Chapter 476: Escaping Danger
Chapter 476: Escaping Danger
In the warm room of Mingxin Hall, Xiao Rong Er had also kept watch for the entire night.
"Madam, please have some ginseng soup."
Hong Xiu held a bowl of steaming ginseng soup and offered it to Xiao Rong Er.
Xiao Rong Er had no appetite and gestured for Hong Xiu to put it down. She asked, "Has the body been dealt with properly?"
"It has been taken care of," Hong Xiu replied as she placed the soup down, concern evident in her voice. "Madam, if Young Master wakes up and tells the truth to the Master..."
Xiao Rong Er closed her eyes briefly, "A bunch of useless people, unable to even kill a child!"
"Should we contact the Old Master?" Hong Xiu asked.
The 'Old Master' she referred to was Xiao Rong Er's biological father, the head of the Qianshanpai.
For Liuying's wedding, as the bride's maternal grandfather, Xiao Rong Er's father should have been there to celebrate, but a year ago, the wedding of his own nephew had already been scheduled for April.
Xiao Rong Er calmly replied, "I can handle this minor issue."
"Yes," Hong Xiu said, not adding anything further.
Xiao Rong Er continued, "Go and call Er Ye."
Hong Xiu went to Gongsun Yu's courtyard.
When Gongsun Yu arrived at Mingxin Hall and saw that Xiao Rong Er's attire hadn't changed, he asked in surprise, "Sister-in-law, have you been sitting here all night?"
Xiao Rong Er said, "Go and check on your older brother."
Gongsun Yu hesitated, "I can't get in there either."
Xiao Rong Er glared at him, "Go and deliver the medicine to Wu You, and while you're at it, see if he's still alive."
Gongsun Yu took a sharp breath.
After pretending for so many years, Xiao Rong Er was exhausted, "Are you surprised? Do you really think I'm so magnanimous that I don't care about you raising another woman's child for my husband?"
Gongsun Yu sighed, "I know these years have been difficult for you."
Xiao Rong Er gave a self-deprecating laugh, "What good does your knowledge do? It's all just a show, isn't it? Pretending to care about me on the surface but secretly serving those two bastards? You've always only listened to your older brother, have you ever truly considered me, your sister-in-law? It's understandable, after all, you're blood brothers, and I'm just an outsider."
Gongsun Yu hastily said, "Sister-in-law, please don't say that. In my heart, you and my older brother are equally important. The more I care for Wu You, the more I'll care for Liuying and Zi Yu. I know who the true bloodline of the Gongsun family is."
"Good, then put this medicine in Shang Wuyou's soup."
As Xiao Rong Er spoke, she tossed a medicine bottle to Gongsun Yu.
Gongsun Yu caught it, his face slightly changing, "Sister-in-law, do you want me to poison Wu You?"
Xiao Rong Er stared at him intently, "What? Are you afraid?"
Gongsun Yu sighed again, "Sister-in-law, you know how my older brother is. If I dare to harm Wu You, he'll take my life."
Xiao Rong Er laughed mockingly, "So he values a bastard child more than his own brother? It's not poison, just a medicine to make him sleep for a few days, so he doesn't blabber."
Gongsun Yu gripped the medicine bottle, "I understand, sister-in-law, I'll go now."
He took the wound medicine, blood-stopping powder, and the ginseng soup prepared in the kitchen and headed to his older brother's backyard.
He turned back to check, ensuring no one was following, then pulled a rope hidden under a large tree, tugging it gently.
He then entered his older brother's training room.
In truth, his older brother didn't practice there but in a more concealed secret chamber.
After a while, a stone door slowly opened.
He entered a long corridor.
When the stone door closed, Hong Xiu, who had been hidden behind the door, returned to Xiao Rong Er's side.
"Did you see it?" Xiao Rong Er asked.
"I did," Hong Xiu replied, "The mechanism is hidden behind that jujube tree."
Xiao Rong Er let out a cold huff.
Meanwhile, after Gongsun Yu entered the secret passage, he didn't immediately add the poison to the medicine.
Recalling the previous night's encounter, Gong Sun Yu couldn't help but recall Shang Wuyou's heavily injured and feeble state, deeming her chances of survival slim and not worth the effort.
"Don't blame Second Uncle for being heartless, but right now, the best outcome is for you to die."
With Shang Wuyou's death, his sister-in-law would be free from raising another's child, and Zi Yu wouldn't have to constantly vie for favor.
There would also be a legitimate reason to kill Meng Xiaojiu.
And thus, Liuying could be saved.
He stood before the last stone door, waiting for a long time before it finally opened.
However, the one who opened the door wasn't his eldest brother, but Meng Qianqian.
Gong Sun Yu was taken aback, "You're not dead?"
Meng Qianqian countered, "Why should I die?"
Gong Sun Yu coughed lightly and asked earnestly, "What about Wuyou?"
"She's fine."
Meng Qianqian turned and walked back into the courtyard.
The stone door slowly closed.
Gong Sun Yu stood there, stunned for a while.
He couldn't believe it.
"Fine" meant... she was saved?
"Where's my eldest brother?" he asked.
Meng Qianqian pointed to the right.
Gong Sun Yu hurriedly entered the room with the food box, and a chilling aura that made breathing difficult hit him.
He shivered, then spotted Shang Wuyou lying on the Han Bing Chuang and his eldest brother standing guard at the bedside.
"Big brother!"
He approached the Han Bing Chuang and glanced at Shang Wuyou's pale face, asking softly, "Big brother, is Wuyou alright?"
Gongsun Yanming replied, "For now, she's fine."
Gong Sun Yu muttered, "That girl actually has some skills."
With such severe injuries, he thought she wouldn't make it.
He hesitated, glanced at the figure in the courtyard, and asked, "Big brother, what should we do with that girl? She knows about our secret passage, should we—"
He made a gesture of silencing her.
Shang Wuyou had fallen unconscious again.
Gongsun Yanming took a deep look at Shang Wuyou, then stood up and left the secret chamber.
Meng Qianqian sat quietly on a stone bench in the courtyard, which resembled an open-air well with only a square of light above.
Gongsun Yanming sat down opposite Meng Qianqian.
Despite his dominance, Meng Qianqian remained unperturbed, her composure and demeanor rare in the world.
Gongsun Yanming placed two medicine bottles on the stone table, "There are two bottles, one with poison and the other with medicine. Choose one, and whether you live to leave here depends on your luck."
Meng Qianqian's gaze shifted between the two bottles.
Unable to see or smell, she could only rely on luck.
She picked up the left bottle, removed the stopper, and swallowed the pill without hesitation.
Then, she stood up, bowed, and said, "Thank you, Master, for the medicine. I'll take my leave."
She walked towards the stone door, raised her hand, and pressed the mechanism.
The stone door slowly opened before her.
Without looking back, she entered the seemingly endless passage and gradually disappeared from Gongsun Yanming's sight.
Gong Sun Yu, curious, left the secret chamber.
The sound of doors opening one after another indicated that she was progressing through the stone doors.
When only the last stone door remained, silence suddenly fell.
Gong Sun Yu asked, "Big brother, did the poison take effect?"
Gongsun Yanming lifted the teacup on the table and slowly took a sip.
Just as he was about to suggest preparing for the body, a loud boom echoed, and the last stone door opened.
Gongsun Yanming raised his head, his expression freezing.
(End of Chapter)
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