Chapter 88 I will rest here tonight.
Hearing the sound, Ji Yun turned around and saw that she had finished her examination. He then stepped forward and skillfully gathered up the pulse pillow and silk handkerchief on the bed, carefully putting them away in his medical kit.
"It was Consort Xian who gave the order. After my aunt fell into a coma due to poisoning, the Emperor was furious. Consort Xian ordered a thorough investigation of the Princess's residence. They found a medicinal blanket that my aunt had received on her birthday. The physician determined that it contained medicine of unknown origin."
As he was tidying up, his fingertips accidentally touched a corner of the box. The contents wrapped in a plain handkerchief slightly unfurled, revealing a pair of white magnolia earrings inside, which shimmered with a warm and lustrous sheen under the dim light of the room.
His movements clearly paused, he hesitated for a few breaths, his eyes darkened, but in the end he asked nothing, and silently closed the lid of the box.
Meng Yutong didn't notice his subtle change, her thoughts still immersed in the doubts from before: "According to what you just said, it was the Empress Dowager who gave the order. She said that an unknown medicinal juice was found on my medicinal blanket. But my medicinal blanket was made by steaming and fumigating medicinal herbs, and it was not contaminated with any medicinal juice at all. It is obvious that someone added it later."
Who could it be?
The Virtuous Consort? She was a complete stranger to him, and given her status and position, it seemed unnecessary for her to go to such lengths to frame a commoner female doctor.
Therefore, it is highly likely that he was the real poisoner who intended to frame someone.
"So, the medicinal blanket I sent is now in the hands of the Dowager Consort?"
Ji Yun seemed somewhat lost in thought, but was pulled back by her words and replied, "When I was collecting the things my aunt has been using recently, I didn't see your medicine blanket..."
Before he could finish speaking, a very soft knock came from outside the door.
The two immediately fell silent. Ji Yun said in a deep voice, "Come in."
The maid, Lvrong, entered. She moved quietly and did not look at Ji Yun much after entering. Instead, she went straight to Meng Yutong, curtsied, and said in a low voice, "Doctor Meng, this servant has something to give you."
Meng Yutong and Ji Yun exchanged a glance, both seeing wariness and inquiry in each other's eyes.
Since Green Velvet had already discovered her identity but hadn't revealed it, her risky visit now must mean she had something important to discuss.
Sure enough, Green Velvet carefully took out a neatly folded rug from the gap between an inconspicuous low cabinet and the wall.
It was the medicine blanket that Meng Yutong had presented that day.
She presented the blanket with both hands, lowering her voice even further: "The princess's coma is suspicious. Today, the people sent by the Dowager Consort searched the entire mansion. The examining physician pointed out that this blanket is stained with an unknown medicinal liquid, suspected to be the source of poison. But I clearly remember that His Highness has not used this blanket in the past two days."
"I found something suspicious, so I secretly hid the blanket when they weren't looking and took a thin quilt with a similar pattern that His Highness usually uses to cover himself. Fortunately, no one noticed. Doctor Meng, although I don't know the details, I believe you would never poison His Highness. You must have a way to cure the princess, right?"
Meng Yutong took the blanket and examined it closely under the lamplight. Sure enough, in the embroidery of galloping horses, there were two or three dried light pink medicine stains on the forehead of one of the horses, which looked quite out of place.
Deeply moved, she bowed respectfully to Green Velvet and said, "Miss Green Velvet, thank you. I will remember this kindness forever."
Green Velvet quickly stepped aside, a forced smile on her face: "Doctor Meng, you flatter me. This servant only hopes that you and Physician Ji can find out what poison His Highness has been poisoned with as soon as possible, so that His Highness can recover his health."
Meng Yutong then inquired in detail about the princess's recent daily life, especially the details of today's itinerary.
Green Velvet answered without reservation: "His Highness had barley, red date, and rose porridge with a few side dishes this morning, and drank half a cup of ginseng soup. The dishes were all delivered by special servants from the palace, and the roses in the porridge were picked from the garden. This has always been the practice."
"Afterwards, I went for a walk in the garden and picked a few newly opened pink hibiscus flowers, which I placed in a vase on my desk. After reading for a while, I sat in front of my dressing table around noon and tried on a few newly acquired jade hairpins... Not long after, I suddenly fainted."
As Meng Yutong listened, her gaze slowly swept across the bedchamber once more. According to Green Velvet, the princess's diet and daily routine seemed normal, and Ji Yun had already taken samples of these items for testing. If there were any problems, the Imperial Medical Academy should respond soon.
But her unease grew stronger. The person who poisoned her was so meticulous, even framing her was perfectly planned, how could they leave such an obvious flaw? She was afraid she wouldn't find anything from those items.
Ji Yun dismissed Lvrong and, seeing Meng Yutong's furrowed brows, comforted her, saying, "I have carefully examined the food, supplies, and even clothing she mentioned earlier, and have taken samples of anything I was unsure about and sent them back to the Imperial Medical Academy. There is no need to worry too much; I believe we will have results soon."
Meng Yutong rose and slowly walked towards the dressing table on the inner side of the bedchamber. Her gaze fell on the white porcelain vase on the table, which contained several delicate pink hibiscus flowers.
"Has this been inspected?" she asked, pointing to the vibrant pink.
"I took one and sent it back to the Imperial Medical Academy," Ji Yun replied.
Meng Yutong's gaze was immediately drawn to a small, exquisite, white porcelain box on the windowsill. She stepped forward and opened the lid, revealing a vibrant red lip rouge, a gift from Princess Jin'an that day.
"And this one?" She tapped the porcelain box lightly with her fingertip. "Have you examined it?"
Ji Yun shook his head: "Although this item has been opened, my aunt has not used it, and there are no signs of use on it, so we did not take a sample."
Meng Yutong narrowed her eyes slightly, an inexplicable intuition rising in her heart. The few striking light pink medicine stains on the medicine blanket were so similar in color to the hibiscus in the bottle before her.
She clearly remembered that when the medicine blanket was presented that day, Princess Jin'an had touched the blanket herself under the guise of admiring it.
She closed her eyes, trying her best to recall the scene from that day. The blanket was spread out on either side by two palace maids, with a pattern of galloping horses in the center. The spot where Jin'an reached out to touch seemed to be... slightly to the right of the center.
Ji Yun noticed the sudden change in her expression, and the rare hint of anxiety emanating from her. He couldn't help but ask in a low voice with concern, "What did you find?"
Meng Yutong did not answer immediately. She quickly folded and put away the medicine blanket, then opened her medical kit and took out a clean white silk cloth.
She walked to the window, carefully plucked a delicate pink hibiscus flower, returned to her dressing table, and gently scooped a small amount from the porcelain rouge box with the silver hairpin she carried with her, carefully wrapping it in white silk as well.
After carefully placing the two items into the medical kit, she turned to Ji Yun and said resolutely, "Let's go back."
When Ji Yun saw her touching the lip rouge that Jin An had given her, a deep look of inquiry flashed in his eyes, but seeing that she had no intention of explaining, he refrained from asking.
He picked up the medical kit again, concealed the medicine blanket at the bottom, and the two of them quietly left the bedchamber, one after the other.
The journey was unimpeded until they reached the gates of the Princess's residence. Meng Yutong paused slightly, suddenly remembering Li Jing, who was still left inside.
Ji Yun seemed to see through her thoughts and said calmly to Wu Mama who was waiting beside him, "Please tell the young master that I have important business to attend to and need to leave first. Please ask him to return to the manor to rest as soon as possible and not wait any longer."
Granny Wu quickly bowed and agreed.
After giving his instructions, Ji Yun led Meng Yutong directly to his carriage. Yun Zhou, who had been waiting at the corner for a long time, was taken aback when he saw Meng Yutong's attire, but then understood and promptly invited the two of them into the carriage.
The carriage did not head towards the Ji residence, but returned directly to Zhaoyu Hall. Ji Yun and Meng Yutong alighted one after the other, and he instructed Yunzhou, "You go back first; I will rest here tonight."
Yunzhou was taken aback: "Ah? Young Master, this..."
He wanted to ask more, but Ji Yun had already turned around and walked towards the clinic's door with Meng Yutong.
The guards at the gate saw someone approaching and immediately stepped forward to stop them.
Ji Yun remained expressionless, taking out a jade pendant engraved with a unique pattern from his robes and displaying it to everyone. Upon seeing the jade pendant, the guards immediately fell silent, watching helplessly as Ji Yun pushed open the clinic door and entered with Meng Yutong without any hesitation.
After the person went inside, a guard who was standing nearby scratched his head and looked at his companion, asking, "This person... is also here for a medical consultation?"
The person next to him shrugged and lowered his voice: "Who knows? The higher-ups only ordered us to guard the door and not let the people inside out, but they didn't say that people outside couldn't go in."
The group agreed, nodded to each other, straightened their expressions, lined up at the door, and continued their duty.
Inside the clinic, Bai Zhi and Wu Ming heard the commotion in the front hall and hurriedly came out to greet them.
"Miss! Physician Ji!" Bai Zhi was visibly relieved to see the two of them, especially Meng Yutong, who had returned safely. Although she was puzzled as to why they had returned with Ji Yun, she didn't have time to ask in detail at the moment and hurriedly asked, "Did you go to the Princess's residence, Miss? What exactly happened?"
Meng Yutong briefly explained the situation to the two men and instructed them that she would be going into seclusion to examine the medicinal blanket and look for clues. She told them to make their own arrangements and not to disturb her.
"By the way, where's Shi Yu?" Meng Yutong asked Wu Ming.
Just now, Li Jing brought Shi Yu in, and she changed into Shi Yu's clothes and followed Li Jing out. Now, Shi Yu can only stay here temporarily.
Wu Ming pointed to the second floor and said, "He has already retired for the night, so there is no need for the master to worry."
He was worried about Wu Lin, wondering where that old man had settled down after delivering the message for them.
Meng Yutong looked at Ji Yun: "If there is any news from the Medical Academy, I hope Medical Officer Ji will inform us in a timely manner."
“Of course.” Ji Yun still held her medical kit in her hand, her tone steady, and continued, “I can assist with the examination. More people means more strength, which may help us find out what poison my aunt has been poisoned with sooner, so that we can prepare an antidote as soon as possible and get her out of danger.”
At this critical juncture, Meng Yutong no longer bothered with formalities. She instructed Bai Zhi and Wu Ming to prepare a new set of all the medicinal herbs she had previously used to fumigate the medicinal carpet, according to the original prescription.
Next, she devoted herself entirely to examining the medicinal blanket.
She first took a specially made copper basin, placed charcoal fire underneath it to keep it warm, and then partially suspended the medicinal blanket over the basin to slowly bake it with the gentle heat.
Before long, some extremely fine powder, different in color from the original medicinal materials, gradually precipitated out from deep within the blanket fibers.
Meng Yutong carefully used several clean shards of glass to collect the precipitates from different areas of the blanket, especially around the pink stain, and placed them into separate containers.
Ji Yun, on the other hand, compared the fine powder she had collected with the medicinal herbs she had originally used for fumigation, carefully observing the differences in their shape, color, and smell, trying to find out any unknown ingredients that might have been mixed in.
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