Chapter 6: Nearly Poisoned

Chu Xiaoqi continued walking along the riverbank for less than two hundred meters when she stumbled upon a scene that made her beam with joy—countless brown spiky balls were scattered across the ground like a carpet.

She quickly ran over, picked one up, cracked it open, and tasted a chestnut.

It had rained the night before, so the outer shells were a bit damp, but the chestnut inside was fresh, sweet, and edible—no trace of rot.

But with so many chestnuts, how was she going to carry them all out?

She glanced up at the sky and estimated it was almost time for her to meet Ji Jingze as promised. Better to head back first—no need to worry the kid.

Outside the forest, the Ji siblings waited anxiously. Still, no sign of Chu Xiaoqi. Ji Jingze was already starting to cry quietly.

“We can’t wait any longer. I’m going in along the vine to find her…” Ji Jingxuan said, getting up from the ground with his machete and basket.

“Big Brother…” Ji Jingze and Ji Jinglan jumped up in unison. “Don’t go…”

Ji Jingxuan clenched his jaw. “As long as we haven’t divorced, she’s still my wife. I can’t just leave her in there.

If I don’t come back, you two must take good care of our parents. Don’t be unfilial.”

Just as Ji Jinglan was about to cry, she noticed a figure stumbling out from the depths of the forest, clutching a vine.

She hesitantly called out, “Sister-in-law?”

Ji Jingze shifted to look past Ji Jingxuan’s shoulder and instantly lit up with excitement. “It’s her—it’s Sister-in-law! She’s coming out!”

Ji Jingxuan spun around and saw Chu Xiaoqi looking as if she was about to faint. He rushed forward to support her.

“Don’t move!”

Before he could get close, Chu Xiaoqi shouted to stop him.

The Ji siblings instantly froze in place, afraid to take a single step forward.

Before she even got out of the mist, Chu Xiaoqi’s nose began to bleed.

Ji Jingxuan couldn’t wait any longer—he hurried toward her. Sensing someone approaching, Chu Xiaoqi summoned all her strength and leapt out of the mist, collapsing directly into Ji Jingxuan’s arms.

“Xiaoqi! Xiaoqi, what’s wrong?”

“Run…”

Chu Xiaoqi gritted her teeth, clutching her nose, and urged Ji Jingxuan to get her out of there quickly.

As soon as they reached an open clearing, she shoved Ji Jingxuan away, pulled the licorice root from earlier out of her pouch, and stuffed it into her mouth.

Then she turned around, dashed back into the mist, yanked up a handful of black bracken, and ran back out, kneeling down to chew it frantically.

“Xiaoqi, what are you eating? Spit it out—now!” Ji Jingxuan cried, trying to force open her mouth to get the plant out.

But Chu Xiaoqi shoved him away with all her strength.

Ji Jingxuan wasn’t bothered—after all, he was used to being beaten and scolded by her in the past.

He scrambled back up, grabbed her tightly, and reached into her mouth, digging out the chewed leaves, then wiped her bleeding nose with his sleeve.

“You… are you trying to kill yourself?” Chu Xiaoqi slurred angrily from his arms.

Ji Jingxuan let out a long sigh, drained and helpless. “I’ve wronged you, Xiaoqi. I know you’ve gone hungry for too long… but that doesn’t mean you can eat anything you find.

If you eat something poisonous, you’ll die.”

After hearing his words, Chu Xiaoqi finally pieced it together—this blurry-faced man had to be the male lead of the novel, her stingy, bookish husband.

“You idiot… I was poisoned by the mist. What I ate were antidotal herbs.

You nearly killed me…”

Ji Jingxuan was stunned. “What? Antidote herbs?”

“When did you learn herbal medicine?” he asked, confused as he looked at the person in his arms.

Chu Xiaoqi sat up and shoved Ji Jingxuan away with an annoyed expression. “I fell and hit my head. When I woke up, I just knew.”

She wasn’t planning to lie to him—after all, she might rely on this skill to make a living in the future. If she brushed it off now, who knew how many more lies she’d have to spin later to cover it up?

So rather than pretending, she might as well admit directly that she knew medicine.

Besides, since the original host had “amnesia,” it wouldn’t be strange if she suddenly remembered something.

Ji Jingxuan examined her carefully, then tentatively asked, “Did you recover your memory?”

Chu Xiaoqi shook her head honestly. “No.”

“Not even the tiniest bit about who you are?”

“Nope.”

Ji Jingxuan sighed in clear disappointment.

Even though Chu Xiaoqi couldn’t see his expression clearly due to the lingering effects of the poison, his heavy sigh sounded full of dejection.

Well, makes sense. The original host had been such a handful. Ji Jingxuan was probably hoping she’d recover her memories so he could justify divorcing her and sending her away.

That was fine too. When she eventually left, they could part peacefully.

“How are you feeling now?” Ji Jingxuan asked, his voice neutral.

Chu Xiaoqi sat cross-legged, propping up her head with her hand and closing her eyes. “Still can’t see clearly. Give it a bit more time.”

Ji Jingxuan nodded and sat down opposite her without another word.

Ji Jingze had originally wanted to ask Chu Xiaoqi what was on the other side of the mist, but seeing how unwell she looked, he decided to keep quiet.

For a full quarter of an hour, no one said a word.

Eventually, Chu Xiaoqi slowly opened her eyes—and the first thing she saw was a refined, handsome man. Even his worn-out light blue robe couldn’t hide the gentle, jade-like aura he carried.

With looks like his, he’d easily be considered top-tier even in modern times.

Though a bit thin, if he put on some weight, he’d be an absolute stunner.

No wonder, despite his poor background and just starting his career as an official, he still managed to catch the eye of the Prime Minister’s daughter and became the Prime Minister’s son-in-law.

She didn’t understand what the original host was thinking. With such a quality man, instead of winning him over, she chose to beat and scold him every day—no wonder she chilled his heart.

If it were her, no matter what the future held, the first thing she’d do was get him into bed.

With a face like that, she wouldn’t be the one losing out.

Ji Jingxuan, who was quietly thinking with his head lowered, suddenly felt an intense gaze on him.

He looked up—only to meet Chu Xiaoqi’s infatuated expression. Feeling awkward, he touched his face. “Is there something on my face?”

Chu Xiaoqi grinned and shook her head, replying in a completely unrelated way, “You’re really good-looking.”

Ji Jingxuan’s hand froze mid-air. He looked at her, baffled, not knowing why she’d suddenly blurt something so random.

Realizing she was being a bit too thirsty, Chu Xiaoqi quickly snapped out of it, sat up straight, and shook her head hard. Once she confirmed she wasn’t feeling any discomfort, she got up.

Noticing the empty basket nearby, she walked over to pick it up. “I was just worrying I didn’t have anything to hold chestnuts with…”

Ji Jingxuan stood up too and dusted off his robes. “Looks like you’re alright now. Let’s go back—Father and Mother are worried sick.”

“What’s the point of going back if there’s nothing to eat?” Chu Xiaoqi slung the basket over her back and turned to dig up more licorice roots.

Ji Jingxuan…

When Ji Jingxuan heard Chu Xiaoqi’s words, his face turned alternating shades of green and white, waves of shame crashing over him.

It was true—they didn’t even have a single grain of food left at home. Going back now would just mean filling their bellies with plain boiled water.

When his father split off from the main Ji family, he hadn’t received a single piece of land. So now, their family only had the fields allocated by the government based on headcount.
Only he and his parents qualified for land distribution. His younger siblings hadn’t reached adulthood yet and weren’t eligible.

Three people’s worth of land—no matter how hard they worked year-round—after paying taxes, there wasn’t even enough left to feed one person.

And they were still at the mercy of nature. If there were floods or droughts, not only would they reap nothing, but they’d even end up owing taxes to the government.

Their current situation was exactly because of a drought two years ago. Their crops had failed, and they’d fallen into debt with the tax office. What little they’d harvested since had gone to repay the tax debt. Nothing was left.

Although their marriage hadn’t been voluntary on either side, the fact remained—it was his failure as a man that had left Chu Xiaoqi hungry ever since she married into the family.

That was also why he’d always tolerated her tantrums and outbursts.

In the blink of an eye, Chu Xiaoqi returned with a big handful of licorice root. She rinsed them in a nearby pond and handed some to the Ji siblings.

“Here. Chew them and swallow the juice, spit out the pulp.”

Ji Jingze and Ji Jinglan looked over at Ji Jingxuan, unsure what to do.

Ji Jingxuan took the licorice root and asked in confusion, “Why are we chewing this?”

“It’s the antidote. Once you’ve had it, we’ll go inside and gather food.” Chu Xiaoqi spit out the licorice pulp in her mouth. Then she added casually, “Or, if you’re scared, just wait here. I’ll be back in about an hour.”

Before anyone could say anything, she tossed the rest of the washed licorice into her basket and turned to head into the forest.

Ji Jingxuan reached out and grabbed her. “Hold on—” He looked visibly conflicted, but in the end, stuffed the licorice root into his mouth and started chewing. A stream of sweet juice flowed through his mouth, followed by a distinct herbal scent.

It wasn’t tasty, but it wasn’t unbearable either.

Seeing their big brother chew it down, Ji Jingze and Ji Jinglan quickly followed suit.

“This root is sweet!” Ji Jinglan grinned with squinty eyes, clearly delighted.

Chu Xiaoqi, seeing they’d all spat out the pulp properly, took the lead and walked into the poisonous mist once more.

The Ji siblings hurried after her.

Along the way, whenever Chu Xiaoqi spotted wood ferns or wild turtle herbs, she dug them up and threw them into the basket.

“Sis-in-law, why are you digging that stuff up? Can you eat it?” Ji Jinglan asked curiously, sticking close behind her.

“They’re for detoxifying the poison,” Chu Xiaoqi replied, breaking off some wood ferns and handing them to the others. “Chew and swallow the juice, spit out the dregs.”

Earlier, when she crossed the poison mist into King Yama’s Mountain, she had already started feeling unwell. And when she came back out, the leftover herbs hadn’t been enough to counter the double exposure—she’d almost died in the mist.

This time, she had to be fully prepared to avoid panicking later.

The Ji siblings obediently took the ferns and began chewing, but unlike the licorice, this herb was bitter as hell. The moment the juice hit their tongues, their nerves tensed involuntarily.

“Ugh! This is disgusting!” Ji Jingze couldn’t take the bitterness and spit it out after a few chews.

“Disgusting?” Chu Xiaoqi didn’t even turn around as she teased, “You should be grateful!

That’s a rare herb known as the ‘king of detoxifiers.’ If it weren’t for this poison mist forest, you’d never get the chance to taste it.”