Seeing Lin Xulian vomiting a huge lump of black blood, the elders and clan head Gu Lingdao immediately rushed towards her in panic. But after looking at the black blood on the marble floor, their panic turned into surprise and amazement. They simultaneously look at the pale faced Lin Xulian who"s currently observing the black blood she vomited."Clan head Gu, do you have a small porcelain bottle?" Hearing Lin Xulian"s request, clan head Gu Lingdao took one small porcelain bottle from their stash of containers inside a long cabinet on the left side of the hall. Aside from porcelain bottles, there are also clear bottles, clay material containers and carved woods. He also took out a metal thong guessing Lin Xulian"s intention.Receiving the bottle and thong, Lin Xulian thank the clan head. Using the thong, she fished out something from the black blood then put it in the porcelain bottle. She coldly looked at the thin, three inches long worm squirming weakly on the porcelain. After learning everything about Gu poisons, she felt extremely furious and offended knowing that she was harmed with a weak type of Gu.After a whole day and whole night of reading, Lin Xulian learned everything on the books about Gu poisons. Since she was used to read countless of medical books and information about poisons since young, reading and understanding the books given by clan head Gu Lingdao is relatively easy for her. After all, most of the terms are similar.Among her new learnings is how to identify if the Gu poison is weak or strong based on the internal energy exerted to control them. And she can tell that Xing Baihe did not used a cultured Gu but it"s eggs. That is why it took some time to mature. And of course it was the weakest one. But for a defenseless person, this is still considered lethal in the long run.Lin Xulian decided to keep the weak Gu poison while thinking that she should nurture it. Nevertheless, it was within her for years, so she somehow felt attached. She can"t just throw it away."Princess, you are indeed a rare talent. You managed to cure yourself after just reading. Our presence wasn"t even necessary." The elders exclaimed and fawned over her."Not at all elders. I will still need your guidance if I want to master the art of Gu poisons in the future. And it will surely happen. Please take care of me then." Lin Xulian humbly stated. It is true though that if she needs to master the art, aside from the knowledge, she needs the Gu clan"s materials.Hearing Lin Xulian"s humble and respectful remarks, the elder"s pride swelled knowing that their genius princess needs them.******
With the ritual finally done and Lin Xulian is already cured from the Gu poison and knowing how to do it herself, she decided to return to the palace to visit and rea.s.sure her family before setting off. Since she now knows how to cure Gu poisons, it is enough for her to start her plan for revenge.Just as Lin Xulian was about to set off with clan head Gu Lingdao, Gu Kei ran up to her with a troubled and shy look. "P-princess, can… can I follow you?" Gu Kei gave a pitiful look with her very expressive eyes. Even Lin Xulian almost said yes immediately. But she chose to tease her a bit."Why do you have to ask? You can go to the capital anytime." Lin Xulian responded in an innocent and confused tone and expression as if she didn"t know what Gu Kei really meant."No! … not that, princess. I-I want to follow you outside Qiangdu. I never thought about going outside before, so I didn"t get any mission. But now I have a goal. And that is to aid you, princess. Can I?" Gu Kei asked cautiously with pleading look."That, or do you want to follow me so you can visit the restaurants and pastry shops I mentioned before?" Lin Xulian teased her more causing Gu Kei to blush until her ears turned red as well."That—… that"s just a bonus. I really do want to help you, princess. Please give me a chance. I will poison them in your stead. What do you think princess?" Although her face is beet red from embarra.s.sment after Lin Xulian exposed her gluttonous nature, Gu Kei still tried to endorse herself shamelessly.Lin Xulian thought about Gu Kei"s request. Although Gu Rin is there to do the job, one more hand is not a bad thing. "Well then, I"ll give you some time to prepare your luggage. I"ll see you in the palace later."Gu Kei"s eyes sparkled hearing Lin Xulian"s agreement. "No need. No need, princess! I"m done preparing." Then she grabbed a bundle of her stuffs wrapped in a silk cloth from who knows where, then tied it around her waist. "I"m ready to go, princess!"The corner of Lin Xulian"s mouth twitched while looking at the fully prepared Gu Kei in front of her and thought; "Did she predicted that I would agree in the end?"After bidding goodbye to the elders and the people from the village, Lin Xulian finally set off with clan head Gu Lingdao and Gu Kei in tow towards the palace to see her family again. Lin Xulian feels excited but worried as well. Her family will surely ask her about what had happened to her that year that lead her to fake her death and eventually set foot in Qiangdu country.******While Lin Xulian is on her way towards the palace, her family is currently entertaining an unexpected but pleasant guest. And since Lin Xulian insisted on not informing her family, they have no idea that she is already awake."Cousin, it"s been a long time since we last met. The last thing I heard you were searching for a woman. How did it go?" Lin Xulian"s father, Lin Xu, asked while pouring some wine towards the man"s cup. Together on the table, the king Lin Ziuzhong also perk up his ears to gossip. Although he knows that this grandnephew of his have someone he loved but lost, he didn"t dare ask for details. But since his other grandnephew asked on his behalf, there"s no harm in listening as well.The man showed a sad expression in his warm and gentle looking peach blossom eyes. His handsome face that masks his real age suddenly looked very distant. This man is Lin Xulian"s uncle, Lin Yihan. "I was too late. That day we met, she was on her way to get married. The next thing I knew, she died in childbirth with her second son."With Lin Yihan"s revelation, the atmosphere suddenly became heavy. Even Lin Xu cannot find any words to lighten the mood."Uncle, I heard you were travelling everywhere to learn new martial arts technique. You even went to another continent. Can you teach this nephew a thing or two?" Out of nowhere, Lin Huang, who remained silent and almost invisible suddenly broke the stale atmosphere.Lin Ziuzhong secretly heaved a sigh of relief and thank his great grandnephew for getting them out of the awkward situation. But his father Lin Xu knew that Lin Huang did it unconsciously. He genuinely wants to learn. Anyone can tell that despite his deadpan expression, his eyes are sparkling with antic.i.p.ation."Of course. After all, I wanted to learn in order to pa.s.s them to others. And you are my blood related relative. I don"t have any reason not to teach you." Lin Yihan responded to Lin Huang with a gentle and indulging smile. But his mind drifted towards his only disciple.It"s been a long time since he last saw him. He just learned that he finally found himself an empress. But when he set foot back in the continent, the news about his empress"s death greeted him. After some investigation, he then discovered that his disciple"s empress was his own niece from his cousin. However, that niece is clearly alive based on what he learned from her own immediate family. This compelled him to dig deeper. And the wisest way is to meet her in person.