The night was as black as ink. The rosewood lattice windows, adorned with gourd-shaped vines, were half-open, letting a gentle breeze drift into the room. Even in the early August heat, the chill was unnerving. In the inner room of Shou'an Hall, several people sat and stood. Old Madam Sheng lay flat on her bed, her eyes closed. Dark circles formed beneath them, her complexion tinged with a sallow hue. Her usually healthy cheeks were sunken. In Minglan's memory, she seemed to have never seen her grandmother look so old and frail.
Mother Fang stood dejectedly by the side, distraught and at a loss.
Sheng Hong's heart was like an ant on a hot pan. He stood three or four steps in front of the bed, staring at Doctor Lin who was taking his pulse without blinking. After waiting for a long time, he finally couldn't help but ask, "Doctor Lin, my mother...this...?"
Doctor Lin slowly retracted the four fingers of his right hand, stood up, and turned around to say, "The old man needs to rest well. It's not advisable to have too many people in the room. Lord Sheng, can you please excuse me for a moment?"
Sheng Hong hurried out with Doctor Lin. Minglan hesitated for a moment and glanced at Hai who was serving by the bed. She smiled and said, "Sister, go and listen too. I'll be here." Minglan said gratefully, "Thank you for your help, sister-in-law." After that, she hurried out.
When they arrived at the outer hall, they saw Chang Feng helping Sheng Hong sit at the head of the table. Liu personally served a bowl of tea to Doctor Lin. Wang asked repeatedly, "What happened?"
Doctor Lin hesitated, "...That's...hard to say." Seeing Minglan emerge, his eyes flickered slightly, and he faltered, "Anyway, things are stable for now." Sheng Hong breathed a sigh of relief, his face filled with gratitude, "Thank you for your concern. Whatever you need, just ask, and I'll do my best." Doctor Lin smiled, "Your Excellency's filial piety is commendable."
Minglan walked over slowly and whispered, "My grandmother, Rulai, was always in good health. How could she suddenly collapse? Imperial Physician Lin, please at least give me an explanation." Wang frowned and said, "It's really disturbing to call Imperial Physician Lin so late at night. How dare you ask so rudely? The Imperial Physician has his own calculations."
Doctor Lin smiled. "It's all right. A doctor's heart is like a parent's. That's his duty." He then leaned slightly, seemingly unintentionally blocking the view of Wang and the others. He met Minglan's eyes and said softly, "The old man is old, and naturally not as healthy as a young person. He always has some problems. It's hard to tell what's wrong right now. We'll have to take a closer look."
Minglan stared at Doctor Lin and said slowly, "The doctor is right. They say illness can be as severe as a mountain falling..." She wiped her eyes gently, "Grandmother is really old..."
Wang said with satisfaction, "That's right. The old man's health is always uncertain. I was planning to report to you tomorrow morning, but the servants were so quick to speak and summoned you overnight, making it seem like we don't know how to take care of you." She turned to Doctor Lin and smiled, "It's causing Doctor Lin a lot of trouble too. It's really..."
Seeing Wang's increasingly incoherent speech, Sheng Hong whispered, "Stop talking! The child is so filial, and you're still talking nonsense!"
Seeing the awkward atmosphere in the hall, Liu said softly, "It's not too late yet, but it's a rare occasion for my sister to come here, so why don't you stay at home? I've prepared a room for you to stay in." Then she turned to Doctor Lin and said, "And Doctor..."
Doctor Lin waved his hand and smiled, "It's common for us to be called out at night. Young Madam, don't worry..."
At this time, Minglan suddenly spoke up: "Although grandma is now stable, she has not yet woken up. I just hope that the imperial physician can stay for another night so that we can rest assured. Otherwise, if grandma has another attack at night, what will we do..."
Wang frowned and was about to speak when Sheng Hong spoke first, "Indeed. I beg you to take more care of me, Imperial Physician." He stood up and bowed, practically saluting. Imperial Physician Lin hurriedly rose to return the greeting. Though he too held the rank of sixth-rank official, the Sheng family was full of officials and their in-laws were prominent, so he hesitated to act presumptuously. "I don't deserve it, I don't deserve it." After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Well, I'll stay and give the old lady a few acupuncture treatments. I'll send the boy back to the pharmacy to get some medicine."
Minglan said softly, "Thank you, Doctor. I'll have someone escort Tong'er over."
Doctor Lin bowed, "I'll go write a prescription." Liu had already prepared, and hurriedly asked for pen and ink. Doctor Lin's pen flew, and in a moment, he finished. Sheng Hong took a look at the prescription, which consisted mostly of mild remedies, without much specific effect. He frowned, then looked at Doctor Lin's composed expression. He hesitated for a moment, then held back his words.
After the boy left with the prescription, Doctor Lin turned around and went into the inner room to see Old Madam Sheng.
Minglan said, "It's late tonight. Master and Madam, please go to bed as soon as possible. Third brother, please go home as well." She went over and took Liu's hand. "Third sister-in-law has just come out of confinement. She must not tire herself out."
Sheng Hong said, "You should take a rest too. The old lady is being looked after by your sister-in-law..."
Minglan burst into tears and said, "Grandmother has raised me with great care since I was young. Her kindness is profound, but I am married now and cannot be with her day and night. Besides, my eldest sister-in-law has to take care of my nephew, so she asked me to stay with her tonight. It is considered that I am fulfilling my filial duty."
Sheng Hong thought for a moment, "Alright. You can take care of the old lady tonight." He glanced at Wang again, "From now on, Madam will take care of the old lady's medicine. You can rest assured."
Wang's face looked grim and she bit her lip - her mother-in-law was ill, so the first person to serve her should be the daughter-in-law, not the granddaughter-in-law.
Sheng Hong went back into the inner room and spoke to the unconscious Madam Sheng for a long time, asking the housekeepers and others to take good care of her. He kept on talking non-stop. Minglan smiled and said, "Master, why don't you go and rest? Won't you go to court tomorrow?" Sheng Hong stroked his beard and smiled, "Even if you take a day off, it's not a big deal."
Minglan's expression was gentle and her admiration for her son was evident: "Father is old now, and I will do the hard work for him. I'm here, old lady. Father is the pillar of the family, so please don't tire yourself out."
Sheng Hong found it very pleasant to hear and was quite pleased. After Minglan urged him gently several times, he took Wang and others back.
Watching the group leave in a mighty procession, Minglan slowly put away her smile. Her eyes were cold, her face frost-covered, and she said in a deep voice, "Mother Fang, lock up Shou'an Hall tightly inside and out. Don't let anyone go around and ask around."
Madam Fang responded in a low voice. Minglan walked straight into the inner room, staring at Doctor Lin, and said word by word, "Doctor Lin is trusted by our Marquis, so I won't beat around the bush. I just want to ask, how did the old lady become ill?"
Doctor Lin seemed to be waiting for this sentence. Hearing it, he stood up and whispered, "Madam, please understand. The old lady... is indeed strangely ill. She has had severe stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and her body twitching from time to time since this afternoon. This..." He hesitated.
Minglan said, "Doctor, please feel free to speak."
"This doesn't seem like a disease, but more like... more like... poisoning."
Minglan's heart ached. She took a deep breath and slowly sat down on the chair. "Are you sure, sir?"
"Well..." Doctor Lin said with difficulty, "Although I'm 70% sure, I can't guarantee it. If we can check what the old lady ate today, we can confirm it a little more."
At this moment, the housekeeper entered and was startled to hear these words. Minglan asked, "What did Grandma eat today?" She had been Madam Sheng's ward for ten years and was familiar with her habits. Since becoming a widow, Madam Sheng had devoted decades to Buddhism, maintaining a disciplined daily routine and diet, never craving for food or cold dishes. This was not difficult to ascertain.
Mother Fang said bitterly, "I also find this symptom strange. The old lady is such a strong person, how can she just say it's not going to work?!" There were only a few people in Shou'an Hall, and the food was almost all purchased independently. Mother Fang knew it all too well. "Today, the old lady only ate breakfast and lunch, and didn't eat much. It's so hot out here, and food spoils easily. I didn't let the servants eat the leftovers, so I emptied them into the泔水袋. They're still here now. It's just... that smell..."
Minglan raised her hand and said in a deep voice, "Grandma prepares her daily meals ourselves, so let's take our time with this. Besides these two meals, did Grandma eat anything else today?" The mothers in the small kitchen were all old lady Sheng's companions for decades. Their fortunes and lives were in her hands, so she decided not to suspect these people for the time being.
Mother Fang thought for a moment and said, "The old lady has become more and more fond of sweet things in recent years. There is a master chef with many years of experience in Jufangzhai. His lotus and lotus seed pastry is a unique dish in Beijing, and the old lady loves it very much. But this master chef only makes it twice a month, and the old lady always asks people to wait to buy it..." As she spoke, she became frightened.
Minglan said anxiously, "Hurry up and tell me."
Mother Fang was sweating profusely. "At the beginning of this year, the old lady said that Quan Ge'er was old enough and should learn etiquette, so she asked him to pay his respects to the master and the mistress every day. When the mistress saw her grandson, she loved him so much that she took the initiative to take over the job. Every day before dawn, she would send people to wait at the door of Jufangzhai and buy hot snacks to honor the old lady..."
"So, this time the snacks were also sent by Madam?" Minglan's voice trembled slightly.
Mother Fang said in panic: "It's been several months and nothing has happened!"
Minglan was stunned for a while, then quickly asked the maid to bring the leftover snacks.
The lotus seed pastry was indeed rich and fragrant, sweet, sticky, and crispy. Even now, cold, it still exuded an alluring golden, toasted color. Imperial Physician Lin carefully pried open the pastry with a silver needle, examining it from the outside in, then poked and turned it inside the filling. Under the light, the needle gleamed, showing no sign of discoloration. Minglan breathed a sigh of relief—she didn't want Wang Shi to have poisoned her.
Unexpectedly, Doctor Lin's expression grew increasingly serious. He used a silver needle to poke the stuffing until it was mashed to a pulp, sniffing it non-stop. Minglan's concern grew tense again. After a moment, Doctor Lin put down the needle and walked to the bedside. He lifted the old woman's eyelids for a closer look, then pulled a fine feather from his medicine chest and placed it under the old woman's nose to check her breathing.
The fine hairs were shaking rapidly and irregularly, and there was a hoarse snoring sound, which showed that the patient was having difficulty breathing.
After kneading the hands and feet and tapping the joints for a long time, Doctor Lin finally stopped and sighed, "What a powerful scheme."
"Imperial Physician..." Minglan held her breath.
"It is indeed poison." Doctor Lin's face turned pale. "But it's not ordinary poison like arsenic. It's the juice extracted from ginkgo buds. Dozens of pounds of bud juice refined into a concentrated amount can kill a person."
Ginkgo biloba is edible, but the buds are not. Theoretically, this is food poisoning, so a silver needle test wouldn't diagnose it. Doctor Lin pointed at the half-eaten pastry and said, "Thank goodness it was so hot out there, and the pastry was so sweet, the old lady didn't eat much. If she had eaten any more, even a great immortal wouldn't have been able to save her."
Minglan asked in a trembling voice, "Is there still hope?"
"First, induce vomiting with medicine, then give her a few injections, and then slowly administer decoctions to remove the poison," Doctor Lin said cautiously. "But the old lady is old, after all, and not as strong as young people. She may not be able to make it..."
Minglan clenched her fists tightly, cold sweat pouring down her forehead. Suddenly, she bowed and said, "I'll ask the imperial physician for everything!"
Although the wife of Marquis Gu in front of him was younger than his daughter, Doctor Lin was still quick to respond: "This is my duty." To be cautious, he also offered to check the food in the泔水袋, and Mama Fang asked someone to accompany him.
Minglan emerged from the inner room step by step, standing in the hall with her neck stiffened. Behind her followed the tearful Fang Mama, "...this heartless... girl, what... what can we do?"
Minglan supported her trembling body and smiled softly at Cuiping, "Cuiping, you have always been considerate. I'd like to trouble you to look after the old lady and help Doctor Lin for the next few days."
"Don't worry, Sixth Miss. I saved it." Cuiping wiped her tears.
Rulan had recently accompanied Old Lady Wen to visit relatives in the countryside, and Xi Que had taken her eldest daughter with her. Rulan had given her and Xi Juan a few days off so they could visit their parents' home. Cuiping's mother had been Old Lady Sheng's chambermaid, so she had to come to Shou'an Hall to pay her respects and catch up with some of her former sisters.
Who would have thought that when something like this happened, everyone in the room suddenly panicked. However, Fang Mama remained calm and said that she was no longer a member of the Sheng Mansion and there was no need to check in when she went out. She asked her to go to the Marquis' Mansion to report the news quickly.
Seeing Cuiping tiptoeing into the inner room, Minglan turned and said, "Mother Fang, please check everyone in Shou'an Hall. Nothing of what's going on here can be revealed to anyone."
Mother Fang's eyes showed hatred, and she said in a deep voice: "Whoever dares, I will twist her tongue immediately!" Then she turned and walked out.
Minglan pulled a small sign from her sleeve and rubbed it slowly in her palm. She said to Xiaotao, "You know how many doors there are in this mansion, right?"
Xiao Tao swallowed and nodded, "I know. There are five in total: the front gate, the back gate, the side gate next to the front gate, and the side gate on the west side for carriages and horses. Oh, there is also a small gate at the end of the garden next to the pond at the back." She was born in the countryside and had been lively and active since she was a child. Seeing that she was young and naive, everyone let her roam around the mansion. She must know how many dog holes there were in the Sheng Mansion.
Minglan handed the sign over, and Xiaotao took it blankly, looking at her in confusion.
"Go find the Tu brothers." Minglan's face was as gloomy as water as she spoke word by word. "Take the guards from the palace and first open the gate. Then blockade the Sheng Mansion from the inside! Don't let anyone out!"
Xiao Tao has always been bold and honest. She puffed out her chest and said, "Don't worry, Madam. I'll go right away."
After Xiaotao left, Luzhi burst into tears in a daze: "Madam, could it be the madam..." She didn't dare to say anything further.
Minglan stood in front of the Luohan bed, supporting herself on the bedside table with her hands, staring blankly at the old peach wood rosary on the table. Next to it was a shiny red sandalwood fish, which was the old lady's favorite thing and she had used it for decades.
She slowly turned it over and saw several faint white marks on the bottom of the wooden fish. It was from the cold winter when she was seven years old. She was crouching over this small table to write. When she got out of bed, she tripped over the mattress and fell down with the small table. The old lady was so scared that her face turned pale. She didn't have time to look around. She just picked her up and patted her to comfort her.
Minglan looked at the white porcelain tea bowl on the small table and felt filled with resentment, as if a surge of anger was about to burst out of her chest.
She immediately threw the tea bowl hard, hitting the wall and smashing it into pieces. Then she let out a heavy breath - "Bastard!"
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