After taking care of everything, Han Yunxi rushed back to the Duke of Qin's house in the nick of time. Within his rooms, Long Feiye had already changed his clothes and was reclining in a rocking chair in the study. His robes were embroidered with golden threads, enhancing his inherent aristocratic aura with vivid intensity. This was the first time Han Yunxi had seen any man wear gold so well. It was easy to feel inferior in his presence.
She adjusted her breathing before stepping forward. "Your Highness."
"The three ingredients you asked for are on the table. You can start making the antidote now," Long Feiye said simply, not even sparing her a glance.
Han Yunxi looked to the side and saw three giant piles of medicinal ingredients, divided up into summer zi, autumn zi, and winter zi. Goodness, these ingredients aren't easy to find. I didn't expect this guy to bring back piles of them.
Han Yunxi was secretly delighted. In fact, she only needed to use a bit, but the rest could be put in reserve in the detox system storage space. Depending on the poison, these ingredients could be used in various prescriptions for treatment.
"Your Highness, please wait until chenqie creates the mixture," Han Yunxi said, preparing to store all the medicine in her pouch. Yet Long Feiye's cold eyes turned to look at her instead.
"Just make the antidote here, your lordship wants to have a good look, too."
Tch…
This guy was still suspicious of her!
Han Yunxi secretly rolled her eyes. Be suspicious all you want. In any case, you'll never guess the truth.
"Your Highness, chenqie doesn't have any other ingredients on hand. I need to go to the Leisurely Cloud Pavilion to get them. If you're interested, you might as well walk with me there," Han Yunxi said with a smile.
"Leisurely Cloud Pavilion?" Long Feiye grew curious. He didn't recall the Hibiscus Courtyard having a place like this.
"Chenqie fixed up the discarded building in the northwest corner of the courtyard and named it the Leisurely Cloud Pavilion. In the future, chenqie will be living there so as to not disturb Your Highness," Han Yunxi replied truthfully.
Actually, she was feeling a bit nervous, fearful that this guy would chase her out of the Hibiscus Courtyard to face Grand Concubine Yi and Murong Wanru. Unexpectedly, he didn't seem to have any complaints, but rose to his feet to follow her. She relaxed in response, nimbly storing the three piles of medicinal ingredients into her pouch. Long Feiye didn't pay much attention to her movements, but he couldn't have known that it was just a move to mislead him. She'd long stored the ingredients into her detox system dimension instead and had it mix with precise proportions of other medicines to make the antidote. There was even an automatic sensor to adjust cooking temperature for the medicine while it boiled.
In the time it took for Long Feiye to walk from his sleeping quarters to Han Yunxi's Leisurely Cloud Pavilion, the detox system had already prepared the antidote decoction. Han Yunxi snuck it out and hid it inside her medical pouch. At the door to her rooms, Long Feiye paused to ask, "What is the meaning of this 'Leisurely Cloud'?"
"A cloud naturally has no desires, just as the water is naturally leisurely," Han Yunxi said simply, turning to look at him. "Your Highness, after marrying into the Duke of Qin's house, chenqie's only wish is to be a leisurely cloud in a corner."
Actually, what she really wanted to tell Long Feiye was, 'Dear, stop suspecting me. I was forced to marry into the Duke of Qin's household, but there's nothing that I'm looking for. I just want to live a calm and peaceful life by myself. I won't bother you, so don't you guys bother me, either!'
But she was very clear that if she said this out loud, Long Feiye would probably kill her with his glare. Didn't the ancients like using verses and poetry to express their high ideals? When in Rome, do as the Romans do.[1]
'A cloud naturally has no desires, just as the water is naturally leisurely[2]' should be one of Bai Juyi's[3] famous lines. Han Yunxi thought that Long Feiye would be impressed, but he only looked at her expressionlessly before walking inside.
This guy, it's not just his facial muscles that are paralyzed. His heart must be, too.
Han Yunxi followed him in and saw Long Feiye sitting in a chair as he measured up her quarters. His haughty, looming figure made her little parlor seem suddenly imposing. At her entrance, he withdrew his gaze and asked, "Can you start making the antidote now?"
"Un, chenqie will go get a few medicines," Han Yunxi sounded particularly respectful.
You're that curious, huh. Then I'll let you have a good look today!
Beneath Long Feiye's penetrating scrutiny, Han Yunxi took out a few ingredients from the study next door, along with a pestle and mortar. Then, she took out a few ingredients from her pouch and mixed everything together. The items from her pouch were precisely the ones pre-prepared by the detox system on their way here. In terms of allocation, measurements, and cooking times, everything had been done automatically to perfection. Human labor couldn't compare to this level of accuracy.
Western medicine placed emphasis on fine details in their pharmacies, while traditional Chinese medicine relied more on estimates. But if one could combine the meticulous nature of Western medicine with traditional Chinese medicine, then the effects could far surpass that of a traditional Chinese medicine doctor. In other words, even if she was creating the exact same medicine as any doctor of this time period, Han Yunxi could make a better, more potent version. How would Long Feiye understand all of that? Who told him to be ignorant of modern times? The ingredients that Han Yunxi had retrieved from the study were all commonplace antibiotics, and would have no effect when mixed with the actual antidote.
"Your Highness, it's actually very easy to make medicine," Han Yunxi had a very pretty smile as she mixed and pounded the antidote with the extra ingredients in the mortar. "The prescription isn't that important either. As long as you've gathered all the ingredients, just crush them together and you'll get about what you want."
As she pounded the medicine, she kept explaining with a professional air. "Of course, there's been research into grinding medicine as well. Strength is a crucial factor. You can't be too rough or too gentle." She offered the stone pestle towards him. "Your Highness, do you want to try?"
Long Feiye had already lost his patience. "How long do you need?"
Han Yunxi wore a look of concentration as she spread the ingredients over her palm for an experimental sniff. "I'm estimating around one shichen."
One shichen was equal to two hours.
Long Feiye rose to his feet. "When you're done, bring the medicine to my rooms." It was a command, not a statement. He left without waiting for Han Yunxi to reply.
"All right! Your Highness take care!" Han Yunxi was incomparably happy as she sent him off all the way to the door. After seeing his figure walk off into the distance, she finally let loose a snort of laughter. That'll teach him to suspect me again. If there's a next time, I'll make sure to bore you even more.
She shut the door. Of course Han Yunxi wasn't going to pound any more medicine, she'd have the detox system take care of it instead. Two hours was more than enough time for a bath and a nap. The events at the general's house had made her suffer for multiple days. If she didn't rest, this weak and sickly body probably wouldn't be able to stand it.
—
Two hours later, a refreshed and energetic Han Yunxi appeared in front of Long Feiye's rooms. She discovered that he was reading while lying lazily on the bed. His frowning brows and hands holding the book made him look like some sort of handsome Immortal and somewhat unreal. Han Yunxi inadvertently recalled the scenes from that first night, when the lamp light made his chest glow with a bronze light. The texture of his skin had been very clear, assaulting her senses with a wild, unruly vision. It really had been a seductive and stirring sight.
Dammit. She was here to deliver medicine, but she'd already wandered off into flights of fancy without taking a step. Biting her lip, Han Yunxi entered the rooms.
"Your Highness, the medicine is ready."
Long Feiye put aside his book and sat up. Only now did his eyes travel towards her, the dark pupils staring into her own. Inexplicably, Han Yunxi's heart gave a thump as she unconsciously avoided his gaze. Why did her heart feel so timid? Not out of fear, but nervousness. It's just treating him with medicine. The procedure's so simple that she can do it with her eyes closed, so what's there to be anxious about?
She mocked herself as she walked forward with head bowed, taking out various items and instruments from her medical pouch as she organized her thoughts. It wasn't long before she recovered enough to meet Long Feiye's depthless gaze. Her voice was serious and professional as she said, "Take off your outer robes."
The golden robes slipped off to reveal white ones. This guy looks noble and elegant even when he's undressing. Sturdy and refined, his skin exuded sensual appeal. There was a shocking scar across his chest that resembled a perching centipede, savage and wild. She didn't expect his wound to heal over within the span of a few days. Poisoned cuts recovered at a much slower rate than regular wounds. Han Yunxi stared in disbelief, the edges of her ears turning red. The sight of this greatly displeased Long Feiye.
"Seen enough yet? If you have, then apply the medicine." His tone was both cold and impatient. Han Yunxi raised her head to look at him, her expression somewhat incredulous. And yet she only managed to meet Long Feiye's abhorrent glare.
What did this guy mean? What did he think she was looking at?
Okay, so maybe she was a little smitten, but that was just because she was a normal woman who admired beautiful things! In an instant, her nervousness was replaced with indignation.
"Immediately!" she said, though she reached for a knife instead of the medicine, heating its edge over a flame.
"What are you doing?" Long Feiye asked icily.
"Preparing for incision. Your recovery rate is too high and healed the injury. There's no way for you to absorb the medicine like this within a short time, so the only choice is to re-open the wound." Han Yunxi replied in a normal voice.
Actually, it was fine to treat him without resorting to this method too. As long as she increased the potency of the antidote by adding more medicine, drinking it would give the same effect. But Long Feiye's disgusted glare had made her very unhappy. In this world, there were two types of people you should never cross. One was the hairdresser, the other a doctor. The former could turn you so ugly you wanted to die, while the latter could make you so painful that you neither lived nor died.
"You're certain?" Long Feiye gave her a suspicious look.
"Absolutely!" Han Yunxi said quickly, before explaining. "Your Highness, it's fine if we don't make an incision, but this medicine might take half a month to absorb all the poison in your body instead. It's your choice."
He only had 10 days a most, and this was already the seventh day. Being forced in a corner like this made Long Feiye very uncomfortable, but he could only go to Han Yunxi to secretly treat his poison.
"Then make the cut," he agreed.
To cut open a wound was far more agonizing than any regular pain, so Han Yunxi paid special attention to his expression. She really was merciless, but her knife elicited no reaction from Long Feiye, who peered expressionlessly at his wound.
What a guy. What kind of pain would be enough to make him knit his eyebrows?
Han Yunxi discovered that her train of thought was growing outrageous. She banished the idea and quickly applied the medicine to the wound, though with much gentler motions to ease his pain. Very quickly, she covered the cut with the antidote and bandaged him securely to finish things up.
"All right, I'll remove the medical application tomorrow and dress the wound," Han Yunxi said earnestly.
"You don't need to change the medicine?" Long Feiye asked.