Chapter 95 His Past
The Xuanxiao cavalry were too easily recognizable, and the Chijiao was also running around outside carelessly. Anyone who paid attention would have noticed Qin Shaozong's return to the city.
The fact that the people from the Wei family came to the door must mean they had heard rumors.
Qin Shaozong said to Hu Bao, "Tell Wei Congmu that I am busy today."
They simply said they were too busy today, without even offering the polite "come another day."
Hu Bao was his personal guard, and upon hearing this, he immediately understood what his superior meant. He bowed and accepted the order to deliver the message.
Dai Li knew nothing about the major families of Yuyang, but Qin Yanzhou had heard of them. Upon hearing this, he glanced at Qin Shaozong, but could only see the man's expressionless profile.
When they returned, Dai Li and Qin Yanzhou rode in separate carriages. Dai Li rode with Qin Shaozong, while Qin Yanzhou rode alone in another carriage.
The same applies when going out nowadays.
Without any intention of giving way, the two carriages came out of the main gate one after the other, and just as they came out, they bumped into the carriage bearing the "Wei" family's wooden plaque.
Upon hearing Hu Bao's message, Wei Congmu was extremely anxious. He tried to ask Hu Bao for some free time, but the latter remained tight-lipped and refused to reveal any information.
Alright, since that's the case, he'll come again tomorrow. It's a good thing that Marquis Wu'an has returned to Yuyang. With him in charge, a single word from him will surely deter the hateful Cai family from causing trouble again.
It's a pity that Qinian has been nowhere to be seen during this time; otherwise, he could have communicated with his nephew, and with him mediating, things would have been much easier.
As a result, Wei Congmu walked out on foot, preparing to return home, when he suddenly heard a servant whisper a reminder that two carriages were driving out of the mansion.
carriage?
Those who could ride in a carriage were certainly not ordinary people, let alone those who came out from the main gate of the mansion.
Could it be...?
Wei Congmu quickly lifted the curtain and saw that the driver was Hu Bao, instantly confirming his suspicions. He immediately straightened his clothes, got out of the carriage, stood in front of Hu Bao's carriage, and bowed deeply to him.
Wei Congmu, being the Chief Clerk of Yuyang County, spoke first: "This humble servant congratulates Your Majesty on the triumphant return of your mighty army. Your Majesty is invincible in every battle and every attack, and you must be as majestic as the Martial Star descended to earth. After this battle, all the bandits, large and small, in the north are terrified and have scattered in all directions, no longer daring to cause trouble in the surrounding areas. It is a blessing for the people of Ying County to have Your Majesty's protection."
Although the person was blocking the car, they were saying congratulatory words, so it wasn't appropriate to directly shoo them away.
Upon noticing the curtain move slightly, Wei Congmu quickly moved to its side from the front. Sure enough, the curtain was lifted the next moment, revealing a face that had become increasingly imposing with the passage of time.
"It's a trivial matter, nothing to mention," Qin Shaozong simply said.
Wei Congmu did not expect the other party to only respond with this one sentence. Logically speaking, since Marquis Wu'an already knew that he had visited him earlier, he should at least exchange a few polite words with him and ask what brought him to his door.
Seeing that the other party seemed to want to lower the curtain, Wei Congmu had no choice but to get straight to the point: "I wonder when Your Excellency will have some free time? I have some important matters I would like to ask you to give me some pointers on."
"What is it?" Qin Shaozong asked directly.
Wei Congmu's face twitched. There were people coming and going around them, and there were probably a dozen pairs of ears listening. How could they talk about that in the street?
Dai Li rode in the same carriage provided by the magistrate of Nanyang County. The carriage had only a single row of seats, and she sat next to Qin Shaozong.
While he spoke to the person outside the car, Dai Li sat quietly. She was physically present, but her thoughts had wandered for a while; she was thinking about the Qinglian Sect and seeking medical help.
Qin Shaozong reached out and took Dai Li's hand in his palm. In the gradually cooling autumn, his hand was very warm, like a hot water bottle.
Dai Li snapped out of her daze for a moment, but she had already gotten used to his occasional little gestures these days, so she didn't react immediately.
Qin Shaozong squeezed her fingertips.
Dai Li turned to look at him, but still didn't react.
Qin Shaozong rubbed her palm with his rough fingertips.
The woman's hands were delicate and soft. When the touch, which felt like a feather or sandpaper, brushed against Dai Li, it was as if she had been struck by an invisible electric current. A tingling, itchy sensation shot up her arm, down her back, and then up to her head.
As her neck tensed slightly, she suddenly understood Qin Shaozong's meaning.
This person wanted her to speak up.
But Dai Li wouldn't do as he wished. If he didn't want to talk to that Wei family, he should just tell them directly. Why use her as a shield?
She wouldn't do that.
Dai Li pulled her hand away, unwilling to let him hold it anymore, but Qin Shaozong wouldn't let go and continued to tickle her palm.
Even as she struggled, he controlled his strength very well. Dai Li always felt as if a fine feather was brushing against her palm, making the itch go straight to her heart.
Dai Li was furious. How could this person be like this!
She immediately grabbed his fingers with her other hand and pried them outward, trying to straighten his thick, tiger-claw-like hand.
Dai Li was so engrossed in her work that she didn't notice that as she became more and more competitive with him, she no longer sat with her back against the soft chair as before. Instead, she turned slightly to the side, stepping out of the area where Qin Shaozong had used his body as a shield.
Outside the car.
Wei Congmu decided to politely decline and leave the matter for tomorrow, but when he looked up, he suddenly saw a hibiscus-colored garment.
It's a very gentle and graceful color, widely loved by women, and it's possible that some pretentious gentlemen in the south also adore it. But in the rugged north, almost no man would wear it like this.
Before Wei Congmu could even be surprised, half of a beautiful face peeked out from behind the black robe.
With skin as white as snow and a small, bright red mole between her brows, the beautiful woman lowered her eyes. Her eyelashes were thick and black, and the curve from the inner corner of her eye to the outer corner was extremely smooth and beautiful, with the curve slightly upturned at the outer corner, like a pretty little feather fan.
As if noticing his gaze, she suddenly looked up.
Her eyes were like a pool of clear water, cold and indifferent when she looked at him. She clearly didn't show much emotion, yet she made him feel distant and unapproachable, like a graceful peony growing on a high platform, which could only be looked up at but never touched.
While Wei Congmu was still in a daze, half of the jade face had disappeared.
Seeing Wei Congmu in a daze, Qin Shaozong frowned and said, "I am busy today, so please go ahead and do your work. Chief Secretary, please do as you please."
As soon as he finished speaking, the carriage curtain fell, obscuring Wei Congmu's view. Almost simultaneously, Hu Bao raised his whip and spurred his horse forward.
Wei Congmu stood there, stunned.
Marquis Wu'an and the young woman rode in the same carriage? And even knowing that he had come to see her and later said that he had important business to attend to, he still left him behind and rode with the young woman in the same carriage.
When did Marquis Wu'an become such a reckless person? Who is that beautiful woman? When did such a beauty appear in the north...?
Perhaps due to a discrepancy with his past understanding, Wei Congmu felt inexplicably uneasy at this moment.
Inside the carriage.
Dai Li finally pried his hands off. After accidentally making eye contact with Wei Congmu earlier, she realized that Qin Shaozong's goal might have finally been achieved.
Dai Li glanced at him but said nothing.
She'll need his help when she goes to the Ding family later, so it's not appropriate to argue with him now.
Before Dai Li could speak, Qin Shaozong took the initiative to say, "That was the Chief Clerk of Yuyang, and also the eldest son of the middle generation of the Wei family. The Qin and Wei families were once related by marriage. I married the eldest daughter of the Wei family, but she was in poor health and died of illness less than two years after giving birth to a son."
Dai Li was taken aback.
This was the first time she had learned about Qin Shaozong's family situation, and it was from him himself who told her.
Qin Shaozong recalled the past, "When Lady Wei passed away, the Qin family was going through a difficult period and needed support from outsiders. At that time, the Qin family approached Lady Wei and offered her great benefits to help her. Lady Wei agreed, but worried that she would drift further away from the Qin family in the future, so she proposed to marry another woman from Lady Wei to me."
Dai Li's curiosity was piqued. "Did you get married?"
Although she had only known Qin Shaozong for about half a year, she was very certain that he was an extremely assertive person.
If you try to make this kind of person bow down and obey orders, they might suddenly rebel and deliberately go against you.
However, it's hard to say for sure, since he is a member of the Qin family. Given his current status, he could very well become a key figure in the Qin family's future development.
He enjoys the family's resources, and he must also bear the corresponding responsibilities. It's possible he would have agreed to the matter raised by the Wei family at that time.
Qin Shaozong sneered, "At that time, there were no eligible and unmarried daughters in the Wei family's direct line, so they wanted to marry off a daughter from a illegitimate branch of the family to them."
The promise of great benefits was already a reward, and to add a marriage alliance... well, it doesn't matter who I marry, it's just to continue the good relationship between our two clans.
But he was told that there was no legitimate daughter, only a concubine's daughter.
This is absolutely outrageous!
His elder brother had already passed away, and as the second son in the family, he became the heir. If he were to marry a concubine's daughter from the Wei family, how would other prominent families view him, the Qin family?
Seeing his expression, Dai Li already knew the answer: "It seems there aren't any."
"They actually know this is impossible; they brought it up just to test the waters," Qin Shaozong said calmly.
If he agreed, the Wei family would naturally be delighted. If he didn't agree, they would compromise and make a less unreasonable request, which, given the circumstances at the time, he wouldn't be able to refuse.
Dai Li's eyebrows twitched slightly. Thinking of the "important matter" that the person had just mentioned, and considering Qin Shaozong's attitude, she felt that Qin Changgeng himself probably knew about that "important matter," but he didn't want to do it.
but……
"Why are you telling me all this?" Dai Li asked, puzzled.
Qin Shaozong said meaningfully, "The lady will eventually have to know."
Perhaps to make it easier to treat Qin Yanzhou, Dai Li's residence was not far from the Ding family's.
After the two chatted for a few minutes in the carriage, the carriage stopped.
We had already sent someone to inform them in advance. At this moment, the main gate of the Ding residence was wide open. Ding Lianxi, who was returning with the group today, was standing in front of the gate with his parents and grandfather.
Qin Shaozong got off the carriage first, and with a wave of his hand, he pulled Dai Li down as well.
"Welcome, Your Excellency."
"Welcome, Your Excellency."
Dai Li saw two men who looked somewhat like Ding Lianxi standing beside him. They were both older than each other, but they were in excellent spirits.
The old man, who was in his seventies that year, had gray hair, a thin face, and gentle, clear eyes, and even had a touch of the air of a Taoist immortal.
“Mr. Ding, there’s no need for such formalities.” Qin Shaozong personally helped Ding Lianxi’s grandfather up. “I’ve come today solely for the sake of my youngest son’s illness. I hope you will do your utmost to help him and leave no room for negotiation.”
Dai Li paused, unable to resist looking at Qin Shaozong. The young man standing next to Dai Li also couldn't help but look at the man in front of him.
Qin Shaozong stood in front of the two men. He was very tall, with a straight back and broad shoulders, like a mountain that could shelter them from the wind and rain.
Even though he knew why his lord had come, Ding Lianxi couldn't help but show surprise upon hearing these words.
Is the youngest child in the family?
Is this young master the son of a nobleman? Something seems off...
After a moment of surprise, the Ding family members invited them inside.
Since they were in a hurry to seek medical help, they got straight to the point. The people in the main hall did not sit separately, but instead all sat around a small table. Qin Yanzhou sat on one side of the table, while Ding Lianxi's grandfather, Ding Luying, sat on the other side.
Qin Yanzhou explained the situation to the other party in detail, including the symptoms of the attack, the number of times he took the medicine, the color and smell of the pills, and even the age at which he first took the medicine.
Upon hearing her son say that he had started taking this medicine when he was ten years old, Dai Li's vision went black for a moment. Just then, a long arm reached out from behind her waist and pulled her back, preventing her from collapsing.
Qin Shaozong glanced at the pale-faced woman in his arms and instructed the maid not far away, "Go and pour a cup of hot tea."
Ding Lianxi didn't dare turn his head, only daring to steal a glance out of the corner of his eye. He thought to himself that Jin Duole's words might actually be somewhat accurate.
The Junhou Mansion may truly be about to undergo a major upheaval.
"...The first time I took that medicine, my heart was beating very fast, my body was hot, I was excited, and it felt like there was a fire burning in my blood. The second time I took the medicine, it was two months later, and the symptoms were the same, except that in the end all the heat seemed to gather in my abdomen." As Qin Yanzhou said this, he paid some attention to Dai Li beside him.
He noticed something was off about his mother's expression and pursed his lips.
Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, Ding Luying took the initiative to ask, "Young master, what happened next?"
As a doctor, my biggest worry is when patients are uncooperative and conceal information.
Dai Li was also anxious and called out to her son.
Qin Yanzhou then continued to explain.
Ding Luying: "Young master, do you still have any of the medicine you took earlier left?"
Qin Yanzhou shook his head.
Ding Luying didn't say anything more, but simply asked him to extend his hand so she could take his pulse.
Time passed slowly, and no one spoke in the main hall; it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Dai Li felt as if her face was covered with layer upon layer of wet cloths, thick and heavy, pressing against her nostrils, making it especially difficult for her to breathe.
“It is Chidan.” Ding Luying withdrew her hand.
Although Dai Li hadn't heard the rest, at that moment, the invisible cloth was suddenly lifted up, and she could breathe more easily.
This old gentleman knows!
This is much better than not being able to find anything at all.
Ding Luying stroked his long, white beard. "Chidan is a type of Gu worm that feeds on Hanshi San. And the pills you took earlier, young master, were very likely Hanshi San."
Dai Li was stunned, and didn't even hear the maid bring her hot tea and call her softly.
Cold Food Powder.
Some people may not be familiar with this name, but its other name is definitely known to everyone: Wushi San (五石散).
Wushi San was originally a traditional Chinese medicine formula for treating stroke and typhoid fever, but it was later abused and became a death warrant for many people.
Ding Luying continued, "Hanshisan should not be used in large quantities. Long-term use can easily lead to mental confusion, tinnitus, palpitations, and a series of other adverse symptoms."
Dai Li knew all of this.
Those who take Wushi San (a traditional Chinese medicine) almost never die a natural death. Excessive minerals accumulate in their bodies, and there might even be trace amounts of heavy metals. It would be a miracle if they lived a long and peaceful life.
Dai Li hurriedly asked, "Sir, you just said that the Gu worm called Chidan feeds on Hanshisan. Does that mean that there isn't much Hanshisan left in my son's body, and the worm and the host have reached a balance?"
Ding Luying: "It can only be said that it is barely balanced. Prolonged starvation will cause the gallbladder to secrete a kind of poison, and the young master's previous discomfort was caused by this poison."
Qin Shaozong took the cup from the maid's hand and put it in Dai Li's hand, casually saying, "Then continue to eat the cold food powder, feed the insects until they are full, so that they will stop causing trouble."
Dai Li couldn't help but glare at him.
Is it okay to take Hanshisan (a traditional Chinese medicine) casually?
“My lord, this method is not appropriate. Cold Food Powder is still medicine, and all medicines have some toxicity. If this continues for years, the young master will eventually suffer damage to his health.” Ding Luying shook his head.
Qin Shaozong: "Then let's exclude them."
Ding Luying was silent for a moment, "The lifespan of the Chidan is twenty years. Whenever their lifespan is nearing its end, or when they are starving to the point of death, they will enter a completely new state and begin to frantically suck the flesh and blood of their host, attempting to convert it into their own nutrients to prolong their lifespan. If left unattended, the host will surely be devoured and die in agony within half a year."
When that last sentence landed, Dai Li's heart clenched and spasmed.
"Then, sir, do you have a way to get rid of the insects?"
Ding Luying frowned, her white eyebrows furrowed. "There is a way, but I have observed that the young man's blood was implanted very early, and it seems that due to his irregular eating habits, his lifespan is much shorter than that of his kind. He has now entered his final berserk phase, and it has been going on for some time."
Dai Li opened her mouth, but only a breath escaped her lips.
Qin Shaozong then said, "Since there is a way, I would like to trouble you, sir, to remove the insects directly."
Ding Luying: "Getting rid of the insects is not difficult, but the medicines needed are numerous. Some medicinal herbs grow in the south, while others grow in the west, and they are scattered. And the young man's blood has only three months left."
Author's note: Happy Dragon Boat Festival! [hugs]
I'm begging for a rice dumpling-flavored nutritional supplement! [starry-eyed]
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