Chapter 3 Backlash

Zhao Wenxuan's eyes were like two knives tempered with ice.

They were nailed straight into Ling Zixia's body.

The chaos in the hall seemed to be instantly frozen by this gaze.

Huamei was the first to react.

She pointed at Ling Zixia and screamed.

“It’s her!”

"There's something wrong with the incense burner in this bitch's hand!"

Huamei's face was full of panic and resentment.

"She must have poisoned the incense to murder Madam!"

The accusation was sharp and loud.

All the maids' eyes were focused on Ling Zixia and the incense burner in her hand.

Ling Zixia's body shrank.

She seemed frightened by the shout.

Her hands holding the incense burner trembled slightly.

All the color drained from his face.

He looked innocent and pitiful.

Zhao Wenxuan's eyes did not waver at all.

He ignored Thrush's cries.

He just gave instructions in a deep voice to the butler beside him.

"Go and get Doctor Wang."

His voice was eerily calm.

The housekeeper didn't dare to be negligent in the slightest.

He immediately bowed his head and took the order before running out quickly.

Zhao Wenxuan supported Li Ruolan, who was still breathing rapidly.

He asked her to sit down on the cushioned armchair.

Then he turned around.

Walking towards Ling Zixia step by step.

Every step he took seemed to be stepping on everyone's heart.

The hall was so quiet that you could hear the sound of burning candles.

Ling Zixia raised her head in horror.

She looked at the man who was approaching her.

Her eyes were filled with the fear of a small animal.

Zhao Wenxuan stood in front of her.

He didn't speak.

He just held out his hand to her.

His palms are broad.

The joints are distinct.

That is a hand holding a pen.

It is also a hand that can easily decide the life and death of others.

Ling Zixia hesitated for a moment.

Then she understood the other party's intention.

She carefully handed over the Boshan furnace in her hand.

Zhao Wenxuan took the incense burner.

His fingers touched her fingertips intentionally or unintentionally.

Her fingertips were cold.

Like a piece of jade without temperature.

Zhao Wenxuan holds the incense burner.

He placed it on a mahogany high table next to him.

This action separated Ling Zixia from the only "evidence".

He did it calmly.

But it is full of unquestionable control.

He did it all.

He stood aside with his hands behind his back.

He didn't look at Ling Zixia again.

He did not try to comfort his mother anymore.

He just waited silently.

Waiting for the doctor to arrive.

Waiting for the truth to come out.

Ling Zixia knelt back on the cold ground.

She lowered her head.

The long eyelashes conceal all the emotions in the eyes.

Nobody knows.

Just now, the moment Zhao Wenxuan took the incense burner.

She handed it over seemingly passively.

In fact, he gently rubbed an inconspicuous corner of the stove bottom with his fingertips.

A force more obscure than before entered again.

This time it's not a conversion.

But restore.

She completely decomposed the medicinal properties that she had forcibly fused and transformed.

Turning them back into their most original and harmless powder.

She wiped away all traces of herself on the incense burner.

Time passed slowly in the suffocating silence.

A burst of hurried footsteps finally broke the silence.

The housekeeper hurried over with an old man carrying a medicine box.

The old man's hair and beard were all white.

It was Doctor Wang, the palace physician of the Prime Minister’s Mansion.

As soon as Doctor Wang entered the room, he felt the solemn atmosphere in the hall.

He didn't dare look any further.

He immediately stepped forward and saluted Zhao Wenxuan and Li Ruolan.

"No need to be so polite."

Zhao Wenxuan's voice remained flat.

"Go see mother first."

Doctor Wang quickly responded.

He walked up to Li Ruolan.

He first observed Li Ruolan's expression.

Then he stretched out three skinny fingers.

He placed his fingers on Li Ruolan's wrist.

Everyone in the hall held their breath.

There was only the faint sound of Doctor Wang twirling his beard.

His brows sometimes relaxed.

Sometimes locked.

A long time passed.

He then withdrew his hand.

Zhao Wenxuan asked.

"how?"

Doctor Wang stood up.

He answered, bowing his body.

"My Lord, Madam's pulse is a little disordered."

"It seems to be a sign of impatience."

"But the strange thing is that although the pulse is disordered, there is no sign of poisoning."

This conclusion stunned everyone.

Huamei immediately retorted eagerly.

"impossible!"

"Madam was fine just now, but she suddenly felt unwell after smelling that fragrance!"

She pointed to the incense burner again.

"The problem must be with that incense!"

Li Ruolan also calmed down a bit at this time.

Her face was still pale.

But his breathing had become much calmer.

She looked at Ling Zixia with weak and resentful eyes.

Obviously she also believed that there was something wrong with the incense burner.

Zhao Wenxuan turned his gaze to Doctor Wang.

"Doctor Wang, go check the incense burner."

Doctor Wang's heart skipped a beat.

Inspecting things in the prime minister's residence is a dangerous job.

It is our duty to verify correctly.

If the test is wrong, you may even lose your life.

But he didn't dare to disobey the eldest son's order.

He could only bite the bullet and walk towards the mahogany high table.

He first approached the incense burner cautiously.

Sniffed gently with his nose.

A very ordinary calming incense smell.

There's nothing special about it.

He frowned in confusion.

This was completely different from the strange fragrance he smelled when he entered the door just now.

Is it his illusion?

To ensure that nothing goes wrong.

He took out a pair of silver chopsticks from the medicine box.

He used silver chopsticks to pick up some burnt incense ash from the incense burner.

He placed the incense ash on a piece of white paper.

He carefully observed the color and shape of the incense ash.

Incense ash is grayish white.

Loose texture.

It looks like the most common herbal spices after burning.

He took out another silver needle.

Insert the silver needle into the incense ash.

After a moment he took out the silver needle.

There was no change in the color of the silver needle.

This shows that there are no common poisons in incense ash.

Doctor Wang was still worried.

He picked up a little bit of incense ash with his fingertips.

He brought his fingertips to the tip of his tongue.

Touch it very lightly with your tongue.

A faint bitter taste spreads on the taste buds.

That's the smell of ordinary herbs.

He closed his eyes and carefully distinguished the ingredients.

There is sandalwood.

There is mugwort.

There is also a little bit of Poria cocos to calm the nerves.

These are the most common soothing spices.

Not only non-toxic.

It even has some benefits for the body.

It's just that the quality of these spices doesn't seem to be top quality.

There is also some unknown wood ash mixed in it.

It seems a bit shoddy.

Doctor Wang's face was full of confusion.

He stood up.

He turned to Zhao Wenxuan.

His expression was one of absolute certainty.

"Reply to the eldest master."

"There's nothing wrong with this incense burner."

His voice echoed through the hall.

Every word was crystal clear.

"What?"

Huamei screamed out.

She couldn't believe her ears.

Li Ruolan also suddenly opened her eyes wide.

Her face was filled with shock and confusion.

How is this possible?

It was clearly because she smelled the fragrance that she became ill.

And she added the fragrance herself.

Zhao Wenxuan's expression remained calm.

But his pupils suddenly contracted.

He glanced at Doctor Wang.

He took another look at the incense burner.

at last.

His gaze returned to the woman who had been kneeling on the ground, seemingly petrified.

Ling Zixia always maintained that posture.

Her head was lowered.

His thin shoulders shrugged slightly.

Like crying silently.

She looks so fragile.

So helpless.

So innocent.

Doctor Wang saw this scene.

He thought he understood something.

He added cautiously.

"In my opinion, although this incense is non-toxic, it is of low quality and the smoke is mixed."

"Madam has always been a person of great value. Perhaps she is not used to the smell of such low-quality fragrance, which is why her blood is boiling and she is feeling uneasy."

This explanation sounds reasonable.

This explains the lady's illness.

It also saved the face of all parties.

The mistress of the prime minister's mansion couldn't possibly go against a pot of inferior spices.

Li Ruolan's chest heaved violently.

She wanted to have a fit.

But I can't find any reason.

Doctor Wang has proven through experience that incense is non-toxic.

She said it was poisonous again.

Isn't this saying that Doctor Wang is incompetent?

Or is it an admission that there is something wrong with the reward you gave to the newcomer?

She felt a lump in her chest.

Can't go up or down.

His face turned from white to blue due to suffocation.

Huamei was so frightened that she didn't dare to say another word.

She stood there in a daze.

Look at the incense burner that has been proven to be "innocent".

She felt a chill on her back.

The development of the matter was completely beyond her expectations.

Zhao Wenxuan was silent.

The entire hall fell into deathly silence again.

He is not Li Ruolan.

Not those stupid servants either.

Doctor Wang's explanation couldn't fool him.

He witnessed the pain his mother suffered when she fell ill.

That definitely cannot be explained simply by "I'm not used to the smell".

He also heard with his own ears his mother's fear of the incense burner.

The cause of the incident was definitely the incense burner.

But now.

The evidence disappeared.

Disappeared without a trace.

It was as if everything that just happened was just an illusion.

He looked at Ling Zixia who was kneeling on the ground.

Her fragility.

Her fear.

Her innocence.

It seems so glaring at this moment.

Is all this a coincidence?

Or say.

This seemingly harmless woman.

Possessing means that he could never imagine?

For the first time, a chill rose in Zhao Wenxuan's heart.

He slowly walked in front of Ling Zixia.

He looked down at her.

Ling Zixia felt the shadow above her head.

Her body trembled even more violently.

She slowly raised her head.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

Those eyes were as clear as a spring.

His figure was reflected inside.

Full of grievances and confusion.

"Young Master..."

Her voice was filled with tears.

It sounds heartbreaking.

Zhao Wenxuan looked into her eyes.

He wanted to find the slightest flaw in it.

But he couldn't find anything.

There was just pure fear.

He was silent for a long time.

It lasted so long that everyone thought he was going to punish this new concubine.

He suddenly spoke to the butler behind him.

"Send Doctor Wang out."

Then he said to Huamei and others.

"Help Madam go back to her room to rest."

The servants were pardoned.

They hurriedly helped Li Ruolan up.

Li Ruolan glared at Ling Zixia fiercely.

Then he was unwillingly surrounded and left.

soon.

There were only two people left in the originally noisy hall.

Zhao Wenxuan.

And Ling Zixia kneeling in front of him.

Zhao Wenxuan squatted down.

He looked at Ling Zixia at eye level.

He stretched out his hand.

He gently wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye with his fingertips.

His movements were unnaturally gentle.

But his eyes were still as cold as a piece of black iron.

He looked at her.

Then in a voice that only the two of them could hear.

He opened his mouth slowly.

"My mother is allergic to a certain type of pollen."

"That flower is called water lily."