"Doctor, what kind of poison has Mu Qingyang been poisoned with?" Fourth Master asked the doctor.
"My lord, please forgive me! This servant still hasn't been able to feel Young Master Mu's pulse, or what poison he has been afflicted with," the doctor said, sweat beading on his back. For a doctor to be unable to diagnose the illness is the most embarrassing thing imaginable.
Lanqin's heart skipped a beat. If even the doctor couldn't diagnose the illness, then this was truly troublesome. She frowned and said to the Fourth Master, "Master, what should we do? It was I who insisted on keeping Young Master Mu here. If I hadn't kept him, he might have already left, and perhaps he wouldn't have been poisoned by such a strange poison!"
"Don't worry, I'll go and fetch Doctor Yang right away tonight. He's very knowledgeable and is the Imperial Physician of the Imperial Medical Academy; his medical skills are extremely high," Fourth Master quickly reassured Lanqin when he saw her worry.
Hearing this, the doctor felt a little relieved and quickly said, "This humble servant is not capable, but I will immediately go and brew a decoction to temporarily suppress the poison in Young Master Mu's body, and wait for Physician Yang to arrive."
Fourth Master nodded and then walked out.
Lanqin held Sihua's hand and looked at the person on the bed. He used to seem to have a bit of the arrogance of an actor. He said to her face that he didn't want to stay. It was because of her own selfish reasons that she insisted that he stay and teach a few maids Western opera, which is why she didn't let him leave.
Lanqin was filled with self-reproach. She even regretted that she had become a "noble" who used her privileges to suppress the will of others.
“Master, why don’t we ask them how Young Master Mu got poisoned? Does he have a grudge against someone? And who would want to harm him?” Si Hua was also very worried, after all, this person had taught her some acting for a few days.
“Si Hua, you’re right. Why was Young Master Mu poisoned? And why would the poisoner kill an actor?” Lan Qin frowned.
"Are any of you acting strangely? Who is in charge of Young Master Mu's meals?" Si Hua asked, seeing the servants kneeling silently to the side.
Sure enough, one of the maids trembled and stammered, "Reporting to Consort Mu, it was this servant who was in charge. However, this servant did not poison Young Master Mu's food. All three meals a day are prepared by the kitchen staff. This servant does not know how Young Master Mu was poisoned, please investigate thoroughly, Consort Mu!"
"Moon Land Cloud Residence isn't very big. How many people are there in total? What do they do? Which of them have access to the kitchen or to Young Master Mu? Have the manager come and tell me all of this clearly," Lan Qin said. She had to intervene. Someone dared to lay a hand on a mere entertainer; it was practically testing her limits of tolerance.
Half an hour passed, and Lanqin learned that the Moonlit Cloud Residence was not large, with only about thirty people living there. They were all servants managing the place. Each of them had their own duties and responsibilities. The kitchen staff consisted of two people who were responsible for cooking for the thirty-odd people, including their own.
Lanqin quickly summoned two people from the kitchen, as they were the most convenient people to poison Young Master Mu. The two knew that the entertainer staying there had been poisoned and was currently unconscious, his fate unknown. They stood before Lanqin, heads bowed and hands clasped in prayer.
"Are there any other people frequently going in and out of the kitchen?" Lanqin asked.
The two exchanged glances, and one of them, who seemed to be the head chef, said, "Reporting to the Consort, the kitchen generally does not allow unauthorized personnel to enter, precisely to prevent anyone from doing anything unclean inside. In our kitchen, we usually prepare all the meals for each area and store them in one place. When the time comes, everyone comes to collect their own. No one has ever entered the stove area; only the water delivery person brings water in each day."
Lanqin nodded and said, "Alright, I understand. You may all go back now and guard everything in the kitchen carefully. Do not touch anything and protect the scene until I send someone to inspect it!"
The two didn't quite understand Lanqin's words about "protecting the scene," but they understood her meaning. They quickly nodded in agreement and left.
Yang Yuanpan was not at home, and Su Peisheng went to invite him, but found no one there. Helpless, he had no choice but to return to Yuanmingyuan to report. Lanqin looked at the person on the bed with melancholy after hearing the news.
"Doctor, how long can he hold on like this?" Lanqin asked the doctor who was feeding Mu Qingyang medicine.
"Reporting to Consort Mu, I just examined Young Master Mu's pulse. The poison he's been given is strange, but it won't kill him; he's just unconscious," the doctor said.
"Unconscious, isn't that a vegetable?" Lanqin said.
"Vegetative state? The term used by the concubine is somewhat similar. A plant is something that cannot move, which is very similar to this young master's condition," the doctor said.
Lanqin gestured for the doctor to continue feeding him the medicine, while she sat down with a worried expression. She had been standing for a long time, and her legs were aching.
"Go back and rest first. I'll go and fetch him tomorrow. He was poisoned here; we can't just ignore it," Fourth Master said. Actually, they could simply ignore someone like Mu Qingyang, saying he had some strange illness and kick him out. But Lanqin rushed back as soon as she learned he had suddenly fallen unconscious and hadn't rested since, showing she couldn't accept such treatment. Fourth Master felt that if he didn't take responsibility for the actor now, Lanqin would definitely not agree and might even look down on him. Unconsciously, even Fourth Master wasn't aware that many of his actions had been influenced by this woman.
"That's the only way. Send two maids to guard it. They'll report back immediately if needed," Lanqin said.
Fourth Master instructed the two maids who had previously served Mu Qingyang to take turns keeping watch over him at night. Then, he and Lanqin returned together; it was already late at night.
Lanqin's initially happy mood was completely ruined by Mu Qingyang's sudden collapse and death. She even felt a pang of self-blame.
"Perhaps he really did suffer from a sudden, strange illness, and not from poisoning?" Fourth Master said.
Lanqin looked up at Fourth Master, knowing that his words might not be entirely without meaning, but she also knew that he was trying to comfort her.
"No matter what, we have to keep an eye on things," Lan Qin said.
The two washed up with the help of the maids, got into bed, and fell asleep in each other's arms. Lanqin unconsciously snuggled into the Fourth Master's arms. Her fear of the impermanence of life and the unpredictability of the world made her afraid that one day she might suddenly face the moment of losing this man.
Mu Qingyang didn't wake up all night, but he didn't show any particular symptoms. The doctor changed his dressing again early in the morning and found that he was still the same, with no change in his condition. Fourth Master went to fetch Doctor Yang early in the morning, and Lanqin also got up early because she was worried about Mu Qingyang.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
