Chapter 124: I Cannot Leave

"Fainted again?" Mou Hanqin's heart sank. He turned to Chi Nan Yi and said, "Why are you standing there? Go examine the Princess at once!"

Chi Nan Yi gave a cold laugh. "Why should I go examine her? Doesn't Your Excellency think my medical skills are inadequate?"

"When I tell you to treat her, you go — why so much nonsense? If you delay the Princess's condition, how many heads do you have to spare?"

"How ridiculous. She is your Yuqin Guo's Princess, not mine. Whether she lives or dies, what does it have to do with me?" Chi Nan Yi turned to look at the official who had brought her over. "Your Excellency, it's not that I refuse to cooperate. It's simply that some people's words are truly unpleasant to hear."

The runner looked miserably at Chi Shao yuan beside Chi Nan Yi, his eyes carrying a trace of ingratiation and pleading.

Chi Shao yuan pretended not to see. Unless Brother Nan Yi nodded, he would not say a single extra word.

Seeing this, the runner had no other option. With a bitter face, he said to Mou Hanqin, "Lord Mou, this person is a Divine Doctor invited by the Chi Family." He deliberately emphasized "Chi Family" heavily. As long as Mou Hanqin was not a fool, he should know the Chi Family's status — a Divine Doctor they invited must possess extraordinary medical skill.

Sure enough, when Mou Hanqin heard the words "Chi Family," his expression shifted several times. His earlier arrogance vanished, his face twitched, and the corners of his mouth pulled into a smile uglier than a cry. "So it is the Chi Family's Divine Doctor. This official has been discourteous. Please examine our Princess. If you can cure her, there will certainly be generous thanks."

Generous thanks?

Heh.

Their Princess's dowry was already gone — what treasures did they have left to offer as generous thanks?

But... none of that mattered anymore.

The most important thing right now was to secretly take away the Princess of Yuqin Guo.

The reason she put on an attitude of reluctantly agreeing to examine their Princess was precisely to avoid arousing suspicion.

After all, taking away those gold, silver, and treasures was simple — they were inanimate objects. But taking away a person was not an easy matter.

Though everything could be stored in her space, as confirmed by the conversation she had overheard two days ago, the Princess sent here for this political marriage was not the daughter of the Emperor of Yuqin Guo, but the niece of the late Empress. She still had family behind her — hundreds of lives.

If she simply left, the ones to suffer would be those people.

If she took her away recklessly, it might bring ruin and death upon her family.

Chi Nan Yi gave Mou Hanqin a cold look. "Lead the way."

As a third-rank official of Yuqin Guo, Mou Hanqin naturally felt indignant at being ordered about by a commoner with no official position. But with the Princess's health at stake, no matter how angry he was, he could only endure for now.

They arrived at the room in the center of the second floor. Several maids stood at the door, and inside the room the maids were in a flurry. Curtains hung around the bed, through which one could faintly see a person lying on it. A maid brought Qin Yue xi's hand out from behind the curtain.

Chi Nan Yi looked at her extremely slender wrist and frowned deeply.

A er na had said her cousin had not yet come of age. From the look of it, that was indeed the case.

Had the Emperor of Yuqin Guo gone mad?

"Divine Doctor, why aren't you taking her pulse?"

Chi Nan Yi glanced at Mou Hanqin. "Fortunately, you came by proper means. Otherwise, I would have thought you were traffickers."

She spoke indirectly, but Mou Hanqin understood in his heart — she had realized that the person behind the curtain had not yet come of age.

Chi Nan Yi took out a handkerchief and placed it over Qin Yue xi's wrist. Feeling the abnormal beating of the pulse beneath her fingertips, her heart sank.

What was going on?

She had actually also been poisoned with the Falling Moon Poison.

"Divine Doctor, how is she?"

Chi Nan Yi withdrew her hand, her tone slightly heavy. "It's not that she can't be treated, but it is very tricky."

"How many days will it take? We cannot delay too long on the road."

If you want her to live, you need to cure her illness. Otherwise, if anything happens to her, I imagine you won't be able to report back either!

Mou Hanqin pondered for a moment, then finally nodded. "Fine, we shall do as you say."

"All of you go out. I need to treat her."

"Absolutely not!" Mou Hanqin refused flatly. "Our Princess is of noble birth — how can she be alone in a room with an outside man? If word got out, would it not damage the Princess's reputation?"

"Now you think of reputation and honor. Sending a child who hasn't come of age for a political marriage — weren't you afraid of damaging your reputation?" Chi Nan Yi put away the handkerchief. "Whether to treat her or not is for you to decide. To cure her, I must use a secret ancestral technique that cannot be seen by outsiders. You want your reputation, and I must follow my ancestral rules."

"Do nothing to our Princess. Otherwise, even at the cost of my life, I will not let you go."

Once everyone had left, Chi Nan Yi took out pills and Spirit Spring Water and gave them to her to consume. Qin Yue xi's poisoning was not deep; the reason she had fallen unconscious was that her age was still young and her body could not quite withstand it.

Before long, she came to. Seeing the gradually clearing silhouette before her eyes, Qin Yue xi sat up abruptly and looked around with some alarm in her eyes. Just as she was about to call for someone, Chi Nan Yi sealed her acupoints with a Silver Needle.

"You've been poisoned. I am a physician come to treat you."

Qin Yue xi did not believe what she said. She stared with wide eyes, tears welling in them.

"I'll ask you a few questions. If I'm right, blink your eyes."

Upon hearing this, Qin Yue xi's eyes seemed to freeze — she did not blink even once.

Seeing no reaction, Chi Nan Yi thought she had not been clear enough. "Can you understand what I mean?"

Qin Yue xi still made no movement, but the tears in her eyes grew more and more.

"If you understand, you can blink your eyes."

Hearing her say this, Qin Yue xi hurriedly blinked. Seeing this, Chi Nan Yi was instantly speechless — this child had been waiting for her to ask a question all along?

"Your name is Qin Yue xi?"

The other party blinked.

"Coming here for a political marriage — you were forced?"

This time, the number of blinks was far more than before.

"Then if I let you leave, would you be willing?"

This time, Qin Yue xi did not blink. Chi Nan Yi knew her guess had been right after all.

She did not want the political marriage, but for the sake of the people in her family, she had no choice but to do it.

"I'm not a bad person. I came to find you at the request of Princess A er na. In a moment, I'll unblock your acupoints. You must not call out. Can you understand?"

Qin Yue xi blinked. Chi Nan Yi pulled the Silver Needles from her body. Qin Yue xi touched her throat and softly let out a small sound.

"I can move, and I can speak." She looked at Chi Nan Yi. "You just said you were someone my cousin sent?"

"More or less. She hopes I can take you away. But before I take you away, I still want to ask your wishes."

Qin Yue xi looked at the tightly shut door, a trace of struggle flashing in her eyes. After a long moment, she shook her head, like a deflated balloon: "No, I cannot go with you. If I leave, my parents and clansmen will all be implicated. The Qin family has several hundred members in all—if it extends to nine generations of kin, who knows how many people will die. I cannot leave. Absolutely not."