The air around the prince was filled with the pungent smell of mugwort and various herbs. Hongli was placed in a large bathtub filled with precious Chinese herbs that emitted a strange fragrance. Even every corner of the room was piled with herbs for testing poisons.
Physician Yang dared not slack off in the slightest. He examined Hongli's eyes, his tongue, and even his toes. The palace maids bustled about, bringing water and soup, and the entire prince's quarters seemed to be steaming.
After learning that even the Imperial Prison couldn't get the palace maid to talk, Lanqin stayed by Hongli's side in despair and didn't go anywhere else. Even when the Fourth Prince came, Lanqin didn't even lift her eyelids.
But Hongli was as still as if he were asleep, his face was terribly yellow, and now even his limbs were turning black.
Physician Yang kept shaking his head silently, and Lanqin stopped asking questions. She kept talking and chatting with Hongli, taking care of him like a baby.
Everyone was moved by Lanqin's actions. The Fourth Prince had given an order that no one was allowed to cry in front of the princes, saying that Hongli was still alive and no one was allowed to cry first. Everyone had to suppress their emotions, and only those who couldn't hold back would secretly go to the side door to shed a few tears before coming back to continue working.
Ushiha and Suhar were specially invited to the palace by the Fourth Prince, ostensibly to visit Hongli, but in reality, they were preparing to see Hongli one last time. Ushiha stood outside the Prince's residence with a pout for a long time before finally managing to compose himself and open the door. But upon seeing Lanqin's haggard and heartbroken appearance, he could no longer hold back and threw himself into Lanqin's arms, bursting into tears.
“Mother, don’t be sad, Wuxiha is late…” Lanqin patted Wuxiha’s head and smiled, “Silly girl, Hongli is just sick, he will wake up… Look, he’s breathing much stronger today…”
Ushiha, lying beside the bathtub, could see through the rising steam that Hongli sat motionless like a living dead. Lanqin carefully scooped water and poured it over Hongli, occasionally wiping the fine sweat from his forehead, chatting with him with a smile.
Ushiha looked back at her husband helplessly, and Suhar squatted down to comfort Lanqin: "Mother, don't be too sad. Hongli would never want you to hurt yourself for him."
After speaking, Suhar carefully observed Hongli and immediately felt something was amiss. He circled Hongli once before asking Physician Yang, "Physician Yang, was the Prince's poison completely undetectable a few days ago? Did it suddenly flare up?"
Upon hearing this, Physician Yang nodded repeatedly: "Yes, how did the prince consort know?"
Suhar had some idea of what was going on, but he still asked for details: "Are there any abnormalities in the prince's limbs now?"
Physician Yang glanced at Lanqin and whispered in Suhar's ear, "To be honest, Your Highness, the prince's limbs have changed color since yesterday. It's possible that the poison has reached his limbs through the blood... It looks like he won't last much longer. Once his limbs stiffen and necrotize, even if he is saved, he will be left with a lifelong disability..."
Suhar frowned, and after thinking for a moment, said, "These symptoms are very similar to those of strychnine, a poison I saw in the Western Regions before... Could it be that Hongli has been poisoned by strychnine?"
Lanqin was stunned. She jumped up, grabbed Suhar, and asked with her eyes fixed on him, "What did you say? Really? Is there an antidote for strychnine poison?"
Suhar answered blankly, "Yes, I know a doctor from the Western Regions who can cure this poison..."
"That's wonderful! That's wonderful... Hongli is saved, Hongli is saved..." Lanqin cried and laughed excitedly. Suhar didn't linger for a moment and rode out of the palace at top speed to fetch the Western Regions doctor...
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