Chapter 27: Medicinal Dregs
Shi Jingning grabbed a cloth and carefully wiped away his blood, leaving no trace of stain on the white rabbit. Then he stuffed the little rabbit into his purse and asked, "What's wrong?"
Shangluo took out the medicine bag hesitantly and handed it to him.
Shi Jingning was a little surprised: "What is this?"
Shangluo gritted his teeth and repeated his excuse, "Well...my friend has a chest injury. He said a man should look more masculine with a scar, so he got these medicines at the pharmacy! I heard that whether it's applied topically or taken internally, it will cause the wound to fester and swell, making it unbearable to be seen in public. I didn't want to embarrass my friend, so I stole the medicine. Brother Jingning, I can't hide the medicine there, can you help me keep it?"
Shi Jingning took the medicine package he forced upon her in astonishment and asked hesitantly, "Medicine that will cause the wound to fester and swell?"
"Yes, the effect is terrifying. For example, if someone has a scar on their face, using this medicine will disfigure them. It will swell and ulcerate, leaving them unrecognizable and unfit to be seen in public!"
How could Shi Jingning not think of Yang Huaijiang after hearing his words?
He subconsciously pushed Shangluo's hand away and flatly refused, "The county lady has taken us in, which is a great kindness. But if we form a clique in her backyard and cause unrest in the palace, wouldn't that just add to the county lady's troubles?"
"Hey, Brother Jingning, what are you talking about? It's really my friend's medicine!" At this point, Shangluo could only insist, "What's the matter with the unrest in the palace? This medicine won't kill you, it just makes your face rot for a few days... If you won't keep it for me, then I'll just throw it away."
After all, he had ulterior motives, Shangluo said, and threw the medicine bag out of the window, letting it fall into the grass. Then he stood up and ran to the door in a few steps.
As he stepped out of the door, he couldn't help but look back at Shi Jingning again.
He pressed his bleeding index finger, staring out the window silently without saying a word.
Shang Luo endured it again and again, but still said angrily, "Brother Jingning, that Yang Huaijiang is really not a good person! I've already inquired about it. As soon as he arrived at the palace, he told the county lady that she was a disfigured orphan, and even mocked the Changhua Palace for its decline. The county lady ordered someone to slap him twice on the spot! Tell me, he bullied the county lady as soon as he arrived, how could he be a good person?"
When Shi Jingning heard him describe the situation, he couldn't help but purse his lips, and a slight blush of anger appeared on his usually calm face.
Seeing his expression change, Shangluo pressed the issue, "Brother Jingning, you've known the County Princess since childhood. You have the best relationship with her. You must not want her to be wronged. You will definitely help her, right?"
Feelings are the best...
Shi Jingning was stunned for a moment, then shook his head silently: "No, the county lady treats all of us equally..."
"Well, whether you help the county lady or not, I'm determined to fight that Yang Huaijiang to the end!" Shang Luo was furious and shouted, "I will never let him bully the county lady. At most... at most, if the situation gets out of hand, I'll go to Jizhou to find my father and see what that cat-faced guy can do to me!"
Shi Jingning pretended not to hear, took a deep breath to calm himself, then picked up the carving knife and continued carving the little jade rabbit without looking at him again.
Shangluo stomped his foot in frustration and anger, then turned around and ran out of Liuhua Mountain House.
"But I didn't expect that Brother Jingning really...really took this packet of medicine and boiled it in the kitchen, and..."
An accident occurred while he was boiling medicine, causing the entire kitchen to burn down.
Shangluo burst into tears and remorse, asking, "Is it because... Brother Jingning was so flustered that he set the kitchen on fire? Otherwise, how could he... how could he..."
Qian Deng did not answer, but just stared at the bag of medicine residue on the ground, as if trying to see through the reason behind all that Shi Jingning did.
Ling Tianshui turned his gaze towards the shattered medicine jar on the ground. "It probably wasn't an accidental fire. The jar wasn't broken by the collapsed beams. Judging from the flying medicine residue and jar fragments, it must have been kicked over or broken by someone, causing this condition."
Shangluo wiped his tears and asked, "Could it be... Brother Jingning was halfway through boiling the medicine, but then he felt that he couldn't do this anymore, so he kicked the medicine furnace over, so..."
Ling Tianshui picked up the broken pieces of the medicine jar and examined them. He shook his head and motioned Qian Deng and Cui Fufeng to come over and take a look. "This is another jar of medicine. The residue inside is scattered."
Inside the earthenware jar, there were a lot of medicine residues that had been burned into carbon ash, which were obviously not from that medicine bag.
Cui Fufeng looked at the angle where the medicine jar was broken and scattered, and sure enough, there was some carbon powder in the shape of medicine residue among the ashes.
He asked Meng Lanxi, "Can you tell what kind of medicine these dregs are?"
"Let me take a look. It seems to be different from the medicine I prescribed." The medicine that was scattered and then burned into carbon ash was even more difficult to distinguish. Meng Lanxi picked it up carefully and examined it carefully.
Cui Fufeng had already done a quick check on the situation in the backyard last night. He said to Qian Deng, "As far as I know, Shi Jingning and his siblings haven't been ill recently."
"So, in addition to the medicine package Shangluo gave him, there was another person in the kitchen brewing another pot of medicine." Qiandeng carefully examined the distribution of the medicine residue and analyzed, "Judging from the extent of the medicine residue flying in the furnace, the furnace must have been kicked over by someone with great force."
Cui Fufeng frowned and asked, "Could it be that Shi Jingning had an argument with someone in this kitchen?"
"And the person arguing with him must be the one who was cooking the other medicine."
However, Shi Jingning has always been popular, and since they were in a kitchen where fire is important, how could he have an argument with the other party and cause someone to die in the fire?
Everyone's eyes fell on the charred medicine residue in Meng Lanxi's hand, to see if this medicine could provide any clues.
After checking a few things, Meng Lanxi's face turned grim. He smelled a few of them, crushed them into ashes and examined them in his palm. Then he looked up at Qiandeng hesitantly, wanting to say something but stopping himself.
Qiandeng asked, "What kind of medicine is this?"
Meng Lanxi looked at Shangluo and said, "Shangluo, go get me some water. I need to wash my hands."
Shangluo looked at the black ash on his hands, wiped her tears in confusion, turned around and left.
Meng Lanxi lowered her voice and spoke to Qian Deng and the other two, "Time is short, and I haven't been able to find the entire prescription, but this jar of medicine contains Datura, Arisaema, and Epimedium... It's undoubtedly a drug that can cause aphrodisiacs."
When the word "drug" was mentioned, everyone was shocked and subconsciously took a deep breath.
Qian Deng gritted her teeth. Before her eyes appeared Yang Huaijiang's lecherous face, the silver jewelry that he was determined to put into her hands, and the fact that Xue Xiyang had exposed him for going to Pingkangfang to ask for drugs. Her face turned gloomy.
"That's good too." Cui Fufeng whispered to comfort her, "Fortunately, the thief didn't succeed and his tracks were exposed. We can find him and catch him. The county lady can definitely expel him without any worries."
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