Chapter 112: I Know Who It Is

By the time father and son left Yi Jiang's room, the sky was already growing light.

Chen Ying ordered the steward to gather all the maids and servants who had previously entered and left Yi Jiang's room in the yard.

He also had someone prepare a large vat of warm water and drop two Antidote Pills into it.

He ladled out two bowls, and father and son drank them in front of everyone.

Then Chen Ying said loudly.

"One bowl each — you must finish it!"

Having said that, with a cold face, he picked up the Inventory wrapped around those two garments, strode out of the yard in great steps, and headed straight for the woodshed.

Outside the woodshed, Gu Shang was guarding the door with his men. Seeing him approach, he stepped forward a few paces.

"Sir Chen, the person is inside."

"Mm."

"Qingye, it hurts so much!"

"Shut him up!"

Gu Shang handed over a cage holding a Carrier Pigeon, along with an unread letter.

"Is that so?"

"You still don't have a single accomplice!"

I looked at Chen Ying with a shadowed gaze.

"I've been hiding in Beihuang City for a long time. Sir Chen would never guess this person's identity!"

"What kind of thing is he? How dare he have a face similar to yours?!"

Opening the woodshed door, one saw Qingye, in a pale blue dress, bound to a post.

Hao Lu clenched his fists tightly, about to step forward and answer.

"As long as Sir Chen spares your life, you are willing to lay everything out."

But the dodge was too late — a bloody gash was still cut across the neck.

"Sir Chen, please save me quickly!"

"No! Sir Chen, have mercy!"

"Qingye, that traitor — don't say anything!"

"Take my Token, bring a few guards to the City Guard Office, and bring someone back."

"You bastard!"

"No need to keep acting!"

"However, he miscalculated!"

"But as long as he releases you now, and serves loyally for the lord in the future, the antidote will not be lacking for him."

Suddenly, Zhen Jing's lips moved slightly, and something shot out from her mouth.

Hao Lu reached out and wiped at the wound — the blood on his fingertips was faintly white.

Chen Ying was choked by the thick smoke and coughed nonstop.

Having said that, Hao Lu took the torch from the guard's hand and set the Inventory ablaze.

"I'm not a bastard, I just wanted to write a Family Letter to my family."

"Bastard — looking at it that way, Zhen Jing seems to be of no use anymore."

Saying so, he tossed the Inventory holding that garment in front of her.

"He has already been poisoned by the special poison the Muyuan Royal Family made for Dead Soldiers like you. If he doesn't take the antidote on time each month, he will be in agony beyond endurance, his guts rotted through, and die!"

"Hahahaha!"

"What on earth is he?!"

"Hmph!"

"Die!"

Unlike his fury, Chen Ying, whose face had been choked purple, instead smiled strangely.

Hao Lu let out a cold laugh.

"Truly loyal!"

Hao Lu roared in fury, drew in a deep breath, clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles went white, and forcefully suppressed the rage in his heart.

"I really did underestimate him!"

I rushed over and gripped Chen Ying's neck in a death grip, eyes blood-red, gaze vicious, glaring at him through gritted teeth.

"There are plenty of things he never expected!"

"Since that's the case, there's no need to keep him alive!"

"Shut him up!"

"How could he have an antidote?!"

She actually dared to use that face to hurt Yi Jiang!

"He can give up that idea!"

"Sir Chen, the person has been brought back."

Chen Ying gave a cold snort.

"Don't even dream of it!"

Then he looked at Hao Lu and said meaningfully.

"He — how could he?"

The moment those words fell, Gu Shang and several guards came in, escorting a person.

"Is that so?"

"He'd better worry about himself first."

Seeing the blood flowing from the wound gradually turn an unnatural red, Zhen Jing stared in disbelief, eyes wide, shaking her head frantically.

"He—he actually can't imitate your handwriting?!"

"My lord, when you arrived, Zhen Jing was just about to send a message inside."

"In the end, he plays the villain perfectly, and the good man he puts on is convincing too!"

Gu Shang unfolded the letter right in front of me.

"Can't even save himself, yet still single-mindedly thinking of his master's interests."

That was the most formidable poison doctor within Muyuan, a poison that took years to refine.

"Your subordinate has already placed the Douci Powder into the clothing, but an unexpected situation arose during the operation—the Cheng Family's eldest son did not change out of this garment…"

"Lord Chen, time is short. The matter has blown up so badly—surely this person has already gotten word. What if he takes the chance to escape…"

As she spoke, Chen Ying suddenly laughed, an inexplicable hint of seduction in her tone.

"Look at that face of yours—almost identical to his wife's, the mother of his son. Could he bear to kill you?"

"He has a point."

He paused, not a trace of warmth in his eyes, the words between his teeth seeming to carry shards of ice.

Gu Shang picked up a large wooden stick and wrote a character on the ground.

Thinking of what Yu'an had said before leaving, Chen Ying stopped in her tracks.

The surrounding guards drew their swords one after another.

I couldn't care about anything else—I only wanted to save my own life.

Gu Shang stood up and glanced at me.

Gu Shang actually knows the Muyuan Script?

Even Hao Lu looked at me with a puzzled expression.

It's a good thing I brought that up—mentioning it seemed to have struck Hao Lu's reverse scale.

"He thinks that by angering you, you'll give him a hard time?"

Seeing I seemed to have no resolve, Qingye continued to egg me on.

"Clearly dying to kill this child, yet insists on putting on the act of a gentleman—wanting to be the good man, but unable to get past that barrier in his own heart!"

"I won't tell him a single word, and I won't betray my master either. If he's got the guts, he can just kill me!"

Zhen Jing was greatly shocked and hurriedly dodged aside.

Looking at the unfamiliar handwriting on the ground, Qingye, who was closest, was so startled she couldn't even string a broken sentence together.

I pulled a small medicine bottle from my clothes and poured out the last Antidote Pill, placing it in my mouth.

"Two choices: either keep reporting to your master as usual, but the contents will be decided by me, or…"

Seeing this person's attire, Chen Ying's face stiffened. It wasn't until the guards dragged this person closer and she saw his face clearly that she began to panic.

I'll just have to gamble!

Seeing him, Qingye struggled a few times, her face full of panic and fear. In the flickering light of the torch, tears glistened in her eyes.

"Surprised?"

"Impossible, that's impossible, absolutely impossible!"

"My lord, don't agree to him. You know who he is!"

As she spoke, a cold smile curled at the corner of Chen Ying's mouth.

Chen Ying struggled desperately a few times.

Qingye hurriedly begged for mercy.

Qingye's face was full of terror as she shook her head and explained.

Zhen Jing could only set aside her doubts for now and nod in considerable agreement.

"Hao Lu, Hao Lu, you're truly hypocritical—truly disgusting!"

Actually, Hao Lu hadn't originally been in the mindset of giving it a try either; he hadn't expected the Antidote Pill to really be so effective.

"The master had you help him do what he wanted to do but didn't dare to do himself. You should be thanking us…"

Listening to him read out the letter without missing a single word, both Chen Ying and Qingye widened their eyes.

Gu Shang, standing nearby, spoke up first.

The letter was written in Muyuan Script—they definitely wouldn't be able to recognize it.

Even the poison doctor himself could only develop a temporary remedy, unable to completely neutralize the poison.

Hao Lu examined the two of them, secretly pondering the truth of Qingye's words.

Chen Ying let out a triumphant, hearty laugh.