FID – Chapter 912

Chapter 912: She Doesn’t Want That—So Stupid

“You stayed up all morning without sleeping just to wait here. You mean it wasn’t to hear about the news brought by the ‘flapping’ sounds?” Feng Qingbai sneered at Xue Qinglian.

“Then hurry up, be a good guy and tell me already.”

Realizing he seemed to be the only one in the dark and excluded from the conversation, Liu Zhiqiu chimed in, “Go on, I’m listening too.”

Flapping, huh—he knew that meant carrier pigeons.

Casting the two a sidelong glance, Feng Qingbai took a slow sip of tea before explaining leisurely, “This trip was arranged for two reasons: first, to let the elders at home relax and enjoy themselves; second, to deliberately leave the manor seemingly unguarded—an open city—to lure the enemy in and trap them.”

“You caught them?” Xue Qinglian’s expression tensed. He knew exactly who Feng Qingbai was trying to catch.

“We did. What we have now are two corpses. Your uncle didn’t show up.”

“No kidding, of course I know that. My uncle’s a cripple. He couldn’t possibly wheel himself into your King’s Manor and launch an attack.” he paused, and then asked “Did you find anything on those two?”

“After sneaking into the manor, both men had a clear purpose. They headed straight for Yuqing Courtyard and Liuyun Pavilion. One of them had a stash of your specially formulated pills hidden on him.” 

As for the other, nothing was found because Nannan never leaves her concoctions lying around in her room.

She stored everything in her own personal space.

So the enemy gained nothing.

“So, those people were after the medicine from the King’s Manor?”

“It would be more accurate to say that they were after the Princess Consort’s medicine,” Qin Xiao interjected, his expression visibly heavy.

“They’ve set their sights on the Princess Consort. She’s known throughout Nanling as a divine doctor, and her medical skills and prescriptions are considered top-tier. What puzzles me is this: Baicao Valley has produced famous doctors for generations and holds an unrivaled reputation in the medical world. Their expertise should be beyond question. So why would they fear another doctor to the point of targeting the Princess Consort? If they came to steal medicine, was it really just to steal the Consort’s formulas?” 

A brief silence fell over the group around the stone table.

After a moment, Xue Qinglian’s expression turned grim. “I think I know the reason.”

He looked at the other three. “Back when I was on the southeastern border, I suffered a fatal wound to my chest. But I was able to get out of bed within just a few days. That probably triggered my uncle’s suspicion. Later, he used the excuse of punishment to have me flogged. Honglian took the punishment shirtless, so my uncle definitely saw the wounds, and it confirmed his doubts.”

“Your uncle knows all too well the limits of Baicao Valley’s medical capabilities and pharmaceuticals,” Feng Qingbai said, lips pressed into a line, dark eyes deep with thought.

“No medicine should’ve been able to help someone recover from a fatal wound that quickly. Honglian exposed a flaw, and he caught it.”

As a doctor, one always strives to reach the pinnacle.

Shengsheng’s medicine had already aroused Xue Zhong’s suspicion and his desire.

So the Empress Dowager’s poisoning incident likely wasn’t just about sowing chaos in Nanling as they had initially thought. It was a test.

Testing Shengsheng’s medical skills and medicine.

With one test, they could get two answers.

First, that Shengsheng truly had the ability to cure the Empress Dowager. Second, that Feng Mohan had already been cured long ago.

It was because the poison affecting both Feng Mohan and the Empress Dowager was the same.

“The Gu poison that Feng Mohan was afflicted with back then, we can now be certain that it was Xue Zhong who administered it. As early as over ten years ago, he had already extended his reach into the royal family of Nanling,”

Feng Qingbai’s words made Xue Qinglian silently clench his fists. 

“So what that old eunuch said was true. Baicao Valley did harbor ambitions of seizing power…”

Wreak havoc across nations, plunge them into chaos, and then Baicao Valley would rise amid the disorder.

With its reputation as a haven of healers and the favor it had earned among the people, once the wars ended, Baicao Valley could claim the throne almost effortlessly. The people would accept it without resistance.

So the reason Baicao Valley was wiped out wasn’t because they offended the royal family or high officials. It was because their ambition was exposed.

The real culprit behind Baicao Valley’s extermination was his own uncle—Xue Zhong!

“Now that Xue Zhong is being hunted by three kingdoms, he has nowhere left to run. He’ll likely show himself soon,” Feng Qingbai said.

Xue Qinglian’s face gradually turned pale. He knew that once his uncle appeared, it would be the end for him.

“Feng Qingbai, do you really intend to kill him? He’s also your maternal relative.”

“He never saw himself as my family. Xue Qinglian, on the southeastern border he tried to kill me. Do you know why he hates me so much?”

“…I don’t know.” He truly didn’t.

But he did know that there was something abnormal about that hatred.

Even from a very long time ago, his uncle had wanted to kill Feng Qingbai. Years of attempted assassinations had all ended in failure.

“Since we already suspect he’ll show up, why not just ask him directly when he does? We’re not going to figure it out anyway with all this guessing back and forth.” Liu Zhiqiu pouted. If they couldn’t guess it, what was the point of trying?

“Ask him? He may not tell the truth,” Feng Qingbai remarked calmly.

The truth about Baicao Valley was gradually surfacing, but many questions still lingered beneath it.

To uncover all the secrets would not be an easy task. Xue Zhong was a formidable man, and Feng Qingbai couldn’t be sure they would get any real answers from him at all.

Xue Qinglian closed his eyes in frustration and defeat.

He wanted to plead with Feng Qingbai again but his uncle’s hands were stained with far too many crimes. Even if Feng Qingbai  chose to spare him, what about Dongyue? What about Beicang?

His uncle couldn’t escape justice.

Just as Qin Xiao had said; perhaps death was the only release for a man whose plans had failed so completely.

Morning light spilled across the sky, and from the front courtyard came the loud, booming voices of the Grandpa and Grandma Liu.

The four people at the stone table stood up and began walking outside together.

The heaviness from their earlier conversation was buried deep in everyone’s hearts. None of it showed on their faces.

Over in the front courtyard, the Empress Dowager had already been dragged out of bed by Grandma Liu, who refused to let her use ‘fatigue’ as an excuse to keep lazing around.

“I’ve never gotten up this early in the palace! Why are you dragging me out here?! I’m not like you, waking up at the crack of dawn every day to cook breakfast and do farm work!” The Empress Dowager was nearly driven mad with frustration.

She was the Empress Dowager! Why on earth should she be up this early?

In the palace, she always woke naturally, then had servants bring water for her to wash up, and by the time she finished, her breakfast was already perfectly laid out.

Now this brute of a woman was dragging her outside—to pick vegetables?!

That was servant work!

“Alright, enough struggling. Just smell the air—see? Getting up even half an hour earlier makes the air feel fresher, doesn’t it? So clean and crisp. One deep breath and you feel totally refreshed. Come on, try it. Deep breath, alright?”

The Empress Dowager kept resisting, completely ignoring Grandma Liu’s chatter.

Deep breath? As if! What a stupid idea.

This damned old woman had such a strong grip that her hand hurt! And her own old maid was completely useless, unable to help or protect her at all.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a figure walking by behind them. In a burst of desperation, the Empress Dowager cried out for help: “Qin Xiao, hurry over and save me!”

“General Qin! You’re up too? Come on, come on—come with us to pick some vegetables from the field. Nothing tastes better than what you pick yourself!”

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The Empress Dowager is so lovable ^_^