. Right now it wouldnât hurt to trust Han Yunxi once.
âGeneral Mu, the esteemed Wangfei speaks reasonably. Iâll go try it right now,â Gu Beiyue said in a rush.
Mu Liuyue savagely blocked his way. âYou canât go, Imperial Physician Gu! Who doesnât know sheâs the trash of the Han Family? What would she understand about acupoints or poisons? Itâs a joke!â
âYoung Miss, with a personâs life at stake time is of the essence, especially if thereâs poison. Please donât make trouble,â Gu Beiyue replied seriously.
-o-
[1] Gu Beiyue (éĄŸćæ) â Gu is a surname also meaning to âturn around and look at,â Beiyue means ânorth moon.â