Chapter 15: The Princess Consort’s First Medicine
Lin Xueyi didn’t expect a soldier—Deng Kai—to knock on her door carrying a large cage full of mice.
If she counted correctly, there were around fifteen white mice inside. One or two mice wouldn’t have been a problem, but fifteen?! Lin Xueyi couldn’t help feeling her stomach turn.
"It’s really kind of you to catch so many mice for me," Lin Xueyi said with an awkward smile.
She let out a soft hiss as she stared at the cage by her feet a little longer. "But... I don’t need this many," she said reluctantly. "I only need three."
Deng Kai immediately stood up straighter, convinced he had made a mistake. "Ah! Please forgive me, Your Highness!" he said in a panic. "Mei Lu told me you urgently needed mice, so I thought it would be better to catch as many as I could."
[What am I supposed to do with this many mice? Make a circus?] she wondered.
"Princess Consort, please don’t punish Mei Lu over this. She didn’t give me the wrong instructions," Deng Kai said somewhat frantically. "I’m the one who misunderstood the situation!"
Mei Lu, who was standing beside him, immediately lowered her head. "No, Princess Consort. This is my fault. I didn’t give Guard Deng clear instructions!"
Lin Xueyi looked at the two of them in silence. Only then did she notice that they were secretly holding hands, gently squeezing each other’s fingers as if trying to calm one another down.
[Who would’ve thought there’d be a little romance in this gloomy story?] Lin Xueyi thought. [I can’t let something this precious get ruined!]
Lin Xueyi quickly said, "No, it’s alright. It’s alright. Neither of you did anything wrong. It was actually my fault for not giving Mei Lu clear instructions." She added, "Just take the rest of the mice away and leave three for me."
Deng Kai and Mei Lu exchanged glances for a moment, as if they couldn’t believe the bitter Princess Consort Lin Xueyi had forgiven them so quickly.
After all, the Princess Consort used to make a fuss over the smallest things. If the cook served her soup that had gone slightly cold, she wouldn’t hesitate to march into the kitchen and throw the bowl at the poor cook.
Their Princess Consort really did seem to be possessed!
Still, no matter how strange her behavior was, they were simply relieved that she wasn’t angry.
"Could you bring me a smaller cage instead?" Lin Xueyi asked when they continued to stand there in silence.
Deng Kai quickly nodded. "Of course! Of course! Please wait a moment, Your Highness!"
When Deng Kai returned with a smaller cage, Lin Xueyi thanked him and went back to her bedroom.
Ever since returning from the medicinal herb garden, she had carefully compared every herb with the descriptions in the medical book. In the end, she discovered that Gu Yao had given her a combination of herbs that would make a person’s skin blister instead of soothing it.
Fortunately, as boring as the book was, it was incredibly detailed. It even explained how to tell apart three herbs that looked almost identical but had completely different medicinal effects. Without those explanations, even someone with sharp eyes could easily mistake one for another.
The right herb—Moon Dew Grass—was used to soothe the skin and reduce swell. Another looked almost exactly the same, but if it was applied to the skin, it would leave painful burns instead. The last one wasn’t as dangerous. It would make a person itch all over, but it wouldn’t seriously damage their skin.
If Lin Xueyi hadn’t examined them so carefully, she would never have noticed the difference. At first glance, all three herbs looked almost identical. They had the same shape, the same shade of green, and even a similar smell. Only a few tiny details on the leaves and stems revealed which herb was which.
"No wonder Gu Yao was so confident," Lin Xueyi muttered as she looked at the herbs spread across the table. "Anyone who doesn’t know medicine would have fallen for this."
She stared at the wrong herb for a long moment before an idea suddenly crossed her mind.
Since she now knew how to make this mixture, she could prepare some herself and keep it for emergencies. It might come in handy if she ever had to deal with bad people.
After all, this world wasn’t kind enough for her to lower her guard, even for a single moment.
As the night grew deeper and everyone in the manor had fallen asleep, Lin Xueyi quietly slipped out of her chamber.
She held a small lantern in one hand as she made her way toward the medicinal herb garden.
Her goal tonight was simple. She wanted to gather Moon Dew Grass, the herb that soothed the skin and reduced swelling. But she couldn’t do it during the day. If Gu Yao saw her collecting the herb herself, she would immediately become suspicious.
If Lin Xueyi wanted her plan to drive the snake away to succeed, she had to gather the herbs without anyone noticing.
Although the night was dark, Lin Xueyi wasn’t too worried. She had always had better eyesight than most people, and the soft light from her lantern was enough to help her tell one herb from another.
Fortunately, although guards were on patrol throughout the night, they were mainly watching the outer grounds and entrances of Prince Rui’s manor. Very few of them came near the medicinal herb garden, allowing Lin Xueyi to move around without attracting attention.
Once she had gathered enough medicinal herbs, Lin Xueyi carefully placed the herbs into the small basket she had brought with her. After making sure no one was nearby, she quietly returned to her chamber.
Lin Xueyi closed the door behind her and lit another oil lamp. She spread the herbs across the table and took out a small stone mortar and pestle.
"Let’s hope I can follow the instructions correctly," she muttered.