Chapter 26: Poisoned?!

She did not know what poison the Meng family had given her. It was not enough to make her lose consciousness, but it had drained her of every ounce of strength.

Yet, she would crawl back to the Duke’s mansion tonight, even if she had to drag herself the entire way. Her grandfather must be devastated; he was the only family she had left in this world.

Nan Yan gritted her teeth, inching forward. She could not even spare a moment to wipe away the tears and sweat mingled on her face.

Before she had crawled very far, the sensation of scorching heat within her body began to intensify rapidly, and her breathing grew increasingly ragged.

"What is happening..."

Had the toxin flared up again? This poison... it wasn't supposed to be lethal, was it? Why did it feel... so wrong now?

As the heat surged, Nan Yan began to tug at her own clothes uncontrollably, her mind slipping into chaos. Her remaining sanity screamed that she must not tear her garments, but her hands refused to obey. The hotter she felt, the more violent her movements became.

With a sharp rip, the button at her collar burst off, and she tore away half of her neckline, exposing a vast expanse of snowy skin.

"No..."

Her mind tried to intervene, but her hands, acting of their own accord, seized the other side of her collar.

Just as she was about to pull, a touch of cool temperature pressed against her hands, gently pulling the torn fabric back to cover her.

Looking down, she saw a pair of slender, delicate hands. The skin at their fingertips was so pale it was nearly translucent, as warm and polished as jade.

And as cool as jade.

It felt wonderful—this coolness was a fatal temptation she could not resist in her current state!

She quickly grabbed those hands, pressing her cheek against them, greedily craving that touch of coolness.

"My lady—"

The hands were abruptly pulled away. Nan Yan froze, her sanity flickering back for a brief moment as she looked up, dazed.

The lantern light flickered, casting shadows that made everything before her appear as if veiled in a soft, hazy glow. She saw a beauty of incomparable, world-toppling grace.

This jade-like figure had an exquisitely beautiful face, radiating a fragility that made one ache with pity. He was the most beautiful person she had ever seen, yet... why did he look so familiar?

Ah, right...

Nan Yan realized belatedly that the voice just now belonged to... a young gentleman?

"My lady?"

The beauty spoke again; it was indeed the voice of a man, gentle and clear.

A gentleman—a man!

Nan Yan shuddered and bit down hard on the tip of her tongue. The pain allowed her to regain a sliver of clarity, and she squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head vigorously.

When she opened her eyes again, the hazy glow remained, but she recognized him—it was Jiang Li.

"Young Master... Jiang..."

Nan Yan noticed her own voice had changed, laced with a languid, indescribable allure. This single sentence exhausted her strength, and she swayed, on the verge of collapsing.

Jiang Li reached out his long arms just in time to steady her. "My lady, what has happened to you?"

"I..."

She gasped for air between every word. "I am... poisoned..."

"Poisoned?!"

Jiang Li’s expression shifted instantly. He swiftly pressed three fingers against her pulse.

Before he could diagnose the symptoms, the cool touch of his fingertips drove Nan Yan into a frenzy. Having lost all reason, she grabbed his hands again, desperately pressing them against her face.

"Hot... so hot..."

The rapidly escalating heat consumed her reason entirely. Like a small beast seeking its prey based solely on temperature, she refused to let go of Jiang Li’s hands. Pressing her cheek against them was not enough; finding his body even more comforting, she lunged into his arms.

Taken by surprise, Jiang Li was knocked to the ground, breaking into a fit of coughing.

The sound of his coughing brought Dan Zhu rushing in. "Young Master, what has—"

Seeing the scene before him, Dan Zhu choked on his words, the rest of the sentence tumbling out in fragments: "—happened?"

Jiang Li could not catch his breath, and having been pinned to the floor by Nan Yan, he had his outer robe stripped away in a few frantic motions.

Even his firm chest was partially exposed. The cool, jade-like skin radiated a temperature that enticed Nan Yan to press her entire body against him, letting out a sigh of satisfaction.

The skin-to-skin contact made Jiang Li feel incredibly awkward, causing him to cough even more violently until his pale, jade-like face turned a flushed pink.

He was too weak from the coughing to push her away. His servant, Dan Zhu, stood frozen like a stone statue, eyes wide with shock.

Given the situation... should he retreat?

Just as Dan Zhu turned to leave, Jiang Li, desperate and struggling for breath, managed to choke out an incomplete command.

"Why are you... *cough*... still standing there... pull her away... *cough, cough, cough*—"

The severity of his coughing worried Dan Zhu, who rushed forward to pull Nan Yan away.

Nan Yan clung to her "ice block" and refused to let go. "Let go of me! Don't pull—"

With a sudden burst of strength she could not account for, she shoved Dan Zhu, sending him stumbling back until he fell, clutching his backside and wincing.

In that brief opening, Nan Yan clung to Jiang Li again, taking the opportunity to tear his robes open even further.

Jiang Li was gasping for air, his eyes darting to the medicine bottle that had fallen from his robes. He stretched out his hand to reach for it.

Dan Zhu scrambled up and tried to pull her away again, using every bit of strength he had, but he was barely a match for her.

He was astonished. "Where does the young lady get such strength?! This isn't normal at all!"

Jiang Li, wheezing and coughing while pinned beneath Nan Yan, could not answer; he was focused entirely on the bottle.

Finally, his fingertips brushed the glass. He rolled the bottle into his palm, grabbed it, and quickly popped two pills into his mouth, squeezing his eyes shut.

Dan Zhu was still struggling with Nan Yan. The delirious girl, possessing inhuman strength, bit down on his arm, causing him to cry out in pain.

His grip loosened, and Nan Yan broke free once more, lunging toward Jiang Li.

In that instant, Jiang Li’s eyes snapped open. His wheezing and coughing ceased, his flushed face returned to its natural tone, and his gaze turned clear and sharp.

He reached out an arm, using the momentum of her lunge to grip her wrists, and accurately pressed three fingers to her pulse. With his other hand, he pressed a point on her body with two fingers. Nan Yan instantly froze in mid-air, her body stiffening as she collapsed into his arms.

Jiang Li caught her, setting aside the boundaries of gender to focus on reading her pulse.

Once the pain subsided, Dan Zhu asked hurriedly, "Young Master, has she gone mad?!"

Jiang Li did not answer. His eyes darkened, and his expression turned grim.

"It is aconite."

Upon hearing this, Dan Zhu’s face turned pale as well.

Before he could react, Jiang Li quickly released Nan Yan’s pressure point and lifted her up effortlessly.

His strong, powerful arms looked nothing like those of the sickly invalid who had been unable to catch his breath moments ago.

He did not even bother to adjust his disheveled robes. Nan Yan, in his arms, was now burning like a furnace. The brute strength had left her, and with only a flicker of consciousness remaining, she curled against him, gasping for breath.