067 Fainted
Song Xi called Xiao Han, and the two of them tied Yu Jin up in the woodshed.
As soon as they removed the sack, the two saw that Yu Jin's face had turned a deep red and black. Her mouth was stuffed with a wad of cotton, and upon seeing Song Xi, she didn't have time to do anything but make muffled noises, signaling for Song Xi to help remove the stuff from her mouth.
Song Xi reached out to pull it out, but pulled back after his fingertips touched the damp, sticky cotton towel.
Noticing his hesitation, Yu Jin assumed he didn't want to touch the cotton towel because it was dirty, and then whimpered for Xiao Han's help.
Xiao Han glanced at Song Xi, but seeing that he didn't say anything, she pretended not to see anything and stood aside, keeping a low profile.
Song Xi waited quietly for Yu Jin to calm down before asking, "Tell me the truth, did you really poison Yang Yang?"
Yu Jin nodded hurriedly.
"What kind of poison?"
Tulip just kept whimpering, unable to say anything.
Song Xi said, "I'll pull it out for you, but you'd better tell me the truth. Otherwise, you know I have plenty of ways to make you talk."
Yu Jin nodded in agreement.
Song Xi had Xiao Han stand guard outside the door, and then left the window of the woodshed half-open. After removing the cotton cloth from Yu Jin's mouth, he quickly took three or four steps back.
With nothing stuffed in her mouth, Yu Jin immediately turned around, bent over, and spat out whatever was blocking her throat.
She didn't know what Shang Jin had picked up at random, but a sour, foul, and salty smell made her want to vomit. However, her mouth was stuffed with vomit, and the vomit went back and forth in her mouth and throat, almost suffocating her.
Yu Jin gagged a few more times before feeling a bit clearer in her throat.
But she didn't rinse her mouth, and the taste lingered there, sticky and extremely unpleasant.
She looked up in a flustered manner, wanting Song Xi to bring her a bowl of water.
But the moment she looked up and saw him, she froze on the spot. Song Xi stood far away, the dim candlelight in the woodshed beside him. He was backlit, his thin and elegant figure swaying somewhat, mysterious and unpredictable, like a banished immortal who had suddenly descended to earth, who would vanish in the blink of an eye.
She herself was bound hand and foot, her clothes and hair were disheveled, and because of the previous vomiting, there were physiological tears in the corners of her eyes, vomit residue on her mouth, and dust and wood chips that she didn't know where they had come from.
Yu Jin lowered her head, not daring to look at him again.
After the smell in the room had dissipated a bit, Song Xi finally spoke and asked her, "Go ahead and say it."
Yu Jin said, "I concocted this medicine myself. It damages her heart and also compresses and weakens the resilience of her blood vessels, making her blood thicker. If her heart beats too fast, it will cause her blood vessels to rupture, and there will be no cure."
A storm brewed in Song Xi's eyes. Suppressing his resentment, he asked, "Have you tried the medicine?"
"No."
"What's the recipe?"
Tulip chuckled softly twice: "No."
Song Xi strode forward, grabbed her throat, and said through gritted teeth, "Yu Jin, don't force me to do it."
“Then do it now, kill me. Or,” she paused, her eyes sweeping over Song Xi’s face, “Junior brother, you know what I’ve always wanted. If you spend just one time with me, I’ll give you the formula.”
In an instant, Song Xi felt as if his hands were covered in a pungent plaster. He flung Yu Jin's collar away and said, "I find you disgusting."
Yu Jin's body slammed heavily to the ground, her palms pricking from the rough surface, sending a sharp pain through her. Looking at the wound on her palm, from which a trickle of blood seeped, her tone was tinged with a crazed, bloodthirsty rage: "Disgusting? Yes, I'm disgusted. I slept with Prince Yu, and I'm pregnant with his child, but he won't acknowledge it. How about this, you brew me some medicine to abort this bastard in my belly, and I'll tell you."
Song Xi looked at her with disgust, knowing he wouldn't get any more information from her, so he turned and walked away. Based on her answer, he could roughly guess what medicinal herbs had been used, but the dosage was a problem and he needed to experiment further.
Seeing that he was about to leave, Yu Jin lay on the ground, curled up like a silkworm, and shuffled outwards, crying and pleading, "Junior brother, junior brother, please save me! Give me a bowl of medicine so I can abort this child! Junior brother, I beg you, please!"
Song Xi ignored him, closed the door and said to Xiao Han, "Keep an eye on her, don't loosen the ropes, and cook her a bowl of medicine to prevent miscarriage every day, to save her child first."
With the doors and windows closed, the wailing from inside the tulips subsided considerably. Xiao Han asked, "Yes, Master. Should we tell Madam Zhao about this?"
Song Xi said, "She hasn't recovered from her recent mood yet, let her rest for now."
Xiao Han followed him outside: "Madam Zhao instructed me this afternoon to quickly tidy up the properties in Kyoto, saying she wanted to leave as soon as possible. Master..."
Song Xi paused slightly. Madam Zhao had told him this before. She was afraid that if Emperor Mingde discovered their identities, it would lead to their deaths. In addition, she wanted to go to the burial place of his biological father as soon as possible to keep him company.
He said, "I'll listen to Madam Zhao and make the arrangements. I'll take care of the tulip matter as soon as possible."
After not hearing a reply from Xiao Han, Song Xi turned to look at him and found that Xiao Han was staring at him without moving. He asked, "What's wrong?"
Xiao Han pointed to the corner of his mouth: "Master, did you forget to apply the medicine again? The wound is bleeding."
Song Xi then felt a slight pain at the corner of his mouth. He reached out and touched it, and warm liquid was flowing from the two wounds there. Song Xi said nonchalantly, "It's nothing, I'll just put some on when I get back."
"This will leave scars, Master, I need to go..."
"Go ahead and do your work," Song Xi interrupted him. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of myself."
Xiao Han knew he was definitely going to study the medicinal herbs that matched the symptoms Yu Jin had described. Knowing she couldn't dissuade him, Xiao Han said, "Master, the 'Medicine Classic' you brought back last time is still in the old house. I'll go get it tonight."
That book was personally written by my master, and it seems that it only recorded the symptoms that Yu Jin mentioned.
"Okay. Remember to be careful on the road." After saying that, Song Xi immediately went back to her room to start studying the formula.
Perhaps due to his background, he had an inexplicable obsession with medicine. Once he got into it, he could almost forget to eat and sleep. In the past, it was fine; he usually took care of his health and had good stamina, so staying up for one or two nights was not a problem.
But things are different now. He has just gone through such a big ordeal. The wounds on his face have healed and reopened repeatedly, and are still not fully healed. If he doesn't eat, drink, sleep, or rest, when Xiao Han went in to deliver food the next day, she saw that his face was flushed, his eyes were bloodshot, and he seemed weak and breathless when he spoke.
Even the two small wounds at the corners of his mouth, where the scabs had formed, were turning slightly white and had begun to fester.
Xiao Han felt a pang of heartache, and her words of advice were choked with emotion: "Master, please rest for a while. Sleeping for an hour or two won't hurt."
Song Xi was grinding medicine powder when she heard this and said, "I'm fine, I'll be better soon. I have a feeling that this formula is definitely right. You can go out now and don't bother me."
Xiao Han wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, turned around, and ran outside. Since he couldn't persuade his master, he would find someone who could make his master listen to him!
***
Inside the Yuan residence, Li Yang was coaxing Xiao Taozi.
Ever since Yuan Chongjing said he wanted to control Xiao Taozi's food intake and snacks, he actually made a plan and started to gradually reduce the amount of snacks.
Little Peach didn't notice at first, she only felt that her mother was spending more time with her, and her father started playing with her as soon as he returned home. Although he didn't spend as much time with her as her mother, Little Peach was still very satisfied.
But after only two days, she noticed that there were fewer delicious things to eat. There used to be sweet dried fruit in the morning and afternoon, but now there wasn't any, and even the snacks were much less available.
She asked Li Yang, puzzled.
Li Yang had already thought of a solution: "Because Daddy and Mommy are hungry, does Little Peach not want Mommy to eat? How about Mommy goes out to work and earn money, and Little Peach stays home to play by herself?"
Hmm, Little Peach is a little worried. She wants her mother to stay home and play with her, but she also wants to eat delicious food.
She pouted, leaned against Li Yang's leg, her little eyebrows furrowed, trying to come up with a solution that would satisfy both sides.
Li Yang couldn't help but chuckle. Looking up, she saw Xia He leading Xiao Li'er into the courtyard, Xiao Li'er seemingly still had two tears on her face. Li Yang quickly asked, "What happened? Why is Xiao Li'er crying?"
Little Pear had just been wronged, and when she heard Li Yang's gentle question, her little mouth twitched, and she quickly ran to Li Yang's arms and cried quietly.
Li Yang lifted her onto his lap, carefully held her, and looked up to silently ask Xia He.
Xia He said, "Something happened at the eldest young mistress's family home, and she's in a hurry to go back and check on things. Miss Li'er wanted to go with her, but the eldest young mistress scolded her a couple of times."
"What happened to your sister-in-law's family? What's wrong? Do your parents know?"
Xia He nodded: "They said that my in-laws made some mistake and were imprisoned. The master and madam both know about it, but they haven't asked. I secretly found out that it seems to be related to the Fifth Prince. The eldest young master wouldn't let the young madam go, but the young madam wouldn't let him go and insisted on going back. The two of them had a fight."
Li Yang knew that His Highness Prince Yu had begun to target the Fifth Prince, and the two were locked in a fierce battle, with many court officials implicated in the past two days alone. Now it seemed that his in-law had been dragged down by the Fifth Prince.
Li Yang said, "We can't help with this kind of thing. You can ask Beihai to keep an eye on things. When Jing comes back, have him go to our parents and eldest brother to see how to handle it."
“Okay,” Xia He replied. Seeing Li Yang go to coax Xiao Li’er again, Xia He hesitated for a moment before saying, “Madam, there’s something I want to tell you.”
Li Yang had two maids, Jinghe, who was lively, innocent, and endearing, and Xiahe, who was steady and reliable. Li Yang rarely saw Xiahe look so troubled. Seeing that Xiaotaozi was talking to Xiaolier, she asked Xiahe, "What do you say?"
Xia He said, "It's Jing He. I'm a little worried about her. Lately, when she's not on duty, she often sneaks out without telling everyone, and she always dresses up specially and changes into new clothes. When she comes back, she's always secretly smiling to herself. I think she might have met someone outside. This morning, I asked Jing Zhi about it indirectly, and neither Jing Zhi nor her mother know about it."
Jingzhi is Jinghe's older sister, and now she works alongside their mother for Madam Yuan.
Li Yang knew that the person must be Zhao Chilai, the young master of the Duke of Zhongyong.
The last time she returned to the Li family, she overheard Li's mother mention that Duke Zhongyong and her aunt had discussed finding a suitable young lady for Zhao Chilai to be betrothed. However, Zhao Chilai seemed reluctant, so the matter was temporarily shelved. Now it seems he has never given up on Jinghe. It's just that their social statuses are quite different, and Duke Zhongyong has high expectations for Zhao Chilai and would definitely not agree to his relationship with Jinghe.
Seeing Jinghe approaching with her entourage from a distance, Li Yang said to Xia He, "Don't tell outsiders about this for now. I'll talk to Jinghe when I have time."
Xia He nodded, lowered her head, and stepped aside.
Xiao Han was following behind Jing He.
Li Yang was a little surprised to see him: "Xiao Han? What brings you here? Did Song Xi want to see me about something?"
Xiao Han said with a hardened face, "I have something to say to Madam."
Seeing that his expression was a little strange, Li Yang told Jinghe to take Xiaolier and Xiaotaozi away, "You can talk now."
"Does Madam know that you have been poisoned?" Xiao Han said bluntly.
Li Yang looked down at herself. She had been feeling quite well lately, sleeping soundly at night, and had a normal appetite. She hadn't noticed anything unusual about her body: "Why do you say that?"
Xiao Han said, "It was Yu Jin who poisoned you. That poison will damage your heart and blood vessels. You're fine when your emotions are calm, but once there's a significant fluctuation, it can trigger a heart attack, or even cause your blood vessels to rupture, leading to heart failure and death."
Li Yang was skeptical: "How do you know? Did Song Xi ask you to tell me?"
"No!" Hearing her mention Song Xi, Xiao Han's eyes reddened slightly. He shouted at Li Yang without regard for anything else, "Master is so good to you, how could he tell you something that would make you worry!"
Seeing that his words were becoming increasingly outrageous, Xia He said coldly, "Xiao Han! Watch your words! This is my 'young mistress'!"
Xiao Han realized she had lost her composure and wiped away her tears, explaining in a choked voice, "Master told me not to tell you. He was afraid you wouldn't be able to handle it and it would worsen the poison's spread. Now, in order to develop an antidote, he's locked himself in his room without eating or drinking. The wounds on his face are festering, and he's developed a high fever. No matter how I try to persuade him, he won't listen. Madam Yuan, if you still care about him, please go and persuade him to at least eat something and get some sleep."
Li Yang immediately said, "I'll go take a look."
Xia He sensed something was wrong and quickly followed behind, saying, "Madam, I'll go too."
Currently, Song Xi and Madam Zhao have no one else around besides Xiao Han, so Xia He could be of some help. Li Yang did not refuse, and after explaining the situation to the people in the mansion, she went to Song Xi's private residence with Xiao Han.
Xiao Han led them directly to Song Xi's room, but after knocking for a long time, Song Xi did not respond. Xiao Han and Li Yang exchanged a worried glance: "Madam, what should we do?"
Li Yang told him and Xia He to step back, and then rammed the door with his shoulder.
Fortunately, the door was not bolted open. After being forced open, the three rushed in, only to find the medicinal herbs and mortar scattered on the table. Song Xi was lying motionless on the ground, her face pale and her lips cracked.
Seeing this, Xiao Han quickly pushed aside Xia He, who was blocking his way, ran over, knelt on the ground, and reached out to check on Song Xi's condition.
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