Chapter 61 Chapter 61 The incident happened...
The incident occurred on the evening of March 22nd.
Jiang Wan was selling porcelain in the newly learned Loulan dialect. Loulan's night market was ablaze with lights, and people were rushing to buy porcelain. Soon, a whole cart of porcelain was almost sold out.
She has earned more than two hundred taels of silver in the past few days, and the system has just added thirty points to her, bringing her total to 382 points.
Suddenly Fang Hong ran over breathlessly and pulled Jiang Wan aside.
"There's a fire in the factory! Go check it out!"
Jiang Wan was confused and unsure: "Isn't there water near the factory? No one is putting out the fire?"
"It's out! The people nearby are trying to put out the fire with water, but it's no use. The more water they pour, the more it burns!" Fang Hong stamped her feet anxiously. "It's almost reaching the houses. Guard Li is directing the people nearby to evacuate."
"Hurry, take me there." Jiang Wan didn't care about the crowd gathered around the wooden cart and watched curiously, and ran hurriedly to the factory.
From a hundred meters away, she saw black smoke rising into the sky. As she got closer, she saw blazing flames nearly engulfing the factory. Dozens of people carrying buckets of water went back and forth, but wherever the water landed, the flames shot higher and higher with a puff, accompanied by crackling explosions.
Several houses near the factory were affected, their walls charred black. Inside, men, women, and children, clutching their heads, fled, their cries and screams deafening. Guard Li, sweating profusely, tried to calm the panicked residents and guide them away.
Seeing Jiang Wan, he was like seeing a savior: "Boss Jiang! You're finally here. Quickly think of a solution. This fire won't go out no matter how hard we try. Could it be a fire from heaven?"
Jiang Wan looked at this bizarre scene where the more water was poured on the fire, the bigger it got. He forced himself to calm down and listen carefully.
The crackling sound of the explosion was not as dull as the sound of burning wood, but rather crisp and short... like some kind of metal.
Common metals will not catch fire unless the temperature reaches thousands of degrees.
Jiang Wan's heart sank, and she listened intently. Amidst the clamor of voices, she heard a faint hissing sound.
"Stop watering! Go get some sand! Quick!" Jiang Wan quickly understood what was happening and thought to herself, "Not good!" She had to put out the fire first, then head back to the palace.
"Ah?" Guard Li said, "Sand is heavy, and it will probably take a long time to put out the fire. Do we really need to use sand?"
Jiang Wan grabbed his hand and emphasized, "Trust me, go quickly."
The warmth of her hands reminded Guard Li of her composure, intelligence, and strength when they encountered horse thieves in the desert. He also remembered her standing on top of the carriage and promising that she would stand in front of everyone.
Guard Li nodded.
Jiang Wan said to Fang Hong, "I'll go to the palace as soon as the fire is out. Please comfort the affected people for me. I'll cover the medical expenses for those injured. I'll also pay double the compensation for any lost property. Tomorrow morning, explain everything to the people, issue a public apology, and suspend the sale of porcelain."
Fang Hong was shocked: "It doesn't have to be like this, right?"
Jiang Wan's face was heavy. The crackling and hissing of metal during a fire were characteristic of sodium metal burning in water. Sodium was rare in this era, and gathering enough to start a fire was even harder. It couldn't have been an accident.
She recalled what had happened recently. If someone wanted to harm her, there were only two reasons: one was that other merchants were jealous of her good porcelain sales; the other was that the person who poisoned Princess Qingrong had taken action.
It is difficult for ordinary merchants to collect so much sodium in a short period of time, so the latter possibility is greater.
Baskets of sand were thrown onto the flames, and the fire in the factory began to subside. Jiang Wan watched the flames, his heart burning with anxiety.
The murderer didn't do this just to vent his anger. There was probably also activity in the Loulan palace.
As for her, as long as she spreads the news that the factory fire endangers the people and adds fuel to the fire, the public outrage alone will be enough to keep her from escaping.
Time was pressing, so she could only briefly explain her suspicions to Fang Hong and instruct her, "Security at the factory and residence must be tightened for the next few days. Tell Guard Li not to go out, and use the people we bring with us to guard key areas. Tomorrow morning, apologize and compensate as needed, and don't worry about the money. If anyone says something unpleasant, don't get angry with them. Go out less, and wait until I get back."
After giving the instructions, she took out a day's supply of silver and hurried into the palace.
In Princess Qingrong's palace, Aigu was feeding her mother medicine.
Jiang Wan walked quickly into the hall and said as he walked, "Your Highness, my factory just caught fire. I guess..."
She asked, "What medicine did you give the queen?"
"What medicine? Isn't this the silver bush that you sent your guards to deliver?" Aigu was puzzled.
Jiang Wan was startled. He quickly rushed forward and snatched the medicine bowl away, saying anxiously, "My Lady, please spit it out!"
"What are you doing? The silver bush is so expensive, why are you spitting it out?" Aigu was dissatisfied.
Jiang Wan took out the silver bush from his pocket and said, "I didn't send anyone here. I came to the palace to deliver the silver bush. It's just that the factory caught fire, so I was a quarter of an hour late."
Aigu's expression was stagnant for a moment, then she suddenly grabbed her mother's shoulders and shook her, then patted her back: "Mom, spit it out quickly, spit it out quickly!"
Jiang Wan stood up and asked the maid, "Who was that person who just brought the medicine? What did he look like, how was he dressed, and did he have an accent? Please describe it in detail."
The maid said, "The man looked like a Wusun, dressed like your guard. He spoke a half-fluent Loulan dialect, interspersed with incomprehensible Wusun words. He claimed to be your guard and said you had an urgent matter and couldn't come, so he asked him to deliver the silver bush."
"How long have you been gone?"
"He waited until the medicine was ready before leaving. He just left." The maid replied.
Jiang Wan ordered, "He shouldn't have gone far. The Wusun and Loulan people look very different. If he's not disguised, he shouldn't be difficult to find. Send a trusted guard to capture him immediately."
The maid bowed and left.
Jiang Wan sighed and just as he turned around to check on the princess, he heard Aigu yelling, "Call the witch doctor! Call the witch doctor!"
The princess coughed violently several times and spat out a mouthful of black blood. Her face, which had just turned a little rosy after a few days of recuperation, quickly turned pale and became more fragile than when she first met her.
Jiang Wan patted Aigu's shoulder and looked into his eyes: "The more critical the situation, the more calm you must be."
Her eyes were like a tranquil lake, calming the other person's inner restlessness. Aigu stared into her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and said in a hoarse voice: "Okay. I'll go call the witch doctor, and you help me take care of my mother."
Jiang Wan's heart was not at ease as he watched Aigu's figure disappear into the night.
Since the murderer had impersonated her guard and poisoned her, he must have considered the presence of a witch doctor in the palace. Either the poison was taking effect too quickly for a witch doctor to arrive, or he was certain she couldn't find one.
After thinking about it, Jiang Wan called a guard, gave him one hundred taels of silver, and asked him to call all the witch doctors in the city to at least find out what kind of poison the princess was infected with.
Princess Qingrong's breathing became increasingly weaker as she lay beside him. Jiang Wan woke up the system again, only to discover two unexpected notifications:
"The host's factory caught fire, porcelain sales have come to a halt, and thirty points have been deducted."
"The host's factory caught fire, causing damage to the surrounding residents. This has caused public outrage, and 50 points will be deducted. Currently, there are 302 points remaining. Once all points are deducted, they will be immediately erased. Please strive to contribute to the development of handicrafts to avoid point deductions."
Jiang Wan: Grass!!! (a kind of plant)
This was the first time since crossing over that she'd been deducted points by the system. Although the customer service representative had previously informed her that her account would be erased after all points were deducted, Jiang Wan still shuddered when she heard the cold, mechanical voice read out the words "instantly erased."
She took a deep breath and went to the medicine interface in the raw material storage to search for an antidote. She wasn't sure what kind of poison the murderer had used, so she looked at a few universal ones first.
Detoxification pill, can cure any kind of poison, price is 1000 points.
Recovery Pills can cure any form of external or internal injuries, detoxify any poison, and fully restore the human body. The price is 2,000 points.
Resurrection wine, pour it into the mouth of a corpse to revive the person, the price is 3000 points.
Can't afford all of them.
She flipped through the pages helplessly and found a "life-extending pill" in a corner. It could extend one's life by two hours and cost 200 points.
Jiang Wan opened his eyes and looked at Princess Qingrong on the bed. She was groaning in pain, her lips blue, and her face looked deathly pale. It looked like she wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer.
The huge palace was quiet and Aigu had not returned yet.
The princess began to regain consciousness. She gently recited her son's name and muttered things about her youth in a daze.
How she grew up pampered, only to be sent away in marriage at the prime of her life; how she won the favor of the King of Loulan and gave birth to a son; how she gradually fell ill, her husband found a new love, and her brother ignored her letters for help after ascending the throne...
I miss my mother, my son, and Lin'an.
Jiang Wan's mother's figure suddenly appeared before his eyes. Wearing the jacket that his mother had sewn by hand, Jiang Wan felt a mother's warmth.
She couldn't help but touch the coat on her body, which was thick and warm.
Jiang Wan's eyes welled up, and she gritted her teeth, spending two hundred points to exchange for the Life-Sustaining Pill, feeding it to Princess Qingrong. In her previous life, she would have definitely felt bad about wasting the points, but now, seeing the princess's face light up, she felt it was worth it.
Aigu hasn't come back yet, and they can't just sit and wait.
Jiang Wan found another eunuch, gave him a tip of two taels of silver, and asked him to help check on Aigu.
The eunuch took the silver and went deep into the palace. As soon as he left, the guard who had left the palace to find a witch doctor returned with him.
Jiang Wan raised an eyebrow: "Did you only find this one witch doctor?"
The guard bowed and explained, "Young lady, there aren't many clinics open at night, and for some reason, there are even fewer today. Several well-known clinics have had their witch doctors sent away, leaving only a few children to watch over the doors. I searched the entire city and finally found a witch doctor in a deserted clinic on the outskirts of the city."
The old witch doctor also said, "Yes, a patient came to see me tonight, but I was suffering from abdominal pain and diarrhea at the time, so I didn't go."
Hearing this, Jiang Wan felt even more uneasy.
Asking all the witch doctors in the city to leave... How much power does it take to do that?
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