Chapter 25: Poison Eruption

Unfortunately, Gu Ci could do neither of these things.

Even if he could, Gu Ci glanced at the woman opposite him; she had no dowry.

So, after Tang Zhao donated her entire dowry, Gu Ci knew that, barring any accidents, the two of them were destined to be poor for the rest of their lives.

Tang Zhao was left speechless after hearing this, and immediately felt a wave of intense regret; she had been too impulsive.

If she had just secretly pocketed one or two gold ingots, who would have known?

Seeing the utter worldly despair on the woman's face, a flash of quick amusement crossed Gu Ci's eyes, so fleeting that even he didn't notice it himself.

Tang Zhao climbed past him into the bed and played dead.

Gu Ci ignored her, finished washing up on his own, and lay down to sleep.

Moonlight streamed through the window frames into the room. Tang Zhao stared at the red canopy above the bed, lost in thought.

Having been reborn into the Great Yu dynasty and married into the imperial family, she had originally thought that even if she couldn't live a life of extravagant waste, she could at least be a happy, carefree, wealthy "salted fish." Who knew the Prince's manor would be so dirt-poor!

She pounded the bed in indignation; this was marriage fraud!

She turned to look at the man sleeping peacefully on the floor. He looked quite handsome and well-dressed, but who knew he was just an empty shell!

As expected, a woman has to rely on herself!

After completing her mental preparation and combining it with the information she currently knew about this world, she solemnly drafted a rough framework for her grand money-making plan. Once the details were added, she could once again build her commercial empire.

Tang Zhao let out a silly giggle, feeling her plan was perfect. Her eyelids grew heavier, and just as she was about to sleep, she heard a pained groan.

She snapped her eyes open and indeed saw Gu Ci, his face pale and drenched in sweat, his tall frame involuntarily curled into a ball.

Tang Zhao got out of bed and patted Gu Ci's face. "Gu Ci, Gu Ci, wake up!"

Seeing no response, Tang Zhao rushed out to call for help. Dongmei instantly snapped to attention, dressed quickly, and ran toward Minghui Hall.

Tang Zhao brought Chunfeng and Qiuyu back to the inner chamber, directing Chaohui and Chaoyi to carry him onto the bed. She watched as Chaohui skillfully pulled a pill from his robes and stuffed it into Gu Ci's mouth.

Heaven help him, Gu Ci was in such pain, yet the medicine was still swallowed successfully.

She felt a surge of respect; he truly was a soldier!

"What happened? Didn't the Master take his medicine in advance? Why did the symptoms flare up again?" Chaohui's mind was a complete mess.

"What do you mean? Has Gu Ci always been like this?" Tang Zhao asked, bewildered.

She had slept in the same bed and out of it with Gu Ci for a month; how had she not noticed?

"Reporting to the County Princess, the Master was previously... poisoned and fell into a coma. He only woke up because the County Princess came to ward off the bad luck," Chaoyi said, deciding it was better to tell the whole truth rather than keep hiding it.

"After the Master woke up, the toxins were not cleared. Every night at the hour of midnight, the poison flares up, causing unbearable pain."

"Fortunately, the military physician sent over good medicine. Although it cannot neutralize the poison, it can relieve the pain. The Master takes one pill every day to alleviate the agony."

"The Master clearly took his medicine early today, but for some reason, the symptoms flared up again," Chaohui knelt on the ground, pleading, "Please, Your Ladyship, save our Master!"

Tang Zhao was speechless; she didn't know how to do that!

"System, System! Do you have a way?" Tang Zhao called out in her mind.

【Yes! Please have the Host transfer Life Points.】

Tang Zhao did a mental calculation. "He should have about 10 Life Points left."

【Life Points are too low; the ability to resist toxins is weakened.】

Tang Zhao gritted her teeth; she didn't want to become a widow yet. "Transfer them."

【Please have the Host hold hands with the target to facilitate the transfer of Life Points.】

"Before, I could transfer them from a distance!" Tang Zhao protested even as she pushed the others aside and grabbed Gu Ci's hand firmly.

【A special discount for the Host's first transfer.】

*I thank you so much,* Tang Zhao thought bitterly.

【How many Life Points would the Host like to transfer? Current Life Points: 74.】

Tang Zhao sighed. "Transfer 30."

【Ding! Transfer successful. Remaining Life Points: 44.】

Tang Zhao felt a surge of warmth continuously flowing out of her body, passing through their joined hands into Gu Ci's body.

The pain that felt like being sliced by knives gradually lessened until it vanished. Gu Ci slowly opened his eyes, his vision seemingly obscured by a thick mist.

"Gu Ci? Gu Ci?" Tang Zhao called out.

Hearing a soft female voice by his ear, Gu Ci was in a daze, unable to remember the time or place. He simply responded according to his heart's desire.

"Mm."

The voice was soft, sounding like a coo or a soothing murmur. Tang Zhao had never heard Gu Ci speak to her in such a tone and felt somewhat unaccustomed to it.

"Rouyin," Gu Ci whispered, "Aren't you in the Northwest?"

The first part was too soft for Tang Zhao to hear; she only caught the latter part and rolled her eyes. "I've never even been to the Northwest!"

Gu Ci muttered something.

"What did he say?" Tang Zhao really couldn't hear and turned to ask.

Having heard the entire exchange, Chaohui and Chaoyi were so frightened their faces turned pale. They lowered their heads, not daring to look at her, and stammered, "We... we didn't hear clearly either."

Tang Zhao didn't believe them; their reactions didn't look like they hadn't heard. But now was not the time to press them; Gu Ci was holding her hand with immense strength, gripping it so hard it hurt.

"Has the doctor arrived yet?" She was struggling to hold on.

"He's here! The manor physician is here!" Dongmei ran in, dragging a white-bearded old man by his collar, followed by the Princess Consort and others.

Dr. Wang had no interest in bickering with a young maid. After carefully checking Gu Ci's pulse, he said, "Strange, there is no change in the Young Master's pulse."

Looking at Gu Ci's face, which had returned to normal, he asked with genuine confusion, "Did the Young Master truly suffer another flare-up of the poison?"

"It was absolutely certain," Chaohui recounted the events in detail.

Though Dr. Wang was reluctant to admit it, he said, "The County Princess is truly blessed."

This was his way of admitting that Gu Ci's recovery was related to Tang Zhao.

Chaohui and Chaoyi exchanged a glance; they hadn't believed it either, but given the circumstances, they had to.

Seeing her son return to normal, the Princess Consort's racing heart slowly calmed. She dismissed everyone, held her daughter-in-law's hand to thank her profusely, and only left once she saw the weary tears glistening in the corners of Tang Zhao's eyes.

Chaohui and Chaoyi appeared near the rockery and recounted everything the Master had said while unconscious to the Princess Consort of Xuan.

The Princess Consort was startled. "Are you sure the County Princess didn't hear?"

"She didn't hear," Chaohui confirmed.

"That's good then."

The Princess Consort also felt it was better if her daughter-in-law hadn't heard; otherwise, if her son was still pining for another woman while unconscious, if she were the daughter-in-law, she wouldn't have called a doctor—she would have just poisoned him and been done with it!

She then cursed her troublesome son in her heart and instructed, "Whatever happens regarding 'Rouyin,' you must never let the County Princess know."

"Understood!"

Once everyone had left, the person who had been hiding behind the rockery cautiously emerged and silently returned to Bidan Courtyard.

Tang Zhao had given the bed to Gu Ci and slept on the chaise lounge for the night. She woke up feeling achy and sore, forced to get up.

Dongmei had waited in the outer room for three hours before finally seeing her lady wake up. She then leaned close to Tang Zhao's ear and recounted what she had overheard behind the rockery last night.

Tang Zhao:...

Tang Zhao laughed out of sheer anger.

This really was marriage fraud!