Chapter 2694: The Capital (Part 50)

"What exactly is this medicine? Tell Laozi clearly!" the Teacher roared in exasperation.

"It is... medicine I begged from Mr. Wu," Jieyi said hesitantly.

"Mr. Wu? Who is Mr. Wu?" The Teacher racked his brain but couldn't place the name.

Zhou Lezhi, however, knew precisely who Mr. Wu was—a "Person of Unusual Abilities" under Liu Sha's command, one who specialized in alchemy and witchcraft. His face went pale with fright. This man is half-human, half-demon. How could you possibly dare to provoke him!

Fortunately, he was facing away from the Teacher at that moment, his expression hidden from view. He hurriedly signaled Jieyi with his eyes, urging her to deflect the blame ambiguously and avoid implicating Liu Sha.

But Jieyi was too terrified to notice. Fear and confusion had left her utterly disoriented from all the commotion, and Zhou Lezhi's desperate eye signals went completely unheeded. She blurted out without thinking:

"Mr. Wu is a Daoist under Second Brother Liu. I heard he is a warlock from the Southwest..."

Zhou Lezhi's head went boom. Inwardly, he cried out in bitter despair. But the words had already been spoken; there was no remedying the situation now. He could only watch events unfold in silence.

The truth was that Jieyi had been without offspring for a long time, and this had inevitably undermined her standing. Although Zhou Curie was raised by her, she could only claim the title of foster mother. Compared to Yourong, who had actually borne a child, she was worlds apart. Even though Jieyi had entered the household first and held seniority, she could not overcome the weight of "continuing the lineage." At this rate, whether Yourong might be promoted to principal wife remained uncertain, but Jieyi herself had absolutely no hope.

On ordinary days, she hired physicians to regulate her menstruation every month. She had consulted countless renowned doctors, all of whom said her qi and blood were normal and that conceiving should not be difficult. Yet she had failed to become pregnant despite years of serving the Master, while Yourong had conceived not long after arriving. This aroused deep suspicion in her.

Suspicion though it was, she dared not voice it—after all, Zhou Curie was actually a counterfeit, and Jieyi herself had her "one soul and one spirit" held by Liu Sha as leverage against her. To make matters worse, after Yourong took her son to Zhaoqing, she had clearly become the exclusive favorite. Mr. Zhou barely visited Jieyi a few times a month anymore.

Originally unable to conceive, now seeing him less and less—if Yourong produced another child, Jieyi feared she would never have another chance to improve her standing in the Zhou Residence.

In her desperation, she took a dangerous gamble. She had heard Liu Sha mention a subordinate Daoist named Wu Hai, skilled in various magical arts. Among these was a type of Charm Medicine, most potent at bewitching human hearts. Once successfully administered, it could make the target utterly infatuated with the one who dosed them, devoted until death.

Jieyi could not help but be moved upon hearing this, so she sneaked out to find the Daoist master and beg for the medicine. Wu Hai proved quite accommodating—upon receiving the silver, he told her what materials to prepare...

"What materials?!" Mr. Zhou's expression grew increasingly ugly.

"The Master's hair, nails... and..."

"And what?"

"The Master's... seminal essence..." Jieyi stammered. Zhou Lezhi nearly laughed aloud. He dared not look at the Teacher's face—it was probably completely twisted by now.

"What other things? Tell me everything at once!"

The remaining ingredients were Jieyi's own hair, nails, and intimate fluids. Once again, Zhou Lezhi sensed the Teacher's breathing growing heavy behind him.

"What else!"

"No... nothing more!" Jieyi insisted. "The other medicinal materials were all compounded by Daoist Wu. This bondmaid does not know..."

"You didn't know, yet you dared put it in my tea?" The Teacher slammed the table, interrogating her sternly. "Speak! How many times have you dosed me!"

"Three... no, this was the first time."

"Still not being honest!" Mr. Zhou slammed the table again. "Bring the Family Law!"

Zhou Lezhi responded reflexively—in truth, he had no idea where the Zhou family's disciplinary implements were kept—so instead he said to Jieyi: "Miss Jieyi, I suggest you speak honestly. Don't let yourself suffer needlessly! Answer carefully!" As he spoke, he signaled her again with his eyes.

Only then did Jieyi notice his gestures. Remembering Master Wang's instructions and threats, she felt a surge of panic. Steeling herself, she said: "Only three times."

"Where is the remaining medicine?"

"Seven doses were compounded in total. Four remain unused, all stored in the Japanese lacquer vanity box in this bondmaid's room."

Zhou Lezhi didn't wait for instructions. He darted into the East Wing room like a wisp of smoke and searched out the medicine. His eagerness stemmed not from loyalty but from deep fear that Jieyi might have other items that shouldn't be seen. If the Teacher discovered them, it would inevitably cause a tremendous uproar.

The matter already implicated Liu Sha and Wu Hai. If things went any deeper, he feared it would also damage the relationship between the Teacher and Master Wang.

Zhou Lezhi didn't want the Teacher to be hurt, nor did he want the Teacher to break with Master Wang.

Fortunately, after thoroughly searching Jieyi's room, he found nothing incriminating. He breathed a sigh of relief and hurried to deliver the medicine.

Mr. Zhou opened the packet and examined the murky pills inside—neither gray nor black, their color impossible to identify. A nauseated expression crossed his face. He looked at Jieyi again with undisguised disgust and waved his hand dismissively. "Summon the servant women to escort her back to her room and keep her under strict guard. She is not to leave or send any messages!"

After the weeping Jieyi was taken back to her room, Zhou Lezhi rushed to return.

"Do you think she truly only had these seven doses compounded?" the Teacher asked.

Zhou Lezhi replied awkwardly: "Probably... After all, this is Charm Medicine. What matters is rapid effect."

"That makes sense." The Teacher stared fixedly at the pills, silent for a long while before speaking. "Tomorrow, go find Liu Sha. I want to meet this Daoist Wu and see what vile concoction he made for me to consume!"

Zhou Lezhi said: "Teacher, I'm afraid this matter is best not publicized."

"What do you mean?"

"This Daoist Wu—I know a thing or two about him." Zhou Lezhi chose his words carefully. Since Wu Hai had already been exposed by Jieyi, concealment was impossible. The only option was to portray this person as a wandering quack or petty jianghu figure, thereby suppressing this "Dosing Storm" to its minimal scope.

"Oh? You know him?"

"Yes, he is a hanger-on under Second Brother Liu. He claims to be a Daoist, but he's actually just a Wild Fox Zen—a fraud. He specializes in selling fake medicine and concocting aphrodisiacs and charm recipes to dupe people. How he connected with Miss Jieyi, I have no idea. He's not an important figure. If Teacher finds him offensive, just say a word to Second Brother Liu and have him banished far away. If you actually confront him publicly with great fanfare and everyone learns of it, people will instead suspect the Teacher has some... hidden ailment. Impotence, for example..."

Hearing this, the Teacher's face flushed crimson with suppressed rage. "Who the hell is impotent! If I were impotent, where did Curie come from! Where did Newton come from!"

"This matter is ultimately a private boudoir affair, Teacher. It would be inappropriate to publicize it widely... I beg you to consider carefully." Zhou Lezhi had by now grasped how to handle the Teacher; his words grew more confident.

"Then... I can't just let this go! Who knows what this medicine powder is made of!"

Hearing the Teacher's tone soften, Zhou Lezhi knew his fury had subsided. He quickly said: "Identifying the composition isn't difficult. Tomorrow I'll take it out and have an old pharmacy worker examine it. He'll be able to determine eight or nine parts out of ten."

"Fine, do as you suggest!" The Teacher exhaled a rough breath. "Instruct Wang Zhi on my behalf: Curie and the servant woman attending her are to move to the front courtyard study for the time being. They are not to remain in the East Wing with Jieyi!"

"This student understands." Zhou Lezhi's heart trembled—it seemed Jieyi had completely fallen from favor!

"You handled this matter well." Master Wang nodded approvingly after hearing Zhou Lezhi's report. "This woman Jieyi truly has no sense of propriety. She doesn't know good from bad!"

"Yes, but about this Daoist Wu..."

"No hindrance. I'll instruct Liu Sha to tell him never to show his face around here again. That Liu Sha—honestly! How does he manage his subordinates!" Dissatisfaction seeped through Master Wang's voice.

"Then, how should this student report back to Mr. Zhou?"

"Simply tell him that Wu Hai made unauthorized contact with the female household members to sell medicine, and has already been expelled."

"The medicine's composition... we must also put the Teacher's mind at ease."

"I will instruct Liu Sha to obtain the formula. You find someone to examine it first. If there are any harmful substances, remove them!"

If the medicine contained any poisonous or body-damaging ingredients and Mr. Zhou discovered them, it would inevitably provoke his anger. Since what had already been consumed could not be retrieved, it was better to simply keep him ignorant.

"Wait!" Zhou Lezhi was about to withdraw to find Liu Sha when Master Wang stopped him. "Jieyi has inevitably lost favor with Mr. Zhou. You must handle her carefully and keep her appeased. Don't let her lose her mind—guard against her speaking recklessly!"

"This student respectfully obeys!"

Although Jieyi was not a core figure, she knew quite a few secrets—especially two critical ones: Zhiling's fate and the truth that Curie was not the Teacher's biological daughter.

Master Wang currently held her in check through the "One Soul, One Spirit" technique. But if this Jieyi, having lost all hope after falling from favor, decided she wanted to end her life—one Jieyi dying was of little consequence, but if she revealed all these secrets, the cooperation between Master Wang and the Teacher would also come to an end.

"I will instruct Wang Zhi that all servants in Mr. Zhou's residence are to follow your scheduling from today onward! Do not disappoint me!"

"This student dares not!"

"As for how to deal with Jieyi, I still need to think it over." Master Wang closed his eyes. After a long pause, he asked, "What do you think—how about sending another woman to him?"

"I fear that would not be appropriate."

"Oh? Why not? Doesn't everyone say Mr. Zhou is quite lustful?"

"Lustful indeed, but he is also a sentimental man. As long as he has shared one night of pleasure with someone, he develops feelings of pity and affection, rarely treating them harshly. Once there are too many women, he cannot manage them all. I fear the residence would become even more chaotic."

"Haha, I didn't realize you understood your Master so well. 'None knows the master like his disciple,' as they say!" Wang Yehao laughed. "This Jieyi..."

"This student's humble opinion: the Teacher still has feelings for Jieyi. Moreover, there is the daughter Curie to consider. Even if not for the monk's face, one must consider the Buddha's. As long as this medicine's composition contains no heart-piercing or gut-rotting poison or fierce drugs, he won't bear a grudge against Jieyi for long."

"So you believe Jieyi can still be favored?"

"Even if she is not favored, it doesn't matter. She has a daughter by her side, and that secures her position in the Zhou family—as long as she doesn't court death by causing trouble again."

"So that's why you opposed arranging another woman for Mr. Zhou's bedchamber?" Wang Yehao's eyes suddenly fixed upon him with a penetrating stare, as if trying to discern some hidden truth from his expression.

That gloomy gaze made Zhou Lezhi shiver. If he had harbored any actual entanglement with Jieyi, this look would have made him too guilty to meet the other man's eyes.

(End of Chapter)