On her first day working at the Imperial Pharmacy, the head pharmacist instructed Yi Shangyun and the other pharmacist Dingxiang: "This is Princess Fenghua Palace Yue's medicine. The princess has been suffering from a cough for a long time. You two should be careful and send it to the princess immediately after it is prepared to persuade her to take it."
The woman with the large medicine gave the two a stern warning before turning and leaving. But as soon as she stepped outside, a look of smug satisfaction appeared on her face, and she strode away.
It turns out that her intentions weren't good at all.
Yi Shangyun and Dingxiang quickly prepared the medicine and brought it to the entrance of Fenghua Palace, where they were waiting for a maid to announce their arrival. Suddenly, they heard a stern reprimand from inside. The two exchanged a glance, wondering what had happened.
Then a young palace maid timidly came out and said, "Her Highness the Princess said the medicine is too bitter and she absolutely refuses to take it. You should think of another way."
Just as they were talking, an unusually thin guard rushed into the main hall.
Just as they were still looking on with suspicion, a woman of about fifteen or sixteen years old, dressed in gorgeous clothes and with a noble and elegant demeanor, walked out of the main hall. This woman was none other than Emperor Jing's most beloved daughter, Xuan Yuan Yue, whom everyone called Princess Yue.
A slender guard led the way, and the princess hurriedly followed through the corridor. The two rushed into the garden behind the archway next to the side hall of Fenghua Palace.
Unaware of what had happened, the palace maids and eunuchs huddled together in small groups, whispering and discussing amongst themselves. Upon seeing their master approach, they quickly made way for him.
Yi Shangyun then saw clearly that a little palace maid was lying on the ground by the flower bed, with a pool of blood next to her and a blood-stained dagger stuck in her body.
Yi Shangyun took a closer look and saw that the dagger was covered in blood and ants were crawling all over it; the scene was quite horrifying.
The princess was shocked when she saw this and exclaimed, "Zhen'er, who did this?" Then her eyes swept over the people around her.
At this moment, the thin guard who had just gone to the main hall of Fenghua Palace to report came forward and pointed to another chubby eunuch standing to the side, saying, "Princess, Zhen'er was definitely killed by him. When I just found Zhen'er's body, he was standing next to her and acting very strangely."
Upon hearing this, the chubby eunuch rushed out, knelt down, and kowtowed repeatedly, crying out, "Princess, it wasn't me! Miss Zhen'er has always been very kind to me. How could I possibly kill her? I just happened to be passing by and saw Miss Zhen'er lying on the ground. I didn't know what had happened, so I came over to check. Who knew that Miss Zhen'er had been murdered? I really didn't do it. Princess, you must seek justice for me!"
"You all have such audacity to act so presumptuously in my palace! Whoever did the worst should come out and admit it right now. If I find out, I will make them pay!" Although Xuan Yuan Yue was young, she was quite fierce when she got angry, radiating an aura of authority.
At this moment, the thin guard who reported the incident suddenly glanced at the people around him, then lowered his head and secretly looked up at Xuan Yuan Yue.
This action was witnessed by Yi Shangyun.
Yi Shangyun was pondering why ants were crawling all over the daggers. Then, looking at the guard before her, she suddenly realized with a start, could it be...?
"Your Highness, this servant knows who the murderer is," Yi Shangyun suddenly spoke up.
Immediately, Xuan Yuan Yue and everyone else present turned their gazes toward the direction in which the voice was being spoken.
"You, then tell me what you mean. If you say something wrong, you'd better watch your head," Xuan Yuan Yue warned seriously.
Upon hearing this warning, Dingxiang panicked and gently tugged at Yishangyun's sleeve, trying to stop her from getting into trouble.
"This servant dares to ask, what if this servant is right?" Yi Shangyun not only ignored Dingxiang's advice to stop, but also asked Xuanyuan Yue in return.
"How dare you make demands of this princess! Fine, let's see what you're capable of. If you answer correctly, this princess will grant you your wish," Xuan Yuan Yue replied generously.
Yi Shangyun nodded and smiled as she stepped forward to carefully examine Zhen'er's body and the dagger again, confirming that her earlier thoughts were correct.
He then said, "Your Highness, judging from the depth and force of the dagger's insertion, the murderer is indeed a man."
"Nonsense, the one being accused is a man. Do I need a servant like you to tell me that?" Xuan Yuan Yue rebuked sharply.
Yi Shangyun chuckled and continued, "Princess, the murderer is a man, but he is not the little eunuch who has been accused."
"Oh? Then who is the real murderer in your opinion?" Xuan Yuan Yue asked with a surprised look.
At this moment, Yi Shangyun saw the thin guard who had reported the crime sneaking away from the crowd and hurriedly said, "The real murderer is the person who reported the crime."
As she spoke, Yi Shangyun pointed at the thin guard who was trying to slip away.
Xuanyuan Yue then noticed his attempt to escape and immediately ordered, "Hurry up and capture him for this princess!" Several other guards who were watching the commotion easily subdued the frail guard with a few punches and kicks.
The thin guard was grabbed and pinned to the ground, but he still insisted on defending himself, saying, "Your Highness, please investigate. This servant is absolutely not the murderer. It is...it is this servant who is slandering me and framing me. This servant is innocent."
The thin guard, his hands firmly held and unable to move, glared at the cloud on his clothes and shouted, "What evidence do you have to prove that I killed him?"
Yi Shangyun remained calm and composed, saying, "Seeing how unusually thin you are, do you suffer from wasting disease?"
"So what if it is? Everyone here knows I've suffered from wasting disease for many years, so everyone takes good care of me. How could I possibly have any ill intentions towards them?" The thin guard glared fiercely at Yi Shangyun and said.
Yi Shangyun chuckled softly, nodded, and murmured to herself, "That's all right."
Then she straightened her thin body and said, "People suffering from wasting disease urinate frequently and in large quantities, with cloudy, greasy stools. They also often experience dry mouth, dizziness, and lower back and leg pain. Their tongues are red and dry, and their pulses are thin and rapid. Do all of what I've said match your symptoms?"
The thin guard was immediately surprised that this maid knew medicine, because what Yi Shangyun said perfectly matched his symptoms. Everyone else looked at him in astonishment, while Xuan Yuan Yue looked completely bewildered, unable to understand what she was trying to say or how it was related to the murderer.
Seeing that he remained silent, she assumed he had tacitly agreed. Yi Shangyun then spoke again, "You still won't admit you're the murderer?"
The guard, bewildered, continued to argue, "I didn't do it, why should I admit it?"
"Do you know why all the ants around this dagger are gathered on it?" Yi Shangyun asked, pointing to the dagger crawling with ants.
"I'm not an ant, how would I know?" the thin guard continued to provoke Yi Shangyun, trying to argue.
"Hmph, because ants like sweet tastes. And the most obvious symptom of lower wasting disease, which I deliberately didn't mention earlier, just to see how long you would keep arguing, is that the most obvious symptom of lower wasting disease is that the urine has a sweet taste. And the composition of human sweat and feces is similar, only the amount of each component is different."
Suddenly, Yi Shangyun leaned down and said, "I suppose you were very nervous when you were wielding the dagger to commit the crime, to the point that your sweat soaked the dagger? Should we get a new dagger and let everyone here hold it to prove it?" She snorted coldly and looked down on the thin guard. After she finished speaking, everyone present looked at her with surprise.
"Princess, spare me! Princess, spare me!" Upon hearing this, the thin guard had no more words to say and could only desperately kowtow and beg for mercy.
"Drag him away and beat him to death! Give Zhen'er a proper burial!" Princess Yue said angrily, then signaled everyone to disperse.
Then she looked at Yi Shangyun and said, "Are you new here? I've never seen you before." As she spoke, Xuan Yuan Yue walked back to the main hall, with Yi Shangyun and Ding Xiang following closely behind with their heads down.
"This servant is a new medicine girl who just reported for duty today. The princess promised me that if I answered correctly, she would grant me a request," Yi Shangyun said, not forgetting her duties. Dingxiang, who had been terrified, finally came to her senses.
Suddenly, Xuan Yuan Yue stopped and turned around to look at Yi Shang Yun.
This girl...
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