The subordinate replied, "I'll be back tomorrow."
Lu Mu asked, "Have you found the source of the poison?"
The visitor lowered his head and said, "Not yet. The Eastern Palace is full of our spies. Even if a bird flies in, it won't escape our sight. This medicine is really hard to find."
Lu Mu didn't care about that. Yao Chen's life wouldn't last much longer. But the person who poisoned him, or rather the person who helped Yao Chen poison him, had to be found and given an explanation. Otherwise, when Xia Hou Qing came back, they wouldn't be Xia Hou Chun, and they would be dead. "If there's no help from others, then there's something wrong with us. Bring all the people serving near the East Palace to the side hall."
The visitor looked up in surprise and asked again, "Sir, all?"
Lu Mu explained, "Yes, everyone. The palace maids, eunuchs, guards, and our people, anyone who has been in the East Palace during this period, bring them all here."
The visitor, however, had a different opinion on Lu Mu's move: "Sir, isn't this a bit too loud? I'm afraid it will arouse suspicion from others."
Lu Mu knew that if he did this, it would be announced to everyone that Yao Chen's illness was intentional. If the people outside the palace walls didn't buy Tianshu Tower's story, many things would become difficult. But for the sake of their lives, he couldn't care less now. "I can't care less. If we come in batches, what if that person gets wind of it and runs away? All our efforts will be wasted. If it's someone else, it's fine. But if there's a traitor in Tianshu Tower, the forces behind this traitor must be very powerful. I don't want to see them hiding in the dark and watching us make a fool of ourselves."
After the visitor understood Lu Mu's implication, he said nothing more: "I understand. I will get this done before dark."
Lu Mu then instructed, "Tell those people outside that Yaochen has woken up now and needs to rest and recuperate. They are not needed for the time being. Also, call in all the people from the Imperial Hospital. I don't need to explain much, you should know what to do."
"I will handle this matter myself, and no one will notice anything." Their method is very simple. After a while, this person will eat something and show some symptoms, and then pretend to be Yaochen and sleep in his bed.
The diagnosis and treatment process of the imperial physicians will be under the surveillance of Tianshu Tower, and Yaochen's bed will be covered with curtains. If a hand is exposed, unless there is something wrong with the imperial physician, it will be absolutely impossible to recognize that the person on the bed is not Yaochen in such a tense environment.
"Well, go ahead and do it."
The gentlemen waiting outside, previously merely thirsty, were now also experiencing a rumbling sensation. Just as everyone, eager to rush into the Eastern Palace under Wen Xian's leadership, was about to see what was happening, the main door to the Eastern Palace opened, and a eunuch emerged, shouting, "Gentlemen, His Highness has requested that you come in due to the summer heat. His Highness's health has improved considerably, so please return home. As for the imperial physicians, please follow me in."
Wen Xian glanced at Duke Liang, then rushed out, grabbed the eunuch and asked, "What is your Highness's illness? You should at least tell me."
The eunuch replied, "My Lord, His Highness said it's just a minor illness; however, we'll need the doctors from the Imperial Hospital to diagnose it later before we can know the exact cause."
"That sounds like a reasonable thing to say. Let's all go back," even Wen Xian said. The elderly, already restless, breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully, this would only happen once; next time, they wondered if their old bones would be able to wait until the eunuchs came to order them to leave.
The imperial physicians all knelt before Yao Chen's bed with their heads bowed. Just as the head of the hospital was about to feel the patient's pulse, Lu Mu, who was standing nearby, suddenly warned, "All imperial physicians, please take a closer look. The prince's condition must be reported to the elders who just arrived."
"Yes, yes."
...After leaving the Forbidden Palace, a carriage had been following the carriage of the Duke of Liang's mansion at a leisurely pace. The Duke of Liang sat in the carriage, lifted the curtain and looked back several times. After noticing that the carriage was following them, he simply ordered the carriage to stop, jumped out angrily, and rushed towards the carriage that had been following them, shouting, "You old bastard, why are you following me instead of going back home!"
Wen Xian, sitting in the car, gave him almost no face at all. He even felt a little excited after knowing that Duke Liang was coming in person. Wen Xian sat in the car without even opening the curtains, and said leisurely: "This road is not yours. My legs are on my body. What's it to you to control where I want to go?"
If they weren't on the street right now, Duke Liang would have wanted to jump into the car and pull that old man Wen Xian out. "You, you, you, I don't even bother to talk to you. You're insulting me. You have no manners at all. I came here in person, and you're still sitting in the car."
Wen Xian opened the curtain a little and then taunted him, "Oh, you still call yourself a gentleman. This is really the most bizarre thing in the world!"
Duke Liang walked quickly back to his carriage with his hands behind his back. He glared at the carriage behind him and then looked at Chen Xin who was helping him get in. He said, "Ah Xin, let's hurry up. When we get back to the mansion, have someone close the door tightly. Anyone can come in, but don't let this old bastard in!"
Chen Xin also had a helpless look on his face. He had heard before that Lord Wen and Duke Liang were a pair of enemies who had been quarreling since they were young. Today, they finally got to see each other. On the way, who knows how many more times they would quarrel.
...The sudden surprise and joy at the Duke of Liang's mansion had come to a temporary end. Back at Shi Zairong's place, the appointed time had arrived, but Su Zhirou didn't wait for Tang Chen to come pick her up and take her back to Qingliang Valley as he had promised. By the time she learned that Tang Chen had left, it was already three days after the incident. If she hadn't gotten word from the military doctor when he came to examine her, it would have taken even longer for anyone to tell her.
Although Tang Chen, Hong Yu and Qiu Liang had left the Nanyue military camp and took away a copy of the recipe copied by Huangfu Xiong, the original secret recipe was still not found. The traitors in the army were just a few "latecomers" and no useful information could be obtained from them.
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