Attempted murder?

“Hold it, what kind of eyes are you using to see me murder your young general?” Han Yunxi asked angrily. Even the ancients like to smear the motivations of people with good intentions?

Li Changfeng kicked the dagger on the ground into his hands, voice cold. “All of us saw with our own two eyes. Woman, I don’t care who sent you, but prepare for death!”

They’d already detained the anxious driver, who wanted to reveal his mistress’ identity but found the timing inappropriate. Instead he shouted, “Mistake, it’s a misunderstanding! We just passed by and saw the young general on the ground, so my mistress wanted to save him. She has no ill intentions, the real culprit’s run off long ago.”

Li Changfeng raised his eyebrows at Han Yunxi and gave a snort. “If you were going to save him, why use a dagger? Who are you trying to fool? Someone grab her.”

“I used the dagger to save him. A poison needle’s struck him deep inside. If it isn’t recovered, the consequences won’t be something a guard like you can bear.” Han Yunxi said seriously, intimidating all those present.

Li Changfeng hesitated slightly. Four hours ago, the young general had chased an enemy spy into this area and disappeared. As to what happened exactly, nobody knew. He glanced at the dagger in his hand but dared not risk it. This was really something he couldn’t handle.

“Stop with your nonsense. Take her to the house, we’ll clear up any misunderstandings with the general himself!” Li Changfeng lifted Mu Qingwu in his arms and hastily walked away.

“You’ll regret it!” Han Yunxi shouted. That damned man, how dare he move Mu Qingwu after he’d been poisoned? It’d only speed up the circulation of toxins into his organs. Fine, she’d go to the general’s estate. It wouldn’t do to fear them when she’d done nothing wrong. Would an upright place like that make her confess to false charges under torture?

As it turned out, she’d overestimated the the Mu House. All the members of the Mu family had joined the military. There were rough and blunt, more apt to use their hands than their mouths. When Mu Qingwu was delivered to his rooms, a summoned imperial physician hurried after him. Han Yunxi and the driver were left in the middle of the hall, where General Mu and his thick eyebrows, big eyes, and beard glared at them. He pointed a finger at Han Yunxi. “Speak, who sent you?!”

Who sent her?

Did she look like an assassin or enemy agent? She didn’t even resist when they brought her here. This blockhead was going to drive Mu Qingwu to his death sooner or later. Han Yunxi kept calm without losing her temper. “I’ll say this for the last time. I was just a passerby who wanted to save him. The young general’s been poisoned and his situation is urgent. If he’s not treated now, the effects will be too ghastly to imagine.”

“What a joke. I’ve seen plenty of women like you before. You dare argue against conclusive evidence?” As General Mu spoke, he walked closer and closer to Han Yunxi, noisily flicking his whip so that the people around them quaked with fear. Han Yunxi kept a serious, steady gaze and stood there fearlessly, cold eyes unyieldingly boring into General Mu’s own. It was the first time the general had met such a bold woman. But so what?

“I’ll see if you keep up your lies!” He raised his whip and snapped it right at her.

Han Yunxi didn’t dodge. She knew she couldn’t avoid it, so she bore the brunt of a lash harsh enough to rip the skin off her arm. Yet her eyebrows didn’t even twitch as she stared at him.

“You’ll regret it!”

“I’ll make you regret it first!” General Mu said, lashing her again. Right then, Li Changfeng escorted Imperial Physician Gu back into the hall. Imperial Physician Gu Beiyue[1] was a young man just over 20 years old, but he was head of all the other court physicians. He didn’t wear the complicated robes of the Imperial Physician Courtyard, but clean and simple white robes. Refined and cultivated, he had a serene face that exuded warmth even when he didn’t smile. He was a doctor that looked more like a scholar.

General Mu gave Han Yunxi a hateful glare before hurrying to Gu Beiyue’s side, rough and boorish. “Hurry and tell me, is my son well?”

“He’s fallen into a coma with a constant high fever. I’ll need to observe him for two more days,” Gu Beiyue said with a slight frown, as if considering something.

“But what’s the matter with him? He was perfectly all right until he fainted! Tell me now!” General Mu had a deafening roar as if he might eat Gu Beiyue up.

Though the general controlled the military, Gu Beiyue was a second-rank official and the emperor’s personal physician. No matter how he felt, General Mu couldn’t just yell at him. Gu Beiyue looked obviously helpless but didn’t press the issue. Instead, he spoke as earnestly as before.

“He has no injuries or pains. His pulse is normal as well. That’s why I’m puzzled and requested two days for further observation.” Gu Beiyue was the head of all the imperial physicians. If this was his diagnosis, there was no need to invite any of the rest. General Mu was both irritated and unhappy.

“All right, give Imperial Physician Gu the guest room, he’ll stay here for the next two days.”

Right at this moment, Han Yunxi laughed out loud. “What a joke! A joke as big as the Heavens! An impressive head physician like you can’t even tell he’s been poisoned. If you observe him for two more days, I guarantee you’re helping Mu Qingwu into his grave.”

The entire area fell silent at these words. Everyone stared at Han Yunxi. What exactly…had this woman said? Gu Beiyue looked over as well, finally noticing Han Yunxi for the first time. He suspected it was poison as well, but didn’t speak because he was uncertain.

“You! You dared to curse my son!” General Mu had an explosive temper, charging over with the intention to whip her.

But the carriage driver couldn’t hold back anymore. “General Mu, you can’t afford to hit her! She’s the Qin Wangfei!” he cried.

Ah?

Qin Wangfei?

General Mu’s whip hovered in the air, never managing to land. The entire room was in shock. How could this be?

“What did you say?” Now the general was shouting at the driver.

“Esteemed general, this is Qin Wangfei. This morning she just went with his highness the Duke of Qin to pay respects to the court. We saw the young general lying on the road on our way back. Esteemed Wangfei absolutely did not plot to kill the young general! Please use clear judgment, esteemed general!” the driver cried. Afraid that they wouldn’t believe him, he pulled out the Duke of Qin’s entry gate plate to prove it. How would he explain things back home if someone hit the Wangfei?

When the crowd saw the identifying plate from the Duke of Qin’s residence, they had no choice but to believe him. Then they noticed the injury on her arm. One by one, their expressions turned complicated. So this woman was the useless trash of the Han Family, the one who alighted from the wedding sedan by herself…Qin Wangfei Han Yunxi?

Han Yunxi didn’t want to reveal her identity so abruptly. The status of a Wangfei gave her plenty of privileges, but plenty of restrictions as well–especially an unrecognized Wangfei like herself. It was better to be subtle. But since the driver revealed everything, these people should behave themselves, right?

Who knew that General Mu’s whip would violently lash out as before? Though it didn’t touch her body, it gave her a sizable scare.

“So what if it’s the Qin Wangfei? Deliberate murder of the young general is still a capital offense! Speak, who was it that sent you?” General Mu’s face was flushed with hate, making him look like a demon. If someone dared to hurt his precious son, he’d explode at them regardless of Qin Wangfei or even the Duke of Qin himself. Moreover, this woman wasn’t favored by the duke. He didn’t even appear for his wedding day, so she had no real clout. With an empty title like that, who feared her?

Han Yunxi couldn’t help such an unforeseen thing. But neither did she dwell on it. When she met General Mu’s furious gaze, her voice was cool. “I don’t want to waste words with you. I’ll say it one last time. Your son has been poisoned. If you don’t treat the toxin within two hours, I can promise that even immortals won’t be able to save his life!”

“Hahahah!” General Mu laughed loudly. “Listen to this! Did you all hear what she said? Even the useless trash of the Han Family knows how to diagnose illnesses now? More like the sun’s going to rise from the west!”

General Mu smiled as he glanced towards Gu Beiyue. “Imperial Physician Gu, you heard her talk. Her diagnosis is completely different from yours. A useless trash and the head physician, whose words should I heed?” These words were full of mockery that stirred the entire hall into laughter. Yet Gu Beiyue didn’t laugh when he looked at Han Yunxi. His eyebrows knitted slightly as if thinking of something. Very quickly, General Mu stopped laughing.

“Someone take this woman away! When the young general wakes up, we’ll let the courts of justice decide her punishment!”

Han Yunxi couldn’t bear it anymore. She turned back with a fierce glare, enough to awe the approaching guards into backing away a few paces. These people were squandering Mu Qingwu’s life! She stared viciously at General Mu before simply taking a seat.

“Imperial Physician Gu, you should examine two cun up from the young general’s navel, specifically the Profound Spirit and Obscure Serenity acupoints[2]. Use a needle to test for poison and you’ll see whether or not I’m lying.”

And yet a woman wearing light yellow robes walked in with pretty features and an arrogant gaze. She was the same woman who shot the dart that knocked off Han Yunxi’s veil on her wedding day, General Mu’s daughter Mu Liuyue. Like countless other females in the capital, she’d hoped that no one would ever marry the Duke of Qin. Even if she couldn’t marry him herself, she wouldn’t allow another woman to do so in her place.

A useless trash like Han Yunxi not only stole him away, but was now here to plot against her elder brother. She’d never let her off! As soon as Mu Liuyue walked in, she grabbed General Mu’s hand and gave Han Yunxi a provoked glance.

“Father, hurry up and send her to the courts. Everyone saw her trying to hurt elder brother with a dagger! Why are you bothering to talk nonsense with her? What can a useless trash know about the medical arts?”

Han Yunxi couldn’t remember how she’d slighted this lady, but she felt her hostile enmity. Her head seemed on the verge of exploding as she mentally calculated the time. Mu Qingwu’s poison would reach his internal organs very soon. Naturally, General Mu didn’t trust Han Yunxi, so he just yelled at the guards.

“Are you guys just rice buckets? Hurry and take her again!”

“Hold it!” At this point, Gu Beiyue suddenly called out.

He knew about the Profound Spirit and Obscure Serenity acupoints. They weren’t just ordinary acupressure points because no one beyond adepts in the field would have heard of such names, much less know their locations. Two cun above the navel, and yet Han Yunxi was the one who marked them out precisely. In addition, these two acupoints were extremely sensitive to poisons affecting the internal organs. It really was the best place to test for them.

If Han Yunxi knew this, then it meant she wasn’t useless trash. Though her words might be doubtful, Gu Beiyue had been debating whether or not Mu Qingwu was poisoned. His skills at detoxifying poisons were weak so he couldn’t make a wild diagnosis. Right now it wouldn’t hurt to trust Han Yunxi once.

“General Mu, the esteemed Wangfei speaks reasonably. I’ll go try it right now,” Gu Beiyue said in a rush.

Mu Liuyue savagely blocked his way. “You can’t go, Imperial Physician Gu! Who doesn’t know she’s the trash of the Han Family? What would she understand about acupoints or poisons? It’s a joke!”

“Young Miss, with a person’s life at stake time is of the essence, especially if there’s poison. Please don’t make trouble,” Gu Beiyue replied seriously.

-o-

[1] Gu Beiyue (顾北月) – Gu is a surname also meaning to ‘turn around and look at,’ Beiyue means ‘north moon.’

[2] Profound Spirit and Obscure Serenity acupoints (玄灵, 冥幽 穴) – xuanling, mingyou mai, literal translations of acupoint names.

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