Within the Yuhua Courtyard.
Aunt Liu lay on the bed. After a night of treatment, her backside still burned fiercely. Aman was constantly applying medicine to her.
Aunt Liu had originally intended to endure the pain and see her daughter off from the Cui Zhu Courtyard for her wedding. However, as soon as she stood up and took two steps, her hips throbbed with pain, making it impossible to walk.
Aman advised her not to go, and since she couldn't move her legs, she had no choice but to lie back down on the bed.
Today, her Shuang'er must hate her mother deeply.
Sigh—
At this moment, she recalled the first time she met Leng Jin Yu.
She, Liu Ru Yi, was originally the eldest legitimate daughter of Marquis Liu's estate, with two younger brothers below her. However, after her parents died, her two brothers were unpromising, and their family declined. Now, her two brothers often relied on her for financial support.
She remembered the day her parents told her they had arranged a marriage for her to the current Duke of Lin, Lin Zhen Fei. Because she greatly disliked the dissolute young master Lin Zhen Fei, she had flatly refused her parents.
Her parents, in their anger, locked her in her room. But she still managed to escape from the window.
After escaping, she had nowhere to go, so she went to seek refuge with her good best friend, Xia Wan'er. Xia Wan'er was the youngest daughter of the current Grand Tutor. Her parents doted on her and had educated her very well. When Xia Wan'er learned of her predicament, she felt great sympathy for her. Without a second word, she took her in and let her live in a small courtyard she had purchased herself. At that time, Xia Wan'er, only sixteen, had already learned to conduct business and had a considerable amount of money. She owned several shops in the capital, which made Liu Ru Yi envious.
One day, Liu Ru Yi heard people outside saying that there was a martial arts competition at the street corner and wanted to drag Xia Wan'er to watch. Xia Wan'er originally didn't want to go, but Liu Ru Yi pestered her to the point where she had no choice but to agree to go with her.
The two soon arrived at the street corner. The street corner was already packed with people. The two of them, being small, couldn't squeeze in to watch.
Xia Wan'er looked up and saw the restaurant in front of them. Even its windows were crowded with people. However, the window of a room on the second floor was empty.
Thus, Xia Wan'er's beautiful apricot eyes lit up, and she pulled Liu Ru Yi into the restaurant. She rented that private room at a very high price, and only then did they find the best viewing spot.
In a short while, the competition began.
Leng Jin Yu was the first person to emerge from the martial arts arena. As soon as he appeared, the surrounding audience became excited and shouted.
He wore a dark green brocade tunic with a belt at the waist, his hair tied up with a jade crown. His skin was fair, and he was exceptionally handsome, instantly captivating Liu Ru Yi.
Soon, the competition began. Leng Jin Yu won eight consecutive matches. This angered his sworn enemy, and while Leng Jin Yu was fighting someone and not paying attention, someone shot a cold arrow at him from behind. At that moment, the surrounding crowd's hearts were almost in their throats.
At this time, Xia Wan'er quickly used her Qing Gong to fly to mid-air above the arena and swiftly caught the cold arrow, creating a scene of a beautiful woman saving a hero.
Instantly, it drew a loud cheer from the crowd.
Later, Leng Jin Yu and Xia Wan'er became acquainted. After several encounters, they became very good friends. As for her, she was merely a humble admirer, constantly being pressured by her parents about marriage.
Once, she boldly confessed her love to Leng Jin Yu. However, Leng Jin Yu told her that the person he liked was Xia Wan'er. She broke down emotionally on the spot.
She went to a restaurant alone, booked a private room, got herself drunk, and when she woke up, Lin Zhen Fei took her to an unknown place, possessed her body, and made her learn媚术 (charm techniques). It was only after four years that Lin Zhen Fei sent her back home. However, her parents had already been dead for over a year. Leng Jin Yu had also married Xia Wan'er, and their son was already three or four years old.
At that time, she hated him. She truly hated Xia Wan'er for snatching the man she loved.
Therefore, she conspired with Lin Zhen Fei to devise various poisonous schemes for him and the Empress to deal with Leng Jin Yu and Xia Wan'er, thus gaining the Empress's favor. She was even called "Female Zhuge Liang" by the Empress, earning her an excellent reputation among the noble ladies and socialites in the capital. She even designed to save Xia Wan'er and her son, making Leng Jin Yu indebted to her to this day.
Then, with the Empress's help, she designed to cause Xia Wan'er to have a difficult childbirth... and then designed for Leng Jin Yu to sleep with her...
"Haha..."
"Leng Jin Yu, since you are unfeeling and unrighteous towards me, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Aunt Liu's eyes were fierce, and she gritted her teeth as she spoke.
"Master, would you like Aman to help you vent your anger?" Aman respectfully suggested to Aunt Liu.
Afterward, Aunt Liu motioned for Aman to lean her ear close to her mouth and whispered a few words. Aman turned and left.
—
In the military camp on the outskirts of the capital, Leng Jin Yu was training soldiers on the parade ground. He had personally selected the soldiers in this camp. He planned to retire after training them and take his Li'er to find a renowned physician to cure the dark spots on her face. Then, he would marry off his Li'er with great pomp. After that, he would search for his son, fulfilling his wife's dying wish. Only then could he have a clear conscience if he met Wan'er in the afterlife.
As he was thinking...
A deputy general ran over and reported to him, "Great General, many soldiers in the front camp have suddenly been poisoned. They are foaming at the mouth, feeling cold, and their bodies are convulsing... Even the army doctors cannot determine what poison they have been afflicted with."
The deputy general said this with a face full of anxiety.
"I'll go take a look!"
Then, Leng Jin Yu flew to the front camp and saw dozens of soldiers lying on the ground, foaming at the mouth, feeling cold, and their bodies convulsing, just as the deputy general had said...
"What did they eat just now?" Leng Jin Yu asked urgently.
"General, this group also just returned from the training ground and haven't eaten anything else."
The deputy general tried hard to recall...
"Oh, oh, I remember now. A cook just carried a large barrel of porridge and served each of them a bowl. Not long after they drank it, they were poisoned."
"Quickly go and see if that cook is still here. I suspect that cook might be problematic," Leng Jin Yu said calmly in the face of danger.
"Yes, Great General, I'll go see personally!"
The deputy general turned and went to the camp kitchen.
A moment later, the deputy general returned with an angry expression.
"Great General, that cook ran away, and no one in the camp recognizes that person."
"Army doctors, army doctors, call them all to my tent!" Leng Jin Yu shouted.
"Great General, the army doctors are coming immediately. I have already asked a soldier to gather them beforehand," the deputy general quickly replied.
As soon as he finished speaking, three army doctors walked in.
"Doctor Ye, have you determined the cause of this poisoning?" Leng Jin Yu asked with some nervousness.
The three army doctors shook their heads.
"Great General, the source of this poisoning is not in the porridge," Doctor Ye said with a puzzled expression.
"The source of the poison is not in the porridge, could it be in our water well?"
Leng Jin Yu thought for a moment.
"It's not in the water well either. The three of us have already checked the water in the well just now."
Doctor Ye was also very confused.
"In that case, let's first detoxify the poisoned soldiers and then check all the food in the entire camp that can be eaten," Leng Jin Yu said, feeling a headache.
Everyone nodded in agreement with Leng Jin Yu's plan.
~
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