11. Little Black Cat
"The reason Concubine Jing had a miscarriage was due to chronic poisoning."
Chen Ji's voice was like a stone thrown into a calm pond, causing countless splashes.
Even the ash from the burning incense sticks in the copper incense burner on the coffee table, which had originally floated straight up to the roof, suddenly became a tangled ball.
Nanny Chunrong took a step forward and said, "Are you sure? My wife's miscarriage was indeed caused by poisoning? Tell me, who did it?"
There was a sound of mattress rustling behind the screen, and Concubine Jing seemed to be sitting up on the bed.
The four strong servants beside Chen Ji unconsciously let go and stopped pulling hard.
Everyone was waiting for his answer.
However, Chen Ji was not sure whether Concubine Jing was poisoned.
But in this dead end, if he doesn't say something shocking, he will die in Prince Jing's Mansion.
Concubine Jing, who was behind the screen, asked doubtfully, "Are you sure I was poisoned?"
Chen Ji didn't answer. He just slowly straightened his messy clothes and asked calmly, "Besides Madam Jingfei, is there anyone else in Wanxing Garden feeling unwell?"
Nanny Chunrong shook her head. "No, even the maids in the palace have their daily routines recorded. If anyone is unwell, they are not allowed to enter Wanxing Garden to avoid passing the disease to the fetus."
After thinking for a moment, Chen Ji turned to look at the screen and said, "Madam, can I look for clues in your room?"
"How dare you," Nanny Xitang beside Concubine Yun angrily said, "How dare you, a man from the outer residence, rummage around in Concubine Jing's room? How dare you..."
Concubine Jing interrupted, "Go ahead and look. If you can really find the culprit who killed my child, there's no harm in rummaging through the things. Chunhua, please ask this young doctor from the clinic to leave first. Chunrong, pack my clothes and help me dress, then ask him to come in and check on me."
This was a courtesy from the noble man, and it also bought Chen Ji some time to think about the clues.
Chunhua led Chen Ji downstairs. She lowered her voice anxiously and asked, "Did someone really poison you?"
Under the cover of night, Chen Ji stood by the fish pond in Wanxing Garden, watching the koi fish appearing and disappearing in the dark water. He did not answer the question, but just pondered.
After a while, Nanny Chunrong called him upstairs again.
At this time, Concubine Jing was wearing a red cloak and sitting on a chair. She was about thirty-three or thirty-four years old. Her hair was not tied up, but tied behind her with a hairband.
She stared at Chen Ji with a pale face: "I just remembered what you said about long-term poisoning. Could it be that someone tampered with the incense sticks..."
"No," Chen Ji shook his head. "The incense sticks are everywhere. If someone tampered with it, Madam Chunrong would have been unwell. Therefore, the person who poisoned you must have used something that you only use, and it must have been something you use daily. Otherwise, if you don't use it for a while, the toxin will be metabolized by your body."
Seeing his determination, everyone stopped talking and let him search around.
Time passed minute by minute, and Chen Ji picked up a box of rouge.
"Madam, have you used this rouge when dressing up recently?" He looked at the rouge box in his hand, which was inlaid with butterfly-shaped white mother-of-pearl, exquisite as a work of art.
Concubine Jing shook her head: "I haven't used these things since I became pregnant. I'm afraid it might be bad for the fetus."
Chen Ji put down the rouge box and scanned the items one by one, but still could not find any clues.
Gradually, a layer of fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
Where? Where exactly?
At this moment, he kept thinking about every clue in his mind. This was his chance to survive!
After an unknown amount of time, Concubine Jing finally lost her patience and said, "I thought you were confident, but you were just being mysterious. Forget it, I guess you made such a boast because you were afraid.
Don't be afraid of being beaten to death. We'll just drag you out and give you ten lashes."
Concubine Yun, who had been sitting upright, also lost interest and slowly stood up: "I'm tired, go back and rest."
"Wait," Chen Ji suddenly picked up a blue cup.
The cup is as blue as sea water, and there is a touch of green around it like misty clouds. It is so beautiful that it seems to not belong to this world.
Concubine Jing sat up straight and asked doubtfully, "Is there something wrong with this cup?"
Chen Ji asked seriously, "Madam, do you have a metallic taste in your mouth that can't be removed even by rinsing your mouth?"
Concubine Jing was surprised: "How do you know? Is this a symptom of poison?"
Chen Ji finally breathed a sigh of relief, and his entire body relaxed from his intense tension. "It's lead poisoning."
Aunt Chunrong was puzzled: "What do you mean? I've never heard of it."
"I mean, this cup is poisoned."
Lead poisoning is unfamiliar to people of this era, but Chen Ji is not unfamiliar at all.
The scientific name of this cup is lead-barium glass cup. It is a kind of vessel that appeared when the glass craft was just born in ancient times. The earliest record of its use can be traced back to the Han Dynasty. Its beauty transcends the entire era and is loved by nobles.
Although this cup is beautiful, it contains poison. Adults may need to use it for years before problems occur, but the amount of poison is fatal to the fetus.
At this time, Concubine Yun looked at Chen Ji with interest, her eyes bright and lively: when the young man said that Concubine Jing had a metallic taste in her mouth, Concubine Jing's reaction had already shown that the young man had really found the cause of the poisoning!
Concubine Jing pondered, "This cup is mine..."
Chen Ji hurriedly said, "Madam, the source of the poison has been found. As for where the cup came from, it has nothing to do with me. Can I go home now? I apologize for any offense I have caused tonight."
Concubine Jing was silent for a moment. "Where did Imperial Physician Yao find a disciple like you who knows how to act? Don't worry, if you help me find the culprit who killed the child today, you will be handsomely rewarded in the future. No one in Wanxing Garden will make things difficult for you."
Although the culprit was found, it was difficult for her to be happy as she had just experienced the pain of losing her son.
Concubine Yun said softly and gently, "Thank goodness, sister, you found the source of the poison. Otherwise, it would have been dangerous to continue drinking from this cup. Hey, I remember this cup was sent by your family, right? At the Spring Festival Poetry Festival banquet, you even took it out specifically for Lady Viscount Liu to see."
Concubine Jing's expression changed slightly.
In the subtle atmosphere of Wanxing Garden, Chen Ji didn't dare to say a word. He could only lower his head and quietly look at the environment with his peripheral vision.
The black cat and the white cat were still fighting. To be more precise, the black cat was being beaten from the east to the west and then from the west to the east. The black cat was too small and had no power to fight back.
So miserable.
Cats in large mansions don't have it easy either...
Wait, Chen Ji didn’t know if it was his illusion, but he always felt that the black cat would look at his cuffs from time to time while escaping.
Nanny Xitang beside Concubine Yun whispered, "Madam, we should go to rest."
As she said that, she picked up the white cat and prepared to leave.
Chen Ji was speechless. It turned out that the white cat belonged to Concubine Yun and the black cat belonged to Concubine Jing.
It seems that the mission of this white cat is to beat the black cat.
"I won't disturb you from resting," Concubine Yun stood up calmly. "Try not to go out during this period of time and rest well."
Concubine Jing was silent for a moment: "Thank you, sister."
Concubine Yun smiled and turned around, saying to a young maid, "Xibing, go see this person off... Your name is Chen Ji, right?"
Chen Ji lowered his head: "Yes, Chen Ji."
"Go ahead, Xibing, take him back to the clinic."
…
…
When we left Wanxing Garden, it was already midnight, one quarter past the hour of the Chou.
Chen Ji felt a layer of sweat on his back when the autumn wind blew, and he suddenly felt cold. He followed the wedding cake girl closely, fearing that if he walked slowly, something unexpected would happen.
This disaster tonight was not a fluke, but it made him feel a little melancholy.
On the wobbly green train heading towards BJ, his father told him the story of how ancient Rome's decline was suspected to be due to lead poisoning. It was from then on that he learned about the dangers of lead poisoning. He also knew that in ancient times, if utensils were to be gorgeous, many of them had to use lead craftsmanship, so lead poisoning was particularly widespread in ancient times.
Xibing was wearing a bright yellow skirt and her steps were as light as an oriole. But the girl seemed to have been trained, and when she walked, the hairpins on her head did not even shake.
The huge backyard was still bustling with people coming and going. The servants all bowed when they saw the wedding cakes, and their status was quite high.
Different from the low-key servants of the "Chun" generation in Wanxing Garden, Xibing always smiled and returned gifts with a cheerful mood.
As Xibing walked, he suddenly asked, "Do you think the person who gave that cup to Concubine Jing did it on purpose?"
Chen Ji did not answer, nor did he dare to answer the question. He just smiled and pretended not to hear.
Seeing this, Xibing snorted: "Forget it."
Before Chen Ji returned to the clinic, Miss Xibing looked at him and said with a smile, "Your clothes were torn tonight by the people from Wanxing Garden. Tomorrow I will go to the clothing bureau to make you two sets of clothes! You must remember that my wife is the most generous in this palace. Being an apprentice in a clinic has no future. If you can win my wife's favor, your future will be promising."
Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, "Thank you Madam Yunfei for your kindness. You don't have to make clothes for me."
Wedding Cake rolled his eyes endearingly: "Others have tried to win my wife's favor but still can't, and you're pushing it away. Don't refuse! My wife is giving you something, and you, a mere apprentice, have no right to refuse. Let's go!"
Xibing turned and left, while Chen Ji opened the door and walked into the clinic.
The moment he closed the door, he leaned against it and felt tired. Since he came to this world, crises have never stopped, and he needs to be fully alert to deal with them.
"Master's Liu Yao technique seems to be true," Chen Ji sighed. No matter whether others believe it or not, he already believes it.
The divination for tonight is indeed extremely dangerous. If you are not careful, you will die without a burial place.
You must never enter the palace from now on and must stay away from it.
Chen Ji dragged his tired body and slowly moved towards the backyard.
Standing next to the apricot tree, he heard the snoring of She Dengke and Liu Quxing coming from the apprentice dormitory. The two brothers were sleeping soundly.
No one was waiting for him to come back, and no one cared whether he would die in Prince Jing's mansion.
There is no one in this world to help him, he only has himself.
While he was thinking, Chen Ji froze.
The ice flow between his dantian was several times more powerful than yesterday's, and was violently raging throughout his body. In just a blink of an eye, Chen Ji felt that his blood, muscles, and bones were all frozen.
The technique of carrying stones and hugging stakes!
Chen Ji struggled to stand in the yard and practiced the technique of carrying stones and hugging stakes to resist the ice flow.
But the ice flow did not shrink back into the dantian like yesterday, it was just suppressed and no longer so restless.
A warm current surged out from behind his waist, bit by bit fighting with the ice flow. Chen Ji was unable to move and could only maintain the posture of carrying the stone and hugging the pile.
Fatigue and coldness intertwined together, and his eyelids became heavier and heavier. After a few breaths, he fell asleep in this strange posture, standing next to the apricot tree.
A crow landed on the top of the apricot tree, silently watching Chen Ji transform into a sculpture in the dark night.
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