Chapter 349: Obstruction Will Be Met with Lethal Force

Everyone in the ward could hear it; passersby outside were startled and looked around, not knowing what had happened.

Gu Rongjin immediately recognized the source of the sound—inside the gambling house!

"Come with me, Your Highness!"

When Gu Rongjin rushed into the gambling house, the people inside had already fled; everyone, having heard the strange loud noise, fled in fear for their lives.

Another steward stationed on the first floor, seeing Gu Rongjin leading people in hurriedly, immediately put on a smile and came over: "Your Highness, long time no see—how do you have time to come to our gambling house?"

For this former regular, the steward spoke familiarly.

Gu Rongjin, who no longer needed to act like a spoiled noble, had no intention of being courteous—the sound was too suspicious, plus his inexplicable intuition before arriving, and he now had no time to waste on idle talk with miscellaneous people.

He headed straight for the stairs; the steward tried to stop him, but before he had taken a few steps, other soldiers blocked him back: "Your Highness is handling a case—any obstruction will be met with lethal force!"

The leader drew his sword and threatened.

The steward was frightened by the cold gleam, immediately fell silent, and dared not move.

A pained groan came from the third floor; Gu Rongjin flashed there ahead of everyone else, and before he could make out the situation, an unidentified object flew toward him.

When Gu Rongjin realized it was a person and tried to catch them, he heard Yun Jing Lou's voice: "Don't bother—let him die!"

So Gu Rongjin hastily withdrew his arm, watching helplessly as the person who had flown toward him crashed to the ground and writhed in pain.

"What's going on?"

Amid the dust-filled sky, he saw Yun Jing Lou emerging while carrying a person, and supporting another with his hand.

This...

"Little Yuanzhi!" When Gu Rongjin saw that the person slumped on Yun Jing Lou's back was Mu Yuanzhi with her head drooping, his heart nearly stopped, and he lunged forward in a single stride.

"Don't worry, she just inhaled some bewitching drug and passed out." Yun Jing Lou said.

Upon hearing that, Gu Rongjin's anxious heart eased a little, but he remained uneasy; he quickly took his wife from Yun Jing Lou's back and held her: "Little Yuanzhi!"

Soft and limp, Mu Yuanzhi slumped into Gu Rongjin's arms; he scooped her up in a princess carry, his face full of worry as he gazed at the unconscious woman.

"It's fine; we're going home."

After saying that, he glanced at the rescued Fan woman, then told Yun Jing Lou: "Leave the rest to you."

Gu Rongjin didn't have time for all that; how they found the Fan woman didn't matter—his heart and eyes were filled only with his wife.

"Don't worry, just keep those people here for me to direct the cleanup." Yun Jing Lou said.

Gu Rongjin nodded, ordered the arriving soldiers to obey Yun Jing Lou's commands, and then carried Mu Yuanzhi away.

The qilin was absent; as a physician, Mu Yuanzhi herself had fainted, leaving Gu Rongjin somewhat unsettled for a moment; he forced himself to stay calm and went through Mu Yuanzhi's medicine cabinet.

He remembered her telling him what each of these medicines was for.

The antidote for the bewitching drug should be...

Gu Rongjin fumbled to grab the medicine, but after picking it he still felt uneasy, so he had the manor physician check it; the physician said it was fine and had a servant decoct it.

He stroked Mu Yuanzhi's face and said, anguished: "Little Yuanzhi, I barely looked away for a moment and you ended up covered in dust and grime—from now on I must keep a close watch on you; best to tie you to my waistband!"

He thought that if she were awake now, she would surely be bickering with him.

But she was now in a deep sleep, eyes and mouth tightly shut, showing no anger.

He waited for the servant to finish decocting the medicine and bring it, waiting a long time and glancing at the doorway several times before the servant finally brought it over.

"Give it to me." Gu Rongjin took the medicine bowl and dismissed the person.

He personally helped Mu Yuanzhi sit up and fed her the medicine; her lips, which should have been rosy, were dry and unnaturally pale. He fed her slowly, heartbroken, coaxing her to drink as if soothing a child, even if she might not hear him.

Even in her stupor, Mu Yuanzhi could swallow, which reassured Gu Rongjin a little, and he fed her slowly.

After carefully finishing the feeding, he laid her back on the bed, covered her with the blanket, and kept watch beside her.

Gu Rongjin thought it over, still uneasy, so he used his cultivation to regulate her inner energy; soon, the eyelids of the person on the bed began to twitch.

"Little Yuanzhi!"

He excitedly grasped her hand.

Mu Yuanzhi, slowly regaining consciousness, opened her eyes to see Gu Rongjin; not yet knowing what had happened, she reached out coquettishly to pull him: "Rongjin..."

"How do you feel? Anywhere uncomfortable?" Gu Rongjin leaned forward, asking with concern.

He felt heartbroken.

Mu Yuanzhi shook her head—what could possibly be wrong?

She was just exhausted and wanted to sleep.

As her consciousness gradually returned, Mu Yuanzhi finally figured out her situation.

She remembered! She had gone to the gambling house in Heaven Street Ward with Yun Jing Lou, and then she carelessly fell under the bewitching drug's effect!

Now...

Mu Yuanzhi looked at the familiar room and realized she was in the Grand General's Manor.

"Where are they? Have they found the Fan woman? And Yun Jing Lou?"

She struggled to rise, and Gu Rongjin hurried to help her.

"The Fan woman has been found, and Yun Jing Lou is unharmed," Gu Rongjin said. "How did you end up together? Going to that kind of place scared me to death!"

"The Deng clan gave me a lead on the Fan woman; I followed the carter's words to the gambling house's entrance, where I happened upon Yun Jing Lou, and we went in together. The place should be Pei Shangyan's hideout—he had hidden the Fan woman in a secret room, and we were a bit careless and fell under the bewitching drug."

Strictly speaking, only she had been affected; Yun Jing Lou should be fine.

After hearing that, Gu Rongjin reproachfully tapped Mu Yuanzhi's forehead: "No more reckless adventures like this—you should tell me, or just let Yun Jing Lou go alone!"

Mu Yuanzhi covered her forehead and pouted: "Why are you hitting me? All right, I'll be more careful next time."

"Another time? Believe it or not, I'll lock you up at home!" Gu Rongjin threatened.

"You won't." Mu Yuanzhi clung to Gu Rongjin, cooing: "You're the best husband in the world!"

"Putting a tall hat on me won't help—I'm serious!"

"I was wrong!" Next time I'll still dare!

"Good, since you admitted your mistake with a good attitude, I'll let it slide this time!" Gu Rongjin said magnanimously.

After coaxing him, Mu Yuanzhi said solemnly: "Since the Fan clan has been found, Pei Shangyan should be arriving soon, right?"

Gu Rongjin: "The key is to find out what they are secretly plotting, so we can catch them all in one go; otherwise, like last time when I went to Weicheng, I came away empty-handed."

At that moment, a knocking sounded outside the door; the steward reported: "Princess, Prince Consort, Prince Ling requests an audience outside."

If it were usual, the steward wouldn't have reported, because he knew the masters didn't want to see them, so he would just make up an excuse to send them away; but now he knows what's happening in Jingcheng, so he deliberately came over to inform the masters.