Chapter 46: The Constables Suffer the Poison's Wrath

She originally came here to see if there was anything she could do, never expecting such a bountiful harvest.
Mother wants Song Shiwei to get married as soon as possible?
What a simple matter.
Aren't there a few constables around?
They are a perfect match for Song Shiwei.
She guaranteed that she could make Song Shiwei happily get married and fulfill her mother's wish.
Song Shilan cast a chilling glance at the room and turned to look for Third Brother Wang.
To accomplish this task, she would need the help of Third Brother Wang.
……
Late into the night, at the post station.
The post station was now enveloped in silence.
Except for two or three night-watch servants nodding off, everyone else was fast asleep.
Just then, a piercing scream suddenly broke the quiet.
"Ah! It hurts! My whole body hurts so much!"
"Quick, fetch a doctor! I must have been poisoned to feel this kind of pain!"
The first to be awakened was Zhang Huai, who slept in the same room.
When he saw Third Brother Wang and the others rolling on the floor in agony, he raised a hand to wipe away a nonexistent drop of cold sweat.
Fortunately, he was sensible and smart enough not to make things difficult for the Song family like Third Brother Wang and his men did.
Otherwise, he would be the one rolling on the ground in pain right now.
"Third Brother Wang, I warned you long ago not to offend the Song family, but unfortunately, you wouldn't listen."
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, he watched with cold eyes as Third Brother Wang and the others suffered.
Third Brother Wang, in pain so intense it bordered on fainting, had a hard-to-believe thought pop into his head: It was the Song family...
It was that poison!
The poison he had previously assumed didn't exist at all!
"Captain, p-please save us," he begged piteously.
"We, we're practically dying of pain."
Had he known the poison was real, he definitely would have sought a doctor to cure it.
Zhang Huai remarked, "I bet you're thinking about finding a doctor to neutralize this poison."
"Then take a guess, why haven't I looked for a doctor to cure it?"
Third Brother Wang's eyes widened abruptly as he mechanically turned his head toward him. "W-What do you mean?"
Zhang Huai scoffed softly. "Third Brother Wang, aren't you supposed to be quite clever? How come you can't figure this out right now?"
Third Brother Wang didn't fail to understand; rather, he was unwilling to accept that reality.
In his mind, it was impossible for the Song family to possess such formidable capability.
"What's going on here?" Just then, Song Shiwei walked in holding an oil lamp, accompanied by Song Mingting.
"Oh? Is this some new game for you constables?" Song Mingting sneered. "What a novel pastime, rolling around on the floor. Anyone unaware would think you were just toddlers throwing a tantrum."
Having just spoken with his eldest sister, he had learned that these constables had been poisoned and relied on regular doses of an antidote to function.
As expected of his eldest sister, she was truly brilliant.
"Eldest Miss Song! Eldest Miss Song!" Enduring the agonizing pain, Third Brother Wang crawled over to Song Shiwei.
He pleaded, "I beg you, I beg you to give me the antidote."
"It hurts so much, I'm in so much pain."
Ignoring him entirely, Song Shiwei turned her gaze toward the doorway.
Song Shilan stood there in terror, looking at Song Shiwei as if gazing upon a malevolent ghost.
"Y-You guys..." She was trembling so violently she couldn't complete a single sentence.
Woken up by the blood-curdling screams in the middle of the night, she had rushed over to see what was happening, hoping for a chance to scheme against Song Shiwei once more.
Never did she expect to witness this scene.
The corners of Song Shiwei's lips curved upward slightly as she cast a faint, condescending glance at her. "What are you doing here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"
Against the flickering candlelight, her expression carried a cold chill, which, combined with her tone, sent a shiver straight down Song Shilan's spine.
"I, I, I heard the screams and came over to, to see what was going on."
Acting as though she hadn't noticed Song Shilan's anomaly, Song Shiwei merely replied with an "oh," then added, "Take your time watching, then."
"There's still half the night left, more than enough time for you to watch the spectacle."
Unable to hold back any longer, Song Shilan took a few steps back and bolted away. The current Song Shiwei was simply too terrifying.
She could not stay there another second.
"She's scared already?" Song Mingting rolled his eyes, utterly speechless. "Usually, isn't she malicious enough to do anything?"
Song Shiwei smiled without a word. Song Shilan was simply the type of person who had the thieving ambition but lacked the guts.
Looking down at Third Brother Wang and the others, she said unhurriedly, "I am giving you a chance to survive, and it entirely depends on how you choose to act."
Third Brother Wang hurriedly answered, "I am willing to do anything, I only ask that Eldest Miss Song spare my life."
Song Shiwei chuckled softly.
The laugh lacked any hint of warmth, sending a bone-chilling shiver through Third Brother Wang and his men.
How warped had their minds been earlier to think the Song family was easy to deal with?
"Don't harbor any delusions of curing this poison yourselves," Song Shiwei stated.
"This is a very unique toxin. Unless you can find a physician whose medical skills rival those of the imperial doctors, you will never be able to detoxify it."
The poisons in her spatial dimension were originally items she had prepared for self-defense.
Therefore, she had specifically sent people to acquire rare ingredients through imperial doctors and renowned physicians.
Though Third Brother Wang remained somewhat skeptical, he knew that securing the antidote was paramount right now.
"Eldest Miss Song, please give me the antidote. I swear I will never do anything improper again."
He would take the antidote first, then search for a doctor to cleanse the poison later.
If no doctor could cure it, he would simply ask Princess Anning for help.
Without needing to guess, Song Shiwei knew exactly what was running through his mind.
Without exposing him, she said, "Now, I ask, and you answer."
"If you utter a single falsehood or conceal even a single word, you will not receive the antidote and will die howling in agony."
No matter how angry Third Brother Wang and the others felt, they dared not show the slightest trace of it at this moment.
"Eldest Miss Song, please ask."
Watching the men writhe in torment, Song Shiwei remained entirely impassive. "How did you come into contact with Princess Anning's people, and what did Princess Anning ask you to do?"
"Tell me everything you know."
She needed to verify certain suspicions.
The men hastily began to speak.
"I was threatened by a man in black while visiting the outhouse. He said he was Princess Anning's man and ordered me to get rid of Eldest Miss Song by any means necessary."
"I couldn't sleep that night and was wandering around alone when I ran into someone. He told me to eliminate everyone in the Song family, promising rewards once it was done. I don't know who he is, and he didn't say."
Song Shiwei suspected it might be the Qin family, the Cui family, or perhaps another household.
There were plenty of people who wanted her family dead, but none of them would be foolish enough to harm her family openly.
"How do you contact the other party?"
Third Brother Wang replied, "I cannot contact them; I have to wait for them to initiate contact with me."
This answer did not surprise Song Shiwei.
After asking a few more questions, she realized that Third Brother Wang and his accomplices were mere pawns who knew virtually nothing of substance.
To be as utterly dense as Third Brother Wang and his gang was a rarity indeed.
She tossed a few pills onto the floor and said coldly, "These are temporary antidotes. You must take them once every half month."
"If you disobey, there will be no antidote next time, and you will be left to suffer a painful death."
The men scrambled to pick up the pills from the floor, eagerly shoving them into their mouths.
Giving Zhang Huai a brief glance, Song Shiwei walked out of the room with Song Mingting.
"Eldest Sister, are we just going to leave it at this?" Song Mingting asked, deeply unsatisfied.