This man was dangerous.
She speculated that given how fastidious he was, how he held himself above others and disliked women drawing near—if six years ago he had drunk one less cup of wine, if the alcohol's effect had been weaker, if he had retained even a shred of reason—would her fate have been the same as that woman's today, his blade at her throat?
Or perhaps, six years ago, he hadn't killed her because he still remembered the three years she had cared for him.
Six years had passed. He had surely long since married his intended fiancée and cast her from his mind.
He hadn't recognized her. That was just as well.
Today's episode was over. She would never see Gu Yujing again.
From this day forth, Jiang Fuqu would cease to exist in this world.
As dusk approached, she returned to Jixi Town. Her son, Chun Yuchu, was waiting at the village entrance, his round little head swiveling this way and that as he scanned the surroundings.
"Mother! You're finally back!"
At the sight of Chun Jingshu, the little one's eyes lit up and he rushed straight at her. "Grandmother came to the clinic just now. She said you'd taken a lover and wanted to drown you in the pond. Mother, should we run away?"
Yuchu shrank back in fear, his tiny fingers clutching tightly at Chun Jingshu's sleeve.
His lashes were long and curved, fluttering as he blinked. His brows and eyes bore a five-part resemblance to Gu Yujing.
Chun Jingshu wrapped her arms around her son.
The "grandmother" Yuchu spoke of was Chun Qizhe's birth mother.
When she and Chun Qizhe had come to Jixi Town, Chun Qizhe had declared that Yuchu was his own child.
Old Mrs. Chun was reasonably fond of little Yuchu, but she could never see eye to eye with Chun Jingshu.
No matter how many times Chun Qizhe explained things, she remained convinced that the reason Chun Qizhe had missed the imperial examination was that Chun Jingshu had seduced him and delayed him.
On the pretext of his studies, Old Mrs. Chun required Chun Qizhe to reside at the old family estate.
Chun Jingshu and her son lived at the medical clinic.
With Chun Qizhe acting as a buffer between them, the two sides had managed to avoid any major conflicts.
Today, before she had set out to gather herbs, all had been calm at the old estate—nothing out of the ordinary.
Why would the old woman suddenly claim she'd taken a lover?
If one spoke of stealing, she had only ever stolen one thing—the time of that single night, six years ago.
But she had never mentioned that to anyone. Old Mrs. Chun, a woman of the inner quarters who never set foot beyond her own gates, could not possibly know, nor would she have had any opportunity to find out.
"Yuchu, don't be afraid."
Chun Jingshu smiled at her son and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Mother is here. No one can do anything to the two of us."
"Really?"
Chun Yuchu looked up, a trace of uncertainty on his small face. "But that woman kept cursing and shouting. Grandmother just flew into a terrible rage and even threw your medical books out the door."
"A woman came?"
"Yes! Her skin was fair, though not as fair as Mother's. About this tall." Yuchu gestured with his chubby hands. "She was cursing up a storm. Grandmother's face turned green."
The image of a fierce, shrewish woman formed in Chun Jingshu's mind.
Could it be that Gu Yujing's wife had come looking for her?
But she had long since cut all ties with Gu Yujing.
Had this woman come for her, or for…
Chun Jingshu glanced down at the plump, milk-scented boy in her arms, and a chill crept into her heart.
Six years ago, she had taken Gu Yujing away. The woman had wronged her, and she, heartbroken, had fled.
Six years later, if she wanted to disrupt the life she had built, she would not yield an inch.
Her arms tightened around Yuchu. With firm resolve, she said, "Yuchu, no matter who comes, Mother will find a way to deal with them."
She strode forward and returned to the medical clinic as night fell.
A row of people sat in the main hall, looking like ghosts in the dim candlelight.
"Chun Jingshu, you still have the nerve to come back?"
Before the words even faded, a cup came hurtling toward her. Chun Jingshu had to protect her son, so she couldn't dodge too vigorously. The tea from the cup splashed onto her arm, leaving a few tea leaves clinging to her skin.
"Mother, what are you doing? Aren't you afraid of hitting Yuchu?" Chun Jingshu's tone turned cold.
"Mother, your hand…"
Yuchu grabbed his mother's sleeve anxiously and shouted at Old Mrs. Chun, "Grandmother! You can't hurt my mother!"
Old Mrs. Chun felt a lump in her throat. "I didn't mean to hurt Yuchu."
With that, she beckoned to Yuchu. "Yuchu, your mother has made a mistake. Grandmother needs to punish her. Come here, my good grandson."
"No, you can't punish my mother!" Yuchu shook his head like a rattle-drum.
"Yuchu, it's fine. The water isn't hot, and Mother isn't hurt."
Chun Jingshu patted her son's little head, set him down on a nearby chair, and casually removed her medicine bag. She changed her tone. "So, Mother, you mean to hurt me instead?"
As she spoke, her peripheral vision discreetly observed the people in the hall.
There was the village head, Chun Qizhe's younger sister, and a plump, elegantly dressed woman she didn't recognize.
Above-average looks.
Was she Gu Yujing's former quasi-fiancée, now his wife?
"Chun Jingshu, you have the nerve to ask me!"
Old Mrs. Chun, seeing that Chun Jingshu's tone was harsh and unlike her usual gentleness, flew into a rage. "Chun Jingshu, tell me the truth. Did you go to meet Li Luo today under the pretense of gathering herbs?"
"Li Luo?"
Chun Jingshu was stunned.
What? It wasn't Gu Yujing?
Meanwhile, in the bedchamber.
A low cough instantly roused the dozing guard.
"Master, you're awake?"
"Bring me a change of clothes."
After taking the antidote, Gu Yujing's burning heat had dissipated, but cold sweat now drenched his body.
The guard brought clothes. As he stripped off his soaked garments, his gaze caught his wrist, and his movements froze.
"Songyan, where is the red string on my hand?"
"I… I wouldn't know, sir."
The guard was named Songyan.
He remembered that the first time he'd served the young master, he'd seen a red string tied around his left wrist.
It had never been removed, and no one was allowed to touch it.
Years had passed, and the red string had faded to white, the knot worn into fine frayed threads, as if it could snap at any moment.
"Go find it. Send everyone to search."
Gu Yujing's face darkened terrifyingly.
Songyan summoned the guards and split them up to search.
He didn't understand why the master valued that red string so much.
The string had no gold inlaid, no jade threaded through it, and it was old and worn—utterly unworthy of his master's dazzling splendor.
Any red string gifted to the young master by a noble lady in the capital would be a hundred times more precious than that one.
Two hours passed. Nothing was found.
Inside the room, bedding was strewn about, books littered the floor—utter chaos.
Gu Yujing stood in the hot spring pool in his underclothes, staring at his empty wrist.
A cold mountain breeze swept through. He sneezed ten times in a row, his stomach churned, and his body swayed.
"Young master…" Songyan hurried forward to support Gu Yujing. The scorching heat he felt through his clothes startled him.
He pushed up the sleeve.
Gu Yujing's skin was breaking out in dense red rashes again.
"There's still Aphrodisiac Poison!"
Songyan cried out in alarm. "Didn't Dr. Chun say it was all cured? How could…"
"You found yourself a shoddy physician."
Gu Yujing was breathing slightly, recalling the woman's porcelain-delicate skin. "Women's words are never to be trusted. You've been deceived."
Songyan felt vexed. No wonder she had left so quickly—those three taels of gold had been wasted for nothing.
"Doctor Chun? I remember now! I think I saw that red string in Doctor Chun's cloth bag!" another guard exclaimed.
Gu Yujing's sharp gaze swept over.
"You're certain you weren't mistaken?"
"The weaving of the red string on your lordship's hand is quite distinctive. I couldn't have misremembered it," the guard replied.
Gu Yujing's steps were unsteady as he pushed Songyan aside. "Prepare the horses."
"My lord, you intend to go yourself?"
"Have you not already been deceived once?" Gu Yujing let out a cold snort, draping his outer robe over his shoulders.
How could this be such a coincidence?
He had only just fallen victim to the Aphrodisiac Poison through those people's scheming.
And she happened to be gathering herbs near Yage?
And the red string just happened to fall into her bag?
That woman had done it deliberately.
Who exactly was she?