Uncle Cheng brought the carriage to a stop.
He plucked the sharp arrow out and spoke towards the interior, "Miss, someone shot an arrow at our carriage, and there’s a letter attached to the end!"
Upon hearing this, Yun Jinnian gestured to Hemei.
Hemei lifted the carriage curtain, took the arrow, removed the letter, and handed it to Yun Jinnian.
"Miss, could it be poisonous?"
Yun Jinnian opened the letter which read, "Proceed further at your own peril!"
Hemei glanced at it, "Miss, who on earth could the Duan Family have offended?"
"I’m not sure, but we should find out soon enough!" Yun Jinnian placed the letter aside, "Uncle Cheng, let’s continue!"
The room was pitch dark as a figure in black sat on the floor, toying with the herbs in their hands.
"What did you say?" The voice was elderly and hoarse, but unmistakably that of an old lady.
"Princess Yijia continues forward and seems intent on visiting the Duan Residence!"
"Good, very good, such bravery, but if that’s the case, she can’t blame me!" said the old lady, standing up slowly, "Send the order down, kill Yun Jinnian!"
The little maidservant impostor, I wonder how long she can hold out.
"Be careful, after all, she is the Saintess of the Moon-Seeking Sect. It’s enough to scare her, don’t actually harm her!"
The old lady spoke, taking a deep breath.
The Moon-Seeking Sect had been without a Saintess for many years; if those devotees learned someone had harmed their Saintess, they would likely go mad.
She truly couldn’t bear the consequences.
However, after waiting and waiting without the return of her dispatched men, the old lady realized she had underestimated Yun Jinnian.
Looking at the person who had been knocked unconscious, Yun Jinnian spoke indifferently, "Take him back and guard him well!"
In the end, she still made her way to the Duan Residence.
Ruan Wanrong greeted Yun Jinnian at the doorway, "I should have come to meet you, but the situation in the residence right now..."
It was also hard to put into words.
Yun Jinnian expressed her understanding.
Together, they entered the residence; the ladies, who should have been dressed in splendid attire, all had faces shadowed with sorrow, and the once vibrant young men were silent and subdued.
"Greetings, Princess Yijia!"
"Dispense with the formalities!"
After the salutations, another silence fell.
Several of the ladies had things they seemed to want to say but held back. A few had even teared up, clearly under pressure from being afflicted with severe poison and unable to bear children.
"Let’s get straight to the point then!"
Yun Jinnian spoke softly.
Ruan Wanrong smiled, "That would be great, I’ve prepared everything!"
If it was time to take pulses, the ladies would go first.
But after a few, Yun Jinnian’s expression subtly changed.
Beyond the poisons they had previously been afflicted with, they were now bearing different severe toxins.
Every one of them was , each with a different poison.
It was even worse for the men.
"How are things?" asked Ruan Wanrong, her grip tightening on her handkerchief.
"The situation is worse than you imagined but not particularly severe. With all the necessary herbs, I can provide a cure. However, of greater importance now is to identify the mastermind behind this. Today, before I came here, I received a threatening letter and encountered an assassination attempt on my way. I want to ask, who could the Duan Family have possibly offended? We need to find this person as soon as possible and resolve the issue!" Yun Jinnian said, pausing before continuing, "Otherwise, even if I cure you of the poison, that person could continue to administer more. Perhaps next time, instead of a slow-acting poison, it will be a lethal toxin that kills on contact!"