My Sister Insisted on Swapping Marriages, and I Became a Marchioness Instead

Chapter 629: Chapter 629: Hidden Depths

Marquis Gu hurriedly bowed, ”I first thank you on his behalf for saving his life. When he wakes up, he will personally express his gratitude. I beg you to prescribe the medicine.”

Seeing his respect, Doctor Li felt gratified and added, ”The patient’s internal organs have already started to decay. This poison is extremely potent. If he rests quietly after taking the medicine, he can live a few more days. But if he exerts himself, the poison will swiftly attack the organs, and even if he looks fine after death, his insides would be completely rotten.”

Upon hearing this, Marquis Gu’s pupils dilated in shock, and he staggered, nearly falling over.

Doctor Li quickly turned to the table to write a prescription, and instructed someone to urgently bring the golden juice to induce vomiting.

The smell in the room became even more unbearable.

Doctor Li went outside to personally oversee the preparation of the medicine. After Yelv Xianyong took it, he waited for a bit, then urged Gu Shiba to take him back.

Gu Shiba advised, ”In half an hour, the curfew will be lifted. Why go through the hassle? You might as well find a room to rest, join us for breakfast tomorrow morning, and it will be convenient to check on the patient.”

Doctor Li insisted on leaving.

Marquis Gu spoke up, ”Shiba, hurry and take Doctor Li back. Don’t delay.”

Gu Shiba had no choice but to take the risk of being discovered by the Patrol Camp to escort Doctor Li back to Renhe Hall.

Doctor Li repeatedly reminded him to ask Qin Yuan if she had that aroma when she woke up.

Seeing that Yelv Xianyong’s life was saved, Marquis Gu felt relieved. As the sky gradually brightened, it was hard to go back to sleep, so he simply went to the outer courtyard to practice martial arts. When it seemed the hour was right, he went to Wutong Garden to wake Qin Yuan.

At this moment, the inner chamber was silent and empty. Through the red curtain, he could vaguely see Qin Yuan’s sleeping face, her hair shining like satin flowing over her jade shoulders, tightly wrapped by the red quilt.

Marquis Gu was stunned.

He often heard his sixth brother praise the National Beauty Begonia, believing it to be just a scholar’s trick.

Now, seeing her like a begonia awakening in the morning light, accompanied by the rich fragrance of flowers, unfolding petal by petal, he felt a deep sense of appropriateness.

He gently coaxed, ”Yuan’er, wake up. The master was here last night, asking if you could make an incense to save someone.”

Qin Yuan, with drowsy eyes, mumbled, ”Who is hurt? What illness do they have?”

Marquis Gu didn’t call the maid in, instead he picked out a dress and accessories for Qin Yuan and helped her put them on, ”It’s Yelv Xianyong, poisoned by something called the Gobi Poison Scorpion from the Northern Border. The master prescribed some medicine last night to keep him alive, saying that if he is fortunate, he might gradually recover.”

Qin Yuan realized, ”He needs incense to aid in detoxification and recovery.”

”Yes, can you make the incense he needs?”

Qin Yuan frowned, ”I’ve never heard of this Gobi Poison Scorpion.”

Marquis Gu said, ”The master said this poison is extremely potent, damaging the internal organs. It acts slowly at rest but rapidly with exertion. After death, the body looks fine, but the organs inside are completely ruined.”

Speaking of this, his thick brows furrowed over his elongated eyes, looking much different than usual. Qin Yuan assumed he was worried for Yelv Xianyong, and after thinking carefully, she said, ”There is an incense recipe for detoxification, but I don’t remember it fully. It should be kept with my dowry.”

”That’s good. Do you need me to help you find it?”

Gu Jinghui sighed in relief.

Qin Yuan sighed, ”No need, you go ahead with your work. But even if I find it, I’m not sure if it’s the right one, since I’ve never heard of this poison before.”

Gu Jinghui comforted, ”Think of it as treating a dead horse as if it’s alive.”

As they spoke, Qin Yuan had already dressed, and Marquis Gu hurried her to wash. Only then did he call someone in to serve. Today, Hong Ye was on duty.

Hong Ye stifled a yawn, tears welling up, and quietly asked, ”Getting up this early, is something wrong?”

Old Madam Gu never enforced strict rules, Qin Yuan usually lazed as much as she could.

She had a little wine last night, surely she should sleep a bit more.

Qin Yuan said, ”Someone is sick and urgently needs an incense recipe. We’ll need to search through the dowry trunks.”

Hong Ye acknowledged with a sound and quickened her pace, immediately ordering the small kitchen to prepare breakfast, serving it to the Marquis and Marchioness.

Cui Ming and the others, having heard the news, didn’t come in to help. After having their breakfasts, they went to the meeting courtyard to handle daily affairs for Qin Yuan.

After breakfast, Qin Yuan took Hong Ye to the storeroom, brought out two trunks of books from her dowry, and began to flip through them one by one.

She had an exceptional_memory since childhood, knowing each incense recipe by heart.

But since Doctor Li asked her to make the incense, he clearly believed she could do it.

She had never heard of the Gobi Poison Scorpion, so it must be the Chen family’s detoxification recipe. However, she didn’t know where it was written; she might have missed it while reading as a child.

Both of them carefully searched through everything but still didn’t find it.

Qin Yuan frowned in thought.

Hong Ye said, ”How about taking these books out and placing them in the study, to avoid rummaging through the trunks each time you need them?”

Qin Yuan thought for a moment and said, ”No, just store them properly.”

Hong Ye further suggested, ”Why not place some insect-repelling incense bags in the storeroom? If no one looks after these books, insects might damage them, which would be a shame.”

Qin Yuan picked up a book and pinched the pages and spine, intending to check for insect prevention. She then realized the spine seemed thicker than usual.

With the experience of living an extra life, Qin Yuan’s eyes lit up; there was clearly something stuffed inside.

”Then you go find some incense bags, and I’ll keep looking here.”

Qin Yuan sent Hong Ye away, pulled out a hairpin, and carefully pried at the spine, extracting a piece of yellowed soft silk.

The soft silk was folded and rolled into a thin scroll, stuffed inside the spine. Layer by layer, it unfolded to the length of a quilt.

The material was light and fine, unpierced and tear-resistant, seemingly with gold foil added, a real treasure, covered with meticulous small writing.

Qin Yuan folded it and slipped it into her sleeve, then checked other books.

This time, she found another hidden item, which turned out to be a family genealogy.

Qin Yuan’s eyes filled with tears.

In her past life, she tried every method to uncover the Chen family’s whereabouts, and now it came effortlessly.

Before passing, her mother had urged her to preserve the dowry, especially those medical books, as they carried the Chen family legacy and must not be lost.

She had carefully put them away after reading, never expecting another secret within.

Hong Ye returned with a bamboo carrier, taking out incense bags filled with medicinal powder and ash from herbs, placing them among the books.

Qin Yuan lowered her head to conceal her turbulent emotions, pretending nonchalance, ”Not bad. At some point next year, let’s air the books properly.”

Hong Ye asked, ”Since we didn’t find the formal recipe, should we still try making the incense?”

Qin Yuan wanted to be alone to examine that soft silk thoroughly, so she said, ”Let’s attempt to make one. Better to have it in case it works. Even if it doesn’t, at least we tried.”

Hong Ye went off on her tasks, while Qin Yuan stayed in the small room of the incense workshop, tinkering with the tools to make incense, instructing that no one disturb her unnecessarily.

She wiped the table clean, then spread the silk open to study it.

It contained secret Chen family recipes not to be shared.

Such secrets were traditionally passed only to men, not to women or outside the family through marriage.

If there was no male heir, the secrets would cease to be passed on.