Upon hearing this, Su Peisheng had already rushed out. A short while later, he returned with the jar containing the hangover soup.
"Give it to me!" Fourth Master quickly took the jar from Su Peisheng's hand and handed it to Cui Niang.
Cui Niang glanced inside. Fortunately, she remembered correctly; there was still a little bit of leftover soup residue. The person who threw away this hangover soup must have been the one who poisoned it, but she hadn't expected that the remaining residue would still have an effect.
Then, Blind Liang and his apprentice took out a strange glass object from their medicine box. In front of the object was a small cylindrical object with a thin, gleaming needle.
Cui Niang, Nian Xue, and the maids Xi Cha were all astonished; they had never seen anything like it before. Lan Qin, however, wasn't surprised at all, because wasn't this just a primitive "syringe"?
She watched as Blind Liang used the syringe to draw out the dregs from the jar. Although she still felt waves of cramping pain in her abdomen, she was no longer as panicked.
Blind Liang sipped a little of the dregs from the bottom of the pot; Lanqin estimated it to be only a few milliliters. If a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner were to examine it now, this only clue would likely be useless.
Having obtained the source of the poison, Blind Liang and his two apprentices went to the Eight Immortals Table next to Fourth Master to begin testing.
The maids dispersed, and Lanqin lay sprawled on the bed, her face gaunt from the spasms of pain. Suddenly, she heard Xinyi and Shuhui's voices outside; they were worried about Lanqin and wanted to come in to check on her.
“Princess, the doctor is already inside. You may go in and take a look. The master has quite a temper!” Su Peisheng said to the two princesses outside the tent.
"Thank you, Eunuch Su." Xinyi and Shuhui curtsied.
Su Peisheng has now ordered the guards to block the entrances to the Third, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Princes' residences, allowing only their maids to enter; no one else is permitted to enter. Shuhui wanted to visit the Tenth Prince, but the Fourth Prince had given a strict order that no one was to be allowed to make an exception.
The Fourteenth Prince and the Seventh Prince are currently inspecting the maids with leg problems, while everyone else is staying in their own tents and is not allowed to move around freely.
Xin Yi and Shu Hui entered Lan Qin's tent and found her lying there. Fourth Master and Thirteenth Master were looking at something with several men who looked like doctors. Xin Yi and Shu Hui simply curtsied to Fourth Master and Thirteenth Master without saying a word. Presumably, Fourth Master wouldn't notice their greetings, as his mind was entirely on Blind Liang.
"Second sister, how are you feeling? Is your abdomen still very painful?" Xinyi walked to Lanqin's bedside, squatted down, and held Lanqin's hand, asking with concern. Shuhui followed behind and also squatted down, looking at Lanqin with worry.
"It's alright, Doctor Liang is very knowledgeable in medicine. It's probably not life-threatening, otherwise I probably wouldn't have the strength to talk to you right now," Lan Qin said with a forced smile.
"I really don't know who dared to poison so many princes. They are incredibly audacious!" Xin Yi said with a sharp glint in her eyes.
"I'm afraid it was someone among those present. Even you know that it wasn't me who did it," Lanqin said.
Upon hearing this, Xin Yi and Shu Hui's eyes flashed with terror. They were terrified and astonished. Could the princes really fight to such an extent? They were brothers, yet they could actually bring themselves to harm each other.
Lanqin didn't want them to witness the cruel power struggles within the royal family so soon, but since they had already chosen this path, they would have to see it sooner or later anyway. So let them see it early, so that when they really become people in the prince's harem, they won't be like her before, foolishly being plotted against.
"Well, Doctor Liang, what kind of poison did the concubines suffer from?" the Thirteenth Prince couldn't help but ask.
Liang Youcai frowned slightly as he carefully observed the liquid being poured from the jar. He then added other substances to it and observed the changes in the liquid. He repeated this process several times, as did Liang's apprentice, and neither of them uttered a word.
Just then, someone outside came to report that the Eighth and Ninth Masters had forcibly left their tents, and the guards dared not do anything to them, but they also could not be violent towards them. Upon hearing this, Thirteen could only say to Fourth Master, "It seems they intend to return tonight? If we let them leave like this, who knows how nasty the rumors will be."
A ruthless glint flashed in Fourth Master's eyes. He had no choice but to say to Thirteenth Master, "It seems only I can stop them from leaving. You stay here, I'll go check it out."
Thirteenth Prince is younger than Eighth and Ninth Princes, and without the support of his maternal clan, he's still just a bald prince. If he goes out, he might not be able to stop Eighth and Ninth Princes.
Fourth Master glanced at Lanqin with concern, only to meet her gaze. Neither of them said anything more, but they exchanged a look of trust and determination, and everything was understood without words.
After Fourth Master left, Doctor Liang and the others continued to observe the changes in the solutions in the bottles, while Thirteen watched anxiously from the side, but there was nothing they could do.
Lanqin saw Xinyi and Shuhui and couldn't help but ask, "Where's Xiuzhu?"
Xin Yi turned her head, a hint of disdain flashing in her eyes, and said, "We originally wanted to invite her to come and see my sister. Who knew she would make an excuse that she twisted her ankle and refuse to come. It's really..."
"What did you say? She twisted her ankle?" Lanqin's eyes narrowed, and she asked anxiously, not even caring about Nianxue's support.
"Yes, I don't know when she twisted her ankle. She was perfectly fine when she was dancing, how could she twist her ankle so quickly? It's such a coincidence." Xin Yi was clearly very angry at Chen Xiuzhu's indifference towards Lan Qin at this moment.
“Don’t worry, cousin. I think she really does have a sprained ankle; she’s walking a little with difficulty,” Shuhui said.
"Xinyi, Shuhui, are you sure Xiuzhu's leg is sprained and that she walks strangely?" Lanqin asked, her eyes darting around.
Xinyi and Shuhui were puzzled as to why Lanqin reacted so strongly. They looked at each other and said, "Yes, she also said that she twisted her ankle in the chaos just now."
Lanqin looked at Cui Niang and said to her, "Go quickly and find Fourteenth Master and Seventh Master, and tell them that I know who moved that pot of hangover soup. Make them come to see me immediately."
At this moment, although Lanqin still felt discomfort in her abdomen, it seemed to be less severe. Suddenly, an idea came to her mind, and it seemed that her willpower could overcome the pain from her abdomen.
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