Chapter 38.1

The Mantis Stalking The Cicada (5)

After countless considerations, Li Ruo Shui finally thought of a way to catch the culprit of the poisoning incident quickly.

However, this method required Zheng Yan Qing’s cooperation, so she told him part of the truth.

“Is the culprit really a boy in the Zheng residence?” Zheng Yan Qing looked at her. Although his expression seemed only slightly doubtful, his unconscious grip on the cuff of his sleeve still revealed his own unease and loss.

It made sense. No one in the family cared about his true feelings, and even the Zheng family’s servants, whom everyone praised as “loyal”, would ignore his life for money.

The loneliness of being left out was the most torturous.

“So you have to think about how to survive if you can’t rely on your family in the future.” Li Ruo Shui sat at the table, rubbing her sore muscles. She could not help but criticize Lu Zhi Yao internally.

Perhaps she had worn the iron handcuffs for too long. Though they were now removed, she still felt the weight of being locked up.

Zheng Yan Qing put down his pen, walked over to Li Ruo Shui, and handed her the booklet in his hand with some expectation.

“I’ve read so many travelogs, but most of them are compiled randomly by the authors, who wrote about everywhere they went. However, there should always be a clear direction when traveling, so I want to compile a guide.”

Li Ruo Shui took his book and saw three big words written on the cover, “Four Times,” and she flipped through it and saw that a third of the book had been written, many of which were very detailed.

Zheng Yan Qing seldom talked to people. He mostly read books, walking around with an air of studiousness, and was modest and courteous, never overstepping.

To be fair, Li Ruo Shui admired him.

“Very thoughtful.” After reading it carefully, she handed it back to him with a smile in her eyes and said, “I think it’s well written. You can try to submit it.”

As if greatly encouraged, Zheng Yan Qing took back the book and looked up at her. “If the bookstore is willing to accept it, you can have the first copy published.”

Li Ruo Shui stood up and nodded. “Then you must hurry. We will probably have to divorce soon.”

Zheng Yan Qing froze for a moment. His grip on the scroll tightened slightly. “Have you finished with your business?”

“I think so.”

There were two key points in the original case — catching the culprit of the poisoning incident and getting the letters.

Lu Fei Yue and the others had already gone to look for the letter, so things would come to an end once she caught the culprit.

“Is that so?” Zheng Yan Qing smiled and picked up the pen in his hand, “Then first of all, I wish you all success in your endeavors.”

Li Ruo Shui nodded and walked towards the medicine room of Zheng Mansion.

To let Zheng Yan Qing study peacefully, the Zheng family arranged his compound in the most remote part of the East Court, where there was no kitchen. His meals and medicine were always prepared and sent there by the main kitchen and medicine room.

“Greetings, young mistress.”

Li Ruo Shui nodded slightly and glanced at the people sorting herbs in the medicine room; there were an equal number of men and women.

“I came to pick up the medicine for the Second Young Master.”

“Young Mistress, the medicine will take a while. Please have a seat first.” One of the round-faced little maids hurriedly vacated a chair for her and gestured for her to sit down.

Li Ruo Shui waved her hand and walked over to the medicine stove. She accidentally got smothered by the bitter smell that greeted her.

She maintained her smile, imitating Lu Zhi Yao’s fake smile to a sixty-percent perfection as she turned to look at them.

“Decocting medicine is indeed hard work, but thankfully, you all won’t have to be so tired in the future.”

The maid who was decocting the medicine fanned the stove while looking at Li Ruo Shui suspiciously. The others in the medicine room also stopped the work in their hands and waited for her next words.

“As you all know, the Second Young Master’s health has gotten much better recently, so just reduce the dosage by half. He only has to take it once a day. This is the doctor’s prescription.”

The round-faced maid took the red-stamped letter. It did say to only consume the medicine once a day, and the amount of dosage was halved.

She nodded, locked the letter paper into a small drawer, and asked someone to prepare a new decoction according to the dosage on the letter paper.

“Great, finally the dosage has been reduced. Second Young Master’s illness has finally improved!”

Li Ruo Shui echoed those words, looking sincere.

She said, “It’s thanks to my medicine. Otherwise I don’t know how long he would have been tortured.”

The round-faced maid followed her and was about to ask further questions when she saw Li Ruo Shui walking over to the medicine cabinet and looking at it demurely.

To accomplish her plan, Li Ruo Shui had to let these people know that she had medical knowledge.

“There’s actually Fire Grass here?” Among the piles of herbs, Li Ruo Shui picked out a small seedling with green leaves and red stems with a surprised look.

Her surprise was real and not a pretense.

She had actually stumbled upon a herb that could speak one, two, three, and this herb was also a rare kind of herb for common mass.

The round-faced maid stood beside her and was also a little surprised. “Do you know this?”

“Yes.” Li Ruo Shui made a nostalgic look and explained, “it’s very precious. Back then when I used it, I didn’t control the fire well and wasted a lot of them. What a shame.”

It was Lu Zhi Yao’s words when he helped her decoct the medicine, and she copied him.

“This herb is not known by ordinary people, let alone its medicinal properties.” The round-faced maid looked at Li Ruo Shui differently and asked, “You have medical knowledge, Young Mistress?”

Li Ruo Shui smiled but did not say anything. She pretended to shake her head in a profound manner and did not reply.

The most important thing to do to make people misunderstand was to remain enigmatic and leave room for imagination. A human brain’s ability to make up ideas did not distinguish between time and space.