Shuse Jinjia

Liu Qi thought for a moment and said, "We must take this road to Dayu. After crossing the mountain ahead, heading north will take us to the border between the two countries. If that woman is indeed Murong Qing, we must capture her."

Xie Zhaotang gave a warning: "Be careful, she knows how to use poison, don't give her a chance to make a move."

Liu Qi nodded and walked away as if nothing had happened.

Xie Zhaotang naturally went to call Li Qin, and the two returned to the carriage. Xie Zhaotang then told Li Qin about Murong Qing.

Li Qin was stunned to hear that Murong Qing had married the Prince of Xique.

"She's already married to Prince Gong, yet she still managed to get the Emperor to bestow a marriage upon the young marquis. How can this woman be so shameless!"

Xie Zhaotang smiled and said, "She's investing in both sides. If Prince Gong can successfully become the Emperor of Xique, she will be the Empress. If Huo Beiyu likes her, she can control him and seize the throne by relying on his abilities after marrying into the family."

"As long as no one exposes her true colors, she can get along with everyone."

Li Qin shook her head, unable to understand Murong Qing.

Xie Zhaotang didn't explain it to her either.

Murong Qing is the kind of person who thinks he is omnipotent just because he is good at medicine, poisons and poisons. He is too arrogant!

The two lay fully clothed in the carriage, and when they drifted off to sleep, they were awakened by the sounds of fighting.

Xie Zhaotang opened his eyes and saw the firelight reflected on the carriage curtain.

She leaned over and lifted the carriage curtain to take a look, and saw flames shooting into the sky behind the dilapidated temple. Was it Liu Qi who set the fire or Murong Qing?

Xie Zhaotang saw several guards standing by the carriage, but he wasn't worried and waited patiently.

Before long, the fighting stopped.

A moment later, a guard ran over and called out, "Madam Huo, are you awake? General Liu has captured that woman. Please go and see if it's Murong Qing!"

Xie Zhaotang got off the carriage, and Li Qin followed suit.

As the two men and the guards approached the entrance of the dilapidated temple, they saw Liu Qi dragging a woman who was bound hand and foot.

There were two more people dressed as refugees behind them.

The woman was dressed in coarse cloth and looked like a rural woman in her forties, with a dirty face.

She glanced at Xie Zhaotang and then looked away.

Liu Qi sneered and said, "Madam Huo, these people set fire to the back of the building themselves and called us to put it out. As soon as my men went in, they started sprinkling pesticide. You reminded us, and we didn't let them succeed."

A guard carried a bundle, opened it, and showed it to Xie Zhaotang: "Madam Huo, this is what we found on them. These bottles were all found on this woman."

Xie Zhaotang didn't rush to check what was in the bottle. He stared at the woman's face for a while, then turned around and went to the carriage to get his bundle.

Xu Han had previously taught Xie Zhaotang how to disguise herself, so Xie Zhaotang knew that some disguises required special chemicals to wash off.

She took out the medicine, diluted it with some water, and had Li Qin apply it to the woman's face.

Everyone saw the woman's skin begin to peel off, revealing her fair and tender skin underneath.

Seeing that her disguise had been washed away, Murong Qing knew she could no longer hide the truth and roared, "Xie Zhaotang, I am the Princess Consort of Xique! How dare you mistreat me! Prince Gong will never let you get away with this!"

Xie Zhaotang chuckled: "Murong Qing, haven't you realized your place yet? Even if you were the Princess Consort of Gong, or even the Empress of Xique, you'd still be a prisoner. For treason, General Liu could behead you immediately, and it wouldn't affect the situation between our two countries!"

Liu Qi sneered, "General Huo has driven Prince Gong's army back to Xique. He can barely protect himself, how can he possibly care about you?"

Murong Qing was stunned. She had been pursued by the Black Dragon Guards all the way and had lost contact with Prince Gong. She didn't even know that Prince Gong had lost.

She thought for a moment, then looked arrogantly at Xie Zhaotang: "Xie Zhaotang, let's make a deal. I really can cure the Crown Prince's poison. You let me go, and I'll give you the secret formula. If you go back and cure the Crown Prince, that will be a great achievement!"

Xie Zhaotang raised an eyebrow: "You really have a cure?"

Murong Qing nodded: "I'm not lying to you. You know I have the second volume of the 'Nine Nether Poisons Manual.' My grandfather strictly followed ancestral teachings and didn't study poison manuals. He hid this manual. I accidentally discovered it and became very interested, so I collected other manuals. It was through this that I met Prince Gong and found the fifth volume in the Western Palace. The manual records the methods for making and detoxifying agarwood!"

Murong Qing stopped, looking at Xie Zhaotang defiantly: "Did Old Man Xiang give you the 'Nine Nether Poison Manual' he had? If you've read it, you'll know I'm not lying to you!"

Xie Zhaotang bluntly stated, "The manual that Master Xiang gave me did not mention the poison of agarwood. How can you prove that your fifth volume contains the method for making the antidote?"

Murong Qing's eyes darted around: "Let me go, and I'll tell you where the manual is hidden!"

Xie Zhaotang chuckled: "Murong Qing, do I look like a fool? If I let you go, and you give me a fake address, how am I supposed to find you after I realize I've been tricked? If you're sincere, tell us. I'll only let you go after I've verified whether it's real or fake!"

Murong Qing sneered: "Then how can I believe that you'll let me go after you've taken the manual?"

She glanced at Xie Zhaotang and suddenly said, "Among the bottles in my bundle, there's a black one containing a drug that prevents one from having children. It's also recorded in the fifth volume, and it even has the recipe for the antidote. If you take one, I'll trust you!"

Li Qin grabbed Xie Zhaotang's hand: "Tangtang, don't believe her. Who knows what that drug is!"

Xie Zhaotang patted Li Qin's hand reassuringly and looked towards Murong Qing.

"Murong Qing, you know I possess the 'Nine Nether Poison Manual,' so you should know that you're not the only one in this world who can concoct poisons! Unfortunately, I've prepared several poisons, but I haven't tested them on anyone yet. Why don't you help me test their effects!"

Xie Zhaotang took a bottle out of his bag and walked toward Murong Qing.

Murong Qing froze, staring in horror at Xie Zhaotang's hand. After a moment, she cried out, "Xie Zhaotang, you dare to use me for experiments? Aren't you afraid Huo Beiyu will find out and hate you?"

"He dislikes me because I experiment on people. If you continue like this, he'll definitely dump you!"

Xie Zhaotang smiled and said, "He won't, because he wouldn't know..."

She looked at Liu Qi and the guards standing to one side, and smiled, "Will you tell the young marquis?"

Liu Qi smiled and shook his head: "How could we? Madam Huo helped us capture this female demon, giving us such a great reward. How could we betray her!"

The other guards all shook their heads.

These guards were originally from the Black Dragon Guard, and they were used to this kind of interrogation. Since Liu Qi cooperated, they cooperated as well.

Murong Qing looked at them in disbelief, unable to believe that the imperial army could be so brutal.

Xie Zhaotang grabbed Murong Qing's chin: "I heard from the young marquis that you used prisoners to test medicine. Now you are also a prisoner. I used you to test medicine just to follow suit..."

"Murong Qing, I wonder what it feels like to see those prisoners suffering. I think you'll experience it for yourself soon..."

She stuffed the pill into Murong Qing's mouth.

Murong Qing kept her mouth tightly shut, her eyes fixed fiercely on Xie Zhaotang...