A husband found in the village? I bought a regent for a penny!

He Jinghui said, "They're just a few kidnappers who deserve to die."

"It doesn't matter if someone reports it to the Jingzhao Prefecture."

With a single glance from Mu Nanzhao, He Jinghui abruptly changed the subject.

“But that would be too much trouble and unnecessary. Anyway, they are all in the middle of nowhere and no one has claimed them. I’ll send a few people to the Human Transformation Site outside the city overnight and watch them burn to ashes with my own eyes.”

The Huarenchang (化人场) was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Revenue.

They are responsible for burning unclaimed corpses that have exceeded their designated period, as well as those who have died from infectious diseases.

It was very crowded on the way down the mountain.

Dou Rongshan had been a little afraid of Mu Nanzhao since earlier, and she was also unfamiliar with the other people and was afraid of being alone.

An Qinghe, on the other hand, did not want Mu Nanzhao to have too much time alone with Gu Xixi.

So the two of them followed Gu Xixi closely.

The four people huddled together on the narrow, winding path.

Mu Nanzhao said, "Are you finally at ease with this arrangement?"

Gu Xixi walked with her head down, saying, "I was just trying to protect myself. It's not that I feel guilty towards them, nor am I afraid of seeing the officials."

"But... I still have to farm to make a living, and I really don't want to spread this around and cause all sorts of inconvenience."

Dou Rongshan glanced at An Qinghe and saw him smiling at Gu Xixi, looking completely unsurprised.

It seems this person is also in the know.

Mu Nanzhao agreed, "Using poison is a trick that relies on surprise, and it is indeed not suitable for more people to know about it."

Gu Xixi and Mu Nanzhao turned to look at Dou Rongshan at the same time.

Dou Rongshan was horrified. "I won't tell! I won't tell anyone!"

"I swear! I'll forget everything as soon as I get home!"

And so, everyone reached the foot of the mountain.

In order to save time, Mu Nanzhao and the others had all come on fast horses.

Only one carriage followed, which was used by Gu Xixi when she left the city.

Guangzhu helped Gu Xixi into the car. Gu Xixi turned to look at Dou Rongshan, "Aren't you coming over here?"

"Could it be that you intend to choose one of them to ride alone?"

It was almost dawn.

As a young woman, Dou Rongshan naturally found it inappropriate to ride a horse with a man.

Left with no other choice, she could only slowly and reluctantly walk toward the carriage.

On the way back to the capital, Gu Xixi couldn't sleep, so she wanted to find something to do.

She looked at Dou Rongshan, who was pretending to be asleep opposite her, and asked, "Do you like the Regent very much?"

Dou Rongshan tensed up, knowing that pretending to be asleep in front of Gu Xixi was useless, and then shook her head frantically.

"I don't like it anymore."

Looking at her expression, Gu Xixi couldn't help but chuckle. "We've come this far, what are you still afraid of? Do you really think I'd silence you in front of everyone?"

"She's a general's daughter, a relative of the Mu family, and this is all the courage she has?"

Dou Rongshan's brow twitched a few times, as if she was thinking.

After a moment, she opened her eyes. "Who's scared? I'm just sleepy!"

She shifted her body and raised her head. Although she still looked very proud, she was no longer as arrogant and domineering as when they first met.

"that……"

"I have something I want to ask you, but I'm not sure if I should say it."

Gu Xixi has never been very curious about other people's curiosity.

"If you feel it's inappropriate to say it, then don't say it."

Just then, the carriage turned a corner, and Dou Rongshan stumbled, annoyed, "Can't you at least say something polite to me? You could at least say something, no problem."

Gu Xixi said bluntly, "No one's going to shut you up here, why be so polite?"

This was the first time Dou Rongshan had met someone like Gu Xixi, and she felt a lump in her throat.

After a while, she had no choice but to continue talking to herself.

"Have you... known your cousin for a long time?"

Gu Xixi thought for a moment, "About two years."

Dou Rongshan: "Don't you think he's scary when he's angry?"

Gu Xixi was taken aback. "...It's alright."

She realized that, without realizing it, her fear of Mu Nanzhao had faded and was almost gone.

Dou Rongshan recalled seeing Mu Nanzhao's dark face and instinctively ran away, not daring to face him directly.

Not to mention someone like Gu Xixi who kept chasing after him and talking to him so much.

Dou Rongshan looked at Gu Xixi thoughtfully.

Or is this the most crucial difference between me and her?

The carriage continued its swaying and rocking journey.

Perhaps out of boredom and inability to sleep, Dou Rongshan couldn't resist her curiosity and asked:

“I didn’t see you poison them; you didn’t even touch them.”

"How exactly did they do that?"

Gu Xixi said, "It's poison gas."

Dou Rongshan suddenly realized, "So if I don't take the antidote, I'll become like them?!"

Gu Xixi gave her a look that said, "You're only just realizing this now."

Dou Rongshan still feels lingering fear when she recalls that critical moment.

Born into a prominent family, she had naturally heard of some underhanded and malicious schemes.

So he said, "Since you're already using poison, why not use a drug that can kill someone instantly?"

"Those bad guys tried to resist, and I thought they were going to die."

Gu Xixi paused for a moment, then looked at Dou Rongshan with a deep gaze, "Sudden death? Immediately?"

"It's fine for me to take the antidote first, but Miss Dou, haven't you thought about yourself?"

Dou Rongshan was stunned for a moment before blushing at her stupid question.

Gu Xixi said, "Actually, it's not difficult to poison someone quickly."

"The difficulty lies in how to manage time."

"The poison should be administered quickly, but not immediately to kill them. Instead, their physical reactions should be weakened first to render them unable to resist."

"This period of time is not for those who are about to die, but a buffer for the poisoner."

Dou Rongshan forgot her embarrassment and nodded earnestly, "I see!"

"I used to think that poison was just poison, but I never imagined there was such a deeper reason behind it."

Gu Xixi actually saw excitement in her eyes as she explored new knowledge.

She wouldn't also want to...

Dou Rongshan asked excitedly, "Could what you said be used in the popular reading material I'm writing?"

Gu Xixi was taken aback. "Huh?"

It was originally He Jinglan who made those sarcastic remarks to Dou Rongshan, but unexpectedly, Dou Rongshan actually put them into practice.

Gu Xixi said, "As long as no one recognizes it's me, I have no objection."

Dou Rongshan said happily, "What happened last night gave me some inspiration."

"I want to write a story about a female knight-errant, the kind who's a master of poisons. I've already come up with a lot of plot ideas. Would you like to hear them?"

Gu Xixi remained expressionless. "I don't want to."

After entering the city, Mu Nanzhao and He Jinghui rushed to attend the morning court session.

The two prisoners were taken to the Regent's office and imprisoned pending trial.

The regent is appointed by the emperor to oversee all affairs of the realm, including matters of criminal justice.

Upon returning to the He family residence, He Jinglan inevitably interrogated him again.

Fortunately, Gu Xixi had anticipated this and specially invited An Qinghe to act as an intermediary.

Seeing that Gu Xixi was alright, He Jinglan quickly calmed down, saying, "Don't do this again next time."

Gu Xixi nodded obediently.

He Jinglan asked doubtfully, "Did Dou Rongshan really swear that she wouldn't tell anyone?"

Gu Xixi said, "At least she was really scared at the time, afraid that I would kill her."

"Even if she really said it, without any evidence, I will simply deny it if anyone asks."

He Jinglan pondered, "No, I still need to see her one more time to test her."

"I'll send her a new invitation right away, inviting her to the flower viewing party."