Chapter 10: Antidote

Madam Er quickly regained some strength, and she was only punished with three years of confinement and three months of house arrest. It's not too bad. It seems that the master still has some affection for her after all.

"Mother, let me take you back."

Luo Yujue personally helped the old lady leave, and the others dispersed in twos and threes.

Only Aunt Mei gave her a glance before leaving with Xiaohong.

Phew~ She breathed a sigh of relief. These people are really difficult to deal with. If she didn't have thirty years of experience, she might not have been able to handle them.

Gurgle

Luo Qianqian's stomach rumbled, and she realized how hungry she was.

"Sister? Sister?"

"Sister, where are you?"

"Sister?"

Listening to the tender voice, Luo Qianqian's heart warmed, and she hurriedly responded, "Ah, Qifei, sister is here!"

As if the siblings had a telepathic connection, they both saw each other and ran towards each other.

"Sister, you're finally back! Sob~"

Luo Qifei buried his head in her arms and cried, tightly gripping her hair, afraid of losing her again.

"Don't cry, little snotty boy!"

Luo Qianqian wiped Qifei's nose, feeling a pang of sadness. The legitimate young master of the Prime Minister's Mansion was dressed in tattered clothes, with a dirty face, resembling a beggar.

"Sister, where did you go? Qifei missed sister."

"Sister missed you too. Let's go back to our room." Luo Qianqian struggled to pick up Qifei and headed towards their living quarters from memory.

Since their birth mother passed away, all the remaining servants had been sent away. So, the siblings had been relying on each other for these years, with no one to take care of them.

"Haven't seen enough?"

Yan Feimo delivered a blow to Taowu's head.

"Cough... "

Taowu blushed and quickly lowered his head. He had indeed been too engrossed in watching.

"Let's go!"

"Master?"

"I think that Miss Luo is pitiful. Her father and stepmother are despicable. Shouldn't we help her?"

"Help her? Do you think she needs help?"

Um...

Taowu remembered the incident where the Prime Minister Luo was sitting on the ground due to a stone, and the child effortlessly turned the situation around. It seemed that she didn't need help.

"Master, let's go!"

"But you've reminded me. We still owe her something."

With that, Yan Feimo stealthily followed the direction where Luo Qianqian and the others had left.

"Master, be careful!"

Taowu hurriedly caught up. The Prime Minister's Mansion was full of secret guards, and there were even three on the tree just now. It would be a big deal if they were discovered.

In fact, Taowu was overthinking. The least important place in the Prime Minister's Mansion was the Peach and Plum Garden, which was filled with peach and plum trees. To facilitate the care of the area, several small wooden houses were built in the garden. Since their birth mother passed away, the siblings had been sent there.

The rest of the Prime Minister's Mansion was very important, but this place was particularly unimportant.

The two of them entered the Peach and Plum Garden smoothly. When they saw the scene inside, they couldn't help but be surprised. The lonely little wooden houses were surrounded by a clean environment. On the right side of the house, there was a well, and the siblings were about to fetch water. This was not a place for a young lady and a young master to live.

"Qifei, wash your face first! Sister will pick some fruits for you to eat later!"

It was late summer and early autumn, and although the fruits were not fully ripe, the peaches could still be eaten in sunny spots.

Luo Qianqian fetched a basin of water from the well and took a look at her reflection in the water. Despite her malnourished appearance, her twelve-year-old face exuded youthful vitality, especially her eyes. She was very satisfied with them.

They were big and round, and when she blinked, she looked like a character from a comic book.

She even had two dimples when she smiled!

She was truly blessed by heaven with such looks.

"Sister? What are you looking at again?"

Luo Qifei mischievously threw a stone into the well, making it temporarily disappear from view.

"Nothing, wash your face!"

She washed Qifei's face three times and was surprised to see his face covered in dirt. It was clearly a case of poisoning.

"Qifei, what's wrong with you?"

Luo Qianqian washed Qifei's face clean while checking his pulse and asking, "Tell sister, what have you eaten or drunk recently?"

"It's this!"

Qifei took out a small piece of black pastry from his pocket and handed it to her.

"Mother asked someone to bring me osmanthus cake every day. Qifei wanted to save some for sister, but the servants wouldn't allow it. Qifei was afraid of being punished, so he pretended to eat it all, but actually, he saved some for sister. How about that? Isn't Qifei smart, sister?"

"Yes, Qifei is very smart!"

Luo Qianqian quickly took the pastry and sniffed it.

Black mulberry and osmanthus?

It was indeed poisoned!

Black mulberry and osmanthus were common ingredients, but everyone knew that combining the two was toxic. Since she was no longer around, someone had blatantly poisoned Qifei.

What a malicious intent! They didn't even spare a child.

Fortunately, she discovered it in time.

"Sister, why aren't you eating it?"

"Qifei, listen to sister. From now on, anything mother sends you must be shown to sister before you eat it, understand?"

"Why?"

Luo Qifei has the same big eyes as her, with dark pupils that look clear and pure when looking at people, making it hard for anyone to hurt her.

She had no experience dealing with children in her previous life, but her intuition told her that she should tell Qifei something. Since she was already born here, such things would not be few in the future, and she couldn't always stay by his side.

"Qifei, Mother doesn't like the two of us, so she poisoned the pastries. Once the poison takes effect, Qifei will never see his sister again. So, Qifei, you must remember what your sister says, okay?"

Qifei was only five years old and only understood that he would never see his sister again. He immediately grabbed Luo Qianqian's hair in fear, saying, "Qifei doesn't want sister to leave! Don't leave, sister!"

"Be good, sister won't leave! Sister will protect Qifei. Let's go to grandmother's first and neutralize the poison, okay?"

Only then did Luo Qifei let go of her hair.

"Sister, what is poison?"

Luo Qianqian thought for a moment and said, "Poison is something that can make people suffer or happy, but it's difficult to control. If used improperly, it can harm lives. So, without certainty, don't use poison easily, understand?"

"Okay!"

Luo Qifei blinked and answered. Why did he feel that his sister was different from before? But he really liked this kind of sister.

Can poison also make people happy?

Yan Feimo's mouth curled up.

"Master? If we don't leave now, it may be too late." The guards of the Prime Minister's Mansion were not to be trifled with. Although strangers had arrived, it was not to the extent that two strangers would go unnoticed.

Yan Feimo frowned. He really wanted to see how poison could make people happy.

"Master?"

Helpless, Yan Feimo dropped what he was holding and swiftly flew out before the guards arrived.

"Puff"

A paper ball suddenly fell in front of him, and a figure flashed in the peach forest. A familiar voice lingered in the wind:

"The silver notes are for your medical fees, and the bottle contains the antidote."

Is it him?

Luo Qianqian picked up the paper ball and, after opening it, found ten silver notes of ten thousand taels each, wrapped around a small bottle of natural wood color.

"Sister, what is this?"

"Wait for sister to see!"

Luo Qianqian removed the bottle stopper and immediately smelled a pleasant medicinal fragrance—Tianma, Xuanxianlian, white thistle, black bryony, Weilingxian, and purple gromwell.

All were detoxifying herbs, and the proportions were just right. They could neutralize most poisons, including black mulberry lacquer and osmanthus poison.

"Here, Qifei, take it."

"It smells so good! What is this?"

"Antidote?"

"Huh?"

"It's a medicinal antidote." Luo Qianqian was a bit overwhelmed by this little guy and directly stuffed the antidote into Qifei's mouth.

"Sister?" The next moment, Qifei's entire face twisted into an expression of bitterness.

"Don't spit it out, swallow it!"

"It's so... bitter!"

"Eat some peaches, and it won't be bitter anymore!"

Luo Qianqian immediately picked a big peach, washed it, and handed it to Qifei.

"Qifei is so good!"

"Sister? Let's put it back quickly. If the servants see us, we'll be punished."

Qifei looked around nervously, afraid of someone coming.

"Don't be afraid, eat it. These peaches grow in our courtyard, so they belong to us. In the future, sister will protect you, and no one will dare to hurt you."

"Really?"

Qifei swallowed nervously.

"Of course it's true!"

Luo Qianqian also picked one for herself and took a bite.

"Hehe!" Qifei happily took the peach and started eating.

"It's so sweet!"

"Young Master, Young Miss, it's time for dinner!"

At this moment, a rough voice sounded, and Luo Qifei immediately trembled, causing the peach to roll to the ground.

Panicked, he asked, "Sister, what should we do? We've been found out!"

"Oh, what's this?"

Rong Pozi threw the remaining half of the steamed bun into the lunchbox, looking at the two as if she had seen something interesting.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Young Miss, Young Master, Madam ordered that the fruits from the Peach and Plum Garden, when ripe, are to be sent to the Empress Dowager, the Queen, and the various palace ladies. No one is allowed to eat them without permission. Yet, you dared to steal and eat them?"

Rong Pozi inserted her hands triumphantly, having effortlessly completed the task given to her by Madam. Originally, it was supposed to be Bian Pozi delivering the meal, but she had been killed not long ago, so Rong Pozi took her place.

It was said that the Second Miss had come back from the dead and immediately offended the Second Madam upon her return to the mansion. Therefore, before coming, the Second Madam specifically instructed her to find fault with the two, or else she would be punished. It was so easy to fulfill the task given by the Madam.

"You wait here, I'll go report to the Second Madam!"

"Sister, what should we do?"

Luo Qifei's voice trembled with a hint of crying.