Chapter 10, Residual Toxins

Wang Yuan brought the rice porridge and pancakes to the woman and said, "Eat up"

Wang Yuan smiled slightly and said: "What does the young lady want me to say? Saving you is saving you; must there be a reason? Although I, Wang Yuan, am but a commoner, I possess a heart to help the weak. Last night, the young lady was gravely injured and collapsed beneath the wall of the alley. The Jinwu Guards would arrive at any moment, and in a moment of compassion, I took it upon myself to rescue you. It is as simple as that."

Wang Yuan nodded slightly and said, "What you said is quite right. So what should we do now?"

Wang Yuan let out a gasp, stunned and speechless, realizing that his good intentions had inadvertently led to a bad outcome. No wonder when he treated her wound yesterday, he noticed the surrounding flesh was a bloody mess; it turned out that Li Shierniang had taken it upon herself to cut away some of the infected flesh. Instead, he had made matters worse, causing the residual poison to spread more rapidly, which resulted in the worsening of her injury.

Li Shierniang exerted herself too much, breathing heavily. After a brief moment of recovery, she said: "Since you have saved my life, please see it through to the end. I would like to ask you to help me summon a person here; only this person can help me with the antidote and rescue me. If you assist me this time, I will surely repay you handsomely in the future"

Wang Yuan playfully engaged in a game of eye contact with her, seeking to retaliate for her previous rudeness. His gaze gradually became more audacious until the woman's face displayed a look of anger, at which point he triumphantly ceased. However, this scrutiny allowed him to observe the woman's appearance quite clearly. Despite her disheveled hair and pale, haggard complexion, her beauty was undeniable. Beneath her elegantly arched eyebrows, her starry eyes shone like the stars, complemented by a petite and charming nose and mouth, with two small dimples adorning her cheeks. Despite her disheveled hair and pale, haggard complexion, her beauty was undeniable. Beneath her elegantly arched eyebrows, her starry eyes shone like the stars, complemented by a petite and charming nose and mouth, with two small dimples adorning her cheeks.

Miss, how does your wound feel

Wang Yuan opened his mouth to scream, struggling desperately, but not a sound escaped him, and he had no strength left in his body, watching helplessly as the long sword pierced through him

I am not hungry," the woman shook her head, but a strange sound of "gulu gulu" suddenly emerged, clearly the sound of her intestines moving. The woman felt a bit embarrassed and lowered her head in silence.

The fully armed Imperial Guard burst through the door, and the soldier wielding a longsword rushed straight to the chamber. The glint of the sword rose and fell, and the woman on the bed immediately met her demise, with blood splattering everywhere. A fierce-looking officer grabbed Wang Yuan from the bedding, grinning maliciously as he shouted, "You dare harbor an assassin, and shall be killed without mercy!" He then drew his sword and plunged it into Wang Yuan's chest.

The woman struggled to move her body, attempting to sit up, but after a prolonged effort, she finally gave up, panting heavily. Wang Yuan noticed that one side of her body seemed to be completely unable to exert any strength, so he smiled and said, "Never mind, it's better if you don't move around too much. If you don't mind, I can feed you a few bites instead."

Wang Yuan swayed his stiff body and said softly, "I had a nightmare"

Li Shier Niang slightly nodded and said: "Well... that's fine, Brother Wang Er, I must ask a rather abrupt question. Since you know that I am being pursued by the Southern Yamen soldiers, why did you save me last night? Are you not afraid of being implicated?"

The lady smiled and said, "Kind sir, you would not do such a thing. May I ask your esteemed name?"

Drinking some porridge and eating some pancakes will be beneficial for you

The woman blushed and repeatedly shook her head, saying: "No, no."

The snow is quite heavy, and it seems it won't stop anytime soon. With such a large amount of snow, the Imperial Guards will likely not come to search for a while; they won't be able to find any traces unless they conduct a house-to-house search. Wang Yuan whispered as he restored the grass curtain on the window to its original state, securely tying it to the wooden wedge below with a straw rope

"Today is the Lantern Festival. They will not search every household; they will only strengthen the patrols on the streets," the woman said softly

The woman huffed and turned away in silence. Wang Yuan smiled, stood up, and walked to the tightly covered window hole draped with a grass curtain. He gently parted a gap to look outside; a beam of blinding daylight accompanied by a cold, chilling wind streamed in, illuminating a corner of the shabby room. Wang Yuan shivered as he gazed outside, where the courtyard was blanketed in white. The heavy snow continued to fall, and the ground was already covered with half a foot of snow, surrounding him in complete silence.

The rice porridge on the stove was bubbling and about to overflow. Wang Yuan hurried over to take the earthenware pot down and placed it on the ground, turning his head to ask: "Are you hungry, young lady? Let's eat something."

He does not know, but at least there will always be a few strings of reward money.

Wang Yuan said: "My surname is Wang and my given name is Yuan, I am a commoner from this neighborhood."

The woman shook her head slightly and said, "I don't know, the wound hurts a lot"

Wang Yuan smiled and said, "Though I say I don't want it, my body is quite honest." He then scooped half a bowl of rice porridge with a wooden spoon and set it aside to cool, and took the sesame cakes he had bought to toast by the fire.

Wang Yuan slapped his thigh and said: "Ah, had I known there were so many rewards, I should have handed you over. What a blunder, an extreme blunder"

What should we do now? Is there an antidote? Please write a prescription, and I will go to the market to buy the medicine for you

The woman felt a bit numb on one side of her body, like a puppet being manipulated by others. Wang Yuan sensed that something was amiss and feared that the wound had worsened. After wiping the woman down, Wang Yuan frowned and said, "Miss, please forgive my intrusion. I need to examine your wound, as I believe something is not quite right."

In the peculiar atmosphere, after finishing half a bowl of porridge and a piece of bread, the woman closed her eyes and shook her head to indicate that she had had enough. Wang Yuan also secretly breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly realizing that he was sweating on his forehead, and couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing.

Li Shierniang tilted her head and said: "So what if it is? So what if it isn't? Is there any difference?"

Li Shierniang's face showed a look of anger, but she suddenly realized that this was merely Wang Yuan's teasing. Her expression darkened as she said: "Brother Wang Er, I am speaking to you seriously, so could you please speak to me earnestly as well?"

Wang Yuan said: "Are you saying that once you go to get the medicine and prepare the prescription, you will be discovered by others?"

"Yes, the Jinwu Guard patrols the city with their unique method of using black aconite poison-tipped arrows to capture criminals. I was struck by such a poison last night. When I woke up, I had to pull out the poisoned arrow myself and excise the poisoned flesh around the wound, but I could not remove it completely. If I am not mistaken, you must have used wine to help cleanse my wound last night. However... however, your good intentions inadvertently caused more harm. You were unaware that using wine to cleanse the wound only accelerated the spread of the poison. So when I woke up just now, I felt numbness on one side of my body, which is related to this."

The young woman silently watched Wang Yuan busying himself, and suddenly said softly: "Thank you, young master."

This... this is really... sigh, I am truly confused. Wang Yuan stamped his foot in self-reproach

Wang Yuan said: "Naturally concerned, may I ask, young lady, are you a ruthless criminal?"

Wang Yuan smiled and said: "Do not point a sword at me while shouting for bloodshed; I would be grateful to heaven and earth, but there is no need for thanks."

The room was quiet, with the firewood burning brightly. The dry wood in the stove crackled softly, and the pot above the stove bubbled with steam, releasing the aroma of porridge. It was then that Wang Yuan realized that what had just happened was merely a fleeting dream.

Wang Yuan smiled and said, "Hello, Twelve Niang. You need not call me 'Benefactor' repeatedly; everyone in Yong'an Fang calls me Wang Erlang, so you may call me that as well"

The woman suspected that Wang Yuan had ulterior motives, but as a woman who valued a neat appearance, upon seeing her disheveled hair and smelling the scent of blood on herself, she realized that she must look quite unkempt at that moment, and thus she nodded in agreement

The room was quiet, and the woman was eating porridge from Wang Yuan's hand, when suddenly both of them felt an inexplicable awkwardness. Wang Yuan felt as if he were a young wife serving her husband, while the woman appeared even more flustered at being fed by a stranger. Occasionally, after making eye contact with Wang Yuan, she would immediately shift her gaze elsewhere.

Li Shierniang was momentarily stunned, then suddenly sat up forcefully at the head of the bed, struggling to raise her body to pay her respects to Wang Yuan. Wang Yuan hurriedly stepped forward to support her and asked, "What is the meaning of this?"

"Wang Erge, do not blame yourself; this is the malicious means of the Jinwu Guard. You had good intentions, and it has nothing to do with you."

After the woman had groomed herself, she evidently felt much better and softly said: "There is no rush regarding this matter, benefactor. I have yet to properly thank you for saving me. I apologize for any disrespect I may have shown you before; please do not take it to heart."

Li Shierniang stared at Wang Yuan for a moment. She said softly: "I have troubled Brother Wang Er, but you can rest assured that as soon as my injuries improve, I will leave immediately. However, given the current situation, it seems that I will not recover anytime soon. The wound on my shoulder is severely swollen and accompanied by a tingling sensation. As far as I know, this is a sign of poisoning."

Li Shierniang let out a sound of acknowledgment, slightly nodded, furrowed her delicate brows in thought for a moment, and then suddenly said: "Brother Wang Er, do you know who I am? Are you not worried that the one you are trying to save is a ruthless criminal?"

Wang Yuan tilted his head and smiled, saying: "How much reward can there be?"

A woman's soft voice came through, saying: "I think so too"

Li Shierniang shook her head slightly and said: "This poison is not lethal; the Jinwu Guard uses this type of poison specifically for capturing criminals. It will gradually cause a person to lose their ability to move, rendering them helpless. I do have the antidote, but unfortunately, I did not bring it with me last night. Naturally, there are antidotes available at the pharmacy, but you cannot go to fetch the medicine."

Wang Yuan was already sitting on the edge of the bed, slowly bringing a wooden spoon of porridge to the woman's lips. The woman hesitated for a moment but eventually opened her mouth to eat the porridge

Li Xin'er nodded slightly, biting her lower lip as she asked again: "Since you regret it now, why didn't you hand the servant over to the Jinwu Guard? The Jinwu Guard might have rewarded you."

Wang Yuan nodded and said, "You have a point. Since I have already saved you, it makes no difference whether it is right or wrong. I hope you are not. To be honest, I am quite regretful right now. I blame myself for my impulsive actions last night, and all I can think about is how to resolve this matter. Looking at the situation with the Jinwu Guards last night, I suspect you are not an ordinary person, and perhaps I have indeed gotten myself into trouble. All I want now is for you to recover from your injuries quickly and to send you away from here before you are discovered."

Li Shierniang nodded and said: "Yes, and even if you manage to obtain the medicine, it must be brewed here. The strong aroma of the medicine will surely waft out. This Yong'an Fang must already be a key surveillance area for the Jinwu Guard; isn't this actively exposing our whereabouts and inviting them to capture us?"

It turns out that I am Young Master Wang. My surname is Li, and my given name is Xin'er. I am the twelfth child in my family, and you may address me as Twelve Niang.

Wang Yuan filled a basin with hot water but did not take action until the woman actively signaled for his assistance. Only then did he step forward, wetting a cloth with the hot water and carefully wiping the woman's head and face clean. Wang Yuan's hands occasionally brushed against the woman's delicate skin; at first, she frowned and tried to avoid him, but soon she seemed to resign herself to the situation

"Poisoned?" Wang Yuan was taken aback

Last night, when Wang Yuan saved her, he did not take a close look; he was quite flustered at that time and had no mood to observe her appearance. Now, facing such a beautiful woman at such a close distance, he could not help but feel somewhat different. This was the first time in a month that he had seen a true beauty of the Tang Dynasty; although the eldest daughter of the Huang family was also quite good-looking, she was ultimately just an immature young girl.

Wang Yuan smiled and said: "How could I not be afraid? In fact, after I saved you last night, I felt a bit regretful. But when the young lady spoke up to plead, and with her life hanging by a thread, how could I stand idly by?"

Wang Yuan looked towards the bed in the corner, and saw the injured woman leaning against the headboard, gazing at him in surprise. Although the light in the room was dim, it seemed as if he could see the woman's eyes sparkling brightly.

Wang Yuan brought over half a basin of hot water and said: "Would you like to wash your face and tidy up a bit? It might improve your mood."

Wang Yuan smiled and said: "Of course I won't take it to heart, otherwise I would have thrown you out of the house"

Ah! Wang Yuan shouted as he woke up, suddenly springing up from the floor, gasping for breath and looking around in a panic, his body drenched in sweat