Chapter 113: Poisoned
“Do you dare? You dare?”
The voice remained fierce, yet the body trembled slightly.
Because, after everything that had happened recently, Yun Ge knew very well that Qing Jiu might... really be capable of such things.
Yun Ge’s heart grew increasingly anxious.
Now Zi Jiao was already at the Duke’s mansion, in Qing Jiu’s hands.
She no longer had anything to threaten Qing Jiu with.
No...
Yun Ge’s eyes flickered slightly. She gritted her teeth and sneered coldly, “Do you really think you’ve won just like that? Do you truly believe I have no way to deal with you?”
“I’m telling you, I’ve long since left a counterattack.”
“I poisoned Zi Jiao!”
Seeing the sudden flash of astonishment in Qing Jiu’s eyes, Yun Ge knew for certain that Qing Jiu had not yet examined Zi Jiao’s pulse and was unaware of his physical condition.
A hint of pride blossomed again in Yun Ge’s eyes. “Qing Jiu, don’t you pride yourself on being a divine healer? Then go ahead and check Zi Jiao’s pulse. Let’s see if you can cure the poison he’s been given.”
“Qing Jiu, do you think that by clinging to the Duke, you can do whatever you want to me? That you can kill me? That you can get your revenge? In your dreams!”
Yun Ge’s face was filled with fierce determination. “You will never be my match. Our game has only just begun.”
“If you want to save him, want to cure him, come beg me.”
Before her words had even fallen, a voice rang out: “Mother, is what you’re saying true?”
“Did you poison me?”
The voice was filled with disbelief.
It was Zi Jiao.
Yun Ge’s eyes flickered with panic as she turned toward the window, seeing Zi Jiao’s face at the edge of the frame.
Qing Jiu glanced toward the door and saw Xing Qi and Xing You silently slip in from outside.
Those two little brats.
Qing Jiu rubbed her forehead; she had been somewhat surprised earlier that these two were so obedient, leaving quietly after she told the steward to send them away.
But it turned out they had gone to capture Zi Jiao.
---
“I...” Yun Ge’s fingers trembled slightly. She opened her mouth but ultimately only glanced at Qing Jiu without saying a word.
Qing Jiu’s face turned cold again. “Zi Jiao, come here, I’ll check your pulse.”
Zi Jiao’s gaze remained fixed on Yun Ge. Seeing her avert her eyes, his anger and disappointment deepened. He closed his eyes and bit his lip, “If she’s poisoned me and wants me dead, then I might as well let her have her way.”
After speaking, Zi Jiao turned and ran.
Qing Jiu exchanged a look with Xing Qi and Xing You.
“...” The two quickly chased after him.
Yun Ge suddenly collapsed into her chair, her face ashen pale.
Qing Jiu pursed her lips. “Young Madam, this is your own doing. And even if what you say is true, even if you did poison Zi Jiao, so what?”
“Do you think you’re the only one who knows how to poison?”
Her eyes grew colder. “I know how to poison too.”
“And the poison I use is countless times more insidious than yours. I guarantee my poison will make you suffer unbearable pain.”
“But even if you ask all the renowned doctors in the world, none will know what poison you have. Sometimes I think you’re just plain foolish, daring to come before me like a clown and provoke me.”
“Guards, show this guest out!”
The steward hurried in with the guards. “Young Madam, please.”
Yun Ge clenched her teeth, staring at Qing Jiu as if she wanted to kill her.
Yet a faint fear began to rise in her heart.
Qing Jiu said she also knew how to poison — what did that mean?
Could it be...
Yun Ge’s eyes widened. “You wretch, you poisoned me? How dare you? Guards! I’ve been poisoned! The Duke’s wife poisoned me!”
Yun Ge shouted outright.
Qing Jiu didn’t even bother to respond, simply lifting her foot and walking away.
The steward frowned at Yun Ge’s appearance. “Young Madam, you can’t say such things recklessly.”
“When did the Duchess poison you?”
“Besides, you look lively and well; you don’t seem poisoned at all.”
---
Yun Ge sat stubbornly in her chair, throwing a tantrum. “I don’t care, she definitely poisoned me. I can’t leave; if I do, there’ll be no proof.”
“Someone, summon my people. I want them to go find the Young Master and have him enter the palace to summon the imperial physician to examine me.”
“...” The steward couldn’t bear to watch. How could he have known this Young Madam was so unreasonable and capricious?
“We have two imperial doctors assigned here by His Majesty, gifts to the Duke. Should I call them to check your pulse, Young Madam?”
Yun Ge’s face was full of suspicion. “I don’t trust your mansion’s doctors; they must be siding with Qing Jiu. I want to summon our own doctors, the imperial physicians from the palace.”
The steward bit his lip. “Someone, report this to the Duke.”
The reporter left quickly and soon returned. “The Duke said, if the Young Madam insists, let her summon them. But if her doctors prove she isn’t poisoned, then she must apologize to the Duchess and be thrown out of the mansion immediately.”
“Yes, sir.”
Qing Jiu heard the report from the Duke’s men as she approached the courtyard where Zi Jiao was staying.
She smiled casually upon hearing it. “No matter. Let her make a fuss. When it all blows up and her face and reputation are ruined, it will be her own doing.”
“I said before, I will torment her thoroughly until she dies wishing she hadn’t.”
“I never break my word.”
Having said that, Qing Jiu entered the courtyard.
Just as she stepped in, she heard Xing You’s voice inside.
“Really? You can’t handle something so small? That’s pathetic. Our dad died when we were young, and it hasn’t stopped us from being this excellent now.”
“...” Qing Jiu rubbed her forehead. What on earth?
Then Xing Qi spoke calmly: “I think you just want to use this as an excuse to give up and dodge the bet we made earlier.”
“I agree. If you really can’t do it, just say so. No need to come up with such a lousy excuse. Poisoning is nothing in my eyes.”
“No matter the poison, it’s no match for... our master.”
Under the combined pressure from Xing Qi and Xing You, Zi Jiao grew even angrier. “I’m not trying to dodge the bet! When I speak, I keep my word!”