Being a knight is not easy

Chapter 170 Poisoning
Feng Ling's heartbeat pounded against her throat. She could smell the scent of rosemary and ambergris mixed on her wife's body, ten times stronger than Robin's acacia blossom scent, but it couldn't mask the sweetness of the shredded coconut on her fingertips.

"It's just..." She swallowed, the pearl pendant on her hairpin flickering, "The newly replaced charcoal fire in the kitchen made me dizzy."

Lady Aishaer loosened her hand and used her peacock feather fan to lift the laurel bracelet on Feng Ling's wrist: "The laurel from the north can ward off evil spirits."

The gold dust from the fan fell onto her apron, just covering the smiling face on the edge of the oil-paper. "But the housekeeper said that there are bards selling firefly lanterns in the market lately." She suddenly leaned in, her warm breath mixed with the scent of perfume. "The girls who buy lanterns are waiting for their lovers to take them out to sea."

Feng Ling's nails dug into her palm. She remembered Robin's words last night about "the third lantern in the back alley," the hilt of his sword, half-displayed beneath his cloak, the small fish pattern carved into the brass whistle. It was a legend that fishermen from the southern border used to trick little girls, but they spoke it so seriously.

"Madam, you're joking." As she lowered her head, the bay leaves rubbed against her chin, itching like someone's fingertips. "How could I dare to think about such things?"

As Lady Aisha turned, her jade bracelet clashed against the edge of her makeup box. "It's fun to dare to think." She fished out a small glass bottle from a drawer, a pale golden powder swirling in the moonlight. "Send me a glass of wine to the study tomorrow night."

When the bottle was stuffed into Feng Ling's palm, she suddenly grabbed the maid's wrist and said, "If you meet someone you shouldn't meet," the lady dug her nails into the other person's pulse, "how about just thinking of it as letting the little girl under the lantern feel the sea breeze?"

The maid clutched the glass bottle tightly, and the bay leaves made a crisp sound between her wrists.

She didn't know if the bottle contained aphasia powder, but she saw that the tips of her ears were red in her ladyship's reflection in the mirror.

The sound of a clapper came from afar, signaling the changing of guards. The smiley-face note in her pocket was now wrinkled by cold sweat.

"I understand." Feng Ling knelt down and saluted. Suddenly, a button on her clothes fell off and rolled to the lady's feet.

Lady Aisha looked at the button and suddenly chuckled - how similar it was to the hearts of her male favorites beating in her palms, so round, so fragile, and so wet with the dew of desire.

"Don't worry!" She lifted Feng Ling's chin with a peacock feather fan, pressing the jade bracelet on her fingertips against her Adam's apple. "If you can handle this, I'll reward you with a boy who can sing southern folk songs. Women always need something to warm their bed."

Feng Ling dug her nails deep into her palms, but a timid smile appeared on her face: "Madam, I am sorry for embarrassing you." She lowered her head to pick up the button, and rubbed the teeth marks on it with her fingertips.

When she turned and walked towards the wine cabinet, the light golden powder in the glass bottle suddenly emitted a strange silver light in the moonlight, which looked very much like the reflection of the copper whistle that Robin stuffed into her last night.

The moment the poison entered the wine, Feng Ling's fingertips trembled. It was not the aphasia powder, but the "Broken Heart Dust" with a bounty of a thousand gold in the black market of the Western Territory.

This deadly poison, extracted from the tentacles of the mechanical siren, can shatter the victim's heart into pieces, causing death to resemble a sudden illness.

She suddenly remembered that three days ago in the collection's secret room, she saw this kind of silver powder embedded in the ribs of a male favorite's skeleton.

Sean, Hawke's third son, whom Lady Eshar wanted to poison, was probably still checking the account books in the study at this moment, and had no idea that his name had already been engraved on Lady Eshar's "cleanup list".

"Sean always says my nightingale is noisy." Madam's voice came from behind, and her peacock feather fan swept across Feng Ling's back. "But he doesn't know that the nightingale's beak is stained with honey and blood."

The maid clenched the wine jug tightly, and the rose emblem on the bottom of the jug hurt her palm. It was the mark of the special wine vessel provided by the Duke's Mansion, and it was also an invitation to death.

She suddenly understood why the lady had been so honest recently, not having any intimate behavior with her male favorites, and even not making a move on Robin, whom she had just taken a fancy to. It turned out that she had been targeted.

Footsteps were heard at the end of the corridor; it was Third Young Master Sean's personal guard on patrol. Feng Ling fished out the copper whistle hidden in her sleeve. It was the one Robin had given her. Holding the whistle now seemed to bring peace of mind.

She sprinkled the Broken Heart Dust into the wine glass, but the moment the powder touched the wine, fine blue ripples appeared on the surface of the wine, and then it returned to calm.

Feng Ling's fingertips paused on the wine jug. She looked at the greedy fire dancing in Jasmine's eyes, and suddenly remembered that three months ago, when she first delivered poisoned wine to her wife, her palms were also covered with cold sweat.

At that time, she thought that the silver light of Broken Heart Dust was just a plaything of the nobles. It was not until she saw the male favorite vomiting blood with her own eyes and was finally diagnosed with death from a broken heart that Feng Ling realized for the first time how terrifying the lady was.

"The young master has to check the winter grain reserves tonight." She heard her own voice become sickly sweet, like honey dipped in poison. "This wine is spiked with aphrodisiac honey from the East. After drinking it, you will only hear the words of your beloved."

Jasmine's nails dug into the hem of her gold-embroidered skirt. This maid who was always beaten and scolded by the young master had wildfire in her eyes. Of course, she didn't know that the wine also contained Lady Eshar's newly acquired "Ice Silkworm Essence", which could cause the drinker's blood vessels to burst in pleasure, and the death would be like passing away in paradise.

"Seize the opportunity. I'm leaving first." Feng Ling was ready to leave after delivering the wine.

At this moment, the mechanical clock at the end of the corridor was striking eight. The moonlight passed through the glass window, cutting her face into two halves of light and dark.

Lady Aisha had said that an excellent executioner must remain calm at all times and in all places, but as she looked at Jasmine's trembling fingertips, she suddenly saw her own shadow when she first came to the Duke's Mansion, also clutching the carved wine glass, also thinking that she had grasped the straw that would change her fate.

"Remember to lock the door." She straightened Jasmine's crooked hair accessory, and her pearl earrings brushed against her red earlobes. "Madam said she'll give you new clothes after you succeed."

The maid nodded hurriedly, the wine jug making a slight sound in her arms.

The night wind lifted the corner of her apron, revealing the small anchor pattern embroidered on the inside.

That is the mark of the Viscountess's private army.

The sound of the patrol guard's clapper came from afar. When she counted to the third one, Feng Ling heard the first giggle coming from Jasmine's room and quickly returned to her expressionless maiden's state.

The gears of the mechanical clock turned in the dark. She took out the small bottle of Broken Heart Dust hidden in her sleeve and poured all the remaining powder into the flower bed.

The roots of Ye Luolan curled up instantly, oozing black juice under the moonlight.

Feng Ling looked at her own reflection on the glazed window, and suddenly she couldn't tell whether the coldness in her eyes was the result of twenty years of domestication in the Duke's Mansion, or the warm current from the south hidden in the shell that Robin handed her.

When Jasmine's scream pierced the night air, Feng Ling was already standing in front of Lady Aisha's door.

"Ma'am, Master Sean said this wine is stronger than the rosemary one you made."

Mrs. Aisha immediately burst into laughter as loud as a silver bell.

(End of this chapter)