Chapter 121: Searching for Clues in the Tiniest Traces

Listening to Mo Yi, Shen Hezhi felt that something was off, though he could not quite put his finger on it.

Mo Yi, unaware of anything strange in her own words, continued, "Right after that, I began searching the entire courtyard for the Princess. I even asked the gatekeepers, but they never saw her leave."

Shen Hezhi ignored the irrelevant details, focusing instead on what she had just said. Suddenly, the inconsistency clicked. He looked up at Mo Yi and asked, "You mentioned that the Princess asked you to find medicinal herbs for her. But it was so late—why would she need herbs at such an hour?"

Mo Yi pondered for a moment before shaking her head. "I don’t know the specifics. But for the past few days, the Princess has been very busy. I’m not sure what she was doing because she always kept herself locked in her room and wouldn't let any of us in to help, yet she constantly required large quantities of herbs."

Mo Yi hesitated, then added, "There is one strange thing: the herbs she asked us to fetch all seemed to be toxic."

"Toxic herbs?" Shen Hezhi asked.

Mo Yi nodded. "Yes. I didn't know much about medicine before, but after staying by the Princess’s side for so long, I’ve picked up a bit. I am certain that the herbs she requested were poisonous. They are typically used for making lethal concoctions. Since the Princess has no martial arts skills, she likely used these toxins for self-defense."

Shen Hezhi felt he was closing in on the truth. "When did she usually prepare these poisons?"

Mo Yi frowned as she recalled. "It seemed she only prepared them when she was about to leave the house. I remember the Princess once saying that the outside world is dangerous, so it’s always better to be prepared with some poison."

That was it! That was the missing piece!

Shen Hezhi had identified the discrepancy. His little Princess should have been frantic after his disappearance; why would she have the leisure to brew medicine in her room? This proved she had her own plans, and those plans were undoubtedly related to rescuing him. Since Yan Heru only prepared these toxins when she intended to go out, the fact that she had prepared them now proved she had known she was going to leave. This ruled out the possibility of her being abducted by someone else.

In other words, she had prepared so much poison because she had already decided to leave. But why would she leave the relay station, go to such lengths to avoid everyone’s notice, and keep her whereabouts a secret from everyone?

Feeling he had missed another piece of information, Shen Hezhi pressed further, "Beyond these recent abnormalities, did the Princess do anything else after I went missing? Or did you all encounter anything strange that the Princess became aware of?"

Not only did Mo Yi begin to think, but the other guards waiting in the courtyard also started to reflect. Suddenly, Yan Yi spoke up, "I remember overhearing them talking about a throwing dart that had landed at the entrance of the Princess’s room."

"Yes! That did happen!" Mo Yi recalled.

She immediately recounted the incident of the dart, the note attached to it, and its contents to Shen Hezhi. Mo Yi then pulled the note from her pocket, having kept it close to her person for fear of losing something potentially important.

Shen Hezhi took the note and examined it. After reading the contents, he asked, "And... did the Princess act according to what was written here?"

"No," Mo Yi replied, though she became uncertain. "We didn't see her do anything within our sight, but I don't know if she went out in the dead of night. Having been by the Princess's side for so long, I suspect... given her character, it is very likely she followed the instructions on the note."

Shen Hezhi gripped the note tightly. Mo Yi was right; his little wife was stubborn and incredibly decisive. Everyone knew the contents of the note would not have suggested she leave, yet she would still risk everything for even the slightest chance of success.

Shen Hezhi felt a sharp pain in his head. He had been held in a dungeon by the Fourth Prince, where he had neither rested nor eaten properly. Although he had escaped, his body was still in poor condition. The mental strain of processing all this information made the pain unbearable.

As if fate were mocking him, his cold venom flared up just as his headache intensified.

Shen Hezhi’s face turned deathly pale, and his vision began to fade. Mo Yi, having been with Yan Heru, knew what kind of medicine she prepared and was aware of the cold venom in Shen Hezhi’s body. Seeing his state, she rushed to the pharmacy. After rummaging through the cabinets, she finally found the medicine Yan Heru had prepared. Knowing her concern for Shen Hezhi, Yan Heru had always kept ready-to-use medicine on hand.

Mo Yi rushed back to the courtyard, only to find Shen Hezhi had fainted from the pain, with Shen Yi standing by, at a loss. Mo Yi handed the medicine to Shen Yi. "This is what the Princess prepared. Give it to the Prince."

Shen Yi fed him the medicine immediately. It was fast-acting, designed specifically to suppress the violent cold venom in his system. Shen Hezhi slowly regained consciousness, though his complexion remained poor. His emotions, however, were much more stable.

"Did I just pass out?" Shen Hezhi asked.

Shen Yi nodded. "Yes, your old ailment flared up again. Fortunately, we had the medicine the Princess left behind."

Shen Hezhi nodded, a wave of sorrow washing over him at the mention of the medicine. They had planned to find a way to completely purge the cold venom, only for this to happen. It had been over half a month since they had last seen each other.