The royal physician scrambled to Zhao Yiniang's bedside, took her pulse, and collapsed to the ground, thinking to himself: It's over...it's over...
"How is my son? Why is Yan'er bleeding so much?"
Liu Youlin was sweating profusely with anxiety. Seeing the doctor's helpless state, his heart skipped a beat, and his head felt like it was about to explode.
"Reporting to Master, the young master... is gone... Concubine Zhao was weak and had been showing signs of miscarriage. Judging from her pulse, she should... should..." The physician stammered, not daring to continue.
"Should? Should what? My son is gone, what are you afraid to say?"
Upon hearing that his late-life son had died, Liu Youlin aged decades in an instant. His sinister eyes became terrifyingly bloodthirsty, and he hysterically roared at the imperial physician.
"Judging from her pulse, Aunt Zhao must have been drugged and has been in contact with some insidious substances for a long time, which is why her body is so weak and unable to withstand the young master, which is why she... which is why she miscarried."
He was just a lowly physician in the household; how could he possibly know that Aunt Zhao had been suffering from the effects of a malevolent substance for a long time? It was all Liu Xuening who told him this. That afternoon, Liu Xuening found the physician and coerced him into revealing the matter, so that when her elder brother inherited the family business, she could take better care of him.
The physician of the manor was quite clever. He had been treating Liu Youlin's health for many years, but he was no longer as good as before. Liu Yanyi was the only male heir in the manor, so this huge family business would definitely be handed over to Liu Yanyi in due time.
"Mother! Mother!" Liu Yanyi, dressed in white silk robes, strode over, his wide sleeves fluttering in the wind. His brows revealed an undeniable scholarly air, but his eyes were too aggressive, suggesting that his thoughts were perhaps even more intense than Liu Xuening's.
"Yan Yi, what are you doing here? This is such a filthy place, leave quickly."
In Liu Youlin's eyes, nothing was more important than Liu Yanyi than his own interests. It was just a concubine who had miscarried; how could he let such a thing affect his only son?
“Father, what are you saying? The wife who has been with you for many years and is lying on the bed is my mother. I will not go anywhere. I also heard what the physician said. Today, I will definitely find that ruthless person and avenge my brother and mother.”
Although he usually looked down on Aunt Zhao and Liu Xuening's behavior, he had a lot of ambitions, but because he was a son of a concubine, he was basically a servant and was never given important positions. Now that he knew their scheme, if it succeeded, he would become the legitimate son of the Liu family, and no one would look down on him anymore.
"Since the physician said that Mother's body weakened and she could not bear the pain of pregnancy because she had been in contact with some poisonous substances for a long time, the poisonous substances must still be in Mother's room. Father, please have the servants carry Mother to a side room and take better care of her. Also, have the servants search this room."
Anger flickered across Liu Yanyi's face, his anger rising as if he truly knew nothing of what had happened.
"Alright, as Yan Yi says. Men, carry Aunt Zhao to the side room and take good care of her. If anything unexpected happens again, watch your heads."
"Yes." Several servants wrapped Aunt Zhao in a quilt and carried her out. After today's ordeal, Aunt Zhao's health was completely ruined, but in these people's eyes, it didn't matter. As long as they could achieve their goals, she was just a concubine.
"Men, search this room thoroughly."
The wardrobe, the chaise lounge, the jewelry box, the dressing table, the bed... every place that could hold something was searched, and in a short time the room was in complete disarray.
“Found it…” A servant handed the found purse to Liu Youlin. Liu Youlin had served as the Minister of Revenue for many years, so how could he not recognize such a thing?
Liu Youlin's face was extremely pale at this moment. He gripped the purse tightly in his hand, and the veins on his forehead were bulging with anger.
Anyone who didn't know better would think Liu Youlin was acting out of sympathy for Aunt Zhao. However, Liu Youlin was a selfish person, and even at this moment, he was still thinking of himself. Liu Youlin secretly breathed a sigh of relief, glad that he hadn't come over because of his anger towards Aunt Zhao these past few days, otherwise he would have been the one to fall victim to this.
"Throw away this filthy thing." Liu Youlin didn't want to hold it for even a moment longer, afraid that he would be affected in the slightest.
Seeing that his father was about to throw away the evidence, Liu Yanyi quickly took the purse and examined it carefully. "Father, this purse seems to be from Yunlaijian. Why don't you send someone to investigate it, spend some money, and find out who is behind it? That way, my brother can leave in peace."
"As Yan Yi says, Steward, take some silver and go to Yunlai Room to inquire."
"Yes, sir."
After being treated by the family physician, Aunt Zhao's bleeding has stopped. However, due to the effects of the poison and the miscarriage, her health is much worse than before. If she does not recover properly, she may not live for more than a few years.
"Master, Consort Zhao has already rested. Consort Zhao is currently very weak and needs to rest more. She cannot be stimulated again, otherwise even a miracle could not save her."
"Okay, go down."
The warm sunlight filtered through the dense foliage, creating dappled golden spots.
At this moment, everyone in the Minister's mansion was sitting in the main hall. Liu Youlin remained silent, his anger undiminished, and the concubines beside him dared not utter a sound.
Sitting to the side, Zhang was the happiest. She hadn't expected the sachet to work so quickly; it was truly a stroke of luck.
Yunlaijian has a rule that it never inquires about the identity of buyers and sellers, nor does it reveal their identities to the outside world. Therefore, Zhang is not worried at all about what the steward might find out when he goes to Yunlaijian.
"Master, we've found out. Yunlai asked for six hundred taels of silver and had a portrait of the person who went to buy medicine that day painted for me. Here is the portrait."
Aunt Zhao's miscarriage was not entirely due to the child in bed, but rather because Liu Xuening had spent fifty taels of silver to buy another sachet from Yunlai Pavilion. She had been wearing both sachets close to her body since breakfast, which is why she had symptoms so quickly.
When Zhang heard that the steward had obtained the portrait, she almost fell off her chair. She then forced herself to remain calm, knowing the rules of Yunlai Hall and that they were definitely trying to trick her.
Liu Youlin immediately stood up, snatched the portrait, and wanted to see who was trying to harm him and his son.
Liu Youlin unfolded the portrait, took two steps back, gripped the table so hard that his knuckles turned white, his expression gradually stiffened, and he slowly raised his eyes, even the muscles on his cheeks twitching slightly.
"Look what you've done!"
Liu Youlin threw the portrait forcefully in front of Zhang. Zhang squatted down and picked it up. Her fingers trembled, her voice was strained, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.
"This is impossible, it can't be me, sir, you must believe me!"
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