After giving her instructions, Chi Wan immediately walked out. She chose to go to the kitchen for a quick bite and then brew Yu Jiuzhou’s medicine herself. It was better than staying in the heated chamber.
Who knew when Yu Jiuzhou might lose her restraint and plunge a dagger straight into her.
She had to let Yu Jiuzhou calm down and calculate whether it was better to kill her now or spare her life for the time being.
What Chi Wan lacked now was time. As long as she had time, she had more opportunities to change her fate. Even if it was just a sliver of a chance, how would she know if she didn’t try?
The kitchen in the Princess’s Residence was quite easy to find. She went to the pharmacy to get the medicinal herbs to brew the decoction.
When a maidservant came to brew the medicine, she saw Chi Wan and hesitated for a moment. “Fuma, what are you doing?”
“Brewing medicine for Her Highness, of course.”
“This is something a servant like me can handle.”
Chi Wan immediately shielded the medicine pot. “What do you mean, ‘this is something’? Brewing medicine for Her Highness is a major affair. Of course I must do it myself.”
The maidservant gave a look to the person beside her, who immediately left the kitchen.
Before long, Yu Jiuzhou heard Chi Wan’s exact words, repeated verbatim by the maidservant.
On the surface, Yu Jiuzhou showed no reaction, but inwardly she found it strange. She remembered that in her previous life, after Chi Wan had poisoned her, she had hidden away in the Marquis of Huai’an’s Residence. Yu Jiuzhou had never gotten the chance to do anything to her.
Later, as the situation in the capital grew more tense, she could only spare Chi Wan’s wretched life for the time being.
Why was this life different? Was Chi Wan not afraid of death? Or did she think the outcome of this life wouldn’t be so bad, so there was no need to hide?
Yu Jiuzhou had heard from Chun Gui about the events from yesterday to today. She knew it was Chi Wan who had administered acupuncture and prescribed medicine to detoxify her, but since when did this scum know medicine?
Not only did she know medicine, but one moment she wanted to harm her, and the next she wanted to save her? Wasn’t she just taking the opportunity to harm her with the needles?
“Chun Gui, summon Qiu Lai back to the residence.”
She wouldn’t be at ease until Qiu Lai had examined her.
Chun Gui was taken aback. “Qiu Lai is already on her way back, but it will still be three days before she arrives. However, Imperial Physician Liu and several other imperial physicians are in the residence.”
“Fine. Have Imperial Physician Liu diagnose me.”
Yu Jiuzhou didn’t believe Chi Wan could be so kind, nor had she ever heard that Chi Wan knew medicine. Although she had been reborn and hadn’t become a cripple, she still had to be cautious in case her body had been tampered with.
It had to be said, in Yu Jiuzhou’s eyes, Chi Wan’s favorability rating was in the negatives, with no end in sight.
Imperial Physician Liu had been waiting outside. Upon hearing the princess’s summons, he immediately entered, paid his respects, and began his diagnosis. After a long while, he said, “Your Highness’s body is still somewhat weak and requires another two days of rest. Just follow the medicine prescribed by the Fuma. This subject is truly in awe of the Fuma’s prescription.”
Yu Jiuzhou: “…” Was this what she wanted him to check?
Chi Wan came in carrying the medicine. Seeing Imperial Physician Liu, she knew what Yu Jiuzhou was worried about.
She handed the medicine to a maidservant at the side. “Your Highness, it’s time to take your medicine.”
This medicine was perfectly legitimate. Surely Yu Jiuzhou didn’t think she was trying to poison her to death?
Chi Wan scooped up a spoonful and drank it. Her face immediately scrunched up. This body hadn’t regularly tasted medicines and had no immunity to bitterness.
She paused for a moment before saying, “The temperature is just right. It’s drinkable, but it needs candied fruit.”
Xia Qu was amused and laughed. “Is the Fuma afraid of taking medicine?”
Xia Qu despised Chi Wan and would take any chance to jab at her. So what if she was the Fuma? Her rank wasn’t even as high as Xia Qu’s.
“Only Qian Yuan can be officials” was a rule of Great Zhou. People like them were an exception made by His Majesty for the Princess. The princess’s personal attendants were all Kun Ze; only the tutors and chief administrators in the outer court were Qian Yuan.
To be enfeoffed as a general with the body of a Kun Ze required a hundred, even a thousand times the effort of a Qian Yuan. Xia Qu had a short temper and was very direct. She had earned her title as a senior fifth-rank general purely through strength, with no embellishment, which was why she had always looked down on the original Chi Wan.
Chi Wan knew Xia Qu’s animosity was directed at the original owner of her body, not herself, so she didn’t mind her attitude. “I’m not afraid of medicine, I’m afraid of bitterness.”
“Is there such a thing as sweet medicine?” Xia Qu sneered.
“Not necessarily.”
Many modern patent Chinese medicines had a sweet taste without affecting their efficacy. Chi Wan felt that if she could develop something similar, it would surely be very popular.
Especially a medicine for treating the common cold, suitable for both adults and children.
That’s right! Chi Wan had suddenly found a way to earn her first pot of gold after transmigrating.
In the future, once the situation stabilized, if she wanted to leave the capital, the one thing she couldn’t lack was silver. With silver, she could choose a nice place, build a small courtyard, open a pharmacy, offer free consultations when she was in a good mood, and close up shop when she wasn’t. The thought of it was quite pleasant.
The prerequisite was that she had to change Yu Jiuzhou’s hatred for her, successfully leave the capital, and escape this vortex of succession struggles.
The problem was, she had no opportunity to be alone with Yu Jiuzhou. Otherwise, she could have explained that she wasn’t the original owner of this body.
Listening to their conversation, Yu Jiuzhou drank the medicine with a blank expression, then gestured for Xia Qu to get to business.
Xia Qu snorted coldly as she passed Chi Wan, then reported, “Your Highness, Chun Gui found an aphrodisiac in your heated chamber. Following this subject’s investigation, we found the drug dealer. According to him, the Fuma bought the drug.”
Only one night has passed, how could you investigate so much?
Chi Wan felt powerless to argue. Could she really announce in front of so many people that she wasn’t the scumbag who came before her?
Still, she offered an explanation. “If I said I didn’t buy it, would Your Highness believe me?”
Yu Jiuzhou’s eyes were devoid of any emotion. Her gaze fell calmly upon her as she said coldly, “I do not.”
Chi Wan: “…” So regardless of whether she did it or not, as long as Yu Jiuzhou believed it, she couldn’t shake the accusation.
Those words were spoken like a true queen, but being on the receiving end of them was very unpleasant.
This was indeed something the owner of this body had done. But how could Yu Jiuzhou be so certain? In a normal scenario, her desperate efforts to save her should have been enough to clear her of suspicion. Unless… Yu Jiuzhou knew she had done it.
The original Chi Wan had first knocked Yu Jiuzhou unconscious before feeding her the drug. When Yu Jiuzhou groggily awoke, the person had already been replaced by her, and she was in the middle of saving her. Even if Xia Qu said she had bought the drug, it didn’t prove she was the one who administered it.
In her heart, Chi Wan grew even more suspicious that Yu Jiuzhou had been reborn. Because it had happened before, she was certain. It couldn’t just be that the original Chi Wan’s character was so terrible that no one else could possibly be a suspect, could it?
Ugh… that wasn’t impossible either.
Chi Wan snorted inwardly but remained outwardly composed. “Your Highness still requires acupuncture today.”
Acupuncture and bloodletting would be good for Yu Jiuzhou. It would also be a little bit painful.
She didn’t wait for Yu Jiuzhou’s consent and sat gracefully by the bedside. “Bring the silver needles.”
Zheng Yi, who was standing nearby and enjoying the show, immediately handed her the silver needles.
Chun Gui stepped forward. “Didn’t you say that just taking the medicine would be enough?”
“Her Highness’s internal fire is too strong, unlike an ordinary person’s.” Chi Wan wasn’t acting out of personal revenge. She could see that Yu Jiuzhou’s mind was heavily burdened. An ordinary person would recover after three days of rest, but Yu Jiuzhou still needed the assistance of acupuncture.
At the mention of acupuncture, Yu Jiuzhou recalled being groggy the previous night, her clothes removed by Chi Wan, and silver needles piercing her back. Just the thought of it made her anger surge, and an icy aura like a glacier emanated from her.
The chill made Chi Wan tremble. She looked up and met Yu Jiuzhou’s murderous gaze.
Yu Jiuzhou carried the air of someone who had walked out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. Forget modern people; even in ancient times, who besides a general who had truly been on the battlefield could possess such an aura?
Even Zheng Yi had slipped away. Only Chun Gui and Xia Qu remained.
But Chi Wan was a doctor. No matter who it was, they had to be obedient during treatment. “Your Highness, you must listen to the physician.”
Yu Jiuzhou looked at her coldly. “What are you trying to do?”
“Didn’t this subject already say? Acupuncture.” Chi Wan brandished the silver needle, which glinted in her hand.
Yu Jiuzhou: “…”
