The night was deep, the moon hung in the treetops, and the moonlight shone like water onto the earth.
At Liu Shang's residence, the maids and servants looked solemn and hurried along.
Imperial Physician Li Mubai received an urgent summons and rushed to Liu Shang's residence. As he entered the room, a strong medicinal aroma wafted towards him, mingled with a faint bitterness. Li Mubai's heart tightened; he realized the situation might be dire.
Looking into the distance, he saw that Liu Shang's face was as pale as paper, his eyes were closed, and he seemed to have lost his life.
Li Mubai stroked his long beard and slowly walked towards the bed, carefully observing Liu Shang's condition. He first used silver needles to test whether Liu Shang's food for the day was poisoned, and only after confirming that there was no external cause did he begin to carefully examine Liu Shang's eyes, tongue, and pulse.
Li Mubai frowned, gently pressing his fingers on Liu Shang's chest and abdomen to sense his physical condition.
After a long pause, he said heavily, "This illness is not caused by a sudden onset, but by long-term indulgence in sensual pleasures, coupled with the recent overuse of aphrodisiacs, which has caused blood and qi to flow in reverse, resulting in severe damage to the internal organs and making it difficult to cure."
After saying that, he shook his head, a look of regret in his eyes.
Li Mubai took out a medical book from his robes, meticulously recorded the diagnosis, and handed it to the Liu family members who were anxiously waiting nearby. Seeing their pale faces and grief-stricken expressions, he softly comforted them, "Prepare for the funeral!" Then he turned and left.
No sooner had Li Mubai left than Minister Liu Yiming rushed over. He was followed by a young woman named Qin Wen and a servant. They entered the room nervously and were startled to see Minister Liu lying on the bed.
At the Minister's residence, Qin Wen had already recounted the entire incident to Liu Yiming in detail.
Listening to Qin Wen's account, Liu Shang couldn't help but blush. He hadn't expected that Liu Shang, at his age, would be so...so dissolute.
"Sigh, who's to blame?" Qin Wen calmly recounted the entire incident in detail once again. Combined with the testimony of the servants in the Minister's mansion, it was enough to prove that Liu Shang's death was indeed due to his own voluntary ingestion of a large amount of aphrodisiac drugs.
Although Liu Shang's family felt helpless about this, they also understood that Liu Shang's death was indeed related to his own behavior.
Although the imperial physician's diagnosis confirmed that Liu Shang died from excessive indulgence, the Liu family believed that without that vile woman Qin Wen, Liu Shang wouldn't have died in such an unspeakable way!
Furthermore, since Liu Yiming and Liu Shang were related by marriage, and Liu Shang's death was truly dishonorable, the Liu family could not vent their anger on Liu Yiming. Therefore, they had no choice but to turn their anger towards Qin Wen, this "slut".
Filled with rage, the Liu family took Qin Wen to a secluded courtyard. The moonlight, like water, could not illuminate this dark corner; only the flickering torches reflected distorted faces.
Qin Wen was tied to a wooden stake, her clothes were disheveled, her hair was messy, and her eyes were full of fear and helplessness.
She stared ahead in fear as a stern-faced middle-aged woman, holding a thorny branch, approached step by step. She gritted her teeth and cursed, "You wretched hussy, how dare you harm my son like this! Today, I'll make you taste the bitter fruit of your actions!"
After saying that, the thorny branches rained down on Qin Wen, each blow accompanied by a muffled groan from Qin Wen and curses from the Liu family.
Qin Wen gritted her teeth, enduring the pain, but her heart was filled with desolation. She didn't argue or scream. She just bit her lip tightly, telling herself over and over again, "Once I get through this, I'll be free."
When Liu Shang's mother got tired of beating her, Liu Shang's wife took over. They continued until someone noticed that Qin Wen was only exhaling and not inhaling, at which point they stopped, panting heavily.
Then he ordered a servant to bring a bucket of cold water, mixed with coarse salt, and poured it over Qin Wen's head. The salt water immediately stung Qin Wen's wounds.
She also snapped out of her pain.
Just as the Liu family was about to continue fighting, the gatekeeper came to report that an aunt from the palace and Minister Liu had arrived.
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