Finished speaking, she walked towards a domed tent standing apart from the many others.
Lu Qingwan, with her sharp eyes, noticed that this tent was covered with thick felt, and even the sides were enclosed with felt.
Recalling that Lian Yu had said Lu Zhenting couldn't be stimulated, her heart warmed. "You've gone to great lengths."
Lian Yu shook his head. "I haven't done much. The Prince has worked hard, and his inner strength has been greatly depleted these past few days. If the Consort has any methods for this, perhaps after examining Marquis Lu, you could also adjust the Prince's inner energy."
Lu Qingwan nodded. "I will."
After speaking, she lifted the thick felt curtain and saw Feng Xiwu sitting cross-legged behind Lu Zhenting, facing the entrance, in a posture of circulating energy to heal. His eyes, however, were fixed on the doorway, clearly having heard her voice but unable to move. He looked like a child eager to run into their parent's arms for comfort but forced to endure.
Lu Qingwan's heart melted at the sight. She tiptoed over and mouthed "You've worked hard." Then, she took Lu Zhenting's wrist to check his pulse. The moment she felt it, she was so startled she almost cried out. Suppressing a gasp, she looked at Lu Zhenting, whose eyes were tightly shut, in disbelief. Tears immediately welled up in her almond-shaped eyes.
Feng Xiwu panicked. He couldn't let go of Lu Zhenting's hand and became extremely anxious. He repeatedly whispered to Lu Qingwan, "What's wrong?"
Lu Qingwan blinked hard and then spoke, "Stop. Father's illness has nothing to do with inner strength."
Feng Xiwu breathed a sigh of relief and quickly withdrew his hand. He moved to Lu Qingwan's side, embracing her and asking nervously, "What's going on? Why are you crying? Is Father-in-law's poison very serious?"
"It's not poison, it's an illness, rabies." Lu Qingwan retrieved a rabies vaccine from her spatial laboratory, injected it into Lu Zhenting, and then asked, "Was Father bitten by a dog recently?"
"No, absolutely not." Lian Yu shook his head. "After Marquis Lu fell ill, Duan Yue and I investigated all his movements since leaving the capital. We found no record of him being bitten by a dog."
Lu Qingwan fell into thought. Before she could figure anything out, an alarm suddenly blared from her spatial laboratory. "Alert, rabies virus detected approaching!"
As he finished speaking, Li Su lifted the curtain and poked his head in. The moment he stepped inside, Lu Qingwan urgently said, "Don't come in."
Li Su froze in shock. Lu Qingwan walked over and, following the spatial laboratory's alert, opened the package Li Su had brought. As expected, the target was a lumbar support that she had asked Man Chun to make for Lu Zhenting. Silently, she took out a sealed bag and sealed the lumbar support in it. Then, she asked Li Su, "Who else has touched this package?"
Li Su immediately guessed that the lumbar support was problematic and stated decisively, "From when Man Chun gave it to you, it passed through your hands, Miss Chi, and mine – just the three of us."
Feng Xiwu grew alert. "A'wan, is there something wrong with this lumbar support?"
"It has a drug that can induce rabies, and the concentration is very high."
Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed drastically. Li Su immediately guessed, "On the way here, Miss Chi kept saying she was a burden and wanted to share some of your load. But besides this package, you had nothing else on you. Now that I think about it, could she have done it on purpose?"
Lu Qingwan pondered for a moment and shook her head. "No, it wouldn't be Yao Yao. Besides the three of us, someone else touched this package."
Li Su understood her implication. "Are you referring to those refugees?"
Lu Qingwan nodded. "Do you remember that most of the refugees were old, weak, women, and children, but there were also a few able-bodied men who seemed injured."
"I remember now!" Li Su nodded vigorously. "Some of them had their legs bandaged, and some were using crutches, but when they snatched our package, they raised their crutches. At the time, I thought they were young people pretending to be injured to avoid being conscripted. Now, I think they might have been waiting there specifically to act. It was only when Miss Chi gave dry rations to the refugee children that the ensuing commotion allowed them to slip away."
Feng Xiwu stated decisively, "Li Su, immediately sketch portraits of those few refugees and have them searched for." If those refugees couldn't be found, it would mean Lu Qingwan's conjecture was accurate. First, they poisoned Lu Zhenting, then they set a trap to alienate the couple, and now they had even lured Lu Qingwan to Saibei. It was a chain of events, one more insidious than the last.
Li Su immediately accepted the order and left. Feng Xiwu raised an eyebrow. "You trust Chi Yaoyao that much?"
Lu Qingwan recounted Chi Jingchuan's entrustment and the actions of the two Grand Academicians of the Chi family to Feng Xiwu. "It's not that I blindly trust people. I had people verify the things Yao Yao mentioned, and those things did indeed happen. The two officials would rather let their only daughter elope with me than become puppets of Feng Qingheng. I believe Yao Yao wouldn't harm me."
Feng Xiwu remained noncommittal. "It doesn't matter how Father-in-law contracted this rabies. What matters is, can this illness be cured?"
"It can be cured, but as you've seen the process of Father's illness, he will still endure a year of such torment before a complete recovery. For someone like him, this is not just physical torment; it is humiliation, a profound disgrace! I must find the person who made him contract this illness and make them wish they were dead!"
Seeing her so agitated, Feng Xiwu knew that words of comfort would be hollow at this moment. He then unleashed his "magic attack." "News from the palace recently says that Feng Qingheng's蛊 poison has recurred, almost causing him to fall off the dragon throne in front of the civil and military officials. He can't sleep for entire nights and dares not post an imperial decree to summon doctors. Is he forcing you to return and treat him?"
Lu Qingwan froze, her expression one of utter bewilderment. Seeing this, Feng Xiwu added fuel to the fire. "Bei Mingxue is also suffering greatly from the Qing Jiang Tong Ming Gu. She is even trying to get that seventh-level martial artist who pursued you to find a way to break the蛊 for her, or she will refuse to cooperate with them. It's clear she can't bear the torment of the蛊 anymore."
Lu Qingwan looked at him speechlessly. "What are you trying to say by telling me all this?"
Feng Xiwu declared self-righteously, "Think about it, the two people you despise the most are suffering the same torment as your Father-in-law. Does that make you feel any better?"
Lu Qingwan turned her head away in disdain and asked Lian Yu, "Have the descendants of the ancient Southern Zhao kingdom been contacted? Have the truth been told to them?"
Lian Yu shook his head and gave a wry smile. "Consort, you might not know, but these people who have been reclusive for so long are very stubborn. They only believe the words of the first person to accuse them. No matter how others explain, it's useless. It was only after the Prince wasted a bottle of anti-inflammatory pills that they agreed to temporarily halt their assassination of the Consort and personally go to the capital to investigate. But given how obstinate those people are, I truly dare not guarantee what results they will find."