Chapter 16: A Walking Merit Machine

Ye Chutang had already guessed who the visitor was, and she immediately held her breath.

The knockout incense was incredibly effective—before Shuang’er could even catch a whiff of the strange scent, she collapsed onto the table.

Ye Chutang followed suit, pretending to faint as well.

Whoever used the incense was cautious. They waited about the time it took for one stick of incense to burn before entering the private room.

Their footsteps were nearly silent—a sign of good martial skills.

Qi Yanzhou approached the table and pulled out the antidote from his robe.

Just as he was about to administer it to Ye Chutang, she suddenly opened her eyes and launched a strike at him.

“Miss Ye, I mean you no harm.”

Ye Chutang was intentionally testing Qi Yanzhou’s martial abilities, ignoring his words completely and attacking with ruthless precision.

At first, Qi Yanzhou only defended passively.

As a result, he took a punch to the shoulder and a kick to the stomach.

Realizing Ye Chutang wasn’t weak and that she was going for the kill, he quickly began taking the fight seriously.

Though their fight was intense, they didn’t make much noise.

In the end, Ye Chutang had her hands twisted behind her back and was pinned against the wall.

“Miss Ye, have you tested enough?”

The moment she had deliberately avoided the tables and chairs, he’d already guessed her intentions.

Ye Chutang nodded. “Enough.”

Her martial arts skills were decent, but she had practically no internal energy. Losing to Qi Yanzhou was only natural.

But in time, the one getting pinned would be him.

Qi Yanzhou let her go. “I didn’t expect Miss Ye to not only be skilled in medicine but also to know martial arts.”

He couldn’t help wondering who had taught her. She had only the moves, but no internal energy.

Ye Chutang sat down at the table and drained her now-lukewarm tea in one go.

“If I didn’t have some means of self-defense, the weeds on my grave would be ten feet tall by now.”

She poured him a cup of tea.

“Your Highness, please sit.”

Qi Yanzhou took the round stool next to her and asked, “Miss Ye, aren’t you afraid I came here to silence you?”

Ye Chutang poured herself another cup of tea.

Lifting it, she looked at the strikingly handsome Qi Yanzhou through the rising steam.

“If you wanted to kill me, Your Highness, you wouldn’t have waited until now, nor would you have shown up in front of me like this.

Besides, you should be grateful you didn’t make a move against me. Otherwise, the one lying dead wouldn’t be me.”

She might not be able to defeat Qi Yanzhou in a fight now, but she had supernatural powers and knew how to use poison.

Qi Yanzhou looked at her faint smile, intrigued. “With your abilities, life on the Zhuangzi shouldn’t have been that hard.”

“Has Your Highness never heard of ‘hiding one’s talents’? If the Liu family hadn’t tried to kill me, I would’ve happily lived a quiet life in the countryside.”

“Miss Ye, you were forced to embroider two handkerchiefs a day just to earn thirty copper coins for a meal of rotten leftovers—and you call that a quiet life?”

Ye Chutang: “……”

What, did this man rub cinnabar on his lips before talking?

“I liked it that way.”

Qi Yanzhou narrowed his eyes. “Someone who knows medicine, getting schemed against by a servant?”

“I treat people, not animals.”

“Then why do you carry pills to suppress fire poison?”

Ye Chutang couldn’t explain that, so she simply avoided the question.

“If I’d wanted to harm you, Your Highness, that cold spring would’ve been your burial site.”

That was exactly what convinced Qi Yanzhou their encounter that night had been a coincidence.

And yet, the fact she had the pill on her still made him suspicious.

Seeing Qi Yanzhou fall silent, Ye Chutang added, “I went to the cold spring to suppress the effects of a drug. I didn’t expect to run into Your Highness. Everything that followed… was beyond my control. I apologize.”

“Title and silver—Your Highness surely doesn’t care for those. But if you ever need my help in the future, just say the word. As long as it’s not something outrageously evil, I’ll agree.”

Thinking of the humiliation he’d suffered that night, Qi Yanzhou’s expression turned slightly unpleasant.

He coughed lightly, took a sip of tea, and got to the point.

“I came to see you for two things.”

“Please, go ahead.”

“First, we never met. Second, return the ink jade token to me.”

Ye Chutang agreed right away.

“Alright. How should I return it?”

Though the token was in her space now, she couldn’t take it out directly.

Otherwise, he might suspect she carried it on purpose and question her motives.

“Three days from now, I’ll be attending a banquet at the Minister’s residence.”

“I’ll find a chance to return the token then.”

Qi Yanzhou set down his cup. “Miss Ye, don’t get your hopes up about Ye Jingchuan. He brought you back because…”

Ye Chutang cut him off.

“Because he wants me to marry Eunuch De on Ye Anling’s behalf. That’s why they’re being so deferential and protective.”

Qi Yanzhou saw the gleam of excitement in her eyes and realized his concern was unnecessary.

“Eunuch De isn’t easy to deal with. Be careful, Miss Ye.”

With that, he prepared to leave.

Ye Chutang called out to him.

“Your Highness, I keep my word. I’ll help you cure your fire poison. If you don’t mind, I’d like to check your pulse.”

This man was literally a walking merit machine!

Saving him wouldn’t just earn her 100,000 merit points, but at least 50,000.

Qi Yanzhou hadn’t brought it up because he didn’t trust her.

“How confident are you, Miss Ye?”

“One hundred percent!”

Hearing that, Qi Yanzhou instantly felt she was bluffing.

Even the best physician in Beichen, Divine Doctor Xue, had failed. How could she possibly be sure?

“Can I at least know your method?”

Ye Chutang knew he didn’t believe her.

She could understand—it was his life on the line, after all.

“You can. In three days, I’ll give you both the jade token and the antidote plan.”

Her confidence stirred something inside Qi Yanzhou, like a pebble dropped into a calm lake.

His will to live surged.

He returned to his seat and extended his wrist to her.

Just as Ye Chutang was about to feel his pulse, Ye Anling’s voice came from outside, asking the staff a question.

“Which room is my sister in?”

Qi Yanzhou withdrew his hand. “Three days from now, at the Minister’s residence.”

With that, he quickly neutralized the knockout incense in Shuang’er, and leapt out the window.

Ye Chutang poured out the tea he didn’t finish and set the cup upside down on the tray.

Shuang’er woke up, looking confused. “How did I fall asleep?”

“Maybe you were too tired.”

Just then, Qiulu pushed open the private room door.

Ye Anling’s head had been bandaged, and she’d changed into new clothes.

She looked deathly pale from blood loss—a pitiful sight.

“Elder Sister, it’s getting late. We should head back.”

Ye Chutang noticed the Princess of Anping hadn’t come along and figured Ye Anling had already placated her.

“But we haven’t finished buying clothes and jewelry. If you’re too stingy…”

Ye Anling’s head was pounding; she couldn’t shop anymore.

She handed over all the silver notes in her sleeve pouch.

“This is all I brought. If it’s not enough, have the shop bill the Minister’s residence.”

Ye Chutang accepted it without hesitation and stuffed it into her own sleeve.

“That’s great. I’m a bit too blunt, and who knows if I might say the wrong thing and get the Ye family into trouble.”

Ye Anling thought of how much trouble Ye Chutang could cause and felt a headache coming on.

She had no choice but to stick with her.

“I’ll just go with you.”

“Then I’ll trouble you, Second Miss Ye.”

Qiulu felt Ye Chutang was doing this on purpose and complained, “Miss, Second Miss is injured. She needs rest.”

Ye Chutang raised her hand and slapped Qiulu.

“What, are servants calling the shots in the Ye family now?”

Qiulu didn’t dare talk back and immediately knelt.

“Please calm down, Miss. I didn’t mean that. I was only worried about Second Miss.”

“You two can go back first. Shuang’er, we’re leaving.”

With that, Ye Chutang strode out.

Ye Anling, worried she’d cause trouble and implicate the Minister’s residence, quickly asked Qiulu to help her after her.

But just as they reached the entrance of the teahouse, the waiter stopped them.

“Miss Ye, you haven’t paid the bill yet.”