Knowing she couldn't stop Lanqin, Cui Niang immediately had Nianxue and Xicha serve Lanqin as she got up, while she herself went out to find the head nanny and asked her to send a sedan chair.
Lanqin sat in the sedan chair, with Cui Niang and Nianxue serving her on either side, and they hurriedly headed towards the North Courtyard.
"Slow down, Consort Cui can't handle jostling," Cui Niang said to the two servants in front and behind her.
Along the way, we did not encounter any more snakes.
When Lanqin and the others arrived at the North Courtyard, they saw that a medicine stove had already been set up at the entrance, and Qingping was watching a maid decocting medicine.
"Qingping, how is Sister Song?" Lanqin, supported by Cui Niang, got off the sedan chair and walked towards the entrance of the Song family's house.
Qingping didn't see Lanqin, but upon hearing her voice, she immediately replied, "Consort, you've finally arrived! Our princess!" Qingping's voice was trembling with tears.
"How did Sister Song get bitten?" Lanqin asked Qingping as she helped Cui Niang walk into Song's room.
“This morning, Princess went for a walk in our front garden when a venomous snake suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She was caught off guard and was bitten,” Qingping said.
"Look at that snake, what does it look like?" Lanqin asked carefully.
“This servant has never seen that kind of snake before. It’s black, small, and moves extremely fast.” Qingping’s eyes were both leisurely and surprised.
Lanqin's heart sank. The thing she feared most had happened. The black snakes that suddenly appeared in the South Courtyard last night were still in the Fourth Prince's mansion and had not left. Moreover, they had now bitten Song Shi.
When Lanqin and her party entered Song's bedroom, they saw the other two maids serving Song standing guard by her bedside, while Doctor Lin was still taking Song's pulse.
The Wu and Geng families had already arrived and were sitting to one side, their faces full of worry.
"The concubine has arrived." Lady Wu was the first to see Lanqin and quickly stood up to say.
"Dr. Lin, how is Sister Song?" Lanqin nodded to Madam Wu and Madam Geng, then took Nianxue's hand and walked to Madam Song's bedside.
Looking at Song Shi's pale face, with a dark aura gathering between her brows and her purplish-red lips, it was clear she had been poisoned.
"Princess Song has been poisoned by a snake. I have temporarily used acupuncture to force the poison to the surface. We must find an antidote quickly, otherwise, once the poison seeps into her internal organs, Princess Song's life may be in danger," said Doctor Lin.
Some of his words seemed to lower the temperature in the room to zero degrees Celsius, and there was a long silence.
"Thank you for your trouble, Doctor Lin. Sister Song, if you need anything, please let me know immediately. Just use whatever medicine you require; there's no need to report back to me," Lanqin said. She was wondering if she should try to find Doctor Liang to see if he had any Western medicine to treat snake venom.
"Sister Wu, Sister Geng, some black snakes of unknown origin have suddenly appeared in the manor. You must be careful," Lanqin said. "I'll go back and ask Doctor Liang to come and take a look. Also, I'll have the head nanny immediately invite a snake exterminator to catch as many snakes as possible in the manor. Otherwise, what will we do if more people are bitten like this!"
"Go, Consort, Wu-jie and I will stay here," said Madam Geng.
Lanqin nodded and left, taking the hands of Cui Niang and Nianxue. She felt a tightness in her heart, and turned back to look at Song Shi with concern before remembering the Fourth Prince.
"Where is the Fourth Prince? I haven't seen him." Lanqin asked Qingping.
"The Fourth Prince came to see the Princess early this morning, but he's gone back to practice calligraphy now," Qingping said.
Lanqin frowned and then left with her maid.
In no time, the head nanny had arranged emergency measures. She immediately dispatched five or six groups of people to begin clearing all possible hiding places for snakes, rats, insects, and ants from the Fourth Prince's residence.
The Nian family also received the news. She had arranged for people in her courtyard to begin inspecting all the vegetation in the East Courtyard. Meanwhile, Lanqin had been discussing with the head nanny how to prevent poisonous snakes from harassing the people in the mansion.
"Consort, you should go back and rest. I already know what to do. Also, distribute some realgar and snake-repelling herbs back to the courtyards. Sprinkle a little bit at the entrances and corners of each courtyard to temporarily prevent poisonous snakes from bothering people and livestock," the head nanny said to Lanqin.
"Yes. What you say is absolutely right, Granny. These venomous snakes are of unknown origin, so we have no choice but to take precautions. I, the concubine, will take my leave now. Thank you for your help, Granny." Lanqin had been busy all morning and was feeling quite hungry. Fortunately, the baby in her womb seemed to know that Lanqin was busy and didn't make a fuss, lying quietly asleep inside her.
“Oh, yesterday at noon, the maid from Madam Wuya’s place came to ask for realgar. Could it be that snakes have appeared there too?” A maid standing next to the head nanny suddenly said to her.
"Madam Luo, please explain more clearly. Did Madam Wuya come to ask for realgar yesterday?" The head nanny didn't concern herself with the specifics; she delegated everything to the several head nannies under her command.
“Yesterday, Shuang’er, the maid of the Uya clan, came to me asking for realgar, saying that her mistress was afraid of mosquito bites. I didn’t pay attention at the time and gave her some,” said Mama Luo.
Lanqin heard this but couldn't recall anything for a moment, so she let Cui Niang and Nianxue help her onto the sedan chair and return to the South Courtyard.
When Lanqin sat back down at her dining table, the lunch that had been prepared was already laid out.
"Master, please have some," said Cui Niang.
"Send more people to guard the children. Those snakes are too strange. How could so many suddenly appear?" Lanqin had something on her mind and really didn't have much of an appetite.
"Yes. We've already sent people over to keep an eye on things. They've prepared wine; if absolutely necessary, we'll have to burn it," said Cui Niang.
"That's a last resort. Using it too often could easily cause a fire," Lanqin said.
"Master, why did Wuya ask for realgar beforehand? Did she know there were snakes?" Cui Niang asked.
“Realgar is specifically for dealing with snakes. Perhaps she was the first to see that kind of snake?” Lanqin and Cui Niang exchanged glances.
After finishing her meal, Lanqin rested for a while. She was really tired after being busy since early morning. Doctor Liang went to the Song family's place; although he was a Western doctor, he didn't have any antidote for snake venom at the moment.
After Lanqin woke up at noon, she inquired about Song's condition again, only to learn that a suitable antidote had not yet been found. Lanqin was still worried and went to visit Song again. Wu and Geng had already returned home; only Doctor Liang and Doctor Lin were still discussing Song's illness.
"Let's bleed him! Let out all the poisonous blood that's gathered on the surface!" Lanqin suggested.
"That's too much. I'm afraid Song Gege will be in danger due to excessive blood loss," said Doctor Liang.
“We can’t just watch her slowly erode the venom. And since we can’t find any anti-venom medication right now, this is the only option,” Lanqin said.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
