Ch. 1641..1650
Chapter 1641: 1640 a clue
“Ina’s mission isn’t finished yet. She can only go home once the mission is completed,” Ina explained.
“If that’s the case, then you shouldn’t go back,” Tan Rou suggested. “Just stay in the palace. I’ll have Princess Samiyi prepare a new room for you, and once the reforms succeed, I can even send you to school.”
Ina seemed to long for such a life as she cheerfully said, “Sister Tan Rou, could you put some princess dresses in my room? Ina really loves princess dresses.”
Tan Rou smiled and replied, “I’ll buy you a bunch of princess dresses. If you’re not satisfied, I’ll have the princess send over a few new ones, so you have real princess dresses.”
Ina laughed, “Not just princess dresses, but lots of snacks too. Ina’s favorite is sweet cotton candy. Sister Tan Rou, make sure you buy me lots of cotton candy.”
Tan Rou pinched her cheek, saying, “Eating too many sweets can cause toothaches. Remember to brush your teeth after eating candy.”
Ina nodded seriously, “Hmm, Ina will listen to Sister Tan Rou.”
“Do you like the new room we’re preparing for you?” Tan Rou smoothly asked. “Would you like to stay and live with everyone?”
Ina was very clear-headed and once again declined Tan Rou’s offer, “No, I need to leave. When I’ve finished my business, I will leave here, and I probably won’t come back.”
Tan Rou said with regret, “What will I do with the room I’ve prepared for you if you don’t come back?”
Ina was torn, “Then just leave the room there. If I have the chance later, I will come back and see you.”
Tan Rou didn’t take the matter to heart, thinking that Ina wouldn’t come back, “Alright, then we’ll make the room ready for you and decorate it into a beautiful princess room so you can also experience what it’s like to be a little princess.”
Ina greatly romanticized such a life, but she remained rational, “Sister Tan Rou, although I can’t move into that house now, I still want to thank you. To repay you and Princess Sister, I plan to tell you a secret.”
Tan Rou was very willing to hear Ina’s secret, assuming it was related to the Dawn Society. Indeed, Ina mentioned the Dawn Society next.
“Sister Tan Rou, if you want to find the person who makes poison, you can go to 107 Red Maple Leaf Street.”
Having said that, Ina stood up, “Sister Tan Rou, I can only tell you this little bit, I hope you aren’t upset with me.”
How could Tan Rou be upset with Ina, when she was too pleased to finally receive some information about the poison after several days of searching? Perhaps the poison-maker would have an antidote, and she could take it directly for Zhuang Liu to use.
“Thank you, your information is very helpful,” Tan Rou said gratefully. “Ina, if you change your mind, make sure to contact us. I promise I’ll keep my word.”
Ina asked, “Sister Tan Rou, can you take a photo for me? I’d like to see what this legendary princess room looks like.”
“Sure, I’ll go back and tell Princess Samiyi to prepare a big and beautiful princess room for you,” Tan Rou quickly agreed. “After you finish your business, stay in the palace for a few days. Then, when I return, I’ll take you to my country and prepare another unique princess room for you.”
Ina was a formidable girl, so Tan Rou wanted to strongly persuade Ina to join them. If Ina could stand with them, not just preparing a princess room, but even building a new building would probably please Samiyi. Tan Rou was willing to build castles for Ina; she liked the girl that much.
“Sister Tan Rou, I have to go,” Ina said. “I can’t stay here too long, or else I’ll be discovered.”
Tan Rou still had many questions for Ina, but she was eager to head to Red Maple Leaf Street, so those questions would have to wait until her return, assuming Ina wouldn’t leave.
“Okay, find a good place to hide first,” Tan Rou said. “After I finish my business, I’ll still be here waiting for you. If you want to see me, just come here.”
Chapter 1642: 1641 Red Maple Leaf
“Ina, I’m leaving first. If you want to stay in the palace, then stay a little longer, and I’ll come back to find you tonight,” Tan Rou said anxiously, “No wait, I won’t be able to find you. Come and find me instead; I think you should know where I’m staying now.”
Ina nodded, “Yes, I know where Sister Tan Rou stays. Sister Tan Rou, go do your thing; I’ll wait for you here.”
Tan Rou hurriedly walked outside, then halfway through, she ran back and gave the last piece of candy she had on her to Ina, “This is the last candy I have. I’ll bring you more next time we meet.”
Ina was very happy. “Thank you, Sister Tan Rou.”
Tan Rou patted her head gently and said, “Goodbye.”
Ina waved softly, “Goodbye, Sister Tan Rou.”
After Tan Rou left, Ina stared at the spot where she had disappeared until Tan Rou was completely out of sight, then Ina whispered, “Sister Tan Rou, I really want to stay in the princess’s room you mentioned for a few days and also visit your country with you, but I don’t have time anymore. Sister Tan Rou, Ina needs to do her own things now.”
A breeze blew, and the girl by the lake, holding the candy in her hand, quietly left.
Tan Rou told Samiyi the clues she had got from Ina, and Samiyi immediately arranged for some people to investigate at 107 Red Maple Street.
Tan Rou also wanted to go, but Samiyi initially disagreed because her injuries hadn’t healed, and meeting someone from the Dawn Society might be dangerous.
Tan Rou said she wouldn’t conflict with the Dawn Society, she would just watch from the back, and let Samiyi’s men do the charging. Finally, after her repeated requests, Samiyi agreed to let Tan Rou go with them.
Red Maple Street, true to its name, had many maple trees. However, it was summer, so the maple leaves weren’t red yet.
The guard in charge of protecting Tan Rou was from the guard squad, which had six people, with the squad leader named Tuoray, a strong man over one meter ninety tall.
“Miss Tan Rou, after getting off the car, stay behind us, and we will take care of charging forward,” Tuoray instructed Tan Rou.
Tan Rou nodded, “You also have to be careful, the people from the Dawn Society are very vicious. If you encounter purple-skinned monsters inside, retreat quickly, because those monsters are extremely dangerous and it’s hard to subdue them.”
Tuoray responded, “Okay, we will be careful.”
The car continued to drive forward, and Tan Rou kept observing the surroundings; it was actually quite beautiful here, with many green-leaf maple trees, but they were quite short and not as tall as the maple trees back home.
“Why are there so many maple trees here?” Tan Rou asked casually.
Unexpectedly, Tuoray actually knew the origin of these maple trees. “Originally, there were no maple trees here because they are not native to our country, so all these maple trees are from abroad. After leaving their native place, the maple trees don’t grow tall or turn red, and most of them are orange-yellow. It should have been about fifteen years ago, a foreign botanist discovered the maple trees here, felt they weren’t beautiful enough, and then began researching the maple trees growing here.”
“He was incredible, within just two years, he had developed a medication that could turn the maple leaves red, and afterward, the maple leaves here turned bright red, so people renamed this street to Red Maple Street,” Tuoray said somewhat regretfully, “However, the soil here isn’t suited for maple trees’ growth, they still don’t grow tall.”
Tan Rou thought making the maple leaves turn red was already quite amazing, “I really want to meet this scientist.”
Tuoray said, “I guess you won’t get to meet this scientist, as he passed away many years ago, said to have died from poisoning by medication. Probably he accidentally poisoned himself while researching the medication.”
“That’s really too bad!” Tan Rou sighed.
The car slowly moved forward, and when they were close to 107 Red Maple Street, Tuoray asked the driver to stop.
“Miss Tan Rou, wait in the car while we go down to scout ahead,” Tuoray said. “If there’s no danger, we’ll call you to come over.”
Tan Rou replied, “Okay, be careful.”
The guards took their guns and went down, and to avoid disturbing others, they all changed into plain clothes.
Chapter 1643: 1642 delivered to your door
After the members of the guard unit got out of the car, Tan Rou also stepped down. She was the type of person who couldn’t sit still; if she were to wait in the car for news, she would surely go mad with impatience. So Tan Rou took a gun and two magazines, planning to explore 107 Red Maple Street herself.
As soon as she exited the car, Tan Rou felt that the buildings in the area looked familiar, as if she had been here not long ago. After looking twice, she was sure she had been here—and not alone.
“105… 106…” Tan Rou counted the numbers on the doors, “107 is the next one.”
She quickened her pace and soon found 107 Red Maple Street. The members of the guard unit were also there, spread out, likely in search of a way to get inside the yard.
Tan Rou recognized whose yard it was; after all, they had only escaped from this very place a few days ago.
“Hey hey hey, Captain Tuoray, can you hear me?” Tan Rou spoke into the communication device.
Tuoray immediately responded in a low voice, “Miss Rou, is there a problem on your end?”
“No,” Tan Rou was also slowly approaching the yard, “I know who lives at 107 now. There’s a very formidable private doctor inside, her name is Mrs. Havel. Do you know her?”
Tuoray answered, “I haven’t heard of her name.”
Tan Rou quickly shared some information about Mrs. Havel, “This woman is vicious and seems a bit unhinged, don’t confront her directly. See if you can lure her out of the house first.”
This was a tricky problem for Tuoray; he didn’t know Mrs. Havel. How could he possibly lure her out?
Tan Rou seemed to sense Tuoray’s hesitation and said, “Let me go in first. I’ve met her before; maybe I can even hold a conversation with her.”
Tuoray was concerned, “Miss Rou, the princess has ordered us to ensure your safety. Please don’t act alone, and let us take care of any issues.”
Tan Rou felt she had to make the trip, “Alright, you don’t have to worry. I won’t engage in a fight with her, and if she tries to attack me, I’ll just run.”
Tuoray still hesitated, “Miss Rou…”
Tan Rou didn’t want to waste any more time and said, “Alright, let’s decide on this. I’m going over now.”
Tuoray called out anxiously, “Miss Rou, Miss Rou, can you hear me? Hey, Miss Rou?”
However, Tan Rou did not respond.
“Ah!” Tuoray grumbled, “This mission is really tough!”
“Captain Tuoray, what should we do now?” asked the other members.
Tuoray replied irritably, “What else can we do but rush to follow her! If anything happens to her, the princess won’t let us off easily!”
So the six members of the guard unit quickly gathered together and went to look for Tan Rou.
Tan Rou adjusted her gun and stepped towards the yard, unsure if Mrs. Havel was still there. Since Ina had asked her to come find someone, she had to take her chances—maybe she could catch the person who was making poison.
Before she got close, a car suddenly drove up to Mrs. Havel’s front door. Seeing the approaching vehicle, Tan Rou quickly hid behind a nearby tree.
A man got out of the car, looking like a delivery worker. After exiting, he first pulled out a flat trolley, then started loading items onto it. Everything was packed in boxes, and Tan Rou couldn’t see what was inside.
After unloading about a dozen boxes, the man finally rang the doorbell, “Mrs. Havel, your items have been delivered. Are you available to open the door now?”
A few seconds later, the gate to Mrs. Havel’s house was opened, yet no one came out.
The man seemed accustomed to such a scene, as he just pushed the trolley in, then came back out with an empty one, and finally closed Mrs. Havel’s gate.
“Alright, your order is complete. Please check the items,” he said, then loaded the trolley back onto the vehicle and drove the delivery car away.
From beginning to end, Mrs. Havel hadn’t made an appearance.
This caused Tan Rou to become suspicious; could it be that the lady never leaves her house?
Chapter 1644: 1643, do you want to stay?
Tan Rou once again opened the communicator and said, “Captain Tuoray, could you please take your team members and look around, inquire about Lady Hai Wei’s matters.”
Tuoray was anxiously searching for Tan Rou, and after hearing her voice again, he breathed a sigh of relief, “All right, I will take my team members and ask around now.”
Tan Rou was not idle either; she went straight to the front door of Lady Hai Wei’s house and then said to the surveillance on the door, “Lady Hai Wei, are you home?”
After a while, Lady Hai Wei’s voice came through the doorbell, “It’s you, what have you come back for?”
Tan Rou smiled, “So you still remember me.”
Lady Hai Wei said unpleasantly, “Of course I remember you, you’re Tan Rou, right?”
Tan Rou was not surprised, “It seems those people have already told you about me.”
Lady Hai Wei did not speak, she simply opened the door, signaling for Tan Rou to come in for a talk.
Tan Rou looked around and did not see Tuoray and his team, but she still chose to enter through the gate.
“I hope this time Madam won’t point a gun at me,” Tan Rou said jokingly.
“Don’t worry, I won’t harm you,” Lady Hai Wei said the same words as Ina, “I still quite like you, young lady.”
Tan Rou could not afford Lady Hai Wei’s affection, she felt that Lady Hai Wei did not like her as a person, but liked to capture her for experimentation, preferably turned into a motionless standee, and then admired that standee all day long.
“Thank you for your affection.” Tan Rou once again stepped into Lady Hai Wei’s yard; the decorations inside were almost the same as the last time she saw them, still many beautiful and precious vases in the garden.
Lady Hai Wei was waiting for Tan Rou at the entrance, she was dressed more casually today, but ordinary clothes still could not conceal Lady Hai Wei’s beauty; she was very young and beautiful, like a blooming poppy flower, beautiful yet poisonous.
“Are you here to stay and keep me company?” Lady Hai Wei asked with a light chuckle.
“If Lady Hai Wei has the ability to keep me here, then I will stay and accompany you,” Tan Rou replied with a smile.
These two women, one stood atop the steps and the other below, stared at each other for about three minutes before moving their gazes away.
Lady Hai Wei was the first to speak, “Come in then. It’s lunchtime now, I have prepared some grilled meat and mushroom soup, would you like to have some?”
Tan Rou dared not eat the Dawn Society’s food, for all she knew any of the dishes might contain a deadly poison.
“No, I had lunch before coming here,” Tan Rou said. In truth, she hadn’t had time for lunch and had only nibbled on some bread in the car; ever since she arrived in this country, she had not had a single enjoyable meal. Once back in her own country, she definitely planned to make up for it with good food.
“Are you afraid I put poison in it?” Lady Hai Wei asked.
“Yes,” Tan Rou said honestly, “people from the Dawn Society are very good at studying poisons, I almost became a victim.”
“I am not from the Dawn Society, but I do indeed have connections with them, that cannot be denied,” Lady Hai Wei said.
“Did you create those monsters?” Tan Rou stepped forward to ask.
“Do you call them monsters?” Lady Hai Wei said displeasedly, “You really are impolite.”
“What should I call them then? The purple-skinned messengers of the God of Dawn?” Tan Rou said somewhat angrily.
Lady Hai Wei covered her mouth and laughed, “Miss Rou, you really are an interesting person.”
Tan Rou was not here to amuse her; she was here in search of an antidote, “I need an antidote.”
Lady Hai Wei stopped laughing and asked, “What does that have to do with me?”
“The poison was developed by you; if it has nothing to do with you, then who does it have to do with?” Tan Rou said with anger on her face.
“Why are you so angry?” Lady Hai Wei speculated, “Oh, could it be that Gand used that special drug on you? No, if you were contaminated with that drug, you would not be this lively and jumping. Oh, then it must be that he used the drug on someone very important to you.”
Tan Rou sneered, “You’re quite smart, aren’t you?”
Lady Hai Wei said, “Let me guess, who could that person be? It’s that man, right?”
Chapter 1645: The story of Mrs. Hai Wei in 1644
“Not at all,” Tan Rou said with her eyes open, telling a blatant lie. “He was just a passerby, an unlucky one who got shot by Gand with a needle. I happened to pass by and felt that Gand shouldn’t do that, so I kindly saved the passerby.”
Tan Rou didn’t believe Madame Hai Wei’s words, and naturally, Madame Hai Wei didn’t believe Tan Rou’s, but neither of them exposed the other.
Madame Hai Wei said very cooperatively, “Miss Rou really is a kind person.”
Tan Rou was really worried her next words would be “a kind person should stay and keep me company,” but fortunately, Madame Hai Wei didn’t say that.
“It’s very hot outside, Miss Rou, why don’t you come inside the house,” Madame Hai Wei said as she turned and headed into the house, not at all worried that Tan Rou would shoot her from behind.
Indeed, Tan Rou did want to shoot Madame Hai Wei from behind, but she hadn’t got what she came for yet, and the crazy lady couldn’t die yet.
After entering the door, Tan Rou saw those two creepy standing plaques again, but they had changed: Last time, the man wore black clothes, this time they were white, and the little girl’s clothes had also changed. It seemed that Madame Hai Wei had made quite a number of these plaques.
“Take a seat anywhere,” Madame Hai Wei said as she returned to the dining table. “My family and I are having lunch. If you’d like to eat, you can sit down and have some—my family won’t mind.”
“Heh,”Tan Rou sneered and complained in her own country’s language: “Even if they wanted to object, they couldn’t, because they are all dead.”
“Yes, they are all dead, so they can’t stop me,” Madame Hai Wei responded naturally, speaking to Tan Rou in Country C’s language.
Tan Rou was a bit surprised—wasn’t Country C’s language said to be very difficult to learn? How come everyone seems to speak it?
Madame Hai Wei said very calmly, “Don’t be tense; I specifically learned Country C’s language when I was in school, so it’s very normal for me to speak it.”
“Oh.” Tan Rou took a seat opposite Madame Hai Wei. “Madame Hai Wei, I don’t have time to sit down and watch you eat lunch. I came here today to get the antidote. State your terms, and as long as it’s within my power, I will agree.”
“Then you can listen to my story,” Madame Hai Wei said with a smile; “the story about me and my husband.”
Tan Rou really didn’t want to hear Madame Hai Wei’s story. Last time she wanted to tell her story, but Tan Rou was in a hurry to find Zhuang Liu and had no patience to listen to her.
So now, it seemed like she was specifically here to listen to the story.
“After I listen to the story, you’ll give me the antidote?” Tan Rou asked.
Madame Hai Wei nodded, “I will.”
Tan Rou touched the gun in her pocket and replied, “Fine, I’ll listen to your story.”
Madame Hai Wei began telling a very long story.
“At eighteen, I went abroad to study. On the day I enrolled, I met the man I would love the most in my life. His name was Ming, and he was from the same country as you,” Madame Hai Wei began. “He was a very excellent botanist. By the time I met him, he was already quite impressive.”
When Tan Rou heard the word “botanist,” she became cautious because Tuoray had also mentioned a foreign botanist to her, who, he said, had lived on this street in the past.
“Ming was a really nice person, very caring. I quickly fell in love with him,” Madame Hai Wei spoke with a face full of smiles.
“We were so happy back then, spending every day talking, looking at scenery, and then studying together in the library. He loved plants so much that whenever we had time, we’d go to botanical gardens around the country to see those rare and exotic plants. Some plants were poisonous, others were not.”
Hearing about “poison,” Tan Rou immediately became alert, “Which plants are poisonous?”
Madame Hai Wei glanced at her, “You don’t know which plants are poisonous?”
Tan Rou exclaimed in surprise: “The poison in Samiyi was concocted by you?”
“Yes,” Madame Hai Wei admitted directly, “Those poisonous plants all come from your country; some of them were brought over by Ming back in the day. He preferred researching these poisonous plants to others; poisonous plants are beautiful, just like people.”
Chapter 1646: ended in tragedy in 1645
“In our fourth year here, Ming fell in love with another woman,” Mrs. Hai Wei’s face slightly changed, “That girl also had a great fondness for plants and would often come to ask Ming about them. They would sit together all afternoon, and I would even prepare them delicious tea.”
Tan Rou suddenly thought of the end of the botanist Tuoray had mentioned, a man who died of drug poisoning. And Mrs. Hai Wei was very adept at concocting poisons. Could it be that she had personally poisoned her own husband?
Mrs. Hai Wei seemed to hear Tan Rou’s inner thoughts, and in the next second, she said, “I put poison in the dessert I made for tea. He taught me how to make that poison. We originally planned to use it to kill rats, but, unfortunately, no rats showed up in our yard.”
“What you did was too extreme,” Tan Rou could only say, “If you no longer loved each other, then separate. Why harm him and yourself? The feeling of cutting your own face must have been unbearable, right?”
Mrs. Hai Wei touched her face subconsciously, “It hurt, but I like the result. If I had become younger and more beautiful, Ming wouldn’t have fallen for another woman.”
She hadn’t said this last time. Back then, she claimed she wanted her husband and daughter to see her at her most beautiful. It was unclear which of her statements was the lie.
“What about your daughter?” Tan Rou asked, “Even if your husband was unfaithful, don’t you still have your daughter? The way you imitated your daughter’s tone the last time made it seem like you still love her very much.”
“She’s dead,” Mrs. Hai Wei said with a calm face, “Once when I went abroad for further study, Ming brought that woman home to live with us. My daughter didn’t like her and tried to drive her out, but that heartless woman killed my girl. How could she have the heart to hurt such a young child?”
Tan Rou felt that Mrs. Hai Wei was rather tragic: her husband cheated, and her daughter was killed by the woman he was cheating with. Going abroad, she returned to find she had lost everything. And the end of that woman probably wasn’t good either; with Mrs. Hai Wei’s nature, she certainly wouldn’t let her off easily.
A once happy family was destroyed overnight; if Tan Rou were in Mrs. Hai Wei’s shoes, she, too, would find it impossible to accept.
“Why are you telling me all this?” Tan Rou asked, “Are you really just looking for someone to listen to your story?”
“More or less,” Mrs. Hai Wei answered, “If I die, then no one in this world would know about this. You and Ming come from the same place, so I thought I should tell you this story.”
Tan Rou was somewhat surprised, “Do you also know that you’ll eventually be sentenced to death?” With Mrs. Hai Wei’s history of making poison, conducting human experiments, and harming the princess, it seemed inevitable she wouldn’t escape the death penalty.
“I won’t live that long,” Mrs. Hai Wei rolled up her sleeves, revealing arms full of needle marks, “My body is already failing.”
Tan Rou was shocked, “Have you gone mad? To use your own body for experiments!”
Mrs. Hai Wei gave a resigned smile, “My parents are dead, my husband’s dead, my daughter’s dead. What’s left for a woman who has lost her entire family?”
Tan Rou suddenly felt a bit of heartache; she thought about her past self who had also nearly lost her whole family, eventually dying herself. Mrs. Hai Wei was similar, likely harboring a multitude of toxins in her body, probably not having long to live.
“Gand wants me to help him create a new drug, but I don’t have the energy for such things anymore,” Mrs. Hai Wei spoke, “In my final moments, I don’t want to stay here any longer.”
“Was it you who had Ina notify me?” Tan Rou blurted out.
Mrs. Hai Wei nodded, “Ina is a good child; I am very fond of her. I originally wanted to pass all this to Ina, but she doesn’t have the knack for it. She told me that you’re a very capable person and that you can heal. So, I think these things would be useful to you.”
“I don’t understand why you would choose me,” Tan Rou said, “We’ve only met twice.”
“Isn’t this what you people from your country always talk about, ‘yuanfen’?” Mrs. Hai Wei said, “I’m giving you all these things, whether it’s the antidote or something else. You can study them yourself.”
Chapter 1647: 1646 please do me a favor
Tan Rou didn’t really believe what Mrs. Hai Wei had said. She suspected that these words were deliberately spoken by Mrs. Hai Wei to deceive her, so that once she let down her guard, Mrs. Hai Wei would have someone come and take her away.
Mrs. Hai Wei said, “What are you hesitating about? Don’t you believe what I’m saying?”
Tan Rou replied, “I can’t completely trust you because I don’t understand you, and I still remember what you did last time.”
Mrs. Hai Wei chuckled lightly, “You sure hold a grudge, but it doesn’t matter, I’m about to leave here soon. After I’m gone, you should start to believe me.”
Tan Rou asked, “Where are you planning to go?”
“I want to visit Gand’s hometown,” Mrs. Hai Wei replied. “It’s just human nature, even though he has abandoned me, I still can’t let him go.”
“Didn’t you say you were in poor health?” Tan Rou asked doubtfully. “From here to Country C, even by plane, it would take more than ten hours. Can you withstand that?”
“I can,” Mrs. Hai Wei said, nodding. “I can take multiple transfers and rest a bit when walking.”
If Mrs. Hai Wei really did leave, perhaps it would be a good thing. Without her researching poison for Gand, he probably wouldn’t be able to create new monsters. But if Mrs. Hai Wei left, could her past misdeeds just be swept away?
“Oh, so when do you plan to leave?” Tan Rou hoped that Mrs. Hai Wei would leave as soon as possible.
“Do you see those boxes?” Mrs. Hai Wei asked. “Those are the boxes I’m using to pack up my things. Once I’m finished packing, I will leave.”
Tan Rou was somewhat impressed with Mrs. Hai Wei, “You’re not planning to take all those things with you, are you?”
“No,” Mrs. Hai Wei shook her head gently, “Those things are meant to be destroyed.”
“What?” The response from Mrs. Hai Wei puzzled Tan Rou once again, “If those things are meant to be destroyed, why bother packing them at all?”
Mrs. Hai Wei said, “You don’t need to worry about that. Right now, I need your help with something. After you finish, not only will I give you the antidote you want, but I will also provide you with formulas for other poisons.”
Tan Rou decided to take a gamble, “Okay, I agree to help you. What do you need my help with?”
Mrs. Hai Wei pointed to the boxes placed behind the door, “Please help me pack those precious ornaments.”
Thinking of the destruction mentioned by Mrs. Hai Wei, could it be that these were the things she wanted to destroy? That would be such a waste.
However, those items were not Tan Rou’s to worry about, so she didn’t need to consider them so important. “Alright, I can help you pack. I hope that after I’m done, you will give me the antidote and the formulas for the other poisons, otherwise, I won’t leave easily.”
Mrs. Hai Wei continued with her lunch. This time, she did not mimic others’ speech but sat quietly by herself eating her meal.
Tan Rou took down all the paintings from the wall, took a box from the bottom of the trolley, assembled it, and then placed the paintings inside.
There were still many antiques in Mrs. Hai Wei’s home, and Tan Rou didn’t know where they came from, but it didn’t matter since they were soon to be destroyed.
“Do you really plan to destroy all these items?” Tan Rou asked.
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Mrs. Hai Wei replied. “I’m about to die myself, what’s the use of keeping these things?”
“You could sell them, or donate them to a museum,” Tan Rou suggested.
“There’s no need,” Mrs. Hai Wei said with great resignation. “These were my husband’s favorites, and he’s already gone. There’s no reason to keep these things anymore.”
Tan Rou respected Mrs. Hai Wei’s choice, “Alright, then I’ll help you seal the boxes.”
Mrs. Hai Wei turned out to be very trustworthy. After Tan Rou helped her pack everything, she handed over all the poison formulas to Tan Rou.
Tan Rou glanced briefly at them, and the poisons indeed matched the ingredients they had detected. The only difference was that this recipe included the dosage. Knowing the correct dosage was necessary to create the most effective antidote.
“Thank you,” Tan Rou still expressed gratitude.
“Do me one more favor,” Mrs. Hai Wei said. “Take these things out to the courtyard for me, I need to go upstairs and change my clothes.”
Tan Rou could tell that Mrs. Hai Wei cared about her appearance, so she said, “Sure, go ahead.”
Chapter 1648: 1647 Flame
Mrs. Hai Wei went upstairs to change her clothes, and Tan Rou really did help move her belongings out, though she felt it was a pity to handle such precious items. Still, Tan Rou followed through with Mrs. Hai Wei’s decision.
During the process of moving the items, Tan Rou contacted Samiyi, “We’ve found the person who made the poison, and she’s given me the entire recipe for the antidote.”
“That’s great!” Samiyi was excited, but at the same time, she was very puzzled, “Could it be fake if it was so easily obtained?”
“It shouldn’t be.” Tan Rou replied, “I’ve just verified it; the recipe she gave me is indeed genuine. I don’t know why she did it, but our goal was to get the recipe, and we shouldn’t dwell on other matters.”
“Okay.” Samiyi said, “Then withdraw quickly after you get the recipe to avoid any new troubles, and bring back the person who made the poison.”
“You need to send a few more people to the airport. The person who made the poison plans to leave,” Tan Rou said, “I made a deal with her; if she handed over the recipe, I would let her leave. Although I allowed her to leave here, I never agreed to let her leave the country. Have someone wait at the airport, and when she appears, grab her.”
“Good. Send me her photo and information, and I’ll arrange for people to ambush her at the airport,” Samiyi said.
At this point, Tan Rou couldn’t care less about the agreement. Mrs. Hai Wei had harmed so many people; how could she be allowed to leave Country J so easily? Even on her deathbed, she still had to be held accountable for her deeds.
After Tan Rou had arranged the items, she went to find Mrs. Hai Wei, but as she stepped through the door again, she noticed thick smoke billowing from a room upstairs.
“Not good!” Tan Rou exclaimed in surprise, “There’s a fire!”
She hurriedly called over Tuoray and the others to put out the fire. Since it would take them a while to arrive, Tan Rou fetched a large kettle from the kitchen downstairs and carried water upstairs.
The water from the kettle was hardly effective; by the time she poured a kettle of water over the door, it was already burning hot, and then, the door caught fire.
It was too late. Tan Rou could only go downstairs to douse herself in water and cover her nose and mouth with a wet towel before returning upstairs.
When she kicked open the bedroom door, it was already too late. The room was engulfed in flames, and Tan Rou immediately dodged to the side, otherwise, she too would have been burned by the intense fire.
Since she couldn’t enter the room, Tan Rou could only keep her distance, waiting for the fire to consume it entirely.
As the fire spread outside, Tuoray and his team arrived on the scene. They quickly found containers for water and the fire extinguishers in the house, starting to cool things down and fight the fire.
In the end, the fire consumed only one room. The acrid smell made the team nauseous for a while, and Tan Rou, also covering her nose, looked into the room, only to see a bed that was burned down and an almost entirely charred body on it.
“Damn, there’s a person!” a team member exclaimed in horror, “How tragic!”
Tuoray glared at him, “Shut up!” Then he inquired, “Miss Tan Rou, what do we do now?”
Tan Rou frowned and said, “Send someone to process the scene. Search thoroughly to see if there’s anything of value left.”
“And the body…” Tuoray didn’t want to look again, as it was too gruesome.
“She is the one who made the poison,” Tan Rou stated, “I had intended to capture her for interrogation, but she’s already dead, so there’s no need now. Send her to the crematorium, but pay attention, her body might contain poison.”
“I understand.” Tuoray arranged for people to handle the room.
Tan Rou continued to inspect the room, covering her nose. Suddenly, she felt her foot step on something. Upon looking, it turned out to be half a man’s face.
No wonder Tan Rou hadn’t seen those two standing cards in the dining room; it turned out that she had taken all the standees to her room.
Mrs. Hai Wei was a deeply passionate person. Even though she had killed her own husband, she had loved him for her entire life. If it weren’t for her husband’s infidelity and her daughter’s tragic death, Mrs. Hai Wei would surely have been a very happy woman.
Chapter 1649: 1648 took effect
Mrs. Hai Wei’s death made Tan Rou feel somewhat lost, not only because she failed to capture Mrs. Hai Wei, but also because Mrs. Hai Wei’s story moved her to tears.
Mrs. Hai Wei and her husband were both geniuses, they had a happy family, yet they still lost to reality; love isn’t indestructible, but their love was just too fragile.
With the situation here handled, Tan Rou immediately returned to the palace. She needed to prepare an antidote for Zhuang Liu. As for the antidotes for other poisons, she would let the researchers arranged by Samiyi handle it.
Once the medicine had been prepared, Tan Rou still dared not administer it to Zhuang Liu, “The medicine is ready, but I haven’t experimented with it yet, I don’t dare to use it on you.”
Zhuang Liu said, “Let me try a little bit first, if there’s any adverse reaction, then I won’t use it.”
Tan Rou wanted to find someone to experiment with, but she couldn’t just directly feed poison to healthy people, if she did, how would her actions be different from Mrs. Hai Wei’s?
“Zhuang Liu, have you really thought this through?” Tan Rou asked again.
Zhuang Liu smiled, “Tan Rou, don’t worry, aren’t you by my side? If something unexpected happens, you will definitely save me.”
Tan Rou expressed her worry, “I’m afraid I won’t be able to save you in time.”
“I believe you can do it,” Zhuang Liu reached out his hand, “Give me the medicine.”
Tan Rou took out a syringe, “I’ll inject just a little bit of the medicine for now.”
Zhuang Liu rolled up his sleeve, boldly saying, “Go ahead!”
Tan Rou couldn’t help but laugh and cry, “I’m not trying to kill you.”
Zhuang Liu said, “I’m just encouraging you.”
Zhuang Liu’s encouragement seemed to work, and Tan Rou was no longer so afraid. She inserted the needle into Zhuang Liu’s arm and gently pushed a little bit of the medicine in.
Right after the injection, she asked him how he felt, “Zhuang Liu, how do you feel? Is there any discomfort?”
Zhuang Liu calmly said, “I don’t feel much, I just feel like my body seems lighter, not so uncomfortable anymore.”
“Okay, I got it,” Tan Rou said, “We’ll wait another half hour. If there’s no adverse reaction, then we’ll inject a bit more medicine.”
“Okay.” As Zhuang Liu waited, he talked with Tan Rou. He felt that she was definitely more nervous than him. “Sit down and rest for a bit, let’s chat.”
Tan Rou was extremely nervous, she wasn’t in the mood to chat, but since Zhuang Liu wanted to listen, she would say a bit more.
“Do you remember Mrs. Hai Wei?” Tan Rou asked.
Zhuang Liu certainly remembered her, her double signs were terrifying, he still remembered the faces of those two people.
“Um, she was a very… strange person,” Zhuang Liu commented.
“She’s dead,” Tan Rou said, “She handed over all the antidote formulas to me, then asked me to help her move items. While I was moving them, she chose to commit suicide by fire. By the time I noticed, she was almost completely ashes.”
Zhuang Liu didn’t know what to say, “Moment of silence.”
“She got off too easily,” Tan Rou said, “She made so many poisons, harmed so many people, just dying like that, it’s too simple.”
“In some ways, she was quite formidable,” Zhuang Liu thought back to the last time she fought with him, “Her combat power was not weak, and she was very smart. If she could have applied her knowledge to benefit mankind, she would have achieved great things.”
“Actually, she was also a pitiable person,” Tan Rou shared the story of Mrs. Hai Wei and her husband with Zhuang Liu.
Zhuang Liu said, “That’s too much! That man didn’t deserve to be a husband or a father!”
“Even until the end, Mrs. Hai Wei still loved her husband,” Tan Rou said, “If it weren’t for the accident, they would have been a very happy family.”
“Let’s not dwell on their story anymore.” Zhuang Liu sat up and took Tan Rou’s hand, “Let’s think about our own story instead.”
The time was almost up, and seeing no further reactions from Zhuang Liu’s body, Tan Rou injected a bit more medicine and then waited for it to take effect.
Mrs. Hai Wei’s medicine formula had no issues, Zhuang Liu’s condition indeed got better, so Tan Rou administered all of the medicine.
By nightfall, all the toxins in Zhuang Liu’s body had been completely eliminated.
Chapter 1650: Task 1649 failed
“She didn’t lie to me, this medicine is effective,” Tan Rou said happily, “Zhuang Liu, you won’t have any problems now!”
Zhuang Liu smiled slightly, “I would have been fine anyway because I had you by my side, I believed you could make the antidote.”
“I can’t wait that long,” Tan Rou embraced Zhuang Liu, “I just want you to stand healthy in front of me and talk to me.”
Zhuang Liu kissed her forehead, “Tan Rou, don’t cry, I’m already alright.”
Tan Rou’s tears swirled in her eyes, and upon hearing Zhuang Liu say “don’t cry,” she could no longer hold herself back, “Zhuang Liu, don’t leave me alone!”
The passionate Mrs. Hai Wei made Tan Rou feel scared; Mrs. Hai Wei loved her husband too much, so even though the man was already dead, she still kept his spirit tablet by her side and imitated his voice, as if he were still alive.
Tan Rou felt the same; she couldn’t accept the departure of her loved one, it would cause her immense pain.
“Don’t worry, I won’t leave you alone,” although Zhuang Liu was also worried about this kind of situation occurring, he needed to appear stronger in this moment.
After crying for a little while, Tan Rou wiped away her tears, “Do you want to go for a walk?”
Zhuang Liu glanced at the window and said, “It’s already late, let’s go out tomorrow.”
But Tan Rou said, “It will be very hot during the day tomorrow, let’s go out at night instead, I just saw that there are many stars outside, let’s go watch the stars together.”
Zhuang Liu realized that it had been a long time since he had quietly watched the stars with Tan Rou, so he said, “Alright, let’s go now.”
Tan Rou took Zhuang Liu to the side of the lotus pond; there were many insects at night, but it didn’t matter, Tan Rou had brought a sachet to repel them.
The night was wonderful, with stars in the sky and lotus in the water, the night breeze brought the fragrance of lotus and lotus leaves, it was very comfortable.
Tan Rou leaned on Zhuang Liu’s shoulder and said, “Zhuang Liu, it’s really nice to have you by my side.”
Zhuang Liu wrapped his arms around her waist and tenderly said, “Me too.”
In the twilight, a petite figure stealthily ran past behind them, then headed south, reaching the high walls of the royal palace.
The figure moved very fast, she climbed the high wall barehanded, like an agile gecko, and in a few moments, she had scaled to the other side of the wall. Then taking advantage of the dark night, she quickly left the royal palace.
“Has there been any news from Ina?” Inside the new headquarters, Gand was still awake, more precisely, he couldn’t sleep.
Bata responded, “I sent her a message, but she hasn’t replied to me. Sir, do you think Ina might have encountered trouble? After all, that place is the royal palace, it is surely very dangerous inside.”
Gand didn’t think Ina would have encountered trouble, “I believe Ina will accomplish the mission.”
Just then, Ina came down from the ground, she looked at Gand with a disappointed face and said unhappily, “Uncle Gand, my mission failed.”
Gand remained calm, “My dear child, why did your mission fail?”
Ina explained, “Tan Rou’s food is handled by a special chef, and before each meal, there is a chef who tests her food, so I couldn’t poison her. I had a good opportunity to poison her yesterday, but she didn’t stay there, she left as soon as the tea party started. The poison I administered was consumed by someone else.”
Gand slightly frowned, “Since the mission failed, you should have stayed there longer, why did you come back early?”
Ina said, “I was discovered by Tan Rou, she is a very alert person. I haven’t been seen these days, so she hadn’t noticed my presence. But yesterday, I showed my face at the tea party, and after she noticed me, she immediately had the guards come to capture me. I hid for a long time, and only when it got dark did I dare to come out.”
Gand waved his hand tiredly, “Alright, go back and rest for now. We’ll think of another plan.”
Ina said unhappily, “Uncle Gand, I’m sorry, I wasn’t able to help you.”
Gand didn’t blame Ina, “Don’t be sad, it’s normal for missions to fail, just try your best next time.”
Ina nodded, “Okay. Uncle Gand, I’m going to sleep now.”