BDSMST -Chapter 197 A Hidden Paradise Becomes Reality

“The Crown Prince is gravely ill?”

The news struck like thunder from a clear sky, freezing the warm, peaceful atmosphere in an instant.

Jiang Suishui’s heart leapt. “How can this be? Caiyue just came with a letter not long ago. She said His Highness was in perfect health, and the child in the Crown Princess’s womb was safe and sound.”

Gu Yan handed her the wax-sealed letter. “It’s from the Crown Princess herself. She wrote that the Crown Prince suddenly developed a severe illness a few nights ago—high fever that wouldn’t subside, vomiting blood—and all the palace physicians are at a loss.”

Jiang Suishui quickly opened the letter and scanned it at lightning speed. The handwriting was hurried and panicked, full of despair. The Crown Princess described the Crown Prince’s symptoms as extremely unusual—not a recurrence of an old illness, but as if he had been afflicted by an extremely vicious, mysterious poison. Yet the Eastern Palace’s food and drink were strictly monitored; everything he consumed was carefully inspected, making deliberate poisoning virtually impossible.

“It’s not poison,” Jiang Suishui said, frowning as she read the description. “These symptoms… they resemble a gu.”

“A gu?” Both Gu Yan and Gu Changming were startled.

“Yes.” Jiang Suishui had some knowledge of obscure medical arts from her previous life. “There are secret techniques in the southern border regions that can use insects as a medium to harm someone remotely. Ordinary silver needles can’t detect it, and the pulse only appears as though poisoned. If treated with conventional antidotes, it will only accelerate the gu’s eruption.”

“The southern border…” Gu Yan’s eyes darkened with sharpness. He recalled a few years ago, a southern tribe had caused trouble along the border, which he had personally led troops to suppress. Could this be the remnants of that tribe?

“Suishui, what’s your plan?” Gu Changming asked.

“I must go to the capital in person,” Jiang Suishui decided immediately. The method to counter a gu is extremely complex; remote guidance simply wouldn’t work. With the Crown Princess nearing childbirth, the Crown Prince was her only support. If he fell, the newly stabilized political situation would be thrown into chaos—consequences unimaginable.

“No!” Gu Yan objected without hesitation. “Your body has just recovered, and the children are still so young. Even though Zhao Wang is gone, who knows what other undercurrents remain in the capital? I cannot let you take this risk.”

“Gu Yan,” Jiang Suishui said, meeting his gaze with firm resolve, “this is not the time to consider personal safety. This is a matter of life and death—for our Gu family and all of Woniu Village. If the Crown Prince falls, everything we’ve worked for will be overturned. I must go.”

This time, before Gu Yan could argue further, Gu Xuan stepped forward.

“Father, let Mother go,” said the ten-year-old boy, his voice calm and steady. “I will take care of my younger siblings. And,” he looked at Jiang Suishui, “Mother, I want to go with you too.”

“Nonsense!” Gu Yan barked.

“I’m not being foolish.” Gu Xuan met his father’s gaze without flinching. “I have my own ‘eyes’ and ‘ears’ in the capital. They may not be able to do much, but at least they can gather information and help Mother track the source of this gu. With me there, I can share your burden, Mother.”

Seeing the determination on his son’s face, Gu Yan fell silent.

In the end, with Gu Changming’s support, Gu Yan reluctantly agreed.

Three days later, a convoy escorted by the village militia’s elite left Woniu Village, racing toward the capital. Jiang Suishui and Gu Xuan sat in the center of the carriage. Accompanying them were Shen Qing with her medical team and Bai Ling’er.

Bai Ling’er was officially there as a “technical consultant,” reporting to the Ministry of Works on new shipbuilding techniques, but in reality, she would leverage her family’s influence in the capital to assist Jiang Suishui when the time came.

This was a capital rescue operation, mobilizing the core strength of the entire Woniu Village.

Half a month later, in the Eastern Palace of the capital…

Jiang Suishui saw the Crown Prince, gaunt and emaciated to the point of looking like a shadow of himself, and the Crown Princess, her enormous belly evident, tears streaming down her face.

She wasted no time on pleasantries and immediately began treating the Crown Prince. Using golden needles soaked in specially prepared medicinal liquids, she inserted them into his acupoints. Upon withdrawal, the needle tips were coated with a nearly invisible, wriggling black mucus.

“It really is the Love-Silk Gu,” Jiang Suishui said gravely. “This type of gu feeds on a person’s essence and emotions. The caster must be a woman who had intimate contact with the Crown Prince and harbors deep resentment toward him.”

The Crown Princess paled at Jiang Suishui’s words.

Over the next few days, Jiang Suishui confined herself to her room, carefully preparing the antidote. Meanwhile, Gu Xuan activated his “intelligence network.”

The group of privileged youths led by Zhou Jue were thrilled by the assignment. They investigated all palace maids and female attendants who had entered the Eastern Palace in the past two years. Following the trail, they eventually traced the culprit to a dancer from the southern border who had been dismissed from the palace a year ago.

That dancer was none other than the daughter of the southern tribal chieftain who had been exterminated years earlier. Her placement in the Eastern Palace had been part of a meticulously planned scheme.

Thanks to the clues from Gu Xuan and the coordination of Gu Yan’s military contacts, the dancer, hiding in a private residence in the capital, was quickly apprehended—and the antidote was found.

The Crown Prince took the antidote, and after several days of Jiang Suishui’s careful treatment, his health visibly improved.

The day after the Crown Prince recovered, the Crown Princess gave birth smoothly to a grandson of the royal family.

The Eastern Palace celebrated double joy, and the position of heir was now unshakable.

The emperor was delighted beyond measure and lavished unprecedented honors on Jiang Suishui and the Gu family. He even made an exception, allowing Jiang Suishui to establish her own “House of the Protector Lady” within the imperial city.

Jiang Suishui politely declined the emperor’s favor.

After completing all the handovers, she returned quietly to Woniu Village with Gu Xuan.

The wealth and power of the capital, to her, were nothing but fleeting smoke. Her true roots remained in the hopeful, fertile lands of Woniu Village.

Several years later…

Woniu Village had truly become a paradise that the world envied.

It now housed the finest agricultural and engineering academies in Da Xia, constantly producing talented individuals. Its lands grew abundant crops, leaving the villagers free from hunger. The marketplaces connected with distant lands, bringing exotic goods from overseas alongside local crafts.

The new generation of “Explorer” ships, designed by Gu Xuan and overseen by Bai Ling’er, could voyage to far-off continents, bringing back new species and knowledge from distant civilizations.

The Gu family’s twin children had grown into lively and intelligent young boy and girl. The boy inherited his father’s steadiness, and the girl inherited her mother’s cleverness.

One ordinary afternoon, Jiang Suishui and Gu Yan walked side by side along the fields of Woniu Village. In the distance came the clear voices of students reading at the academy, the ringing of hammers and tools from workshops, and the cheerful songs of villagers in the fields.

Jiang Suishui looked at the flourishing scene she had created with her own hands and smiled in satisfaction.

“Gu Yan,” she said, turning to him, “look—we did it.”

Gu Yan held her hand, gazing into her eyes, reflecting the very essence of this prosperous era.

“Yes,” he replied. “We did it.”

The sunlight was gentle, the breeze mild. Behind them, the land thrived with life. A hidden paradise, belonging both to them and to this era, had finally become reality.