The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

"As long as the poison stays in your body for twenty-seven days, the poison will be completely cleared. When the time comes, just cut your arm, use the blood I shed to draw it out, and then burn it to death immediately."

Hongying spoke of such a horrific thing as if it had nothing to do with her.

Qiu Tong's mood was very complicated at this moment, and she couldn't describe how she felt. On the one hand, she was wary of and hated Hongying because she hurt Shen Tianjiao. On the other hand, she was a little worried because of the dangers Hongying had just mentioned.

"Don't worry, good people don't live long, but evil can last for thousands of years. It's not easy for a wicked person like you to die. If you die so easily, even heaven will not tolerate it."

Qiu Tong's words did not make Hongying feel embarrassed or unhappy, but instead made her completely relaxed.

In any case, Qiu Tong and Hong Ying have been together for several years and have some understanding of each other's personalities.

Qiu Tong is not one to speak softly. Although she usually speaks harshly and without any warmth, one can feel that she has no ill intentions.

The way she spoke to Hongying at this time actually showed her acceptance of Hongying.

"I'll have someone take you to see the Third Young Master." As soon as Qiu Tong finished speaking, a secret guard appeared.

Qiu Tong looked at the secret guard and ordered, "First, take the prescription to the palace's pharmacy to collect all the medicine. Then have someone make pills and send them to the Marquis for him to take."

The Zhenbei Marquis Mansion has been lined with military generals for generations. Whether they are practicing martial arts or going to the battlefield, they will get injured.

Therefore, since the establishment of the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion, a large-scale medical warehouse has been specially built. The medicines stored in it are all carefully selected for the use of his family.

"After you've treated the Third Young Master, take him to Liufang Pavilion. I need to go back to the palace. While I'm away, just follow her instructions."

The secret guard nodded silently, walked up to Hongying and made a gesture of invitation, and Hongying followed him and left.

The detoxification method Hongying mentioned was too bizarre. Without Shen Tianjiao's consent, she would not dare to let the Marquis of Zhenbei take the risk, so she had to go back to the palace now.

Seeing Qiu Tong leaving, Bai Yunchi didn't know whether to follow her or stay. He hesitated for a while, and finally trotted after Qiu Tong.

Qiu Tong, sensing Bai Yunchi's pursuit, didn't stop and said, "Don't follow me back. You're specifically responsible for watching her here. If you don't keep a good eye on her and anything happens, I'll hold you responsible."

Bai Yunchi paused. He had really gotten himself into a lot of trouble.

"I know, I will take good care of her." At this moment, Bai Yunchi had already made up his mind that Hongying would never harm the Marquis of Zhenbei, but even though he had made up his mind, it was his responsibility to take good care of Hongying.

The two men were talking as they walked quickly, completely unaware that they had reached the loquat tree again, and that the Marquis of Zhenbei was standing under the tree.

"Xiao Qiuting, are you in such a hurry to go back to the palace?" It was the Marquis of Zhenbei who asked the question, stopping the two people who were busy on their way.

"My Lord." When Qiu Tong saw the Marquis of Zhenbei, she hurried forward to salute. Bai Yunchi followed suit and also hurried to salute.

The Marquis of Zhenbei nodded and smiled at the two of them. He looked up at the loquat tree in front of him and said, "Time flies! In the blink of an eye, this tree has grown so big."

Qiu Tong also looked up at the loquat tree, and the longing that had been suppressed in her heart surged up again.

"It's been exactly twelve years since your father passed away this year." The Marquis of Zhenbei shifted his gaze from the loquat tree to Qiu Tong. "Before I came back, I told Yi Yang to go and pay my respects to your father on my behalf."

"Thank you, my lord." Qiu Tong's eyes were red, and she tried hard to hold back the tears that were rolling in her eyes, not letting them flow out.

"As a soldier, my ultimate destiny is to sacrifice my life for the people of Yunli. This is an honor."

"Your father is a hero. He completed his mission. He has done his best for the people of Yunli and for everyone, but he owes you the only one."

When talking about the touching part, the eyes of Zhenbei Hou also turned red. Those brothers who had been with him through thick and thin over the years left him one by one. This was his biggest regret that he was unable to change.

"Girl, everything in this world is always full of regrets. I will have the remains of your father and your uncles transported back from the northern border in a while."

"Rebury them in the cemetery of the Zhenbei Marquisate. Then you'll be closer and you can pay your respects to your father properly."

"We've been so far apart these years that you haven't even had the chance to pay respect to your father. You must be feeling very bitter, and you blame me."

"I am sorry for your father and for you."

"My Lord." Qiu Tong immediately knelt on the ground. She had been very bitter these years, but she had never blamed the Marquis of Zhenbei, whom she regarded as a father.

Her father was just as the Marquis of Zhenbei said, a hero who was worthy of heaven and earth and the people of Yunli. He was a soldier and it was his responsibility to defend his country.

The swords and knives on the battlefield are ruthless, and life and death are not in one's own hands. It is even more impossible to blame the Marquis of Zhenbei. If it were not for the Marquis of Zhenbei, she might have starved to death long ago.

"You little girl, get up quickly." Zhenbei Hou reached out to help Qiu Tong.

Qiu Tong refused to get up. She lowered her head and said in a tearful voice, "Marquis, Qiu Tong has never blamed you. I am truly content to be able to stay in the Zhenbei Marquisate and to be by the eldest lady's side."

"So please don't blame yourself anymore. If time could go back, I believe my father would make the same choice."

The Marquis of Zhenbei nodded and finally helped Qiutong up from the ground. "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Little Qiutong, you're going back to the palace to tell Jiaojiao about my detoxification, right?"

"Yes, Lord Marquis, Qiu Tong dare not hide it from the master." Qiu Tong had to tell Shen Tianjiao about the matter of detoxifying the Marquis of Zhenbei no matter what.

Marquis Zhenbei smiled helplessly. He had originally planned to let Qiu Tong keep it a secret from Shen Tianjiao. After all, this matter was dangerous. If Shen Tianjiao knew about it, she would be unable to do anything except be frightened.

But judging by Qiu Tong's attitude, this matter was likely difficult to handle. Helplessly, the Marquis of Zhenbei said, "Go back and tell Jiaojiao not to be afraid. Her father has seen all sorts of ups and downs in his life, and he won't make a mistake in this matter."

"Yes, Qiu Tong understands."

Shen Tianjiao, who was anxiously waiting for news in Yuxiu Palace, broke out in a sweat in the room full of ice cubes.

Chunchao originally wanted to take some crispy bread with ice cubes to cool Shen Tianjiao down, but was stopped by Qiong Niang.

"Don't give me this. The room is already very cold with the ice in it. Eating something cold like this will make you feel uncomfortable."

"Let's have osmanthus and sour plum soup instead, without adding ice. This way, it can cool you down without hurting your body."

"Okay, I'll go change it right away." Chunchao took the crispy bread and left to change it for sour plum soup.

Qiong Niang returned to the room and pushed Shen Tianjiao, who had been walking back and forth countless times, to sit down on the chair.

"Alright, stop spinning around. I'm getting dizzy. Just calm down and don't panic. If Qiu Tong has any news, she'll definitely come back and report it right away."

Shen Tianjiao sat on the chair, and the feeling of irritation in her heart became even worse.

Fortunately, the situation improved and eased after Chunchao brought some osmanthus and sour plum soup. Shen Tianjiao drank two large bowls of it.

"How about I take you for a walk in the yard? It's late now, and the heat isn't that severe. It's much better than staying in the house."

Qiong Niang was really worried when she saw Shen Tianjiao, who looked listless. There had been a lot of big and small things happening these days, and all of them weighed heavily on Shen Tianjiao's shoulders. She was really too tired and it was too difficult for her.

"I don't want to go. I'm too lazy to move." Shen Tianjiao rocked back and forth in the rocking chair. She hadn't had a good night's sleep since she started handling state affairs for Li Rui.

This also led to her being listless all day long. Although those tonics were poured into her mouth bowl after bowl as if they were free, it was of no use.

No wonder emperors died early, they were exhausted from emotional exhaustion.

Considering that Li Muyang is only seven years old and there are still many years before he can stand on his own, Shen Tianjiao feels that she cannot survive even a single day.

Just as Shen Tianjiao was daydreaming, Qiu Tong came back.

As soon as she heard that Qiu Tong was back, Shen Tianjiao, who had been listless just now, instantly became energetic.

"Master." As Qiu Tong came in, Shen Tianjiao said quickly: "Alright, alright, let's get to the point!"

"Master, Hongying took the Marquis's pulse and said that he was poisoned by a poison called Yuyi, which was developed by her master."

"It's an extremely toxic poison. It's colorless and odorless. Once it stays in a person's body for six months, there's no way it can be removed or cured."

"But the poison in the Marquis only lasted about three months, and her master probably used very small amounts each time to avoid arousing suspicion."

"So, the poison in the Marquis can still be cured. However, the method is too bizarre, and it will also require enduring great pain and danger."

Shen Tianjiao's mood at this moment was like swinging on a swing, going up and down and unable to calm down.

When she first heard that the Marquis of Zhenbei was poisoned, her heart almost stopped beating. But when she heard Qiu Tong say that it could be cured, her heart started beating again.

Then Qiu Tong told her that not only was the treatment method bizarre, but it also required her to endure great pain and risks, and her heart was severely damaged once again.

After listening to this short passage, Shen Tianjiao felt that she would die ten years later.

"So, how do we detoxify?" Shen Tianjiao asked weakly. She seemed even more listless than when Qiu Tong hadn't come back just now.

"Hongying said that she had a poisonous Gu inside her body since she was a child, and it was nourished by her flesh and blood. This poisonous Gu should actually be considered a medicinal Gu."

"Draw it out of Hongying's body, and then put it into the Marquis' body. As long as it stays in the Marquis' body for twenty-seven days, the poison will be completely cleared."

"But the problem now is that if we use this method, both Hongying and the Marquis will have to endure great pain. Hongying is afraid that the Marquis is too old to endure the pain."

Qiu Tong's words became less and less confident. She was still hesitating whether to tell Shen Tianjiao that if something unexpected happened, Hongying might die.

Shen Tianjiao was completely silent now. She hadn't expected that it would be so difficult to just detoxify.

She originally thought that she could change everyone's fate by seizing the initiative, but what was the point?

So what if she had the upper hand? She still had to accept the whims of fate. Was she just going to have to accept fate?

"Apart from this method, is there really no other way?" The world is so big and full of wonders. There may be thousands of ways to detoxify, and it is impossible to be limited to this one.

Qiu Tong shook her head and said, "This is the only way. This poison was specially developed by Hongying's master. There may be other ways to detoxify it, but only Hongying's master knows it."

"But in this situation, it's obvious that woman's goal is to kill the Marquis. There's no way she can help him detoxify. So, Hongying's method is the only option left."

Shen Tianjiao didn't get the answer she wanted, and the problem was thrown back to her.

She couldn't let her father die, but she also didn't want him to suffer so much pain. It's better to be safe than sorry.

If something really happened to her father, how would she bear the pain of losing a loved one?

The more Shen Tianjiao thought about it, the more confused she became. Right now, she had no way of calming down and making a judgment.

Seeing Shen Tianjiao's conflicted look, Chunchao and Qiongniang didn't dare to speak, and finally Qiutong spoke.

"Master, when I came back, the Marquis asked me to tell you something. He said he had seen all kinds of storms in his life, and he would be fine this time. You don't have to worry about him."

Shen Tianjiao knew that the Marquis of Zhenbei said this to comfort her, but when Shen Tianjiao heard this, she felt even more remorseful and guilty.

This feeling of being powerless and unable to change the current situation is terrible.

"You all should go down and rest. I want to be alone for a while and think about some things quietly."

Shen Tianjiao collapsed back into the recliner. It seemed like tonight was destined to be another sleepless night.

Qiong Niang waved at Chunchao and Qiutong, indicating that they should go back and rest first, while she stayed to take care of Shen Tianjiao.

Chunchao and Qiutong knew that they could not help at this time, so they went out obediently.

"You've been tired all day, you should go and rest. I have people on night duty here, I can call them if you need anything."

Shen Tianjiao knew without opening her eyes that Qiong Niang had not left.

"Don't worry about me, I'll just sit here and not say anything. Just treat me like air and I don't exist."

Qiong Niang didn't care whether Shen Tianjiao was willing or not and sat on a stool beside her.