Chapter 368

A’re, hearing Meng Guxue’s urgent call, felt a wave of tension and immediately put his bowl on the ground, quickly approaching her.

“Princess, I am here. What happened?”

Meng Guxue immediately grabbed A’re’s sleeve and said urgently, “A’re, I… I might be poisoned. Quickly, give me that thing to smell!”

“Poisoned?”

A’re’s face changed dramatically upon hearing this, and he quickly pulled out a small round cylinder from his sleeve.

Qiao Jiaojiao watched curiously, while the Merit Shop floated beside her, ready to dispel the poison from Meng Guxue.

Furrowing his brow, A’re opened the small cap on the cylinder and said solemnly, “Princess, this will smell awful. Please bear with it. As long as the poison is recent, we should be able to expel it.”

Meng Guxue, valuing her life, nodded without hesitation, “Do it! I can handle it!”

A’re stepped forward, his eyes scanning the surroundings before finally addressing Qiao Zhongguo, “Master Qiao, please… restrain the Prince.”

Meng Guxue: ( ﾟ∀ﾟ;)

Suddenly, she felt a bit scared…

Qiao Zhongguo acted promptly. He took a few strides forward and said, “Forgive me, Miss Meng,” then he firmly held Meng Guxue’s head in place.

A’re, quick and efficient, brought the small cylinder to Meng Guxue’s nose and said sternly, “Princess, take a deep breath!”

Meng Guxue’s eyes widened, but she took a determined deep breath.

In the next moment, her expression became extremely strange, followed by:

(´ཀ`」 ∠)

Ugh—ugh—ugh—

Meng Guxue’s face turned pale as she dry heaved, looking extremely uncomfortable.

A’re swiftly pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and covered Meng Guxue’s mouth and nose. When he removed it, there was a small bug, half the size of a fingernail, curled up on the white handkerchief!

Meng Guxue’s eyes nearly popped out in disbelief as she looked at A’re. Don’t tell her that bug came out of her…

A’re, without much delicacy, nodded affirmatively.

Meng Guxue: Ugh—

This time she really vomited.

Qiao Jiaojiao watched in awe, her curiosity piqued by the small cylinder in A’re’s hand.

Seeing A’re holding the cylinder at his side, Jiaojiao’s curiosity got the better of her, and she took a gentle sniff.

The next moment, an extremely pungent smell hit her hard, like a punch to the face, making her little brain spin ○→O→0→o→·→

Ugh—

Seeing this, Qiao Tianjing furrowed his brow slightly. How bad could the smell be? He didn’t believe it.

So he took a sniff too. The next moment, ugh—

Qiao Zhongguo: “…..”

The young ones were still too inexperienced. Back in the day during military campaigns, he had smelled—

Ugh—

Doctor Zou: Could there really be such a miraculous thing that restrains poison? I have to smell it too!

Ugh—

In the next instant, the sounds of retching came one after another…

A’re: “……”

How tough are these people?

After a while, the group, their eyes red from retching, sat together and looked at the now rigid bug on the handkerchief.

“Ugh—what the heck is this thing?!” Meng Guxue sniffed and asked angrily.

A’re poked the bug, looking uncertain. “It seems to be a Diaoyu Gu.”

“Diaoyu Gu?” Meng Guxue looked confused.

A’re nodded. “This Diaoyu Gu, if it stays in the body for a long time, will explode under strong stimulation once it matures. The fluid inside has hallucinogenic effects, often causing people to unconsciously repeat others’ words, hence the name.”

Exploding in the body…

Meng Guxue’s face turned white again, and she retched.

Qiao Jiaojiao frowned.

[From what Meng Guxue is saying, this Gu must be the work of Shen Yuanbai and Princess Xi.]

[How does a foreigner manage to play with the Gu of Nanli Kingdom so skillfully?]

Qiao Tianjing also felt uneasy. He looked at A’re and asked curiously, “If your Nanli Kingdom’s Gu can be so subtle and mysterious, wouldn’t it be chaotic?”

A’re shook his head. “Although the fame of Nanli’s medical Gu is widespread, very few actually practice it. Cultivating Gu worms is extremely difficult, incredibly expensive, and most Gu worms have natural enemies.”

A’re waved the small cylinder again.

“Moreover, since we know about Gu, we take precautions. For instance, the Crown Prince has been exposed to medicinal Gu since childhood, so ordinary Gu poison can’t affect him.”

“The Princess… it was my negligence.”

A’re lowered his head in shame.

The Crown Prince is currently distraught over the national consort’s condition, so he should take on the responsibility of protecting the Princess.

“When the envoys arrive in the capital, I will present insect-repellent sachets to everyone, so please don’t worry.”

Meng Guxue still looked frightened. “You say Gu are rare, but Shen Yuanbai seems to use them endlessly!”

A’re pondered for a moment and sighed. “The First Prince is quite curious and has gathered many talented and unusual people around him, including some tricky Gu doctors. These things likely come from the First Prince.”

Qiao Jiaojiao’s eyebrows raised at this, thinking:

[He has gathered talented and unusual people? That means he’s got plenty of capable individuals around him. Wait a minute… the First Prince might not be a pushover either!]

[I heard he indulged in beauty, and I thought he was entirely manipulated by Yin Zhu!]

[Considering this, could he be pretending to be weak while actually being strong? It seems the situation in Nanli Kingdom is even more complicated than I thought…]

[On the other hand, Baili Chengyou eventually became the ruler of Nanli Kingdom. Given his dreams, he should be even more adept at handling conflicts.]

[Could it be… his current despondency is part of his plan?]

Thinking this, Qiao Jiaojiao felt a chill down her spine.

This Nanli Kingdom… is like a den of wolves!

Meng Guxue, a small lamb trembling inside, wrote letters describing the dire situation, prompting her and her father to rush over out of concern.

In retrospect, could it be that the dire situation described only affected her, not Baili Chengyou?

Qiao Zhongguo, hearing his daughter’s thoughts: “……”

Qiao Tianjing, on the other hand, believed that since they were already here, they must achieve something. He looked at A’re and said warmly, “A’re, if this Gu only causes someone to repeat others’ words, could Shen Yuanbai be hoping that Miss Meng will say specific things at a particular occasion?”

A’re was initially stunned but then his face changed drastically.

“The Crown Prince cherishes the Princess. To others, her words to some extent represent the Crown Prince’s thoughts. If on the national lord’s birthday banquet on September 23, the Princess speaks nonsense or even utters blasphemous words, the Crown Prince would be disgraced and unable to defend himself in front of everyone!”

Hearing this, Meng Guxue stood up abruptly!