Chapter 19: Formula for the antidote (1/2)

The empress dowager held the drop of red cloth in one hand and Han Yunxi’s hand with the other. Her reaction was frighteningly cold. Now it was Han Yunxi’s turn to take pleasure in their misfortune. The sight of the blood made her heart glad. When she stole a peek at Long Feiye, she caught his deep eyes looking back. Somehow, the sight filled her with panic as she quickly looked away, the tips of her ears turning hot.

In the silent room, Long Feiye stood up to speak. “Imperial Mother, erchen[1] still has some urgent matters so I’ll be taking my leave. I’ll come visit another day.” Now that he was finished paying his respects and showing the blood, he was naturally ready to go. If one woman was enough to vex him, imagine how much a crowd of them could do?

Seeing him leave, Han Yunxi made to rise as well, but the empress dowager suddenly tightened her grip on her hand so much that it felt like her bones were breaking. How painful! And yet at that moment, Long Feiye turned to elegantly knit his brows.

“Han Yunxi, you’re still not leaving?”

Boohoo…and here she thought he was going to abandon her, how terrifying. She immediately used all her strength to throw aside the empress dowager’s hand.

“Imperial Mother, we still have urgent matters so we’ll be taking our leave until next time.” As she spoke, her footsteps took her to Long Feiye’s side before the empress dowager could drag her back. Staying here by herself was akin to being eaten alive until her bones were gone.

The empress dowager lightly dropped the handkerchief and put on an affable smile. “Then hurry and go, don’t delay.”

Long Feiye didn’t bother to turn his head. Seeing this, Han Yunxi’s courage grew. She treated the empress dowager’s words as wind blowing past her ears and compliantly followed behind him straight out the door. As the most revered man, the Duke of Qin really was different! Being the Qin Wangfei[2], she couldn’t lose face for him. Thinking this far, Han Yunxi straightened her back some more and mused that following this fellow really was refreshing! She might have been happy, but as soon as they were far away, the empress dowager was angry enough to sweep a teacup off the table.

“That Han Yunxi, what a show!”

—

The two trips to pay respects both went smoothly, putting Han Yunxi in a good mood. She had lots of positive thoughts for Long Feiye. However, as soon as they were back in the carriage, his first question was, “You can give me the formula for the antidote now, right?”

Formula for the antidote?