Chapter 160
After sending Zong Yuan away, a faint smile finally appeared at the corner of Su Wan’ning’s lips.
Sometimes, giving someone faith is more effective than any bribe or reward.
Back then, this Zong Yuan had almost been killed by her.
She had assumed every member of the Su family had perished in the fire—yet one, Zong Yuan, had survived.
It made sense, after all. Zong Yuan had merely been a stray she’d picked up. Though his parents were heads of the Su family, he wasn’t in the official genealogy.
Since he was little, he had been a wild boy, climbing onto rooftops and into attics—no one could control him.
Except for her, he never paid anyone else’s words any mind.
That day, on a whim, he had decided to climb to the peak of the Snow Mountain to pick a snow lotus, intending to surprise her.
But on his return, he found nothing but a pile of charred ruins—and her standing among the ashes.
The fresh snow lotus had fallen into the wreckage. The boy ran to her, embraced her, and fell to his knees, shouting hoarsely, “Sister! What happened? Where are Mom and Dad?”
Sister?
She touched her face. Yes, she was his sister now.
Leaving one survivor… that was careless of her.
Originally, she had intended to kill the boy—after all, with him alive, her own identity remained a hidden risk.
But he had pleaded to be spared, which had led to the creation of this current backup plan.
It was only after arriving in the capital and seeing the beloved Yin Pingwu’s portrait that she realized the true reason that person had wanted Zong Yuan to live.
Come to think of it, that “her” had really been fortunate, blessed by destiny.
To casually pick up a child and have such an enormous coincidence unfold…
Enough, no need to dwell on her.
By now, her corpse had probably decomposed into nothing but mud.
Su Wan’ning measured her own abundant spiritual energy and felt ready once more.
At the Prince An’s residence, Lin Chongyun was taking Ah Shu’s pulse.
For a moment just before, Lu Hanzhi had genuinely feared that Ah Shu might be lost.
Her face had gone pale, her body trembled, her breathing came in ragged gasps, and beads of sweat rolled down her forehead.
The expression of agony on her face looked as if she were enduring endless torment.
Only after she fainted did the features on her face return to calm.
Lin Chongyun withdrew his hand, pondering aloud: “Was she just frightened, or did something come to mind?”
Lu Hanzhi shook his head. “She was playing with Ah Chan and Xiao Liuzi just fine… then suddenly this happened.”
He looked at Lin Chongyun, waiting for a conclusion.
Lin Chongyun said, “Physically, she seems fine. Most likely, something distressing triggered a stress reaction.”
“A stress reaction?” Lu Hanzhi frowned. “But… hadn’t she forgotten everything already?”
No, she should still retain some memories.
Otherwise, how could she still recognize Chou Nu?
Lin Chongyun asked, “Are you certain Ah Shu wasn’t actually triggered by anything?”
Lu Hanzhi replied, “She definitely wasn’t. She’s in the residence—how could anyone have assaulted her? Everyone knows she’s the lady of the house, and we’ve emphasized repeatedly: she must be treated well. No one is to raise their voice at her.”
He knew it was impossible for everyone to sincerely respect a silly little girl.
But at least they could be made to appear as if they did, not looking down on her or barking orders.
The staff in the residence were reliable. As Second Sister-in-law had said, he managed personnel quite skillfully.
One could even call him a full-time HR.
Lin Chongyun said, “That is strange. Normally, there shouldn’t be a stress reaction without a cause.”
Lu Hanzhi asked, “Could it be that she suddenly remembered something terrifying?”
Lin Chongyun shook his head. “Such a reaction must be due to an actual shock; it can’t be a nightmare or imagined condition.”
Lu Hanzhi frowned. “That’s odd. I’m certain no one startled her. She was right in front of me, with only me and the children present. Besides that, there were just the maids cleaning back and forth.”
Lin Chongyun was also puzzled. “Perhaps… it was an illusion?”
Lu Hanzhi sighed. “We’ve discovered a clue—a person named Chou Nu. We suspect that Chou Nu might be the present-day Su Wan’ning.”
Lin Chongyun prepared the medicine, having it boiled, then put away the medical kit before taking out his medical texts. “The strange phenomenon you mentioned—one person replacing another—is something I’ve recently read about in these texts.”
Lu Hanzhi asked, “Oh? Tell me more.”
Lin Chongyun said, “It’s recorded by a witch doctor named Zha Yong. Using a grand array, the essence and soul of one person could be drawn into another, capturing their memory and appearance, effectively replacing them.”
Lu Hanzhi suddenly looked up. “Isn’t that exactly what happened with Shu’er?”
Lin Chongyun shook his head. “Not exactly. The sacrifice usually dies—but Young Lady Ah Shu survived.”
Lu Hanzhi sighed and asked, “Then… could there be exceptions? Could the sacrificial person have survived by some accident, severing the link with the sacrificed one?”
Lin Chongyun continued to shake his head. “I don’t know. The arts of witch doctors are so vile and cruel that we Central Plains physicians refuse to associate with them.”
Because they were excessively evil and cruel, the paternal-hearted physicians of the Central Plains treated such practices like a flood of beasts.
Lu Hanzhi seemed to understand and nodded. “Let her rest a while. We’ll talk outside.”
They left Ah Shu’s room and went to the small study.
Lin Chongyun updated him on the palace situation: “The emperor’s medicine has certainly taken effect. Whether he chooses to keep that concubine or not is irrelevant.”
Lu Hanzhi looked at Lu Xuzhi. “How about those Eastern Sea people?”
Lu Xuzhi replied, “After the fight, they didn’t say much. They weren’t troublesome. Pretty good, actually.”
Lu Hanzhi: …
Second Brother had one flaw: whenever he fought, he feared being tangled up by others.
Just as Lu Xuzhi was about to tease Second Brother—this wasn’t a case of a third party interfering—Lu Hanzhi suddenly furrowed his brow.
He noticed a torn talisman stuck to Lu Xuzhi’s clothing.
When he had departed for the campaign, he had affixed protective talismans to Lu Xuzhi.
The talisman had been directly attached to his clothing—yes, the very clothes he was wearing now.
During the Western Border campaign, Second Brother had escaped mortal injury, so the talisman remained intact.
But now… why was it torn?
Lu Hanzhi suddenly grabbed Lu Xuzhi’s arm. “Second Brother, were you injured on the day of the duel?”
Lu Xuzhi looked at him in confusion, not understanding why he would ask such an abrupt question.
He thought for a moment, raised his arm, revealing a red mark, and said, “This one, right? It’s just a superficial scratch. Second Sister-in-law applied medicine to it—it’s nothing serious. It’ll heal in a couple of days, no scar left behind.”
Lu Hanzhi held onto his brother’s arm, staring at the slightly swollen, reddened wound. He asked Lin Chongyun, “If the wound had been poisoned, could we still tell now?”
Lin Chongyun also took Lu Xuzhi’s arm, drew out a very fine silver needle from his medical kit, and pierced it into the sword wound, cutting through the skin. No blood oozed out—it was applied to the old scar, piercing horizontally.
The sensation of an old wound being reopened was truly unpleasant.
Lu Xuzhi hissed, “You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”
Lin Chongyun held his arm tightly. “Don’t move!”
When the silver needle was halfway in, Lin Chongyun withdrew it, then took a small porcelain vial and poured in a pale green liquid. He immersed the needle into it, and in moments, the silver turned black.
Everyone’s expressions immediately turned grave. Lin Chongyun’s voice came from the extremely quiet study: “This is Peacock Gall, a blood-sealing poison.”
The group drew a sharp breath. Without a word, Yuwen Jue leapt up and dashed out.
Lu Xuzhi grabbed him by the arm. “Ah Jue, where are you going?”
Yuwen Jue said, “Where am I going? Let me ask, in my position as a prince of Great Zhao, why would a duel in the Eastern Sea have poisoned blades? And Peacock Gall at that! Was this trip meant to take the life of my Great Zhao’s Emperor’s Son-in-law”
Lu Xuzhi held him close. “Ah Jue, yes, someone must deal with this—but it shouldn’t be you. We initially found no clue of this. The Eastern Sea probably thought they had missed, or assumed I had some technique making me immune to all poisons. Since they’ve shown their hand, we must respond—or else we lose face.”
Yuwen Jue still fumed. “A tiny island dares to insult Great Zhao! I’ll see the iron cavalry of Great Zhao trample the Eastern Sea mountains and fill the Eastern Seas with their remains!”
Lu Hanzhi had never seen Second Sister-in-law so angry.
Normally, he was mild, a polite and composed prince—never raising his voice, never speaking out of turn.
But today, he was furious for his beloved, showing just how deeply Second Brother had captivated him.
Lu Hanzhi stepped forward and pulled Yuwen Jue back. “Second Sister-in-law, calm down. I applied extra protection for Second Brother—it’s lucky we were prepared. Otherwise, he really could have been lost this time.”
Yuwen Jue’s hands shook with anger and lingering fear.
He could hardly imagine what it would be like to lose Lu Xuzhi—probably taking Ah Meng with him.
No longer clinging to life just for him, no longer thinking being with him was the only reason to live.
Without him, even being a walking corpse would be unbearable.
Lu Xuzhi patted him gently. “Don’t worry. Don’t be afraid. I had prepared for this in advance. Even against Peacock Gall, I can survive.”
Finally, Yuwen Jue calmed down. “The Eastern Sea have gone too far. Such despicable methods are the deeds of petty men.”
Lu Hanzhi said, “The moral standards of the Eastern Sea were never high, and the ruling class is worse. When dealing with them, we must be vigilant in everything.”
Everyone nodded. They then discussed how to handle upcoming problems, and the small meeting ended.
Lin Chongyun returned to the palace, and Lu Hanzhi replaced Lu Xuzhi’s protective talisman.
He sighed for a long while. It had been dangerous—truly impossible to guard against everything.
Meanwhile, after Zong Yuan returned to the palace, he smashed an entire set of exquisite porcelain in a rage.
Now, seeing such porcelain made him feel as if Lu Hanzhi himself were standing before him.
Recalling what his sister had just said, his heart felt as if it were being cut with a knife.
How could there be such vicious people in the world?
Just because they feared she might steal the limelight in the capital, they wanted to burn her entire family alive?
And that Prince An was no better—already allied with the malicious Lu family, yet still provoking his sister!
If not for his interference, how could his sister have been subjected to such a deadly calamity?
Thinking of this, his teeth chattered with anger. Why must someone as kind as his sister meet such cruel wolves?
Your favorite BL chaos wouldn’t be possible without coffee… lots of coffee….
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