Chapter 393 Arsenic
Generally speaking, in ancient times, brides would be starved for a whole night. There was also a saying that it would be unlucky if they ate before removing the veil.
Why did he send her food?
"Isn't this... against the rules?"
Xiao Yunshuo was stunned for a moment before he chuckled and said, "It's okay, just don't go hungry. I'll go out and do some work, and I'll be back in a bit."
Chen Fenghe's face felt a little hot for some reason: "Hmm..."
She waited until Xiao Yunshuo left before opening the lunch box.
There were a few light dishes in it, stir-fried pork slices with spring bamboo shoots, stir-fried shrimps, scrambled eggs with green onions, chicken soup with mushrooms, a small bowl of glutinous rice and a plate of exquisite mung bean cake.
The quantity is not large, but it is delicate and delicious enough.
Chen Fenghe couldn't help but curl her lips, picked up the silver chopsticks and ate some.
I don’t know how long it took, when Chen Fenghe was feeling drowsy, there was a sound from the door again.
Chen Fenghe woke up with a start and looked towards the door nervously and embarrassedly.
The person who came in was naturally Xiao Yunshuo. He walked up to her, picked up the wedding scale used to lift the veil, and lifted the veil on Chen Fenghe's head.
Using a scale or jade ruyi to choose a wedding veil also symbolizes "satisfaction and fulfillment."
Under the shade of the red candle, Chen Fenghe's face was as beautiful as a peach or plum, her eyelashes trembled slightly as she raised her eyes and looked at Xiao Yunshuo.
Although she is a modern person, this is her first time experiencing marriage. It would be a lie to say that she is not nervous.
Xiao Yunshuo was dressed in a bright red wedding gown. He had erased the disguise of 'Young Master Yun' and restored his original appearance. He also lowered his eyes slightly, staring at her with burning eyes.
"Feng He, I'm sorry for putting you through this these days." Xiao Yunshuo said softly.
When the prince got married, he didn't even have time to remove the bridal veil before he received the order and led his troops to the battlefield at night. It has been more than a year since then.
Although Chen Fenghe came through later, thinking about the hardships of exile and settling down in Shili Village, she felt a little sad.
Xiao Yunshuo reached out and grabbed her hand, smiling and said, "From now on, I will never let you suffer any injustice again."
Chen Fenghe almost impulsively wanted to ask if he could become emperor in the future and not take concubines, and live with her forever.
But he held back the words when they came to his lips.
People are always fickle. How many people can keep their promises in the future?
Why should she force others to do so?
There is no need to generate hope for this temporary promise, which may even lead to self-deception in the future. Why bother?
From the moment she decided not to escape and accepted this "wedding", she decided to live in the present for the time being and deal with the future later.
Therefore, Chen Fenghe finally just nodded lightly and said, "I believe you."
Xiao Yunshuo's eyes softened. He coughed twice and whispered, "It's late. Let's go to bed early."
"Hmm..." Chen Fenghe responded vaguely, and couldn't help but look up at Xiao Yunshuo.
Xiao Yunshuo reached out and untied the belt of his wedding gown, then took off his outer shirt, revealing the white undershirt underneath. The sweat towel holding the undershirt in place was then removed, and the collar loosened, revealing a bit of his bronze chest...
Chen Fenghe couldn't help but swallow secretly. Although it was a bit weird, she had to admit that it was quite a wonderful feeling to watch a handsome man undressing in front of her.
She kind of regretted that she had been too reserved before...
Just as he was about to take off his shirt, there was a sudden and urgent knock on the door.
"Master, Madam, something bad has happened!"
It was Yuan Xu's voice.
Chen Fenghe: “…”
You can't pick a different time
However, it was Yuan Xu who came to report in person, which showed that the matter must be quite serious, otherwise he would not have disturbed him rashly.
Chen Fenghe and Xiao Yunshuo glanced at each other. Xiao Yunshuo covered his clothes and quickly put his coat back on. He asked in a deep voice, "What's the matter?"
"Just now, the wife of Village Chief Wu came over and said that Village Chief Wu and his two sons had just returned home from the banquet and started vomiting and having diarrhea. Not long after, he fainted. Then, Mrs. Yang came over and said that her son was also vomiting and having diarrhea, and other families in the village were also suffering from it..."
After hearing this, Shen Fenghe couldn't help but frown slightly.
Xiao Yunshuo instructed: "Wait here, I'll be back soon..."
Chen Fenghe shook her head and whispered, "I'm afraid it's not that simple. I know medical skills, so I'll go over and take a look."
Xiao Yunshuo nodded without much hesitation and said, "Yes."
The two of them quickly left the room and came to the courtyard of the Yun Mansion.
Quite a few people had already gathered in the yard. Some of them were impatient and their words sounded a bit harsh.
"Why hasn't your young master come out yet? The men in our family all became like that after attending your banquet! Are you planning to just hide in your shell and ignore it?"
"If anything happens to my man, I will fight you to the death!"
"Hurry up and let your master come out!"
Qin Mengyue saw them coming out of the inner hall and approached them anxiously, blocking them in the main hall. She whispered, "Shuo'er, Fenghe, don't rush out yet. I think there's something wrong with the dishes at tonight's banquet. Everyone in the village who attended the banquet has reported feeling unwell since returning. Everyone outside is a little agitated. If you leave, they might get anxious..."
Chen Fenghe quickly glanced towards the yard and saw that all the people who came were women, with at most one or two boys around eleven or twelve years old, but not a single adult man.
She immediately asked, "Mother, are all the people who came here tonight to say something happened at home women?"
Qin Mengyue was stunned for a moment and asked, "How did you know?"
Chen Fenghe shook her head and said, "I saw that the courtyard was full of women, so I made a wild guess. Mother, there are only women outside, so Your Highness shouldn't come out, lest people gossip. You go out first and tell everyone to calm down. I will take the pulse of the women here to see if they are unwell. Maybe I can find some reasons. As for the men, have Yuan Xu send people to carry all the unwell men in the village over here and settle them down. Also, have someone go to the kitchen and quickly boil soapberry water. The thicker the better."
Xiao Yunshuo immediately followed Chen Fenghe's instructions.
The Yun Mansion has a full range of medicinal herbs, including soapberries.
Qin Mengyue was also worried. Although Chen Fenghe knew medical skills, all the people in the village who had accidents were men. She was a woman, and today was her wedding night. If she showed up in public to take a man's pulse and treat him, then even if they had good intentions, they would not be able to stop those gossipers outside from talking nonsense.
Hearing what Chen Fenghe said, she naturally nodded immediately and said, "Okay, I'll go call the village chief's wife and Madam Yang over first. They are closer to our family and are still somewhat rational. They won't be as hostile as the others... If we can find out anything, thank God!"
In the courtyard, everyone's emotions became more and more intense, and some people even wanted to rush to the back hall. Fortunately, several maids from the Yun Mansion stopped them.
Qin Mengyue said loudly: "Everyone, please be patient..."
Before he could finish his words, a woman started shouting, "You're talking nonsense! Nothing has happened to your family, and nothing has happened to anyone in the Yun family, so of course you can keep your composure! My man and son are almost dead! I think the Yun family might be deliberately holding this banquet to kill the whole village! Otherwise, why would they be so generous, inviting everyone to a free banquet without any gifts?! We have no grudges against each other, why would your family want to kill my man!"
Qin Mengyue glanced at her coldly and interrupted her in a cold voice, "Madam Wang, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want! We haven't figured out what's going on yet, so how do you know we're deliberately harming you? I urge everyone to be patient so that we can buy as much time as possible to save everyone! To be frank, the village now has superb medical skills, and my family's Feng He is the only one who can do it. Otherwise, we can only go to other villages or towns to ask for help, which will take at least two or three hours! If you continue to make a fuss and delay the opportunity to save people, you will be the ones to regret it later!"
Although Qin Mengyue had a gentle personality, she had been a queen after all. At this moment, she displayed the majesty of a queen, which actually shocked everyone in the yard. No one dared to say anything more.
Qin Mengyue then found Madam Wu and Madam Yang and asked them to go with her to the main hall.
When they saw Chen Fenghe, they were both very anxious.
Madam Wu said anxiously, "Madam Shen, I don't feel unwell at all, so I'm sure I'm fine. You should save Old Wu and our two sons first! If anything happens to them, I... our family will have no hope at all!"
As he spoke, he couldn't help but raise his sleeves to wipe away his tears.
Madam Yang also cried and said, "Madam Shen, my Baozong has always helped your family a lot and run a lot of errands. For the sake of our friendship, you must save him!"
Chen Fenghe whispered to comfort the two, "Auntie Wu, Auntie Yang, don't worry. I'm taking your pulses to find out why the village chief and Brother Yang are suddenly feeling unwell. Don't worry, I will definitely save them."
As she spoke, she quickly took the pulse of both of them.
The pulses of both people were normal and there were no signs of poisoning.
Shen Fenghe narrowed her eyes slightly.
It was pretty much as she expected. The reason she had taken the extra step of checking their pulses was because she was worried they might have been poisoned as well, but because of the physical constitution of men and women, the symptoms hadn't yet taken effect.
It now appears that this possibility has been ruled out.
Qin Mengyue asked anxiously, "Feng He, how is it?"
Chen Fenghe shook her head and said, "Auntie Wu and Auntie Yang are both fine."
Aunt Wu and Aunt Yang couldn't help but get anxious after hearing this: "Mrs. Shen, we just said we are fine. It's my husband and son who are in trouble. Mrs. Qin just told us not to make a fuss and waste time. If it's too late..."
Chen Fenghe said calmly, "Auntie Wu, Auntie Yang, I know everyone is wondering if there's something wrong with the food at tonight's banquet, which is why everyone is like that. But the food at the banquet is the same for both the male guests in the outer room and the female guests in the inner room. Have you ever thought about why only the men are unwell, but the women are all fine?"
When these words came out, Aunt Wu and Aunt Yang were both stunned for a moment: "Could it be... not because of the wine and food?"
As he was speaking, Yuan Xu walked in and reported, "Master, Madam, all the unwell men in the village have been brought here and are now being placed in the wing room in the backyard."
Chen Fenghe ordered, "Butler Yun, could you please send someone to collect blood from one of them immediately? Also, have someone feed everyone the soapberry water that the kitchen has prepared. It's okay to feed more, but it would be best if everyone could apply it three or five times!"
After hearing this, Yuan Xu immediately agreed and went.
Chen Fenghe turned around and looked at Xiao Yunshuo: "Your Highness... ahem, at the banquet just now, the wine and food served to the male and female guests..."
In front of outsiders, she was really unsure how to address Xiao Yunshuo. If she was asked to call him "husband" or "my man", she would be so embarrassed...
Before she could finish, Xiao Yunshuo had already guessed what she was thinking and continued, "Is there any difference?"
Shen Fenghe nodded.
Xiao Yunshuo said, "The food is the same, nothing different. The only difference is the wine. The men are drinking the spicy sorghum wine, while the women are drinking the milder Huadiao wine, specially brought in from Jiangnan. I've already sent people to collect all the jars of wine from tonight, both empty and unused."
Chen Fenghe was very pleased.
I have to say, having a smart teammate makes you happy while working.
She asked, "Where is it? I'll go check it out right away."
Xiao Yunshuo then took her to a warehouse in the side yard.
This side courtyard is like an alley, located between the small courtyard where the kitchen is located and the main courtyard where guests are entertained. It is separated from the main courtyard by only a moon gate, and from the kitchen by a locked door.
The wine is collected in the warehouse here, so it is convenient to serve it. You can just carry it directly from the warehouse to the main courtyard.
As for the banquet for the female guests, it was held in the inner courtyard, so the Huadiao wine was also moved to the inner courtyard in advance.
Chen Fenghe asked someone to bring some bowls boiled in hot water and took some samples of the remaining wine in each barrel.
After this matter was completed, Yuan Xu had already taken the blood sample.
Chen Fenghe said, "Your Highness, I need to do some tests with herbs. I'll go to the pharmacy first..."
Xiao Yunshuo looked at her and asked, "Do you need help?"
Chen Fenghe immediately said with a guilty conscience: "No... no need. I can do it faster alone. Your Highness, have those people feed everyone soapberry water. Don't stop until I say it's okay..."
Xiao Yunshuo looked at her again, then nodded and said, "Okay."
The pharmacy was built a while ago and stored various medicinal herbs. After Chen Fenghe confirmed that the door latch was locked, he entered the space directly.
She quickly used chemical reagents to analyze the collected blood and wine samples, and the results came out soon.
Arsenic trioxide, commonly known as arsenic, was detected in both the blood and the wine.
Shen Fenghe's expression turned cold.
In ancient times, arsenic, like thiamin, was a deadly poison.
Once ingested by mistake, unless vomiting is induced in time or the poisoning is mild, death is certain!
Of all the wine samples she collected, seven or eight out of ten were found to be poisonous, which shows how large a dosage the person used. It was clear that he wanted to kill the entire village!
What kind of hatred or grudge could cause such viciousness?
Moreover, it was chosen at a time like today.
Although she didn't have the taboos of the ancients, today was her 'wedding day' after all. If anyone dared to do something like this and offend her, don't blame her for being rude.
Chen Fenghe took out the special medicine for treating arsenic from the space, changed its original packaging into an exquisite porcelain bottle, and wrote down the proportions of the recipe before coming out.
She whispered to Xiao Yunshuo, "It's arsenic."
Xiao Yunshuo narrowed his eyes slightly, almost imperceptibly.
Chen Fenghe handed the porcelain bottle to Xiao Yunshuo and continued, "This is the antidote. Mix it with saline to make an injection. Direct injection will have a better detoxification effect. Here's the mixing ratio."
Xiao Yunshuo had followed her all the way to exile and had seen the detoxification treatment method using a syringe several times, so he was not surprised. He nodded and immediately asked someone to do it.
While administering the medicine, the vomiting did not stop.
Once the poison has entered the body, we can only try our best to expel it. This is the basic treatment logic even in modern medicine.
Inducing vomiting is to make the stomach vomit out. If conditions permit, gastric lavage is also one of the most important methods, but it cannot be too demanding now.
As for the special medicine, it is to combine with the toxins in the body and encourage the kidneys to excrete the toxins as quickly as possible.
This went on for most of the night, until dawn, when the lives of the poisoned people in the village were finally saved.
The women in the village who had gathered at the Yun family finally felt relieved.
Qin Mengyue couldn't help with detoxification or curing the disease, so she instructed the maids in the mansion and the cooks in the kitchen to prepare some food to entertain the people who had been worried all night.
Shredded chicken porridge, white flour buns, scallion pancakes, scrambled eggs, stir-fried wild vegetables with bacon, and pickled radish, it was a very rich meal.
The women in the family had been worried all night, but when they heard that the men in the family were out of danger, they finally felt relieved and started to feel hungry.
Most people sat down and were about to eat, but a few sarcastic people insisted on coming out to get something.
Madam Wang, who had just led the commotion the previous night, couldn't help but sneer, "How bold of you all! You ate at his banquet last night, and the men in your family just had a near-death experience. Now you've forgotten the pain and you're still daring to eat at his table? Aren't you afraid you'll suffer the consequences?"
After a few words, no one dared to eat anymore.
Qin Mengyue couldn't help feeling a little angry.
Shuo'er and Fenghe's wedding night was delayed. After taking a break from saving people, they started to make sarcastic remarks here!
Just as he was about to open his mouth to refute, Chen Fenghe happened to walk in. He couldn't help but smile and said, "Isn't this Aunt Wang? If Aunt Wang is worried that my family has poisoned the food, then just don't eat it. That's fine. You can't force a cow to eat grass if it doesn't want to, right?"
When Madam Wang heard this, her face twisted a little: "You...you are just a junior, how dare you call me a cow?"
Chen Fenghe pretended to be aggrieved: "Auntie Wang, you are really wronging me. I was just making a metaphor, why do you have to take it so seriously? Besides, what's the point of being junior or not? We are not really related to your family, we are just from the same village. I respectfully call you Auntie Wang, that's my etiquette. Auntie Wang, please respect yourself and don't force me to really get angry and curse. That would really make things ugly!"
Madam Wang stammered, "I...how could I not respect myself? My man ate your food and got into trouble, so I can't doubt you guys?"
Chen Fenghe sneered, "My husband meant well and invited everyone to the feast. Aunt Wang kept saying things in a sarcastic way, implicitly and explicitly saying it was my family who poisoned us. What? On such a joyous day as our wedding, are we really going to poison ourselves and bring bad luck upon ourselves? Even if our wedding was fake, and we really poisoned the villagers to entertain our guests, wouldn't we have made all the necessary preparations and fled immediately after poisoning them? Or would we have stayed and waited for the authorities to catch us?"
Mrs. Wang didn't know how to respond for a moment.
Others couldn't help but whisper.
"Yes, it's someone's wedding day. Who would poison the guests and make themselves uncomfortable?"
"If it was really me who was poisoned, I would have fled long ago. Why would I stay at home and work late at night to detoxify and save people?"
"that is……"
Seeing that no one was on her side anymore, Madam Wang couldn't help but get anxious. She tilted her neck and said, "Xing... maybe you're relying on your medical skills and deliberately want to show off your abilities this time, so... so that everyone will come to you for treatment in the future so you can earn more money!"
Chen Fenghe looked at her indifferently and asked, "Just to earn a little money, we poisoned and killed people. If we're not careful, we might even get ourselves beheaded? Let me be frank. In Shili Village, even without mentioning the Yun family's wealth, which family in the village is richer than ours? Harming people just to earn money? This is ridiculous. But... speaking of which, Aunt Wang's brother is also a doctor, right? Aunt Wang can have such a guess, is it a family tradition?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Wang turned pale and sternly said, "You! You're talking nonsense! That's all! I can't defeat your sharp tongue! I'm going home, and we'll never have anything to do with each other again!"
As he said that, he was about to walk towards the door.
At this moment, a nanny blocked her way at the door.
Madam Wang turned around and said angrily, "Madam Qin, Madam Shen, what do you mean by this? What? Are you saying that if I don't eat your poisonous food, you won't let me leave?"
Chen Fenghe turned around and sneered, "Don't keep saying I poisoned the meal. Who poisoned us? If we don't figure it out today, won't our family be blamed for the rest of our lives? So, Fenghe has to keep you all here for a few hours. Once the matter is sorted out, everyone can rest assured. We, as people from the same village, can continue to interact with each other without any grudges in the future. Isn't that right?"
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