The low-grade fever that had tormented Zhao Qingya for more than half a month was rapidly subsiding.
Zhao Tianxiong came to the bedside.
“Qingya?”
Zhao Qingya’s eyelids moved faintly.
She slowly opened her eyes and looked at her father. Her lips moved several times before she finally managed to make a very weak sound.
“Dad…”
Zhao Tianxiong’s body stiffened beside the bed.
He reached out, wanting to embrace his daughter, but he was afraid of touching the needle marks on her body that had not yet fully healed. In the end, he could only take one of her hands in his.
“Dad’s here.”
“Does it still hurt?”
Zhao Qingya shook her head.
“A little.”
She paused before adding, “It doesn’t hurt as much as before.”
Zhao Tianxiong’s eyes reddened. He lowered his head and pressed his daughter’s hand against his forehead. This man, who was well known in both the legitimate and underworld circles of Jiangzhou, now had tears in his eyes, his shoulders trembling faintly as he cried.
The white-haired doctor checked the instrument readings once more.
“Miss Zhao’s heart rate, temperature, and blood pressure are all recovering. The several abnormal indicators from before are also declining.”
He looked at Chen Xuan, his tone completely different from before.
“Master Chen, how should we deal with the remaining poison in her body?”
Even this elderly doctor could not help addressing Chen Xuan respectfully as Master Chen.
“I’ll write a prescription. She should take it once in the morning and once in the evening,” Chen Xuan said. “Three days from now, I’ll administer acupuncture again. As long as she doesn’t come into contact with the sachet or her previous medication during these few days, the poison won’t worsen.”
“Should all the nerve-regulating medication be stopped?”
“All of it.”
The white-haired doctor nodded and made a note.
Zhao Qingya had only just regained consciousness, and her body was still extremely weak. After Zhao Tianxiong spoke with her for a few minutes and the nanny fed her a small amount of warm water, he followed Chen Xuan out of the bedroom.
When they reached the living room downstairs, Zhao Tianxiong personally poured Chen Xuan a cup of tea.
Then, with a thump, he knelt directly before him.
“Master Chen, if it weren’t for you today, Qingya would have… Your kindness in giving her a new life is something I, Zhao Tianxiong, can never repay. All I can do is kowtow and offer my thanks!”
Zhao Tianxiong had just begun to lower his head when Chen Xuan stopped him.
“President Zhao, this is too much. You’re probably twice my age—I couldn’t possibly accept your kowtow. There’s no need to thank me just yet. There’s still poison in your daughter’s body. She won’t truly be out of danger until three days from now. Only then can it be confirmed that I’ve actually saved her.”
“Qingya is already awake. I can see that with my own eyes. I don’t need you to prove anything, Master Chen.”
As he spoke, Zhao Tianxiong placed a bank card on the table.
“There are five million in here, and the password is written on the back. This isn’t a deposit for you to come back in three days. It’s simply today’s consultation fee. Once the poison has been completely eliminated from Qingya’s body, I, Zhao Tianxiong, will have another reward for you.”
Chen Xuan glanced at the bank card but did not refuse it.
Cultivation required vast amounts of resources. The fifty-three-year-old wild ginseng sent by the Qin family had only been enough to let him reach the first level of Qi Refining. If he wanted to continue increasing his cultivation, he would need even more money.
He had saved Zhao Qingya, so he accepted the money with a clear conscience.
“Then I’ll accept it.”
“You should!”
Seeing how readily Chen Xuan accepted the money, Zhao Tianxiong instead broke into a hearty smile.
The fact that Chen Xuan was willing to accept payment meant there was still a chance for them to continue doing business with one another. If he had refused everything, Zhao Tianxiong truly would not have known how to repay this favor.
“If Master Chen ever runs into trouble in Jiangzhou, as long as it’s not beyond my abilities, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“There is indeed something I’d like President Zhao’s help with.”
“Please, Master Chen.”
“Help me keep an eye out for certain medicinal herbs, gemstones, and timber. It doesn’t have to be ginseng or lingzhi—other rare medicinal ingredients will do as well. As for gemstones, I want ones with pure color and no impurities. The timber should preferably come from trees that are at least ten thousand years old. As long as the quality is good enough, price is no issue.”
Zhao Tianxiong did not ask what Chen Xuan planned to do with these things. He agreed immediately.
“Although I don’t have medicinal-herb connections like Hundred Herbs Hall, I know plenty of people from all walks of life in Jiangzhou. There are some things that can’t be found through legitimate channels, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist elsewhere.”
Especially ten-thousand-year-old trees. That sort of thing was at least somewhat on the wrong side of the law.
“Then I’ll trouble you, President Zhao.”
“After you saved Qingya, how could something this small be considered trouble?”
After saying that, Zhao Tianxiong’s gaze returned to the upstairs.
His daughter was temporarily out of danger, and he could finally free his hands to investigate the matter thoroughly.
Guo Zhiyuan entered the living room from outside and placed a newly obtained report on the table.
“President Zhao, before Liu Nanfu’s family left Jiangzhou, there were no large movements in any of the accounts under their names. However, we discovered that his brother-in-law established an overseas company a month ago. The day after the company was founded, one million U.S. dollars appeared in its account.”
“Who transferred the money?”
“It passed through several overseas accounts, so we haven’t been able to trace its original source.”
Guo Zhiyuan paused.
“But the last account involved in the transfer had previously conducted financial transactions with an overseas subsidiary of Longsheng Entertainment Group.”
The murderous intent that had just been suppressed in Zhao Tianxiong’s eyes resurfaced.
“Luo Zhendong!”
“President Zhao.”
Chen Xuan picked up his teacup.
“President Zhao, forgive me for speaking out of turn, but anyone bold enough to leave behind a Crimson Blood Vine wouldn’t be afraid of you discovering this.”
Zhao Tianxiong looked at him.
Chen Xuan took a sip of tea and spoke calmly.
“The easier something is to uncover, the more cautious you should be about believing it.”
“Otherwise, if the person behind this went to such great lengths to prepare these clues for you, wouldn’t all that effort have been wasted?”
“If Luo Zhendong really were behind it, he could have simply called and forced you to submit. Would he really need to put on such an elaborate act, pretending to be mysterious and sending someone to deliver an envelope? Of course, I’m only speculating. You know this kind of thing better than I do, so I won’t interfere.”
Zhao Tianxiong stared at the investigation report on the table and remained silent for a long time.
He had been able to run the Imperial Court for so many years, so he naturally understood Chen Xuan’s warning. Before the truth was clear, acting rashly against Luo Zhendong could very well mean falling straight into the mastermind’s trap.
“A-Yuan, continue investigating Liu Nanfu.”
Zhao Tianxiong pushed the report back.
“Report anything you find to me first. Without my orders, don’t alert anyone. Also, keep the news that Qingya has regained consciousness completely under wraps. Tell outsiders only that her condition has temporarily stabilized.”
“Understood.”
Guo Zhiyuan put the report away.
Zhao Tianxiong turned back to Chen Xuan.
“I understand that Master Chen says he doesn’t want to get involved. But if you discover anything related to Qingya’s illness in the future, I hope you’ll help me take a look.”
“I’ve accepted your money, so I’ll help you resolve your troubles. As long as it concerns her treatment, I won’t stand by and do nothing.”
Chen Xuan put away the bank card, glanced at his phone, and stood up.
“I’ve been out for quite a while. I should return to the hospital, or my family will worry.”
“I’ll have A-Yuan drive you.”
“Then I’ll trouble you.”
Zhao Tianxiong did not insist on keeping him. He personally escorted Chen Xuan to the entrance of the villa and then reminded Guo Zhiyuan to arrange transportation for Chen Xuan’s visit three days later.
But just as they stepped outside, they encountered someone completely unexpected.