Slender willows sway in the breeze

I only found out after checking in Chapter 4.

With so many people watching and so many things being said, there's no way to fool anyone.

"Okay, I'll have Butler Zhou bring it over in a bit."

With the Third Young Lady poisoned, the banquet could not continue. Madam Qin offered a few words of comfort and left the mansion first, while the others took their leave one after another.

The more grand and bustling it was in the morning, the more desolate and lonely it is now.

In the side room, Liu Sijun, who should have been unconscious, was now propping his head up and looking at Master Lu: "You are even more greedy than me. You actually wrote three pages. Aren't you afraid of making Aunt Zhu faint from anger?"

"Don't worry, she's always good at weighing the pros and cons."

Master Lu Dan said, "I just mentioned the Nine-Turn Turtle Poison. You must already be suspicious. I estimate you will soon send someone to investigate at the other courtyard."

Liu Sijun's gaze was distant: "I'm just afraid she won't investigate."

Steward Zhou brought over some medicinal herbs, and Master Lu was just pretending to collect his needles.

He packed all those medicinal herbs into the container, leaving not a single one behind.

"Old man, at least leave me two."

Master Lu paused, and even without a beard, one could tell he was quite angry: "I am a man of refined manners, not an old man at all. If you are still so ignorant next time, I will not treat you."

Liu Sijun pleaded, "Alright, alright, I was wrong. I'll definitely change next time. It's just a habit!"

The original owner was already poisoned when she went to the villa, but the poison was not strong at that time and she did not notice it. After arriving at the villa, Zhu Yingrong had no more scruples and the dosage of poison became stronger and stronger. In less than half a year, she began to cough up blood.

The villa is full of Zhu Yingrong's people, so it's impossible for them to hire a pill refiner to treat the original owner.

When the original owner breathed his last, there was no one by his side. His muscles were atrophied, his body was covered in bedsores, and he lay pathetically and wretchedly in the filthy woodshed.

She transmigrated here, receiving all the original owner's memories, knowing full well that continuing like this would only lead to her death.

They probably felt she was on her last breath and couldn't cause any more trouble.

That night, the woodshed was unattended. Liu Sijun's desire to live made her endure the pain of her frostbite and bedsores being rubbed raw, and she crawled out of the woodshed bit by bit with great difficulty.

Melted ice water mixes with blood, then freezes back into ice, a complex process.

In the end, she couldn't feel any pain anymore.

At that time, Liu Sijun thought that he would rather freeze to death on the road to survival than die quietly, miserably, and pathetically in the woodshed.

That night, with superhuman willpower, she climbed out of the villa.

When Lu Danshi passed by, half of her body was covered in snow, and her whole body was frozen and purple.

If she had encountered an ordinary person that night, there would have been no way they could have saved her.

The treatment process was like being skinned alive and having her bones scraped; she still vividly remembers the pain. She was bedridden for two whole months, unable to move anything except her eyes.

Another month passed before he was able to walk again.

He can walk, but there is still a long recovery period.

But Liu Sijun insisted on returning to the villa, and Master Lu couldn't persuade her otherwise, so he let her go back. However, he would still secretly give her acupuncture treatments during this time.

It took another six months, with intermittent treatment, for my body to fully recover.

During the long treatment process, Liu Sijun and Master Lu developed a deep friendship, and at his strong request, Liu Sijun became Master Lu's apprentice.

Master Lu's real name is Xu Hechen. At the age of thirteen, he was chosen as a disciple by Feng Ze, the master of Yougu Palace, because of his extraordinary talent. For sixty years, he worked day and night without rest, and his pill-making ability is now on par with that of the palace master.

One day, the palace master Feng Ze suddenly died. Everyone believed that he had coveted the position of palace master and wanted to kill him to eliminate the sect.

Master Lu knew that dying like this would not only bring him the blame for betraying his master and ancestors, but would also allow the real culprit to go unpunished, so he fled Yougu Palace.

In the first few years after escaping, he was constantly hunted down and had to change his appearance before he could finally have some peace.

But he never forgot his mission to return to Yougu Palace and vindicate himself.

Later, she traveled the world under the name "Master Lu Dan," during which time she adopted the abandoned Li Qing. After taking Liu Sijun as her disciple, Li Qing followed her around, calling her "sister, sister." Even when returning to the villa, Li Qing would come along.

Liu Sijun had been missing for more than half a year and had made such a big mistake. How could the old woman who was keeping watch at the other courtyard dare to tell Zhu Yingrong the truth? So she kept saying that the Third Miss was bedridden.

After that, he studied alchemy while simultaneously cultivating his skills.

Like a bone-scraping rebirth, Liu Sijun's aptitude underwent a dramatic transformation.

Previously, she only had a single metal spiritual root, but now she can mobilize the spirits of the five elements and introduce them into her body. In other words, she has a very rare five-elemental-root constitution.

Even the master exclaimed how strange it was.

Liu Sijun wondered if this change was related to her time travel.

It takes three months to successfully gather Qi, and a year to establish the foundation.

After reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, Liu Sijun began investigating the original owner's death, just as the Liu family was publicly recruiting alchemists.

Master Lu Dan went to the door eagerly.

He needed a lot of medicinal herbs to refine pills, but he was really poor. Now there was a place that could provide medicinal herbs for free, and it would also be a good opportunity for him to help his disciple find out about the Liu family. Why not take advantage of it?

The master and apprentice worked together to thoroughly understand the situation of the Liu family.

Last month, on his sixteenth birthday, Liu Sijun successfully formed his core and then decided to return to the manor.

The original owner had waited far too long.

Before leaving, Master Lu suddenly asked, "You haven't gone to pay your respects at Ci'an Hall since you returned, have you?"

Liu Sijun lowered her eyes and softly hummed in agreement.

“I’ve been in the Liu family for two years and know a little bit about it. The old lady doesn’t manage things much. She may not know about the time when your mother passed away and you were framed for poisoning Liu Siqin.”

"Whether you know it or not, you'll only know by checking."

Master Lu waved his hand: "Very well, you can make your own decision. If you need my cooperation, just let me know."

Ci'an Hall
The entrance is marked by a heavy mahogany screen, carved with dragon and phoenix patterns. Behind the screen, a large eight-immortal table occupies the center of the room, on which are placed exquisite porcelain and a set of small purple clay teapots.

The subtle aroma of tea filled the room, bringing a sense of tranquility.

The old lady sat upright behind the eight-immortal table, her eyes sparkling. Just a day ago, she had broken through to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm and emerged from seclusion.

Her improved cultivation level made her more composed and calm.

She slowly fiddled with the sandalwood prayer beads in her hand: "Aunt Liu, what's causing all this commotion in the front yard?"

An elderly servant, over sixty years old, replied with a smile, "I've already instructed Juxiang to go to the front yard; she should be back by now."

After saying that, he stepped forward, poured a cup of tea, and brought it to the old lady.

The old lady nodded, put down her prayer beads, took a few sips of tea, and then put down her teacup. Just then, a round-faced maid dressed in orange-green, about seventeen or eighteen years old, lifted the curtain and came in.

It was exactly the chrysanthemum fragrance that Liu's mother had mentioned.

Mother Liu asked, "What's all the commotion in the front yard?"

"Reporting to the Dowager, it is the Third Young Lady who has returned from the other courtyard."

"Jun'er is back?"

"Yes, but..."

At this point, Juxiang hesitated slightly, unsure whether she should continue.

Seeing this, Liu Mama scolded, "Why are you stammering? You've been serving at Ci'an Hall for so long, and you still don't know the rules."

Juxiang quickly kowtowed and admitted her mistake, and continued, "As soon as the Third Miss arrived, she went to Qingqiu Courtyard and not only burned down the flowers and plants there, but also had the Eldest Miss beaten."

(End of this chapter)