Chapter 13 Who exactly poisoned him?
Upon hearing his master's command, Shan Lan froze, immediately stopped, and knelt on one knee, saying, "Master, please forgive me!"
But his gaze toward Ye Xunyang remained wary.
Ye Xunyang also stopped, panting heavily, his chest heaving. A burning pain shot through his neck where the blade had grazed him, but he was more concerned about Lou Jin's condition: "Your Highness, you're awake? How are you feeling?"
Lou Jin did not answer him immediately, but instead said to the physician, "Start brewing the medicine..."
The physician immediately agreed and went to the outer room to prepare the medicine.
Then, Lou Jin turned his gaze to Ye Xunyang. Seeing the bloodstains on his neck and his slightly disheveled robes from the fight, his eyes flickered with a complex expression. Finally, he instructed the royal physician, "...first examine the Princess's injuries."
"I'm fine! Just a minor injury!"
"Your Highness, I really did eat those chestnuts too, I..."
The royal physician stepped forward respectfully as instructed, saying, "Your Highness, please allow me to examine the wound on your neck, and... also to take your pulse, just to be on the safe side."
He thought that perhaps the princess had a special constitution and that the symptoms of poisoning were not obvious.
Although Ye Xunyang felt it was unnecessary, he had no choice but to extend his wrist when Lou Jin insisted.
The physician took his pulse and examined him carefully. At first, his complexion was normal, but gradually, his brows furrowed more and more, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.
"How is it?" Lou Jin's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible tension.
The royal physician withdrew his hand, his face extremely pale, and said in a trembling voice, "Your Highness, the Princess's pulse indicates that she has also been poisoned! However, the poison seems to be temporarily suppressed by an extremely strong yang energy and has not yet taken effect!"
"What?!"
Ye Xunyang was completely stunned and subconsciously retorted.
"Impossible! I didn't feel anything at all!"
Wang Quan then remembered the bag of chestnuts and quickly grabbed the few remaining ones from the table.
The physician took it, examined it carefully, and scraped off some fragments to test it with a silver needle. The silver needle quickly turned black!
"Your Highness, Your Highness, these chestnuts... are indeed poisonous!" The physician's voice was filled with lingering fear.
The truth came out: the poison did indeed come from chestnuts, but the target of the poisoning may not have been just Lou Jin, but also Ye Xunyang!
However, due to his special constitution, Ye Xunyang was temporarily able to resist the effects of the toxins.
Seeing this, Shanlan silently sheathed his sword and retreated into the shadows.
Ye Xunyang looked at the blackened silver needles, then touched his own body which showed no abnormalities, and then looked at Lou Jin on the bed, who was weak and exhausted from poisoning. A chill ran from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
Who is it that would use such methods to target both him and Lou Jin at the same time?
Lou Jin leaned against the headboard, closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, his eyes were filled with icy coldness.
He looked at Ye Xunyang, his voice weak but carrying a reassuring power: "This matter has nothing to do with you. Someone is trying to kill two birds with one stone."
He paused, then instructed Wang Quan and Shan Lan: "Block the news, and secretly investigate the chestnut vendor and everyone who handled this bag of chestnuts."
"Yes!" Wang Quan and Shan Lan replied in unison.
Lou Jin then looked at Ye Xunyang, his tone softening: "You've been poisoned too... have the imperial physician prescribe medicine to detoxify you as well."
Ye Xunyang walked to the bedside, looked at Lou Jin's pale face, and solemnly said, "Your Highness, don't worry, I will definitely help you find the bastard who poisoned you!"
Lou Jin nodded slightly and closed his eyes wearily.
The physician's detoxifying decoction was quickly prepared, and its rich aroma filled the room.
Lou Jin was carefully helped up by Ye Xunyang and fed some medicine. Fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead, but his violent coughing and wheezing finally subsided slightly, and he fell into a deep sleep.
When it was Ye Xunyang's turn, he frowned as he looked at the bowl of dark medicine.
He felt that he was fine, except for a slight stinging pain from the wound on his neck, and no other discomfort in his body.
However, the physician insisted that his pulse was abnormal, and the results of the silver needle test for poison were right in front of him, leaving him no choice but to believe it.
"Your Highness, this poison is strange. Although it has been suppressed for the time being, delaying it may lead to unforeseen changes. It would be best to eliminate it as soon as possible," the royal physician earnestly advised.
Ye Xunyang recalled Lou Jin's horrifying appearance of coughing up blood just now, and felt a chill in his heart. Without hesitation, he took the medicine bowl, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp.
The medicine was so bitter that it made his whole face scrunch up.
Wang Quan quickly handed him water to rinse his mouth, his face showing apology and lingering fear: "Your Highness, this old servant was rude just now, and Shan Lan too..."
Ye Xunyang waved his hand. Although he still harbored resentment towards Shan Lan for that stab, he understood his duty.
"Fine, you are all loyal protectors of your master."
He touched the simple bandage on his neck, his eyes sharpening.
"The most urgent task now is to find out who did it. That chestnut vendor..."
"Qingshan has already taken people there."
"However, I'm afraid the hope is slim. Since the other party can use such a secretive method to poison, they must have planned an escape route."
Sure enough, less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Qingshan hurriedly returned, his face grave: "Your Highness, Your Highness, I'm late. The vendor who sells roasted chestnuts has died suddenly at home. The preliminary examination indicates sudden cardiac death, but the timing is too coincidental."
The trail seemed to have gone cold.
The room fell silent, with only the crackling of the candlelight.
Ye Xunyang frowned, trying hard to recall every detail of buying chestnuts that afternoon.
A bustling market, ordinary vendors, and the process of cooking and selling food on the spot.
He looked up abruptly: "Wait a minute! I remember when I bought them, there was a woman with a child buying them next to me. The child insisted on eating first, and the vendor gave the child one. If the vendor was guilty, or if the chestnuts were poisoned, how come the child was fine?"
Lou Jin had woken up at some point, and although he was weak, he listened with clear eyes.
He spoke slowly, his voice low and hoarse: "So, the poison was applied after Chestnut left the vendor's stall and before it reached my hands."
The area shrank instantly.
From the moment Ye Xunyang bought the chestnuts, to bringing them back to the Prince's mansion, and then to delivering them to Lou Jin, the only people involved were Ye Xunyang himself, his attendants, the mansion's gatekeeper, and the maids...
A cold sweat broke out on Ye Xunyang's back instantly.
This means that the poisoner was likely hiding inside the Prince's residence, or among his followers from the General's residence.
After listening to Ye Xunyang's analysis, Lou Jin instructed, "Wang Quan."
"Investigate. Investigate everyone who came into contact with this bag of chestnuts today, one by one. Including the servants who handled it when the Princess brought it back to the manor."
"Yes!" Wang Quan accepted the order and solemnly withdrew to make the arrangements.
The mountain mist lurked in the shadows like a shadow, its aura icy.
Ye Xunyang sat heavily on the embroidered stool by the bed.
He originally thought that marrying into the royal family was just a temporary measure, but he never expected that conspiracies and poisons would happen around him and even drag him into them.
"Are you scared?" Lou Jin suddenly asked softly, his gaze falling on Ye Xunyang's tightly clenched fist.
Ye Xunyang looked up at the sound and met Lou Jin's deep eyes.
There was no blame or panic in his eyes, only a calm that showed he had seen through the ways of the world.
"Afraid?"
Ye Xunyang's courage was roused, and he straightened his back.
"The word 'fear' doesn't exist in my dictionary, Ye Xunyang! I'm angry!"
"What kind of skill is it to poison someone from the shadows? If you've got the guts, come at me with real swords and spears!"
Lou Jin watched him grin and snarl like a provoked young beast, and the corners of his mouth curved almost imperceptibly, but were quickly replaced by a low cough.
He took a breath before saying, "It's easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark. From now on, you must be more careful when you go out and about, and you must be more cautious about what you hand to me."
These words, though meant as a reminder, made Ye Xunyang feel even worse.
What he brought back almost cost Lou Jin his life, even though he was also a victim.
"Your Highness, I..." Ye Xunyang wanted to apologize, but felt that it would be useless.
Lou Jin seemed to see through his thoughts, closed his eyes, and spoke wearily.
"It's not your fault, they came for me. You... you were just dragged into this."
He paused, his voice softening further, "Perhaps... I shouldn't have dragged you into this in the first place..."
Looking at his pale and fragile profile, Ye Xunyang recalled that although Lou Jin seemed indifferent these days, he had never mistreated him and had even given him a lot of freedom and trust.
"Your Highness, please don't say that!"
"Now that I've married into this family, we're all in the same boat! Don't worry, with me here, I'll never let those scoundrels succeed again!"
Lou Jin slowly opened his eyes, gave Ye Xunyang a deep look, his gaze complex and unreadable, and finally turned into a barely audible sigh: "Sigh, take care of yourself first."
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