Chapter 718 – The Sunlight of the Courtyard Shines upon the Brewing Medicine by the Window (2/2)

When Zhou Tong first designed this courtyard, this was what he had pursued. He had always believed that only with tranquility did a place carry the flavor of home.

This courtyard was his home, his true home, the final place that he could serenely rest his exhausted body and poison-steeped heart.

Only after returning to this courtyard could his mind finally gain true calm, could it truly relax.

For his safety and to protect his secret, so that his hard-sought tranquility could not be disturbed, Zhou Tong had set up with this courtyard with extreme prudence.

Nobody knew of this place, not his most loyal subordinates in the Department for Purging Officials, Cheng Jun and the other Eight Tigers, or even the Divine Empress.

The only person that knew of this courtyard's relationship to him was already dead.

Every time he returned to this courtyard and he listened to the sounds beyond the patches of green bamboo from their neighboring courtyard, Zhou Tong would always recall a certain memory.

In these past few years, Xue Xingchuan had dearly hoped that Zhou Tong would treat the Xue Estate as his true home, but how could this be possible? Disregarding how every one of the servants and his juniors in the Xue Estate would view him with dismay and unease, he refused to do so solely because of his surname. His elder brother might not want this surname, but he did.

……

……

Along with the Demon Commander, Zhou Tong was probably the person that the greatest number of people wished to see dead. Perhaps for this reason, what he feared most was death. Besides this courtyard, he had a few more secret hiding places in the capital. However, none of those places was as safe as this or as important or comfortable.

He felt this way because this courtyard had a sweet-tempered and moving woman who also had heartfelt love and respect for him. More importantly, there were many precious things stored, like several extremely rare herbs. Of these herbs, the majority had been obtained via sending people to remove them from the Hundred Herb Garden, and another portion had been gifted to him by the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets.

He took a steaming towel and placed it over his face. He began to heavily cough, perhaps incited by the hot air.

Upon taking off the towel, he saw that its surface was now spotted with blots of black blood. They looked like flowers drawn in ink, completely unreal yet somewhat horrifying.

The woman was very anxious, but Zhou Tong seemed particularly calm and indifferent. He had her grind some ink while he sat on a chair, closing his eyes to calm his mind, but looking like he was tasting something.

He was tasting that fierce poison in his body carrying the flavor of the vast plains.

After some time, he opened his eyes. Supported by the woman, he walked to a table by the window. He lifted the brush and wrote with confidence and ease, as if he was writing calligraphy.

The strokes on the paper were dripping with ink, and the handwriting was extremely clear. This was not grass script, but a prescription of herbs.

(TN: Grass script is a type of calligraphy style.)

Which herbs to use, how many bowls of water, how to simmer it, what sort of fire, what sort of stove, what sort of coal, what sort of water, how to filter the medicinal broth, when to add crystals—everything was written with remarkable clarity.

The woman saw his expression and knew that he should be okay for the moment. Her mind relaxed, she took the prescription and went to the kitchen to make the medicine.

This sort of matter had happened several times, so she had some experience.

No mistakes were made with regards to the types and amount of herbs used, and she very smoothly heated the stove.

At some point, a beauty dressed in palace attire appeared by the stove. The fire shone upon her face, illuminating her sublime appearance.

This palace beauty was truly very beautiful.

In fact, in the past few years, she had been regarded as the most beautiful woman in all of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The servant woman brewed the medicine with a calm expression, dividing the herbs and filtering their juices with great steadiness. It was like she didn't even see this beauty dressed in palace attire.

The beauty placed a few things in the medicine pot.

The servant woman still acted as if she did not see.

The room was silent, the only sound the gurgling of the broth in the medicine pot.