Chapter 4: The Poison Takes Effect

“Bang… Bang… Bang!”

Shen Yiran was jolted awake by the sound of smashing and crashing. Already irritable from being roused from sleep, she was just about to curse when Yun’er suddenly sat bolt upright beside her, startling her instead.

Her thoughts instantly returned to reality.

She had transmigrated.

There was a mountain of troublesome matters waiting for her. Just thinking about them made her head ache.

By now, the raging storm that had howled throughout the night had long since disappeared. A gentle beam of morning sunlight slipped through the crack in the door, falling softly upon the crimson quilt and creating an unexpectedly tranquil scene.

“Miss, is it daylight already? We didn’t die?” Yun’er exclaimed happily as she hurried out of bed.

“That’s right. We’re still alive.” Shen Yiran stretched lazily.

“Ah!”

Pain shot through her body.

How could she have forgotten that she was still covered in wounds? She had been far too careless.

Using nothing but a thought, she summoned the Medical Kit from her Dimensional Space.

“Yun’er, help me change the medicine.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Yun’er skillfully opened the Medical Kit, took out cotton swabs, gauze, and the necessary medicine, then lifted Shen Yiran’s inner robe.

Heavens…

She recovered far too quickly!

The wounds that had been a bloody, mangled mess last night had already begun to scab over.

“M-Miss… your wounds…”

Shen Yiran’s heart skipped a beat.

Could they have become infected?

That shouldn’t be possible!

“They’re more than half healed already!” Yun’er gasped, her mouth hanging open in shock.

Shen Yiran let out a silent sigh.

Couldn’t this girl finish her sentence in one go? She had frightened her for nothing.

Still, it wasn’t Yun’er’s fault.

In ancient times, injuries as severe as hers would require at least ten days to half a month of treatment with herbal medicine before a person could even get out of bed.

As Yun’er applied the medicine, she couldn’t help wondering just where her young mistress had obtained such miraculous medicine.

“Miss, where did this medicine come from? It’s incredible!”

“I’ll tell you another time. Hurry up. It won’t be good if someone sees.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Yun’er quickened her movements.

She was a clever girl. Shen Yiran had only taught her once the night before, yet she had remembered every step.

Just as she finished applying the medicine, the sounds of smashing outside became even clearer.

“Yun’er, help me up. Let’s go see what’s happening.”

Before leaving the room, Shen Yiran made sure to return the Medical Kit to her Dimensional Space.

Mistress and maid stepped outside and followed the commotion. The noise was coming from the Crown Prince’s bedchamber.

Just as Shen Yiran reached out to push the door open, it creaked inward.

Caught off guard, she nearly stumbled flat on her face. Before she could curse, a young man rushed out and almost knocked her over.

The young man sized them up from head to toe.

“Which household do you ladies belong to? What are you doing in Master’s courtyard? Leave immediately!”

With that, he began trying to drive them away.

Master?

Then this must be Ren Jingzhi’s attendant.

Ignoring him completely, Shen Yiran walked straight into the room.

“You can’t go in!”

The young man hurriedly tried to stop her.

Yun’er shot him a glance.

“My Miss is your Crown Princess Consort. She entered the residence yesterday. Do you still think she can’t go in?”

The Crown Princess Consort?

But hadn’t every previous consort brought in for the marriage of ill fortune died before dawn?

There was no time to dwell on it.

His master’s condition had suddenly become critical, and he quickly chased after them.

On the bed, Ren Jingzhi’s ink-black hair was in complete disarray. His face was deathly pale, his eyes blood-red, and veins bulged violently across his forehead, making him look terrifying.

The moment Shen Yiran stepped to the bedside, he seized her arm before suddenly clamping both hands around her throat.

His crimson eyes, so red they looked ready to bleed, glared at her with madness.

“I’m going to strangle you! All of you are trying to kill me!”

“Master! Let go! She’s the Crown Princess Consort!”

The young attendant rushed forward to pry his master’s fingers loose.

Instead, Ren Jingzhi struck him away with a single palm.

The young man flew backward and slammed heavily into a pillar with a dull thud.

“Your Highness, let go of my Miss!”

Yun’er also rushed forward.

She didn’t even get close before another palm strike sent her flying as well, landing squarely on top of the attendant, who hadn’t even managed to get back to his feet.

Even crippled and poisoned, he still possessed such terrifying strength.

As expected of the once-renowned God of War.

One glance was enough for Shen Yiran to recognize that Ren Jingzhi’s poison had flared up.

What she had overlooked, however, was that this poison caused its victims to lose their sanity, sometimes driving them into complete madness.

The hand around her throat tightened rapidly.

The suffocating pressure grew stronger by the second.

In that critical instant, Shen Yiran instinctively reached into her Dimensional Space, produced a syringe of sedative, and plunged it into his arm.

Silently, she counted.

One…

Two…

Three…

Four…

Five.

As she reached five, Ren Jingzhi finally released her neck.

His body slowly collapsed back onto the bed.

Grasping the bedframe for support, Shen Yiran bent over, coughing violently while gasping for air.

Seeing this, both Yun’er and the young attendant scrambled to their feet and rushed toward their respective masters.

“Miss! Miss! Are you alright?”

Yun’er hurriedly supported Shen Yiran.

“Master! Master! What’s happened to you?”

Seeing Ren Jingzhi lying unconscious, the young man was frantic with worry.

“He’s only asleep. Stop shouting.”

Shen Yiran spoke impatiently.

Damn it.

Couldn’t he see that she had nearly been strangled to death by his master?

Judging from Ren Jingzhi’s symptoms, the poison had already begun spreading toward his heart.

Detoxification could not be delayed another moment.

After all that struggling, the wound on her back had undoubtedly split open again. The pain had become noticeably worse.

If this continued, even the best modern medicine wouldn’t be enough to help her recover quickly.

Seeing his master unconscious, the young attendant turned and hurried toward the door to summon the estate physician.

“You there! Where do you think you’re going?”

Shen Yiran stopped him immediately.

“Your Highness, this subordinate is Lin Bei, His Highness’s personal guard. I’m going to fetch the physician so he can perform acupuncture on His Highness.”

He answered respectfully.

Shen Yiran thought to herself that if the estate physician had been capable of curing him, the poison would never have advanced to the point of attacking his heart.

For now, the only option was to use the Thirteen Soul-Shocking Needles to protect his heart meridian. The remaining treatment could follow with further acupuncture and medication.

“If you don’t want your Crown Prince to die, stand guard outside the door and don’t let anyone enter.”

As she spoke, she placed her fingers lightly upon Ren Jingzhi’s wrist to take his pulse.

Can the Crown Princess Consort really practice medicine?

Lin Bei remained skeptical.

Yet he dared not disobey.

After all, she was the only one among the six ill-fated brides who had actually survived the wedding night.

Reluctantly, he withdrew from the room.

Shen Yiran frowned in confusion.

Judging from his pulse alone, everything seemed relatively stable.

He shouldn’t have displayed such violent madness.

Suddenly, she remembered reading an ancient medical text.

The truly terrifying aspect of this poison was that it deliberately misled physicians during diagnosis, causing them to miss the optimal treatment window. By the time obvious symptoms appeared, the patient would already be beyond saving.

Whoever had concocted this poison was truly vicious and sinister.

“Yun’er, you go outside as well. Until I call for someone, don’t let anyone come in.”

She didn’t want Yun’er watching her perform acupuncture.

Besides, she wasn’t entirely at ease leaving Lin Bei alone outside.

“Yes, Miss.”

Yun’er obediently left the room.

As soon as she stepped outside, Lin Bei looked at her in confusion.

He had been sitting on the stone steps and immediately stood up.

“Finished already?”

“I’m here to keep an eye on you.”

Yun’er plopped herself down on the steps.

“If you don’t want anything to happen to your Master, you’d better guard this door properly.”

Sitting there with a stern expression, she really did resemble a little guardian deity.

…

Inside the room, Shen Yiran summoned the Medical Kit from her Dimensional Space.

To her surprise, its contents had changed.

Previously, it had contained trauma medicine.

Now, it was stocked with antidote pills and the Thirteen Soul-Shocking Needles.

Could this Medical Kit really be so incredibly intelligent?

It actually understood her thoughts and provided exactly what she needed.

Grinning, Shen Yiran blew the Medical Kit a playful kiss.

She absolutely adored it.

Still, there was serious work to be done.

She opened the case containing the Thirteen Soul-Shocking Needles.

Inside lay thirteen acupuncture needles of varying lengths and thicknesses.

This acupuncture technique demanded extraordinary precision.

Every needle had to pierce a fatal acupoint.

Even the slightest deviation—whether too shallow or too deep—could kill the patient on the spot.

Mingmen.

Renying.

Weilu…

With complete concentration and practiced skill, Shen Yiran accurately located each acupoint on Ren Jingzhi’s body and swiftly inserted all thirteen needles.

While waiting for the needles to remain in place, she took out a handkerchief and wiped the fine beads of sweat from her forehead.

By chance, her fingers brushed against the hideous birthmark on her face.

She instantly remembered a popular saying from her school days:

“Being ugly isn’t your fault, but coming out to scare people is.”

Silently, she took a length of cotton thread from the Medical Kit and tore a strip of gauze from the hem of her dress.

To her surprise, the makeshift veil turned out rather elegant.

After putting on the veil, she was just about to remove the needles when a burst of loud voices erupted from outside the room.