Ye Qing bustled into Shuiyue Cottage, and after a flurry of activity, sat down to rest with a cup of tea.
Last night, he had been brought by the King of Qin to diagnose Xiao Man, and today he was brought by the butler to diagnose Xiao Man again. What was going on?
"Doctor Ye, Eldest Miss..."
"Eldest Miss is very weak and cannot be stimulated. What did Concubine Lin do to cause Eldest Miss to faint?" Su Dan Novel Network
Concubine Lin glared at Ye Qing with her almond-shaped eyes.
"I... I harmed Eldest Miss..."
"Concubine Lin, it's not that I'm speaking ill of you, but Fourth Miss is unconscious from poisoning. Instead of staying by Fourth Miss's side to take care of her, you ran over to stimulate Eldest Miss. What are your intentions?"
Ye Qing's tone was calm, making it difficult to discern his emotions, but his words were unpleasant.
"I..." Concubine Lin was truly speechless. She had merely intended to trap Eldest Miss and find out if Eldest Miss had poisoned Fourth Miss. Who knew that Eldest Miss was so frail that she fainted. Could it be that she had guessed wrong? Was it not Eldest Miss who poisoned Fourth Miss?
Although she was filled with suspicion, she said, "I did not."
"What happened?" the Old Madam's stern voice echoed. Concubine Lin flinched, and the tears she had just held back welled up again.
"Old Madam, what should this lowly one do? Fourth Miss's poison has not been resolved. This lowly one is worried that Eldest Miss will suffer the same fate as Fourth Miss. Out of concern, I came to check, and who knew Eldest Miss would faint."
Concubine Lin cried sadly, truly heartbroken. She had gone to ask Cen Yu for the antidote, and Cen Yu had told her that what she was given was the antidote.
As for pansies, there were no pansies in either the poison or the antidote. Concubine Lin then realized that the poison Fourth Miss had taken was not "Drunken Immortality." However, the person who administered the poison must be someone within the mansion.
Third Miss had gone out of the mansion to find a renowned physician and had not met Fourth Miss. Second Miss and the Third Concubine controlled the power within the mansion. If anyone could successfully deceive her into poisoning Fourth Miss, then these two were the most suspicious.
The remaining person was Eldest Miss.
Eldest Miss sensed her poisoning and retaliated in kind. She had come today to test Eldest Miss, who knew it would turn out this way.
"Knowing that Eldest Miss's health is poor, Concubine Lin still came to Shuiyue Cottage to cry and make a scene. Are you afraid my young lady will not die?" Qiu Tong said tearfully, her every word directed at Concubine Lin.
The Old Madam looked at the unconscious Xiao Man, then at the wronged Concubine Lin, "Go back and take good care of Fourth Miss. Do not come to Shuiyue Cottage to make trouble if there's nothing else."
"Yes, Old Madam."
Qiu Tong watched Concubine Lin swagger out of Shuiyue Cottage, seething inwardly.
If the General were present, Concubine Lin would not have gotten away with coming to Shuiyue Cottage to cause trouble. Instead, the Old Madam had dismissed the matter so lightly.
"Doctor Ye, how is Eldest Daughter? Was she poisoned like Fourth Daughter?" the Old Madam asked calmly. Lin Wanwan would not have come to Shuiyue Cottage to cause trouble without reason. Could it be that Fourth Daughter's poisoning was related to Eldest Daughter?
"Forgive my incompetence, I cannot determine if Eldest Miss has been poisoned..." Ye Qing seemed to recall something. He took out a needle case from his medical bag and extracted a slender silver needle, pricking it into the Tianjing acupoint on Xiao Man's arm. When the needle was pulled out, its color had changed. "Eldest Miss has also been poisoned!"
"The same poison as Fourth Sister?"
"On the surface, it's the same, but the medicinal properties are different." Ye Qing frowned. "Initially, Eldest Miss's body was weak, and I thought it was due to the assassination attempt in the palace, which had fundamentally injured her, leading to her frailty. I never imagined it was poisoning."
"Then Fourth Sister..."
"Fourth Miss and Eldest Miss were not poisoned by the same thing. Someone must have fed Fourth Miss something midway, causing it to clash with the poison within Fourth Miss's body, thus manifesting the poisoning symptoms externally."
Although the Old Madam was irritable and easily provoked, she was not foolish. "What did she eat?"
"I examined Fourth Miss's blood. It should have been something to detoxify, but one of the ingredients clashed with the poison Fourth Miss had taken."
The Old Madam instantly understood. It was likely that Xiao Man's poison was administered by Lin Wanwan. It was just that she didn't know why Fourth Miss was also poisoned. Lin Wanwan, thinking Fourth Miss had the same poison as Xiao Man, gave Fourth Miss the antidote, which backfired.
"Take good care of Eldest Miss."
After the Old Madam left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Xiao Man, who was lying on the bed.
Xiao Man slowly opened her eyes, her clear, limpid eyes filled with gratitude. "Doctor Ye, thank you for helping me again."
Ye Qing left helplessly. As the renowned King of Medicine, he had now become a charlatan. It seemed he must demand double the compensation from Nangong Yu. Staying by this girl's side was a constant source of anxiety, either worrying about her being harmed or acting as an accomplice when she was harming others!
Xiao Man sat up. "Concubine Lin is not foolish, but her cleverness has backfired."
"Miss, Concubine Lin has dismissed her suspicion of you. Isn't that a good thing?"
"A good thing?" Xiao Man smiled sweetly. "They are heartless in their mother-daughter relationship, but I cannot be a heartless person. Yingxue, go and brew two bowls of medicine. We'll have to send one to Concubine Lin later. As for which one is the true antidote, it will depend on her luck."
After leaving Shuiyue Cottage, the Old Madam did not return to her main courtyard but went to Concubine Lin's residence. Third Miss was young and still lived in the same courtyard as Concubine Lin.
"Old Madam."
The Old Madam looked at Granny Xu. Granny Xu immediately asked everyone else in the room to leave, leaving only the Old Madam and Concubine Lin.
"Bring out the antidote," the Old Madam said directly.
"What antidote?" Concubine Lin feigned ignorance. This was the Old Madam's test, and she absolutely could not reveal any flaws.
The Old Madam slammed the table in anger. "Lin Wanwan, do you really think I'm easily fooled? Doctor Ye said that someone gave Fourth Miss something to detoxify, which led to Fourth Miss's poisoning. You were the one who poisoned Eldest Miss, weren't you? I don't want to pursue past matters. Bring out the antidote, or when Zhen'er returns, no one will be able to save you and your son."
"Old Madam, this lowly one..."
"If you refuse to hand over the antidote, I will have no choice but to hand you over to the authorities. At that time, Fourth Miss may not survive either."
Concubine Lin's eyelids twitched. Finally, she gritted her teeth and produced the antidote, handing it to the nanny by the Old Madam's side.
The Old Madam took it, stood up, and walked out. "I know you resent Eldest Daughter for implicating Fourth Sister. This is the only time poisoning will be tolerated. If there is a next time, I will not forgive you!"
"This lowly one remembers."
After the Old Madam left, she handed the medicine to Granny Xu. "Go back and have someone brew a bowl of aged ginseng soup. Use the thousand-year-old ginseng from the storehouse. Mix the medicine into it and send it to Eldest Miss. Make sure she drinks it and does not cause any further complications."
"Yes, Old Madam."