The whole garden was in uproar. Madam Zhang's cane slammed into Madam Cui's embroidered shoes, causing the old woman to curse loudly, "Quack! You're lying! Chen is clearly a doctor!"
"Old Madam, please be careful with your words!" Doctor Yu lifted the bottom layer of the medicine chest, revealing a golden plaque wrapped in yellow silk with the words "Benevolent Heart to Save the World" in large characters. "This plaque was given by the Empress Dowager herself."
Doctor Xu opened the medical records and said, "I just treated the young master of Prince Ning's Mansion for an emergency last month."
Doctor Qin sneered: "My two apprentices are on duty at the Imperial Hospital."
Cui suddenly collapsed to the ground, and a blood-stained cloth bag rolled out of her sleeve. Jiang Songyi stood on tiptoe to take a look and almost laughed out loud - the cloth bag was clearly embroidered with the Cui family emblem!
[What a trick! Madam Chen must have taken a drug to fake her death!]
Jiang Shu caught a glimpse of her niece trying to hold back her laughter, and poked her forehead with her nails: "Watch your eyes!" Turning around, she saw blood seeping from the hem of Chen Ruyi's skirt, which was exactly the same as the one on the cloth bag.
The three doctors had already left. Old Madam Cui slumped to the ground, looking at the evidence that had fallen from her daughter's sleeve. She suddenly realized that she had been tricked—the secret medicine must have been replaced long ago!
Old Madam Cui's face flushed as she forced herself to say, "I'm sorry for the indiscretion. But the princess's female doctor, Dr. Chen, diagnosed me with a pregnant pulse the day before yesterday, and I also noticed bleeding after the fall. How come the doctors couldn't feel my pulse?" She poked the dark red mark on the ground with her skinny fingers.
The three doctors glanced at the bloodstains. Doctor Xu twirled his beard and said, "This little bit of blood can hardly be considered a miscarriage. It could be a period, or even menstruation. As for the pulse, I am not very knowledgeable and cannot make any conclusions."
Doctor Qin impatiently threw away the straps of his medicine box and said, "I told you there's no pregnancy! I can't even feel the pulse of a living person!"
Doctor Yu stared at Chen Ruyi's blue nails and asked, "Madam, have you eaten anything by mistake recently?"
"It's hard to say whether I'll eat the medicine or not." Chen Ruyi glanced at Cui. She had given the purchasing power to this concubine's daughter-in-law, thinking she was being kind, but she hadn't expected to be plotted against. She gathered her fox fur coat tightly and said, "Please come with me back to the mansion to check on the daily expenses."
Cui's hand, clutching the old lady's sleeve, trembled. If this group of people were really allowed to search the house... She stole a glance at her mother-in-law, cold sweat oozing from her forehead.
A fierce look flashed in Madam Cui's eyes. She was determined to nail this bitch to death in the Princess's Mansion today! "What do you mean by dead pulse or live pulse? It's obvious that you are using tricks to cover up the scandal!" Her voice suddenly became sharp. "If we go back to the Duke's Mansion where you are in charge, I don't know how many dirty things you will frame me for!"
Duke Dingguo Deng Xu lowered his head and rubbed his jade ring. Two women were battling in the hall; no matter who was defeated, it would be a good thing for him—if Chen died here.
"Where there's smoke without fire!" Old Madam Cui slammed her cane to the ground. "After years of widowhood, she suffered a miscarriage in public. How can the Deng family's ancestors still maintain their dignity?" She turned to Deng Xu and said, "If the Duke is truly innocent, the elders of the clan should open the ancestral hall and severely punish this adulteress!"
Deng Xu looked up and met Chen Ruyi's icy gaze, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. This woman held evidence of his father's murder—when the old Duke died suddenly in the brothel, he had personally brought the bowl of ginseng soup laced with red cinnabar.
He recalled the rainy night twenty years ago when Chen Ruyi, draped in a plain white cloak, knocked on his study's door. Back then, his father constantly clamored for a nephew, making him, the eldest son, a laughingstock. "Young Master, do you wish to eliminate future troubles?" She slid a celadon vase from her sleeve, the candlelight casting a ghostly shadow on it.
Later, as the white banners fluttered in the mourning hall, they stared at each other across the incense. She straightened the imperial crown, and he clutched the imperial seal. For years, they had publicly displayed a loving mother and filial son, but secretly, they had been holding each other's weak points.
"I believe in my mother," Deng Xu said hoarsely, his Adam's apple rolling up and down. Chen Ruyi sneered and turned away, the jade bracelet on her wrist making a crisp sound.
Doctor Yu suddenly squatted down, touched some blood, and twisted it open: "This blood is mixed with cinnabar." He took out a silver needle from the medicine box and inserted it into Chen Ruyi's tea cup. The tip of the needle instantly turned black: "There is saffron in the tea!"
"Impossible!" Cui screamed. "I know for sure." Her voice stopped abruptly. Old Madam Cui slapped her in the face, knocking her to the ground. "You traitor! How dare you plot to murder our mistress!"
Chen Ruyi stroked the embossed pattern on the teacup. "Half a month ago, Aunt Cui said the peonies in my yard were blooming beautifully and insisted on transplanting a few. Coincidentally, the next day, I had a new batch of servants in my small kitchen." She traced the silver needle in Doctor Yu's hand with her fingertips. "Today's tea was brewed by the new maid."
Deng Xu suddenly jumped up and grabbed Cui's neck: "You evil woman! Your mother treated you so well, and you actually did such a cruel thing to you!" Cui kicked wildly, and the golden hairpin fell to the ground and broke into two pieces.
"Wait." The princess walked in slowly, supporting her maid. "We cannot tolerate the sight of blood in this palace." She glanced at the crowd. "Since poisoning is involved, we should send it to the Jingzhao Yin for investigation."
Madam Cui stumbled back. If this really went to court, those dregs of medicine that bribed the doctor would be a waste. Her cloudy old eyes suddenly widened, and she rushed towards the pillar!
"Stop her!" Chen Ruyi shouted. The guards rushed forward, grabbing the old lady's belt and ripping off half of her skirt. Deng Xu seized the opportunity to snatch the medicine bag Cui had hidden: "Here's the evidence!"
Doctor Yu sniffed the powder and said, "This is a magical herb from the Western Regions. Taking it will cause a disordered pulse similar to a happy pulse, but taking too much will cause a dead pulse." He looked at Chen Ruyi's slightly bulging sleeves and asked, "Madam, when you took my pulse just now, did you press the Neiguan acupoint?"
Chen Ruyi slowly raised her hand, revealing the gauze wrapped tightly around her wrist. "It's an issue I acquired early in life. When blood circulation is blocked, I need to press this acupoint." She untied the gauze, revealing three old knife scars. "Otherwise, I wouldn't even be able to act out this fake death pulse."
In the dead silence of the room, Deng Xu thought of his father's bulging eyes before he died. At that time, the woman had also calmly pressed the bloody dagger into his hand.
Jiang Songyi leaned against the vermilion porch pillar, eating melon seeds: [This drama at the Dingguo Mansion is even more exciting than Mr. Zizhu's "The Sea of Sin." The murder of husbands and fathers is even complete.]
Jiang Shu's ears twitched, thinking to herself that she would definitely send someone to buy this story tomorrow. Suddenly, she saw Old Madam Cui pulling Cui forward and pushing her forward: "Since we have torn our relationship apart, let's just clear up the matter of Lantern Festival!"
Cui clutched her handkerchief and sobbed, "That night, my husband was drunk and sleeping in the east wing. I saw Chen come out with her clothes disheveled." She suddenly covered her face, "My husband was still calling me 'Ruyi'."
Deng Xu's forehead veins popped up: "Nonsense!"
"Suzaku can testify!" Before Cui finished her words, Chen Ruyi's personal maid suddenly knelt down and said, "I was guarding the door that night and did see the Duke and his wife." The words stopped abruptly here, but it aroused more imagination than if they had been finished.
Jiang Songyi spat out the melon seed shells. "I was wondering why Madam Chen had such a horrible accident. It turns out her personal maid was bribed." She squinted at the sachet dangling from the hem of Suzaku's skirt. "This cheap powder smells just like the 'Seven Days of Joy' that Master used to make!"
Jiang Shu happened to be standing downwind, and the pungent aroma made her sneeze three times. With a flick of her beaded armor, she ripped off the sachet from Zhuque's waist. "What a filthy thing!" she said, throwing it into Doctor Xu's arms. "Please take a look at it."
Madam Cui's face suddenly changed. She reached for the medicine with her withered hands, but Doctor Qin blocked her way. Doctor Yu took a little of the powder and twisted it open. "This is mixed with red musk powder and saffron. Long-term use can cause menstrual disorders in women." He suddenly smelled a sweetness. "And... tribute honey from the Western Regions?"
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