Yun Shunan stumbled and knocked over the bedside cabinet next to her. With a slightly piercing sound, a box fell out from inside the cabinet.
The sound seemed to trigger Yun Shunan's memory. She immediately turned and opened the box, taking out the acupuncture needles and inserting them into Mu Qi's Baihui and temples simultaneously.
Soon, Mu Qi's eyes snapped open.
"Mu Qi, I'm here. I'm right beside you," Yun Shunan said, immediately grabbing Mu Qi's hand.
However, Mu Qi stared at Yun Shunan like a fierce beast eyeing its prey, making no move.
Shan Gong, standing beside them, saw Mu Qi's actions and his expression grew increasingly tense.
As Shan Gong had expected, when Yun Shunan was caught off guard, Mu Qi suddenly gripped her wrist in reverse and pinned her onto the bed.
Yun Shunan's hands were held above her head by Mu Qi with one hand.
Yun Shunan blinked.
Even now, Yun Shunan didn't believe she was in any danger.
Yun Shunan, at this moment, also needed a sense of security. Even if she were to die in Mu Qi's hands now, Yun Shunan would consider herself fortunate.
At least she would die when Mu Qi loved her dearly, rather than waiting for Mu Qi to sober up and realize that his love for Yun Shunan wasn't from his true heart.
"Do you want a hug?" Yun Shunan looked at Mu Qi dazedly, unsure if she was stating her own request or trying to fulfill Mu Qi's.
Mu Qi stared intently at Yun Shunan. Before he could utter a sound, a liquid was silently injected into the back of his neck by Shan Gong.
"Shan Gong, what are you doing!" Noticing Mu Qi's abnormal state, Yun Shunan's eyes instantly turned sharp. She broke free from Mu Qi's grasp and lunged at Shan Gong.
Shan Gong instinctively resisted, but to his surprise, even with all his strength, he was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot against Yun Shunan; he couldn't move her in the slightest.
In the face of absolute strength, his combat techniques, which had always been effective, were utterly useless.
"Do you think I want to? Do you know how harmful that thing is to the body? If it weren't for you, why would young master give me such an order?!" Shan Gong's eyes reddened, unsure if it was because he couldn't break free from the seemingly frail Yun Shunan, or because of Mu Qi.
Yun Shunan paused for a moment, then released Shan Gong's hand.
Shan Gong, now free, hurried towards the exit, but after only a few steps, he was called back by Yun Shunan.
Yun Shunan: "Show me the thing Mu Qi gave you."
Shan Gong instinctively stopped.
He didn't realize that perhaps because of Mu Qi's attitude towards Yun Shunan, or perhaps because of Yun Shunan's "accomplished in both literary and martial arts" demeanor after her rebirth, Shan Gong had long acknowledged Yun Shunan as the mistress of the Mu family in his heart.
"You should know that if I wanted to harm Mu Qi, I would have had countless opportunities. There's no need to openly tamper with the medicine he gave you," Yun Shunan easily guessed Shan Gong's hesitation.
Shan Gong complied and soon handed the box Mu Qi had given him to Yun Shunan.
Yun Shunan placed the box Shan Gong brought onto the bedside cabinet, then unclasped it. Inside, several small glass bottles were neatly arranged.
Yun Shunan took out one of them and, with her bare hands, peeled off the silicone cap of a small glass bottle.
Yun Shunan held the small bottle close to her nose with one hand, fanning the air near the opening with the other.
Yun Shunan's expression grew increasingly solemn.
Yun Shunan: "Is this all?"
Shan Gong immediately replied, "Young master, he only gave me this much."
Yun Shunan didn't respond but directly poured the liquid onto the floor.
Seeing Yun Shunan's action, Shan Gong's eyes widened. He then turned his head away, pretending not to see anything.
Soon, all the liquid in the box was poured onto the floor by Yun Shunan.
Yun Shunan placed the last empty medicine bottle back into the box, then instructed Shan Gong, "Go and get someone to clean this up."
"Yes," Shan Gong responded, and left with the empty box.
Yun Shunan looked at Mu Qi, who was lying on the bed, for a while, then covered him with the quilt.
After the servants came and tidied up the bedroom, Yun Shunan lay down beside Mu Qi, her chin nestled against his shoulder.
How wonderful it was. Regardless of whether Mu Qi's love for her was genuine, she was held in the highest esteem by him.
Mu Qi wouldn't let anyone harm her, not even himself, with Shan Gong guarding her so closely.
But why couldn't she feel happy?
Yun Shunan looked deeply at Mu Qi's jawline, then placed her hand on his waist and closed her eyes.
It was night.
Mu Qi turned away from Yun Shunan, curling up into a fetal position again, his body wracked with pain.
Yun Shunan woke up instantly, holding Mu Qi's waist tightly.
"Ah."
Mu Qi let out a low moan of pain, and Yun Shunan's tears unknowingly soaked his clothes.
Mu Qi had developed a resistance to ordinary sedatives. The drug Shan Gong injected into Mu Qi today had tens of times more potent nerve-paralyzing effects than ordinary sedatives, but its side effects were just as severe.
As time passed, this drug would gradually infiltrate Mu Qi's internal organs, and Mu Qi would experience a period of toxic reaction.
Due to the extremely complex composition of the drug, all other medications were incompatible with it.
Therefore, at this moment, Mu Qi could only endure it.
After a while, Mu Qi's reactions subsided. Yun Shunan got up and went to the kitchen to get some water.
"Mu Qi, have some water," Yun Shunan helped Mu Qi to sit up and brought the water to his lips.
Seeing that Mu Qi didn't react, Yun Shunan called out to him a few more times.
Just as Yun Shunan was about to feed him herself, Mu Qi suddenly opened his eyes.
"Mu Qi?" Yun Shunan's voice trembled slightly, her eyes darting away.
For a moment, Yun Shunan didn't know how to face Mu Qi.
Mu Qi's suffering was undoubtedly related to her.
Mu Qi's gaze was far steadier than Yun Shunan's. He looked at her continuously, mustering all his strength to raise his hand and caress her face.
"Nian Nian, you don't like me..."
Mu Qi's tone was pitiful.
Yun Shunan looked at Mu Qi in astonishment. Only then did she realize that, at some unknown time, Mu Qi's phoenix eyes had filled with tears.