Chapter 163: The One Who Solves the Chess Game

When Jiu Ge heard how good the tea was, her eyes sparkled as she looked at Jiu Yu, speaking sweetly, “Brother, I want to drink it too.”

“You haven’t fully recovered yet, and this tea is cooling in nature. You can’t drink it. Once your health is restored, I’ll make it for you then.”

Seeing her pout, Jiu Yu’s expression softened. He gently pinched her cheek and said, “Be good.”

Jiu Ge lowered her eyelashes and quietly drank a bowl of plain boiled water.

“This is Snow Mist Tea,” Jiu Yu explained as he collected the tea bowl in front of Su Wan. “The peak is shrouded in clouds and mist all year round, with a few wild tea trees growing there. During winter, when the trees are covered with a layer of snow, that’s when the leaves are harvested. The snow water on the tea leaves is collected in clean jars and used to brew this Snow Mist Tea, which is truly exceptional.”

Su Wan raised her eyebrow slightly. “Quite the refined taste.”

“There are only one or two taels^[1]In traditional Chinese measurements, 1 tael is approximately equal to 37.5 grams. Therefore:

one or two taels of tea would be about 37.5–75 grams. of tea leaves a year, and I don’t have much left. I’ll reserve the tea from this winter for you.”

Jiu Yu cleaned the bowl and then sat across from Su Wan. “Mrs. Gu, could you return the bracelet to me? I’ll give you something else in return.”

He took a sachet from his sleeve and placed it in front of Su Wan.

“This is an herbal sachet that refreshes the mind and alleviates fatigue. If you wear it for a few days, you won’t feel tired or weak anymore.”

Su Wan gazed at the sachet on the table, made of gray cloth embroidered with a white crane. A faint herbal fragrance wafted from it, which was extremely pleasant.

A quick flash of something passed through her eyes. She took the bracelet out of her sleeve pocket and placed it in front of Jiu Yu.

Readily, she said, “This bracelet was given to you siblings by your mother; it’s not right for me to take something so precious.”

Su Wan picked up the sachet, untied it, and carefully inspected the herbal pack inside. It was indeed as Jiu Yu described, with no harmful substances, so she hung it on her waist.

Jiu Ge noticed the good rapport between her brother and Sister Su Wan, which made her especially happy. She couldn’t help but think that if Sister Su Wan weren’t already married, it would be even more perfect if she could become her sister-in-law.

“Brother, will you return to secular life?”

Jiu Ge hoped that her brother could find his own happiness, rather than living a life of austerity in the temple.

“We’ll see when the time comes,” Jiu Yu replied without giving a definite answer.

Jiu Ge didn’t press further, knowing that her brother had his reasons.

“How will you arrange things for Jiu Ge?” Su Wan asked.

“She will stay in the temple,” Jiu Yu replied, standing up and giving Su Wan a deep bow. “Thank you for taking care of Ge’er during this time.”

“I’m quite fond of Jiu Ge, so there’s no need for thanks,” Su Wan said as she stood up. “I’ll take my leave now and not intrude on the private conversations between you two siblings.”

The brother and sister escorted Su Wan out of the temple.

Su Wan descended the mountain and got into the carriage. She opened her hand, revealing two tea leaves in her palm, the same ones from the tea she had drunk. She studied them for quite a while but couldn’t detect anything unusual.

Su Wan took off the sachet from her waist, poured out the herbs inside, and fell into deep thought.

Jiu Yu wouldn’t give her a sachet without a reason, nor would he specifically brew the Snow Mist Tea for her to drink. This Snow Mist Tea didn’t seem like just a simple tea; rather, it resembled a medicinal concoction with health benefits.

Otherwise, why would he, despite having a full pot of tea, stop refilling her cup after she expressed her stance and instead take the bowl away?

Jiu Ge’s health was clearly well-nurtured, and just one cup of tea wouldn’t have any adverse effects, yet he still refused her.

Su Wan speculated that the key lay in the bracelet. She had uncovered Jiu Yu’s secret of poisoning the Emperor, so Jiu Yu gave her the bracelet and then discreetly administered a drug primer, intending to trigger the poison and eliminate her.

She found Jiu Ge and returned her to him, and then Jiu Yu gave her a bowl of Snow Mist Tea, resolving the issue related to the bracelet?

Otherwise, why would he take back something once given?

Su Wan sighed. Jiu Yu was a master of poisons, fully aware that she was a healer, so the things he gave her left no traces, making them nearly impossible to guard against.

If it weren’t for her intention to win him over, Su Wan wouldn’t have accepted his bracelet.

A thought crossed her mind, and the corners of her mouth lifted as she placed the remaining tea leaves back into the sachet.

——

Jiu Yu stood at the entrance of the Taoist Temple, watching Su Wan leave. He instructed the young temple attendant to spread a message in the temple, then took Jiu Ge back to the hut. As he raised his hand to close the door, his gaze sharpened, staring at his darkened fingernails.

He recalled that the only thing that had briefly come into contact with Su Wan was the tea bowl.

Instead of being annoyed, a faint smile appeared in his eyes.

She was warning him.

He sighed softly. Su Wan was incredibly perceptive—any action he took, she would scrutinize and interpret.

Even if he hadn’t given her the cup of Snow Mist Tea today, Su Wan would have eventually noticed the problem with the bracelet once she discovered the drug primer, wouldn’t she?

Jiu Yu thought that the cup of Snow Mist Tea wasn’t to save Su Wan, but to save himself.

If he wanted to poison Su Wan, he would have to use substances that were mutually counteracting.

Even though he was cautious, Su Wan had still managed to poison him effortlessly.

“Brother, what’s wrong with your hand?” Jiu Ge exclaimed in surprise.

In just a moment, Jiu Yu’s entire hand had turned black, and it felt like needles piercing through it, causing sharp pain.

“It’s nothing. Your brother will take care of it.”

Jiu Yu forced himself to endure the pain, not showing any signs of discomfort. After settling Jiu Ge, he went into the medicine room to begin diagnosing the poison that Su Wan had used on him.

Two hours passed, and the pain in Jiu Yu’s hand grew more intense with each wave. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead as he swallowed the pill he had concocted.

“Bang—”

Jiu Yu collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony, his face pale as a sheet.

“Brother! Brother! What’s wrong with you?” Jiu Ge pushed the door open and saw Jiu Yu drenched in sweat, so worried that she was about to cry. “Are you feeling unwell? Sister Su Wan is really skilled; I’ll find her to treat you.”

Jiu Yu gave a bitter smile. Medicine and poison often go hand in hand, and Su Wan’s medical skills were exceptional, as was her ability to use poison.

Based on his symptoms, he initially thought it was Xuan Yun poison and tried to detoxify it according to the formula for that poison, but it only intensified the toxicity.

A metallic taste filled Jiu Yu’s throat as he swallowed it down, not wanting to frighten Jiu Ge.

“I’m fine.” Jiu Yu steadied himself with Jiu Ge’s help and stood up, pushing her hands away. “I need to go down the mountain.”

“Brother…” 

“Don’t follow me. I’ll be fine.” Jiu Yu instructed the temple attendant to keep an eye on Jiu Ge. He slowly made his way toward the door, intending to go down the mountain to find Su Wan and sincerely apologize to her.

As soon as he stepped out of the temple, he saw Qi Sixth standing at the entrance.

“The young lady sent this for you.” Qi Sixth tossed the medicine bottle he was holding to him.

Jiu Yu caught the bottle and pressed his thin lips tightly together. After a long moment, he spoke in a low voice, “Please apologize to Mrs. Gu on my behalf. I will personally visit to make amends another day.”

Qi Sixth glanced at Jiu Yu’s hand, which had turned black as coal. “The young lady said that behaving yourself is the best way to repay her.” With that, he quickly descended the mountain to rejoin Su Wan.

“Young Lady, I’ve given him the medicine,” Qi Sixth reported.

Su Wan responded with a sleepy, raspy “Mm,” and said, “Let’s go back to the manor.”

Qi Sixth climbed onto the front of the carriage and started driving.

Su Wan took the sachet wrapped around her fingers and tossed it out of the carriage window, where it fluttered to the ground.

Before long, a group of people emerged from the greenery of the mountain path.

Xie Wuya stopped, picked up the sachet from the ground, and upon seeing the white crane embroidered on it, recalled the message that had been spread from the Taoist Temple.

The person who solved the chess game was a young girl of about fifteen or sixteen, wearing a gray sachet embroidered with a white crane at her waist.

He instructed the attendants behind him, “Go and find out who just left the mountain.”