Capture the Jade - Chapter 9

Duan Wenyin scolded Duan Ningyuan fiercely in her heart. This is no small matter, and if it spreads out, it will greatly damage the reputation of Duke Zhen. Younger brother’s actions were improper, and it is not appropriate to blindly argue anymore. In order to dispel Yuyi’s intentions, it has to be this sister that steps up to save the situation. 

She was about to open her mouth to speak when Teng Yuyi suddenly greeted Lin Chengyou who was sitting outside: “May I ask the prince, how many hours can a person who has been poisoned by the evil spirit last for if they have not taken the medicine?” 

Lin Chengyou glanced at the five pairs of shoes exposed outside of the curtain. That person can really keep their composure, as after being in the room for so long, there were still no signs of flaws exposed. He lazily put down his tea cup, got up, and walked inside: “Two hours at most.” 

Teng Yuyi nodded her head, and walked towards the bed. While walking, she squeezed out a few drops of fake tears: “Ever since the situation happened up until now, it has long been two hours already. I think Dong Erniang has already passed away, and not being able to save her, my heart can not take this.” 

She went to the curtain to make a gesture to salute. Who knew that she would start to feel dizzy, and suddenly was unable to stand firm. Her arm accidentally hit the leg of Dong Erniang, and the pressure of this made Dong Erniang stiff up all over. 

Teng Yuyi immediately showed a panicked expression, overwhelmed with shock, she retreated and spoke: “Dong Erniang, Dong Erniang, she moved.” 

The crowd of people were shocked, and hurriedly rushed to the front of the bed. 

The steward was the first to rush up to open the curtain to probe her nose. The warm and silky brother spouted to her fingertips. If she really was alive, she would first be ecstatic, and then confused. Two hours have already passed long ago, why is it that her second lady was still okay even after not being able to take the medicine? 

Madam Du stretched out her neck to look, and was also shocked. She had seen the complexion of Duan Fu and the rest of them when they were poisoned. They were like a golden pot at the time, and looked nothing like this young lady right now whose complexion was no different from ordinary people. 

The others were also stunned. What kind of circumstances was to happen after being poisoned by an evil spirit, they did not know, but how is it that this looks like a dying person? 

Jue Sheng and Qizhi put on an act to create more trouble. Senior brother has long already signaled them to go behind the curtain to check it out, but they were busy serving the soup to Mrs. An Guogong to dispel the poison out of Mrs. An Guogong’s body. They were not able to pay attention to the other four wounded victims. 

This move of Lady Teng was unexpected. They were also shocked, and turned to look at senior brother, who was smirking wickedly, simply folding his arms, and looking at the lively and noisy scene in front. 

Duan Ningyuan was shocked at first, but afterwards, showed a look of great joy. For a moment, he could not help himself, and hurried to the side of the bed. However, Duan Wenyin glared at him, and he silently stopped his footsteps. 

“What’s going on?” Duan Wenyin herself went behind the curtain, and looked at Dong Erniang’s face in astonishment, “Didn’t the prince just say that if one was really poisoned by that evil spirit, they would only last for 2 hours at most.” 

After looking for a while, she gradually became suspicious. Was it that she was not poisoned, but just fainted from fear? There was so much commotion earlier, and logically speaking, she should have shown some movement long ago. 

The room was dead silent for a while. Under these circumstances, this was definitely not like one was poisoned. Everyone’s mind started to float and drift (unstable). Even Duan Ningyuan had some doubts. 

Teng Yuyi raised an eyebrow. Dong Erniang was motionless like a mountain. Was it for the sake of Duan Ningyuan or the prince’s Liuyuan Dan? Just now, she pressed down very hard on her leg, she thought that someone like Dong Erniang who could not resist pain, would cry out. How could this person actually just endured it? If she knew in advance, she should have used a hairpin to firmly prick her instead. It could be seen that the other party was prepared, and now how else could one determine if she had really fainted or is just pretending to be asleep. 

She pretended to be anxious: “Could it be that she was not poisoned by the evil spirit, but was affected by an evil sorcery1sorcery = the use of magic, especially black magic instead?” 

The people in the room were stunned. The steward recalled the situation just now, and suddenly realized that the behavior after her second lady fell unconscious was inconsistent with those of the Teng family. At the time, she had not thought about it in detail, but now the more she thought about it, the more she felt that something was not right.

She vaguely felt somewhat uneasy in her heart, and hurriedly went along with Teng Yuyi words: “right, right, right. On the way to the riverbank after encountering that evil spirit, she then passed out. It may not be that my second lady was poisoned by that spirit. These evil creatures are very sly, and who knows if she had fallen into a trick of some sort. 

Jue Sheng and Qizhi were stunned: “This grandma here, are you saying that my senior brother has lost his sight? Although my senior brother is very young, his Taoist skills have never been wrong before.” 

The steward hurriedly shook her head: “I do not dare to underestimate the prince’s skills. It is just that ever since my second lady encountered an evil spirit, she has never woken up. There ought to be a reason right? The prince’s Taoist skills are exquisite, so I beg that the prince can help take a look.” 

“From what I see, I think it is caused by being overly frightened.” Lin Chengyou stroked his chin, “When a weak person encounters such an evil spirit, there are some that cannot regain consciousness for a long time.” 

Duan Ningyuan let out a sigh of relief and hurriedly said: “This is most likely.” 

The steward took advantage of the situation to kneel down and kowtow2kowtow = the act of supplication made by an inferior to his superior by kneeling and knocking his head to the floor: “My second lady has always been weaker than the average person. One does not know if the prince has a countermeasure.”  

Lin Chengyou smiled and spoke: “There is. Of course, there is.” 

He leisurely took two steps in front of the bed, and suddenly with a snap of his fingers, a silver light swept past his gown and bounced straight into the thick curtain. 

Dong Erniang’s exposed feet twitched a little outside the curtain, and it wasn’t long before the entire curtain started to shake, trembling faster and faster. Finally, it bounded up from the bed like fire, and she could not stop herself from scratching her body: “Itchy, so itchy.” 

The crowd was stunned by this view, and were all stunned in place.  

Lin Chengyou’s smile remained unchanged, but his eyes were cold: “You sure have a lot of courage!” 

Duan Ningyuan froze in place. His ears were full of thunder and lighting. He has marched in the army, and he knew what a soldier would look or act like in every way if they were injured and fell unconscious. If one was to really lose consciousness, they would not know what is considered cold or not. How could one be easily woken up due to itching?  

The steward was flustered for a moment, and rushed up to help cover up for Dong Erniang: “It’s good to have woken up, it’s good to have woken up.” 

Dong Erniang tried to endure the strange itchiness on her body, and leaned on the edge of the bed, softly said: “…..Ru Niang3ru Niang = nursing mother nursing mother…..I…..Where am I?” 

The steward leaned over and took Dong Erniang into her arms, and stroked her arm over and over again: “When we were on the road, we bumped into an evil spirit, and my lady fainted in fear right on the spot. This is the Ziyun building. My lady has just woken up, and thankfully, there was the prince and the two little Taoist here. The evil spirit has already been suppressed.” 

Duan Wenyin could not bear it any longer and snapped: “How long do you two, master and servant, want to pretend for?” 

She pointed to Dong Erniang: “When you were laying in bed, there wasn’t a single sign of weakness and fatigue. It was clear that you had already been awake for a while. You really think we don’t have eyes!” 

Dong Erniang’s face became pale, and the prince’s move was really unexpected as he would suddenly push her to the edge of the cliff. If she was to admit it, it would definitely cause a lot of endless trouble. However, the scene just now was seen by everyone, it was impossible for her to completely deny it. 

She forcefully endured the strange itchiness on her body, and looked around confused. She put her hand on her forehead, and as if she had a headache: “…..I only remember encountering an evil spirit on the way to the banquet, and I don’t remember anything after that. Although I was able to move just now, my head was so dizzy. Suddenly, I felt extremely itchy, and all of a sudden, I woke up.” 

Madam Du faintly looked at Dong Erniang: “Your maid was crying endlessly over the medicine. You did not hear a single word of it?” 

Dong Erniang shook her head blankly, and suddenly felt two cold eyes on her. Looking over, she saw a young lady, wearing a veil and bluish green clothes, looking at her. Although she did not speak a single word, it made her panic for some reason. 

Presumably, that was Teng Yuyi, she was caught off guard when Teng Yuyi almost fell on her, causing her to almost scream out in pain. Fortunately, she was able to restrain herself, but isn’t this the move that aroused the suspicion from the prince? 

She covered her cough with her sleeve and said: “Just now, I had a bad headache, and I did not know if I was dreaming or awake. When I wanted to open my eyes to take a look, I only hated that my entire body was out of strength. I heard a lot of commotion and noise, but it was too far away. I could not even clearly hear a single word, and I really don’t know what has happened. By no means did I intend——” 

“Is it really like this?” 

“It really is like this.” 

Lin Chengyou wholeheartedly smiled: “My patience is limited. You better think clearly before answering.” 

Duan Ningyuan knew that the current situation was not good. Despite having a stomach full of doubts, he still remained stiff and spoke: “It is common to be confused when one has just woken up from being unconscious. As little as a few days, as many as a few days, this kind of situation where one wakes up without knowing anything is actually not uncommon.” 

Dong Erniang’s eyes slightly moved. As soon as she touched Duan Ningyuan’s gown, she moved away. She bit her lip: “I really don’t know what had happened. When I encountered that evil spirit by the river, I could only think that I was not going to survive. With great difficulty, I woke up, and my mind was in chaos. I don’t understand what I did that was wrong, and I don’t understand why I am being repeatedly questioned…”

As she spoke, her eyes were filled with tears. There were a few madams who had softer hearts, and seeing the situation, they were full of empathy. 

Dong Erniang is also considered to be a victim, and was just lucky enough to survive. How would it be good to just repeatedly pressure her? 

Dong Erniang sobbed in a low voice: “If I could have woken up, I would have woken up a long time ago. I can only hate that the evil spirit casted a spell on me, and that I don’t even know what it is. I was muddled and lost consciousness until now.” 

“You are lying!” Jue Sheng shouted loudly, “You never lost consciousness at all.” 

Everyone was stunned. Duan Wenyin was bewildered and uncertain: “Little Taoist, what do you mean?” 

Qizhi snorted heavily and raised the Thunder Altar instrument in his hand: “This is the evidence! Tonight, my senior brother was originally supposed to be playing polo4polo = a game played between two teams of players. The players ride horses and use wooden hammers with long handles to hit a ball. It is very popular in the Tang Dynasty and is considered to be very dangerous. However, at the last moment, he was called here to capture an evil spirit, and on the way here, he had heard that there were a total of  five injured victims who lost consciousness. After arriving at Lanxia Pavilion, he inquired about it again, and it was determined that it was four women, and one man. At the time, the situation was dangerous, and senior brother was afraid that the evil spirit would escape, so before he could personally inspect the wounded victims himself, he set up the ‘Wuzang formation’.” 

“Who would have known that the number of injured victims did not add up. There were only four wandering souls, yet it was said that there were five injured victims. The truth is that there was someone pretending to be unconscious, and the Wuzang formation not only failed to suppress the evil spirit, but also caused senior brother to be injured by that spirit. You may be able to deceive others, but you can’t deceive us. This is because the person who sets up the formation most clearly knows that your soul has never left your body.” 

These words were like a thunderclap, as it shook the ears of everyone. Duan Ningyuan and Duan Wenyin’s complexion suddenly became very ugly, and looked at Dong Erniang in disbelief. 

Dong Erniang anxiously looked at the Thunder Altar instrument in Qizhi’s hand. The steward stammeringly spoke: “How could it be……there is no way, this, this……This is most likely some kind of misunderstanding.”

Lin Chengyou looked around at the servants from the palace: “Are you all foolish? I have tolerated this old thing for a long time!!” 

The servants from the palace rolled up their sleeves and fists, and went straight to the steward. The steward turned pale with fright, and hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed. 

The servants from the palace ignored the cries of the steward. They first tied her up firmly, then found a pair of stinky socks, and stuffed it into her mouth. 

Lin Chengyou sneered: “Misunderstanding? You did not see how dangerous it was to capture that evil spirit. The ‘Wuzang formation’ can be used to strengthen our ability to fight. However, it is a spell that is extremely evil, and even just a tiny bit of it is not good. It’s just that once the number does not add up, the entire situation will be in defeat. Because I mistakenly believed that there were five injured victims, I nearly lost my life, so at this point, you still dare to say that this is some kind of misunderstanding!” 

He looked at Dong Erniang coldly: “You might as well say everything again clearer. I set up the formation at the perfect time, but it still could not suppress the old spirit. Apart from you pretending from the very beginning, there is no other explanation. You were never unconscious, so why did you sneak into the Ziyun building in the name of needing to seek medical treatment?!” 

Dong Erniang firmly bit her lip, and her body started to tremble slightly, 

Thanks for reading! This chapter was pretty spicy