allonlinenovel Chapter 2241: The Beginning of Sowing Discord
Chapter 2241: The Beginning of Sowing Discord
It's not an illness.
Wu Liang shook his head, a bitter smile on his face, his tone tinged with lingering fear: "I was poisoned, the doctor just said so. Luckily, I survived."
"Poisoned?" A look of surprise flashed in Zhou Zhenghang's eyes. He took a half step forward, getting closer. "Why would anyone want to harm you?"
His gaze was sharp as a knife, as if he wanted to see something in Wu Liang's face.
Just then, as if suddenly remembering something, he paused for a moment and asked again, "Your voice... how did it become like this?"
Wu Liang raised his hand and rubbed his throat, a hint of helplessness on his face: "Perhaps the toxin invaded my throat. Before I passed out, my throat felt extremely dry, and after waking up, it was like this."
He sneered, his tone tinged with resentment: "It's good enough that you survived. What does it matter if your voice is a little unpleasant?"
Zhou Zhenghang didn't speak, but simply stretched out his hand and said in a deep voice, "Stretch out your hand."
Wu Liang understood that he wanted to personally take the pulse to verify the diagnosis, so he did as he was told and stretched out his left hand, placing his wrist on the edge of the bed.
He could feel the coldness of Zhou Zhenghang's fingertips as they pressed on his pulse with steady force, clearly indicating that Zhou knew some medical principles.
Zhou Zhenghang's fingertips lingered on his wrist pulse for a moment, his brows furrowing more and more, and his expression gradually darkening.
Wu Liang was not flustered, but secretly amazed that the princess had really managed to gather everything.
Before he came, the medicine he was given had an effect that, while seemingly mildly toxic, could mimic the pulse of a highly toxic substance invading the internal organs, resulting in a sluggish and weak pulse, exactly as the saying goes, "When poison spreads to the internal organs, the pulse will be deep."
After a long pause, Zhou Zhenghang withdrew his hand, nodded slowly, and said in a grave tone, "It is indeed a deadly poison. The pulse is weak and sluggish, and the toxin has already penetrated the muscles. If it weren't for timely treatment, I'm afraid..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but the danger was self-evident.
Wu Liang breathed a sigh of relief. The princess's medicine was indeed effective, which completely dispelled Zhou Zhenghang's first doubt.
Wu Liang lowered his voice, looking at Zhou Zhenghang with some hesitation and probing: "Brother Zhou, do you think... it might be related to what happened a few days ago?"
That person's fate is still unknown, and this time... who do you think it is?
He spoke very softly, yet his words instantly stirred up a storm in Zhou Zhenghang's heart.
Zhou Zhenghang's eyes were sharp as knives as he stared at Wu Liang, as if trying to see right through him: "What do you mean by that?"
Wu Liang avoided his gaze, lowered his head, his fingers tightly gripping the bed sheet beneath him, his voice tinged with fear: "I was just guessing randomly."
After all, we used to be close, and now that something has happened over there, and I've suddenly been poisoned, it's inevitable that I'll overthink things.
Brother Zhou, do you think it's possible that because we didn't handle things well this time, they might... try to get rid of us?
He didn't finish his sentence, and his words were full of hints.
Zhou Zhenghang's mind raced. He touched his face and whispered, "You mean, Miss Miaoqin wants to kill us to silence us?"
Wu Liang's heart skipped a beat; this was the first time he had ever heard of "Miss Miaoqin".
But he didn't say anything, only gave a bitter smile.
Zhou Zhenghang was troubled: "But the things in Youcheng are starting to show results, and it's time to use people..."
He suddenly stopped and said no more.
Wu Liang looked up at him, and he stared back at Wu Liang.
Wu Liang's heart skipped a beat—had this guy figured something out?
His hand, hidden under the blanket, was poised to strike.
……
Yan Ruyu and Huo Changhe watched Zhou Zhenghang enter the fresh produce shop from the shadows outside.
Yan Ruyu sneered, "They are connected."
Huo Changhe's gaze was icy: "Then we can proceed to the next step."
Yan Ruyu and Huo Changhe exchanged a smile. Their figures swept past the glow of the street corner lanterns like wisps of smoke, silently making their way to the window of the rest room behind Zhou Zhenghang's shop.
"I'll go in and take a look. You stay here and keep watch. If there's any movement, give three light knocks as a signal." Yan Ruyu's voice was very low, her fingertips already touching the window frame.
Huo Changhe nodded, his figure disappearing into the shadows of the corner of the wall. His gaze swept across the surrounding streets and alleys, and he replied in a low voice, "Be careful in everything you do, and come back quickly."
Yan Ruyu nodded, and with a flick of her finger, the window latch slid off silently.
She lightly leaped into the house and stood at the doorway. Her eyelids were slightly closed, and when she opened them again, a faint silver halo appeared in her pupils; her X-ray vision had been activated.
The interior furnishings are immediately apparent: a rosewood couch leans against the wall, a square table sits in front of it, and a carved rosewood cabinet with auspicious patterns stands in the corner.
Through the cabinet door, Yan Ruyu could clearly see that there was a hidden compartment in the middle layer of the cabinet. The edge of the compartment was inlaid with a copper wire trigger device as thin as a hair. Once accidentally triggered, the poison needles hidden inside the cabinet would be shot out instantly.
In addition, there is a movable floor tile at the junction of the cabinet leg and the ground, with a trapdoor underneath, which could easily cause someone to fall in if they are not careful.
"The mechanism is quite ingenious," Yan Ruyu thought to herself, slowly moving forward by stepping on the seams between the floor tiles, avoiding the loose tile.
She walked to the cabinet and her gaze locked onto the latch of the hidden compartment—the latch was disguised as a ruyi cloud pattern, which was integrated with the relief carving on the cabinet body. If it weren't for the ability to see through objects, an ordinary person would have no way of noticing it.
With fingertips gently tracing the edge of the cabinet, I located the latch, applied a little force, and with a soft "click," the hidden compartment popped open.
Inside the hidden compartment, a stack of silver notes was neatly arranged, along with several valuable items such as jade pendants and thumb rings. At the very bottom was an indigo-covered account book.
Yan Ruyu's fingertips traced the silver notes, but she didn't linger. Instead, she pulled out the ledger and casually stuffed it into her bosom.
She carefully checked the mechanism again to make sure there were no signs of it being touched before turning back the way she came, gently pushing open the window and jumping out.
When Huo Changhe saw her come out, he went up to her and asked in a low voice, "Did you find anything?"
"Yes, we've got the ledgers. We haven't touched anything else. No rush, it'll all be ours sooner or later."
Yan Ruyu chuckled softly, and the two figures once again blended into the night, heading towards the fresh produce shop.
At the same time, Zhou Zhenghang had just come out of the fresh produce shop.
He was filled with hesitation and fear, and had no other thoughts.
When Yan Ruyu and Huo Changhe arrived at the fresh produce shop, Wu Liang was still lying in bed.
Upon seeing the two enter, he quickly stepped forward to greet them: "Your Highness, Your Highness."
"How did your conversation with Zhou Zhenghang go?" Yan Ruyu asked.
Wu Liang rubbed his hands together and said, "Zhou Zhenghang is indeed suspicious and extremely guarded. I told him to say that he was poisoned, as you two instructed. His expression changed drastically, so he must have believed me."
"In addition, he also mentioned a girl named Miaoqin."
Wu Liang lowered his voice: "I asked a few questions indirectly, and Zhou Zhenghang's expression changed. He seemed quite wary of this Miss Miaoqin."
Yan Ruyu paused, her tone growing heavier: "As expected, it's inextricably linked to Miaoyinfang! This Miaoqin girl must be the real person in charge behind them."