Killer Queen: Tyrant, prepare to die!

Chapter 6: Detoxification! The fetus actually replenishes its internal energy!

The medicinal herbs were laid out on the table.

The blood-dried vine resembles dried blood vessels, its dark red tinged with an eerie black.

The chalcedony mushroom is pure white and warm to the touch, gleaming faintly on the worn tabletop.

The Nine Deaths Resurrection Grass is the most unique. Its dark golden leaves are curled up, and when you touch them gently, you can feel a very subtle life force flowing through them.

Jinshu stood nervously to the side, holding a chipped earthenware jar in her hands—the only container in the cold palace that could be used to brew medicine.

Shen Qingci did not rush to make a move.

She first picked up each herb, carefully smelled it, looked at it, and even very lightly tasted a tiny bit of the powder with the tip of her tongue.

This is a killer's habit: anything that enters the mouth must be verified to be correct.

After confirming that the medicinal materials were safe, she began processing them.

Blood-drying vine needs to be dried and ground into powder, jade marrow fungus needs to be sliced ​​thinly and slowly baked over a low flame, and the resurrection grass is the most troublesome—it must be made with a silver knife, there's no other way. She had no choice but to find a sharpened silver hairpin instead of a silver knife to remove the gold threads from the veins of the leaves, and only take that part for medicinal use.

Jinshu was dazzled by the sight: "Your Majesty, how do you know all this...?"

"I read it in a book," Shen Qingci replied casually, her hands still moving.

She did find some medical knowledge from the original owner's memories, but more of it came from the training Ling Ye received in modern times—

Toxicology, pharmacology, and even some secret ancient recipes.

After processing the three main ingredients, she selected a few more common medicinal herbs from those she had previously collected to create a combination: Astragalus to strengthen the body, Angelica to nourish the blood, and Licorice to harmonize the medicinal properties.

She calculated the quantities, proportions, and order with precision.

Finally, all the medicinal herbs were put into an earthenware pot, and three bowls of water were added. Jinshu made three trips to draw enough from the well and then put it on a small charcoal stove to simmer over a low flame.

The charcoal was scraps that Jinshu had secretly collected from the kitchen; the fire was small, but enough.

The aroma of medicine gradually filled the air.

It's not the bitter taste of ordinary herbs, but a complex aroma that's slightly fishy yet refreshing.

As the medicinal soup boiled, the aroma grew stronger and stronger, eventually condensing into a very faint wisp of white mist at the mouth of the jar, swirling and lingering.

Jinshu's eyes widened: "Your Majesty, this medicine..."

"This is normal." Shen Qingci stared at the color changes of the medicinal soup, calculating the time in her mind.

Unbeknownst to her, outside the window, a pair of cloudy eyes were quietly watching everything through the crack.

Eunuch Li stood hunched over in the shadows, watching Shen Qingci's skillful movements and the white steam rising from the medicine pot.

His face remained expressionless, but a faint ripple flickered in his cloudy eyes.

It felt like... relief.

It's also like some kind of confirmation.

Inside the house, the medicine was finally ready.

Shen Qingci filtered out the medicinal liquid; the dark brown liquid sloshed around in the broken bowl.

A layer of extremely fine golden specks floated on the surface—that was the essence of the Nine Deaths Resurrection Grass leaf veins.

She picked up the bowl and, without hesitation, drank it all in one gulp.

bitter.

The bitterness was indescribable, like swallowing a whole piece of bitter melon, burning from the tip of the tongue all the way to the stomach.

But then, a warm current rose from my abdomen and quickly spread to my limbs and bones.

That feeling... was very strange.

Like parched land finally receiving spring rain, every cell greedily absorbs the medicinal power.

And those lurking, cold toxins in the body seemed to have met their nemesis.

It begins to stir and struggle, then is gradually swallowed up and dissolved by the medicine.

But what's even stranger is the reaction in my lower abdomen.

The fetus... moved.

It wasn't the faint fetal movement we had before, but a clear and powerful rhythm.

One clap after another, like applause, like cheers.

With fetal movement, a warmer, purer force surges from deep within the lower abdomen and flows along the meridians.

Where that power passed, fatigue subsided and weakness lessened.

Even the dizziness caused by long-term malnutrition has been greatly relieved.

Shen Qingci was stunned.

This is... internal energy?

But this power that comes from the fetus is purer and gentler, like... innate energy.

"Your Highness?" Jinshu asked worriedly when she saw her lost in thought, "How are you feeling?"

Shen Qingci snapped out of her daze and carefully sensed the changes within her body.

The medicine is working to neutralize the toxins.

The fetus's reciprocal feeding helps repair the body.

Although progress is slow—after all, "Zhu Yanmo" is a chronic poison that penetrates deep into the internal organs and cannot be cured in one go—it is true that she is improving.

"I'm fine." Shen Qingci put down the bowl and looked at Jinshu. "Don't throw away the dregs of the medicine. Keep them. We can use them later."

"Yes!" Jinshu happily packed up, but then remembered something, and her face darkened.

"Your Majesty, what exactly is this 'Death of a Beautiful Woman'? My mother also..."

Shen Qingci looked at her: "What did your mother say before she died?"

Jinshu's eyes reddened, and she whispered, "Mother said that this poison is called 'Crimson Death,' and it comes from the Western Ridge Witch Kingdom."

"It's not available in the Central Plains, and even in the palace... only the Liu family could obtain it."

The Western Ridge Witch Kingdom.

Liu family.

Shen Qingci's eyes turned cold.

It's Liu Ruyan again.

"Your Majesty," Jinshu's voice trembled, "why is the Liu family so determined to harm you? You've clearly never offended them..."

"Because I was blocking the way."

Shen Qingci's voice was flat.

"Liu Ruyan wants the position of Empress."

Liu Chengzong was wary of the reputation of the Shen family's upright character.

"Only when I die and the Shen family falls can they rest easy."

Such simple logic.

Many dirty methods.

Jinshu bit her lip, tears streaming down her face: "Then the master and the eldest young master..."

"They're still alive," Shen Qingci said.

"The Liu family doesn't dare to touch them now, because keeping the Shen family alive makes it seem like they are 'acting according to the law,' not trying to wipe them out."

But they'll take action sooner or later.

Therefore, she had to be quick.

Before the Liu family decides to eliminate them completely, they must climb out of this hell and accumulate enough power.

Just then, a series of noisy footsteps came from outside.

And then there was Wang Fu's shrill and arrogant voice: "Everyone, be careful!"

Not a single weed is allowed to remain in this yard!

Throw all that junk out of the corner!

Jinshu's expression changed: "Wang Fu is back? His hand..."

"The injury is healed." Shen Qingci walked to the window and looked out through the crack.

Sure enough, Wang Fu returned to the courtyard.

His right wrist was still wrapped in cloth and hung around his neck, but his aura was even stronger than before.

He was accompanied by four unfamiliar eunuchs, each of them burly and strong, clearly chosen specifically to keep order.

"That old bastard..." Jinshu trembled with anger, "It must be Consort Rou backing him up again!"

Shen Qingci remained silent.

She watched as Wang Fu directed the eunuchs to search the courtyard thoroughly, even poking at the rat holes in the corners of the walls, clearly looking for something.

What are you searching for?

Medicinal herbs? Or something else?

Wang Fu's gaze swept over their room several times.

But in the end, he didn't get in.

But before leaving, he stood in the courtyard and deliberately raised his voice, saying:

"Starting today, two more people will be assigned to the Cold Palace!"

Guarding them day and night!

If anything that shouldn't be there comes in again... don't blame us for being ruthless!

After saying that, he glared venomously at the house before leaving with his men.

The footsteps outside the door faded into the distance.

But Shen Qingci knew that there were even more eyes watching.

"Your Majesty, what should we do?"

Jinshu was so anxious she paced back and forth.

"They're watching us so closely, how are we going to...?"

"No rush." ​​Shen Qingci turned and walked back to the table, looking at the remaining dregs of the medicine. "If they want to see it, let them see it."

"But……"

"Jinshu," Shen Qingci interrupted her, "go to the kitchen and see what the food delivered today is like."

Jinshu was taken aback, but she still went.

Soon, she returned carrying two broken bowls.

One bowl was spoiled porridge, the other was blackened pickled vegetables—

It was worse than usual, clearly due to Wang Fu's "special attention".

Shen Qingci looked at it and took out a small paper packet from her bosom.

The paper package contained some herbal scraps she had collected before.

There's croton, sophora flavescens, and a few other things—none of them are highly poisonous, but mixed together, they're enough to make one...

"Your Majesty, what is this?" Jinshu asked in confusion.

"Add ingredients."

Shen Qingci sprinkled the medicinal powder evenly into the porridge and pickled vegetables, and stirred it well with chopsticks.

"When Wang Fulai was collecting the dishes at night, I remember him 'accidentally' saying something..."

The food was especially delicious today, and I finished it all.

Jinshu was puzzled at first, then her eyes lit up: "You want to... drug me?"

"It's just to give him diarrhea for a few days," Shen Qingci said calmly. "Consider it a return gift."

Warning to Wang Fu: If I can hurt you once, I can hurt you a second time.

He also warned those behind him: Don't push me to the brink of mutual destruction.

Jinshu nodded excitedly, took the bowl out, and deliberately placed it in a conspicuous position.

Shen Qingci lay back down on the bed, feeling the flow of the medicine and the fetus's feeding power within her body.

Much more comfortable.

Although we are still far from finding a cure, at least there is hope.

The sky outside the window darkened, as if it were about to rain.

Meanwhile, in Chunxi Palace, Consort Rou, Liu Ruyan, was playing with a newly acquired jade hairpin while listening to a report from her trusted maid.

"The Imperial Pharmacy said they're missing one Nine-Life Resurrection Grass?"

Liu Ruyan's voice was soft, but her eyes were cold.

"Yes. It was discovered during this morning's inventory check; there were no signs of forced entry in the warehouse."

The window is intact, but one plant is missing.

Liu Ruyan put down the hair ornament and gently tapped the table with her fingertips.

After a long while, she suddenly smiled.

"Any movement from the Cold Palace?"

"Wang Fu said that they have increased the number of people watching over her. Shen Shi hasn't left her room for the past few days, and she looks like she's about to die."

"Not long for him?" Liu Ruyan's smile deepened, but her eyes were icy cold.

"Then... add fuel to the fire."

She beckoned, and a palace maid leaned close to her ear.

He whispered a few instructions.

The palace maid's expression changed slightly, but she still nodded: "This servant understands."

After the palace maids left, Liu Ruyan picked up the jade hairpin again, and slowly inserted it into her hair in front of the bronze mirror.

The woman in the mirror is as beautiful as jade, with a gentle smile.

But deep within those eyes, there lay a faint, almost imperceptible...

Murderous intent.