"There are so many people keeping an eye on the grassland tribes. Once something happens to them, those people will surely rise up against the culprit. He'll have plenty to keep him busy then," Mu Fengqie wasn't worried about this at all. She was confident that she could control the King of the Grassland.
"You're right. I was overthinking it," Jing Xunchè stopped dwelling on the matter and quietly started to drink and eat.
When Jing Xunchè and Mu Fengqie returned, the woman named An'er had already woken up. For some reason, she neither made a fuss nor left.
"Master, this woman has been like this since she woke up. She's been sitting by the window all the time," a servant reported. They had tried to talk to her, but she ignored them, as if she had lost her wits.
"Alright, I got it. I'll go talk to her," Mu Fengqie said, looking around at the people in the room. "Ache, you go to sleep first. I'll be back soon."
"Your name is An'er, right? I'm Mu Fengqie. I'd like to ask you some questions about Prince Wen," Mu Fengqie said to the dazed An'er.
When Mu Fengqie mentioned Prince Wen, An'er's eyes clearly showed a flicker of emotion, though it was barely noticeable.
"I have nothing to say. Please leave," An'er closed her eyes, clearly not willing to say more. Just hearing the words "Prince Wen" made her feel as if her heart was being cut into a thousand pieces. The pain was so intense that she felt like fainting.
"Miss An'er, don't be so sad. There are so many men in the world. Why do you have to fixate on just one? And he doesn't even love you. Why bother?" Mu Fengqie said.
"Moreover, do you think your parents deserve this? It must have been really hard for them to raise you. Although I don't know what happened between you and that Prince Wen, I'm sure that if anything happens to you, your parents will be heartbroken."
Mu Fengqie said this because she could tell that although An'er wasn't from a wealthy family, she was definitely the only child in her family. Her parents doted on her because she had an illness from birth.
She needed a large amount of silver every year to pay for her medical expenses. If her parents didn't take care of her, she wouldn't have survived until now.
Perhaps Mu Fengqie's words touched An'er, and she slowly opened her eyes.
"I know who you are. You're the princess of Tianlin. But I won't tell you anything about Prince Wen. You might as well give up," An'er said calmly, looking out of the window.
"Alright then. I saved you, so I have the right to decide whether you live or die," Mu Fengqie said, then glanced at An'er, who showed no reaction, and continued, "I want you to live well. You know I'm the princess of Tianlin, but you may not know my other identity. I'm the master of the Pharmacist Valley. The cost of saving someone's life is quite high. I don't think your family can afford it."
An'er's eyes widened in disbelief. "You can't be the master of the Pharmacist Valley. It's impossible!" she said excitedly as she stood up.
How could this Mu Fengqie be the master of the Pharmacist Valley? The master of the Pharmacist Valley was still in her home treating her. How could she be the one?
"What's so impossible about it? Almost everyone in the capital knows that the princess of Tianlin is also the master of the Pharmacist Valley," Mu Fengqie said, looking at An'er, who had suddenly become agitated, feeling rather confused.
What was wrong with her being the master of the Pharmacist Valley?
"This can't be true. How could this happen?" An'er slumped into the chair. Why? Had Prince Wen lied to her again?
"When I picked you up on the street just now, I felt your pulse. Your body is not only weak but also has a chronic poison in it. I don't know who could be so cruel as to give you poison since you were a child," Mu Fengqie said truthfully.
If it were just physical weakness, it would be easier to deal with. With proper recuperation, it could be improved. But this woman had a chronic poison that had penetrated deep into her bones.
It had already affected her lifespan. She didn't have many years left. Even in modern times, there would be no way to completely cure her. She could only be kept alive with medicine. How much more so in this ancient era with underdeveloped technology?
Chronic poison? Since childhood? She remembered that the master of the Pharmacist Valley was found for her by Prince Wen since she was a child. But after all these years, her health was still not good. Now it seemed that wasn't the case.
"I want to ask you something," An'er suddenly calmed down, but there was no light in her eyes. She looked like a puppet.
"Ask. I'll tell you everything I know," Mu Fengqie said.
"Sanqianzi, Jumu..." An'er named a whole bunch of medicinal herbs. These were the herbs she had been taking since childhood, and they had never changed. "I want to know if there's anything wrong with these herbs."
Mu Fengqie pursed her lips as she looked at An'er. She seemed to see a woman losing her vitality right in front of her.
Mu Fengqie was silent for a moment, then said, "These herbs seem to be for nourishing the body, but three of them are actually chronic poisons. However, as long as they're not used together with Guilan, there won't be any problem."
An'er closed her eyes in despair. "Hehe... Hahaha... How ironic! I trusted him so much, but I never thought he would want to kill me. No wonder... No wonder he didn't want to marry me."
So that was it. She had been too naive. Of course, a man as noble as him would never look at a lowly commoner like her.
"I grew up with him. When I was a child, I knew he was a prince, but he wasn't in favor. He told me that he never wanted to fight for the throne. He just wanted to find a woman and live a peaceful life," An'er said.
"All my hopes were given to me by him. If it weren't for his approval, I wouldn't have jumped into this fire pit. I gave him my heart and soul, but he turned around and married someone else and even wanted my life. Did I owe him in my previous life?"
An'er stared blankly at Mu Fengqie, as if hoping to get an affirmative answer from her. But after a long while, seeing that Mu Fengqie didn't say anything, she turned her head and continued looking out of the window.
"You're safe here. I've already informed your parents. You can recuperate here. Although I can't completely cure you, I can help you improve your condition with proper treatment," Mu Fengqie said.
"Why?" An'er looked at Mu Fengqie in confusion. "I have nothing to tell you, yet you still want to treat me?" She couldn't understand Mu Fengqie.