In the Warm Pavilion of the Mingxin Hall, Xiao Rong’er had kept watch all night.
"Madam, have so ginseng soup."
Hong Xiu carried a steaming bowl of ginseng soup and handed it to Xiao Rong’er.
Xiao Rong’er had no appetite and motioned for Hong Xiu to put it down, asking, "Has the body been dealt with?"
"It’s been dealt with." Hong Xiu set down the soup, her tone laced with worry. "But, Madam, what if the young master wakes up and tells the Pavilion Master the truth..."
Xiao Rong’er closed her eyes briefly. "A bunch of incompetents. They can’t even kill a child!"
Hong Xiu asked, "Madam, should we contact Master?"
The "Master" she ntioned was Xiao Rong’er’s biological father, the Sect Leader of the Qianshan Sect.
This ti, during Liuying’s grand wedding, Sect Leader Xiao was supposed to attend as the grandfather and toast his granddaughter’s marriage. But over a year ago, the marriage arrangents for her own nephew had already been set for this April.
Xiao Rong’er said coolly, "This little matter, I can handle it."
"Understood."
Hong Xiu did not press further.
Xiao Rong’er continued, "Go and call the Second Master here."
Hong Xiu headed to Gongsun Yu’s courtyard.
When Gongsun Yu arrived at Mingxin Hall and saw that Xiao Rong’er’s attire remained unchanged, he asked in surprise, "Sister-in-law, have you been sitting here all night?"
Xiao Rong’er replied, "Go check on your elder brother."
Gongsun Yu hesitated. "I can’t even get in there."
Xiao Rong’er shot him a glare. "Take the dicine to Wuyou. And while you’re at it, see if he’s dead yet."
Gongsun Yu sucked in a sharp breath.
Xiao Rong’er, weary of pretending for so many years, sneered, "Surprised? Helping your own husband raise another woman’s child, did you really think I was that magnanimous?"
Gongsun Yu sighed, "I know you’ve suffered all these years."
Xiao Rong’er laughed self-deprecatingly. "What good does your knowing do? Isn’t it all just face-saving on the surface but betrayal behind my back? You claim to care about , yet you run errands for those two bastards day in and day out. You’ve always only listened to your elder brother. When have I, as your sister-in-law, ever mattered to you? Of course, you are blood brothers, while I am just an outsider."
Gongsun Yu hastily said, "Sister-in-law, don’t say that. In my heart, both you and my elder brother are equally important. If I care for Wuyou, I will care for Liuying and Ziyu even more. I know who the true bloodline of the Gongsun Family is."
"Very well. Then put this into Shang Wuyou’s dicine."
Xiao Rong’er tossed a dicine bottle to Gongsun Yu.
Gongsun Yu caught it, his expression slightly shifting. "Sister-in-law, are you asking to poison Wuyou?"
Xiao Rong’er stared directly at him. "What? You’re afraid now?"
Gongsun Yu sighed again. "Sister-in-law, you know my elder brother. If I dared to poison Wuyou, he would kill ."
Xiao Rong’er laughed mockingly. "So, he values a bastard child more than his own brother? It’s not poison, just sothing to make him sleep a few more days. That way, he won’t cause trouble with his words."
Gongsun Yu clutched the dicine bottle. "Understood, Sister-in-law. I’ll take care of it."
He grabbed the golden sore dicine, Hemostatic Powder, and ginseng soup prepared in the kitchen and headed to his elder brother’s courtyard.
He glanced back to ensure no one followed, then reached for a rope hidden beneath a tree and tugged it gently.
Soon, he stepped into his elder brother’s practice room.
In reality, his elder brother did not practice there but in an even more concealed secret chamber.
After waiting for a mont, a stone door slowly opened.
He entered a long passageway.
Once the stone door closed, Hong Xiu, hidden behind the door, returned to Xiao Rong’er’s side.
"Did you see it?"
Xiao Rong’er asked.
Hong Xiu replied, "I saw it. The chanism is hidden behind that jujube tree."
Xiao Rong’er let out a cold snort.
anwhile, inside the hidden passage, Gongsun Yu hesitated to imdiately add the drug to the dicine.
Recalling Wuyou’s battered and weakened condition from the previous night, Gongsun Yu believed Shang Wuyou was unlikely to survive. There was no need for unnecessary actions.
"Don’t bla your second uncle for being ruthless; under the current circumstances, your death is the best outco."
If Shang Wuyou died, his sister-in-law would no longer have to raise soone else’s child, and Ziyu wouldn’t constantly have to fight for favor.
Killing ng Xiaojiu would also beco justifiable.
That way, Liuying could be saved.
He stood before the final stone door, waiting for a long ti until it creaked open.
But the one who opened it was not his elder brother—it was ng Qianqian.
Gongsun Yu froze. "You’re not dead?"
ng Qianqian asked in return, "Why should I be dead?"
Gongsun Yu cleared his throat and asked seriously, "How is Wuyou?"
"He’s fine."
ng Qianqian turned back into the courtyard.
The stone door slowly closed again.
Gongsun Yu hesitated for a long ti.
By "fine," did that an... he had been saved?
"Where is my elder brother?"
He inquired.
ng Qianqian gestured to the right.
Gongsun Yu carried the food container and hurried into the house, where a chilling air greeted him imdiately upon entry.
He shivered and soon saw Shang Wuyou lying on the Ice Bed, with his elder brother keeping vigil beside him.
"Elder Brother!"
He walked to the Ice Bed and glanced at Shang Wuyou’s pale face, asking in a low voice, "Elder Brother, is Wuyou alright now?"
Gongsun Yanming replied, "He’ll be fine for now."
Gongsun Yu murmured, "That girl really has so skills, huh."
Given the severity of the injuries, he had thought there was no chance of survival.
He hesitated, looking at the figure in the courtyard, and asked, "Elder Brother, what should we do with that girl? She knows about our secret passage. Should we..."
He made a throat-slitting gesture.
Shang Wuyou had already fallen back into unconsciousness.
Gongsun Yanming glanced deeply at Shang Wuyou, then rose and exited the secret chamber.
ng Qianqian sat quietly at a stone bench in the courtyard.
It was called a courtyard, but it resembled more of an open-air ancient well, with only a patch of sky visible overhead.
Gongsun Yanming sat down across from ng Qianqian.
His imposing deanor did not faze ng Qianqian. Her composure and poise were truly rare in the world.
Gongsun Yanming placed two bottles on the stone table. "Two bottles—one contains poison, the other, a tonic. Pick one. Whether you walk out of here alive depends on your fate."
ng Qianqian’s gaze lingered on the two bottles, shifting back and forth.
She couldn’t see or sll anything, relying solely on luck.
ng Qianqian picked up the bottle on the left, uncorked it, and tipped the pills into her mouth without hesitation, swallowing them.
Afterward, she stood up, clasped her hands in a respectful salute, and said, "Thank you for the dicine, Pavilion Master. Disciple takes her leave."
She walked toward the stone door, raised her hand, and pressed the chanism.
The stone door slowly opened before her.
Without looking back, she stepped into the seemingly endless passageway and gradually disappeared from Gongsun Yanming’s view.
Gongsun Yu curiously exited the secret chamber.
A series of sounds followed, indicating she had opened one stone door after another.
When only the final stone door remained, there was suddenly silence.
Gongsun Yu asked, "Elder Brother, has the poison taken effect?"
Gongsun Yanming picked up the tea on the table and took a slow sip.
Just as he was about to suggest preparing to retrieve her body, a thunderous sound erupted as the final stone door opened.
Gongsun Yanming lifted his head, his expression frozen mid-sip.
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