Time Travel: The Best Doctor in Ancient Times

Chapter 714: Chapter 551 Standing by Idly

Yuan Bao, utterly perplexed, watched as Gu Changsheng didn’t bother to explain and, pulling Zhou Mu along, withdrew from the territory of the Northern Great Camp.

As a house-raised eunuch endowed with Inner Strength, Yuan Bao’s eavesdropping skills were, begrudgingly, passable!

For instance, he could hear the conversation between Xia Ruyan and Huaheng Mantian in the Northern Great Camp loud and clear, and he did not miss a single word!

When they returned to their hiding place, Yuan Bao couldn’t wait to move closer to his own wife, yearning with a burning desire to know. Even in their covert hideout, his wife maintained a leisurely and carefree demeanor; her desire for knowledge was exceptionally strong, ”My lady, could it be possible that Xia Ruyan is truly loyal and devoted?”

”Oh?” Gu Changsheng responded, shrugging nonchalantly, ”Perhaps.”

She no longer dared to see people in such an idealistic way; the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment!

Thus, she preferred to keep her hopes low!

”My lady, you say the Huaheng Clan has thrown away their home base, so why preserve a useless thing like Huaheng Mantian? Aside from her ability to talk smart, she’s utterly useless in anything else!” Yuan Bao’s face revealed a look of disdain when he thought of Huaheng Mantian.

He hated women who were no more useful than decorative vases!

A woman, he believed, should be like his lady: capable in the hall, adept in the kitchen, equipped to govern the state with words, and able to bring peace with martial prowess!

She was a true all-rounder!

With that thought, Yuan Bao couldn’t help but find his lady utterly perfect, no matter which way he looked at her.

Perfect beyond reproach!

”Yuan Bao! You should really cut down on eating pig’s brains! You’re certainly not lacking that stuff!” Gu Changsheng said, putting down the Geomancy Map in her hand, unable to hold back.

”...” Yuan Bao felt despised.

Blatantly so...

”If you were in my shoes, would you pin all your clan’s hopes on a completely useless woman?” Gu Changsheng asked with a light tone.

Shaking his head, all Yuan Bao could do was shake his head.

Such a question could hardly be called a question; anyone but a fool could answer it.

”So... you understand?” Gu Changsheng raised an eyebrow; she felt she had given Yuan Bao the answer he sought.

However, clearly, Gu Changsheng had too much hope for Yuan Bao, this fellow who grew in flesh but not in brain.

Those round, bewildered eyes and baby-fat face announced that Yuan Bao, he just didn’t get it!

He truly didn’t understand!

Seeing the disdainful look in his lady’s eyes, Yuan Bao began to doubt himself, wondering if he was just too slow on the uptake.

So, it wasn’t that his lady’s response was problematic, it was his own comprehension that was flawed?

”My lady, as for that Xia Ruyan, he seems to be a man of integrity. Between his brows, there’s a look of a loyal civil servant and a righteous general,” Si Xi chimed in, rescuing Yuan Bao from his predicament.

With his attention diverted, Yuan Bao decisively stopped being a curious baby and squatted to the side, drawing circles in the dirt.

”Oh? Si Xi, when did I miss the part where you became a face reader?” Gu Changsheng smirked, ”When exactly did a fortune-teller join my ranks without my knowledge?”

”Heh heh...” Si Xi showed an embarrassed smile, ”It’s just that I’ve been around Little Monk Sai Yuan for so long, I’ve picked up a little bit here and there...”

Gu Changsheng felt a surge of irritation in her chest and took a few deep breaths to calm herself, silently questioning the heavens.

Why, oh why, was she surrounded by so many eccentrics?

”Whether Xia Ruyan is truly loyal, I’m not sure, but she is about to meet disaster—that I do know,” said Gu Changsheng, narrowing her phoenix eyes and sniffing.

The subtle moves by Huaheng Mantian upon leaving might fool others, but they couldn’t escape her Fiery Eyes.

It’s not the obviously venomous people who are to be feared, but those who seem harmless on the surface while stealthily stabbing you in the back.

Take Huaheng Mantian, for instance!

How could a woman who could flawlessly portray an unruly and arrogant lady, carrying the hopes of a clan, be as simple as she appeared on the surface? Don’t fool yourself into thinking everyone in the Huaheng Clan is a fool, really!

”My lady, what do you mean by that?”

Yuan Bao and Si Xi immediately leaned in upon hearing her words.

Gu Changsheng looked into the distance, her mouth curling into a smile, ”You’ll find out soon enough.”

As her voice fell, several figures moved swiftly from a distance and, with a few leaps, landed in front of them.

”Greetings, my lord.”

The four sisters of Jin, Yu, Liang, and Yuan knelt down respectfully.

”You’re back. What have you found?” Gu Changsheng called them to rise and spoke in a serious tone.

”My lord, the soldier who escorted Huaheng Mantian away indeed had ulterior motives. Not long after Huaheng Mantian left, that soldier sneaked into the Deputy General’s tent,” Jin reported with a grave expression, ”Since the Deputy General’s camp is at the center of the Northern Great Camp and there are too many patrolling soldiers, my subordinates did not dare to get too close and couldn’t make out their conversation.”

”Mm,” Gu Changsheng nodded.

”My lord, that Xia Ruyan is from a Great General’s noble family of the Phoenix Clan, and she’s a talented leader. The Xia Family has been loyal and good for generations. Because the Huaheng Clan carried the banner of executing traitors, her mother led the Xia Family Army to pledge allegiance to the Huaheng Clan. Now, Huaheng and Xiangka Clans have turned their weapons into Jade Silk, but Xia Ruyan was the first to fall out with Huaheng, staying at the Northern Great Camp and blocking the army’s passage to Red Sun City!” Sai Yuan said seriously, with a grave voice, ”In the opinion of your subordinate, this person can be of use.”

”Oh?” Upon hearing this, Gu Changsheng’s face remained expressionless.

She had once placed her hopes on the Huaheng Clan, but they had disappointed her.

Now, she no longer wanted to trust anyone.

However, Xia Ruyan’s Northern Great Camp had indeed bought her Dark Night Army time to take control of Red Sun City over these days, and that was true!

Whether the loyalty still remained or not, she, Gu Changsheng, owed them for this favor!

Her gaze lingered in the distance, Gu Changsheng was waiting for the rest of her people to return.

It wasn’t long before Han Qiu and Xiao Cui came flying back.

”My lady, the soldier has poisoned the water source at the Northern Great Camp,” Han Qiu said as he handed over a paper package.

Gu Changsheng reached out to take it, blinked her Phoenix Eyes, and gently sniffed it at her nose.

She loved dealing with poisons!

In this world, if someone said they were second to Gu Changsheng in the use of poisons, no one would dare to claim the first spot!

Whether it was using poison to kill or using medicine to heal and save people!

”A small amount of slow action powder...” A hint of enlightenment curled up at the corner of her mouth, as Gu Changsheng raised her hand and tossed the paper package aside without even giving it another look.

The slow action powder, as the name suggested, made people’s actions inconspicuously slower.

In Gu Changsheng’s eyes, it was merely child’s play, not worthy of being called a poison!

However, it was clear that such trivial poison, when used on troops, was extremely effective. After all, if all the soldiers in an army moved as slow as snails, what kind of fighting force would that army have?

A victory without a battle! What a good strategy!

She liked it!

After a while, a purple-gold figure flew in and landed beside Gu Changsheng, handing her a piece of paper.

Looking at the paper in her hand, Gu Changsheng immediately smiled and beckoned Yuan Bao and Xiao Cui to prepare some food—she was hungry!

”My lady, the Northern Great Camp is poisoned; wouldn’t that spell disaster for Xia Ruyan?” Yuan Bao said, while roasting a wild boar leg, casting a timid glance at his mistress, ”We’ve come all this way, are we really just going to stand by and watch?”

This was not like his lady’s usual style!

”I said we’re here to watch the show. As spectators, we must observe without comment!” Gu Changsheng said, mischievously, while looking at the Geomancy Map in her hands.

”But Xia Ruyan has shown her loyalty to the Phoenix Clan through her actions. Isn’t it a bit unkind for us to just watch this play out?” Yuan Bao felt a pang of guilt.

Clearly, this was someone being underhanded!

Gu Changsheng tilted her head to look at him, withdrew her gaze and turned to Zhou Mu, ”Evildoer, with you being such a big block of ice, it’s indeed fortunate that your household hasn’t raised a few more ice lumps!”

Yuan Bao, with his soft heart!

”Yuan Bao, without a setback, there’s no learning. She deserves what’s coming for not knowing people properly. We are just passing by to hit the soy sauce; don’t take it too seriously!” She wasn’t about to wade into muddy waters.

No pain, no gain, at least show her some profits first, right?

After a simple lunch, Yuan Bao and Si Xi expressed their strong dissatisfaction with their lady’s hands-off approach. Their condemning glances couldn’t help but dart toward their mistress, only to be met with their lord’s icy stare every time.

After several repetitions, the warm-hearted Yuan Bao and Si Xi gave up hope!

Clearly, their lord was condoning the mistress’s stance of standing idly by...

As house-raised servants, what else could they do?

The answer: Nothing!

Then, when the mistress asked for the Warm Wine Pot to be brought over, Yuan Bao resignedly went to fetch it.

The Warm Wine Pot was set on a stand, the wine in the pot bubbling and the aroma spreading all around. Gu Changsheng inhaled comfortably and slowly uncoiled the Soul-Devouring Python from her wrist. The moment the Soul-Devouring Python left Gu Changsheng’s wrist, it shifted from a metal Snake Bone Chain back into a wriggling snake.

She held the tail of the snake in one hand, dangling it over the steaming Warm Wine Pot, and spoke languidly, ”Some people like to boil frogs in warm water, but I, the old woman, prefer fierce fire and oil. Little Snake, bear with it, okay? Dip into the pot for a hot sake bath. Drink as much as you can!”

”Plop!”

In the next moment, the Soul-Devouring Python was sacrificially, and without resistance, thrown into the scalding pot.

”My lady, what are you doing? Why did you boil the Soul-Devouring Python?” Yuan Bao was on the verge of tears upon seeing this, ”If you want to drink medicinal wine, just say it. I can catch another snake for the infusion. The Soul-Devouring Python was so well-behaved, lying still on your body, how could you just boil it alive?”

This was clearly cooking a snake in warm wine. His lady was too cruel!

Soul-Devouring Python, you died a miserable death, an unjust death. In your next life, may you have a good reincarnation; just don’t be a snake, or at least don’t run into his lady again!