The bottom wooden wedge of the screen was hollow, revealing a brownish paste inside, resembling mud but with a faint herbal scent.
"What is this, miss?"
Li Man'er replied, "This is 'Shi Xin San'." She found it surprising that someone else knew how to concoct Shi Xin San, as the ingredients were almost identical to the secret formulas of the Xuan Yi sect, with only two out of twenty-eight herbs differing slightly. Nevertheless, their effects were the same.
Shi Xin San? The name itself suggested a malicious intent.
"Miss, isn't Shi Xin San supposed to be a powder?"
"They've mixed the powder with a special oil, creating a paste. The medicinal and oily scents suppress each other, minimizing any odor," Li Man'er smirked. "This medicine has a potent ability to penetrate. Even hidden within this discreet wooden wedge, it can still diffuse, not only evaporating its medicinal properties invisibly but also poisoning us."
Liu Ya gritted her teeth in anger, "This is too insidious! What do the Xiao family want?"
Li Man'er stated, "Their goal is simple: they wish for my father to never awaken and for me to die. Then, they can seize the tens of thousands of troops my father commands, making it even harder for His Majesty to move against their Xiao family."
"Hiss~" Liu Ya gasped, lowering her voice, "They dare to do such a thing?"
"Why wouldn't the Xiao family dare when they hold such power?" Li Man'er scraped out the medicinal paste and instructed Liu Ya to retrieve an empty porcelain bottle from the medicine chest. She then carefully placed the paste inside and sealed the bottle.
"Miss, is it safe now?"
As long as it was in the spatial dimension, it was indeed safe.
"Yes," Li Man'er replied, "Keep it for now. It might prove useful later."
Liu Ya nodded.
Li Man'er then scraped some of her own liniment for bruises and injuries, pressing it back into the wooden wedge and refitting it into the screen as it was.
"Can anyone tell the difference?"
Liu Ya worriedly replied, "No, they can't. Miss, are we just going to linger in the manor like this?"
"Of course not," Li Man'er patted her, signaling that this was not the time for conversation.
Liu Ya understood. The two guards outside were constantly observing their every move. With just a door between them, discussing secrets was impossible.
The screen offered some improvement, but only a little.
Li Man'er beckoned Liu Ya closer. Liu Ya stepped forward and leaned in. Li Man'er whispered a few sentences into her ear. Liu Ya nodded repeatedly, her eyes still betraying a flicker of panic.
"Miss, isn't this too risky?" It was broad daylight. If anything were to go wrong, all their efforts would be in vain.
"It's fine," Li Man'er said, "Do as I say."
Liu Ya fell silent. After all, she was a maid and had to obey her mistress.
Li Man'er was about to examine Li Shu's pulse and prepare for acupuncture when the door was suddenly pushed open.
The Ghost Doctor, Feng Jue, sauntered in with a cheeky grin, "Little girl, today is the second day of our bet. Has the Marquis's condition made any progress?"
Li Man'er set aside her acupuncture kit and invited him over to examine Li Shu. "Feel his pulse yourself, perhaps you'll know."
Feng Jue stepped forward, rolled up his sleeves, and began to feel Li Shu's pulse. Initially, his expression was calm, a hint of dismissiveness on his face. However, as he continued to palpate, his demeanor shifted. His expression became uneasy, and he even looked at his own hand with disbelief.
How was this possible? There had been a change in just one day.
He had been responsible for Li Shu's health before. He knew the condition of his internal organs like the back of his hand.
This situation clearly indicated that the young girl had used some special medicine.
"Girl, what medicine did you use?"
"Why should I tell you?"
Feng Jue's eyes widened, making him resemble a ghost even more. "Why can't I tell you? I am your senior, and you are a junior. There's no reason for a junior to refuse a senior's inquiry."
"Heh heh," Li Man'er feigned a smile. "You are a senior to Miss Xiao Qi, but not to me. Furthermore, you will soon lose. Once you acknowledge me as your master and become my disciple, perhaps I will consider telling you."
"What!" Feng Jue shot up, his mouth agape as if he were about to devour someone. "I will lose? Who do you think the Ghost Doctor, Feng Jue, is? How could I possibly lose? No, you must show me the prescription."
Liu Ya was indignant. "Are you being reasonable?"
Feng Jue chuckled. "I am deliberately being unreasonable. What can you do about it? Why don't you find out who the Ghost Doctor, Feng Jue, is? I have been unreasonable since birth."
The day he was born was his mother's death anniversary. Before he was a year old, his father had also passed away. Everyone considered him an ill omen, wishing for him to be burned to death to rid the world of evil. Fortunately, his grandmother protected him fiercely. The two of them, relying on each other, lived a meager existence, barely able to afford food, and somehow endured year after year.
When he turned twelve, his grandmother also passed away. She was in her sixties and had died peacefully of old age. Yet, people claimed his grandmother was also killed by him and insisted on burning him alive for the sake of the world.
Feng Jue desperately fled the village and accidentally fell off a cliff. By sheer luck, a pine tree growing halfway down the cliff caught him, and he narrowly survived.
However, he was left hanging on the tree for three days. Even if he wasn't killed by the fall, he would have starved to death. It was at this moment that his benefactor appeared.
Feng Jue's benefactor was also the source of his lifelong nightmare.
The man had an ethereal demeanor, appearing as benevolent as an old immortal in a temple. Yet, he was like a demon, committing the most heinous and inhumane acts in the world.
Although Feng Jue was rescued, he was tormented by the man to the point of wishing for death, becoming less than human. The man treated Feng Jue as his experimental subject, feeding him all sorts of strange poisons daily.
For some reason, the poisons that could easily kill others did not kill Feng Jue. However, over time, the side effects began to manifest.
Feng Jue couldn't eat, couldn't touch any meat, and became alarmingly thin, yet he stubbornly persisted. Perhaps his life was truly resilient; no matter how the man tormented him, he did not die.
The man's interest in him grew, and he began to teach him basic pharmacology and martial arts, strengthening his body. Over time, Feng Jue discovered his talent for medicine and secretly learned, hoping to cure himself.
A few more years passed, and the man finally died, leaving behind his handwritten notes and medical books, which fell into Feng Jue's possession. Although Feng Jue was freed from his suffering, he became extremely cruel and self-centered.
His past, his pain, had transformed into a blade, protecting himself and harming others.
Therefore, Feng Jue would not tolerate anyone defying him.
"Little girl, I think you're tired of living."