A hint of barely concealed triumph flashed through Ye Shiyao’s eyes. Pretending to be concerned, she said, “Oh, why didn’t you tell us sooner, little sister? Is your head still not fully recovered from the injury today? It’s all my fault for not taking better care of you.”
The hypocritical tone made Luo Keke almost unable to resist exposing her right then and there.
Upon hearing this, Chu Xiao was filled with concern. He looked at Luo Keke with even more worry in his eyes and said, “Keke, if you’re not feeling well, you should get plenty of rest. If you’re really not feeling better, we should have a doctor come and examine you again.”
Luo Keke nodded slightly and said softly, “Thank you for caring about me, Brother Chu Xiao. I should be fine after getting some rest.”
Zhou Wangzheng frowned, feeling somewhat displeased, but he could not lose his temper in front of Chu Xiao. He could only say, “Since you’re not feeling well, go back to your room and rest. Don’t stay here and spoil everyone’s mood.”
Luo Keke cursed Zhou Wangzheng inwardly for changing his attitude so quickly. Wasn’t he just putting on the appearance of a loving father? He had turned cold in the blink of an eye.
On the surface, however, she hurriedly said, “Yes, Dad. I’ll go back to my room first.”
With that, she slowly stood up and deliberately walked out of the dining room with slightly unsteady steps.
Watching Luo Keke’s retreating figure, Chu Xiao felt a pang of sympathy.
He really wanted to follow her and ask how she was doing, but he felt that doing so would be inappropriate.
Seeing the expression on Chu Xiao’s face, Ye Shiyao burned with jealousy. Nevertheless, she suppressed it and smiled at him.
“Brother Chu Xiao, don’t worry. My sister should be fine. Come, let’s continue eating.”
Chu Xiao came back to his senses, smiled politely, and said, “Miss Shiyao is right.”
But at that moment, his mind was nowhere near the meal. He merely gave perfunctory responses to Ye Shiyao’s attentiveness.
As soon as Luo Keke returned to her room, she immediately discarded her weak and timid facade. Her eyes became firm and sharp.
She knew that Zhou Wangzheng, Ye Shiyao, and the others would never let her off easily. Once Ye Shiyao got her hands on the job, they would immediately turn against her.
But she was already prepared and had decided to strike first.
Hmph. Aren’t they after my job? Then let’s wait and see! Let’s see who will have the last laugh.
For now, however, the most important thing was to enter her space as quickly as possible.
The Thousand-Day Bone-Melting Powder was like a demon lurking inside her body, silently eating away at her health. She had to race against time to find a way to neutralize it, or the consequences would be disastrous.
Luo Keke took a deep breath, focused her mind, and pressed the birthmark on her left hand with her right hand. With a thought, she instantly entered her space.
To eliminate the Thousand-Day Bone-Melting Powder as quickly as possible, she turned her attention to the medicinal herb section of the space. Relying on her extensive medical knowledge, she began searching through the countless herbs for those capable of counteracting the poison.
As a medical genius in her previous life, Luo Keke was naturally familiar with the Thousand-Day Poisonous Bone Powder.
Once, this vicious poison had appeared in the household of a wealthy tycoon.
The tycoon’s wife, consumed by greed for her husband’s billions in assets, had actually resorted to using this poison to murder her own husband.
The Thousand-Day Poisonous Bone Powder was extremely insidious. Its effects appeared silently, making it virtually impossible for ordinary doctors to detect.
Its antidote was even more complicated. The patient had to continuously drink a specially prepared medicinal decoction for forty-nine consecutive days in order to completely eliminate the toxins. If the treatment was interrupted even once, all previous efforts could very well be wasted.
If not for the tycoon’s daughter from his previous marriage, who happened to be acquainted with Luo Keke and had heard of her profound knowledge of both Western and traditional Chinese medicine, specifically asking her to examine her father’s pulse, that woman’s scheme might have succeeded.
Now, the Thousand-Day Poisonous Bone Powder had actually been used on Luo Keke herself.
She knew very well that with the medical standards of this era, almost no one would be capable of treating this poison.
Clearly, the Zhou family were a pack of vicious wolves who had already made up their minds to kill her.
They had arranged for her to be sent to the countryside to marry someone there. Their actions were not only intended to squeeze every last bit of value out of her, but also to make her die silently in some remote rural area.
That way, no one would investigate her death, and they could enjoy everything with a clear conscience.
After carefully searching for some time, Luo Keke finally found several crucial herbs. She then gathered the remaining herbs needed for the prescription and brought them all to the kitchen.
Following the formula stored in her memory, she began preparing the antidote.
Luo Keke skillfully washed the medicinal pot, placed it on the stove, and poured in an appropriate amount of water.
She carefully added the herbs one by one, recalling the proportions from the prescription each time to ensure there would be no mistakes.
She lit the stove, and the flames licked the bottom of the pot with a soft whooshing sound.
Luo Keke stayed beside the stove, staring intently at the medicinal pot. Her eyes were filled with concentration. As time passed, wisps of steam gradually rose from the pot, carrying the distinctive fragrance of the herbs throughout the kitchen.
She knew that there was no room for even the slightest mistake during the preparation of the antidote.
Every so often, she picked up a wooden spoon and gently stirred the herbs to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
At the same time, she had to constantly monitor the heat and adjust the flame according to the condition of the decoction.
If the fire was too strong, the medicine could boil dry and lose much of its effectiveness. If the fire was too weak, it would not be enough to fully draw out the medicinal properties of the herbs.
In the quiet kitchen, the only sounds were the crackling flames and the bubbling medicinal broth.
Minute by minute, time passed.
Tiny beads of sweat gradually formed across Luo Keke’s forehead and trickled down her cheeks, but she did not notice them at all.
After who knew how long, the color of the medicinal broth gradually deepened, and the herbal fragrance in the air became richer and more intense.
Luo Keke knew that the medicine was almost ready.
She leaned closer to the pot once again and carefully observed the color and consistency of the decoction.
After confirming that everything was correct, she finally extinguished the stove.
She let out a long breath, a relieved smile appearing on her face.
Carefully, she poured the finished antidote into a bowl. After gently blowing on it to cool it down, she drank it all in one go.
A moment later, a wave of heat surged through her body, fiercely resisting the corrosive effects of the slow-acting poison.
Luo Keke tightly closed her eyes and focused all her attention on guiding the powerful warmth through her body, allowing it to engage in an intense “battle” with the poison.
After an unknown amount of time, Luo Keke’s forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, but her expression gradually relaxed, and her tightly furrowed brows slowly loosened.
She knew the antidote had taken effect.
The toxins in her body were gradually being neutralized.
Although this was only the initial stage of the treatment, it undoubtedly gave Luo Keke tremendous confidence.
However, Luo Keke knew very well that this was only the beginning.
In the days to come, she had to strictly follow the treatment and drink the antidote for forty-nine consecutive days. If she made even one mistake, all her previous efforts could be wasted.
While Luo Keke was detoxifying herself inside her space, dinner in the dining room continued.
However, the atmosphere remained somewhat oppressive.
Ye Shiyao was determined to capture Chu Xiao’s attention and kept finding topics to talk about with him. But Chu Xiao always responded politely, while his gaze would occasionally drift toward the direction Luo Keke had left.
It was obvious that his mind was elsewhere.
Ye Shiyao was somewhat dissatisfied, but she did not dare offend Chu Xiao. She could only suppress her frustration and silently fume.