Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Cold Poison Lurks in the Bloodlines, Gnawing at Life.
Upon hearing this, Doctor Wang immediately jumped up: "You still dare to take the case? I want to see how you diagnose today."
"If I can't find anything wrong with your diagnosis, young lady, I'll send you to the authorities and have you charged with deceiving and swindling money!"
Zhang, a man who prided himself on remaining calm even in the face of a collapsing mountain, lost his wisdom and judgment due to the unusual nature of the patient lying in bed, and became even more flustered by the doctors' words.
But seeing the boy on the bed breathing weaker and weaker, she finally gritted her teeth, moved aside, and made room for him. "You...you see."
Qin Xiaoxiao immediately stepped forward, blocking Qin Zhining's path, and glared at the doctors. Although she couldn't speak, her eyes were as cold as ice, revealing a fierce determination that said, "Let anyone who dares to touch her try."
Qin Zhining walked to the bedside and was about to raise her hand to take her pulse when Doctor Li leaned over again and said in a sarcastic tone, "Hey, wait a minute."
Before taking his pulse, let's talk about this: look at Young Master Zhou's complexion, what can you glean from it? Don't end up taking his pulse and not even knowing the diagnosis; that would be embarrassing for you!"
The doctors around her immediately burst into laughter, some slapping the table, others shaking their heads, their eyes filled with contempt and disdain, like knives stabbing into Qin Zhining.
Qin Zhining ignored all of this and gently placed her fingertips on the boy's wrist.
But as soon as she touched it, a bone-chilling cold shot up her fingertips, making them instantly numb, as if they were immersed in an ice cave.
A chill ran down her spine; she knew something was wrong.
Ordinary colds are never this insidious; this boy is probably suffering from a cold-induced poisoning disease.
She suddenly stood up and opened the boy's eyelids. She saw that the bluish-black lines spreading on the conjunctiva were exactly the same as the cold poison veins depicted in ancient books. Now she knew what was going on.
"So? Did you figure it out?"
Doctor Zhao immediately stepped forward, his tone full of schadenfreude, "If you can't tell, don't pretend to be tough here. Just admit defeat and leave, and we'll still give you some face!"
Qin Zhining glanced at him coldly, her tone neither warm nor cold, and retorted clearly, "Like a jumping monkey, don't you get tired?"
"What, does the boy in bed have a blood feud with you? Knowing there's still hope, you're telling me to give up. Did he take your child down a dry well, or did he go and dig up your ancestral graves for no reason?"
"You...you're talking nonsense." Doctor Zhao's face fell, and he quickly turned to look at Grand Secretary Zhang, "My lord, my lord, this little girl is talking nonsense, you can't believe her."
Grand Secretary Zhang, being the head of all officials and a veteran of three reigns, certainly possessed a brilliant mind. Seeing that Qin Zhining still had the leisure to argue with a few doctors, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He knew very well that the fact that the young girl had the leisure to argue with these doctors meant that the Ninth Prince Zhou Lichen was not in any danger.
Seeing that Elder Zhang was completely absorbed in the young man on the bed, Qin Zhining said softly, "My lord, this young master has been afflicted with an extremely rare cold poison. If we delay any longer, I'm afraid..."
"Cold poison?" Before Qin Zhining could finish speaking, Doctor Wang interrupted with a sneer, "I thought you could come up with something new."
Young Master Zhou's illness was clearly caused by wind-cold entering his body, yet you claim it's due to cold poisoning? I doubt you've even read many medical books.
Lord Zhang, listen to this! What is this if not utter nonsense? They even have the audacity to claim it's an extremely rare form of cold poison; they truly dare to spout such blatant lies!
Doctor Li nodded in agreement, “Exactly. Cold poison is extremely rare. How could Young Master Zhou have been poisoned by such a thing? This girl is clearly talking nonsense, trying to get away with it!”
Qin Zhining clenched her fingertips, about to retort, when Qin Xiaoxiao suddenly stepped forward and shoved away the nearest doctor, Li.
Although she couldn't make a sound, she stared at him intently, her eyes filled with anger that seemed to want to devour him.
Dr. Li was pushed so hard he stumbled, and immediately became enraged. "You lowly thing, you dare to lay a hand on me? I see you don't want to leave here today!"
As he was about to push Qin Xiaoxiao, Qin Zhining grabbed his hand with a bang. With a little force, Doctor Li cried out in pain, and his old face turned pale.
Grand Secretary Zhang was in no mood to deal with a fight, so he suppressed his anger and stepped forward to stop the two men, saying, "Don't fight! Let's talk this out!"
The atmosphere in the room was already tense, with the doctors surrounding Qin Zhining and criticizing her one after another.
Qin Zhining, however, held onto Doctor Li's arm, still standing straight, her eyes showing no sign of backing down, but rather an air of certainty that said, "What can you do to me?"
Seven or eight doctors, seeing that they couldn't control the little girl, were so angry that their beards trembled and their bodies shook, but they were helpless against her.
"If you keep nagging at me, don't blame me for being impolite."
Qin Zhining shoved Doctor Li towards Doctor Zhang and warned him fiercely, "If you delay me from saving this person again, you'll all lose your heads."
With just this warning, everyone became obedient. Only later did they realize what they had done at Grand Secretary Zhang's residence, and they were so frightened that they dared not even breathe.
Qin Zhining took out an oilcloth bag from her sleeve, and three silver needles gleamed coldly in the sunlight.
The moment the silver needle pierced Zhou Lichen's tiger's mouth acupoint, the needle tip made a "click" sound and condensed into fine white frost, and the surrounding skin turned bluish-purple at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"This is a cold toxin, hiding in the blood vessels and gnawing at life force. It cannot be detected by ordinary pulse diagnosis!" she said calmly. "However, this toxin just happened to meet my little aunt today, so naturally I will not let the noble young master suffer any mishaps."
"Nonsense!" Seeing Qin Zhining's confident demeanor, the white-bearded imperial physician was so angry that he glared and slammed his medicine box down.
"I have practiced medicine for fifty years and have never heard of such a poison. You young girl, stop spreading your nonsense!"
Before the words were finished, the crisp sound of boots tapping on the bluestone slabs came from outside the door. As the servant announced in a trembling voice, "His Highness Prince Jing has arrived," everyone in the room lowered their heads by half.
A dark brocade robe, carrying a chill, swept into the bedroom. Prince Jing's black hair was tied up high, and the silver threads on his jade crown flowed in the light.
The handsome young man, around eighteen or nineteen years old, had striking eyebrows and bright eyes, a high nose bridge, but his lips were pursed straight, and he exuded a cold aura that kept strangers at bay.
His gaze swept over everyone in the tense room, finally settling on Qin Zhining.
The girl was as thin as a reed, but her hand holding the silver needles was as steady as a rock, and the calmness in her eyes was extremely unusual for her age.
"Grand Secretary Zhang, is this the divine physician you sought?" Prince Jing rubbed the jade pendant at his waist with his fingertips, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger, yet it made the air grow heavier.
Although Grand Secretary Zhang was not afraid of Prince Jing, it was still necessary to explain what needed to be explained.
He was about to speak when Qin Zhining raised her eyes to meet Prince Jing's gaze and said calmly, "If Your Highness does not trust me, I will leave now. If you do trust me, give me half an hour."
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