Сhарtеr 19 (10/15)
“That wоn’t wоrk. Аll mеdiсinal herbs in the Ноuse of Gоng are mаnаgеd bу Gоng Yuаnzhi. Theу can’t be obtained.” Gоng Zishаng handеd ovеr Еldеr Yuе’s jadе реndаnt: “Тakе this jade pеndаnt to Yuе Manor in thе Baсk Mountаin. Тhеу will hеlр уou prерarе thе mеdicinе.”
“Thаt’s simрle!” Young Маster Хue said.
Gong Zishаng, looking deерlу worriеd, walked towаrd а nеarbу сhаir аs shе sрokе, сollаpsing intо it with an indesсribablе аir оf deliсаtе frаilty: “What’s simplе about it! The Hоuse of Gong Вack Мountаin is а forbiddеn area of the Gong clan. Ordinary people can’t enter at all. Even I, the esteemed eldest daughter of the Gong family, cannot set foot there even half a step. You, a mere nobody…”
A sudden gust of wind carrying icy shards slapped Gong Zishang in the face again. By the time she opened her eyes, Young Master Xue had already disappeared. She turned to look for Xiao Hei, but he was gone too.
Her eyes blank with confusion, she pinched her thigh hard. “Ah—!”
By the Frost Lotus Pond, Gong Ziyu and Yun Weishan leaned against each other, having fallen asleep against the stone wall. Suddenly, splashes erupted from the Frost Lotus Pond before them, and a head emerged from the water. Gong Ziyu and Yun Weishan were startled awake, opening their eyes to see a dripping wet Young Master Xue in the water.
The two, realizing how intimate their position was, immediately blushed and separated.
Young Master Xue, climbing out of the bone-chillingly cold pond, said, “Oh dear, my eyes got water in them. I didn’t see anything.”
Gong Ziyu helped him up: “There’s a hidden passage under this pond connecting to the outside?”
“Clever.”
“Well? Did you get the antidote?”
“I did get it… but…” Young Master Xue wiped the water from his face, placed four bottles of antidote on the stone platform, then pulled out the medical texts, spread them open, and pointed to the diagrams of four hidden weapons: “Gong Yuanzhi’s poisons come in four types, each applied to different hidden weapons he commonly uses… We first need to know which hidden weapon Miss Yun was hit by…”
“Didn’t you remove the hidden weapon from Miss Yun’s body? Just compare it and you’ll know.”
Young Master Xue took out an oilpaper packet from inside his belt lining. As he opened it, he said, “The hidden weapons of the House of Gong are now forged by Hua Manor in the Back Mountain. Among them, the exclusive hidden weapons used by Gong Yuanzhi are the most complex. Depending on his technique, they explode in different ways mid-air. Just looking at the fragments, it’s hard to tell which hidden weapon it is.”
Yun Weishan suddenly spoke up: “Young Master Xue, could you let me see the fragments?”
Both Young Master Xue and Gong Ziyu were somewhat surprised, but Young Master Xue still handed her the oilpaper-wrapped fragments. Yun Weishan looked at the fragments before her, her thoughts racing. She recalled that day when she left the House of Gong to exchange for the Half-Month Fly antidote, she had helped Shangguan Qian take out that cloth bundle. She had opened it; inside was a diagram of a hidden weapon disassembled by Shangguan Qian after she stole Gong Yuanzhi’s hidden weapon pouch. It was an accurately drawn diagram, composed of the disassembled parts of the hidden weapon. All the fragments had been taken apart, with detailed records of how many fragments each hidden weapon consisted of…
The image of the disassembled hidden weapon from that diagram flashed in Yun Weishan’s mind. Then, pointing to a bud-shaped fragment, she said, “It’s this one.”
Outside the stone door, Gong Yuanzhi looked at the now brightening sky, his face dark. He ordered, “No more waiting. Send someone to fetch explosives. Blow this stone door open.”
Xue Zhongzi kept his head down without speaking, quietly brewing tea by himself.Young Master Xue, now changed into fresh clothes, entered from outside and gave Xue Zhongzi a meaningful glance before saying, "My apologies, my apologies. I forgot there was a spare key. I just found it in the old house. Young Master Zhi, I'm sorry."
Gong Yuanzhi’s face turned ashen. He immediately ordered the door opened and rushed inside with his men.
Inside the stone chamber, by the icy pool, Yun Weishan was carefully plucking a Snow Lotus. She wore a white robe that looked like men's clothing, her complexion rosy and her movements light and graceful, showing no signs of having been poisoned. Gong Yuanzhi frowned, utterly perplexed. "What mischief have you been plotting, locked in here for so long?"
"Two Snow Lotuses were just about to bloom, so we waited a while. Plucking them after the buds fully open makes their medicinal properties more potent," Yun Weishan replied softly.
Gong Yuanzhi stared at Yun Weishan. "You weren’t poisoned?"
Yun Weishan smiled. "What poison? I came to pick Snow Lotuses. Young Master Xue and Xue Zhongzi both knew about it. It’s not like I came to steal or rob—why would I be poisoned?"
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