On her wedding night, she went into exile with her pharmacy arsenal

Chapter 2299 A Sudden Peril

The wind swirled through the graveyard, carrying the earthy stench of the ground. Huo Changhe stood beside the empty coffin, his eyes filled with an unyielding coldness.

He summoned two bodyguards.

"The matter of the stolen body of the third daughter-in-law of the Li family is now entrusted to you two to investigate."

The two men bowed their heads and replied, "Your subordinates obey."

"Examine carefully, don't overlook any clues." Huo Changhe raised his eyes and swept over the grass that had just been trampled, his brows furrowing slightly. "If we can find any clues within three days, we will continue to investigate and find out the origin and purpose of the person who stole the corpse."

If there are no leads, immediately set off for Chongzhou to rendezvous. Do not delay, nor act rashly, lest you alert the enemy.

"Your subordinates obey." The two bowed again, and as soon as they finished speaking, they disappeared into the dense forest, vanishing without a trace in an instant.

Huo Changhe turned to look at Ying San and Ying Si: "You two stay with the team and protect everyone's safety."

"Yes."

Yan Ruyu walked to Huo Changhe's side, her gaze still fixed on the empty coffin, and said softly, "Corpses were also lost in Chongzhou. I'm afraid there might be a connection. However, this place is far from Chongzhou, so it's not certain."

Huo Changhe nodded: "We should not delay. We should set off immediately. The sooner we get to Chongzhou, the sooner we can see Mingzhao and find out the details of the He family."

The group mounted their horses and galloped off toward the official road.

That night in Chongzhou, Princess Mingzhao was in extreme danger in the backyard of the He family.

Master He led her and Mu Chen to a side room in the backyard and asked them to wait.

"Please wait here for a moment, I'll go and ask your sister-in-law to come over."

She called out to Second Master He, "Please hurry, I haven't seen my cousin in a long time, I really miss her."

Master He paused, but did not turn around or respond.

Mingzhao stood by the window, his fingertips lightly touching the windowsill, his gaze peering through the gaps in the window paper at the courtyard outside.

The yard was planted with lush mugwort, and when the wind blew, the bitter scent of the mugwort wafted into the house.

Mu Chen stood guard at the door, his right hand always resting on the hilt of his sword at his waist, vigilantly scanning every movement in the courtyard.

“Princess, the Su family is clearly gone, but their graves are still there in the desolate forest. Where are they going to find someone to help them? The He family is obviously trying to deceive us.”

Mingzhao turned around, a cold smile playing on her lips, her eyes gleaming with a chilling light: "I'm also curious, let's see what kind of trouble they can cause."

"The man called Second Master that night in front of the grave in the woods is the same man who just left."

Mu Chen nodded: "In that case, Su's death was definitely not an accident. This Second Master He must know the real cause of Su's death. In fact, he may even be the key figure in it."

Time passed slowly, and the mugwort outside the window rustled in the wind, but there was still no sign of Master He, nor any maids or servants came to deliver a message.

Mingzhao leaned against the table, her fingertips lightly tapping the surface, the rhythm neither too fast nor too slow.

After an unknown amount of time, she suddenly stopped, her brows furrowing slightly. She rubbed her temples and noticed that the scent lingering around her nose, besides the bitterness of the mugwort, seemed to have a very faint, indescribable flavor.

It was just that the scent of mugwort masked my attention, so I hadn't noticed it until now.

She looked up at Mu Chen, her voice serious: "Mu Chen, don't you feel something's not right?"

Upon hearing this, Mu Chen shook his head, raised his hand to rub his eyes, and a hint of confusion welled up in his eyes.

He blinked hard before whispering, "Princess, I feel... my vision is blurry, my head is heavy, and my limbs are starting to feel weak."

The moment he finished speaking, both of them heard a very faint hissing sound, as faint as a mosquito's buzz, like a needle piercing thin paper, or like air slowly leaking out from a crack.

Mingzhao immediately looked up and quickly scanned every corner of the room. The pear wood cabinet in the corner was carved with openwork lotus patterns.

At this moment, wisps of light smoke are slowly rising from the gaps in the patterns.

The smoke was extremely pale, almost transparent, blending seamlessly with the light and shadow inside the room; it was virtually undetectable unless one looked closely.

That faint sweet fragrance wafted from the cabinet, mixed with the bitterness of the mugwort, becoming extremely subtle. If one did not concentrate on smelling it at that moment, one would not be able to detect it at all.

It's sleeping gas!

Mingzhao's heart sank, and a strong sense of unease welled up inside her.

She tried to raise her hand to cover her mouth and nose, but found that her limbs were as if all the strength had been drained, so weak that she didn't even have the strength to lift her fingertips.

The scene before my eyes began to blur slowly, as if a layer of fog had been veiled over my vision, and even the furnishings in the room became distorted.

"Princess..." Mu Chen called out urgently, wanting to draw his sword to protect Ming Zhao, but his hand fell heavily to the ground halfway up.

His body swayed, and he leaned heavily against the door frame, his eyes filled with anxiety and helplessness. He couldn't even finish a sentence and could only watch helplessly as the wisps of smoke slowly dissipated inside the room.

Mingzhao's consciousness began to sink little by little. She bit her tongue hard, trying to keep herself awake, but the effects of the sleeping potion came on very quickly, entering her internal organs through her nasal cavity, and even her mind began to become hazy.

Just as her vision was about to completely blur, the door to the room was pushed open from the outside.

Master He walked in, his face cold, his eyes gleaming with a sinister light, and a cold smile playing on his lips. Two servants followed behind him.

Master He's gaze fell on Mingzhao: "I didn't want you to get involved, but you insisted on coming to me, so you can't blame me."

He gestured with his chin toward the servant behind him, his voice cold and hard: "Take them to the alchemy room."

Two servants immediately stepped forward and dragged Mingzhao and Muchen up.

Mingzhao's head tilted to one side, and his consciousness was completely plunged into boundless darkness.

After an unknown amount of time, Mingzhao slowly woke up.

All that could be seen was darkness.

She was in a small room with walls made of adobe bricks, some of which were peeling and revealing the yellowish soil underneath. There was also some moss growing at the base of the walls, giving off a damp feeling.

In the corner of the room, there were several earthenware urns about half a person's height. Wisps of white steam rose from the mouths of the urns, making the already dim light even more obscured.

My nasal cavity was filled with a strong, pungent medicinal smell, a mixture of the bitterness of various herbs and a faint burnt smell, which overpowered all other aromas.

Mingzhao shifted her body slightly. She wasn't bound in any way, probably because she felt the sleeping potion was too powerful and she couldn't escape.

She turned her head and saw Mu Chen lying on the ground next to her, his eyes closed, his brows furrowed, and his sword lying on the ground beside him.

She took a deep breath, and the strong smell of medicine filled her chest, making her cough a few times.