Taking her into his tent, he incurred the wrath of a powerful and mad minister, from which he could

This saved him the trouble of searching for her again, and he ordered the imperial physician to come forward and treat her.

Mingyi sat quietly on the daybed by the window, eyes lowered and silent, behaving very well.

After a moment, Judge Liu stroked his beard and said, "The young lady's body is weak, and the root cause lies in the accumulation of cold in her body. It is not a disease that developed overnight, but rather a result of long-term accumulation."

He paused, then cautiously probed, "I wonder if you've been taking any kind of herbal decoction lately?"

Mingyi had a basic understanding of medical principles and knew the root cause of his own cold-related ailment.

She first glanced at the man sitting beside her, and said in a soft voice, "The only thing I take daily is Qingjing Tang (a traditional Chinese medicine formula)."

Upon hearing this, Judge Liu immediately understood. "No wonder."

Zong Xian frowned slightly: "What is Qingjing Decoction?"

Judge Liu explained, "This Qingjing Decoction also has a common name, which is the Contraception Decoction. It contains many cold-natured herbs such as safflower. Long-term consumption will damage a woman's blood and qi, accumulate cold qi, and may even destroy her ability to conceive."

"Judging from the young lady's pulse, she will likely have difficulty conceiving in the future."

Imperial physicians usually leave some room for maneuver in their words, but Judge Liu said it would be difficult, and the actual situation would only be more serious.

Mingyi remained expressionless, but the man beside her frowned.

His fingers, resting on his knees, clenched into fists. He had no idea that Mingyi was taking a contraceptive!

Judge Liu then asked, "How long have you been taking it, young lady?"

Mingyi said, "It's been over a month."

"Without a single day's interruption?"

The meaning should be clear.

Madam Zong knew that Zong Xian had just broken his celibacy and his needs were bound to be greater. She was worried that Mingyi might be pregnant first, so even though Zong Xian hadn't touched her for several days, Cui Mama still brought her contraceptive soup every day without fail.

Mingyi knew that this medicine would harm his health, but he still chose to drink it.

"The dosage of common contraceptive medicine is very light. Even if you take it for a whole year, at most your menstrual cycle will be irregular. Just stop taking it for a month and your body will be able to recover. It will never be as depleted as you are."

Judge Liu spoke tactfully, stopping short of making a point.

Zong Xian was extremely perceptive and naturally understood the implication in the other party's words.

Normal use of contraceptive soup has little effect on women, but the contraceptive soup presented to Mingyi was clearly a dose that had been increased!

-

After Judge Liu wrote down the prescription, Zong Xian personally escorted the person to the gate of the mansion.

When he turned around, his face was covered with frost, and he walked heavily back into the inner room, walking straight to Ji Mingyi.

He reached for the prescription on the table, his knuckles white with tension, and shouted in a deep voice, "Someone come here!"

Upon hearing the sound, Chang Yu hurriedly lifted the curtain and went inside. Just as he stood still, a piece of paper was hurled at him with a strong gust of wind, and he quickly reached out to catch it.

"Prepare all the medicinal herbs according to this recipe, decoct them immediately, and send them over!"

Anyone could see that this man was furious.

Chang Yu didn't dare delay for a moment. "Yes! This servant will take care of it immediately!"

Mingyi looked at his angry face quietly, puzzled and not understanding why he was angry.

Zong Xian stood before her, struggling to suppress the anger surging in his chest, and asked in a deep voice, "That menstrual-clearing soup, was it ordered by the old lady to be sent to you to drink?"

Mingyi twitched the corner of her mouth, looked up at him, and said, "Sir, you are asking a question you already know the answer to."

These words carried a hint of defiance, and Zong Xian's expression stiffened slightly. A trace of displeasure flashed through his heart, and his brows furrowed: "She told you to drink it, so you drank it? You are knowledgeable in pharmacology, so you can't be unaware that this soup is extremely harmful to the body."

"You make it sound so easy, sir," Mingyi said with a hint of mockery. "Even if I knew the contraceptive medicine had been given in larger doses, could I possibly refuse?"

Zong Xian blurted out instinctively, "Of course you can..."

The words were on the tip of his tongue when he suddenly remembered that it was his birth mother, Madam Zong, who had given the order.

With the concept of "filial piety" weighing heavily on him, not only did Ji Mingyi dare not disobey, but even he himself could not openly defy the old lady's arrangements.

Moreover, to be fair, the old lady's concern for the family's offspring and her reluctance for her to become pregnant too early is not objectionable within the tacit rules of aristocratic families.

But he just couldn't control his resentment towards the old lady.

Zong Xian himself didn't understand where this resentment came from. He met Ming Yi's clear yet indifferent eyes and saw the paleness and weakness that she couldn't hide on her face. For a moment, he couldn't bear to say another harsh word to her.

At this moment, Mingyi asked, puzzled, "Did you get angry with me because you felt I had done something wrong and shouldn't have obeyed the old lady?"

Zong Xian's lips softened, and his tone became gentler. "You did nothing wrong."

Mingyi then asked, "From now on, should I listen to the Second Master or the Old Madam? Please give me a definite answer, sir. Otherwise, if you are slightly dissatisfied in the future, the servants around me will suffer the consequences on my behalf. I am truly terrified!"

Although Granny Feng often nags and says things that she doesn't like to hear, she is kind and honest, and treats her with sincerity.

Humans are not plants or trees, how can they be without feelings? Mingyi's heart is also made of flesh and blood. When she thought of Granny Feng, who was so old, having to suffer the pain of being beaten, she couldn't bear it and felt guilty and uneasy.

Ultimately, it all comes down to this ruthless man!

How could Mingyi not hate and resent? She could grit her teeth and endure Zongxian's humiliation, but she could not bear to see innocent people implicated and punished because of her.

The girl spoke as if asking for instructions, but every word was laced with resentment.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, and she looked up at him directly, her gaze sharp and confrontational.

Zong Xian only realized at this moment that she had openly defied him just because of a servant who had made a mistake? How ungrateful she was!

Zong Xian's anger, which he had just suppressed, suddenly flared up again like wildfire.

The atmosphere in the room instantly became tense, thick with the smell of gunpowder, as if it could ignite at any moment.

Aqing, who was standing by, felt a tightness in her chest and her face was full of worry. She secretly felt a cold sweat for Mingyi.

She knew her second master's true temperament best. Outsiders only saw him as occasionally gentle, fair and strict, but in reality he was cold, hard and harsh, and could not tolerate any imperfections.

The girl is now talking back to him, so she will inevitably be punished.

In fact, Mingyi was also a little scared at this moment. Zong Xian's expression was too terrifying, and she felt that he was about to strangle her at any moment.

But then he thought, what's the harm in dying? He could just strangle her, and she wouldn't have to endure all this anymore!

She stubbornly refused to back down, and instead, fearlessly continued to add fuel to the fire: "If you, sir, think that I am ungrateful for protecting my servants, then punish me as well! Kill me or torture me, it's all up to you!"

It’s over.

Ah Qing abruptly closed her eyes, too afraid to look.

The servants standing inside were all filled with trepidation, and the same thought popped into their minds: they had seen people who didn't care about their lives, but this was the first time they had seen someone eagerly seeking death!

Zong Xian's face was terribly gloomy, and his whole body was filled with a chilling aura. He raised his hand and grabbed the girl's neck.

Mingyi neither dodged nor resisted, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and she closed her eyes.

Even she thought she was going to die here today.

But the hand gripping her neck hesitated to tighten its grip.

Instead, in an extremely dangerous yet tender manner, he gently caressed her throbbing veins with his fingertips, pressing down with just the right amount of force.

"It seems I've spoiled you too much, you've become so arrogant that you dare to speak to me like that."

Zong Xian's cold voice, laced with anger, was equally terrifying: "I'll deal with you properly sooner or later, and teach you a lesson you won't forget!"

After he finished speaking, he released the hand that was gripping her neck.

Mingyi opened her eyes with trembling hands, staring blankly at him, as if she couldn't believe that this person had actually let her go like this.

The next instant, the man, whose expression was unpredictable, raised his hand and gently patted her pale, delicate cheek, his smile failing to convey the warning in his eyes:

"Scared out of your wits? You're not completely out of your mind yet, so you're not entirely terrified. If this happens again, no matter how unwell you are, I won't let you off easily."

Having said that, he didn't look at her again. As he turned to leave, he quietly instructed A-Qing, "Keep an eye on her and wait for me to return."