Chapter 73 Who Wants to Marry into the Duke's Mansion
Li San Niang was able to tell that she was poisoned because ever since she smelled blood when she returned home from the lantern festival late at night, she had been worried that a villain had broken into her house. That's why she forced her way into her parents' room and was tricked by Mr. Bu Ke into joining the Bad People gang.
That night, the whole family listened to Li's father and mother tell a story about Li's father's real master, known in the martial arts world as the Poison King. Later, Li's father secretly gave Li San Niang the part of the Poison King's manual on poison techniques.
Although Li Erlang had always been very interested in this booklet, how could his father possibly give it to Li Erlang, who had a promising future in officialdom, so that he could learn this poison technique, which was hardly a legitimate path?
Originally, Li's father wanted to sever the inheritance of poison skills directly. When he accepted the inheritance from the Poison King, it was agreed that it would only be passed on to Li's father's generation. If Li's father could not find a disciple for the next generation, then so be it.
The section on poisons discusses both poisons and antidotes, but the reason why the Poison King is called the Poison King is that many of his poisons have no antidote.
Yes, the Poison King concocted all sorts of bizarre poisons, only a small portion of which had antidotes. The vast majority of them had no antidotes. As a result, the Poison King relied on poisons to establish himself in the martial arts world, and for the same reason, he was constantly hunted down because he had no antidotes.
Father Li felt this was not good, so he thought of cutting off the lineage directly. After all, Father Li had only taught his second brother and his third sister, and both of them learned orthodox medical skills, the kind that heal the sick and save lives.
Li's father also felt that his family, being ordinary people living in Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, was the safest place. Even martial arts practitioners would have to behave themselves there. They would never come into contact with poisons in their entire lives, so there was no need for them to learn how to use it.
Furthermore, Li's father was very afraid that being exposed to poison techniques might corrupt a person's character, since his cheap master had done too many bad things and was eventually hunted down by his enemies.
Poison King once sold, no, it should be called custom-made, poisons specifically for wealthy families to meet their requirements, partly for money and partly to study poison techniques.
However, Li San Niang was later forced to join the Bad People. Li's father always felt that Li San Niang would be in greater danger in the future. After thinking about it for two nights and discussing it with Li's mother, he decided to let Li San Niang read the manual herself. If Li San Niang was willing to learn, then she could learn; if she was not, then the tradition would really be broken.
So, Li Sanniang, who was recently studying the manual on poisons, happened to see that the properties of one of the poisons were very similar to Fang Chengxian's symptoms.
These are all herbs that strengthen the body's foundation and nourish the vital energy. When two harmless and non-toxic herbs are added, they can meet in the human body. Because their medicinal properties are contradictory, they can combine directly in the body and cause poisoning.
If this amount can be controlled properly, and it is done in small amounts and frequently, over time, it can be enough to weaken a person and cause them to die young.
However, the Fang family is a noble family and can find many good medicines. They also have a skilled physician named Liang who is good at using acupuncture and prescribing medicine. This is why Fang Chengxian has been able to stay alive until now.
The most dangerous thing about this poison is that it is generally impossible for doctors who are not proficient in toxicology to diagnose poisoning. At most, they would think that it is a congenital deficiency that causes qi and blood deficiency, which then leads to problems in the heart and lungs, eventually resulting in death.
Furthermore, as the poisoned person ages, the increasing physical burden makes it increasingly apparent that the problem is inherent to the heart and lungs, making it even harder to tell that they have actually been poisoned.
However, just now, during the process of examining Fang Chengxian's pulse, Li Sanniang discovered that while Fang Chengxian's pulse was somewhat similar to that of a patient with emphysema, there were subtle differences, especially in his heart pulse, which seemed unusual.
Indeed, Li San Niang is a person with modern ideas and is not limited by Fang Chengxian's family background. Although she knows that Doctor Liang is a skilled doctor, she will not blindly believe everything she hears.
If a doctor has preconceived notions and believes that Fang Chengxian has already been diagnosed by the former Imperial Medical Bureau and that he will not live past the age of 25, then when they take his pulse, they will automatically add a filter and believe that this is the case.
But Li San Niang is different. She is a modern obstetrician and gynecologist, and her thinking is based on evidence-based medicine. She believes that any patient must be examined and tested in her hospital before she can make a judgment based on what she has learned.
In addition, given her naturally keen senses and recent studies in poisons, she dared to guess that Fang Chengxian had been poisoned.
The most typical and easily identifiable aspect is that poisoned individuals will have white, dot-like pustules under the tongue, and as the poisoning worsens, these pinhead-sized pustules will become larger and more numerous.
If a physician who is not trained in toxicology saw this, they would only think that Fang Chengxian's condition was a manifestation of excessive liver fire and qi deficiency.
When Li San Niang looked under Fang Chengxian's tongue just now, the pustules were already larger than pinheads.
This also confirms what Dr. Liang said: if he doesn't get the antidote soon, he really won't live past twenty-five.
She explained this to Fang Chengxian and Xu Jingzhen, and the two of them were quite perceptive, not asking how Li Sanniang knew about such a rare poison.
Li San Niang guessed that the person who could see Fang Chengxian's prescription must be a member of the Fang family.
Since Mr. Fang and Mrs. Fang would not harm their own flesh and blood, from a purely self-interested perspective, the only remaining possibility is that the concubine who gave birth to Fang's younger brother had some motive to poison him.
If it really is as Li San Niang guessed, then she would really feel bad if she didn't help detoxify.
Fang Chengxian was already in a terrible situation. If he encountered this situation and no one helped him, wouldn't that make things even worse?
While listening to Li Sanniang's earnest explanation, Xu Jingzhen thought to himself, "The woman I've taken a liking to is indeed quite capable. It was definitely the right decision to invite Li Sanniang to examine Fang Chengxian today!"
"Young Master Fang, have you started coughing up blood?"
Fang Chengxian was really surprised that Li Sanniang actually described her symptoms. Indeed, he had only been coughing up phlegm or had a dry cough before, but recently when he coughed at night, his phlegm had been tinged with blood.
However, the condition was only more severe at night, so apart from himself and his personal servant, Duoshou, no one knew about it.
Fang Chengxian nodded, but now he was only concerned about his own life. "Third Sister, tell me the truth, is there any way to cure this poison?"
Fortunately, since Li San Niang could identify the poison, she naturally knew how to detoxify it.
However, Li San Niang was unsure whether the antidote would shorten Fang Chengxian's already short lifespan.
"Young Master Fang, Third Young Master Xu, the poison can be cured."
However, I have never been able to cure poison for anyone, and I don't know if I can really cure poison. It is also possible that I can't cure poison and may even worsen the symptoms.
Furthermore, I have some concerns.
"Third Sister, please tell me what you need, and Chengxian will surely grant it."
Whether it's money or any other difficulty, it's all possible.
If he cannot do it, I, Xu Jingzhen, will certainly help him, and will make sure Third Madam is satisfied.
After hearing the handsome young man's righteous words, Li San Niang didn't think they would think of her as someone who would take advantage of others' misfortunes for money and power.
Judging from their words, these are true friends of ten years who would go to great lengths for each other. Xu Jingzhen is just confused because he is worried, which is why he said such outrageous things.
Seeing that Li Sanniang was still silent and full of concerns, Xu Jingzhen decided to go all out. He had felt that Li Sanniang was different from other women when he first met her.
However, he felt that the good kind was different, so now he boldly said, "Third Miss, if you want to enter the Duke's mansion, that's fine too. I, Xu Jingzhen, am willing to marry Third Miss Li!"
Not only was Li San Niang shocked by these words, but Fang Chengxian, the person who was poisoned and standing nearby, was also completely bewildered.
This is nothing more than a doctor treating illnesses, saving lives, and detoxifying; how did it get dragged into marriage between men and women?
Xu Jingzhen is the younger brother of the current Duke of Yingguo and ranks third on the list of beauties in Chang'an. Although he is already twenty-nine years old, he once said that he wanted to be with one person for life. In the eyes of most noble ladies in Chang'an, he is the number one man she should marry.
Upon hearing this, Fang Chengxian assumed that Xu Jingzhen was willing to give up her marriage for his sake.
"Jingzhen, you don't need to..."
Li San Niang finally realized what was happening, "No, no, no, stop!"
Now that I, Li San Niang, have decided to tell you the truth, I will certainly not give up on saving Fang Langjun.
I am not a greedy or lustful person. Although I have divorced and returned home with my daughter, I have no intention of remarrying.
Xu Sanlang, please don't bring this up so casually.
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