"Let him come to us on his own?" Mo Li looked utterly confused.
The Tianyi Pavilion had sent out countless people and spent a great deal of time and effort, yet they still failed to bring back Zhou Yuanning. How could this seemingly frail woman in front of him expect the man to show up voluntarily?
Bai Zheng noticed the disbelief in Mo Li's eyes and simply smiled indifferently.
In the past month, while busying herself with her own business, she also learned a great deal about Zhou Yuanning from occasional conversations with Uncle Zhu and the information sent back by the Tianyi Pavilion.
Zhou Yuanning was a kind - hearted and skillful doctor, respected by the common people as a living Buddha. His reputation should have even exceeded that of her master, Lian Feimo.
However, he was completely devoted to the study of poison arts. He was a solitary person who disliked socializing. After disappearing from the world for ten years, there was rarely any news about him.
But Bai Zheng knew that people with such a solitary nature often had an extraordinary obsession with things they liked.
And this Zhou Yuanning not only loved to study poison arts but also had another hobby.
He was extremely fond of wine. Wherever there was good wine, he would surely be there.
With just a pot of good wine, they could surely lure him out.
Of course, the Tianyi Pavilion was not entirely useless. They must have tried this method as well.
The problem was that over the years, Zhou Yuanning, a connoisseur of wine, had tasted all the fine wines in the world and was extremely picky about his drinks.
He had grown tired of wines like Lotus Stamen Wine, Cold Pool Fragrance Wine, Autumn Dew White Wine, and Bamboo Leaf Green Wine. Even the wines presented as tribute from foreign vassal states no longer appealed to him.
If they couldn't come up with an exquisite vintage that was truly enticing, it would be impossible to tempt Zhou Yuanning.
This was also the reason why the people from the Tianyi Pavilion had given up on this approach. They simply couldn't find a wine that could attract Zhou Yuanning.
"I'll handle this," Bai Zheng said as she turned around and sat on the edge of the couch, silently looking at the person lying on it.
Feng Linyuan had his eyes tightly closed, his brows knitted together. His long eyelashes fluttered slightly, as if indicating that even in his unconscious state, he was still suffering physical pain.
Bai Zheng couldn't help but reach out her hand and gently brush her fingertips across Feng Linyuan's furrowed brows. Feng Linyuan seemed to feel the gentle touch. His eyebrows gradually relaxed, and his breathing slowed down, becoming steady and long.
"Uncle Zhu, are there no more of Doctor Zhou's medicines left?" Bai Zheng asked in a solemn voice.
Uncle Zhu lowered his head. "I was worried that we might never find my senior brother, so I specifically saved two pills for research. Although I haven't achieved any results from the research, the two pills are still here."
"How long can they keep the Marquis alive?"
Uncle Zhu's white beard trembled slightly as he uttered four words: "At most five days."
"That's enough," Bai Zheng said calmly. She looked deeply at Feng Linyuan again, reached out and squeezed Feng Linyuan's fist that was clenched due to pain. Her eyes were so gentle that it seemed water could drip from them.
"You must hold on and wait for me."
After saying that, she stood up and quickly walked towards the study door. She gave an order to the slightly stunned Mo Li: "Come with me."
Mo Li hesitated for a moment, then remembered what Feng Linyuan had said before, that Bai Zheng would be the future mistress of the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion. Immediately, he lifted his feet and followed.
Just as Bai Zheng stepped out of the door, she suddenly remembered the purpose of her visit. She turned back and apologized to Uncle Zhu.
"Uncle Zhu, Qing Shao is injured. I came here originally to ask you to go to the Bai Mansion. Since you can't leave the Marquis now, I'll send someone to pick Qing Shao up. Then, please take a look at her. This girl just came out of the palace. I'm afraid she might have some internal injuries."
Hearing this, Uncle Zhu nodded seriously. "Miss Bai, don't worry. I can handle such a small matter."
"Thank you, Uncle Zhu." As the words fell, Bai Zheng's figure had already disappeared at the door.
Watching that slender and upright back, Uncle Zhu seemed to be in deep thought. After a long time, he finally heaved a heavy sigh.
The carriage in the mansion was sent back by Bai Zheng to pick up Qing Shao, while Bai Zheng herself took the carriage driven by Mo Li and rushed non - stop to the manor outside the city.
After getting off the carriage, Mo Li noticed that Bai Zheng, who had nimbly jumped off, had somehow tied up her sleeves and the corners of her skirt with a cloth strip of the same color as her clothes, making her look neat and tidy.
Such a dressing style was not supposed to be that of a young lady from a noble family. However, on Bai Zheng, it didn't look shabby at all. Instead, it added a touch of valiant charm.
Seeing the shocked look in Mo Li's eyes as he sized her up, Bai Zheng smiled shyly. "There are many complicated things to do in the manor. I came in a hurry today, and the dress I'm wearing is not very suitable. I had to dress like this. Please don't mind."
Even though she said so, Mo Li didn't dare to mind at all. He quickly said, "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare," and followed Bai Zheng into the manor.
This manor was located at the foot of Longshan Mountain. It seemed to be infused with the fragrance of the red plum blossoms on Longshan. When one got closer to the manor, one could faintly smell a delicate plum blossom fragrance.
Mo Li had been by Feng Linyuan's side for many years and was usually a man of few words. When he followed Bai Zheng in and smelled the plum blossom fragrance that could only be smelled in the depth of winter in the warm spring, he was amazed in his heart but showed nothing on his face.
It wasn't until they walked through the three - layer gate and entered the courtyard of the manor. Seeing the large vats neatly arranged one after another, tightly sealed, that he couldn't help but show a look of astonishment.
Bai Zheng stepped forward and without hesitation opened the vat in the corner. As soon as the lid was lifted, a strong plum blossom fragrance immediately filled the air.
"Is this... wine?" Mo Li asked Bai Zheng in confusion.
Bai Zheng nodded with a smile.
Mo Li more or less recognized that these large vats were the containers used for brewing wine.
But it was the first time he had seen wine with such a peculiar fragrance.
It turned out that the faint plum blossom fragrance in the entire manor was not because the manor was located at the foot of Longshan Mountain and was influenced by the red plum blossoms there.
It was because of the wine brewed in the manor.
Just one whiff made people feel that it must be delicious!
Seeing Mo Li uncontrollably swallowing his saliva just from the fragrance, Bai Zheng curled her lips.
In this era, almost everyone, regardless of gender, loved wine. Of course, this was not because everyone wanted to be elegant. It was because the materials were scarce in this era, and there were simply no other beverages to drink.
So when Bai Zheng was planning her business empire, she discovered this business opportunity.
However, making other beverages required too much effort and cost. Instead, taking advantage of the red plum blossoms on Longshan, she brewed red plum wine, which incorporated the brewing methods of rice wine and green plum wine.
The plum blossoms were already extremely fragrant. After being brewed into wine, the red plum wine with a faint aroma of wine and plum blossoms was simply irresistible.
Bai Zheng knew that the wine hadn't been brewed for long enough and the taste wasn't mellow enough. But now there wasn't enough time.