novelden Chapter 130 Poisoning
Chapter 130 Poisoning
At this moment, in Ji Yan's courtyard.
Ji Yan was pale and dazed, his consciousness somewhat blurred; while Du Ruo and Xiao Zhu were already barely breathing and on the verge of death.
The doctor had just finished inducing vomiting in Ji Yan and the others when the servant who had been attending to Ji Yan anxiously stepped forward and asked, "Doctor, how is my master?"
"Alas!" The doctor sighed, shook his head, and then explained, "Although the old master's poisoning is not severe, his health was damaged beforehand, and I'm afraid his days are numbered..."
After saying that, she looked at Du Ruo and Xiao Zhu Shi on the other side and added, "As for those two young men, they are too deeply poisoned and there is no way to save them."
The servant completely ignored what the doctor said about Du Ruo and the other person's condition. As soon as he heard that Ji Yan didn't have much time left, he couldn't help but sob softly.
Ling Huanan had just arrived at Ji Yan's door when he overheard the doctor's words. He hurried inside, his steps quickening.
Upon entering the room, he went straight to Ji Yan, looking at the person lying on the bed with a furrowed brow.
"Your Majesty."
"The common people have met the prince."
When the servants and doctors inside saw Ling Huanan arrive, they all stood up and bowed.
"Hmm." Ling Huanan waved his hand to indicate that there was no need for formalities, then looked at Ji Yan, who seemed to be in bad shape, and asked, "How are they?"
"Your Highness, judging from the pulse, it is poisoning," the doctor reported truthfully, enduring Ling Huanan's sharp gaze.
"Do you know what kind of poison it is? Is there an antidote?" Ling Huanan asked again.
"The cause of this poisoning depends on what the distinguished guests ate and used today, and the same applies to the detoxification," the doctor said, shaking his head.
"Investigate." Ling Huanan uttered a single word to his deputy, his face dark with anger. Such a thing had happened right under his nose.
The deputy general accepted the order and led several guards and the people who had served the master in the courtyard that day away. Before long, they brought up everything that the three of them had eaten and used that day.
Ling Huanan turned his gaze to the doctor, who immediately stepped forward tremblingly and picked up each item one by one to smell them. When he picked up the bowl of chicken soup, his expression changed drastically.
"How is it?" Ling Huanan could roughly guess from the other party's expression.
"Your Highness...this soup contains...it contains 'Soul-Severing Curse'." After the doctor finished speaking, he felt the pressure above his head increase even more.
The adjutant standing nearby looked at the chicken soup and felt a chill run down his spine. If the prince hadn't been unwell that morning, he would have almost drunk it himself...
"Are you sure?" Ling Huanan's voice was filled with anger.
"Well... I traveled to various countries with my master in my younger days and was fortunate enough to witness this 'Soul-Severing Sorrow' once. There's no mistake about it," the doctor said confidently.
Upon hearing this, Ling Huanan clenched his fists, thinking that this was probably aimed at him.
The secret medicine of the Northern Wilderness, 'Soul-Severing Grief'!
This medicine is a secret remedy from the Northern Wilderness. If administered to a woman, the poison will not take effect immediately. Instead, it will travel along her meridians throughout her body. After death, apart from her poisoned blood, she will show no other abnormalities. Moreover, who would think of taking a blood sample after a person dies? It can truly be done without anyone noticing...
However, it is completely different when used on men. One of the drugs, called "Intestine-Severing," interacts with "Autumn Stone" secreted in a man's body, which can directly cause intestinal rupture and death.
The lieutenant rushed forward, indignant: "Your Highness, this is clearly aimed at you..."
Before he could finish speaking, Ling Huanan raised his hand to stop him.
Then, Ling Huanan glanced worriedly at Ji Yan on the bed and asked:
"Is there any solution?"
Doctor: "There is...no solution."
"I understand." Although the result was within Ling Huanan's expectations, she still couldn't help but feel disappointed.
After the doctor left, Ling Huanan summoned his personal guards and ordered them to go to the palace to fetch the imperial physician, and also ordered his deputy to thoroughly investigate the matter.
A short while later, the deputy general led his personal guards to throw the servants of the Prince's mansion into the courtyard and reported to Ling Huanan: "Your Highness, all those who had contact with this soup today have been brought here."
None of the people in the courtyard knew what they had done wrong, but the fact that the Prince's mansion was making such a big fuss today must mean that it was no small matter.
Sure enough, after the deputy general recounted the whole story, the people kneeling on the ground all turned pale. If the murderer could not be found, these suspects who had been in contact with him would also be doomed.
"Since no one confesses, kill them all! Also, bring their families along. Since we're going to go, it's better to have them all together."
Ling Huanan stared at the people on the ground. Most of these people were servants, and it was impossible for them to disregard the lives of their families to do such a thing. Therefore, she had to add fuel to the fire and make them testify against each other!
"Yes."
Seeing that Ling Huanan's personal guards were really going to take their families away, everyone panicked and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Your Highness, we're innocent..."
At this moment, a middle-aged woman scrambled forward, kowtowing and pleading, "Your Highness, spare me! It's...it's Second Madam..."
The middle-aged woman was the head chef in the Prince's mansion kitchen, known as Granny Wang. She had served the Prince's mansion for many years, and it was said that her husband had recently given birth to a big, fat baby girl.
She herself was no loss, but she only had one daughter, and it was truly difficult for her to part with her...
So she embellished her story about seeing Lin Dafeng sneaking out of the kitchen. Now, no matter what, the blame had to be placed on Lin Dafeng.
Besides, she did see Lin Dafeng leave the kitchen in a panic today, but Lin Dafeng was known for being lazy, gluttonous and cunning in the household, so it wasn't impossible for her to sneak food from the kitchen. Therefore, she didn't think much of it at the time.
But now that I think about it, Lin Dafeng's appearance at the time was indeed quite suspicious!
……
This story begins two hours earlier:
At Ji Yan's request, Ling Huanan and Lin Dafeng's family were to have a meal together at his courtyard every five days. However, Ling Huanan was feeling unwell today, so he sent someone to tell Ji Yan that he would not be going.
Upon learning this, Ji Yan instructed the servants beside him, "Have the kitchen prepare an extra bowl of old hen and yam soup to replenish my Nan'er's energy and blood."
After the servant left to carry out the order, Lin Dafeng's eyes darted around, and she stood up as well, making up an excuse to follow him out.
After so many days, she finally got her chance!
Now, Lin Dafeng, since returning with the medicine that day, has been searching for an opportunity to administer it to Ling Huanan for over ten days. Hearing Ji Yanruo's words today, she felt as if a golden opportunity had been bestowed upon her!
When she arrived at the kitchen, everyone was busy at work. With so many people around, she didn't dare to take any risks and just watched from a distance.
Fortunately, the old hen soup was a newly added dish. While the other dishes were being prepared and everyone was busy serving them, the soup was still simmering.
Just when she was getting impatient, the opportunity finally came.
Wang Pozi, who was cooking soup, went to the outhouse. She quickly went into the kitchen, poured the medicine into the chicken soup that was simmering on the fire, and then hurriedly ran out of the Wang Mansion.
She didn't know when the drug would take effect, but she cleverly tried to create an alibi for herself.
But she didn't expect that when Granny Wang returned, she washed her hands and muttered as she watched her retreating figure:
"He's stealing food again. I really don't understand why the old master favors such a rascal..."
She never expected that Ling Huanan, lacking appetite, wouldn't drink the soup, which would instead lead to Ji Yan and Du Ruo suffering as a result...
Fortunately, Ji Yan was old and should not eat too much, so he only drank a small sip;
Although Du Ruo and Xiao Zhu had been in the Prince's mansion for a long time, they still retained their petty and narrow-minded nature. Whenever there was something good, they wanted to devour it all...
That's how the scene at the beginning came about.
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