Chapter 31 Saving the Marquis

"Mammy, what does this mean?"

Before she could think about it, two maids pushed Cai Huichun aside, held Wen Ning's arms on the left and right, and led her straight towards the temple.

Cai Huichun was already unstable, and after being pushed by the old woman, he sat down on the ground dejectedly.

He was dissatisfied and started shouting like a child without caring about anything.

Nanny Zhou's eyes were full of anxiety. She glanced at the people on the ground with disgust and signaled the two maids to speed up.

"Madam, please tell me what happened."

She hadn't seen the Marquis for half a day. Could it be that the poison had taken effect on the Marquis?

"Young lady, you should know exactly what you have done. When you see the old lady later, I hope you will tell her the truth. This matter concerns the life of the Marquis. If anything happens to the Marquis, the old lady will certainly not let you off easily!"

Nanny Zhou spoke in a bad tone, as if she was determined that Wen Ning had done something to hurt the Marquis.

As the two were talking, they came to the guest hall on the east side of the temple.

Wen Ning was roughly pushed into the inner room, and her knees hit the bluestone floor hard.

But Xie Jinglan, who was unconscious on the bed, suddenly had a violent spasm, and then a stream of black blood gushed out from between his dark purple lips.

"He's vomiting blood again...quick!"

At the command of the court physician, the maids rushed in and out in a mess, and several layers of blood-stained scarves were stacked on several red lacquer trays.

Wen Ning's head was buzzing. How could the Marquis be so serious after only not seeing him for half a day?

"this……"

The court physician's Adam's apple rolled, and he wiped his forehead with his trembling sleeve. He said to the pale old lady beside him, "I am incompetent and cannot diagnose the poison that the Marquis has been poisoned with. I dare not give you acupuncture rashly."

"Madam, the person has been brought here." Nanny Zhou reminded from the side.

The old lady wiped away her tears, turned around and saw Wen Ning kneeling on the ground. She pointed at her face and said in a trembling voice, "Tell me quickly! What kind of poison did you give the Marquis? I intended to send you out of the capital, but I didn't expect that you would do such a cruel thing before leaving!"

Wen Ning was struck by a blow, caught off guard by the injustice. She said bluntly, "Madam, I didn't... I don't know what happened, and it's impossible for me to harm the Marquis."

Tang Li, who was standing by, saw this and pointed at the food on the round table in the outer hall, and shouted sharply, "The palace doctor has already tested it with a silver needle and found that the lunch you prepared for the Marquis is poisonous. How dare you quibble?

At this moment, Tangli just wanted to quickly pin the blame firmly on Wen Ning.

At that time, she was holding a teacup in her hand, and before she even got close to the Marquis, she was frightened to death by the Marquis's mouthful of blood.

She clearly asked her brother for an aphrodisiac, how come it turned out to be poison!

If the old lady knew that she was the one who poisoned her, she would definitely skin her alive!

Tangli shuddered, then her eyes filled with tears. She timidly said to the old lady, "Old lady, I have to tell you the truth. Wen Ning asked the Marquis for a day off early in the morning, claiming to be unwell. But after just over an hour, she rushed to the kitchen and rushed to prepare lunch for the Marquis.

She had collected all these mushrooms and herbs from the back mountain. If they were poisoned, who else could it be but her? No wonder even the court doctor couldn't detect the toxicity. How could anyone else be able to detoxify the prescription she made herself?

Upon hearing this, the old lady was so angry that she slammed her cane to the ground.

"The Marquis has treated you well, how could you harm him like this!"

Wen Ning looked at Xie Jinglan, whose breathing was becoming increasingly abnormal on the couch, and just wanted to save him immediately.

"Old Madam, please understand. If I wanted to harm the Marquis, why would I have waited until today? The Marquis's life is a thousand times more important than my innocence right now," she kowtowed. "Since Miss Tangli said the poison is related to the herbs in the mountains behind, I used to collect herbs every day and am very familiar with their properties. Please allow me to take the Marquis' pulse. I will accept your punishment afterwards."

Nanny Xue, who had been wiping the blood off Xie Jinglan in front of the bed, also knelt down and came forward.

"Madam, the Marquis has suffered from poison attacks many times, and the pain he has endured is unbearable for ordinary people. It is because you, regardless of the danger, sucked out the poison for the Marquis time and time again, that the Marquis has been spared so much pain. I have seen all of this, and right now, saving the Marquis is the most important thing. Please, Madam..."

The court doctor choked up and said, "My Lord... I'm afraid he won't be able to wait for the imperial physician..."

The old lady's body swayed violently, and her hand holding the Buddhist beads reached out to the void in vain. Fortunately, she was held by Madam Zhou.

"Old lady...be careful!"

Nanny Zhou supported the old lady's trembling arm and said with tears in her eyes, "Old lady, please take care of yourself. This family still depends on you to support it!"

Anger, despair and a glimmer of hope surged in the old lady's cloudy eyes.

She had personally sent too many people away—her husband swept away by the snowstorm in the northern border, her husband whose bloodstained battle robes prevented him from returning, her son buried in the desolate hills, her eldest grandson who had entered the ancestral hall at the age of sixteen, and her daughter-in-law who had waited for him to return home with her...

Now, my grandson is the last bloodline of this marquisate!

The Marquis's family has been loyal and brave for generations, she doesn't believe that God would be so cruel!

Finally, the hair full of jewels and jade became heavier, and said, "Go, take the Marquis's pulse!"

Wen Ning thanked the old lady and immediately leaned forward.

Press three fingers on the Cun, Guan and Chi points and look carefully.

After a while, she reached out and brushed away the Marquis' sweaty hair. Tiny grains of frost had formed between his usually sword-like brows.

He wiped the black blood that flowed from the corner of his lips with his fingertips and sniffed it gently. It was like poisonous blood vomited out after the collision of ice and fire.

"The poison is Ice Marrow Powder. If you are poisoned by this, frost will form between your eyebrows..."

Wen Ning spoke slowly, but her heart was still shrouded in confusion.

Upon hearing this, the court doctor hurried forward and saw that there was indeed a thin layer of frost between the marquis's eyebrows.

His cloudy old eyes widened. "Young lady, you have enlightened me. I have just understood the key to the Marquis's pulse. I beg you to tell me which herbal remedy should be used to induce this poison? How should I administer the acupuncture?"

"As you must know, Old Master, Ice Marrow Powder is an extremely cold poison. A victim's throat will freeze and die in a matter of moments. And the Marquis already has another strange poison in his body. The two counteract each other, allowing the Marquis to hold on until now.

If it were only Ice Marrow Powder, I could use a silver needle to prick the seven blood vessels in my throat and force out the frozen blood. But now the two poisons are fighting each other, and I don’t know what the other poison is. I’m afraid…”

The court doctor nodded and agreed, "This old man understands. The poison that the Marquis was previously poisoned with was extremely strange, but... if the acupuncture is not performed immediately, once the frozen blood forms, the Marquis will..."

Wen Ningfu knelt before the old lady and said solemnly, "To be on the safe side, I would like to ask my master to feel my pulse again. Only then can I safely perform the acupuncture."

The old lady had just heard the conversation between the two of them, and the thought of her grandson being tortured by two poisons at the same time made her heart ache.

She asked anxiously, "Where is your master now?"

Wen Ning replied, "In Chaiyuan, although the master is mentally ill, his medical skills are still there."

Upon hearing this, Nanny Zhou sternly said, "How dare you, you bold servant! That beggar in the Chai Courtyard is a lunatic, how dare you let him take the Marquis's pulse? You..."

"Madam," Wen Ning suddenly interrupted, her tone undeniable, "The Marquis's current situation demands no further delay. Please trust me. If I cannot protect the Marquis, I will not live in vain."