I was reborn after cheating on the aloof and powerful man.

Chapter 55 Flower Moving Gu

On the second day of the second lunar month, a dragon appears in the field.

Three major events occurred during today's court assembly.

The eldest prince, Lu Yanjin, was angrily rebuked by Emperor Hua, who scolded him in front of all the civil and military officials, saying that he was "blinded by lust for power and had lost all conscience." Yan Xiaotian, the Minister of Personnel, was accused of bribery by the censor, who accused him of controlling the Ministry of Personnel and arbitrarily interfering in the selection of officials. With changes occurring in the northern border, Emperor Hua immediately dispatched Prince Rui, Gu Yanting, who was stationed at Yanshui Pavilion, to Ninghai City to guard the border.

Subsequently, many officials were imprisoned, beheaded, or exiled thousands of miles away.

Inside the Zhenfu Division prison, cries of agony filled the air.

Cui Chou coldly stared at the dying man before him. Without his instruction, his subordinates poured a bucket of salt water over him.

The prisoner, his face covered in blood, regained consciousness. Realizing he was still alive, he was devastated and cried out in anguish:

“…Kill…kill me…please, kill me…”

"Tell me who your mastermind is." Those familiar with Cui Chou's subordinates could tell from the rough voice that he didn't have much patience left.

“I…I really don’t know. Every time our master looks for us, the voice we hear is different.”

Cui Chou was clearly dissatisfied with this explanation. Without him saying a word, his subordinate carried a jar to the prisoner. Inside the jar was a swarm of ants. Before the captain could even open the jar, the prisoner began to tremble violently. He clearly knew what the jar was for, and he screamed in terror:

“My lord… I’ll talk!… I really will talk properly… Let me think… Master, it’s urgent… He told us that whoever can kill Bian Yuan will get the antidote and gain their freedom. None of the missions we’ve taken on before have ever made such a promise.”

"Why did your master kill me and the Lord of Tianshan?"

"I don't know..." The prisoner, fearing Cui Chou would be dissatisfied with his answer, immediately changed his tune and cried out:

"No, no, I remember now, our master once gave a very strange order, instructing us to investigate all of your confidantes. Perhaps our master is a woman who once harbored feelings of love for Bian Yuan and you, but later turned love into hatred, which is why she ordered us to assassinate you."

“Feeling affection…” Cui Chou repeated these four words on the tip of his tongue, his fox-like eyes revealing no emotion whatsoever.

"Yes, that must be it. Whether it's you, sir, or Bian Yuan, the master has ordered us to investigate the women around you. Only women who are in love with you, sir, could do such a thing..."

Before the prisoner could finish speaking, Cui Chou stood up, too lazy to listen any longer. He had just recovered from a serious illness, and if it weren't for the Emperor's order, he should still be recuperating in a secluded place, not interrogating a prisoner here.

Not long ago, he and Bian Yuan set a trap and captured several people who had tried to assassinate them. This time, they decided to interrogate them all at once.

To his surprise, the people he captured had clearly not received any special training; their martial arts skills seemed artificially developed. These people were expendable from the start, and he couldn't extract any useful information from them.

However, it wasn't a complete waste of effort; at least he deduced some information. The people who wanted to assassinate him and Bian Yuan were not aligned with the mastermind behind the Crimson Tent.

As for the ridiculous claim of "developing feelings of love," it's more accurate to say that his and Bian Yuan's existence affected that person's interests, which is why the other party tried every means to investigate the people around him so that they could kill him as soon as possible.

Ignoring the wails behind him, he rose and left the dungeon. As soon as he emerged, a subordinate brought him a new message; among the pile of messages, he saw Jiang You's:

"The poison blocks our path; our fate is unknown."

*

In a secluded valley, a humid, hot atmosphere filled the air. As far as the eye could see, poisonous insects and butterflies fluttered freely in the air. Their wings shimmered with iridescent colors, the more beautiful they were, the more terrifying they became.

A strange floral fragrance permeated the valley, intoxicating yet carrying a hint of danger. Every inch of the valley was crawling with venomous insects of various shapes, some resembling scorpions, others spiders, and still others with bizarre forms, but they all shared one common characteristic: their bodies were brightly colored, exuding a deadly aura.

As Tang Huaiyi entered from the valley entrance, all the poisonous insects in the area fled in panic.

There are several stilted wooden houses in the middle of the valley. There seems to be some taboo around the houses, and even butterflies fly away when they pass by.

Tang Huaiyi, having reached the foot of the wooden house, used his light-footed skill to flash onto the roof. He pushed open the door and immediately saw Fei Xi lying in a wooden tub filled with medicinal liquid.

Fei Xi's body was covered by the medicinal liquid, with only her head above water, resting against the edge of the wooden tub. Most of her smooth, black hair was also submerged in the liquid. However, a few strands playfully fell onto her cheeks, making her look rather pitiful in her unconscious state.

Before Tang Huaiyi could get close, a sharp rap on the head sent a throbbing pain through him, followed by a loud shout from behind him:

"What are you looking at! Have all the classics you've read gone to waste? Have you forgotten the principle of 'don't look at what is improper'? I never taught you to take advantage of others like this."

"Mother..." Tang Huaiyi didn't try to deny that he had seen anything; he had indeed been momentarily captivated.

He turned around and bowed to the woman behind him.

"Don't give me that nonsense, come here."

A woman dressed in blue Miao clothing led her son, Tang Huaiyi, into the next room. She was beautiful, and although she was past her prime, there were few wrinkles around her eyes. Even when she raised an eyebrow, her phoenix eyes exuded captivating charm.

"You brought the 'Flower-Shifting Gu'?"

“The ‘Flower-Shifting Gu’ is here.” Tang Huaiyi took a red bottle from his chest and handed it to his mother.

"Have you thought this through? I'm not going to tell her how you saved her." The woman raised an eyebrow at her son, who was about to suffer.

No mother in this world wants her child to suffer; but similarly, even a mother cannot stop her child from seeking suffering.

“Mother, Yi’er doesn’t want to burden Miss Fei, and I never thought of repaying her kindness.” Tang Huaiyi had already made up his mind at the Crimson Tent Courtyard, so why would he care whether the other party knew his true feelings?

"Tsk, you're quite different from your spineless and cowardly father."

Hearing his mother scolding his father, Tang Huaiyi felt embarrassed. He knew that although his mother had let go of her resentment, there was still a trace of lingering resentment in her heart. However, as a child, filial piety was of utmost importance. He could neither persuade his mother to stop scolding his father nor join her in criticizing him.

Seeing her son's expression, the woman knew what he was thinking. She clicked her tongue, told the child to stay where he was, and went to the next room by herself.

She gently lifted the person out of the bathtub, carefully dried them off, dressed them, and then called Tang Huaiyi in.

Tang Huaiyi entered the room and immediately saw Fei Xi lying in her mother's arms. Fei Xi's hands, exposed outside her clothes, had clearly visible keloid scars.

The woman noticed where her son was looking and sighed with pity:

“This little girl is pretty and kind, but she has suffered inhuman torment since she was a child. I can tell that she is used to enduring everything alone. Her illness this time is partly due to the plague, but more importantly, it is caused by worry. Even the warriors in the tribe find my medicine hard to bear, but she has kept quiet and only groaned twice.”

Tang Huaiyi understood the meaning behind his mother's words. He looked away and said to his mother:

"Mother, we can begin."

The woman said nothing more, letting her son sit on the cushion behind her, while she helped Fei Xi to sit in front. She opened the small red bottle, and a peach-colored worm crawled out of the mouth. She poured the worm onto Fei Xi's right hand, and the worm disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving only a thin, blood-red line that seemed to be swimming beneath her fair skin.

The woman raised her hand and pressed it against Fei Xi's shoulder, channeling powerful internal energy into Fei Xi's body through her Tianzong acupoint. Fei Xi's meridians clearly couldn't withstand this influx of strong internal energy; her blood and qi surged, and she nearly screamed in agony. Just then, the small worm within her encountered this internal energy. The familiar energy caused the worm to swell, allowing it to move more smoothly within Fei Xi's body. Just as the worm was about to reach Fei Xi's dantian, the woman looked up at her son and instructed him:

"Lock the Golden Silkworm Gu in your dantian!"

Tang Huaiyi quickly did as he was told. He sat up straight and raised his palm, and his mother pushed Fei Xi under his palm.

The continuous flow of internal energy poured into Fei Xi's body without interruption. The little worm was clearly dissatisfied with Fei Xi's dilapidated dantian; it swam out of it and frolicked throughout Fei Xi's body. As the worm grew larger, its movement became increasingly difficult. But then, the little worm followed the flow of internal energy upstream. Soon, it emerged from the Tianzong acupoint and entered Tang Huaiyi's body.

The tiny worm, initially as thin as a hair, was now as thick as a finger. As soon as the worm entered Tang Huaiyi's body, fine beads of sweat instantly appeared on his forehead. The beads were crystal clear, and the sweat slid down his jade-like cheeks, outlining the lines of his face and making his features even more defined. Once the worm was completely inside him, he instantly withdrew his palm and began to circulate his qi according to the incantation.

Seeing that the deed was done, the woman picked up Fei Xi, placed her on the bed, and covered her with a thin quilt.