After Hun Yuan finished speaking, the room fell into complete silence.
No one had known that the situation had quietly reached such a critical stage.
No one could accept this news.
"Mother!"
Yun Qi's startled cry suddenly shattered the silence in the room.
Liu Jingyue had fainted from the shock of the bad news.
The crowd fell into a flurry again.
Doctor Ji stepped forward with his acupuncture needles. With a few precise and steady pricks, Liu Jingyue slowly regained consciousness.
"Mother..."
Yun Qi had wanted to comfort Liu Jingyue. But as soon as he opened his mouth and softly called out, before his voice even faded, tears immediately slid down his cheeks.
It forced him to stop speaking.
A real man doesn't shed tears easily, except when deeply hurt.
Yun Qi had grown up in the border army and witnessed many partings due to life and death. He thought it would be very difficult for him to cry again, but unexpectedly, he had shed tears twice in just one day.
Not daring to look at the crying Liu Jingyue and her son, Yi Yuan half - lowered his eyes, and his voice, softly uttered from his throat, was numb and lifeless:
"The solution."
Hun Yuan paced back and forth, thinking desperately. He was so distressed that he even pulled out two strands of his hair.
"First, bring all the remaining Gu - sealing pills,"
Hun Yuan suddenly stopped and ordered:
"Let Junior Sister take one first and see how it goes."
"Okay."
Sai Xing immediately responded and rushed away.
Hun Yuan felt Yun Xi's pulse again and continued, "The Gu has invaded about seven or eight tenths of her heart meridian. I don't have a solution for now. The best way for Junior Sister's current situation is to find the person who planted the Gu back then. Since they planted it, they must have a way to remove it."
"After Junior Sister takes the pill, I'll go back and look through Master's hand - written notes to see if I can find any clues."
A glimmer of light gradually appeared in Yi Yuan's eyes. He said in a deep voice, "Okay. I'll find the person. You try your best to keep Xiaoxi alive and prevent the situation from worsening. I'll find the person as quickly as possible."
"I know that,"
Hun Yuan waved his hand:
"You should first deploy your people."
"You already have a lot of things on your hands. The person who planted the Gu did it more than a decade ago, and we have no clues at all. Finding them is really like looking for a needle in a haystack."
"No..."
Liu Jingyue, who had been silently crying beside Yun Xi after regaining consciousness, suddenly spoke up:
"There are clues."
No one had expected that Liu Jingyue, who had returned the latest, would have some information. Everyone's eyes lit up, and they all turned to look at her.
Just then, Sai Xing rushed back with the pills. Out of breath, she handed them to Yi Yuan, who then fed one to Yun Xi.
For a moment, they forgot about the important matter they had been discussing. Everyone held their breath and quietly observed Yun Xi with her eyes closed.
After an unknown amount of time, Hun Yuan felt Yun Xi's pulse. The wrinkles on his brows suddenly smoothed out, and it was obvious that he let out a sigh of relief:
"It's temporarily under control. She should wake up soon."
"Take the remaining three pills once a month, at the same time as today."
The frost between Yi Yuan's eyebrows slightly melted. He responded and said, "Okay. Then you go back first and see if there are any other ways to remove the Gu."
That was exactly what Hun Yuan had in mind. He nodded and left with Lian Yi, heading back to the palace.
"Madam..."
Turning to Liu Jingyue, Yi Yuan said, "Madam Yun, what were the clues you mentioned just now?"
After hearing what Hun Yuan had said, Liu Jingyue knew that there was still hope. She had stopped crying.
Hearing Yi Yuan's question, she said, "Yingying and I had discussed this before. The Gu on her body was probably planted when she was three years old, when I sent someone to take her away but she was kidnapped. The only people who had contact with Yingying at that time were my third sister - in - law from my maternal family and that mysterious person."
"Since there's no news about that mysterious person, but my third sister - in - law has always been in the Liu family..."
"Auntie Liu?!"
Yun Qi, who had not been informed of the details, exclaimed in disbelief:
"How could it be her? Auntie Liu has always been on good terms with Mother. How... could she..."
After a moment of silence, Liu Jingyue looked deeply into Yun Qi's eyes and said, "Xiao Qi, I know you were very much loved by your auntie when you were a child, and you don't want to believe it. I also want to make it clear that I actually have no evidence for this."
"Originally, I didn't believe it either. I always thought she had been deceived by her servants. But after what happened to Yingying today, I'm ninety - nine percent sure it was her."
Reaching out to tuck in the corner of Yun Xi's quilt, Liu Jingyue continued, "Think about it. For such an important matter as Xian'er's betrothal, your eldest aunt would surely take care of everything herself and strive for perfection in every aspect."
"But from Yingying's clothes getting wet to her being stabbed and dragged into the water, weren't all these deliberately arranged? Who else but someone from the Liu family could have interfered in Leifeng Mountain Manor?"
"No one else is related to Yingying's kidnapping back then. Only the people under her were involved in that incident. Even if I wanted to excuse her, I really couldn't."
The situation was so clear. Although Yun Qi was straightforward, he wasn't stupid. He understood everything.
Anger, confusion, and the pain of being deceived for a long time welled up in his heart. Yun Qi clenched his fists:
"I... I'll go find her..."
"Stop!"
"Brother..."
Liu Jingyue's urgent voice and Yun Xi's weak voice rang out at the same time.
Yun Qi stopped abruptly and suddenly turned around to run towards the bedside:
"Xiaoxi!"
Everyone was overjoyed and surrounded them in a hurry, asking Yun Xi how she felt.
Yun Xi's head was still buzzing uncomfortably. Being bombarded with so many concerned questions, she felt even dizzier and didn't know which one to answer first.
Yi Yuan's eyes were moist. He carefully noticed Yun Xi's state. He brushed aside her stray hair and said, "Okay, Xiaoxi just woke up. Let her take a break first."
"You're right,"
Liu Jingyue said with tears of joy, "Everyone step back a bit. The charcoal fire in the room is burning brightly. It's stuffy, and it's hard to breathe if you're too crowded."
This made sense. The crowd who had surrounded them had to hold back their concern and step back.
Yun Xi took a rest. As the buzzing in her head and the voices gradually faded away, she felt much better. She smiled slightly and softly said, "It's just a small matter of falling into the water. It made you all worried."
"What a small matter of falling into the water!"
Sai Xing's eyes were as red as a rabbit's. She sobbed and told Yun Xi the news that she had almost lost her life.
Yun Xi frowned and gently comforted her. Then she said, "So, Brother was going to find Madam Liu the Third to seek justice for me just now?"
"Yes,"
Yun Qi replied, "She hurt you and deceived us for so long. I must ask her why and make her pay for what she has done."
"But Brother,"
Yun Xi was touched in her heart, but she still had to say what needed to be said, "Nanny Xi has died. We don't have any evidence of the past events. At most, we can only find out that she was one of the planners of my falling into the water this time. What can you ask her with?"
"Moreover, will she answer you just because you ask? Even if she does, how can you tell if it's true or false?"
"I..."
Yun Qi was speechless.
But Yi Yuan immediately understood Yun Xi's intention. A glint flashed in his eyes and he said, "Xiaoxi, do you want to ask her yourself?"