"Plow properly!" Mo Sigui tapped the apothecary's apprentice on the head before turning to enter the house.
Mei Yanran sat with her eyes closed, leaning back in a chair, while An Jiu stood beside her.
Mo Sigui folded his fan and approached, placing his fingers on Mei Yanran's wrist with exaggerated care. After a while, his brows gradually furrowed.
Lost in thought for a moment, he then personally gathered the Medicine and placed it on the stove outside, calling to the apprentice still plowing, "Come watch the fire!"
The apprentice set down the plow, wiping sweat as he hurried to the porch.
This batch of Medicine was different from usual—its scent was pungent, and the steam was thick and white. When the pot boiled over, it even shrouded the thatched cottage in a thin layer of mist.
The nearby shadow unit of the Crane Control Army didn’t see the Medicine pot, but the thick smoke made them suspicious. Still, they reasoned that the heavy rain from two days ago had dampened the firewood, making such smoke unsurprising.
After a while, as the smoke grew denser yet oddly non-irritating, the shadow unit member realized something was wrong. But the moment he tried to stand, he fell from the tree, struggled briefly on the ground, and then lost consciousness.
"About time. Now, you two—"
Before Mo Sigui could finish, Mei Yanran removed her Human Skin Mask.
His mouth hung open before he finally remembered to bow. "Aunt."
"No need for formalities among family," Mei Yanran said with a faint gesture.
"You’ve lost weight, Sigui," Mei Yanran observed gently. "You’ve endured much hardship."
Had it been An Jiu’s turn to speak, she might have bluntly added, "Aunt, you’ve aged a lot—must’ve suffered plenty too."
But Mo Sigui sighed with a smile. "Indeed! Being young, every setback feels like the sky is falling. Yet despite the hardships you must have faced in the Crane Control Army, Aunt, you remain as radiant as ever."
An Jiu scoffed inwardly. What a blatant lie—Mei Yanran’s eyes are clearly lined with wrinkles now.
After brief pleasantries, Mo Sigui got to the point. "Aunt, have you left the Crane Control Army?"
Mei Yanran nodded with a smile.
"We’re here to lay low for a while," An Jiu chimed in, nearly calling her "Mother" before correcting herself, "and to detoxify Madam Mei."
Mo Sigui caught the change in address and understood immediately. Doing a quick calculation, even if An Jiu had encountered Mei Yanran while deployed to the border, it would’ve only been three or four months ago. How terrible must her acting be to get exposed so quickly without even changing her appearance?
He shot An Jiu a disdainful look. "Aunt can stay here. You—get lost."
Da Jiu, noticing Mo Sigui’s glare at An Jiu, darted over and bared its teeth.
Mo Sigui casually picked up his pipe and rapped it twice on the creature’s head. "Traitor. From now on, I’m not feeding you anymore!"
Da Jiu seemed to understand the threat. It twitched its ears, then trotted lightly over to Mo Sigui, rubbing its head against his leg and whimpering softly like an abandoned kitten.
An Jiu frowned at its shameless fawning. Ignoring Mo Sigui’s earlier remark, she added, "There are plenty of houses here. I can stay at the old Jade Serenity Residence."
Mei Yanran, observing their exchange, sensed no real animosity between them and chose not to intervene.
"The poison in Aunt’s body isn’t my work, nor Elder Qi’s. It’s a bit tricky," Mo Sigui said, wiping his pipe before shifting gears. "But nothing I can’t handle. First, I’ll need a blood sample."
"Of course. Thank you," Mei Yanran replied.Mo Sigui took a small box and a vial from the shelf nearby. From the box, he drew out a needle three times thicker than the acupuncture silver needles. With a quick prick on Mei Yanran's index finger, he caught the emerging droplets of blood with the vial.
About four or five drops later, the bleeding stopped.
"How often does the poison flare up, Aunt?" Mo Sigui asked.
"Sometimes every twenty-seven days, sometimes twenty-nine. It's been ten days since I last took the antidote," Mei Yanran replied.
This left Mo Sigui with a maximum of nineteen days and a minimum of seventeen to work with.
Though confident in his medical skills, Mo Sigui dared not underestimate this poison. A toxin potent enough for the emperor to control the shadow unit was certainly no ordinary substance.
"Aunt, don’t stay too far away. I’ll need to observe the poison’s progression at any time," Mo Sigui instructed.
When Plum Blossom Village was ambushed, Elder Qi’s residence had been a primary target. The raging fire had reduced the original thatched cottage to ashes, and the surrounding buildings had also suffered damage.
After some thought, Mo Sigui suggested, "Let’s move to the island together. The residences of Old Madam and Second Madam are still intact, and we can better prepare our defenses there."
For now, this was the most prudent solution. Both Mei Yanran and An Jiu agreed.
They set off immediately. Having only recently moved in, Mo Sigui didn’t have much luggage. After a quick tidy-up, everything was packed into four baskets, paired and strapped onto Da Jiu and Xiao Yue for transport.
Mo Sigui directed An Jiu to carry the unconscious apothecary’s apprentice.
The four of them headed straight for the lakeside. Considering that Second Madam’s former treatment in the household rivaled that of an empress dowager, they decided to go to Cloud Brake Residence.
Cloud Brake Residence was built on a small island in the lake. When An Jiu first arrived at Plum Blossom Village, it had been the season of red maples and golden apricots—the maple leaves blazing like fire on the water. Now, however, both the maple and ginkgo leaves were still green.
After some difficulty, they found a barely functional small boat to cross the lake.
Passing through the maple and apricot groves, they were greeted by lush bamboo forests. The outer woods, long untended, were overgrown with weeds, but the bamboo grove remained relatively clear of undergrowth.
Following the stone-paved path, they soon arrived at Cloud Brake Residence.
The Mei family was exceedingly wealthy and never skimped on their own comforts. With the second branch flourishing, Second Madam naturally enjoyed the lavish tributes of her descendants. Compared to other structures, Cloud Brake Residence wasn’t particularly large, but its design was ingeniously practical, exuding luxury in every detail.
Intruders had once breached the island, but the defenders had repelled them.
Mo Sigui offered the main house to Mei Yanran and took up residence in the neighboring courtyard, leaving An Jiu to choose her own quarters.
An Jiu first circled the entire island and discovered that Cloud Brake Residence was actually the central structure of a larger complex. Aside from the servants’ quarters, there were seven smaller courtyards surrounding it. Mo Sigui’s residence was called Elegant Orchid Secluded Residence.
In the end, An Jiu chose the spot closest to Elegant Orchid Secluded Residence. The two courtyards were separated only by an artificial hill. An Jiu’s chosen space was about one-tenth the size of Mo Sigui’s, with just two small rooms. In truth, the two could almost be considered part of the same courtyard, but a plaque with flamboyant calligraphy marked the division. An Jiu initially tried to read it but, after staring for a while, silently lowered her head and entered the room.
The place An Jiu selected might have been a study, as it contained a small spare bed. Still, it was more than enough for her needs.
Though An Jiu knew her mindset was somewhat ostrich-like, compared to vast, empty rooms, these compact quarters gave her a greater sense of security.The three of them tidied up their respective places. Mei Yanran felt a bit lonely and eventually decided to move into the Elegant Orchid Secluded Residence as well, occupying one of Mo Sigui's side rooms. (To be continued...)
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