"Grandmother?" Though mischievous, Qin Yansong was ultimately filial and immediately panicked at the sight.
Just as he was about to step forward, Su Ruolang sharply stopped him: "Step aside!"
Her fingers moved slightly, and several silver needles swiftly pierced the Old Madam's Jiquan, Quchi, and Chize acupoints.
This was a heart attack, extremely dangerous without specific medicinal herbs.
Fortunately, she was skilled in acupuncture, and this was a piece of cake for her.
As Su Ruolang performed the acupuncture, the Old Madam's breathing gradually stabilized, and she soon fell into a deep sleep.
When Qin Moqing arrived, this was the scene he witnessed.
Amidst the panicked crowd, Su Ruolang was the only one who remained calm and composed. Her slender back seemed to overlap with a vague silhouette in his memory…
A flicker of doubt crossed Qin Moqing's eyes.
For a moment, he suddenly felt she resembled the woman who had saved him that night.
But that woman was clearly not her.
After finishing the acupuncture, Su Ruolang straightened up and only then noticed Qin Moqing standing at the doorway, though she didn't know when he had arrived.
Backlit, he appeared lean yet tall, his shadow like a corner of an ink painting. His sharp eyebrows were tightly furrowed as he instructed the maid beside him: "Quickly help Grandmother to rest."
The maid complied, supporting the unconscious Old Madam back to her room.
Knowing he had caused trouble, Qin Yansong also slipped away without a trace.
In an instant, the vast hall was left with only Su Ruolang and Qin Moqing.
"What illness does Grandmother have?" he asked in a deep voice.
"It's chest obstruction. A lighter diet would be beneficial for her condition," Su Ruolang replied.
Qin Moqing looked at her, his expression inscrutable.
Earlier, her acupuncture had been extremely swift and forceful, something impossible for someone unskilled in martial arts to control.
That night, drugged and with blurred vision, he had faintly heard the subtle sound of wind, like flying needles…
"Have you been to the mountains recently, miss?" Qin Moqing inexplicably asked.
Mountains?
Some unpleasant images surfaced in Su Ruolang's mind.
She frowned, suppressing the emotions rising in her heart: "I come from a hunter's family, so I naturally go to the mountains often."
"Have you caught any prey?" Qin Moqing asked.
Su Ruolang didn't understand why he suddenly asked this: "Very little prey. A few days ago, I was even bitten by a dog."
Qin Moqing: "…"
Judging by her skills, she didn't seem like someone who would be bitten by a dog.
A wolf would be more plausible.
Since he couldn't detect any clues from her words, he returned to the main topic: "Is there a cure for Grandmother's chest obstruction?"
"Yes," Su Ruolang nodded, "I can prescribe a suitable remedy."
Qin Moqing raised his hand, and a servant immediately brought over brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
Su Ruolang wrote the prescription with fluid strokes: "Take the medicine according to this prescription, and improvement should be seen within a month."
With that, she set down the wolf-hair brush in her hand, glanced up at Qin Moqing, and said: "As for the consultation fee, it was already given earlier. If you wish to give more, I won't refuse."
Qin Moqing: "…"
Truly, it was not at all unexpected.
"I'll return to the villa now. Call me if needed." Su Ruolang raised an eyebrow, tossed out these words, and turned to leave cleanly and decisively.
Watching her figure gradually disappear down the corridor, Qin Moqing's gaze lingered for a moment.
"Your Highness, this woman seems somewhat unusual…" Jing An said from the side.
"Oh?" Qin Moqing's pale lips moved slightly, "In what way?"
"My subordinate investigated her background. She grew up in the borderlands and was known as the town fool until just a few days ago. She's been simple-minded since childhood, with no good teachers or friends around her… So where did she learn all these skills?" Jing An voiced his suspicions.
He even wondered if Su Ruolang might have been one of the assassins from that day.
If she truly were an assassin, her deliberate approach to the Old Madam would make sense…
The more Jing An thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Could it be that his lord was sacrificing his own reputation by marrying her as a countermeasure, following the trail to uncover the plot?
As he pondered this, a servant hurried in to report: "Your Highness, Guard Jing, we've found the whereabouts of the assassins!"
…
There were fourteen assassins in total. Thirteen were already dead, and Qin Moqing's men found the last one deep in the forest.
When they found him, the man was gravely wounded, barely clinging to life, with more breath leaving him than entering.
"Your Highness, this was found on the assassin," the subordinate said, handing over an object.
It was a palm-sized wooden plaque, entirely black and densely textured.
The front bore a raised pattern, while the back seemed to have been inscribed with a character, though it had been deliberately worn away, leaving the strokes illegible.
Qin Moqing took the plaque, turning it over in his hand for a moment, the faint shadow of his long lashes falling into his dark eyes.
After a pause, he looked up, his expression so icy that even Jing An beside him felt a chill run down his spine.
"The Capital City truly grows impatient."
"Your Highness, were they really from the Capital City?"
Jing An found it hard to believe.
Few knew of this journey, and his lord had laid numerous traps along the way to make tracking difficult.
How could the assassins have acted so swiftly? Could it be… that there was a traitor by his lord's side, leaking their whereabouts?
Jin An immediately thought of Su Ruolang again: "Your Highness, could it be that Miss Su?"
"The Capital City planted a spy in the borderlands, having her feign foolishness for over a decade, all for the purpose of approaching me at this moment?" Qin Moqing asked.
Jing An: "…"
It did sound somewhat illogical.
"But just to be safe, it would be wise to have someone keep an eye on her," Jing An cautiously suggested.
Qin Moqing did not respond, his gaze drifting into the depths of the corridor.
It seemed as if Su Ruolang's silhouette still lingered there.
A solitary woman, her every move bold and unguarded, yet always shrouded in something he couldn't quite grasp.
After a moment, he spoke in a low voice: "Since she is my betrothed, tomorrow, I will keep an eye on her personally."
Meanwhile, in a nearby wing room.
"That woman is vicious-hearted, causing me to be bitten by a snake. I'll settle this score sooner or later!" Despite having applied medicine twice, Qin Yansong's wound still throbbed and itched unbearably, tormenting him to no end.
"Young Master, Miss Su did save the Old Madam's life…" a servant beside him whispered in reminder.
Qin Yansong dismissed this with a wave: "It's not like she wasn't paid for it… If she can practice medicine and use remedies, we could keep her around to treat Grandmother. Why must my brother marry her?"
Even if he were to marry, his brother should wed the Capital City's number one beauty, Lin Ruowei!
Not to mention, his brother also had a betrothed from infancy, a girl who disappeared while still in swaddling clothes, whose status and position were far beyond what an ordinary woman like Su Ruolang could match.
This grand expedition to the borderlands was precisely to find that infant girl from years past.
If she could be found, all would be well.
But if not…
"No way, I gotta think of a plan, can't let that Su Ruolang succeed!" Qin Yansong gritted his teeth.
Since his grandmother's side was unyielding, he had to tackle it from another angle.
"If I can make my brother dislike this woman, he naturally won't marry her…" He rested his chin on his hand, muttering to himself for a moment, then suddenly his eyes lit up.
Got it!
He beckoned his servant closer and whispered a few instructions.
The servant's face flushed and paled alternately: "This… this… wouldn't…"
"Wouldn't what wouldn't? Last time a maid in the mansion did this, clearly trying to throw herself at him, and she was expelled from the manor that same night by my brother. This method will definitely work!" Qin Yansong was brimming with confidence.