His Majesty sent medicine
The next morning, as Jiang Jin was nestled in Wei Shu's arms, there was a sudden, urgent knocking at the door.
"General, Madam, His Majesty has sent something!" Zhou Cong smiled as he stood outside the door, looking at the eunuch behind him carrying a box.
"You're here!" Jiang Jin lifted the curtain, quickly changed into her dress and put on a cloak, then opened the door.
"Greetings, Lady Wei. These are tonics specially sent by His Majesty. Upon hearing of General Wei's injury, His Majesty was deeply troubled and immediately dispatched people to fetch the finest medicinal herbs, which were then made into pills and sent to Beizhou." The eunuch stood at the door with his head bowed. Wei Shu, dressed in her nightgown, walked up to Jiang Jin.
"Your Majesty, I thank you for your divine grace!" Wei Shu slowly knelt down, and Jiang Jin and Zhou Cong followed suit.
The eunuch quickly helped Wei Shu up. "General Wei is not fully recovered yet, there is no need for such a grand ceremony. His Majesty said that this might be what you need, so he sent it over at full speed." The eunuch placed the box in Wei Shu's hands. "Then this servant will go back to report now."
"They're leaving already? Don't they even ask about the situation in Beizhou or check on your injuries?" Jiang Jin looked at the box that the eunuch and Wei Shu were carrying with some surprise.
"Have you seen this eunuch before? Could someone be using a false imperial edict to harm you?" Jiang Jin quickly snatched the box and placed it on the ground.
"I saw him, and he was indeed the eunuch Ping from His Majesty's side, but his coming and going in such a hurry is not like His Majesty's style." Wei Shu picked up the box and gestured for Zhou Cong to close the door.
"What do you think are the chances that His Majesty's people have been bribed?" Jiang Jin asked, sitting on the stool and looking at the box on the table.
“0, you may not know His Majesty’s methods, but I have witnessed it. One year, a eunuch accepted silver from a concubine in the harem and revealed His Majesty’s whereabouts. Later, when the matter was exposed, the concubine was punished and sent to the Cold Palace for spying on the Emperor, and the eunuch was beaten to death. It was only because of the kindness of Eunuch Lin that he was able to buy him a simple coffin.” Wei Shu reached out and opened the box, inside which was only a white porcelain bottle.
"Could this really be the medicine His Majesty gave you?" Jiang Jin opened the porcelain bottle and smelled it. "What a strange smell. Could this be a medicine developed by the imperial physicians?"
"No, it doesn't even smell of hemostatic herbs, how could it be used as a wound medicine? Besides, given how self-protective the imperial physicians are, how could they possibly develop new wound medicines on their own initiative?" Wei Shu closed the lid and placed the porcelain bottle in the box.
"Why don't we let that young master Zheng take a look? He's very knowledgeable and he definitely knows more about medicinal herbs than we do."
“Alright, Zhou Cong, go and have someone invite Zheng Langjun over, and also call Ziyuan.” Jiang Jin glanced at Wei Shu, who was disheveled beside her, and frowned, “Why don’t you hurry up and put your clothes back on!”
"Then how about Ah Jin helps me put it on? My wound suddenly hurts a bit." Wei Shu pretended to cover his wound.
"Put it on yourself. How could your wound suddenly be so serious today when it was perfectly fine yesterday?" Jiang Jin saw through Wei Shu's little scheme at a glance and didn't indulge him.
"Ah Jin, you were so affectionate yesterday, how come you've become so cold and heartless today?" Wei Shu looked pitifully at Jiang Jin as she dressed alone. A moment later, there was a knock at the door.
"Madam, Young Master Zheng and Lady Ziyuan have arrived." Jiang Jin glanced at the neatly dressed Wei Shu, nodded, and then opened the door.
"Ah Jin, why did you call us over so early? I haven't had enough sleep yet." Zi Yuan, still half asleep, looked at Jiang Jin and immediately threw herself into Jiang Jin's arms.
"Alright, go back to sleep after this is all over." Jiang Jin pulled Zi Yuan down to sit and took her pulse. It was indeed weaker than yesterday. "Is there anything that's bothering you?"
Ziyuan shook her head. "Although you all say that Luoluoxiang is terrible, I really don't feel anything."
"Young Master Zheng, could you please take a look at these pills?" Wei Shu placed the porcelain bottle in Song Zhimin's hands.
"This..." Song Zhimin looked at Wei Shu in disbelief, then carefully smelled the pills inside the porcelain bottle.
"What's wrong? Is something the problem?" Jiang Jin asked, noticing Song Zhimin's trembling hands.
"No, there's a hint of South China Sea snow lotus in this. This elixir might be able to suppress the Luoluo fragrance in Ziyuan's body." Song Zhimin looked at Jiang Jin's somewhat surprised expression and asked curiously, "Didn't you know about this?"
"No, Wei Shu sent someone to find these, but we didn't know if they would work, so we troubled you, Young Master Zheng, to confirm. Now that Ziyuan is saved, I'm relieved." Jiang Jin still decided to keep the origin of these pills a secret.
"That's good." Song Zhimin was momentarily lost in thought, but then she came to her senses and handed the porcelain bottle to Ziyuan. "Have one. If anything happens, Jiang Niangzi and I can discuss a solution."
"I feel a chill down my back." Zi Yuan hesitated for a moment, then picked up the porcelain bottle, poured out a pill, and swallowed it.
All eyes were on her. Song Zhimin and Jiang Jin each took one of her pulses, constantly monitoring Zi Yuan's pulse for fear that something might go wrong. Wei Shu sat on the couch, staring at the box on the table, lost in thought.
"Why are you two so tense? I'm not some fragile porcelain vase on the table," Zi Yuan said helplessly, looking at the two people beside her who were on high alert.
"You heartless person! Zheng Langjun and I were worried something might happen to you, but you so carelessly took the pill without any fear!" Jiang Jin glared fiercely at Zi Yuan.
"I really don't feel anything. Look at me, I can talk and laugh without any signs of poisoning!" Zi Yuan wanted to pull her hand back immediately, but seeing Jiang Jin's worried eyes, she held back. For half an hour, the three of them remained in this strange position.
"Madam Jiang, I think Ziyuan should be alright now." Song Zhimin released Ziyuan's wrist. Jiang Jin wanted to cry out again, but Ziyuan pulled her wrist back.
"Ah Jin, I'm really okay now. Look, I'll spin you around!" Zi Yuan stood up, spun around in front of Jiang Jin, then shook Jiang Jin's arm and said coquettishly, "I just want to go to sleep now!"
"I'm still a little worried about troubling you, Zheng Langjun, to accompany Ziyuan." Song Zhimin knew Jiang Jin's concerns and naturally didn't refuse.
"It's what I should do." Song Zhimin bowed to Wei Shu, who was sitting on the couch staring at him. "Then I'll take my leave."
"Ah Jin, see you this afternoon." Although Zi Yuan didn't want to leave Jiang Jin, she couldn't resist the drowsiness and followed Song Zhimin out. Seeing the two of them, Zhou Cong immediately didn't want to stay in the house and disturb Wei Shu and Jiang Jin either.
"Is that strange?" Wei Shu got up, picked up the box, and examined it closely.
"Of course, what do you think His Majesty's purpose was in doing this?" Jiang Jin stared at the white porcelain vase on the table, completely puzzled.
"Is it possible that His Majesty has been sending people to monitor us all this time?" Jiang Jin touched the porcelain bottle; it was warm to the touch, a rather nice item.
"But the South China Sea Snow Lotus isn't something you can just get easily. Besides, we need to develop an antidote based on the modified Luo Luo Incense, which is something that can't be solved in a short time." Jiang Jin, having studied medicine, naturally knew how difficult it was to develop the corresponding elixir.
"Could it be that Gao Yun Pavilion has always been under His Majesty's control?" Wei Shu swallowed hard, realizing for the first time that His Majesty's power had reached an unfathomable level.
"Maybe His Majesty is behind Gaoyun Pavilion," Jiang Jin joked, patting Wei Shu on the shoulder.
"With His Majesty's power, don't you think you and Princess Zhaoyang's little schemes are out in the open?" Wei Shu looked at Jiang Jin with some concern.
"What's there to be afraid of? His Majesty hasn't said anything, has he?" Jiang Jin was now somewhat indifferent.
"Are the Prefect of Beizhou and that man still in prison without causing any trouble? Have they made any other moves?" Jiang Jin felt that with Gao Yunge's methods, they wouldn't leave such a big handle in their hands.
"There have been several assassination attempts, but they were all thwarted by the Imperial Guards. The Prefect of Beizhou wanted to confess the truth, but all he knew were superficial details about the prefecture." Wei Shu now felt that the entire Beizhou might be inextricably linked to Gao Yunge.
"Then let Ziyuan go. She has plenty of time." Jiang Jin wasn't worried about not getting anything out of that person, but she was concerned that Gao Yunge's connections were too numerous to handle.
"I thought you would protect her. Judging from how worried you are about her, you should let her go straight back to the capital instead of facing the people from Gaoyun Pavilion again." Wei Shu understood Jiang Jin's carefree attitude a bit more now.
"I'm worried, but that's no reason to keep her in one place. Whether she's poisoned or injured, I'll stand by Ziyuan's side. I won't regret any choice I make."
When Jiang Jin saw Zi Yuan, she understood Lou Xuan's worries about her. He didn't want to trap her, so he let go, but because he was really worried, he sent secret guards to protect her.
"These are the only clues I have for now. Don't send anyone to Gaoyun Pavilion for the time being. I'll send some pills to the capital for those people to take, and I'll also write to His Majesty to explain everything." Jiang Jin arranged everything methodically, wrote the letter, sealed the pills in a rouge box, and handed it to Yi Yi.
"Transport it to the capital as soon as possible; those who have been poisoned cannot be delayed." Yi nodded and turned to leave. Wei Shu watched as Jiang Jin sat down at the table again and began writing something.
"I find everything too suspicious. From the moment of our marriage, His Majesty has been playing a long game, like a chess player. On the surface, our marriage was to restrain the two factions from coveting your position as his wife." Jiang Jin slowly wrote down the existing information on the paper.
"The real purpose is to send you—Princess Zhaoyang's person—to my side, and then make Chang Yi Princess Zhaoyang's consort. In this way, a portion of the military power in His Majesty's hands can be smoothly transferred to Princess Zhaoyang's hands." Wei Shu sat next to Jiang Jin and wrote down His Majesty's true intentions next to her words.
"Then there's Yuezhou. His Majesty surely knows the truth about the Yuezhou affair; perhaps that bottle of fragrant dew was a deliberate gift, actually intended to test the court and those of us who went to investigate. It's not impossible." After Jiang Jin finished speaking, a fine layer of cold sweat appeared on his back. If all of this was under His Majesty's control, then his control over the Great Yan was exceptionally strong.
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