Chapter 339 – Residual Toxin (1)

In order to show that Ye Zhen really cared about Lu Lingzhi, she went back to the room and randomly selected several kinds of vulnerary herbs*, which had not been blended with lingquan. Once done, she left strict instructions with Dai Mei and the rest of her retinue to not let people come in as they pleased.

[*medicine used in the healing of wounds.]

Since the empress dowager sent her eight palace maids, the rules in her courtyard had been set up. Except for Pei Shi and the old madam, everyone else had to report before they came in.

“Princess, rest assured. There are maidservants here,” a tall maid said with a smile. Her name was Yuping. She used to be a servant in the Cining Palace. She was a head maid handpicked by the empress dowager to serve Ye Zhen.

“Princess, it would be better if you let Yuying accompany you. She has skills. It’s safer to have her to protect you,” Aunt Rong said.

Ye Zhen looked at the young maid standing behind Yuping. She looked to be only twelve or thirteen years old. It’s said that she had been a martial arts practitioner since her childhood, the reason why she was so good with that skill. However, the little girl seemed inarticulate. Even upon being mentioned, she just stood blankly, unwilling to show her face.

“Then Yuying shall follow me,” Ye Zhen said with a smile. Right now, her requirements had changed. She didn’t need any clever maids to follow as long her safety was ensured.

However, she was just a little curious. How could the young girl, Yuying, be so good at martial arts? Does the palace maids practice martial arts from a young age? Curiosity begets inquisition. After all, they were sent by Empress Dowager, so they must have been carefully selected.

Lu Shiming was back soon. He took Ye Zhen to pick out the horse. “Now that the healing will take place in Jinwu City, we’ll need to get there quickly. Still, it will take us three days at our fastest. But I’m afraid your body won’t be able to stand it. Are you sure you want to follow?”

“Father, you can be rest assured that it would not be a problem to me,” Ye Zhen said with a smile.

Perhaps she couldn’t bear it before, but now she had the lingquan, and a few days and nights of travel was not a problem.

They arrived at Jinwu City early in the morning on the fourth day. Along the way, Ye Zhen added lingquan to her and Lu Shiming’s water. Although she had been travelling for several days, her spirit was not very tired.

Ye Zhen’s skin was too delicate to begin with. Off late, she had been used to travelling in carriages. So, the continuous riding these past few days made her thighs sore. Although she dabbed the salve regularly, she still walked slowly.

Qi Jin knew that they were coming, so she immediately sent someone out to take them to see Lu Lingzhi.

Lu Lingzhi had been in a coma for three days. He only woke up last night.

Seeing the person whom she hated deeply again, Ye Zhen’s mood seemed to be calmer than before. She looked at the man lying on the bed. His chest and shoulders were wrapped with a layer of white cloth, and there were mottled blood stains on it.

Lu Lingzhi was still sleeping. His ashen and frail face served as a testimony that he was poisoned. There was almost no blood on his lips.

Fortunately, Old Madam Lu did not come. Otherwise, when she saw her dear grandson being like this, no matter how strong she was, she wouldn’t be able to bear it.

After taking a look at Lu Lingzhi, Lu Shiming and Qi Jin went outside to talk while Ye Zhen stood by the door and listened.

“The knife that pierced his shoulder was poisonous. Although it has been detoxified with the fire lotus, the poison hasn’t been purged completely. It cannot be cured in a few days. Now we can only use acupuncture to slowly force out the residual poison.” Qi Jin whispered to Lu Shiming.

“Imperial Physician Qi, how long will it take to force out the residual poison in his body?” Lu Shiming asked.

Qi Jin was silent for a while and whispered, “This … I can’t be sure. This poison is too potent. If it weren’t for the fire lotus, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to deal with this poison.”

“Where is the assassin?” Lu Shiming asked in a low voice.

“I heard that the assassin escaped—” Qi Jin shook her head. “Lord Lu, I don’t know how the residual poison affects Marquis Anyang. Now I can only hope that he will recover as soon as possible.”

Ye Zhen stood by the door and listened silently, the corners of her mouth unconsciously rising.

Fire lotus could actually cure all kinds of poison. The key lay in how one took it. It seemed that Imperial Physician Qi had yet to know the real uses of fire lotus. Now the only fire lotus there was, was gone. It was estimated that if the residual poison in Lu Lingzhi’s body could not be cured within half a year, it would, perhaps, follow him for a lifetime.

What kind of poison is so potent?

Ye Zhen walked past the man lying on the bed, curiously eyeing the injury on his shoulder. She put her hand on his pulse, and sure enough, there is residual poison on his body. She saw he was still asleep, and reached out to untie the white cloth on his shoulder.

As soon as she touched his shoulder, a big hand grabbed her by the wrist making her scream.