34、第 34 章 Poiso ...
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Chapter 35 — The Poison Within
By the second day at the Xian border, the physicians had stopped calling Suyuan's condition simple exhaustion.
Something was wrong, her pulse was weak and irregular, and the symptoms did not match the injuries she had suffered during the fire. The physician examined her again, then exchanged a troubled look with his assistant.
"There is something in her body."
Xie Zheng looked up from the military reports on his table.
"What do you mean?"
"She has been poisoned."
The room went quiet.
"Can you treat it?"
"We don't know what she took."
The physician frowned. "Whatever it was, it has already affected her deeply. We can only try to keep her stable while we search for a treatment."
Xie Zheng's eyes hardened.
"Then search."
The physician hesitated.
"General, without knowing what kind of poison—"
"Search anyway."
The order was simple.
Physicians were sent through the nearby towns and military camps looking for old medical records and anyone experienced with unusual poisons. Xie Zheng also ordered scouts to search the ruins of the Younis palace for anything that might explain what had happened.
But there was very little left.
And the one person who knew exactly what Suyuan had done was still unconscious.
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Xie Zheng began visiting the infirmary more often.
At first, he told himself it was because Princess Shuran's daughter was connected to the mystery surrounding his uncle's death. Then it became curiosity, he wanted to understand her. She had survived Younis for eighteen years.
She had returned from a burning palace with silver-white hair and a silence that seemed to hide far more than she had ever said. He would sit beside the doorway, reading reports while the physicians worked.
Sometimes he would look up but Suyuan never moved.
"General," one physician said one evening, "you don't have to stay here."
"I'm aware."
The physician smiled faintly.
Xie Zheng returned to his reports.
He did not explain himself.
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That night, Suyuan finally woke up , she opened slowly. For several moments, she didn't know where she was.
The ceiling above her was unfamiliar. There was no smoke, no burning wood and no shouting. She turned her head and found nobody was there. Suyuan pushed herself upright but her body felt strangely heavy. Then she remembered the palace, the fire and heard someone calling her name.
That man..... That General
She looked toward the door, she needed to know what had happened. Carefully, she stood but the room swayed.
Suyuan tried to steadied herself against the wall and slowly walked outside. The night air was cold. A short distance away, Xie Zheng stood beside a wooden table covered with maps and military reports.
He was speaking quietly with two officers.
Then he noticed her.
He stopped.
"Suyuan?"
She looked at him.
For a moment, neither spoke.
She opened her mouth.
"General , I—"
A sudden cough interrupted her.
She covered her mouth.
When she lowered her hand, there was blood on her palm.
Her vision blurred.
Xie Zheng moved toward her.
"Suyuan!"
Her knees gave way before she could answer, Xie Zheng caught her before she hit the ground.
"Physician!"
The officers rushed toward them, Xie Zheng held her steady, his expression tightening as he looked at the blood on her hand....
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第34章 第 34 章
