Two full hours later.
The drug in the bodies of Yun Zhonghe and Ning Que slowly dissipated.
It was a sight to behold.
To think that there was such an overbearing drug in this world.
It did not pale in comparison at all to the anesthetic he created. Who was the expert who created such a drug?
This should not be a drug that was extracted from a plant. Perhaps this was a drug that had been refined from the venom of an animal?
By this time, they had returned to the room.
Yun Zhonghe and Ning Que were tied to chairs. Their bodies were still numb. The effects of the drug had not completely disappeared.
The widow, Ning Qing, returned to her bed. She was too weak.
On the other hand, to Ning Que, this felt like a terrifying nightmare.
Ning Que became completely dazed the instant Ning Qing had appeared just then. It was as if her entire body had lost all responsiveness.
She was now slowly recovering.
"What, what is going on?" Ning Que asked with a trembling voice.
The widow, Ning Qing, said, "When he was treating me, Yun AoTian had told me softly that you had betrayed me and that the person who poisoned me was you. I… I did not believe him, and so, he said that he would prove it to me."
Ning Qing paused for a moment after she spoke.
That was because this incident had hit her too hard.
Ning Que was the person she trusted the most. Ning Que had been following her since she was in her teens. It had been 20 years.
Even though their relationship was that of master and servant, it felt more like they were sisters.
The widow, Ning Qing, continued, saying, "I saw it in the end. This scene is too ugly."
Ning Que said with a raspy voice, "But he did not discuss this with you along the way? How did you guys design this plan and make me fall into this trap on my own?"
Ning Qing said, "Does this require a plan? It is too simple. The reason I told you to give him that last meal and ordered you to personally bring him to the firewood room to kill him and destroy his corpse is that there is a secret room under the firewood room. That gave me time to arrive at the secret underground room and hear the truth of your betrayal with my own ears."
Yun Zhonghe and Ning Qing had not communicated throughout the entire process. They had not even needed to communicate through eye contact.
An exchange between intelligent people usually involved tacit understanding and was boring.
Ning Que let out a cold laugh and said, "I never expected that Miss Ning Qing would one day scheme against someone. That is why I fell into your trap."
Ning Qing said, "It is not that I did not know how to in the past. It is just that I did not care to do it."
Then, the widow, Ning Qing, propped herself up slightly. She asked, "Who's the person instigating this? Who is the person you said you love? Why did you betray me?"
Ning Que closed her mouth tight. She did not utter a single word.
A middle-aged lady by the side said coldly, "Ah Que, have you become dumb? Are you still trying to hide the truth for someone now that it has come to this? You are already over 30 years old. Do you think that that man truly loves you? He is merely using you."
Ning Qing slowly walked down the bed. Her face, one of unparalleled beauty, looked even more weak and pale.
She squatted down in front of Ning Que and said with a gentle voice, "Ah Que, we are like sisters. I can forgive your momentary foolishness. Tell me, who's the man instigating this behind the scenes?"
Ning Que lowered her head. She did not speak for the longest time. She only raised her head a long while later and said, "Mistress, kill me."
Ning Qing said, "That man you spoke of, is he from the Mo Clan from the City of Washed Jade, or the Tantai Family?"
Ning Que remained silent.
"Alright, I'll… stop asking," Ning Qing said. "I only have one final question. Why did you betray me? Did I not treat you well?"
Ning Que was silent for a long while.
Ning Qing said, "Ah Que, this is your last chance to speak."
Tears fell down Ning Que's face. She said with a trembling voice, "Mistress, you were born into royalty and have enjoyed everything. Glory and riches are but fleeting, worldly possessions to you. You have been prosperous and thus could naturally be calm and collected. You can refuse silk and satin. You can refuse money and treasures. You can even refuse men to preserve your reputation as a lone star. All you want to do is to give alms and save the suffering masses, as well as build schools."
Ning Qing said with a gentle tone, "Was I wrong to do that?"
Ning Que cried as she said, "You can be a saint, but I do not wish to be. For your reputation as a saint, you can refuse sycees and live a bland, simple life. You have an influential family, yet you wish to draw a clear line with them. You have a large bunch of exceptional men looking up to you, yet you reject their advances. But… I can't do it. All of us can't do it. We do not wish to live such bitter lives. I want to have riches. I want to have men. I want to have silk and satin. I want to have money and treasures. That's because not all of us have experienced that. But… we cannot wish to have those as we have a proud, innocent master. A master who wishes to be a saint."
Ning Qing's face of unparalleled beauty turned even paler when she heard those words.
She reached out to stroke Ning Que's rather pretty face.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Ning Qing said gently. "I was wrong in that regard. I did not have the right to strip all of you of the right to live a prosperous life."
"Rubbish, what a load of nonsense," the middle-aged lady by the side said. "Ning Que, you were born a wretch, an orphan who did not have parents. If not for the mistress saving your life, you would have starved to death long ago. How could you talk about glory and riches?"
Ning Qing continued, "Que'er, I have asked you in the past. Didn't I say that if you did not wish to live such a lonely life with me, I would give you a sum of money as your dowry for you to choose a good man and marry him?"
Ning Que said, "Wouldn't that show that I am devoid of gratitude? Furthermore, I was too young and naive back then. I felt that a poor, honest, and lonely life was not difficult to accomplish. It was only later that I realized how difficult it was. Furthermore, my 'man' is too… He made me sink into sin."
"Alright, let's stop talking, let's stop talking." Ning Qing slowly stood up. However, she suddenly felt dizzy. The middle-aged lady off to the side hurried to help her up.
Ning Qing said with a gentle voice, "Que'er, letting you live such a poor, honest life is my fault. So, I am not going to blame you for betraying me for a man. However, poisoning me is not the right thing to do. I am your master, after all. Furthermore, I also saved your life in the past. Thus, I will grant you freedom, as long as you apologize to me."
"Mistress." The middle-aged lady by the side spoke to stop her.
Ning Qing raised her hand and said, "Nanny, I have already decided."
As it turned out, the middle-aged lady was Ning Qing's nanny.
"Que'er, apologize to me, then leave. Seek refuge with the man you love. From this day on, we will no longer have anything to do with each other," Ning Qing continued.
Ning Que looked at Ning Qing for a long while, then shook her head and said, "I am not going to apologize. You're free to kill or mutilate me."
Was this woman mad?
You betrayed your mistress, Ning Qing, not only for your so-called love but also for glory and riches. Logically speaking, she should not have such a backbone.
She would be able to live after a word of apology toward her mistress. Why was she not going to do it?
What was she, if not insane?
However, Yun Zhonghe understood women.
Some people might seem like pushovers in public, but were very stubborn at home.
Some children were bullied like dogs outside, yet would never obey their parents at home, much less apologize.
Being forceful and cruel to the people that were closest to them was a characteristic some people had.
Similarly, some people would rather engage in a divorce than to submit and obey their lover even just once.
"I understand." Ning Qing slowly sat down on her bed. She then waved her hand and said, "Take her away. To the firewood room, just like always."
"Yes!" The middle-aged lady lifted Ning Que and walked outside.
***
They returned to the firewood room. The giant furnace was still burning.
"Ah Que, are you mad? Was it that hard to submit and apologize to the mistress this once?" The middle-aged lady asked with a trembling voice, "Isn't it good to live?
"One, I am not willing to apologize to her. Two, I did not accomplish my mission and am embarrassed to face him. I would think that I have lost all value to my love now that I have lost my status as Ning Qing's aide. I am already over thirty years old. Do you think that I can capture him with my beauty?" Ning Que let out a cold laugh.
Sigh!
Should this woman be described as naive? But she was very clear about the situation.
Should this woman be described as rational? But she made such a ridiculous decision.
Women will forever be a riddle.
"Who's the man? Tell me, tell me," the middle-aged lady said.
Ning Qing let out a pitiful smile and said, "God-mum, don't ask anymore. I'll never tell you. I only wish to ask you one thing. Do you have no regrets in your life? You took meticulous care of the mistress, but what did you get in return? She obtained a legendary reputation, but what did we get in return?"
The middle-aged lady froze, then said angrily, "I am not like all of you. I am already advanced in age. I treat the mistress like my child. I will be happy if she is happy."
"Haha… What a hypocrite. I do not believe that you are close with a literature buff like the mistress." Ning Que laughed loudly.
The middle-aged lady pulled out her sword and said, "I'll send you on your way."
"No need, I'll do it myself," Ning Que said. She then looked at the raging furnace and prepared to jump in.
However, it looked as though she lost all courage, and she simply tiptoed.
"My legs are numb. I can't apply any force in them. You can help me," Ning Qing said with a trembling voice.
The middle-aged lady pierced through Ning Que's heart with a ruthless stroke.
The woman who betrayed Ning Qing immediately died a pathetic death. She died indignantly.
***
At that moment, in the study, Yun Zhonghe was examining Ning Qing's body.
"Your life is not in danger, but the remnants of the poison will stay in your body for some time. I can give you a few prescriptions. You will be able to fully recover after consuming the medicine for one or two months."
"However, the intense pain you feel during your menstruation does not have much to do with you being poisoned. It is mainly due to hormonal imbalance and the lack of estrogen. I can give you a few prescriptions to nourish your body. Not only will it be able to cure your menstrual cramps after you consume it, but it can even make you more beautiful," Yun Zhonghe said.
"Also, your shedding hair. That's the most important. That's why you do not wish to meet anyone, am I right?"
Ning Qing nodded.
Yun Zhonghe examined her hair.
"That's alright. Even though some of it has fallen out, you have also grown new hair. Your hair looks a bit thin, but it does not affect your beauty for the time being," Yun Zhonghe said. "However, it would be dangerous if you continue to let it shed for a year or so."
Ning Qing said, "Then I'll shave it all and become a nun."
This woman sure was sensitive. In reality, her hair was extremely lush. It was dark and shiny, like a cloud. It was obvious how beautiful it was.
In reality, an ordinary person would not be able to discern how much hair she was shedding. It was just that she would see the amount of hair on her pillow every time she woke up in the morning, then become more frightened and unwilling to look into a mirror. She was sure that she had become ghastly.
In actuality… Her beauty was still unparalleled.
She was probably a person who would rather die than be ugly.
"Your hair loss is related in part to your chronic poisoning, but the root cause is that your nutrition cannot keep up with your hair. The quality of your hair is great, but the life you lead is too clean and simple. That, coupled with the fact that you do not like to be in the sun, makes it so that you lack many things in your body."
He was not lying. The main reason for Ning Qing's hair loss was the lack of estrogen and her hormonal imbalance. That was exacerbated by her lack of calcium, iron, and zinc, amongst many others.
Yun Zhonghe said, "I would have to formulate a medicine for you specially. Your hair loss will stop after you consume the medicine for a few months. You need not shave your head, and even more importantly, you will not have to become a nun."
Yun Zhonghe nagged on without stopping.
However, Ning Qing was unmoved. She sat without moving as if she was a beautiful jade sculpture.
She was truly beautiful, exquisite to the extreme.
However, it felt as though she was stopping herself from speaking.
Yun Zhonghe said, "You can speak your mind."
Ning Qing said, "I have a question to ask you."
Yun Zhonghe replied, "Go ahead."
Ning Qing continued, saying, "The thing you let me drink, was it really… what you said it was?"
Virgin pee?
It was quite normal to use that when trying to induce vomit. In ancient China, people even used water with feces in it to induce vomit.
Yun Zhonghe fell silent. He did not answer at that moment.
Ning Qing's graceful figure trembled. She then said, "You can just tell me directly that it is not."
"It is not," Yun Zhonghe said.
"Alright, then I can rest assured," Ning Qing said.
Wow, who did she learn this art of deceiving herself from?
"Yun AoTian, not only did you save my life, but you also helped me discover a traitor. How should I reward you?" Ning Qing said, "What do you want? You can tell me as long as I can give it to you."
She finally arrived at the main topic.
Yun Zhonghe said, "Have you finished your investigation report?"
This report determined the fate of the City of Torn Gust. It was also the target of Yun Zhonghe's mission.
"It is finished," Ning Qing said.
"Can I have a look?" Yun Zhonghe asked.
Ning Qing replied, "Of course."
***