Pampered Consort of the Fragrant Orchard c1-234

by N/A

  Seeing that Beiling Yu was fine for now, Du Yun Han and Han Ming Yi temporarily left her room. Men and women had to maintain their distances after all. As for Beiling Yu who had recovered her spirits somewhat after drinking the medicine, she grabbed hold of Du Xiao Li and asked her many, many questions. She was very interested in Du Xiao Li.

  A quarter of an hour passed by very quickly, and Du Xiao Li felt Beiling Yu’s pulse.

  “Miss Du, how’s my condition now? I should be fine now, right? I don’t feel sore anymore. Am I well now? Your medical skills are truly amazing!”

  Du Xiao Li laughed and said, “Princess Yu, your body seems fine, but we still need to keep a watch on it for now. You’re not to go outside for a few days. It’s best if you can stay rested in bed the whole time. Rest assured, I’ll definitely let you be in time for the competition. But first, you need to rest well.”

  Once she was done saying that, she turned to Beiling Yi Cheng and asked, “7th Prince, didn’t you mention before that you had something to talk to me about? Let’s go outside and talk.”

  Beiling Yi Cheng instantly understood what Du Xiao Li meant and replied, “Indeed, I had a small matter in the courtyard previously. Let us go outside and talk then. Little Sister, be good and sleep, all right?”

  “Mm, go ahead, Big Brother. I’m somewhat tired, just in time for me to sleep for a while,” Beiling Yu said with a wave of her hand.

  “Take good care of the princess,” Beiling Yi Cheng instructed Beiling Yu’s servant girl and then left the room with Du Xiao Li.

  After leaving Northern Qi’s women's courtyard, Du Xiao Li brought Beiling Yi Cheng to the little courtyard of her own residence. As she expected, Han Ming Yi and Du Yun Han were there. They were currently having tea in the living room as they waited for her.

  Seeing where Du Xiao Li had brought him to, Beiling Yi Cheng asked, “Miss Du, why have you brought me here?”

  The moment Han Ming Yi and Du Yun Han noticed Du Xiao Li had brought someone over, their expressions turned grave as they put down their teacups and looked at her.

  Du Xiao Li had Beiling Yi Cheng take a seat before saying, “7th Prince, Princess Yu is in a rather bad state.”

  Beiling Yi Cheng had just sat down only to stand up in shock from hearing Du Xiao Li’s words. He said, “Didn’t you just say that she’s fine? Why is she now in a bad state?”

  Du Yun Han looked at Du Xiao Li and asked, “What exactly is Princess Yu’s condition?”

  “7th Prince, the words I just told Princess Yu were for the sake of not affecting her emotions. Currently, there exists the possibility that she may die at any moment,” Du Xiao Li said. “If we let her know how dire her situation is, it could frighten her.”

  Beiling Yi Cheng felt a sudden wave of dizziness and reached for the table to support him for a moment until the dizziness passed. Then he shook his head and said slowly, “She could die at any moment? Miss Du, this is not something you can say carelessly. My younger sister has always been very healthy. How can she be dying all of a sudden?!”

  Beiling Yu had always been leaping and frisking about everyday. Beiling Yi Cheng simply couldn’t believe that his sister could die at any moment now. Du Xiao Li was definitely… definitely spouting drivel!

  Du Xiao Li stayed silent in order to give Beiling Yi Cheng time to digest this news, and the latter truly proved himself to be a member of the royal family. He very quickly collected himself and asked, “Miss Du, just what is going on with my younger sister?”

  “The princess was most likely poisoned when she was in Northern Qi. Meng San Zui [1]—this sort of poison is particularly extraordinary. The poison doesn’t immediately take effect in its victim. Instead, it needs a trigger to activate it,” Du Xiao Li said.

  “That trigger is...?”

  “Osmanthus wine,” Du Xiao Li stated. “This Osmanthus wine is specific to our country, Feng Ming. Maybe the perpetrator knew Princess Yu was coming here to participate in the competition, so they used this kind of poison.”

  “At lunch, my younger sister did indeed drink Osmanthus wine. However, what is your reason for saying that she was poisoned in Northern Qi as opposed to here?” Beiling Yi Cheng questioned.

  He had plenty of reasons to suspect that Beiling Yu was poisoned in Feng Ming because she had been fine all along their journey here. If things were truly as he thought, then Feng Ming needed to give him and Northern Qi an explanation!

  Du Yun Han and Han Ming Yi knitted their brows somewhat. If it were truly Feng Ming that poisoned the princess, then there would be a lot of trouble!

  “7th Prince, do you know this poison, Meng San Zui?” Du Xiao Li replied with a question instead of an answer.

  “I don’t,” Beiling Yi Cheng said with a cold expression.

  “The most important ingredient of Meng San Zui is the Meng Li Hua [2],” Du Xiao Li said.

  Hearing the mention of Meng Li Hua, Beiling Yi Cheng trembled. This Meng Li Hua was a poison unique to Northern Qi. The flower grew in quite a harsh environment, which only existed in a mountain range in the northern part of Northern Qi. The climate there was bitterly cold, and snow would constantly pile up to half a meter deep. Summer was the only time when it was possible to enter the area and pick the flower. Yet, it wasn’t a certainty that the flower would be available for picking then.

  People from Northern Qi might not necessarily be able to obtain the Meng Li Hua, let alone someone from outside the country.

  “However, that doesn’t prove that this has no relationship with you people.” Beiling Yi Cheng’s attitude eased up a little, but he still insisted that the problem had started in Feng Ming Country.

  “7th Prince, can you have a think about what would happen to us and Northern Qi if it did happen here? Would we be so stupid as to do something like this in our own territory?” Du Xiao Li said.

  Hi everyone! We've been asked to take over this novel, so please bear with us while we're still settling into it~

  If there are any major inconsistencies between the old releases and our new ones, please point them out for us, thank you!

  --

  Ch. 088.3 – Searching for Medicine in the North (3)

  Happy holidays and happy reading!!

  Beiling Yi Cheng didn’t answer. He too knew that the poisoning couldn’t have been done by someone from Feng Ming. It’s just that he wanted to find a target at which to vent the anger in his heart.

  Seeing Beiling Cheng Yi stay silent, Du Xiao Li said, “7th Prince, now’s not yet the time to talk about this. The princess’ poison needs to be neutralized as soon as possible. Otherwise, the chances of her survival will be bleak.”

  Once she said that, Beiling Yi Cheng temporarily stopped trying to figure out the perpetrator of the poisoning. Instead, he looked at Du Xiao Li and asked, “What must be done?”

  “Daughter, is it easy to neutralize this poison?” Du Yun Han queried.

  Du Xiao Li shook her head. This made the hearts of everyone in the room jump, especially Beiling Yi Cheng. He became extremely nervous.

  “This poison’s difficult to neutralize? Miss Du, what solution do you have?”

  “All the other necessary herbs are easy to get, but there is one kind of herb that is much harder to obtain. This sort of herb is very rare in Feng Ming and only exists in some of the frigid areas of the northern region. The important thing to note here is that I’ve never seen it freshly picked,” Du Xiao Li said. “However, this sort of herb is fairly common in Northern Qi, so I would like to request for 7th Prince to assign someone to escort me in finding the herb as soon as possible in order to neutralize the princess’ poison.”

  “You’re going to go personally?” Du Yun Han asked while looking at Du Xiao Li.

  “Mm, the pill needs to be made during the second hour of the herb getting picked. Otherwise, it will be ineffective. So I plan to bring along the other herbs and wait till we find the final necessary herb. Once we’ve found it, I will make the antidote on the spot.�
�

  “Which herb is it?” Han Ming Yi asked.

  “Luo Di Hua [1].”

  “Luo Di Hua? This is indeed quite common in Northern Qi,” Beiling Yi Cheng said. “Since this is the case, I will go with you.”

  “7th Prince, you just need to assign someone to go with me. It will take at least three days for the return journey. The competition events that are being held tomorrow and the day after…”

  “Who cares about the competition now? I need to guarantee my younger sister’s safety. I won’t be at ease leaving this to someone else, so I will go with you personally,” Beiling Yi Cheng affirmed.

  Du Xiao Li still wanted to dissuade him, but thinking of how the competition had a rule that allowed for someone else to take a participant’s place, she dropped the subject. Moreover, when she saw how much Beiling Yi Cheng cared for Beiling Yu, Du Xiao Li reckoned that he likely wouldn’t be able to concentrate on the competition anyway if she didn’t let him go with her.

  “Then fine, I’ll have someone prepare the rest of the herbs. Once the preparations are done, we’ll set off. I’ll give the princess medicine to contain the poison and stop it as much as possible from flaring up during these couple of days. Otherwise, I’m afraid she won’t be able to hold out until we return. 7th Prince, you should go talk with the princess for a while. She might think too much if she doesn’t see you for a few days.”

  “Okay, I’ll go right now,” Beiling Yi Cheng finished speaking and left right away.

  Du Xiao Li wrote up a prescription and gave it to Han Ming Yi. It contained the prescription for some very precious herbs that only an imperial physical would have stock of. They could save a bit of time by having Han Ming Yi grab them for her. After all, the matter of Beiling Yi Cheng leaving Phoenix City had to be reported to Han Ming Ze as they needed his consent.

  Han Ming Yi took the prescription and left for the palace. He very quickly returned, bringing with him the prescribed herbs as well as Han Ming Ze's imperial edict which instructed that she must detoxify Beiling Yu.

  Now that they had the imperial edict, everything was good to go!

  Du Xiao Li had Xia Yuan prepare a list of simple tools for making the antidote so that they could then be ready to leave once Han Ming Yi returned. It was because she was worried this matter would cause panic as they had yet to actually disclose this matter to anyone else. As far as everyone knew, Beiling Yu had been suffering from stomach pain, but she had already been cured by Du Xiao Li.

  “Father, the matters of the women’s courtyard aren’t right for you to handle. So I’ve already requested for Princess Chang Le to stay here temporarily for a few days. Find her if there are any issues,” Du Xiao Li said.

  “I know. Since you’re not taking those two servant girls, take good care of yourself during the journey. Be careful on the road!” Du Yun Han urged.

  “Mm.” Du Xiao Li took the bundle that Xia Yuan handed to her. Inside it, there were two sets of clothes to change into when she needed to wash her clothes, a pile of folded banknotes, as well as two bags of ground medicinal ingredients. She climbed onto her horse and glanced at Du Yun Han and Han Ming Yi before leaving for the northern gates with Beiling Yi Cheng, who had already been waiting on his horse for a long while.

  Han Ming Yi and the others waited for Du Xiao Li to leave before returning. Lingering at the back gate, Han Ming Yi once again went back to being cold and grim. Then his head could be seen appearing by a roof in the distance and disappearing soon after.

  At Prince Ren’s Mansion [2], Han Ming Hong was currently painting a portrait in the study. Astonishingly, the subject of the portrait was Du Xiao Li, who had already left the city.

  “Master.” A dark figure appeared in the study.

  “What is it?” Upon being disturbed, the elegant Han Ming Hong showed an unhappy expression.

  “Master, Miss Du has left the city,” the dark figure said.

  “She left the city?” Han Min Hong said. The brush in his hand stopped moving, and he was silent for a moment. Then he asked, “Why did she leave?”

  “At the time, Prince Ding was present, so I didn’t dare get too close and thus wasn’t able to hear their conversation. However, Miss Du and Northern Qi’s prince left the city together,” the dark figure answered.

  “Northern Qi’s Prince? How can he be walking around as he pleases in the territory of my Feng Ming? Moreover, during the competition period? It seems likely that something must have happened to these people from Northern Qi.” Han Ming Hong put down his brush and attentively took in the full details of the subject in the portrait. Immediately after, he smiled and said, “For Xiao Li to take action, it must be that someone has fallen ill or gotten poisoned. And for Beiling Yi Cheng to leave this urgently with her, it can only be because of one person—Beiling Yu. You can return for now. Continue keeping a watch on Sui Yuan.”

  “Will do,” the dark figure responded and then disappeared.

  Han Ming Hong switched to a writing brush and wrote a poem from the previous competition topic. After that, he lifted up the portrait and gazed at the vivid and lifelike figure in the painting. He said, “Xiao Li, I truly like you. I want to be with you and be inseparable like birds nesting and flying together. In the autumn breeze by the lakeside, I’ll play the qin [3] while you dance. What do you think of this sort of life? You left by yourself, so this is a good opportunity. We can be together very soon…”

  Hi everyone! We've been asked to take over this novel, so please bear with us while we're still settling into it~

  If there are any major inconsistencies between the old releases and our new ones, please point them out for us, thank you!

  --

  Ch. 088.4 – Searching for Medicine in the North (4)

  Happy holidays and happy reading!!

  At another corner of Feng Huang, there was a room filled with gold and jade in glorious splendor, and inside it was a woman reclining in a rocking chair. While looking at her long fingernails, she asked nonchalantly, “She left the city? Have you looked into when she’s returning?”

  “News came from the Emperor’s side that it will be after three days,” one of her subordinates reported.

  Then the other said, “Master, should we…?”

  The woman picked up a fruit, and her long fingernails stabbed into its flesh. She said, “Since we’ve been given this opportunity, won’t we be letting down the heavens if we don’t take hold of it?”

  “This servant will go arrange it now.”

  After getting their orders, the two people who were kneeling on the floor left swiftly.

  “Go. This woman truly is truly dislikable! Although she’s very capable, it actually makes her like a flower that others want to pluck and pick apart.”

  An hour had passed by, and Fu Wan San was currently waiting extremely anxiously at Sui Yuan’s back gate. When he saw Xia Yuan emerge, he asked her urgently, “Young lady Xia, where’s Mistress?”

  Seeing Fu Wan San’s anxious expression, Xia Yuan brought him to the woods by the lakeside and said, “Mistress has left the city. She’s already been traveling for more than an hour now.”

  “What?” Uncle Fu uttered, blanking out upon hearing Xia Yuan’s words. Then he slapped his thigh and exclaimed, “Why did Mistress leave at such a critical time?!”

  “Uncle Fu, what’s going on?” Xia Yuan asked.

  Fu Wan San was so anxious that his cheeks were flushed as he said, “We’ve got a big problem! There are people who have been secretly investigating Feng Xue House [1]. I previously thought they were working for someone in the imperial household, but this is completely not the case. These people have powerful skills, so my guess is that it’s some influential force from Jiang Hu! I’d already noticed them before the Mid-Autumn Festival, but they never really did anything all this time, so I thought we could deal with them. However, I can see now that they clearly came here for Mistress!”

  Xia Yuan’s expression turned into one of shock. A powerful force
was looking for Du Xiao Li… Could it be because of that secret martial art book?

  Didn’t that mean it was dangerous for Du Xiao Li to leave this time?!

  “Uncle Fu, which force do you think is looking for Mistress?”

  “They managed to break through our barrier, which means their power is not at all weaker than ours. And since they’re able to rival Four Seas Manor, that leaves Moon Water Paradise and Yu Sword Pavilion as the only possibilities. I feel like Moon Water Paradise has a greater possibility of being the one,” Fu Wan San analyzed.

  “Moon Water Paradise…” Xia Yuan murmured as she thought of how Du Xiao Li mentioned Fairy Shui Qing previously and then also thought about Feng Li Shang, a teacher in the institute who knew how to attack with sound. Her heart dropped, and she looked at Fu Wan San anxiously while saying, “Uncle Fu, Mistress went to Mount Yin to find Luo Di Hua. You need to send people out to find her. If necessary, utilize the strength of the Four Seas Manor. I don’t think Young Master Luo Qi will disapprove of it. Ying Ge and I can’t leave this place. If something happens here, Mistress will be punished. So I’ll have to trouble you to dispatch people to search for her. If things are really as we’ve guessed, then the people you send out need to be of a higher skill level.”

  “I know. Then I’ll go arrange it now.” Fu Wan San finished talking and left.

  Meanwhile, Xia Yuan looked in all directions to make sure there was no one around, then she returned to Sui Yuan.

  On the mountain range of Mount Yan, several white-clothed women were standing in the wind.

  Feng Li Shang soon approached and greeted them in high spirits: “Fairy, Senior Sisters, and Junior Sisters.”

  Seeing him, Fairy Shui Qing asked, “We heard your news and rushed over. You said someone used Sound Arts. Is that true?”

  “I’ve already confirmed it. It’s the Du family’s third young miss,” Feng Li Shang said. “I was passing through a mountain near her manor and just happened to overhear her using Sound Arts to play a bamboo flute.”