Dongmei and the others watched as the two of them collapsed to the ground in an instant. The maids quickly followed her instructions, not only feeding them the medicine but also using silver needles to prick the specified acupoints on both of them.
“Ugh…”
“Ugh…”
After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Chunlan and Wanqing each spat out two mouthfuls of black blood and gradually regained consciousness.
“Miss, how are you feeling?” Seeing them finally expel the poisoned blood, Dongmei and the other maids removed the silver needles one by one. Watching them sit up weakly from the ground, the dark pallor on their faces slowly faded, leaving only a faint, sickly pallor.
Helping her up, Dongmei anxiously asked about what had just happened.
“Much better. Thankfully, I acted in time, or the consequences would have been unimaginable. Such a potent poison—if I’m not mistaken, Fourth Sister was deliberately poisoned. Come, let’s hurry to Aunt Xu and Father.”
Weakly rising to her feet, Wanqing sighed softly as she recalled everything that had just happened. Only now did she have no choice but to believe her earlier suspicions. With that, she led the maids out, still frail.
“Gone since early morning? This… Father, Stepmother, you must send people to find her immediately. I just discovered she’s been poisoned. If we’re too late, the consequences will be dire. Also, instruct the searchers to report to me the moment they find her and to avoid touching her at all costs…”
When they arrived at Mu Zhenfeng and Aunt Xu’s quarters, they found Aunt Xu having breakfast with her father. Recalling the incident and the potency of the poison, Wanqing urgently relayed her concerns. Seeing Aunt Xu’s face pale with fear as she turned to her father for help, the latter immediately ordered servants to search. Wanqing then left with her maids.
“You all search the estate as well. I’ll go check on Eldest Sister…” Thinking of Mu Wanyu’s grave condition, Wanqing instructed her maids. Considering the possibility of poisoners hiding in the estate, she turned toward Mu Wanxia’s quarters.
“Don’t worry. After what just happened, Miss will surely be cautious. Let’s search too. If she accidentally touches someone, the consequences would be unthinkable.”
Dongmei, noticing Chunlan’s worried gaze as Wanqing left, spoke reassuringly before leading the others to search in different directions.
“Mu Wanqing, I knew you’d come…”
To her surprise, as soon as Wanqing entered Mu Wanxia’s courtyard, she found it eerily quiet. The main gate was wide open, and not a single maid was in sight.
Alarmed, Wanqing stepped inside cautiously. The moment she entered, two shadowy figures flashed before her.
“I guessed it was you. I didn’t expect you to come so boldly. Here to silence me? Or to wreak havoc in the Marquis’s estate? Liu Shi, for the sake of your daughter’s ambition to marry into nobility, you’d go so far as to shatter her dreams—and for me alone, you’d cold-heartedly kill the Marquis, who once shared intimacy with you and fathered your daughter? My father has treated you well. How could you be so cruel?”
Wanqing smiled faintly at the two figures who appeared before her. Knowing they were aware she’d overheard their secret, she sneered and questioned Liu Shi directly.
“I—I’m doing this for Xia’er. That’s why you must die.”
Liu Shi’s face twisted with discomfort at Wanqing’s words, but she gritted her teeth and glared back.
“Except I didn’t die. Your poison is potent, but against me, it’s useless. Aren’t you afraid Eldest Sister will grow suspicious if she sees you two together like this? She still believes my father is hers. What would she think if she saw her mother paired with another man?”
Wanqing chuckled lightly at the hatred burning in Liu Shi’s eyes and posed the question again.
“You—!” Both of them stiffened at her words.
“Xia’er won’t be back from her father’s place so soon. Let’s deal with this girl first,” the black-clad man snapped back to his senses, recognizing her stalling tactic, and lunged forward.
“Hmph…” As he flung a handful of black powder at her, Wanqing countered with a burst of yellow powder.
The powders dispersed, leaving the surroundings eerily calm—except for the nearby flowers and plants, which withered instantly upon contact.
“Impressive. But show me what else you’ve got.” Wanqing glanced coldly at the dead plants at her feet before locking eyes with them again.
“Hmph!” The black-clad man hurled a hidden weapon.
“Got it.” With a flick of her wrist, a concealed dart shot from Wanqing’s bracelet, effortlessly deflecting his attack. Simultaneously, silver needles flew from her sleeve.
“Brother Shan, her needles are poisoned! I—!” Liu Shi, who had been watching coldly, was startled by Wanqing’s skill. She had fallen victim to her hidden weapons before but hadn’t seen them clearly—neither had the man beside her. She had assumed Wanqing’s needles couldn’t match the force of Brother Shan’s projectiles.
Yet, to her shock, Wanqing’s chain-like weapon—whether iron or silver—swiftly entangled his dart, spinning it midair before it clattered to the ground. By the time they realized what had happened, they still hadn’t glimpsed her weapon.
In that moment of confusion, Wanqing released another volley of needles. Recalling their lethality, Liu Shi panicked and rushed forward, shielding Brother Shan with her shoulder. Expecting mere numbing agents, she was horrified to find them laced with poison.
Her face paled as she met the man’s anguished gaze, her body swaying before collapsing sideways.
“You—Mu Wanqing! Mark my words, I’ll repay this debt—and take your life!”
The black-clad man’s expression twisted in fury. Spotting movement at the courtyard gate, he thought of his beloved daughter. With a final burst of powder, he vanished into the shadows. Wanqing countered with her own, neutralizing his attack.
By the time she regained her bearings, the man had already fled through a window, leaping onto the wall and disappearing with Liu Shi in his arms.
“Stop right there, you coward—!” Dongmei, who had just arrived, saw the confrontation and the man’s escape. Enraged, she made to chase.
“Let them go. They won’t cause any more trouble.”
Wanqing stopped her, confident that the poison on her needles would keep the man occupied—likely too busy tending to Liu Shi to cause further chaos at the Princess’s birthday celebration.
“Mother, you—Mu Wanqing, what are you doing here? You—!”
At that moment, a young woman in a striking red dress appeared at the gate. Mu Wanxia’s cheerful call turned to shock as she spotted Wanqing and her maids. Her face drained of color when she noticed the withered plants nearby.
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