Chapter 17 (17) Misunderstanding and Misrecognition
The Imperial Academy was not very soundproof, and Lianzhi heard some of their quarrel when she came in.
"Who wants to harm you?" Lianzhi asked bluntly.
Hearing this, Bo Kang looked at him in surprise. He hadn't expected him to trust him. He tried to find a way to make a good time, but then he joked, "Why don't you think I accepted a bribe to buy the test questions?"
"You won't." Lianzhi shook her head. "You are very upright."
Being honest is a bit annoying.
Bo Kang couldn't help but laugh. He sat down and asked Lian Zhi to get closer to him: "What are you doing here?"
"You've been busy for a long time, you must be tired. I wanted to give you some calming soup," Lianzhi admitted. He held the bowl of cold calming soup, a layer of grease and swollen white fungus floating on top, and said angrily, "I forgot I can't rest in the middle of grading papers, and the soup is cold. I'll just throw it away."
Lianzhi is quite familiar with the marking process? Bai Kang's eyes darkened, and without saying anything, he snatched the bowl of soup: "Don't pour it out. It's so hard to make it, it would be a shame to throw it away."
Regardless, Lianzhi still missed him. Seeing Lianzhi's worried look and the concern in her eyes, Bai Kang picked up the bowl and drank the tranquilizing soup in one gulp.
Most importantly, since this soup was admitted to the Imperial College, it must have been tested for poison...
"Pah, pah, pah!"
The delicate porcelain bowl fell to the ground and shattered into pieces. Lianzhi was caught off guard by his sudden anger and was startled. Before she could ask, Bo Kang grabbed her wrist and pressed her down onto the couch.
The familiar gesture reminded Lianzhi of the day when she said she wanted to repay a favor, but was frightened by Bo Kang. His face was pale, but he still had full momentum and kept talking.
"What are you doing? Are you crazy..."
"Is there poison in the soup?"
Bai Kang raised an eyebrow. His chest felt tight, and he was having trouble breathing. He pointed at the shattered porcelain bowl on the ground, his words tinged with a sense of danger. He raised an eyebrow, and his gaze towards Lianzhi was devoid of warmth.
If Lianzhi really wanted to kill him, he would have no choice but to show no mercy.
Looking at this face that bore a striking resemblance to Chen Fenglian, Bai Kang felt a strange sense of reluctance, but he quickly dismissed it. He pinched Lianzhi's chin, forcing the lifeless young man to look at him. "Explain."
Lianzhi was genuinely frightened by him, not knowing why Bo Kang suddenly attacked him. He struggled hard twice, but couldn't break free, so he could only shout, "Let me go first! Brother Kang, let go!"
Bo Kang did not move, but squeezed him into the corner and waited for his next words.
"This was made by the mansion's chef! Why would I poison you? Besides, wouldn't it be easy for me to be discovered if I did something like that?" Lianzhi was really anxious. Not only did he fail to curry favor with her, but he was also misunderstood as having poisoned her. He felt so wronged that he almost died. That was clearly the calming soup he often drank!
"What good would it do me to poison you? Who'll keep me if you die?" Lianzhi said aggrievedly, her voice choking with sobs. "If you don't believe me, ask the guards outside. I took a sip when they brought it to me. They all saw it!"
Hearing this, Bai Kang finally released his grip, opened the door, and ordered the guards to call in the doctor from the Shangshu Mansion to examine the medicine on the ground. Lianzhi leaned against the wall and said, "You pinched my hand so hard that it hurt."
Bo Kang turned around.
A red mark circled her delicate, fair wrist, indeed from being pinched so hard. He remained silent, not coaxing Lianzhi as he had before. When the doctor arrived, he carefully examined the remaining tranquilizing decoction on the floor and then used a silver needle to probe the remaining liquid at the bottom of the bowl.
The silver needle did not change color.
The doctor rinsed his mouth, spat out the small sip of the tranquilizing decoction he had just taken, and said, "My Lord, this decoction is indeed non-toxic. It's just that some of the herbs in it counteract each other. While it won't have a noticeable effect once you drink it, drinking it over and over again will only make your body weaker. Furthermore, the person who prepared the decoction probably miscontrolled the heat and dosage, aggravating the effects of the herbs, leading to the immediate onset of symptoms."
"As for your headache and shortness of breath, it's probably due to this aconite root. Aconite is inherently toxic and should be used with caution. May I ask who made this bowl of tranquilizing soup? Could you please show me the recipe?"
When Bo Kang drank it, he felt chest tightness and irritability, and subconsciously thought that Lianzhi had poisoned him. Realizing that he had misunderstood, he turned back with an apologetic look, only to find that Lianzhi's face had turned even paler.
Mutual restraint? Weakness?
He had been drinking that medicine since he was a child. He didn't dare eat too much of anything sent by the imperial kitchen or the empress dowager. This Tremella tranquilizing soup was made in the small kitchen of his own bedroom. It was all supervised by the palace servants around him, so it should be fine. If there was a problem with the recipe, the people around him should be able to find it out.
"Will I die if I drink too much of this medicine?" Lianzhi's face was as pale as frost. "They've wanted to kill me for a long time..."
Although Bo Kang didn't know what was going on, he had a rough idea of what was going on. He took Lian Zhi and patted him on the back soothingly.
"It's my fault. I wrongly blamed you," Bo Kang apologized hastily. Lianzhi was usually unforgiving, and if she was misunderstood today, wouldn't she be furious? But the usually spoiled Lianzhi didn't make a scene. Instead, she leaned against him, trembling slightly.
It looks so pitiful.
Just as Bai Kang was about to say something coaxing him, Lianzhi suddenly looked up and said to the doctor, "I'll write down the prescription for you. Please help me write an appropriate prescription."
The doctor answered, and Lianzhi picked up his pen, sat down at the table, and began to write. He had written this down specifically because the imperial physician beside him had said it would be beneficial to his health. As he wrote, he asked, "Isn't aconite a good herb for tonifying yang?"
"Young Master, you're wrong. Any medicine must be used for the right condition. While aconite can invigorate yang and dispel cold, it's not a warming tonic. While your prescription doesn't contain any ingredients that counteract aconite, herbs like pinellia and fritillaria should be used with caution," the doctor warned. Lianzhi listened carefully and nodded, "Thank you for your advice."
The doctor wrote him a new prescription before leaving. Lianzhi clutched the paper, her face no longer showing the panic she had just seen. She angrily said, "Now you believe me, don't you?"
"I believe it. I know you're thinking about me." Bo Kang smiled. Without waiting for Lianzhi's reaction, he ruffled his soft long hair into a mess. "I'm going to the palace. Qinghe is left to you. Ask him to do anything you need. You are not allowed to go out."
A full day passed before Bai Kang returned. Leaving the Imperial College before the results were announced was a matter of urgency. If he hadn't said he had urgent business to attend to, the soldiers outside the Imperial College wouldn't have let him out. That eunuch, Lu, relied on his power, and he had to beg for help for a long time before he was finally allowed to see the emperor.
On the way, Bai Kang had already thought of his words. He said that he swore by his position as Minister of Rites that he would thoroughly investigate the matter. If he could not find the truth, he was willing to be punished as a member of the group.
He knew that if this matter was not concluded, he would not be able to escape.
Seven days, Emperor Jianguang only gave him seven days.
Although time was tight, it was better than being accused of cheating without any clear reason. Bai Kang breathed a sigh of relief. As he was about to leave, Chen Fengke called him back, speaking in her usual half-smiley tone.
"Lord Bai, who are the guards guarding the Imperial Academy today?"
"I came here in a hurry and didn't remember." He replied calmly.
Chen Fengke didn't ask him any more questions and let him leave. He didn't breathe a sigh of relief until he left the palace. Chen Fengke would definitely ask who the guard on duty was today, and he might be trying to make things difficult for him, and he would have to make arrangements later.
It was already late at night when he returned to the Imperial College. Because he had sneaked out without alerting anyone, the Imperial College officials, intent on covering up for him, let him in easily.
The lights were brightly lit in the room as the other examiners worked overtime to re-mark the papers, striving to re-grade and arrange the results before the scheduled announcement date. Bai Kang returned to his room with the duplicate papers and list of names.
He had already ordered an investigation into those students and their associates, and results would be available within a few days. However, the most important issue was the King of Longxi.
By the time he had finished explaining everything, it was almost dawn. Having stayed up all night again, Bai Kang decided to give up his rest and join the marking.
A figure carrying a basin of water and a towel stopped beside him. The figure was very familiar. He chuckled and said, "You come here to show your courtesy again..."
He shut his mouth awkwardly before he finished. The person standing next to him wasn't Lianzhi, but Jiang Yong. Jiang Yong was still wearing his clerk's uniform, having also been out of rest for a long time. Yet, his eyes were bright and sharp, clearly unlike those of a man in his late twenties. Bo Kang pointed to the tabletop. "Put the basin there. What brings you here?"
"The guards heard I was from the Shangshu Mansion, so they let me in." Jiang Yong's eyes gleamed with admiration. "Sir, may I stay with you?"
Bai Kang's whole body was stiff.
It was simply that Jiang Yong looked so much like Chen Fenglian. Of all the people in his household, his facial features were the most like Chen Fenglian's. Being stared at with such admiration, Bai Kang didn't know what to say.
Finally, he came to his senses and said, "Go help the other adults first."
Jiang Yong was extremely convinced and left as ordered. Bo Kang washed his face and went out, only to find that Jiang Yong had not left yet and was chatting with the guards.
"Jiang Yong, you brat!" Bo Kang strode over and scolded, "Didn't I tell you to go to work? Are you trying to slack off?"
He said this in a teasing tone, not really blaming Jiang Yong. The two people who were talking were stunned. "Jiang Yong" turned around and glared at him resentfully: "What did you call me!"
It’s over, it’s the lotus branch.
Bai Kang was even more embarrassed. It was the second time he recognized the wrong person. Could it be that his eyes were just like this... No, why did Lianzhi have the same hairstyle as Jiang Yong?
"What's wrong with you?" Bo Kang pulled him aside and asked.
The guard came to his senses and said in surprise: "So you are not Xiao Jiang." These two people look exactly the same, so they seem to be brothers?
Lianzhi smiled awkwardly. Bo Kang grabbed him and walked away, raising his eyebrows and grinning wickedly, "What are you trying to trick me into thinking?"
"I don't understand what you are saying." Lianzhi said fearlessly.
"Forget it. Just be good and obedient these few days." Bo Kang had no choice but to coax him, "There are many officials here. Be careful not to offend any of them. Even my plea for you may not be enough. Be obedient."
Lianzhi said "oh" and went back obediently. Seeing this, Bai Kang was a little surprised.
Are you obedient now?
He had hoped Lianzhi would behave, but now he was suspicious. Bo Kang shook his head and left the corridor. But he soon realized that Lianzhi was pretending to be obedient, but was secretly making her own plans.
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