Granny Lu led Xu Zhi into the old lady's bedroom. The old lady was pale and lying on the bed. When Granny Chen saw Granny Lu, she said anxiously, "Granny, the old lady started complaining of stomach discomfort around midnight. She went to the toilet twice and then started vomiting. She's been through this until now and is a little delirious."
Granny Lu asked, "What did the old lady eat and drink?"
Granny Shen said, "It's still the same as before. Third Madam instructed that the old lady should not eat anything too oily or too sweet. Now, the old lady has a bowl of rice porridge, a bowl of stir-fried vegetables, and a steamed bun every night. After dinner, she usually eats a seasonal fruit. Today she ate an apple and ate half of it."
Granny Lu asked, "Are the dishes still kept?"
Granny Shen shook her head and said, "No, but I eat the same food as the old lady."
Granny Lu took the old lady's pulse and asked, "Has she drunk any tea or anything like that?"
Granny Shen said, "Third Madam doesn't allow the Old Madam to drink tea at night. The Old Madam used to drink it, but she hasn't drunk it for the past two years. These past few days, because the weather has been too dry, the kitchen has stewed some snow pear soup for her, and the Old Madam drank a cup."
Xu Zhi had already found the Baohe Pills that Zhang Zhaoci had made himself. They were all small pills. She wanted to feed them to the old lady, but the old lady could no longer open her mouth. Xu Zhi was so frightened that her face turned pale. Granny Lu had someone dilute the pills with water and feed them to her using a pickaxe. After feeding her, the old lady's complexion improved slightly.
With Zhang Zhaoci absent, the family felt uneasy. Fortunately, the Yongning Marquis's residence was not far from the palace, and the imperial physicians they knew from the residence soon arrived.
The imperial physician knew the old lady. Upon seeing her appearance, he was startled. After taking her pulse, his brows furrowed deeply. Seeing the physician's expression, Granny Lu knew that the old lady's condition was not simple.
After taking her pulse, the imperial physician said to Granny Lu, "Please allow me a moment to speak with you."
Granny Lu glanced at the old lady lying on the bed with her eyes closed, and quickly followed the imperial physician outside. The Marquis was waiting outside, and when he saw the imperial physician come out, he looked at him anxiously.
When the imperial physician saw the Marquis and Granny Lu, he said, "It seems that the old lady ate something she shouldn't have. The old lady's health is not good, so she still needs to take good care of herself."
Granny Lu asked, "Did you notice anything that the old lady shouldn't have eaten?"
The imperial physician said, "Croton seed powder."
Upon hearing this name, not only did Granny Lu's expression change, but the Marquis and the Heir Apparent's expressions also changed drastically.
The old lady is already over seventy years old, which is considered a long life these days. If she were to pass away unexpectedly, her grandson Xu Rao would have to return to observe the three-year mourning period. Once Xu Rao returns, it's uncertain who will take over the position of prefect of Ganzhou.
The imperial physician sighed and said, "Although it's not poison, the old lady is quite old. With all this trouble, something unexpected might happen."
Granny Lu said, "I just gave the old lady some medicine, pills that our third mistress prepared herself. I noticed that the old lady's complexion has improved a lot. Do you think we should give her some more?"
The imperial physician said, "Your family's third mistress's medical skills are deeply inherited from Master Zhang, so the pills she concocts are naturally very effective. In that case, it means the medicine is appropriate. Feed her some more, and I will prescribe a small tonic. Tomorrow, you can go and get the medicine and brew it for the old lady to drink. After she wakes up, she should eat a light diet and take good care of herself."
After seeing off the imperial physician, the Marquis ordered the mansion gates to be closed, and each household to keep a close watch on their staff, and began to investigate who had given the old lady the medicine.
The Marquis's mansion acted swiftly, partly because the Marquis and his men acted quickly after the Old Madam was drugged. They quickly discovered that the drugger was an old woman in charge of tea in the Old Madam's room. The Marquis interrogated her severely, and the old woman confessed that she was instructed by the old woman guarding the gate in Concubine Zhu's courtyard.
Having investigated this far, the Marquis dared not investigate further. Granny Lu arranged for someone to go to Chen Wufu's place that very night to tell him what had happened. The old lady finally woke up in the middle of the night, but she was very weak. As soon as the city gates opened at dawn, the Marquis sent people to Ganzhou. The old lady's condition required a long period of recuperation, and Zhang Zhaoci was the most trustworthy person. If anything happened to the old lady, the situation in Ganzhou would change drastically.
For the sake of the hard-won stability, neither the Yongning Marquis's Mansion nor Emperor Liang Cheng wanted anything to happen to the old lady, so bringing Zhang Zhaoci back was the best option.
Those going to Ganzhou would change horses but not people, and it would take seven or eight days on the road. After picking up Zhang Zhaoci and returning, it would probably take more than twenty days. Emperor Liang Cheng secretly arranged for the best imperial physicians in the palace to be on standby at the Yongning Marquis's residence, ready to examine the old woman's pulse and prescribe medicine at any time.
The imperial physician arranged by Emperor Liang Cheng was the oldest physician in the Imperial Medical Academy. He had known the old lady for many years and originally did not make many house calls, instead training apprentices in the Imperial Medical Academy. However, due to the urgency of the matter, Emperor Liang Cheng arranged for someone to send him to the Yongning Marquis's residence.
The news of the old lady's accident has been kept under wraps. Anyone in the mansion who tries to find out about it is arrested. However, the gate to Concubine Zhu's courtyard has always been closed. Only the maids from the main kitchen who deliver three meals a day are allowed to enter. In fact, this has been the case for the past few decades. Concubine Zhu never leaves the courtyard and always stays in the Buddhist hall in her small side courtyard. Even the maids who deliver meals have never seen what Concubine Zhu looks like now.
There were several more gatherings planned, and Ning Shi, suppressing her panic, led her sisters-in-law and young ladies in attending as usual, drinking and laughing as they pleased. Ning Shi knew very well that many people were probably secretly observing her expression, looking for anything unusual. As for others, after the old lady's accident, her courtyard was sealed off. The official explanation was that the old lady had gone to a hot spring resort in the suburbs to recuperate. No one was going in or out of the old lady's courtyard. Only the old imperial physician, his two young apprentices, and the old lady's personal attendants were guarding it. The rest of the people had been sent to the suburban resort by the Marquis. It was because the old lady was not suitable to move at the moment; once she was suitable, the Marquis would immediately send her to the suburban resort.
Not only were there people spying through Ning Shi, but there were also many more spies outside the Yongning Marquis's residence. Emperor Liang Cheng arranged for some to be arrested. These were all assassins. After they were arrested, they would bite open the medicine pouch hidden in their mouths, and the people would quickly die from the poison. So until now, apart from Aunt Zhu's side in the mansion, no valuable clues have been found outside.
Xu Zhi had been carefully instructed by Granny Lu. She was the only one among the young ladies in the mansion who knew about the old lady's accident. She couldn't even go to see the old lady, and she was very anxious. When she went out with Ning Shi, some people specifically called her over to ask questions. Xu Zhi was extremely annoyed, but she still had to smile and talk to them. After a few times, she directly reported that she was ill and invited the imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital to her home for treatment. Then she closed her doors to visitors and even blocked the sisters in the mansion from visiting her. In fact, she secretly slipped into the old lady's courtyard.
The old lady had already woken up, but after this incident, she was extremely thin, barely able to lean against the headboard with the help of a pillow. When she saw Xu Zhi smiling and extending her thin hand, which was barely covered by a layer of skin, Xu Zhi held that hand and suppressed her tears for a long time, which made the old lady laugh.
The old lady said, "Xiao Jiu, your grandmother is fine. Look, isn't she alright now? It's all thanks to the medicine that Xiao Jiu brought that your grandmother escaped this calamity."
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