The cook at the County Princess's mansion was skilled. Four meat dishes and four vegetable dishes, paired with four cold and four hot starters, and desserts, sweetened rice cakes, made the meal as satisfying as dining at a restaurant. After the meal, enjoying some cooling fruits while listening to the chirping of insects and birds outside the window and feeling the cool breeze from the lake was a divine experience.
"Miss, it's getting late. You should get some rest," a maid said.
Normally, Li Man'er wouldn't go to bed so early when she was at home. When she had free time, she liked to practice swordplay in the courtyard or hit a wooden dummy, which always made her maids' hearts pound with worry.
But now she was a guest, so she had no choice but to retire early.
Just as the lamp inside the room was extinguished, footsteps echoed in the courtyard, and hushed voices could be heard.
Before Li Man'er could call out, Lv Yi and Zi Yan were already up. They lit the lamps and helped Li Man'er get dressed and tidy her hair.
Soon, the door was knocked upon, and Aunt Min's voice was heard, "Apologies for disturbing you, Young Lady. Are you awake?"
"Auntie, please come in!"
Aunt Min pushed the door open, her expression tinged with urgency. "Young Lady, please go and see the County Princess. We don't know what's wrong, but she's suddenly taken ill."
Li Man'er was slightly surprised but quickly replied, "Zi Yan, get my medicine box and come with me."
"Yes, Miss."
Zi Yan slung Li Man'er's medicine box over her shoulder, gave Lv Yi a few instructions, and then hurried out of the lakeside pavilion with Aunt Min. The maids carried lamps ahead, while Aunt Min and Li Man'er followed behind, everyone walking with haste and grave expressions.
Something was wrong.
The more Li Man'er thought about it, the more it felt amiss. If the County Princess had an acute illness, they should have sent for a doctor. Why come to her? Surely, the vast County Princess's mansion couldn't be without a female physician.
She had a vague suspicion that there might have been an issue with the person afflicted by the蛊 (gu, a type of curse or poison), which was why she was summoned in such a rush. After all, she had entered the mansion under the guise of treating the County Princess, which was her supposed duty.
It was too dark, and Li Man'er was focused on following, so she didn't get a clear look at which courtyard they had entered. However, this courtyard wasn't grand and looked quite unremarkable. It was certainly not where Princess Wuyou resided, which further solidified her suspicion.
After passing through a moon gate, several maids carrying lamps quietly withdrew.
Aunt Min personally led Li Man'er into the courtyard. As they reached the door of a room, Zi Yan instinctively shivered. A wave of cold air hit her, making her tremble with a chill even in the summer heat.
Aunt Min quickly said, "Young Lady, please go in. This old servant and Miss Zi Yan will wait outside."
Li Man'er understood and immediately replied, "Very well." She took the medicine box and said to Zi Yan, "You stay with Auntie Min. I'll feel more at ease."
Zi Yan nodded and watched as Li Man'er entered the dark room, wondering why not a single lamp was lit inside.
Before Zi Yan could see anything clearly, the door was abruptly shut.
"Miss Zi Yan, let's go wait in the side room. There are many mosquitoes outside."
Zi Yan nodded. Though she found it strange, she couldn't pinpoint why, so she followed Aunt Min to the side room.
Aunt Min lit a lamp and invited Zi Yan to sit down.
"It's a bit simple here. Please don't mind it, Miss."
"You're too kind, Auntie. I am not a noble person," Zi Yan replied, sitting on a chair. Her mind was on Li Man'er, and her eyelids felt heavy. Slowly, she began to yawn.
Zi Yan fell asleep on the table. Aunt Min, seeing this, let out a sigh of relief and sat opposite her, waiting quietly.
The Ninth Prince's蛊 (gu) poison had suddenly flared up. Unfortunately, Young Master Jiang was not present. A Wu and A Qi were helpless and quickly brought the Ninth Prince to the County Princess's mansion.
The treatment, originally scheduled for tomorrow, had been moved up. They wondered if Miss Li would be capable of handling it.
At this moment, a light flickered on in the main room. Li Man'er saw two men who looked like guards. Her memory was excellent, and she immediately recognized them as individuals who followed the Ninth Prince, Qi Yihan, and had once visited the Marquis's estate to watch the excitement.
"The person afflicted by the蛊 (gu) is the Ninth Prince?" She had harbored this suspicion earlier. Last time, at the back of Mount Ganzhao, she had noticed the Ninth Prince consuming something bloody. Now she realized he must have used some peculiar medicinal guide to suppress the蛊 worms within him.
"That's correct."
Li Man'er looked up and saw Princess Wuyou emerge from the inner room. "Man'er, this matter is of great importance, which is why it was kept from you."
"I understand. To me, the patient is always the same. Since I agreed to help, I won't go back on my word."
Princess Wuyou was overjoyed and quickly said, "Follow me."
The two entered the inner chamber, while A Wu and A Qi stood guard outside.
"Alas, do you think this Miss Li, who looks so delicate, can really treat that蛊 King?" A Qi asked, arms crossed, deep in thought. "Treating illnesses and detoxifying are completely different from dealing with蛊."
A Wu, as taciturn as ever, said nothing, only glancing at him.
"But then again, you can't judge a book by its cover. If she were truly delicate, she wouldn't have been able to throw Old Ninth into that kind of place, tsk tsk..."
"Are you envious?"
A Qi blinked. "What?"
"Envious of being thrown into that place."
A Qi rolled his eyes. "I knew you weren't a good person, always hatching schemes."
Neither of them spoke further, as faint sounds of Qi Manhan's pained cries emanated from the inner room.
Qi Yihan at this moment was no longer the elegant Ninth Prince whose bearing and appearance could charm a crowd. His face was covered in tiny purplish-blue marks, resembling varicose veins. Li Man'er took one look and declared, "蛊 poison spots."
"Yes, Young Master Jiang also said so."
"Young Master Jiang?"
"He's also a physician with considerable research into蛊 (gu) techniques. It's thanks to his help in suppressing the Ninth Prince's蛊 worms."
Li Man'er chuckled lightly. "If he were truly that capable, it wouldn't have taken so many years to lure out the蛊 King."
Princess Wuyou didn't know how to respond.
"Are you confident?"
Li Man'er opened her medicine box and took out a very long and thin needle. "Your Highness, extracting this蛊 worm is not difficult. However, once the worm dies, it will surely alert the one who cast the spell."
"Then what do we do?"
Li Man'er didn't speak. She directly stepped forward and removed the Ninth Prince's clothes. Wow, these abdominal muscles were quite alluring. She hadn't expected Qi Yihan to be so well-built.
"Man'er, what are you doing?"
"First, to relieve the pain." She filtered out the handsome male form before her and accurately inserted the silver needle into an acupoint. "When the蛊 poison flares up, all the afflicted person's internal organs ache as if being gnawed by insects, causing unbearable pain. We must first stop the pain before determining the treatment plan."
The feel of it... tsk tsk...