There's a saying, "You search high and low for something, and then it appears effortlessly."
When Wang Qingyao heard Bian Siyue mention she had heard of this poison, her speech became flustered with excitement.
"You you you... you've heard of this poison? Quickly, quickly, tell me about it, what kind of poison is it?"
She excitedly clasped Bian Siyue's shoulders, wishing she could shake her a few times to express her overwhelming elation.
Bian Siyue: "Princess, please calm down. Actually, I don't remember much. I just recall hearing my master mention it when I was young."
"Your master?"
Bian Siyue, intelligent and quick-witted from a young age, displayed extraordinary memory and talent even as a child.
Her master was a close friend of Elder Bian and a well-known physician in the folk community.
He doted on Bian Siyue's intelligence, and as Bian Siyue was also interested in medicine, he took her as his disciple, intending to pass on all his lifelong knowledge to her.
However, before he could impart his teachings, the Bian family was implicated in the rebellion case of Prince Ming...
As a child, Bian Siyue had flipped through his various collected works and vaguely remembered him mentioning this poison.
"Vaguely, I only vaguely remember..." Bian Siyue repeatedly emphasized.
Before her excitement could fully take hold, Wang Qingyao smiled gently at her, "It's alright, tell me whatever you remember."
"This poison seems to originate from the Southern Continent..." Bian Siyue said.
Wang Qingyao gazed at her expectantly, awaiting her next words.
To her surprise, Bian Siyue stopped speaking after that, her innocent big eyes meeting Wang Qingyao's.
Wang Qingyao: "That's all?"
Bian Siyue: "That's all, that's all I remember."
Damn it, what happened to her photographic memory and exceptional talent?
She only remembered this much, and it was still a "seems like"!
Wang Qingyao looked disappointed. Bian Siyue sheepishly touched her nose and mumbled, "Considering I was young then, and so much time has passed."
Wang Qingyao took a deep breath and adjusted her mindset.
Although Bian Siyue only remembered this much, it was still better than Wang Qingyao having no leads and searching like a needle in a haystack.
The Southern Continent, the scope had narrowed considerably.
She smiled at Bian Siyue, "You've helped me a lot this time, and the Prince a great deal. Tell me, what reward do you desire? I will do my best to grant it if it's within my power."
You can even ask to sleep with Xiao Yun! Speak your mind bravely! Wang Qingyao shouted inwardly.
To her surprise, Bian Siyue thought for a moment and said, "May I play the zither? I was afraid of disturbing the Princess, so I never dared to play..."
"Play, play, play, play whatever you want," Wang Qingyao said, then added, "What kind of reward is that? Think of another one."
"Siyue's greatest wish was to be freed from her low status, which the Princess has already accomplished for me. I have no other desires."
Since Bian Siyue couldn't think of anything, Wang Qingyao couldn't let it go without a reward. Gold, silver, jewels, silk, and fabrics – no one dislikes them.
In the evening, the banquet in the West Garden was set up. Huang Shiyu and others also invited Yin Zhu, Zhi Zi, Nian Momo, and the four maids, Zhen Zhu, Shan Hu.
Zhen Zhu couldn't leave Wang Qingyao's side, so she didn't go.
When Xiao Yun returned, he heard the West Garden was quite lively, with music playing. He frowned and asked, "Such a commotion, and you don't manage it?"
Wang Qingyao explained the matter of the deed of servitude to him. He was quite understanding of the mindset of someone freed from low status and said no more.
When Wang Qingyao recounted Bian Siyue's memory about the green poison, he became a bit unsettled.
"Southern Continent? That's the territory of the Prince of Dingnan. Have Grandmother write a letter to inquire."
Just as Wang Qingyao was about to remind him of a few things, he realized it himself, "No, no, Grandmother doesn't know about this yet, and explaining it would be troublesome."
"Why don't we go to the Southern Continent ourselves?" Wang Qingyao suggested. "Steward Ji is still imprisoned there. We can go and see if we can glean any clues."
The Southern Continent was a long journey, a considerable trip.
Wang Qingyao was eager to go.
Xiao Yun shook his head, "No, no. For the Prince of Ding'an and his Princess to go to the Southern Continent is a major event. Without a proper reason, the Emperor himself would ask questions. Then Grand Tutor Wei would impeach us, and all sorts of blame would be heaped upon us."
"If this won't work, and that won't work," Wang Qingyao said indignantly, "then what do we do?"
Xiao Yun frowned and thought for a moment, "It's not entirely without a solution. We can ask Xiao Mo to go."
Xiao Mo doesn't attract as much attention as Xiao Yun, and he manages the Xiao family's business. He travels all over the place, so he would be the most suitable.
Wang Qingyao scoffed, "It's difficult to explain to Grandmother, but easy to explain to Xiao Mo?"
Xiao Yun smiled, "Xiao Mo has a characteristic: whatever I ask him to do, he never questions the reason."
"Oh!" Wang Qingyao raised an eyebrow.
"That's what you call deep brotherly affection," Xiao Yun said proudly.
The matter was thus settled.
Yin Zhu and the others had duties to attend to. Although Wang Qingyao didn't mind, they didn't want to abuse their mistress's kindness and disrupt the rules.
Therefore, after a while at the banquet, they all returned.
Yin Zhu lingered before Wang Qingyao, hesitated, and cautiously said, "Your Majesty, I wish to learn martial arts from Madam Qian and Madam Jiang. Do you think it's permissible?"
"Didn't you say a few days ago that you wanted to learn from Zhen Zhu?"
Yin Zhu sighed, "Zhen Zhu is too busy. Wherever the Princess goes, she goes, and she's never in the courtyard."
"Yin Zhu, you're learning from four different people one after another. Isn't that a bit too scattered? Why don't you learn from Jin Tiao again?" Wang Qingyao said meaningfully.
Yin Zhu's face flushed, and she shyly lowered her head, "I don't want to learn from him. That person is a stupid donkey. If I stay with him for too long, I'll become stupid too."