Bian Yu and Zhong Shi rushed over at the same time.
Zhong Shi took the unconscious Yun Lou into his arms, glaring furiously at Cui Lingyi. Zhao Shitou looked equally ready to charge forward and defend his master at any cost.
Bian Yu pulled Cui Lingyi behind him, his expression cold and stern.
Cui Lingyi, completely at a loss, clung to Bian Yu's officer's uniform, her mind buzzing. She felt she had caused a disaster of enormous proportions.
If anything happened to Yun Lou, wouldn't she be a murderer? Her father spoiled her rotten, but as an official, he was the most upright and impartial man—he would absolutely disown her and turn her in!
At that thought, she cried even harder.
Her sobs and Yinyin and Wensi's screams rose in turns. Bian Yu's face turned ashen. He took a deep breath and barked, "All of you, shut up!"
He strode forward, one hand checking Yun Lou's breath, the other sweeping across her jaw to catch some of the blood she had spat out, sniffing it.
The blood was dark, thick, and reeked with a heavy, cloying odor.
Bian Yu spoke in a low voice: "She's been poisoned."
His sharp gaze swept toward the old blacksmith.
The old blacksmith dropped to his knees on the spot: "I'm innocent, Your Honor! It's got nothing to do with me!"
Poisoned? Everyone froze, staring doubtfully at Yun Lou, who lay limp and blood-soaked in Zhong Shi's arms.
Bian Yu rose: "What are you standing around for? Take your lady to Xuanji Hall."
Zhong Shi immediately made to run out with Yun Lou, but Cui Lingyi, who had been crying by the side, suddenly called out: "Wait!"
She wiped her tears with her sleeve: "If you carry her through the whole town like that, do you want her to be gossiped about for the rest of her life?" With that, she walked forward and crouched down, turning her back to Zhong Shi: "Put her on my back!"
Zhong Shi hesitated for a moment, then placed Yun Lou onto her back.
Cui Lingyi ran with Yun Lou toward Xuanji Hall, Yinyin and Wensi trotting alongside, steadying Yun Lou's limp body to keep her from falling.
But after a stretch, the two girls couldn't keep up. Cui Lingyi, after all, had trained in martial arts since childhood—though her skills were mediocre, she was still far stronger than the average person.
She ran, panting heavily, when she suddenly heard a weak voice by her ear: "Miss Cui..."
Yun Lou spoke groggily, barely getting three words out before coughing up another mouthful of blood. The warm, thick blood trickled down Cui Lingyi's snow-white neck. Cui Lingyi was on the verge of breaking down.
"Please don't talk, I'm begging you—"
"D-don't be afraid..." The faint, breathless voice came haltingly, trying desperately to comfort her. "It's n-not your fault. I'd already been p-poisoned..."
She spat out two mouthfuls of blood with every two words she spoke. Cui Lingyi, drenched in blood from head to toe, wailed with all her might and burst into Xuanji Hall.
Pei Xu was in the backyard, explaining to his helper how to process medicinal herbs, when he heard the commotion in the dispensary. He hurried out: "Uncle Chen, quick—"
Before he could finish, he caught sight of his wife lying across Cui Lingyi's back. Both of them were covered in blood, a ghastly sight. In that instant, Pei Xu felt his very soul shudder, a chill rushing up to the crown of his head, making him light-headed and dizzy.
"Pei Xu! Quick—!"
Pei Xu had already rushed over and pulled Yun Lou into his arms. Her face, her hair, her robes—all were soaked in blood. He couldn't tell where she was injured. His hands trembled violently as he carried her to the sickbed in the inner room.
Cui Lingyi followed, stammering: "She kept spitting up blood—so much of it. She... yes! She said she was poisoned!"
Pei Xu said coldly, "Get out."
Cui Lingyi had never seen him look so cold and furious. She flinched, pouting in hurt.
Pei Xu quickly examined Yun Lou's body and confirmed she had no external wounds. Dr. Chen hurried over as well, taking her pulse. After a long moment, he said gravely, "This pulse pattern does suggest poison taking effect. But when could she have been poisoned? I've been taking her pulse and monitoring her health regularly these past few weeks—I never noticed any sign of it."
While they were treating her, Bian Yu and his men arrived as well.
Seeing Cui Lingyi standing outside the inner room, red-eyed, her head drooping in a hesitant, sheepish manner, he pulled her aside. His usually cold voice, even when deliberately softened, didn't sound all that gentle: "She was poisoned. It has nothing to do with you. Stop blaming yourself."
Cui Lingyi looked up at him, her mouth quivering, tears welling in her eyes. She looked utterly wronged: "Pei Xu... he... he yelled at me..."
Bian Yu took a deep breath: "Yell back at him later."
Cui Lingyi sniffled and shook her head: "Forget it... He's just anxious..."
In the inner sickroom, Yinyin, flustered, recounted everything that had happened at the blacksmith's shop. Pei Xu carefully questioned them about every detail after they entered, and he concluded almost immediately that the poison hadn't been administered there.
Connecting this with what Cui Lingyi had said, Pei Xu looked down at his wife, pale-faced and covered in blood.
She must have known she was poisoned long before this.
But she had never told him.
For now, the poison hadn't been identified. Dr. Chen could only give her a common antidote pill and prescribe a decoction based on her pulse and symptoms.
Pei Xu drew a basin of water and sat by the sickbed, slowly wiping the blood from her face and hands.
When he came out carrying the bloody water, Bian Yu stood at the door, blocking his path with a blank expression: "Mr. Pei, you owe Miss Cui an apology."
Pei Xu looked up. The blood on Cui Lingyi had already dried, leaving her looking haggard and bedraggled. At Bian Yu's words, she quickly waved her hands: "No, no, it's fine..."
Pei Xu said in a hoarse voice: "I apologize. I lost my composure earlier. Thank you, Miss Cui, for bringing my wife home. Once she recovers, I will call on you to apologize properly."
Cui Lingyi dropped her head limply: "...No need to thank me."
Yun Lou drifted in and out of a haze, and when she finally woke, the world was spinning. She felt like she'd been thrown into a rapidly rotating vortex. She shut her eyes again at once.
But the dizziness didn't go away. Her stomach churned, and she lunged to the edge of the bed, vomiting.
In the outer room, Pei Xu heard the commotion and rushed in immediately. He crouched by the bedside, supporting her with one hand and gently rubbing her back.
Yun Lou vomited until all that came up was bitter bile, then collapsed back onto the bed, utterly spent.
The foul mess stained the hem of his robes, but he didn't seem to care at all. He helped her lie down again, then fetched hot water to wipe her face and rinse her mouth.
Her gown had already been changed by Yinyin. Pei Xu cleaned up the mess on the floor and called Dr. Chen in to take her pulse again.
But how could a strange poison that even Situ Yan couldn't crack be diagnosed by an ordinary physician? Dr. Chen's face grew serious: "In all my years practicing medicine, I've never seen such a peculiar poison. This morning, the pulse still showed signs of it. But now, it's like a drop of water falling into a lake—utterly gone."
Yun Lou lay with her eyes half closed, and through the dim, warm light of the inner room, she could see Pei Xu's expression was grim.
A pang of guilt stirred in her heart. She was about to say something, but Pei Xu turned and left the room.
He must be angry.
Yun Lou let out a silent sigh. If she had known the poisoning would flare up so horrifically this time, she would have found a quiet corner to spit blood in peace, away from anyone's eyes.
Pei Xu soon returned, holding a bowl of medicine.
Yun Lou was helped into a seated position by him, leaning against his body. Pei Xu held a bowl in one hand and used a spoon to feed her the medicine with the other.
After every two spoonfuls, Yun Lou would steal a guilty glance at him. Pei Xu acted as if he didn't notice, feeding her until the bowl was empty before helping her lie back down, gently taking her wrist to check her pulse.
Her lips parted slightly, and she whispered softly, "Pei Xu..."
He looked down, his expression no different from usual—warm and composed: "Still feeling unwell?"
Yun Lou shook her head. She said in a low voice, "I didn't mean to keep it from you..."
Pei Xu said nothing, just quietly looking at her.
Yun Lou reached out and gently tugged at his sleeve: "This poison has been in me for some years now. It started when I was... in the Marquis's residence. I went to many doctors, but not one of them could do anything about it. I don't even know when I was poisoned. The attacks come without any set pattern..."
Pei Xu's lowered eyelashes trembled: "Many years? Then you..."
He wanted to ask—have you been enduring the pain of these attacks all these years?
But the words caught in his throat. A pang of pain struck his chest, his throat turning raw and sour, and he pressed his lips together, turning his head away.
Yun Lou followed his sleeve and quietly grasped his wrist. Seeing that he didn't shake her off, she slid her hand further down to take his hand, her fingers playfully rubbing against his warm, dry palm: "Pei Xu, don't be mad at me, okay? Okay?"
Pei Xu composed himself, turned back to look at her, and gently covered her hand with his: "I'm not angry. I'm just worried about you."
Yun Lou smiled: "See, I've had this poison for years and I'm still fine. It's not the kind that kills."
Pei Xu recalled the horrific scene he'd witnessed during the day—he found her words hard to believe.
"In the past, did the attacks always involve vomiting blood like this?"
"Not always. Sometimes I'd suddenly faint. Sometimes I'd run a high fever that wouldn't go down."
Sometimes it felt like insects gnawing at her flesh and bones, hurting so badly she wished she could slice the flesh off her own bones with a blade. On those occasions, Situ Yan would tie her up with rope.
Pei Xu didn't press further. He simply held her hand and said softly, "I'll find a way."
The medicine contained a sleep-inducing ingredient, and Yun Lou soon fell into a deep sleep.
The medical clinic was already closed for the night. Pei Xu tiptoed out and walked over to the bookshelf displaying medical texts, stopping there.
These medical books were all his mother's collection, many of which he'd never read. His medical skill was not refined. If his mother were still alive, perhaps she would have a solution.
Pei Xu's expression turned serious. He pulled over a chair, sat down, and started reading from the first book on the first shelf.
Dr. Chen, having finished organizing the day's consultation records, came out and saw him like this, letting out a sigh: "I've read all the books your mother left behind. None of them address this kind of strange poison."
Pei Xu didn't look up, only saying, "I'll read them again."
Dr. Chen knew that the young master had been exceptionally bright since childhood, with a photographic memory. If not for Madam Liu's firm opposition, the young master would likely have already come first in the imperial examinations, clad in crimson robes and standing before the emperor's throne.
All he could do was call for Le'an and tell him to look after the young master and keep an eye on the lamp.
The night deepened. Candlelight illuminated this quiet chamber. Le'an sat on the ground and dozed off, leaving only the sound of turning pages in the medicine hall.
It wasn't until dawn, when the rooster crowed, that Le'an was startled awake. Rubbing his eyes, he crawled up and saw the young master still sitting in the chair, books scattered across the floor at his feet. Half of the books on the shelf were already gone.
"Young master! You didn't sleep all night?"
Le'an quickly got to his feet, gathered the books from the floor, and went to the back to boil water.
Pei Xu finished another volume, rubbed his brow, and rose to walk into the inner chamber. On the sickbed, Yun Lou was still asleep, her breathing long and even. He gently took her wrist to check her pulse and found it steady, though still somewhat weak.
The poison inside her had lain dormant after its outburst, with no telling when it might flare up again to torment her.
Pei Xu held her wrist, lost in thought, when Yun Lou suddenly opened her eyes: "Husband~"
She looked as if nothing had ever been wrong, her dark eyes blinking: "I'm hungry."
Pei Xu helped her sit up and said gently, "For the next two days, you can only eat some light medicinal dishes. I'll have Aunt Zhou prepare them and send them over."
He seemed to have no intention of interrogating her further about the poison. Yun Lou breathed a secret sigh of relief and obediently nodded.
After two more days of lying in the medical clinic and confirming she was mostly fine, Pei Xu finally brought her home. During those two days, he'd finished reading all the medical books his mother had left behind, but unfortunately, they were of no help.
Yun Lou lounged on her favorite chaise longue, listening as Pei Xu asked patiently, "When was your first attack?"
She didn't really remember anymore. For her, the poison attacks had been as routine as getting injured on a mission. Perhaps some bone-deep ache had been an attack, but since she'd happened to be wounded at the time, she'd simply endured it all together.
But seeing Pei Xu's earnest expression as he spread out paper and picked up his brush, she still tried hard to recall: "...About three years ago."
Pei Xu noted it down and then asked, "What are all the symptoms of an attack?"
Yun Lou picked out only the milder ones to mention, but Pei Xu somehow saw through her. He pinched her cheek sternly: "No lying. You have to tell the truth."
She took advantage of the moment to tilt her head and rub her soft cheek against his palm, trying to get away with it through charm: "But I really don't remember..."
Pei Xu straightened her head, and Yun Lou met his eyes, seeing his gaze and expression grow somber.
He really seemed a bit angry now.
Yun Lou's heart tightened as she heard him ask in a calm voice: "You've never once thought about growing old with me, have you?"
