Zhong Li watched the man before her warily, her fingertips deftly manipulating a scalpel from her sleeve into her grip.
Qi Lei glanced at her sleeve, then cupped his hands in a salute. "This subordinate, the Liaison Officer of Liaocheng, pays his respects to Lord Zhong."
Zhong Li gazed at the man opposite her, whose face was wreathed in smiles and an expression of harmlessness. "Dali Temple sent me here on a secret mission. How did you know who I am?"
Qi Lei straightened, his smile unwavering. "Zhong Sicheng, if I said that not only did I know of your arrival in Liaocheng, but the Prefect, whom I just sent away, also knew. And when he searched you, he already suspected you. Do you believe me?"
"..." Zhong Li remained silent.
Qi Lei glanced at the side chamber, strode forward, and pushed open its door. "Zhong Sicheng, you have one hour to treat the young lord. I believe the young lord's health is of utmost importance at this moment."
Zhong Li pondered for a moment, withdrew the scalpel from her sleeve, and quickly entered the chamber.
The room where Lu Wuxie was staying was quite elegant, its furnishings similar to those in the Prince of Xian's mansion. Zhong Li circled a white horse screen and saw the man lying on the bed at first glance.
He seemed to be asleep, his breathing even, his complexion ruddy. Yet, he also appeared to be ill, with a subtle bluish-purple hue around his deep-set eyes.
Without hesitation, Zhong Li put down her medicine box and began to take Lu Wuxie's pulse.
How could this be?
She withdrew her hand from Lu Wuxie's arm, her delicate brows knitted together. She had never encountered such a pulse: sometimes superficial, sometimes weak, and then strong. It seemed as if an evil influence had invaded, yet his breathing was very stable. Strange.
Knock, knock, knock.
Just as Zhong Li was at a loss, a crisp knocking sound came from outside the door.
Thinking Qi Lei had not yet left, she got up and walked to the door, pulling it open. Just as she was about to inquire, she saw a rather pleasant-looking young maid holding a tray standing at the entrance.
The maid, upon seeing Zhong Li, her expression turned grim. "Are you the physician treating the young lord?"
Zhong Li nodded and followed the maid into the room. She watched as the maid skillfully lifted a bowl of congee from the tray, blew on it, and then approached Lu Wuxie's bedside. "You may leave. Your work here is done."
"But I still need to examine the young lord," Zhong Li followed her into the room, watching her skillfully blow on the congee to cool it, her eyes slowly narrowing.
"What?" The maid swayed her body and glanced sideways at Zhong Li. "Don't you understand what I'm saying?"
Zhong Li's brows furrowed. "Compared to eating, shouldn't the young lord's illness be more important?"
*Clang!*
As soon as her words fell, the maid coldly slammed the bowl in her hand onto the table. "Where did you come from, a physician who dares to disobey the future young madam?"
"Young Madam?"
The maid sneered. "Otherwise? I'm not afraid to tell you, ever since the young lord came to Liaocheng, I've been attending to him. The young lord favors me greatly, and he said he would marry me. So tell me, am I not the young madam?
Moreover, I've been personally taking care of the young lord during this time. This position of young madam is mine alone."
"Is that so?" Zhong Li's tone was icy.
The maid pouted, assuming an air of certainty, and picked up the congee from the table, preparing to feed it to Lu Wuxie.
Zhong Li moved faster, her hand restraining the maid's action of feeding the congee. "Let me see this congee."
The maid stiffened, and the bowl of congee slowly moved towards Zhong Li's face.
As the congee got closer to her cheek, Zhong Li's gaze flickered to the maid's darting eyes.
The next moment, accompanied by the maid's harsh cry, "It'll burn you!"
Zhong Li dodged sideways, avoiding the scalding liquid, and struck back at the maid's arm.
The maid reacted swiftly, flinging the bowl away and lunging at Zhong Li's neck with a piece of broken pottery.
As expected, there was something amiss.
Zhong Li drew the scalpel from her sleeve and grappled with the maid.
The maid was quite skilled, her movements exceedingly swift, and each lunge was a deadly blow aimed at Zhong Li.
Fortunately, Zhong Li had prior experience from a water battle against Deputy General Hou, and while evading, she struck the opponent's vital points.
In a mere three to five exchanges, the maid's body stiffened, and she collapsed to the ground.
Zhong Li, breathing heavily, put away her scalpel. She looked at the maid, now incapacitated, and quickly walked to where the congee had spilled. She picked up a bit with her fingertips and sniffed.
This is...
Her expression darkened, and she turned to glare fiercely at the maid.
"Speak!" Zhong Li yanked the maid's collar from the ground. "Who told you to give the young lord nutmeg?"
The maid's lips parted, her breath coming in gasps. After a long moment, she finally focused her gaze on Zhong Li. "You want to know?"
Zhong Li scoffed, her fingers gripping the maid's clothes until they turned white with exertion. "Speak!"
"Heh heh heh...!" The maid looked at the agitated woman before her and suddenly burst into loud, wild laughter. "In a short while, the Lu family's dominion will change hands. All these ants of the Lu family will die, they will all die... *cough*..."
After speaking, the maid bit down hard. Blood flowed from the corner of her mouth. As her pupils dilated, her head lolled to the side, and she breathed her last.
"Hey!" Zhong Li's reaction was a beat too slow. Her hand had just touched the maid's chin when she went limp and slumped to the ground.
Damn it!
Zhong Li laid the maid on the ground, then quickly went to Lu Wuxie's side and began taking his pulse again.
After a short while, a hint of realization dawned on her face. She glanced at the maid's corpse still lying on the ground, pondered for a moment, dragged her under the bed, roughly tidied the mess on the floor, confirmed that the small courtyard was secure, and then hurried out of the Prefect's mansion.
Lin Jin, acting on the signal Zhong Li had given, had been waiting for her outside the mansion since early morning.
"Master, how is he?" he asked immediately upon seeing Zhong Li.
Zhong Li's expression was grave as she shook her head. "He is unconscious and, for now, seems safe. As for other matters, it's a long story. I need to find a nearby pharmacy to get some medicine."
"Miss Zhong, have you found a way to treat Master? Shall I accompany you?" Lin Jin asked, quickening his pace to follow Zhong Li.
"No!" Zhong Li shook her head, her gaze fixed on the Prefect's mansion across the street. "You need to keep an eye on this place. If they try to transport anything large out, or if there's any disturbance, you need to follow quickly. I'm afraid they might discover the body, and Mo Cang might be in danger."
"What body?" Lin Jin asked, bewildered.
Zhong Li shook her head again. "Now is not the time to talk about this. Hurry!"
With that, she decided not to linger, turned, and walked towards a rather large-looking pharmacy nearby.
"Shopkeeper."
Zhong Li entered the pharmacy and called out to the man calculating accounts opposite.
The man looked up and saw a delicate-looking young gentleman. He immediately said with a smile, "What can I get for you, young sir?"
"Licorice, dandelion, Andrographis..."
As Zhong Li spoke, the man began weighing the herbs.
When she mentioned the last ingredient, "Tian Huafen." The shopkeeper's movements paused, and he turned to look at Zhong Li with surprise.
"What?" Zhong Li frowned, slightly puzzled.
The shopkeeper, trembling, stepped down from the herb-measuring ladder. "Are you a newcomer to Liaocheng, young sir?"
Zhong Li nodded.
"No wonder. We don't have Tian Huafen here."
"How is that possible? Tian Huafen is a specialty of Liaocheng," Zhong Li said, not believing it.
The shopkeeper glanced around, then looked outside and said mysteriously, "This Tian Huafen is a sacred artifact of the Goddess Cult. It hasn't been sold in Liaocheng for a long time."