Chapter 234: Chapter 141: Mother, Why Are You Here?

"Mother, this is the first time I, your son-in-law, have ever seen you so incredibly fierce." Lu Yuan wasn’t scared; after all, seeing a giant snake tail was nothing new to him.

Su Liyan’s mother said, "Not at all, not at all. It’s been many years since I’ve had to use my martial skills. I’m quite rusty."

Watching Lu Yuan’s family talking and laughing, Gu Gaoxu was quite bewildered.

Lu Yuan had just arrived in the Imperial Capital and had yet to make a public appearance, so how had the Jinyi Guard already targeted him?

’The Emperor’s Jinyi Guard certainly are resourceful.’

’Wait a minute... could that old coot the Emperor be after me?’ Gu Gaoxu’s thoughts shifted. ’That has to be it. They’re here to investigate me.’

Gu Gaoxu didn’t say much more, just patted Lu Yuan’s shoulder and slipped away.

’Best to just stay in my room at a time like this.’

Lu Yuan watched Gu Gaoxu slip away and said nothing. He had already figured it out.

’My party has been targeted by the Emperor’s men after all.’

After Gu Gaoxu left, Lu Yuan had the Zhao Family Guards withdraw as well.

The reason Su Liyan’s mother hadn’t immediately reverted to her human form in front of everyone was that she’d been careless during the fight. A white-foreheaded tiger had torn her coarse-spun skirt with its claws.

In front of so many people, Su Liyan’s mother would rather let them see a bit of her snake tail than expose her legs.

Su Liyan’s mother reverted to her human form, sighing, "I suppose I was a bit careless..."

As she spoke, she leaned against the doorframe of the side room and sank weakly onto the steps in front of the door.

Lu Yuan and Su Liyan noticed at a glance the three shallow scratch marks on the torn hem of her coarse-spun skirt.

Lu Yuan’s heart sank. ’The scratches... they’re poisoned!’

Su Liyan’s mother said, "It’s nothing, it’s nothing. I’m just getting old, not as nimble as I used to be." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

In the past, dealing with a few Xingzi like these would have been a piece of cake for Su Liyan’s mother.

Su Liyan panicked. Growing up, she had never seen her mother in a real fight. She never imagined her mother would be hurt by that damn creature. ’And I don’t know how to cure poison!’

But Lu Yuan was experienced. With memories from his past life and the knowledge from the *Medical Heart*, Lu Yuan knew exactly what to do when someone was bitten or wounded by something poisonous.

Lu Yuan didn’t speak. He gently helped his mother-in-law up and into the side room to lie down.

Lu Yuan comforted his wife, "It’s alright, honey. Just follow my instructions. I’ll handle this."

"Mother, lie flat and stay still. Liyan, find a rope and tie it tightly above the wound to slow the spread of the poison."

Su Liyan listened to her husband and did exactly as she was told.

Lu Yuan brought out a saline solution he had prepared himself and gave it to his wife.

Following Lu Yuan’s directions, Su Liyan evenly applied the saline solution to the wound, layer by layer.

"It’s still not enough," Lu Yuan said with concern. "There’s not enough time to decoct the right herbs to neutralize the venom. The top priority right now is to suck some of it out."

Sucking out the venom wasn’t the best method, but right now, every little bit they could get out was better than nothing.

Of course, the best way would be to identify the venom and find the corresponding antidote.

’In my previous life, the antidote for this would have been antivenom. Injecting it immediately was the most critical step!’

After all, Lu Yuan hadn’t had time to study the venom from the scratches, so he could only use a crude method to alleviate the symptoms for now.

Lu Yuan could easily fashion a small suction device.

It would be like one of those little gadgets used to help a new mother’s milk come in so she can feed her baby.

Making such a small device wasn’t difficult for Lu Yuan at all. The hard part was controlling its suction strength.

Too much suction would create excessive pressure on the area, hindering the wound’s ability to heal.

’That leaves only one option: sucking the poison out by mouth.’

Lu Yuan explained all this in front of his wife and mother-in-law.

"I’ll do it!" Su Liyan said resolutely, a trace of fortitude showing in the eyes of the normally delicate woman.

"Absolutely not! You’re carrying our baby. Sucking it out by mouth is too risky. I haven’t had a chance to study the nature of this venom yet. Don’t be reckless." Lu Yuan turned and put out a hand to stop his wife.

"Mother, circumstances leave me no choice. Please forgive me!" Lu Yuan said as he knelt.

Lu Yuan lifted the coarse skirt higher. A small extraction tool had appeared in his hand at some point, and he used it to dab at the wound, collecting a sample of the venom.

"Hnngh~"

Su Liyan’s mother couldn’t help but cry out from the sharp pain in her leg.

"I’m starting now, Mother." Lu Yuan couldn’t afford to worry about propriety at a time like this. He gently began to suck the venom from the wound on his mother-in-law’s upper thigh.

This action from Lu Yuan caused both Su Liyan and her mother to blush.

It was hard to tell if they were blushing from embarrassment at the sight or, in one case, from the act itself.

Afterward, Lu Yuan quickly formulated an antidote based on his Medical Book. With the prescribed dose of a freshly decocted brew three times a day, the venom would be completely purged within a few days.

...

SLAP!

The Garrison Commander of the Southern Town Patrol Department sat in his chair, watching as the Central Guard Households Commander slapped the Vice Households Commander across the face.

The Vice Households Commander was aggrieved but couldn’t voice it. A blunder like this had never occurred on a surveillance mission before.

’I don’t get it,’ the Vice Households Commander thought. ’How could the Xingzi I sent out, with over six hundred years of cultivation, possibly have been discovered?’

The Vice Households Commander hadn’t been on the scene himself. He only heard later from his Xingzi that there was a master from the Half-demon Race among that group.

The Vice Households Commander could only report the matter truthfully.

"If the Xingzi under your command have such shallow cultivation, then don’t make excuses," the Households Commander said.

"Alright, that’s enough. The matter ends here," the Garrison Commander of the Southern Town Patrol Department said with a wave of his hand.

The Garrison Commander of the Southern Town Patrol Department knew the simple surveillance operation had failed, so he saw no need to say anything further.

To the Garrison Commander, the fact that someone was able to detect the Xingzi meant a powerful expert had come to the Imperial Capital.

’And my subordinate’s incompetence has tipped our hand!’

Their primary mission was still to secretly investigate Gu Gaoxu, the Crown Prince of Yan.

「Several days later, at dawn.」

Su Liyan’s mother got out of bed and stretched her limbs.

She had now completely recovered, all thanks to her son-in-law’s profound medical skills.

Su Liyan’s mother suddenly thought of something.

’My son-in-law knows medicine... He could go to the Imperial Capital’s city gate and accept the imperial notice!’

’As a member of the Half-demon Race, I have received so much protection from Empress Ma. Didn’t I come here precisely so I could stand on the soil of the Imperial Capital and pay my respects to her?’

’What if my son-in-law could actually save Empress Ma with his medical skills?’

Shaking her head, Su Liyan’s mother sighed to herself, ’Ah, to think I’ll have to trouble my good son-in-law yet again.’

’Still, I should ask my son-in-law about this in person.’

Lost in thought, Su Liyan’s mother pushed open the door to Lu Yuan’s room.

So lost in thought was she that she completely forgot to knock.

Su Liyan’s mother looked up.

The sight that met her eyes was clothes scattered all over the floor, with her daughter’s jade-white tail coiled around Lu Yuan’s waist, conveniently obscuring a certain vital area.

Her daughter and son-in-law were both fast asleep, their mouths open as they snored away.

’This is so awkward!’

’Young people these days sure do sleep in!’

Just as Su Liyan’s mother was about to slowly back out of the room, she startled Su Liyan awake.

Su Liyan was still groggy with sleep. In their passion the night before, she had forgotten to bolt the door.

The moment she woke up, Su Liyan instinctively retracted her large tail.

"Ah!" Realization dawned on Su Liyan, and she quickly tugged the blanket over to cover her husband.

’This is even more awkward!’

"Mother, what are you doing here?" Su Liyan asked as she rose, wrapping a small blanket around herself and stepping onto the floor with her small, jade-like bare feet.

"It’s nothing—no, I mean, it is something." Su Liyan’s mother was momentarily tongue-tied, unsure of how to start.

Su Liyan picked up the clothes scattered on the floor and slowly got dressed underneath the small blanket.

"You two get dressed first. I’ll come back for you in a little while." Even though Su Liyan’s mother had been through thick and thin and had certainly seen her own husband’s family jewels, she was still flustered when faced with a situation like this.

’But I barged into my own daughter and son-in-law’s room! If word of this got out... how could I ever show my face in public again!’

"Mother... what brings you here~"