Volume 1 Chapter 10: Speak, What Are Your Conditions
Hua Xieyi tried her best to keep her tone calm, revealing no flaws: "What Ghost Doctor Hall?"
"Ghost Doctor Hall is a pharmaceutical business that has risen to prominence in Xiliang over the past decade, with operations spread throughout the region. Not only does it run clinics and pharmacies, but it also produces ready-made medicines like the Free-Spirited Liver-Protecting Pills, Fast-Acting Heart-Saving Pills, Diabetes-Relieving Pills, and Coptis Fever-Clearing Formula, which are known to women and children alike.
The hall master is skilled in poison techniques, especially in fighting poison with poison, reviving the dead, and regenerating flesh and bone. However, their identity is extremely mysterious and ever-changing. Some say it's an elderly man with white hair and beard, others claim it's a young maiden with long flowing hair, and still others describe a young scholar with a light fan and silk headscarf. Opinions vary widely, with no consensus.
It is said that the hall master of Ghost Doctor Hall has a prescription that can cure the poison afflicting His Highness. Young Master Lu has already mobilized his friends in the martial world and tried offering a hefty reward, but unfortunately, the other party has never shown up."
If Lu Er hadn't been mentioned, it would have been fine, but once brought up, Hua Xieyi naturally recalled his name.
Ghost Doctor Hall, Lu Yuanqi, and the unique formulas passed down by Ghost Doctor Hall that the shopkeeper had just listed—all of it pointed to one undeniable fact:
This Ghost Doctor Hall was the centuries-old legacy passed down by her own ancestors.
Had her accidental time travel really led her to meet her own ancestral master? What kind of miraculous fate was this?
For a moment, she felt as if a hundred claws were scratching at her heart, growing increasingly eager.
Even if it wasn't to save Gong Jinxing, she had to get to the bottom of this and meet this mysterious hall master. This trip would not be in vain.
Suddenly, a flash of insight struck her, and she abruptly remembered a very serious question.
If this Lu Yuanqi was the one who left the prescription, and he clearly knew the antidote for the Western Region Demon Lotus, why would he stand by and do nothing? With Gong Jinxing's immense power, how could he fail to track down a mere physician in the capital? Could there be something fishy going on?
The more she thought about it, the more she felt that although Lu Er appeared honest and simple, the way he looked at her—his eyes flickering, avoiding direct contact—clearly indicated he had something to hide.
Oh no! Lu Er was now staying in the main courtyard, alone with Gong Jinxing. Could he pose a threat to him?
A cold sweat broke out on Hua Xieyi's back. Without time to explain, she rushed back to the main courtyard in a flurry.
Lu Er had already left.
Only a single red candle remained in the main room, covered with a green gauze, casting a dim, flickering light.
Gong Jinxing was still asleep and showed no signs of anything unusual.
She couldn't help but laugh at herself for being overly cautious and seeing enemies everywhere.
Gong Jinxing only had three lives left. Even if Lu Er had ulterior motives, why would he risk exposure by harming him?
Hua Xieyi secretly breathed a sigh of relief and stepped out of the room, informing Steward He of her decision to stay for the time being.
Since she had started saving him, she might as well see it through to the end. With people around Gong Jinxing being hard to distinguish as friend or foe and dangers lurking everywhere, if she were to leave abruptly and something happened to him, she could flee but not escape the consequences.
Steward He was visibly excited and immediately ordered the night watchwoman to serve dinner and prepare the bed.
Sharing a bed was definitely out of the question, even though the guy was quite a catch. Glancing around, her eyes landed on the coffin that hadn't been moved away yet.
This was where she had woken up. Could she return from here?
This was simply no place for a human to stay. She wanted to go home, back to the modern era.
If her parents and elder brother heard the news of her death, they would surely be devastated. She had to return home, to fulfill her filial duties, and also to avenge herself.
Could this coffin be the portal through which she had traveled?
Under the astonished gazes of the servants, she once again climbed into the coffin without hesitation, filled with hope.
Inside, there were fragrant quilts and soft pillows, carrying the natural scent of wood. It was quite spacious, not bad for sleeping, and gave a sense of security.
She tapped around but couldn’t find any hidden mechanism.
Steward He stared in disbelief: "Your Highness, what are you…"
"This coffin is quite nice. From now on, I’ll sleep in here!"
Steward He wisely said nothing, ordering someone to bring Hua Xieyi her evening meal. At least she ate until half-full. Then he extinguished the lanterns in the courtyard and arranged the guards.
The night grew quiet, with the chirping of autumn insects rising and falling in succession.
She slept dreamlessly through the night.
When the first piercing rays of sunlight shone into the coffin, Hua Xieyi awoke.
She opened her eyes. In the sunlight, the coffin’s golden grain shimmered brilliantly, its patterns flowing like clouds and water, exuding an air of nobility.
She hadn’t left. Perhaps her method of opening it was wrong?
Gong Jinxing was already awake. Through the open window, he lounged lazily in a soft chair, holding a memorial in one hand and a brush in the other, his sword-like brows tightly furrowed.
A small golden monkey was laboriously grinding ink beside the inkstone.
Truly a workaholic—barely able to hold his head up, yet already reviewing memorials.
After a simple wash, she entered the room and gently knocked on the doorframe of the east wing.
"Come in," Gong Jinxing’s deep, slightly lazy voice was magnetic.
Hua Xieyi lifted the door curtain. As soon as the little golden monkey saw a stranger enter, it slipped into Gong Jinxing’s arms, burying its head in the crook of his arm and leaving only its bottom exposed.
Gong Jinxing didn’t even lift his eyelids, merely setting the brush in his hand down on the inkstone and saying indifferently, "Awake?"
"Mhm."
Hua Xieyi didn’t enter, instead leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed, one leg propped up. She didn’t look at Gong Jinxing’s face, her eyes fixed intently on the little golden monkey in his arms.
She had heard of Ink Monkeys before—small as mice, usually curled up in brush holders, responsible for grinding ink and cleaning inkstones for their masters. But they were far less beautiful than this one, which was golden and radiant, its exposed bottom resembling a gold ingot.
"What, is this monkey more pleasing to look at than your husband?" Gong Jinxing slowly closed the memorial, a hint of teasing in his tone, his profile as flawless as jade.
Hua Xieyi shifted her gaze to the hand holding the memorial.
His knuckles were well-proportioned, his fingers long and slender. Under the sunlight, they were pale, almost translucent, as if carved and polished from mutton-fat jade.
"Steward He must have reported the matter of the prescription to you. Do you have any plans?"
"No plans," Gong Jinxing said bluntly. "The Three-Legged Golden Toad is a tribute item, strictly managed by the palace. It’s impossible to slip through unnoticed, and we mustn’t alert anyone."
"What about the Peacock Gall?"
"Lu Er will look for it."
Hua Xieyi snorted lightly through her nose. "Seeing how calm and composed you look, I thought you had everything under control. Yet you can’t even take care of your own life, and still have the leisure to review memorials."
Only then did Gong Jinxing lift his eyelids slightly, slowly parting his lips: "Isn’t there still you?"
Me…
Faced with such trust and affection, Hua Xieyi was momentarily at a loss for words.
"I recall Your Highness promised yesterday with your golden words to let me leave. Surely you won’t go back on your word?"
"No," Gong Jinxing still kept his eyes lowered. "You left in such a hurry yesterday that you forgot to take the Letter of Divorce, which is why I called you back."
That's right.
Hua Xieyi extended her hand. "Then where is the Letter of Divorce?"
Gong Jinxing lightly tapped the armrest of the soft couch with his fingers. "My body is chilled to the bone, my fingers are numb and unresponsive—I cannot write."
Shameless! This is clearly an attempt to extort something using the Letter of Divorce, isn't it?
Under someone else's roof, one must bow their head. Hua Xieyi suppressed her anger. "Speak, what are your conditions?"
The golden monkey in Gong Jinxing's arms seemed to sense an invisible killing intent and burrowed deeper into his embrace.
Gong Jinxing raised his hand, palm upward, cradling the monkey in his palm, a slight curve at the corner of his lips. "You must understand, if a woman is divorced, it must be due to one of the seven grounds for divorce, damaging her reputation. Remarrying would be extremely difficult. But mutual separation is different—it means the couple is incompatible and agrees to part ways, allowing both to marry again without interference.
Three days from now, once the Cold Poison is cured, I will write an Agreement of Mutual Separation for you. If it cannot be cured, then you will have no choice but to become a widow. But rest assured, I have my own arrangements—there is no need for you to accompany me in death, unless you volunteer."