Not long after, Qingdai returned with a secret letter in the shopkeeper’s own hand and a young woman in blue robes. The letter contained only a few words. “I know the young miss is in a difficult position. From now on, Minghui will remain at your side. She has studied pharmacology and acupuncture under me since childhood. She knows medicine, divination, and is skilled in concealment and tracking. She will be able to protect the young miss.”
Su Ruoxi studied the woman in blue. Her eyes were clear and upright, her bearing calm. Trust rose in Su Ruoxi’s heart at once.
She slowly folded the letter and said quietly, “From today on, you will stay by my side as a maid.”
Minghui gave a slight nod. She said nothing, but a quiet resolve settled between her brows.
In her previous life, Su Ruoxi had listened to her cousin’s slander and given her heart to the Marquis’s heir Lu. Love had clouded her mind. She had trusted the treacherous, even agreed to Grandmother’s match with him. So she had never used the path her mother had left for her.
Now that she had been given another life, she was determined to plan every step and never be at anyone’s mercy again. She swore to make those who had destroyed her family pay in full.
Su Ruoxi sat down and reached out with slender fingers to undo the buttons at her collar, baring a smooth white shoulder. A dark purple bruise marked the skin, with the tooth marks of a poisonous insect.
“Look at this. Tell me what insect bit me, and whether the medicine I took was truly an antidote.”
Minghui stepped forward and bent to examine the wound closely. The moment her fingertips touched it, she felt something was wrong. She drew a silver needle from her sleeve and tested the acupoints around the wound one by one. After a moment, she spoke gravely. “What the young miss was poisoned with is the Scarlet Golden Scorpion. No wonder no medicine in the capital could cure it. This golden scorpion comes from the northern frontier of the Yanqi Kingdom. It lives in extreme ice. Its body is golden, and its poison is bitterly cold. That is why the young miss suffered chills and a fever that would not break.”
“To cure this poison, one must use the tender shoots of cutgut grass, combined with gold-thread orchid and agrimony, boiled together, then add fresh black dog’s blood.”
“From the young miss’s pulse, the poison appears to have been resolved, but the residual poison remains. You will need daily silver needle guidance and medicinal baths for seven days to avoid future harm. Otherwise, the cold poison can easily damage a woman’s body. A single misstep could harm the root, causing blood deficiency and blocked menses, or even lifelong barrenness.”
Su Ruoxi’s eyes went cold. She remembered that in her previous life, though she had not died from the poison, she had always lain ill for those few days each month. So it was the lingering poison secretly eating away at her foundation.
No wonder half the physicians in Shengjing were helpless. It was an exotic poison from beyond the borders. No wonder she recovered after taking the miracle medicine Lu Jinghan brought.
It confirmed Su Ruoxi’s suspicion. This was a play staged by him and her cousin Su Ruolan, one poisoning her while the other cured her to save her life.
Wait. Fresh black dog’s blood…
Su Ruoxi seemed to remember something and quickly asked, “Qingdai, did you see the ancestral miracle medicine the Marquis’s heir Lu sent?”
“This servant saw it, of course. I received it myself. The bottle was carved with the words ‘Nine-Turn Soul-Returning Powder.’ It was made of black jade, with a gold-thread lotus pattern at the base.” Qingdai lowered her voice, her brow slightly furrowed.
“After I received it, I was about to give it to the young miss, but the second young miss said the antidote was best dissolved in water. So Dongju was sent to dissolve the miracle medicine into a decoction for the young miss to drink.”
Su Ruoxi frowned. “I’m afraid what I drank was not the Lu family’s ancestral miracle medicine at all, but the antidote Minghui described. They merely borrowed the name of a miracle medicine to create the illusion of a life-saving debt, using it to lure me into signing the marriage contract.”
For this to succeed, there had to be an inside accomplice to swap the miracle medicine for the real antidote.
And Dongju had always been close to Su Ruolan, often whispering praise of the second young miss in her ear, creating the illusion of deep sisterly affection.
“Dongju can no longer be trusted…”
To think a traitor had been at her side all along. In her previous life, she had later treated Dongju as a trusted confidante and even misunderstood Qingdai over a trivial matter. Now it seemed she had confused the loyal with the treacherous.
At the thought, Su Ruoxi quickly took Qingdai’s hand, her eyes flickering. She spoke in a low voice. “Qingdai, I will never lose you again in this life.”
Qingdai was slightly startled, not understanding why. She only felt that since waking, the young miss had become much deeper, no longer as naive as before.
Qingdai’s eyes reddened. She choked out, “As long as the young miss does not disdain me, this servant will belong to the young miss for life.”
Qingdai wiped her eyes. “Then Dongju. Should she be dealt with?”
Su Ruoxi shook her head. “No. Keep her. She still has use. For now, rather than dealing with this piece, it is better to let her continue passing messages and see what other tricks Su Ruolan and Lu Jinghan can play.”
The next day, Su Ruoxi feigned weakness and leaned against the couch. When Dongju came in carrying the medicine bowl, her eyes darted about. She said softly, “Young Miss, this is a new tonic the Marquis’s heir Lu sent. He said taken with the ancestral miracle medicine, it will speed your recovery.”
Su Ruoxi took the porcelain bowl and lowered her eyes to sniff it. The corner of her mouth lifted, barely perceptible. The medicine’s fragrance was rich. Clearly, many strengthening ingredients had been added.
She pretended to sip, then gagged. “I can’t drink this right now. Leave it for now.”
Minghui, standing nearby, stepped forward and took the bowl. Only then did Dongju notice that a maid she had never seen before had appeared in the young miss’s room.
She asked, puzzled, “This one is unfamiliar. I did not know a new person had been added to the young miss’s room.”
Su Ruoxi’s voice was tired and cold. “Newly transferred.”
Dongju stepped forward and shoved Minghui aside, acting as if she owned the place. “The young miss’s health is precious. You, the new one, wait outside. I will serve the young miss her medicine.”
Su Ruoxi watched Dongju’s domineering manner and shot Qingdai a look. Qingdai understood. She stepped forward and slapped Dongju to the ground.
Su Ruoxi watched her coldly, her voice like ice. “When did the rules of this room fall to you to decide?”
Dongju clutched her face and looked up in shock. Had the young miss not always done as she said? Why did she seem like a different person?
Dongju’s lips trembled, disbelief filling her eyes. “Young Miss, this servant has served you for years. I do not know where I went wrong.”
Su Ruoxi tapped the edge of the bed with her fingertip, her gaze deep. “You truly do not know where you went wrong?”
Su Ruoxi stared fixedly into Dongju’s panicked eyes, as if she could see through every secret she held.
Dongju could not help but step back half a step. She struck the corner of the table, her face turning deathly pale.
Su Ruoxi slowly rose, threw on a robe, and got out of bed. She walked up to Dongju and looked down at her trembling face. Her voice was light as snow falling into a cold pool. “Oh my. How did the hem of your clothes get blood on it? And this smell. Why does it carry a trace of black dog’s rank odor? Is that black dog’s blood?”
“You should be careful in your duties. Don’t get bitten by a dog and lose your life instead.”
Dongju went rigid. Cold sweat slid down her temples. Her heart pounded. Has this wretch Su Ruoxi already figured something out?
“This is from when this servant went to the kitchen to brew the medicine and accidentally bumped into Mother Liu, who was killing a chicken. This… this is chicken blood, not dog blood…” Dongju’s voice trembled. Fine cold sweat seeped from her temples.