Physician Yang was gone for three days, but finally returned to the Fourth Prince three days later.
"Doctor Yang, how is he?" the Fourth Prince asked. Nian Gengyao had left the Fourth Prince's residence a few days ago. Ever since the Fourth Prince showed his displeasure that day, he had bid farewell and left the next day. He must have gone to the home of the eldest son of the Nian family, Nian's uncle.
The Fourth Prince ignored him, already having formed an impression of Nian Gengyao's arrogance in his mind, but at this moment he had to save Nian Shilan first.
"Your Highness, I have consulted many ancient texts and finally found this poison. Alas, I had no idea that anyone would use it," said Physician Yang.
"Physician Yang, please tell me quickly, what kind of poison is it?" the Fourth Prince asked anxiously.
"This is a poison brought from the Yue people of the southwest. Those who take it will experience restlessness, nausea, and vomiting. Once a certain dosage is reached, it can cause loss of appetite, physical weakness, and eventually, complete amenorrhea and amnesia. However, this poison requires something to activate its toxicity to take effect. I noticed that Consort Nian's courtyard is full of flowering trees, which seems to confirm this," said Physician Yang.
Fourth Master asked in surprise, "You mean, it's the fragrance of flowers that can cause poisoning?"
"No, it's pollen. Flowers contain pollen, and when a breeze blows, the pollen is carried away by the wind. If someone poisoned by that kind of toxin inhales it through their nose, it will accelerate the onset of the poison," said Physician Yang.
"I've never heard of such a poison before. What can we do now? Is there any way to cure it?" Fourth Master asked anxiously.
"Have someone quickly remove all the flowers in the courtyard to reduce the amount of pollen. Then I will treat Consort Nian's poisoning," said Physician Yang.
The Fourth Prince immediately sent men to sweep away all the words spoken in the courtyard. In an instant, fallen petals scattered everywhere, all settling into the dust, leaving only a lingering fragrance. Meanwhile, Imperial Physician Yang began using silver needles to detoxify Lady Nian. He also instructed the Fourth Prince to summon the other palace physicians to assist him in the detoxification process.
The Fourth Master then summoned several of Nian's maids to his side.
"Your mistress has been poisoned for so long, why were you all completely unaware?" the Fourth Prince roared. Judging from Physician Yang's explanation, the poisoner hadn't been doing it in a day or two, but rather slowly and continuously poisoning Lady Nian over several months. This caused the poison to accumulate in her body to a certain level, which was then triggered by the pollen.
Bai Zhi and the other maids were surprised that Madam Nian had been poisoned for several months without their knowledge, which aroused their suspicion.
"Your Highness, we also eat the meals that Consort eats, so why are we all unharmed?" Bai Zhi replied.
Upon hearing this, the Fourth Prince thought it made sense; why were all of Lady Nian's maids unharmed?
"Is this poison not put in food or drink? Bring me all the rouge and powder used by the concubine, and everything that comes into contact with the skin," the Fourth Prince said. Physician Yang told him that this poison could enter the body through food, water, or by being applied to the skin.
The maids dared not delay, so they brought out all of Nian's personal items, including rouge, face powder, nail polish, nutmeg oil, and hair oil. The Fourth Master also ordered that Nian's frequently worn clothes be brought out as well.
After Physician Yang treated Madam Nian for a while, he asked Physician Yang to examine all the items. Surprisingly, no trace of the poison was found in any of them.
"Your Highness, where is the most likely place to poison the concubine's food and tea?" Physician Yang asked.
"Imperial Physician Yang, the concubine's daily meals, if not finished, are all distributed to the maids below. Why are they all unharmed?" the Fourth Prince asked.
"Are there any things that the maids can't get?" Physician Yang asked, squinting. "For example, the tonics for the concubine."
Upon hearing this, Bai Zhi suddenly said, "The concubine must take bird's nest before lunch every day and snow frog before dinner."
“But we servants will test these things for poison before they are put into our mouths!” Cui Ling said hurriedly, because she had handled both of these items, and if the problem occurred here, she would bear the greatest responsibility.
“But you only tasted it, you didn’t eat much. The concubine usually finishes it all every time,” Bai Zhi said immediately.
"Go and bring all the bird's nest and snow frog that Consort Consort has!" the Fourth Prince said sternly.
Cuiling didn't dare delay and immediately went to the main kitchen to retrieve the bird's nest and snow frog that were stored there. Not only that, she also brought the bird's nest and snow frog that hadn't been taken to the main kitchen to Fourth Master.
After a thorough examination, Physician Yang still found no trace of poison.
Cui Ling breathed a sigh of relief, which meant the problem wasn't with the bird's nest and snow frog.
"Could it be that someone poisoned it during the stewing process?" Fourth Master asked.
“That’s possible. Has any of you tried these things on the concubine?” Physician Yang asked. “I’ll test them. If I can find traces of that poison among you, then the problem lies here.”
“Well, the person who tests the poison for the concubine each time is not always the same. Sometimes it’s a servant girl, and sometimes it’s them,” Cui Ling said nervously.
"Then let's check them all," Fourth Master said.
So, Physician Yang tested all four maids to see if they had the poison in their bodies. After the tests, Physician Yang said, "Indeed, except for this young lady, the other three have all been poisoned to varying degrees, but they ate very little and in very small amounts."
Physician Yang said that there was no indication of Bai Zhi's illness because Bai Zhi had almost never eaten Nian's blood bird's nest.
"The problem really lies in these two things!" Fourth Master roared.
"Your Majesty, these two items were cooked under the special supervision of the Imperial Kitchen. How could they have been poisoned?" Cui Ling asked hurriedly, unsure of how to appease him.
"Go and summon that servant who is in charge of cooking these two things for the concubine!" the Fourth Prince roared.
When the young servant who was supposed to be tending the fire was brought before the Fourth Master by Cuiling, he was already so frightened that he didn't know what to say. He could only bow to the Fourth Master under Cuiling's guidance.
"So you're the one in charge of tending the fire for Consort Nian's bird's nest and snow frog?" Fourth Prince frowned.
"Your Highness, it is this servant," the young servant replied.
"Did you leave along the way?" Fourth Master asked again.
"I was afraid the blood bird's nest would overflow, so I stayed by its side the whole time. I didn't dare leave," the young servant said tremblingly.
"Did you really never leave for even a moment?" Fourth Master asked, frowning.
"I only left after Sister Cuiling came. Oh, right, sometimes I only dared to do other things when Sister Hongqiao came." The little servant, unaware that Hongqiao had already encountered an accident, quickly replied.
Upon hearing the name Hongqiao again, Fourth Master's heart immediately went on high alert, and he hurriedly asked, "Why did she go?"
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