"Gu worms?!"
Ye Tingyu was shocked to hear this.
"Second Brother... the method you mentioned for detoxifying, doesn't that mean letting this thing enter my body? How can that be alright!"
This was a live insect, and just looking at it was disgusting enough. How could he possibly swallow it!
Ye Tingyan showed no reaction.
"What's not alright about it? Master Miao's gu techniques are extremely advanced, you can rest assured."
"But Second Brother..."
"Tingyu!"
Before he could voice his rebuttal, his words were suppressed by this single exclamation.
Ye Tingyan's gaze fell upon him, tinged with a hint of coercion. "Master Miao is a distinguished expert I specially invited to detoxify you. Are you saying you don't even trust me by pushing this away?"
Ye Tingyu had not expected this. Upon hearing this, he immediately waved his hands. "Second Brother, I didn't mean that, it's just that this thing looks so..."
His throat tightened, and he asked again, unwilling to give up. "Is there truly no other way?"
Ye Tingyan scoffed. "If there were other methods, why would we wait until today? Didn't you already have imperial physicians examine you?"
Ye Tingyu lowered his head sheepishly.
This was indeed true. The imperial physicians who had been invited to the manor over the past few days numbered eight or ten, and while they had subjected him to considerable suffering, the poison remained, and they were indeed at their wit's end.
Seeing his expression darken, Ye Tingyu gritted his teeth and reached for the bottle.
The crystal bottle, made of glazed glass, felt cool in his grasp. The walls were as thin as cicada wings. The moment he held it, he could feel the gu worm's limbs scratching furiously against the glass, sending a shiver down his spine.
He glanced over, and the two men were staring at him intently.
Ye Tingyu steeled himself, uncorked the lid, and poured the contents into his mouth, then swallowed almost instinctively.
The gu worm, as if possessing sentience, didn't require any effort from him. It forced its way through his flesh and burrowed inwards.
A strange sensation traveled from his throat to his abdomen. Ye Tingyu was horrified, his body stiffening in fear.
"Sec... Second Brother!"
The moment these words left his lips, his wrist was firmly grasped.
The gu master's lips, hidden behind the mask, moved rapidly, as if muttering an incantation.
Ye Tingyu's body stiffened. He then felt a true inability to move, while the worm he had swallowed was moving rapidly within him, as if searching for something.
The sensation was terrifyingly eerie. Unable to make a sound, he could only endure it in fear.
Seeing this, Ye Tingyan pressed his temple and said perfunctorily.
"Don't worry, it will be over soon."
Ye Tingyu's eyes widened, wanting to ask how "soon" was. But before he could even ask, he lost consciousness.
When he awoke, he was slumped in a chair.
Recalling the events, he instinctively reached out to his chest. His body had regained voluntary control, and the strange sensation was gone.
Sensing this, Ye Tingyu was overjoyed.
"Second Brother, am I healed?"
Ye Tingyan nodded without speaking.
Seeing this, Ye Tingyu sighed in relief. Then, remembering something, he asked meekly.
"That thing..."
"It has been removed."
The glazed bottle was on the table. Following Ye Tingyan's gaze, Ye Tingyu saw a dark shadow within the bottle and was finally at ease.
"That's good, that's good. Second Brother, I was too cowardly just now. It wasn't that I didn't trust you, please don't take it to heart."
Being able to help him resolve the poison only deepened his trust in Ye Tingyan.
Ye Tingyan nodded and looked at him, but changed the subject.
"Do you know about the Empress Dowager leaving the palace for Prince Mo's manor today?"
The topic shifted so abruptly that Ye Tingyu was momentarily caught off guard. After a pause, he shook his head.
"I didn't know yet."
He had been waiting for Ye Tingyan to arrive today and hadn't yet checked the messages brought from outside.
He paused, then asked, "Second Brother, what's wrong? Why would the Empress Dowager go to Prince Mo's manor for no reason?"
Ye Tingyan glanced at him and scoffed. "Naturally, to see the Emperor's eldest grandson."
"Eldest grandson?"
Ye Tingyu repeated the word subconsciously. Realizing what he meant, his expression changed drastically.
"Second Brother, where did an eldest grandson come from?"
That woman had died three years ago, hadn't she? And the child in her womb had been stillborn.
Their hidden danger had been eliminated long ago. At this point, where did Ye Tinglan find a son?
Ye Tingyan's brows furrowed. "The woman he newly married is not someone he fell in love with at first sight at all. She's a concubine he kept secretly outside, and they already have a son who is two years old!"
"Son..."
"Two years old..."
Ye Tingyu was stunned. "He really has one?"
But how had he never known this news?