Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 1173 - 1170_1

Chapter 1173: Chapter 1170_1

In another palace in the Nangong Country.

"Crown Prince, we must quickly locate the life-saving elixir that Princess Rui of the Minze Country has. The Little Princess grows weaker by the day, I fear..." The royal physician left his sentence hanging, but everyone understood the gravity of his words.

"How long can she survive?" Gong Zixuan looked at the infant who had been born a few months ago, but had scarcely grown since and asked.

"At most three months."

"Three months?" Now that Shangguan Xuanyi understood the importance of Princess Rui’s blood, obtaining it within three months seemed challenging.

However, the thought of the life-saving pill made him recall the news brought by a spy from Minze, that the second son of the Marquis Shengping would soon be made the Magistrate of the newly conquered Zezhou!

By calculating the timeline, that Second Young Master Shen should be currently en route to Nangong!

When Shangguan Wanru got married years ago, Princess Rui had generously given her the life-saving pill. Surely, she would not deny her own brother some pills to save his life!

"Someone!"

"Master!" A man dressed in black leaped out from somewhere and knelt on the ground.

"Find out where the second son of Marquis Shengping of Minze is right now! I want his life-saving pill!"

"Yes!" The man in black responded and quickly left.

After the man in black had left, Gong Zixuan looked at the child in the cradle with a gloomy gaze. If they failed to obtain Princess Rui’s blood in time and the child did not hold on, then according to Master Gu Xuan, they would have to use Princess Rui’s child as a substitute!

By transferring that treasure to the body of Princess Rui’s eldest son, he could then find a way to transfer it to his own body!

With such a treasure, the seeds of the super rice would be his! Gold and silver would be his!

How could the world not be unified under his rule!

"Someone!"

Another man in black leaped out, "Master!"

"Tell our agents in Minze to find a way to bring Princess Rui’s son to me!"

"Yes!"

"Make sure to take care of the Little Princess. Furthermore, representatives from the Eastern Jin Dynasty should soon be delivering the Crown Princess here! Everyone must keep their mouths shut!" Gong Qinghua instructed those attending the daughter born to Princess Ling’er.

The wet nurses and maids hurriedly agreed.

...

After half a month of journey by boat, they docked at Ning County to replenish supplies.

The captain spoke to Jinghao, "Young master, the boat will dock at Ning County for two hours to resupply. If you are bored on the boat, you can take a walk in the city. Ning County is quite prosperous."

Upon hearing this, Xi’er quickly said, "Big brother, I feel like I’m about to grow mushrooms from being on this boat for so long. Let’s quickly get off the boat and walk around!"

Jinghao had read about Ning Prefecture in the local gazetteer. They had a local tea called white hair tea which is known to have a hint of lotus fragrance. He longed to taste it for himself. Two hours were surely enough to taste the white hair tea at the local teahouse, so he nodded in agreement.

The group got off the boat and headed towards the largest teahouse in Ning City. They ordered a pot of white hair tea, and Xi’er asked for several local delicacies.

Eating the boat’s food daily had left them craving something more flavorful.

They spent half an hour in the teahouse, and when Jinghao saw how much Xi’er and Gu Qiling enjoyed the local delicacies, he had some packed to take back to the boat for them to eat in the evening.

Upon witnessing this, Xi’er cheerfully expressed, "Qiling, it’s so great to venture out with you! My big brother even thought to pack your favorite snacks to take back to the boat! I’m so lucky to be able to enjoy these treats because of you."

Gu Qiling, unashamedly, retorted, "Really? Why do I get the feeling that you enjoyed those snacks more than I did! Half of them ended up in your stomach."

Xi’er was blessed with a metabolism that kept her from gaining weight, unlike Gu Qiling who could gain weight by just drinking water. Therefore, she always monitored her food intake carefully, only giving in today due to a craving for something other than the pumpkin and winter melon they had been fed on the boat.

Jinghao didn’t say anything. Seeing they still had time, he suggested, "Should we stop by a restaurant to pack a few dishes to take back to the boat? We can have them reheat it and eat it tonight?"

Zhiwen and Zhiwu were also enticed by his suggestion, "That’s a great idea; let’s do it quickly, otherwise, we might run out of time!"

Excited by his suggestion, Xi’er piped in, "Big brother, your thoughtfulness knows no bounds!"

They strode over to the nearest restaurant and packed a few dishes to take back. They would save them for dinner.

With that, the two-hour break quickly came to an end, and they returned to the boat.

On returning to his cabin, Jinghao immediately noticed someone had tampered with his luggage.

Luckily, the luggage only contained two sets of clothing and nothing else.

His first suspicion was a thief onboard, but he quickly dismissed it.

A thief couldn’t possibly have rummaged through his luggage and then diligently restored it to its original state.

He scanned the room and noticed it had been searched thoroughly.

Jinghao wasn’t alarmed and kept to himself, carefully watching the movement around Xi’er and Gu Qiling’s cabins in secret.

Only when dinner was served did he mention that his room had been searched.

Liu Zhiwen on hearing this said, "No wonder I always thought my luggage had been tampered with. The positioning was slightly off from where I’d left it, but I wasn’t sure. Now that you’ve told me, I’m convinced my room was searched too."

Liu Zhiwu chimed in upon hearing this, "You’re right, my room was indeed searched. I had a silver banknote worth 100 taels that was folded differently than I remember. I thought my memory was playing tricks on me because a thief certainly wouldn’t leave behind a banknote worth 100 taels!"

At this point, Xi’er and Gu Qiling also admitted, "We were just going to mention that it seemed like someone had been in our rooms. They definitely weren’t thieves, but it’s unclear what they were looking for, or whether all of the cabins were inspected or just ours."

"I suspect, they were after us in particular. Everyone must be careful tonight and stay awake. They didn’t find what they were looking for, so they will definitely try again."

On hearing this, Xi’er appeared excited, "That’s perfect, I can test the new poison I’ve developed and see how effective it is!"

"What kind of poison? Don’t kill anybody, this is our ancestor’s boat after all." Liu Zhiwen swiftly reminded upon hearing her statement.

"Don’t worry, it’s only itching powder, it won’t kill, it will just make them wish they were dead!"

"Is there an antidote?" Liu Zhiwen was well aware that Xi’er was adept at concocting new and unique poisons, but she rarely bothered to create an antidote unless necessary. Recalling his brother’s painful experience, he couldn’t help but ask.

"I have not had time to make one yet."

"Then you need to be careful when applying the poison, I do not want to wish for death!" Liu Zhiwu had once accidentally drank a laxative that Xi’er had newly concocted. She hadn’t developed an antidote for it and he almost emptied his guts. It was with great difficulty and after considerable weakness that he was able to consume the antidote she finally created.

"Be careful when applying the poison, don’t let anyone turn it back on you!" Jinghao warned.

"Big brother, don’t worry, something like that is impossible to happen to me!" Xi’er assured him confidently.

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