Cuddling with the Cold Female Protagonist – Chapter 84
by Little PandaVolume 4: The Perils of the Jianghu
Preparing to depart
Ji Qingchi hurriedly fed the antidote given by Feng Ruoqing to Su Yi.
“This antidote pill can only delay the poison in her body.” Feng Ruoqing took Su Yi’s pulse again and said with a frown, “The poison previously in her body, I don’t know what it was, has now been drawn out by this poison hook, worsening the poisoning.”
“Don’t talk about all that nonsense, This Palace doesn’t understand.” Su Yi’s face was ashen1, and she lay motionless on the couch, making Ji Qingchi both agitated and heartbroken. After feeding her the antidote pill, Ji Qingchi said in a deep voice, “This Palace just wants to know, how is she now!”
Feng Ruoqing was silent for a moment, then said softly, “…The situation is not good.”
“How bad is it?”
Feng Ruoqing didn’t answer, only rummaged through her personal medicine kit and pulled out a small, dark black vial. “This is a life-saving pill my Master gave me. There are only three. Even if one has ingested heartbreak grass2, one pill can extend life by a month. If Miss Su takes it, one pill can delay the poison’s onset for at least three months.”
Ji Qingchi’s eyes instantly turned red. “Are you saying she—”
Feng Ruoqing sighed. “Miss Su is currently… the poison has entered her system, she’s exceptionally weak. I’m afraid she can only be bedridden and can’t go anywhere. But to remove her poison, we must go to Changsheng Valley. This life-saving pill can make her body less frail, able to withstand the fatigue of a long journey. My meaning is, let her take this, and while she still has some strength, we’ll take her to Changsheng Valley to seek medical treatment.”
Ji Qingchi took the small vial and clutched it tightly. After a moment, she looked up. “But aren’t you still wanted by Changsheng Valley?”
Speaking of which, Feng Ruoqing also got a headache. “Yes, a reward of ten thousand taels of gold for me. They really think highly of me, huh.”
Ji Qingchi paced back and forth, thought for a moment, and asked, “In your Changsheng Valley, does anyone know how to disguise themselves?”
Feng Ruoqing shook her head. “My fellow disciples3 in the valley are all doctors, solely focused on studying medical arts. How would they know anything about disguise?”
“That makes it much easier. Isn’t Hua Wuying also poisoned? Her subordinates are skilled in disguise. Let’s bring Hua Wuying along, have her subordinate disguise you, you act carefully, and we’ll go to Changsheng Valley to seek medical treatment.”
“That’s indeed a good idea.”
After the two agreed, they had someone secretly find Hua Wuying and told her about this matter.
Hua Wuying naturally wouldn’t object. Leaning back in her chair, she smiled charmingly, “This is truly like getting a pillow when you’re sleepy. I was just about to find Doctor Feng to talk about this. Your Chancellor Xiao has fallen, Yiyun Tower has lost its backer, and the tower has suddenly lost its Four Great Experts and over a hundred spies. My old undying father is flying into a rage and has sent people to investigate thoroughly. I claimed that as a puppet manager, I’m not good at handling affairs and couldn’t find anything. So my damn father replaced the manager with a subordinate promoted by my brother and doesn’t bother with me anymore. Now, I’m as free as a breeze4, with no burdens at all. It’s perfect timing to go to Changsheng Valley with you all.”
The memory of her revealing the weaknesses of several great experts in one go that day was still vivid. Feng Ruoqing looked at her with some concern. “You tipped off the two Highnesses to kill the Four Great Experts, and secretly helped us. Won’t your father do something to you?”
“Oh? Doctor Feng is worried about me?” Hua Wuying smiled gracefully and gave her a flirtatious wink. “It seems Doctor Feng isn’t as unromantic as others say.”
Feng Ruoqing’s ears turned bright red. She raised a hand in a “stop” gesture. “Considering we quelled the rebellion together, I was just asking casually!”
“Doctor Feng, don’t worry,” Hua Wuying said with a smile, pursing her lips. “Anyone who saw me participate in quelling the rebellion is dead.”
Her face held a charming and captivating smile, like peach blossoms in March, but her eyes were pitch black, like unmelting, ten-thousand-year-old dark ice at the bottom of an abyss, making one’s heart grow cold and liver tremble5 upon seeing them.
Feng Ruoqing’s throat moved. “That person who helped with the disguise last time… is your subordinate…”
Hua Wuying fiddled with the balsam flower6 juice on her nails. “If she is loyal to me, naturally nothing will happen. If she betrays me—Doctor Feng, do you know if there’s a type of Gu in your Changsheng Valley called the Mother-Child Gu?”
Feng Ruoqing shook her head. Ji Qingchi said in a deep voice, “This Palace has heard of it—the Xiao mother and son who died suddenly in the imperial prison died from this.”
“Correct.” Hua Wuying smiled at her. “The Mother-Child Gu is a type of Gu that originated from Changsheng Valley. The child Gu is like a fingernail-sized worm, colorless and odorless. When implanted into a human body, the person won’t notice it at all. Only when the mother Gu dies will it slowly devour the person’s internal organs, struggling to break out from within. How can a person with ruined internal organs live? So, people implanted with the child Gu are especially obedient to the one who possesses the mother Gu. After all, if they don’t obey, their life will be over, right? Those two surnamed Xiao fell into my brother’s hands. As for me… I also have a mother Gu. The subordinate who helped Miss Su with the disguise that day, I implanted a child Gu in her. Unless she wants to die, she won’t betray me.”
Feng Ruoqing disapproved. “This thing is too insidious. If you want an enemy to die, wouldn’t implanting this in them mean they can’t live?”
“Don’t worry, this thing is very precious. It’s said to be exceptionally difficult to cultivate. Your Changsheng Valley hasn’t raised many, they only gave some to us because they’re on good terms with our Xuanji Tower. Currently, in the entire Xuanji Tower, only my damn father, my studhorse7 brother, and I have them.”
Speaking of which, she looked at Feng Ruoqing. “Such a good thing for threatening people, how come Doctor Feng doesn’t know about it? How come you don’t have any?”
Feng Ruoqing shook her head, her tone heavy. “When I escaped from the valley, I hadn’t heard that the valley cultivated Gu… and I don’t know why the valley’s Gu and poisons have spread so widely in the Jianghu.”
Ji Qingchi frowned and said, “It seems that after you left, Changsheng Valley underwent some changes you weren’t aware of. In that case, we have even more reason to go to Changsheng Valley and find out what’s going on.”
Changsheng Valley was said to be very far away. Ji Qingchi wished she could depart immediately, but she was also worried about her mother and sisters at home. What if they unknowingly got afflicted by Gu too? Poisons could possibly be detected, but Gu were impossible to guard against effectively. “These Gu, is there any way to guard against them?”
“There is, actually.” Hua Wuying took out a scented sachet she carried with her. “Inside this is balsam herb. Gu worms fear this scent the most. I carry it with me. The mother Gu dislikes this smell and won’t crawl out of its vial, only shrink inside.”
“Good, This Palace will immediately have people gather it and have everyone inside and outside the imperial court wear it.”
Hua Wuying shook her head. “To act without a proper pretext8… if my damn father and brother notice, it wouldn’t be good.”
“Then… what should we do?”
Hua Wuying covered her lips and smiled. “Your Highness could make people think it’s a court fashion. People of the time will naturally rush to imitate it. In Huachen Kingdom, a priestess wore a forehead pendant during a grand sacrificial ceremony, which for a time led everyone outside the palace gates to emulate her.”
“That’s a good idea indeed.” Upon hearing this, Ji Qingchi had people go gather the herb. She sent someone to inform her several elder sisters that balsam flowers could repel Gu, and also conveyed Hua Wuying’s idea.
Her elder sisters were all people who had their own plans. After hearing this, they knew what to do.
After giving instructions, Ji Qingchi looked back at Hua Wuying. “Listening to Miss Hua’s words just now, it seems you’re familiar with the affairs of the Huachen Kingdom’s court?”
Hua Wuying smiled faintly. “Not very familiar, I just have an acquaintance in the imperial palace.”
Her words were somewhat perfunctory, so Ji Qingchi knew she didn’t want to talk about it and didn’t press further.
Instead, she continued discussing the trip to Changsheng Valley with them.
According to Feng Ruoqing, Changsheng Valley was hidden in deep mountains and secluded valleys. The journey was exceptionally long, involving traveling over mountains and wading through rivers, passing through mudflats and forests. Besides bringing medicine, dry rations, and money, they were taking Su Yi, a patient, so they also needed protection.
Listening to their suggestions, Ji Qingchi prepared nine eight-horse carriages, filled with grain, medicine, and silks.
As for protection, she selected one hundred shadow guards from her own subordinates and fifty guards from her residence, and also planned to bring Lin Yue, who had just been promoted to Deputy General, as the commander.
On the day of the palace banquet, it wasn’t just Su Yi and the two Attendant Lords who ate the hotpot; there were about forty other scattered individuals in total. It’s just that their bodies were stronger than Su Yi’s, and their symptoms were milder.
The poisoner was also found out by the Fifth Princess. It was a female cook from the imperial kitchen who, coveting fifty taels of gold, accepted something from a Xuanji Tower spy and put it in the hotpot where it wouldn’t be noticeable.
The Emperor ordered the cook to be beheaded and her head displayed publicly9, and also severely punished corruption and bribery in the palace. For a time, no one inside or outside the palace, or in the imperial court, dared to engage in corruption or accept bribes. Things were cleaned up considerably, inside and out.
As for those who were poisoned, Feng Ruoqing used medicine to seal their poison and delay its onset. Ji Qingchi then submitted a memorial to the Emperor, requesting permission to go to Changsheng Valley to seek medicine for these people.
She was mainly doing it for Su Yi; the others were just incidental. But the others didn’t know this. Seeing the Ninth Highness being so benevolent and righteous, they wept with gratitude and flocked to her residence to thank her. Some even wanted to give her gold and silver, but Ji Qingchi refused.
This was a good deed that benefited the people, so the Emperor naturally had no reason to refuse Ji Qingchi. She also dispatched an additional five hundred city guards to accompany Ji Qingchi to Changsheng Valley.
Two days after Ji Qingchi ordered preparations for departure, Su Yi slowly woke up.
Ji Qingchi had been by her side for several days. As soon as she saw her wake up, she immediately rushed to her bedside. “How are you? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”
“Okay… cough cough…” Having slept for several days, Su Yi’s voice was a bit hoarse. Ji Qingchi immediately poured her a glass of warm water, helped her lean against herself, and fed it to her with a spoon.
Su Yi drank some and felt a bit of strength return. She looked up and around her room, discovering many things were missing.
No way, no way! She was just unconscious. The residence couldn’t have thought she was about to go die and already taken her things to the mausoleum as burial goods, right?!
Su Yi was deeply distressed. “I… I think… I can still be saved…”
“Mm?” Ji Qingchi didn’t understand what she meant. But seeing her eyes scanning the room, she figured Su Yi was wondering where her things had gone, so she explained, “We’re about to take you to Changsheng Valley. Yan Can and the others were afraid you wouldn’t be used to new things, so they packed all your usual belongings onto the carriages.”
“Mmm…” Su Yi breathed a sigh of relief. As long as her things weren’t being buried with her, it was fine.
“…Huh?” Five seconds later, she finally processed what Ji Qingchi had just said. “Cough… cough cough… Where… are we going?”
“Changsheng Valley.” Ji Qingchi transferred some of her true qi to help smooth Su Yi’s qi and blood circulation. Holding her, their temples rubbing intimately, she said, “Don’t worry… don’t worry… once we get there, your illness will be cured.”
Footnotes
- 面如金纸 | miàn rú jīn zhǐ | Literally ‘face like gold paper,’ meaning extremely pale or sallow.
- 断肠草 | duàncháng cǎo | Literally ‘heartbreak grass.’ A general term for several highly poisonous plants, often Gelsemium elegans, known to cause death.
- 师姐妹兄弟 | shī jiěmèi xiōngdì | Literally ‘master’s elder sisters, younger sisters, elder brothers, younger brothers.’ Refers to fellow students/disciples under the same master, indicating a familial-like bond within a sect or school.
- 肩上一派清风 | jiān shàng yī pài qīngfēng | Literally ‘a gust of clear wind on the shoulders,’ meaning to be free of burdens or responsibilities.
- 心寒肝颤 | xīnhán gānchàn | Literally ‘heart cold, liver trembles’; to be chilled to the bone with fear, terrified.
- 凤仙花 | fèngxiānhuā | Balsam flower (Impatiens balsamina), often used to make a reddish dye for fingernails.
- 种马 | zhǒngmǎ | Literally ‘stud horse.’ Used metaphorically and often derogatorily to describe a man who is promiscuous, has many children, or is valued primarily for siring offspring, similar to a ‘player’ or someone used for ‘breeding purposes’.
- 师出无名 | shī chū wú míng | Literally ‘to send out troops without a name/just cause.’ It means to undertake an action without a legitimate reason or justification, which can lead to suspicion or negative consequences.
- 枭首示众 | xiāoshǒu shìzhòng | To decapitate someone and display their head in public as a warning.
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