Su Li stepped onto the stage and gave Zhu An'an a friendly nod and smile.
"Don't smile at me looking like that." Zhu An'an dropped this line and turned back behind the screen.
Su Li's face froze for a moment, but after thinking about it, she found it a little amusing. Su Li picked up the herbs and went to her spot to start concocting poison. A quarter of an hour later, the two exchanged poisons.
Jun Mo was about to take the poison for her, but Su Li stopped him. "Ziyan, this time, I'll do it."
"Hey, I say, you woman are really delicate! In West Chen's poison duels, everyone takes the poison themselves. Even I take it myself. How can you have someone else do it? If this trend catches on, will those servants even have a way to live?" Zhu An'an looked at Su Li, her face full of displeasure.
Su Li thought about it, and it was true. If everyone could be replaced, then in the future, when rich people duel with poison, those who test the poison would all become servants.
Jun Mo looked coldly at Zhu An'an. Zhu An'an shrank her neck. Then she reacted. I'm a Young Mistress, am I still afraid of this ugly monster?
"What are you looking at? I didn't say anything wrong!"
Jun Mo said coldly, "I'm doing this voluntarily."
"Tch, you're doing it voluntarily today, but do those servants dare not to be voluntary?"
Su Li was truly impressed by this girl.
"Ziyan, Young Mistress Zhu is right. This time, I'll do it. I'm confident, don't worry." She had seen the poison; she could counteract it. But Ziyan already had a cold poison in his body. Although she could counteract this poison, the Zhu family's poison was indeed very potent. If it disrupted the balance in Ziyan's body, the cold poison might activate prematurely, and then it would be over.
Jun Mo still wanted to speak, but the female official stepped forward and said, "You should go down. Even if your wife can't counteract this poison, the Young Mistress will give an antidote. The Young Mistress always gives the opponent an antidote whenever she duels." Jun Mo looked at Zhu An'an. Zhu An'an said, "I refined the antidote together. Are you relieved now?"
Su Li looked at the girl and couldn't help but feel a good impression. "Ziyan, you go down first." Jun Mo stood aside and said, "I'll just stand here and won't interfere with you." Zhu An'an pouted. This person is truly stubborn.
Su Li took the opponent's poison, and the two began to concoct the antidote. Su Li diligently concocted the antidote, and Zhu An'an across from her also selected herbs.
"No, this poison is so strange. It feels familiar, yet it always seems to be missing something," Zhu An'an muttered to herself, frowning.
A quarter of an hour later, Su Li ingested the antidote she had concocted. An elder stepped forward to take her pulse.
"It's neutralized." These two words completely put Jun Mo at ease. The crowd below, however, erupted.
"Who is this person? She can actually counteract the Zhu family's poison!"
"She not only deciphered it, but she did it in such a short time!"
"Huh? Look, Young Mistress Zhu hasn't deciphered the opponent's poison yet."
"Who is this Madam? Why have I never heard of her before?" Hearing the murmurs from below, Zhu An'an came out from behind the screen, looked at Su Li, and said, "Alright, you've already deciphered my poison first. Even if I concoct the antidote now, I'll still lose. Give me the antidote."
Su Li's good impression of her increased with her forthright admission of defeat. She took out the antidote and handed it to her. Zhu An'an took the antidote, examined it, and only then swallowed it. Then she looked at Su Li and said, "Who is your master? Why don't you come to our Zhu family? Our Zhu family will definitely treat you like a honored guest, how about it?"
Su Li chuckled, "Thank you for your kind offer, Young Mistress. My master's sect is inconvenient to disclose. I hope Young Mistress understands."
Zhu An'an said disappointedly, "Is that so? What's your name? Your poison arts are rare even in our Zhu family. If you come to our Zhu family, you'll enjoy endless glory and wealth." The crowd below let out envious exclamations.
"This woman is lucky." "Exactly, the Zhu family is a gold mine. If she's caught the eye of the Zhu family's Young Mistress, she'll definitely soar to great heights in the future." "To enter the Zhu family, you truly need real skill." "Now, this person must be happy for half a day."
Unexpectedly, Su Li refused. "It's not good to refuse Young Mistress's kindness, but my master's sect has ordered me not to be a dependent. So..."
Zhu An'an waved her hand and said, "Forget it, forget it. I'm not one to force others." With that, she walked off the stage.
"Is this person stupid? She actually refused the Zhu family!" "You say she doesn't seek fame or fortune, so why did she come to duel with poison?" "How would I know what these eminent people think? Maybe she spent all her travel money wandering around and came here to duel for some extra cash." "Sigh, it's a pity. If I had that chance, I would definitely agree without hesitation."
In the next two challenges, Su Li won without any suspense. The female official walked to Su Li's side and announced loudly to the crowd below, "This poison duel's winner is Li Su!" The crowd below erupted in thunderous applause. The female official turned to Su Li and said, "Li Su, please follow me to Princess Shaowen's mansion." Su Li cupped her hands and said, "Yes."
Su Li and Jun Mo followed the female official by carriage to the princess's mansion. They alighted from the carriage and followed the female official into the mansion. Upon reaching the front hall, a maid happened to come out.
"Qiaoqiao, quickly invite the princess out. This is today's poison duel winner." The maid named Qiaoqiao curtsied and said, "Please wait, my lords. This servant will go invite the princess." The official invited Su Li and Jun Mo to sit down, and a servant quickly brought tea.
After waiting for about half a quarter of an hour, a wealthy middle-aged woman entered from outside the door. The official and Su Li immediately rose. As she approached, Su Li looked at Princess Shaowen. Although well-maintained, the wrinkles around her eyes betrayed her age. Perhaps worried about her daughter's poison, there were some dark circles under her eyes.
"Is this today's winner?" Princess Shaowen scrutinized Su Li. The female official replied, "Yes, Your Highness. This lady won against the Zhu family's Young Mistress in the poison duel." Princess Shaowen's expression softened slightly. "Do sit." She then walked to the main seat. Su Li thanked her and sat down.
Princess Shaowen said, "Since you participated in the poison duel, you must have heard about Princess Yuzhu's matter, right?" Princess Yuzhu was Princess Shaowen's daughter. Su Li nodded and said, "Replying to Your Highness, we are generally aware, but we haven't seen the Princess herself, so we dare not make a definitive judgment."
Princess Shaowen looked at the female official and said, "The people this time are relatively reliable, unlike the previous ones who only talked big." She then looked at Su Li and said, "Naturally, I want you to go see her. Where are you from, Madam? Who is your master?"
Su Li looked a bit troubled. "I dare not conceal anything from Your Highness. We are from Twilight Mountain. My master instructed me not to mention him or my sect when outside. So..."
Princess Shaowen's face showed understanding. "Then don't mention it. Legend says there are immortals on Twilight Mountain. Since you come from Twilight Mountain, you must be capable. But I'll be blunt.
If you can't cure her, you can say so. The poison duel reward will not be lessened by a single coin. But if you make the Princess's condition worse, then you, your companion, and even your master's sect from Twilight Mountain will not escape punishment."
Su Li quickly nodded in agreement. Princess Shaowen rose and said, "Let's go. We'll go see the Princess."
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