He Crosses the River and Wants to Tear Down His Own Bridge

"General." Grace scrambled up and knelt down. "I swear I didn't drug you! Aren't you immune to all poisons? No matter what I use, it wouldn't work on you!"

Evan Xiao thought about it and frowned. "Just get out!" he told her.

"The bandage..." Grace pointed at his back.

"Get out!"

Grace: "..."

Fine, she wasn't going to overthink it.

He really was picking a fight on purpose, targeting her.

Chen Shishi's face was almost healed. Now that he'd crossed the river, he wanted to tear down the bridge.

It had to be that...

...

Soon, news of Sean Sun being beaten to death with a staff spread throughout the entire General's Manor.

When Ruby heard it was Lily Bai and Cecilia Chen who reported him, she went crazy, grabbed a kitchen knife, and stormed straight to Grace's room to fight her.

But how could she possibly be a match for Grace?

In just a couple moves, Grace snatched the knife away and kicked Ruby out of the Frostmoon Quarters, slamming the door shut with a loud "Bang!"

From outside came the sound of Ruby crying and pounding on the door, but Grace just pretended not to hear.

After a while, Ruby must've gotten tired and finally went back.

Grace let out a sigh of relief.

With Ruby's brother out of the picture, she could finally relax.

As for Ruby, without her brother as a guard and now sent off to the stables, she probably wouldn't be causing any more trouble, right?

If she really quieted down, Grace might just let her off the hook.

If she still didn't settle down, Grace wouldn't mind going all out to finish her off...

...

By late August, the weather was a bit more bearable than the recent scorching heat.

Still, it was hot enough that just moving around made you break out in a sweat.

Usually, when Evan Xiao returned from court, Grace would have someone prepare his bathwater, lay out fresh clothes, and invite him to bathe and change.

She'd go out and brew a pot of his favorite iced tea, taking care of everything down to the last detail.

Even though she'd never actually served anyone before, being surrounded by maids and old nannies all her life meant she picked it up without even trying.

Evan Xiao's injury had mostly healed, so he still went out to court or the military camp every day.

That day, when he came back, Grace did her usual routine: ordered the bathwater, grabbed the clean clothes from the laundry, set them in the bathhouse, laid out soap and towels, and then left.

Evan Xiao didn't even let anyone help him change clothes, so of course he wouldn't let her assist with his bath.

After leaving, she carefully brewed a pot of tea for Evan Xiao.

Medicine and food go hand in hand. Many Spiritual Alchemists are also masters of cuisine and tea.

Chloe Zhu was no exception.

She was highly skilled in the art of tea. Even though she currently had no spiritual power, her tea was still leagues above anyone else's.

After brewing the tea, Grace poured herself a cup as a little reward.

Suddenly, her fingers started itching and hurting.

Not only did they itch and ache, but two big welts appeared, oozing pus and blood from the top.

"Huh?" Grace looked closely. This reaction... was just like being stung by a Mystic Bee!

The Mystic Bee is a spirit insect. Its sting causes unbearable itching and pain, swelling and pus.

In Eastwood Forest, if you accidentally provoke a swarm of Mystic Bees, it's absolutely terrifying. Even the most skilled cultivators would struggle to escape.

She took out some special medicine for bee venom from her storage and applied it. The pus-filled welts quickly disappeared.

It really was Mystic Bee venom!

Once extracted, Mystic Bee venom takes about half a quarter-hour to take effect when it touches the skin.

So, if she traced back from when the symptoms started... what had she touched half a quarter-hour ago?

Grace's face suddenly changed.

Evan Xiao's clothes!