AUBTN -Chapter 104 Prelude to the Counterattack

Seeing that Lu Yan was genuinely angry, she had no choice but to confess, “Alright, I just accidentally brushed against it. It’s nothing serious!”

But Lu Yan ignored her words and grabbed her hand. “Come on, let’s treat it!”

The cotton ball soaked in medicinal wine brushed gently over the wound. Yu Qing let out a sharp hiss from the pain and instinctively tried to pull her hand back.

Lu Yan’s hand held her wrist firmly, his tone leaving no room for argument. “You said it doesn’t matter, right? Endure it. This medicinal wine is specially prepared by the Jinyiwei—it clears rot and promotes healing. By tomorrow, it will start to scab over.”

Yu Qing looked at Lu Yan’s face so close to hers. His thick eyelashes drooped, hiding the usual severity in his eyes. At this moment, this living tyrant exuded a damnable tenderness.

【If the commander of the Jinyiwei personally treated my wound, and this got out, wouldn’t I, Yu Qing, be unstoppable in the capital’s high society? Oh, take it easy… ow, Daddy that really hurts…】

Lu Yan’s hand paused for the briefest moment.

“‘Daddy’?”

What was this woman thinking, letting all sorts of nonsense run through her head?

Yet the corner of his mouth twitched ever so slightly. He said nothing, only making his bandaging motions even more meticulous.

Elsewhere, Shen Jue was leaning lazily in the National Preceptor’s chair, twirling his folding fan, his gaze fixed on Su Hewan, who was studying the ice silkworm secretion.

Under the lamp, Su Hewan’s expression was focused and calm.

“Today… we owe you two,” Shen Jue suddenly said, looking at Su Hewan’s profile, his eyes complicated.

Without these two women delaying things at the banquet, he and Lu Yan would have had no return.

Hearing this, Yu Qing immediately perked up. Ignoring the pain in her hand, she waved her arms dramatically. “Of course! Commander Shen, you didn’t see how dangerous it was back there! That Zhao Shuo, with an aura two meters eight, like some black mountain demon! I taught him a lesson with a plate of custard cakes! Completely rattled that old monster!”

Su Hewan added without lifting her head, “Yes, and if your final little shiver wasn’t from fear, it would have been perfect.”

Yu Qing: “…”

“Don’t ruin it, sister! Show some respect!”

Shen Jue chuckled lightly, dispelling the usual darkness that clung to him.

Lu Yan finished the final round of gauze, tied it neatly, and looked up at Shen Jue. “We have the materials. What’s next? The ice silkworm secretion is an antidote, but the poison of the Red Flame Herb is fierce, and it has accumulated in the body for a long time. Any mistake could make it even worse.”

The atmosphere in the study instantly grew tense.

All eyes turned to Su Hewan.

She put down the silver needle in her hand and exhaled deeply.

“I’ve analyzed it,” Su Hewan said, pointing to the records on the rice paper.

“The poison Zhao Shuo gave the late emperor is actually a chronic neurotoxin. It exploits the heat of the Red Flame Herb, creating a false sense of excitement while secretly overtaxing the body. The ice silkworm secretion, extremely cold as recorded in historical texts, is its only nemesis.”

She paused, glancing at Shen Jue and Lu Yan. “However, to craft a perfect antidote, the dosage must be precisely controlled. We need an absolutely reliable doctor with exceptional skill for the final preparation. After all, this involves pharmacology, which is outside my expertise!”

Shen Jue frowned slightly.

Although the Eastern Depot also has doctors, most specialize in torture interrogation or treating external injuries. Delicate antidote work like this is not their forte.

“I have the right person,” Lu Yan, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.

“Liu Wen, from the Imperial Medical Academy. He was once a military doctor under my father, later joining the Imperial Medical Academy. He is honest, highly skilled, and most importantly, he once questioned the cause of the late emperor’s death. He’s someone we can trust.”

Su Hewan’s eyes lit up. “That’s perfect!”

Lu Yan secretly summoned Physician Liu overnight.

At first, Imperial Physician Liu nearly fainted when he saw the Dongchang Supervisor and the Commander of the Jinyiwei sitting together. He thought his end had come.

But after Su Hewan brought out her pharmacological analysis on Red Flame Grass and Ice Silkworm Saliva, Liu’s expression changed.

As dawn broke, Su Hewan held a small celadon porcelain bottle in her hand and gave it a gentle shake.

The liquid inside was clear and bright, giving off a faint, refreshing fragrance.

“Done.”

She turned to look at the three people standing behind her.

Though Yu Qing nodded drowsily, her eyes were full of anticipation.

Su Hewan tightened her grip on the bottle and spoke slowly, “We have the antidote.”

Her gaze drifted to the rising sun outside the window.

“Shen Jue, Lu Yan,” she said.

“Now, it’s our turn to strike back.”

Lu Yan stared at the antidote bottle, frowning. “We have the medicine, but how do we deliver it? Zhao Shuo is suspicious. Anything the Empress Dowager consumes must pass through his men’s inspection! If we simply swap the pill and he detects that the medicine isn’t right, all our previous efforts will be wasted.”

“Swapping it directly is indeed the worst plan.”

Su Hewan had clearly thought of this as well.

“Zhao Shuo’s pill excites the mind, making one feel like they’ve returned to their youthful prime. It’s not only a poison but also the Empress Dowager’s addiction. If we secretly replace it with an antidote, once the stimulation stops, her body will inevitably feel fatigued. At that point, without Zhao Shuo saying a word, the Empress Dowager herself will think there’s something wrong with the medicine.”

Shen Jue’s long, narrow phoenix eyes lifted slightly, a flicker of interest crossing his gaze.

He had heard Su Hewan’s inner thought:

【This is like forcibly detoxing an addict; cutting them off suddenly will cause withdrawal symptoms. We must use the magic of this era to counter the magic of this era.】

“So?” Shen Jue leaned lazily back in his chair, tapping his folding fan against his palm absentmindedly, signaling her to continue.

Su Hewan’s lips curved slightly, a sly light flashing in her eyes. “Instead of sneaking it in, why not deliver it openly?”

She stood and walked to the desk, picking up a brush to write four bold characters on a sheet of rice paper: “Strengthen the Foundation and Nourish the Root.”

“We’ll say that Master Zhao’s pill is a divine gift, with astonishing potency. But Her Majesty’s body is precious and delicate; too strong a dose without a mild medicinal base to guide it could harm her constitution over time.”

Her voice was steady and confident.

“What we are delivering isn’t an antidote—it’s a nourishing decoction specifically designed to aid the absorption of the Master’s pill and lock in its effects for the Empress Dowager.”

“This works!”

Yu Qing’s eyes widened instantly.

【Wow! Amazing! This is just like modern health supplement marketing! It’s like telling the Empress Dowager, ‘You need to take this calcium with Vitamin D for absorption!’ If Zhao Shuo dares to block it, it proves he doesn’t understand medicine—or he doesn’t want the Empress Dowager to be healthy!】

Lu Yan twitched at the corner of his mouth. He didn’t understand what Vitamin D was, but Yu Qing’s reasoning seemed convincing.

“This explanation is flawless,” Shen Jue chuckled, his gaze fixed on Su Hewan.

Using force against force, without arousing suspicion and impossible to refuse—Miss Su has quite the tricks!

Su Hewan met his gaze calmly. “Supervisor, you flatter me. Just take it as a compliment.”

【Indeed. Five thousand years of palace scheming wisdom, curing all forms of resistance.】