Meng Zhelan was unaware of Li Xi's plan. At this moment, she was with Sun Tiantian, searching for clues in the homes of the patients to see if they could find the cause of their illness.
She checked the drinking water at each house she visited and found that none of the families had their own wells; they all drew water from the village's communal well.
The water in the villagers' homes was not toxic, but it was slightly sweeter than usual.
Meng Zhelan had previously inquired in detail about what unusual things the villagers had eaten or drunk recently, and whether they had eaten any fruit or sour things, but everyone shook their heads.
The two wandered around the deserted village when suddenly Sun Tiantian stopped in front of a house, staring intently at the courtyard wall.
Meng Zhelan followed her gaze and saw that some of the sorghum stalks along the wall of his courtyard were leaning or had fallen over.
She found it strange, so she went closer and picked up the nearest sorghum stalk, examining both ends. She then looked at the fallen sorghum stalk nearby and ran to the next house.
Sun Tiantian suggested looking around at the village's public wells, saying that they might find something there.
The two walked to the village's public well.
The well is on a small hillside, with a stone slab covering the opening. There is also a large stone next to it, which makes it easy for people to press down the slab to draw water.
Beside the well stands an old locust tree, providing shade, and beneath it lies a flat bluestone slab where one can sit and rest.
There was no one by the well at this time, so Meng Zhelan and Sun Tiantian came to the well.
Sun Tiantian looked around and pointed to the bluestone slab beside the well, asking, "Miss Lan, do you think there might be something under this bluestone slab?"
Meng Zhelan felt that no one was in this place, and there were no signs of the bluestone slabs being opened, so there shouldn't be anything there.
"Let's take a look at this well first," Meng Zhelan said.
Sun Tiantian reached out and pushed aside the stone slab, and a cloyingly sweet smell immediately hit her, almost making her lose her balance.
Meng Zhelan covered her nose and leaned closer to take a look. The well water was dark green, with a layer of white foam floating on the surface, and some viscous liquid.
"How disgusting!" Sun Tiantian said.
Meng Zhelan nodded, picked up a bucket from the side, and threw it into the well.
A short while later, Sun Tiantian used the water wheel to lift the water up.
Meng Zhelan discovered some unidentified objects in the bucket.
She scooped out some viscous liquid, rubbed it between her fingers, and found that it did not dissolve easily in water.
Suddenly she thought of something, and quickly ran to the bluestone slab, turned it over, and saw some flattened insects underneath.
“It’s the mucus secreted by these insects,” Meng Zhelan said.
"Then where did these insects come from?" Sun Tiantian asked.
“Someone must have put it there on purpose,” Meng Zhelan said.
"Why?" Sun Tiantian asked, puzzled.
“Someone is trying to pollute the well water this way, so that the villagers will drink the contaminated water and get sick,” Meng Zhelan said.
"Then why did they do that?" Sun Tiantian asked again.
“I don’t know,” Meng Zhelan shook her head, “but if someone wants to make the villagers sick, there must be some purpose to it.”
"Then what do we do?" Sun Tiantian asked.
“Let’s go back to His Highness first and ask him to send someone to scoop the insects out of the well and change the water,” Meng Zhelan said.
The two hurriedly returned to the inn, just in time to meet Prince An returning from outside. Meng Zhelan told him about the contamination of the well water.
After listening, Prince An remained silent for a while before saying, "Next time you go out, take a few guards with you. This place is not very safe. Do not act on your own again."
Meng Zhelan didn't expect him to say these things suddenly, but she was indeed a bit rash this time.
Without careful consideration, they took Tian Tian to the disease-prone area, not to mention the bandits involved.
"It was my recklessness, but the matter was urgent and I didn't have time to think it through before I went."
"Doctor Meng, how did you discover that the well water was contaminated?" Prince An asked curiously.
Meng Zhelan then told him how they discovered the fallen sorghum and how they found insects under the bluestone slabs by the well.
"Landslided sorghum? Is there any significance to this?" The village chief asked, puzzled.
“Why don’t we go back there? I believe there are still many clues there. Once we know the source of the disease, I believe the epidemic can be resolved soon,” Meng Zhelan said confidently.
“Then let’s go take a look,” said Prince An.
Prince An led them, and with a squad of guards, they set off.
They sped along the road and arrived at the village where the sorghum had been found to have fallen in less than half an hour.
Meng Zhelan pointed out the direction and led them to the well.
He then instructed Prince An to send someone to dig up the roots of the sorghum.
Soon, she found some small white insects at the base of the sorghum.
“This is a maggot,” Meng Zhelan said. “The well water must have been contaminated, and it just so happens that this well is the closest to this family’s sorghum field.”
Insects crawl up the roots and lay their eggs at the base of the sorghum stalks, which hatch into root maggots. These maggots eat the sorghum roots, causing the sorghum to fall over.
Prince An frowned, still somewhat puzzled: "How could this be? How could perfectly good well water be contaminated?"
“Someone put insects in the well, polluting the water,” Meng Zhelan said.
"It seems this was premeditated." Prince An said, his hands behind his back, clearly deep in thought.
Meng Zhelan remained silent and stood quietly to the side.
A gentle breeze lifted the sash around her waist, carrying with it a delicate fragrance.
After a long while, Prince An finally spoke, "I understand. Leave this matter to me. Are you confident you can cure the villagers' illnesses?"
He looked at her with a solemn expression.
Meng Zhelan nodded and replied, "Now that we have found the source of the illness, I will go back and discuss the antidote with the two imperial physicians."
Prince An nodded slightly and said, "Very well, Doctor Meng, I thank you in advance."
Meng Zhelan shook her head and replied, "Your Highness is too kind. This is what I, as a physician, should do."
Prince An did not speak again, but instead took out a token from his sleeve and handed it to her.
She hesitantly took the token, looking at him with confusion.
Prince An said, “This is my token. Take it. If you encounter any difficulties here, you can use this token to mobilize all the resources of the government.”
He added, "Doctor Meng, after you return, discuss the antidote with the imperial physician. If you need any help, please don't hesitate to ask."
Meng Zhelan nodded and said, "I understand."
He looked at her, a hint of something unreadable in his eyes: "Also, if you need any rare medicinal herbs, you can tell me, and I will send someone to find them for you."
"That's excellent." Meng Zhelan, preoccupied with the antidote, casually echoed.
She and Sun Tiantian, escorted by guards, went ahead and returned to the ward.
Prince An watched her turn and leave, his gaze thoughtful.
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