About a quarter of an hour after drinking the medicine, Zhang Cuihua slowly opened her eyes.
Seeing her wake up, Zhao Jiaqi’s anxious heart finally relaxed. She excitedly held her mother-in-law’s hand and said with emotion, “Mother, you’re awake. How do you feel? Is anything uncomfortable?”
Zhang Cuihua’s eyes looked at the ceiling and for a moment, she thought she had returned to the past.
When she heard a voice calling her name, she slowly turned her head. The moment she saw her daughter-in-law, she realized she had seen incorrectly just now.
“Qiqi.”
The rough, unpleasant voice that escaped her lips startled her. She wanted to get up but found herself lacking strength, her body feeling soft and limp like cotton.
Her eyes were filled with suspicion as she looked at her surroundings, becoming even more confused. “Qiqi, what’s wrong with mother? Where is this? Weren’t you and Zehao out playing, why are you back?”
Seeing her mother-in-law able to speak so much in one go and her thoughts still relatively clear, she surmised that apart from weakness, there was likely no major issue with her body.
She got up and gave the position by the bed to Qi Xuan. “Uncle Qi, please check her pulse and see if the toxins have affected any other organs.”
Qi Xuan felt Zhang Cuihua’s withered wrist and carefully took her pulse. He frowned and then knit his brows for a while, finally ending with a sigh.
He got up and said slowly, “Although the poison has been detoxified, it remained in the body for a long time. This portion of the toxins will definitely affect other areas. She will need good conditioning from now on. Other than that, there are no major problems.”
That was good. Only then did Zhao Jiaqi reveal a happy smile that she hadn’t had for many days.
Qi Xuan stroked his beard, a smile on his lips. “You two chat for a while. I’ll go and brew some more tonic medicine for your mother. After returning to the manor, combined with medicinal meals for half a year to a year, the residual toxins in her body will be eliminated.”
Zhao Jiaqi stood up and bowed to him. “Thank you, Uncle Qi.”
Qi Xuan waved his hand at her and turned to leave the wooden house.
After he left, she sat by the bed and recounted everything that happened before and after her poisoning. After hearing it, Zhang Cuihua’s hands broke out in a cold sweat of fear. Her voice trembled as she gripped Zhao Jiaqi’s hand. “So, this means Yumeng’s whereabouts are currently unknown? And Zehao has taken people to look for her?”
Zhao Jiaqi nodded, her expression somewhat somber, but she didn’t dare to show too much, fearing it would make her mother-in-law feel guilty. “Let’s not talk about these things for now.”
“Mother, very few people in the manor know about your feigned death, not even Father, Eldest Brother, or Eldest Sister-in-law. To be safe, we had no choice but to ‘bury’ you in the cemetery.”
Zhang Cuihua’s wrinkled face twitched involuntarily. To think that she had lain in a coffin while still alive.
It was like an early experience of attending her own funeral, except she had no sensation at all at the time.
It was an unpleasant and inauspicious matter, yet she truly couldn’t bring herself to be angry. On the contrary, she was grateful for her daughter-in-law’s actions, otherwise, her life might truly have been lost.
“It’s alright. This can be considered a blessing in disguise. Even the King of Hell wouldn’t keep me, which shows my lifespan is still long.”
After speaking, she paused, then became worried again. “What if when I return to the manor tomorrow, your father and Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law see me and think I’ve come back from the dead?”
If they truly thought she had come back from the dead, wouldn’t they find a master to perform rituals and find ways to send her away again?
Reanimated corpse?
Mother really dared to think that. A reanimated corpse was a body not yet buried. She had already been buried for four or five days. What kind of reanimated corpse was this?
At most, in the eyes of the living, it was just her soul returning.
Zhao Jiaqi pondered for a moment, then carefully considered what to say. She said, “Mother, I will go back tonight and inform Father and Eldest Brother. As for you, you will have to wait here a while longer. When you can walk and your body has recovered a bit, then you can return to the manor.”
After she finished speaking, Zhang Cuihua’s face stiffened, and her eyes showed confusion. “Why?”
“Yama has not been apprehended yet. What if there are still his spies in the manor? You’ve barely recovered from the poison, and I don’t want you to take any more risks, so you’ll have to endure staying here for a while.”
“But Mother, don’t worry, I will find a way to bring Father here to take care of you first.”
After Zhao Jiaqi’s explanation, Zhang Cuihua said no more, only asking Zhao Jiaqi, “Logically speaking, an old woman like me is no threat to Fan Zehao, you, or the Prince’s manor. So why would the assassin target me?”
Yes, why?
Zhao Jiaqi was also baffled. She pondered deeply. At that time, they were out traveling. After the great victory against the Axi tribe, they learned of her mother-in-law’s poisoning.
But why not poison the children directly?
Or poison the couple?
Wouldn’t that be more direct and effective? Why go to such lengths to poison an elder?
With these unanswered questions, they could only wait until Yama was caught to find out why.
Meanwhile, Fan Zehao led his men away. Shi He informed the Prince of the place where the County Princess had been abducted along the way.
The group sped towards Mingde Manor, their target precise and their actions swift. After a day’s journey, they arrived outside Mingde Manor and met the special soldiers who had been accompanying the County Princess, as well as the guards of the Prince’s manor.
Upon seeing the Prince, the guards in the manor immediately knelt on one knee to pay their respects.
Facing Fan Zehao’s grim expression, the guards quickly said, “Your Highness, when the County Princess substituted for Miss Xueyao, she warned us not to act rashly and ordered us to await news of the County Princess!”
This was why they had not rescued their young lady.
Fan Zehao frowned. He knew his daughter was bold, but he hadn’t expected her to be so audacious. With people already kidnapped, she was still thinking of capturing the abductor. Who gave her such confidence?
Didn’t she know that there were always people better than her, and higher mountains beyond the mountains?
Fan Zehao dared not gamble with his daughter’s life. He waved his hand. “Get up, lead the way.”
The guards rose and led the group towards the city. They walked for about three li and then took many twists and turns before they saw a small mountain village.
Mingshui Village was nestled in the mountains. Locals knew of its existence, but very few people traveled there.
Firstly, the village was very poor, and secondly, the roads were difficult to navigate. It looked close, but after many twists and turns, the journey was long.
It was akin to the saying, “Seeing a mountain from afar is like chasing a horse to death.”
Before the group even entered the village, Yama received news.
Yama’s eyes were filled with a smile, with a hint of indulgence as he looked at the arrogant Yumeng. “Your father has come to rescue you. Do you want to come and see?”
Yumeng turned her face away, pondering whether the father who came to rescue her was real or fake.
But she felt it must be fake. The real father, with the antidote, was on his way back. It was only the fake father who had time to come and rescue her now.
She feared that if the fake father appeared, he would be seen through by the cunning and sly Yama. She said coldly, “You can’t defeat my father. It’s not too late to surrender now. If my father attacks, you will surely die.”
Yama chuckled, shrugging indifferently. He reached out to lift her chin, but Yumeng dodged. She then gave him a dagger-like stare. “If you dare to lay hands on me again, I will definitely chop off your hands and feet.”
Yama smiled, his demeanor exuding charm. He paid no mind to her provocation and threats, only saying, “I’m determined to pluck you, my little chili pepper.”
With that, he walked out of the room, laughing heartily. Yumeng glared fiercely at his departing figure.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was in the room, she began her own rescue.