Suddenly, a strange sense of unease crept over Jiang Yaoji.
She turned her head upon hearing a sound and saw Feng Xingzhi strolling into the hall.
Ji Yunxi was startled. When she looked back, he was nowhere to be seen. What was Azhi up to?
The maid, holding Jiang Yaoji's brocade box, stood awkwardly in the middle of the hall, unsure whether to present it or take it back.
Feng Xingzhi walked in slowly, followed by a man. Ji Yunxi remembered him. His name was Yun Qi, the leader of Feng Xingzhi's secret guards.
Yun Qi looked expressionless, carrying a pear - wood box in his hands.
When he reached Jiang Yaoji's side, Feng Xingzhi didn't even glance at her and said, "Princess, this is the antidote for aconitum and monkshood."
Jiang Yaoji's face paled instantly. "Xingzhi, what are you doing? Do you not trust me?!"
She seemed unable to accept this and forced the words out.
Feng Xingzhi gave her a sidelong glance. Remembering Ji Yunxi's joke the other day about him being a "male beauty causing trouble", he immediately made his stance clear. "Miss Jiang, we're not that close. It's better not to be so familiar."
Jiang Yaoji clenched her fists tightly. Fine! Ji Yunxi could call him Azhi freely, but she wasn't even allowed to call him Xingzhi!
"What do you mean now? Do you really not trust me?"
Feng Xingzhi shook his head. "I don't mean that. When I learned that the Empress was poisoned by aconitum and monkshood, I searched for the antidote at a high price. Fortunately, I found it."
Hua Siyun looked at Ji Yunxi, seeking her opinion.
Ji Yunxi didn't hesitate at all. She stepped down from the high platform and took the box from Yun Qi's hands. "Princess."
Hua Siyun immediately understood. Ji Yunxi meant that she should trust Feng Xingzhi.
Indeed, compared to the scheming Jiang Yaoji, Feng Xingzhi was obviously more trustworthy.
"Thank you, Prince Feng. I will write to the Emperor of Southern Yan about this to demonstrate the friendship between our two countries."
After saying that, she rushed to Hua Qi'an's bedroom with the things.
Jiang Yaoji watched as they left without looking back. She took several deep breaths before forcing a smile. "I didn't expect Xingzhi not to trust me. It's really heartbreaking."
Feng Xingzhi still showed no emotion on his face. "I don't distrust you. I just trust myself more. Don't worry, the contract between us still stands."
At this moment, Jiang Yaoji didn't care about the contract at all. She only thought that Feng Xingzhi's action was like slapping her in the face in front of Ji Yunxi, and she couldn't even get angry with him.
If she swallowed this anger, Jiang Yaoji felt that she would lose many years of her life out of anger.
But even though she was extremely angry, she still put on a smiling face. Ji Yunxi watched from the side and couldn't help but feel tired for her.
She was clearly unhappy but still had to live behind a mask.
"Azhi, let's go and check." Ji Yunxi didn't want to stand here stupidly with Jiang Yaoji anymore. It would be better to go and see how Hua Qi'an was doing.
The two of them walked towards the bedroom, and Jiang Yaoji followed closely behind.
Actually, there was still a question in her mind. How did Feng Xingzhi find the antidote so quickly?
When they arrived, Hua Siyun had just come out of the room.
Her face was full of relief. When she saw Ji Yunxi, she immediately stepped forward and grabbed her hand. "Yunxi! The imperial physician said that mother's pulse is normal now. She just hasn't eaten or drunk for a few days and needs some rest. Once the toxins are gone, she will wake up soon."
Ji Yunxi was happy to see her so elated. "That's great!"
The two of them beamed, as if there was no one else around.
Jiang Yaoji looked at Ji Yunxi's smiling face and suddenly found it extremely dazzling. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and then she gave a bright smile. "Princess, congratulations. How about I go in and check the Empress's pulse to confirm?"
Hua Siyun was about to agree, but before she could speak, Feng Xingzhi suddenly spoke up.
"No need."
Jiang Yaoji's body stiffened. The foot she was about to step forward with seemed to be glued to the ground and couldn't move.
Feng Xingzhi felt her stiffness but pretended not to notice. "Princess, although the Empress was poisoned by aconitum and monkshood, this poison is just hard to detect. Trust the imperial physician. If there's anything wrong, we'll trouble Miss Jiang again."
Only now did Ji Yunxi notice that Feng Xingzhi always referred to Jiang Yaoji as "Miss Jiang", as if he wanted to sever all ties with her.
Could it be that because of the joke she made on him that day, he said those things on purpose to avoid suspicion?
Ji Yunxi couldn't help but want to laugh. She turned her head. Jiang Yaoji was so petty. If she saw her laughing, she might misunderstand.
At this moment, Jiang Yaoji had no time to care about Ji Yunxi's reaction. She was heart - broken by Feng Xingzhi's attitude. Forcing a smile with difficulty, she said, "Since Azhi said so, I'm relieved."
Hua Siyun's eyes swept over the three of them, as if she understood something.
Ji Yunxi was still puzzled. Feng Xingzhi's attitude towards Jiang Yaoji today was very abnormal. Had he found out something?
Each of them had their own thoughts, and for a moment, no one spoke.
Hua Siyun was accompanied by Hua Qi'an's chief eunuch. Since Hua Qi'an ascended the throne, he had been by the Empress's side, assisting her.
Although he was a servant, he was very good at handling things.
Seeing that they were all silent but standing there wasn't a solution. Although they didn't use Jiang Yaoji's antidote, she did accurately diagnose the Empress's illness.
Thinking of this, he leaned over to Hua Siyun's ear and whispered, "Princess, should we prepare something to thank Miss Jiang?"
He was a smart man and could clearly see that Ji Yunxi and Feng Xingzhi were different from Jiang Yaoji.
Jiang Yaoji was just an outsider.
Upon hearing this, although Hua Siyun didn't like Jiang Yaoji, she still had to show her gratitude on the surface. So she told him, "Go and handle it. Do it quickly."
The chief eunuch could tell that they all disliked Jiang Yaoji and probably couldn't wait for her to leave.
So he immediately led his people away to prepare. When the four of them returned to the main hall, a large wooden box had been placed there.
"We prepared this in a hurry. It's just a small token of our appreciation. Please accept it, Miss Jiang." The chief eunuch smiled faintly and opened the box in front of everyone.
It was full of gold, silver, and jewels.
Jiang Yaoji took a quick look. Privately, she despised these things, but due to the other person's status, it wouldn't do any good to fall out with them.
So she gave a faint smile. "I can't accept rewards without merit."
The chief eunuch knew that this woman was being evasive, so he followed her words. "Miss Jiang, you're joking. If it weren't for you, we would have had a lot of trouble. It's just a small gift, not worthy of your kindness."
Ji Yunxi watched from the side and was very satisfied with this man.
It seemed like they were thanking Jiang Yaoji, but in fact, they didn't really take her seriously.
After all, gold, silver, and jewels were everywhere for the royal family.