Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1265: Chapter 1267: The Mastermind Behind_1

If it were before, Bai Ruozhu would definitely have assumed that Jiao Bingqin didn’t know Chiyou’s real identity, or perhaps had never even seen his true face. However, after coming into contact with the books in the Astrology Building, she realized there was another possibility: the other party could have used the Soul Searching Technique to control part of the target’s thoughts, making it impossible to speak of those memories, even if drugged.

Bai Ruozhu guessed that it was the latter possibility with Jiao Bingqin.

”What did Chiyou order you to do?” Jiang Yichun continued to ask.

Jiao Bingqin showed a struggling expression, as if her subconscious was telling her not to speak, but soon she was controlled by the drugs and began to say, ”He wanted me to bewitch Chen Daoru, to incite him not to cooperate in supporting Guangqi Town.”

So the mastermind behind sending the Poisonous Insect Master to wreak havoc was Chiyou!

”How did you find out about our actions, and what is the purpose of doing this?” Jiang Yichun frowned, somewhat worried that Chiyou’s actions were not so simple.

”I don’t know, he only ordered me to beguile Chen Daoru. He didn’t say anything else and forbade me from asking more,” Jiao Bingqin said.

Jiang Yichun sighed somewhat helplessly; it appeared that Jiao Bingqin’s status was too low to be heavily relied upon by Chiyou.

”Do you have any accomplices?” This time, it was Bai Ruozhu who asked.

”I don’t know. They don’t contact me and only listen to Chiyou’s orders,” Jiao Bingqin answered.

”Then doesn’t anyone come to meet you?” Bai Ruozhu asked again.

”No, I can only leave when I receive orders,” Jiao Bingqin said, her voice getting weaker until she finally fainted.

It seemed they had reached the limit, and it appeared they had learned too little.

Suddenly, Bai Ruozhu pulled out a dagger and chopped at Jiao Bingqin. Muyu, standing beside her, was startled, thinking that if someone needed to be killed, he could do it; why did the lady need to take action?

But the next second, he realized his misunderstanding. Bai Ruozhu had merely sliced Jiao Bingqin’s arm, then took a porcelain bottle to catch the blood flowing out.

”Didn’t they say that only her blood can open the hidden mechanism? I still don’t believe this superstition. We don’t need a living person, next time we’ll just bring her blood to try. If it doesn’t work, I’ll think of something else,” Bai Ruozhu said as she switched to another porcelain bottle to continue collecting blood. As the blood was not flowing fast enough, she unhesitatingly made another cut, as though Jiao Bingqin’s arm were a rotten radish.

Jiang Yichun nodded, ”You’re always more thorough.”

As the three of them were speaking, sudden footsteps came from outside, accompanied by an old woman’s voice, ”Miss Qiner, your meal is here. Should I leave it at the door?”

With Jiao Bingqin having fainted, she couldn’t answer, and the old woman tentatively asked, ”Miss Qiner, are you asleep?”

The three exchanged glances, and then Muyu suddenly spoke up, his voice lazy, ”Leave it at the door.”

Bai Ruozhu was instantly shocked, almost dropping her jaw; the voice Muyu had projected was strikingly similar to Jiao Bingqin’s, and given that he imitated the sound of a sleepy Jiao Bingqin, a slight difference would not invoke suspicion.

”Alright, eat while it’s hot,” the old woman was not suspicious and placed the food box at the door before leaving.

After the old woman had walked away, Jiang Yichun said in a low voice, ”We should take her and leave this place first. She’s the person the Emperor is looking for; we’ll have to send her back to the Capital quickly using Lightning.”

Bai Ruozhu opened her mouth, but knowing this was not a convenient place to speak, she helped Muyu to prop up an unconscious Jiao Bingqin and left the Liuyun Residence with her.

The three of them found a back alley, where Muyu threw Jiao Bingqin to the ground, and quickly brought back a horse carriage, hoisting Jiao Bingqin onto the carriage.

Throughout this process, Muyu was the only one lifting Jiao Bingqin. Apart from Bai Ruozhu lending a hand at the beginning, Jiang Yichun did not even touch her. Moreover, he stood aside with an air of tranquility, apparently accustomed to having his subordinates handle such matters. Muyu also seemed used to it, managing well on her own.

Bai Ruozhu observed everything and felt relieved.

This morning had started with the concubine of a local official throwing herself at him. Barely a few steps out, he ran into another woman who had done the same in the past. Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but wonder why he had so many unwanted admirers, which irritated him. But now, all the irritation had evaporated.

”Achun, we’re about to head to the Western Regions, and we can’t be short-handed. Since Lightning is your personal attendant, sending her to Capital City would take too long. Why not have Lightning take her to Beiyu City and ask Meng Liangshen to arrange for someone to escort Jiao Bingqin back to the Capital?” Bai Ruozhu finally expressed what she had wanted to say.

Jiang Yichun hesitated for a moment, since the emperor wanted the sheepskin scroll kept secret and didn’t let Meng Liangshen know anything about it.

”Alright, we’ll do as you said. Drug her a bit, I think it’d be best for her to be out of her wits the entire way,” Jiang Yichun said.

Bai Ruozhu immediately understood his intention and with a thought, took out a bottle of medicine from her Space and fed a pellet into Jiao Bingqin’s mouth.

”There, she should remain out of her senses for about a month, enough time to make it to the Capital,” Bai Ruozhu remarked.

Afterward, the horse carriage headed for the entrance of the Yuekelai, while Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun returned to their private room to continue their meal. Lightning quickly came down to drive the carriage away.

After a morning’s upheaval, Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun were hungry. They enjoyed a sumptuous meal before preparing to head back to Guangqi Town.

Not long after they left Yuekelai, Bai Ruozhu saw two men dressed as mountain villagers standing at the entrance of a Pharmacy, talking about something, but they were chased out by a shop assistant.

With worried, furrowed brows, they stood by the roadside. The taller man said, ”What do we do now? They said our medicinal materials are of poor quality, and the buyer that usually comes hasn’t shown up for some days. My wife is about to give birth, and we need money for everything.”

The shorter man quickly interjected, ”Brother Shanzi, don’t worry, we can ask around some more. There must be a Pharmacy that will take them.”

The man referred to as Brother Shanzi had a look of indignation, ”Those people look down upon us, not giving our herbs a proper glance just because our clothes are worn.”

Indeed, the two were dressed in tattered clothes. They regularly went into the mountains to gather herbs and didn’t have any decent clothing. Furthermore, their clothes had many patches due to frequent tears from thorns and rocks in the mountains. Coupled with their dusty and muddy appearance from rushing down, they looked extremely shabby.

Bai Ruozhu understood the situation; the two men were herbalists from the mountains. She thought of the mountain villagers in the West Mountain area. Could they be from there?

She walked over briskly and addressed them, ”Gentlemen, may I take a look at your medicinal materials? If they are suitable, I would like to buy them.”

Both men showed delight, having thought their trip was going to be in vain.

”Sure, sure, Madam, please take a look, but be careful not to dirty your clothes,” the shorter man said, who seemed to have some education and was quite politely mannered.

They set down their carrying baskets and showed Bai Ruozhu the medicinal materials inside. After a glance, she could tell they were wild medicinal materials from the mountains with average age but not of poor quality. These wild herbs were more effective than cultivated ones.