Everyone: Hmm?
Glancing at the two composed individuals, Yi Yuan narrowed his phoenix eyes slightly, and his voice unconsciously carried a hint of authority as he said, "Oh? Say it again."
The two exchanged another quick look. Yun Xi tried her best to calm her pounding heart and took the lead in saying nonchalantly, "Hmm? Isn't it dirty?"
As she said this, she leaned forward a bit and continued calmly, "It's a bit small. I can't see it clearly. But this black smudge, isn't it accidentally smeared when the ink wasn't dry yet?"
"Junior Sister is right," Hun Yuan calmly echoed. "I originally thought it was debris on the mural. Now that you mention it, it does seem more like an accidental stain."
"I don't think so," Yun Qi said straightforwardly, stretching his neck to look carefully without noticing anything amiss with his younger sister. "Look at this one, and this one..." Yun Qi pointed at several inconspicuous figures in succession and said sincerely, "These people all have almost the same pattern on their wrists at about the same position. In my opinion, this seems to be a special tattoo for their internal members."
Yun Weisheng also said with a solemn expression, "That's right. This is indeed a tattoo. I seem to have seen it before. It's very familiar. I just can't remember for the moment."
Everyone nodded in agreement with the words of Yun Weisheng and his son.
Yi Yuan gave Yun Xi and Hun Yuan a meaningful look. They seemed surprised and confused on the surface but were actually panicked inside. He didn't expose them and just said, "Since you've seen it, there will surely be a time when you remember."
"What's more important now is to find a solution to the gu on Xiaoxi first. Hun Yuan, you..." After a brief pause, Yi Yuan emphasized his words, "Take a closer look."
A chill suddenly ran down Hun Yuan's back. He blinked and didn't dare to turn his head to meet Yi Yuan's gaze. He coughed awkwardly and rummaged through the scroll in front of him stiffly, saying, "Cough... Too much of this mural has been damaged. The important parts have been erased. We can only vaguely tell that these people were refining a very powerful gu."
"But they never found a suitable container. Look here..." Hun Yuan pointed at a messy pile of what looked like wood in the lower left corner of the scroll and said, "These are corpses."
"Well... here," Hun Yuan's finger slid, and he pointed at a chaotic and scratched part of the picture. Then he continued, "These should be the materials used for refining the gu."
"It's too messy," Hun Yuan murmured as he pulled over the copied scroll and examined it carefully. "It means there must be something important inside. Um..." Hun Yuan frowned and fell into deep thought.
For a moment, it was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Everyone held their breath, waiting nervously for his answer.
I don't know how much time had passed. Hun Yuan couldn't help but click his tongue and said, "No, it's too messy. I can't see anything just like this."
"Give me both of these paintings. I have to go back and look through my master's files."
Everyone naturally had no objections. Only Yi Yuan stared at Hun Yuan silently for a while, but in the end, he said nothing.
Everyone left with their own thoughts.
On the small hill north of the General's Mansion, Shen Zhou's eyes were solemn as he silently overlooked the Yun Mansion below.
"Don't worry, Third Young Master," the Saint Master was still tightly covered, only showing a pair of sharp eagle-like eyes. He stood beside Shen Zhou with his hands behind his back and said, "The antidote for the Siji Yin is absolutely genuine. You can check it. As long as your Miss Yingying takes it, the poison will never harm her."
Shen Zhou let out a soft "hmm" and swallowed hard. But his words were a question, "The Saint Master came to find me this time. It shouldn't be just to give me this antidote."
"Since we've already cooperated, we might as well... be more honest."
The Saint Master shrugged, seemingly a bit helpless. "The Third Young Master is overthinking. I brought the antidote this time precisely because of our cooperation. I'm willing to show my sincerity to the Third Young Master. After all, I want Miss Xi to live just as much as anyone else."
Shen Zhou twitched his lips expressionlessly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
The Saint Master didn't seem to expect Shen Zhou to immediately let down his guard and trust him. He didn't say anything more and just left with a "Whether it's true or false, the Third Young Master will know once you try" and then turned around and left with Shan Hou.
"Sir," seeing the Saint Master and his companion walking away, Sheng Yu asked in a low voice, "Do you need me to take it for inspection?"
Shen Zhou shook his head imperceptibly. He half-lowered his eyelids and glanced at the porcelain bottle placed aside, saying, "No need."
"Put it away and send it to the General's Mansion in a few days."
The thing was mainly used to gain his trust and make it easier for him to work for them in the future. How could they use a fake!
"Yes." Sheng Yu replied. After hesitating for a while, he still couldn't help but say, "Sir, since Miss Yingying's poison was originally incurable. But now that we have the antidote, why don't we..."
"Sheng Yu!" Shen Zhou's eyes turned cold as he gave him a warning look. "She's Yingying. No despicable means are allowed to be used on her. I don't want to hear such words again."
A chill ran through Sheng Yu's heart. He immediately composed himself and respectfully replied, not daring to say another word.
At this time, Yun Xi in the General's Mansion was completely unaware of this. She was still trying to figure out how to secretly meet Hun Yuan without being noticed by Yi Yuan.
After all, this tattoo was related to the old prince and the palace plague back then. Now it appeared on the mural related to the strange gu on her body.
The relationship was self-evident.
Combined with what Zhang Huan said before his death, the doubts that had already existed in Yun Xi's heart grew uncontrollably. It bothered her so much that she couldn't wait to go and investigate clearly with Hun Yuan immediately.
But now, on the one hand, she had publicly announced that she was dying of poison and was inconvenient to move. On the other hand, Yi Yuan already knew her identity as Man Ping. She couldn't enter and leave the palace openly under this identity.
Moreover, she could clearly feel that Yi Yuan was already suspicious, even though he didn't say anything.
Just when Yun Xi was extremely anxious, a maid from Jiang Ning's side room suddenly came and invited Yun Xi to go and talk with her.
Thinking of the sudden bad news Jiang Ning had received before, Yun Xi didn't suspect anything. She temporarily put aside her own affairs and took a sedan chair there.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she entered Jiang Ning's room, she saw Hun Yuan sitting solemnly at the table.
"Senior Brother!?" Yun Xi's eyes lit up. She immediately dismissed the attendants and sat down.
"You're so smart. You used A Ning as a cover. I was still wracking my brains trying to figure out how to see you."
Hun Yuan glanced at Jiang Ning, who was resting on the head of the bed. A hint of bitterness flashed across his eyes. But the solemn look on his face didn't ease at all. Instead, it became even more solemn as he said, "Let's not talk about other things first. I came here in such a hurry because there's an important matter."
"Needless to say about the tattoo. Combining all these clues, that Saint Master must be the mastermind behind the plague back then."
"But what I want to say is - His Majesty is also secretly investigating their traces. Even..." Hun Yuan's voice became heavy. "He sent someone to secretly keep an eye on Yi Yuan."