Chapter 8 Poison
It turned out that Jin Tang was suffering from vomiting and diarrhea. He squatted in the toilet for half an hour and couldn't stand up. His eyes went dark and he passed out.
Upon learning of this, the servants of the Jin family who were waiting outside burst into tears, and Doctor Jiang from the palace also rushed over immediately to treat the patient.
"Young Master Jin has ingested something poisonous, severely irritating his spleen, stomach, liver, and intestines, leading to his persistent diarrhea. Fortunately, the poison isn't fatal, and Young Master Jin is in good health. With more rest, he should be fine."
Jin Tang woke up from his last breath and pulled the doctor's sleeve, saying, "Quick... give me some medicine, I... I have to get up quickly... The county lady is still waiting for me..."
Seeing him looking pale and struggling, the attendant beside him could not help but stamp his feet: "Master, you are already like this, why don't we go back first!"
"No, I have to participate in the election no matter what. I... haven't met the county lady yet..."
"Oh my dear, you're almost dead and you're still worrying about this! You got into trouble because you came here!"
It would have been fine for the others, but the people in the palace naturally disagreed after hearing his words. Daimao, being the most impatient, rushed out first and shouted, "We in the palace cannot accept such words! We have so many guests today, and everyone in the palace is here too. How could your young master be the only one to have an attack?"
Xue Xiyang laughed and agreed, "Yes, we are all fine. Could it be that only Young Master Jin is in conflict with the palace?"
These words were so heartbreaking that everyone around looked at them with awe.
Yu Guangling hurriedly stepped out to smooth things over, saying, "Perhaps Young Master Jin ate something that was sick before entering the palace. Can you guys check it out..."
The attendants were used to being arrogant, and upon hearing this, they jumped up in anger. "We've served the young master for years and have never made any mistakes. Yet, today, he's just arrived at the palace and something so serious has happened. No matter what, we must have an explanation!"
As they spoke, these attendants rolled up their sleeves and wanted to rush straight into the main hall.
When the guards of the Eastern Palace outside the hall saw their appearance, they could not tolerate their insolence. They came up and knocked them down and dragged them away.
Hearing the commotion, the Crown Prince asked what had happened. Cui Fufeng briefly explained the whole story and then asked the Crown Prince, "In your opinion, Your Highness, what should be done with the servants of the Jin family?"
The prince frowned and said, "You disturbed the county lady's choice of a son-in-law. You will be dragged away and dealt with according to the law. Even Jin Tang will be removed from the list of candidates."
Jin Tang, who had barely managed to catch up to the front of the hall, heard the prince's words and his legs suddenly weakened, almost falling to the ground: "Your Highness, Your Highness, please have mercy! I come here with all my heart, begging Your Highness and the Princess to give me a chance..."
The attendants knew they had gotten into big trouble and would be ripped to pieces if they were dragged away. They wept bitterly, "Your Highness, please understand! Our young master was murdered by a traitor. It was the other gentlemen who were harming us!"
"Yes, it must be that Shi Jingning! The young master is like this because he ate his snacks!"
The prince was used to these acts of mutual accusation in the palace and ignored them, but Lady Qi was always soft-hearted. She subconsciously pulled Qiandeng's hand and gave her a look.
Qiandeng patted the back of his mother's hand, signaled the servants to help Jintang up, and said to the prince, "Your Highness, today is my great day. Why let these evil slaves disturb my happiness?"
As she spoke, she called in Doctor Jiang, the court physician, and asked, "From the signs, can you tell when Young Master Jin accidentally ingested the poison?"
Doctor Jiang deduced, "About an hour. It looks like he accidentally took nightshade."
"Long Kui..." Qian Deng muttered silently, his eyebrows slightly raised, and he turned to ask Jin Tang, "What have you used since you arrived at the palace?"
Jin Tang stroked his still aching lower abdomen and said weakly, "Reporting to the county lady, apart from the flowers made by Master Shi, there is nothing else."
The nine young men had gathered in front of the hall. When Shi Jingning heard him say this, his face changed slightly. He immediately came forward and bowed, saying, "My Lady, please understand. I always make snacks for the palace and government, strictly observing the taboos. These ten snacks were all made by me, and I absolutely did not add any inedible ingredients."
Qian Deng also said, "Mr. Shi's snacks were given to me, and I asked him to distribute them. I believe he would never put anything unclean among the things he gave me. Aunt Yingluo, you have been serving here the whole time. Did you see how the nine young masters used them?"
"Yes, after Young Master Shi announced the County Lady's order, everyone took one." Yingluo recounted the scene of everyone sharing the cakes, and then said, "I saw that the gentlemen were all very happy and harmonious, and they took the cakes as they pleased. No one knew in advance who would get which piece of cake."
Qian Deng seemed to be lost in thought: "So, everyone is free to help themselves, and everyone else has had their snacks. Everyone else is fine, but Young Master Jin is the only one in trouble?"
"So, there's absolutely nothing wrong with my snacks! I came here sincerely to apply for the position. How could I possibly have tampered with the food I was sending to the County Master?" Shi Jingning asked anxiously. "Besides, after the food was steamed, I placed it in a food box and brought it over myself. No one approached or opened it..."
"You opened it once, didn't you?" Ji Linyou said bluntly, "When Master Meng came in, he said that his tea and your food box were together, and he was afraid that the aromas would clash, so you opened it and showed it to him."
Meng Lanxi stood behind the crowd and calmly replied, "I did take a look, but I didn't touch anything inside. I immediately covered the lunch box for Brother Shi."
Shi Jingning recalled the situation and nodded: "Yes, I also looked at the dim sum at that time. It was exactly the same as when I first made it. There was nothing unusual."
From this, it seems that there is no clue about the poisoning in Jintang, which makes people feel like they are in a fog.
Jin Tang, slumped in his chair, seemed to recall something. His gaze suddenly turned to Su Yunzhong, and he raised his finger with all his might to point at him: "It's Su Yunzhong! He must be holding a grudge against me because of our previous dispute, so he attacked me! Please, County Lady, take a closer look!"
Su Yunzhong glanced at him and sneered, "If I wanted to attack you, I would have done it right then. Why would I have to go through so much trouble afterwards?"
Jin Tang was about to shout, but Yu Guangling grabbed his sleeve and said with some embarrassment, "But Sanlang, after you and Master Su had an argument, the two of you stopped getting close. One is on the left side of the hall, the other on the right. I think... Brother Su didn't have the opportunity to attack."
Others also testified that because Su Yunzhong and Jin Tang did not want to meet, the flowers of the two were delivered by others, and it was impossible for them to poison them over a distance of several meters.
There was a mix of voices in the hall, everyone was guessing the truth, but no one had any clue.
Only Qiandeng, who was sitting behind the gauze screen, looked at someone in the hall and smiled.
Her mother looked at her in surprise and asked, "Deng Deng, your husband is in such a mess, why are you laughing?"
"I'm wondering, should I expose this gentleman who attacked the candidate publicly or give him a private warning?"
Her mother looked at her in astonishment and asked, "What? Was Young Master Jin really attacked? But I think these gentlemen are all good people. Could it be..."
"Not necessarily. I just think there must be something else going on." Qian Deng knew his mother was satisfied with all of these young men, and he didn't want to make her feel bad. Seeing that the Crown Prince and Cui Fufeng were still waiting nearby, he asked them, "Your Highness, Mr. Cui, why don't we complete this selection process first and discuss the rest later?"
The prince was not interested in this little disturbance and signaled that the selection process should continue.
After the others returned to the side hall, Cui Fufeng looked at the listless Jin Tang and asked, "Young Master Jin is not in good condition. Do you still have the energy to run for the election?"
"I, I can do it!" Jin Tang reluctantly sat up straight in his chair, raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, and stared intently at Qiandeng behind the screen. "I'm not only here to ask for the County Master's hand in marriage, I also want to thank you for saving Jin Tuan Tuan's life!"
Qian Deng asked in surprise, "Who is Jin Tuan Tuan, and when did I save him?"
"Jin Tuan Tuan is my parrot, raised since childhood. Last year during the Qingming Festival, I took it for an outing outside the city. Who would have thought it would get into a fight with a raccoon and have all the fur on its back ripped out? On my way back, I missed the closing time of the city gates, and Su Yunzhong wouldn't let me in. It was also raining heavily, and Jin Tuan Tuan was soaking wet and shivering with cold. Even though I held it in my arms to keep it warm, it was still chilly, and it looked like it was dying... Luckily, the county lady's carriage passed by, and seeing how pitiful I was, she sent me an umbrella and a hand warmer."
The frail look he showed sitting in the chair was quite similar to how he looked in the rain that day. Qian Deng suddenly remembered and couldn't help but smile: "So it was you who was soaked like a drowned rat at the city gate that day, holding a bald parrot."
Seeing that she remembered, Jin Tang nodded vigorously. "Yes, thank you, County Lady, for giving me the umbrella and hand warmer. They saved Jin Tuantuan's life. My parents and brothers are all very busy, so this has been my only companion since I was a child. It is my most beloved companion."
As he spoke, he stood up and bowed solemnly to her: "I brought it here today too, so that it can express its gratitude to the county lady."
As he spoke, he opened the birdcage covered with red cloth at hand, and sure enough, there was a fluffy parrot inside, which couldn't wait to poke its head out to look at people.
Jintang whispered to it, "Call her the County Lady."
The parrot was obviously already familiar with the title "County Lady" and immediately spread its wings and cheered: "County Lady, save me! County Lady is so kind! County Lady is so kind!"
This strange yet sincere bird call made everyone laugh.
The mother took Qiandeng's hand and said with a smile, "I can't believe you and this child have such a fate. It's really rare."
Qian Deng was also laughing when he suddenly heard the parrot's tone change and it muttered to itself with a hint of resentment: "Even if the county lady is disfigured, she is still a fairy. She is not a she-devil, not a she-devil..."
Jin Tang's face turned pale, and he rushed over, frantically trying to pinch the parrot's mouth. Unfortunately, the cage was too tight for him to reach in, so he had to quickly reach into the melon seed bag next to him and sprinkle a handful of nuts into the parrot's mouth, his face red all the way to his ears.
Qiandeng held his chin and smiled silently, knowing that Jin Tuantuan must have learned what Jin Tang said in private.
It turned out that when she was in mourning and her reputation was badly spread by outsiders, there was such a person. Although he was a bully and had a bad character, he always had a different opinion of her because of her unintentional behavior.
This young master from a wealthy family may be a little silly, but he doesn't seem to be a bad person by nature.
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