Chapter 28 The Aloof Imperial Advisor Is Invited Down the Mountain
Suddenly learning a clue he had sought for years from her lips, Qin Xuzhu was emotionally agitated, not even caring about the blade cutting his neck.
His eyes filled with intense anticipation, and he eagerly said, “You know my younger brother’s whereabouts?”
“As long as you tell me where he is, I can give you the antidote right now!”
Wen Xueling retreated half a step, avoiding his lunging posture, and looked at him indifferently, “Qin Xuzhu, now you are begging me.”
“You have no room to bargain.”
Upon hearing this, Qin Xuzhu’s face showed deep thought, worried that he wouldn’t get the answer he wanted after giving the antidote.
He said with a solemn expression, “Young Lady Wen, the Soul Devouring Powder contains dozens of potent poisons. In this world, no one besides me knows how to detoxify it.”
Recalling Wen Jingshu’s cold attitude towards this daughter tonight, he was certain that her life in the Prime Minister’s Estate was not easy.
Qin Xuzhu probed, “As long as Young Lady Wen tells me my younger brother’s whereabouts, I, Qin, will immediately offer the antidote. Additionally, I can become your inside informant in the Prime Minister’s Estate, helping you achieve what you desire in your heart. How about it?”
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, the woman before him accurately recited all the poisons in the Soul Devouring Powder.
He stared at her with wide, disbelieving eyes. “How do you know?”
Speaking of this, Wen Xueling’s thoughts were involuntarily pulled back to her previous life. All of this stemmed from the torment inflicted upon her by that black-hearted devil in her previous life.
Except for those banished to Slave City by the imperial court, all others who wished to enter Slave City had to offer unique treasures.
These could be family heirlooms, secret sectarian formulas, or some crucial information.
These items would all be collected in the Treasure Pavilion of Slave City.
And that black-hearted devil loved her voice the most.
For seven years, she didn’t know how many times she had read the martial arts manuals, detoxification formulas, and unique poisons in the Treasure Pavilion.
Every single character was like a knife tip, carving mark after mark into her mind.
Wen Xueling already possessed the ability of photographic memory, so reciting the formula for Soul Devouring Powder was not difficult for her.
But for Qin Xuzhu, this was like a bolt from the blue.
His proud secret was just exposed like that?
With the formula, an antidote could be made, as long as she was given time.
Qin Xuzhu knew that his only advantage now was having a ready-made antidote.
Seeing him still hesitating, Wen Xueling urged, “I’ll count to three. If you don’t hand over the antidote, even if I tell you your brother’s whereabouts, you won’t make it in time to save him.”
He suddenly looked up: “What do you mean by that? What happened to my brother?”
“Three, two……” Wen Xueling’s calm voice in the silent room was like a sharp knife hanging over his head.
Qin Xuzhu’s heart pounded: “Wait! Give me more time……”
His eyes showed hesitation, but he saw Wen Xueling finish counting the last number and then turn away mercilessly.
His heart tightened, and he shouted, “I’ll give you the antidote––”
Having obtained the item, Wen Xueling wasted no time, returning to Folding Willow Courtyard to feed the antidote to Mu Qingyu, then quietly waited by the bed for her to wake up.
After everything that happened tonight, she realized that her actions were still too slow.
Wen Xueling’s consciousness felt as if it were detached from reality. The last scene before her death kept magnifying before her eyes.
That arrow that took her life transformed into thousands of sharp arrows, suspended above her head, threatening to take her life again if she was not careful.
Now, with just her scumbag father and fourth brother, she was already restricted at every turn.
If her eldest, second, and third brothers were added to the mix……
An inexplicable panic surged in her heart. No, she had to quicken the pace of her revenge.
The next morning.
The hand Wen Xueling held in her palm stirred. After guarding all night, she finally waited for Mu Qingyu to wake up.
Her face showed no trace of the anxiety from surviving last night’s ordeal. She gently said, “Mother, don’t move yet. You were poisoned with Soul Devouring Powder, and your body is still weak. You need to rest well.”
“Did he hit you?” Before she fell unconscious last night, she heard sounds of violence from next door.
Fearing that her newly awakened body could not withstand severe emotional fluctuations.
Wen Xueling comforted her, “No.”
She mischievously blinked her eyes and smiled, “He wanted to hit me, but Ling’er dodged him.”
Mu Qingyu felt as if thousands of needles pierced her heart. Tears of heartache streamed down her face, burning all the way to her core.
Her daughter, whom she had protected with all her might, was repeatedly hurt by her father. How much pain must her heart endure?
Mu Qingyu spoke with difficulty: “Don’t worry about Mother anymore.”
Soul Devouring Powder would cause unconsciousness, but not an immediate loss of the five senses. She had heard everything Wen Jingshu said last night.
“Mother would rather die than see you hurt by them again because of Mother.”
Wen Xueling felt her throat constricted, unable to make a sound, listening blankly to her mother’s words of heartache for her.
Mu Qingyu used all her strength to sit up, hugging her daughter tightly, deeply regretting being a burden to her.
“Ling’er, avenge your hatred, right your wrongs.”
A warm current flowed into her heart. Wen Xueling raised her hand and hugged her back, “……Okay.”
Indeed, it was time to show these people a lesson!
That night, a sudden strange sound occurred in the capital.
The sound of explosions was like summer thunder, waking everyone from their dreams. They were horrified to discover that the statues in the consecrated temple had collapsed.
The four-sided Buddha hands pointed directly to the location of the Prime Minister’s Estate.
At dawn, a sharp arrow pierced through the plum tree in Wen Jin’an’s courtyard.
In an instant, raging flames burned the entire courtyard of plum trees into charred wood, as if a divine punishment had descended. Screams and shouts for help rose one after another.
Wen Xueling stood by the window, coldly watching the distant firelight.
“Young Lady, everything is ready.”
Yan Ze stood behind her like a ghost, marveling at the powerful force of the things she had given him.
She turned and stared at his face. All the hidden guards wore masks.
The things in Wen Xueling’s hands were too secret. In the future, those matters would still require Yan Ze to do them for her, but her past experiences made it impossible for her to trust anyone lightly.
She handed him a bottle, saying expressionlessly, “Eat this.”
Yan Ze did not hesitate. He took the medicine bottle, removed the mask from his jaw in front of her, and poured the medicine into his mouth.
Seeing his swift actions, Wen Xueling’s expression paused slightly. “Do you know this is poison?”
“As a hidden guard, this subordinate only knows to do whatever the master says.”
His answer satisfied Wen Xueling.
She cleverly used the formula of one part saltpeter, two parts sulfur, and three parts charcoal to leave a terrifying and eerie totem on the wall of Mingzhu Courtyard, where Wen Jin’an resided.
Upon seeing it, her scumbag father immediately ordered the wall to be smashed into rubble, but it still couldn’t stop the news from spreading like wildfire.
Wen Jinli was not wrong about one thing: her scumbag father had indeed made many enemies over the years.
That day during morning court, Wen Jingshu was kept in the palace by the Emperor, who meticulously questioned him about the strange fire that had descended upon the Prime Minister’s Estate.
The secretly shattered stones were also found by the Embroidered Uniform Guard from the palace and brought back.
Wen Xueling, with a white veil covering her face, sat at a bustling tea stall, quietly listening to the common people’s discussions about last night’s events.
There was also a piece of news that spread after morning court.
The Emperor had invited the aloof and otherworldly Imperial Advisor of Rong Kingdom, who was like an immortal, down from the mountain.
0 Comments