Lu Beixing's playful smile earned him a glare from Li Qingchen, which startled him. He dared not joke around anymore and took Wei Shuwan's wrist to carefully take her pulse.
Other doctors need a pulse pillow and other tools to take a pulse, but Lu Beixing didn't need any. He simply grasped Wei Shuwan's hand in the air, closed his eyes for a moment, and immediately knew what was going on. He tucked Wei Shuwan's hand back under the covers and turned to Li Qingchen, saying:
"As you said, Lady Wei has indeed been poisoned."
This result was within Li Qingchen's expectations, so he did not show any surprise, and only asked in a calm voice, "What kind of poison?"
"It should be a kind of sleeping potion, but it doesn't come from the Central Plains. Judging from the pulse, the potion is relatively mild. Apart from putting people into a deep sleep, it doesn't cause any other harm to the body. However, the potency of the potion is also strong. Ordinary sleeping potions can only take effect temporarily. Generally, after a few to a dozen hours, the poisoned person will wake up on their own. But this potion is different. It is persistent. If an antidote cannot be prepared in time, I'm afraid the poisoned person's body will not be able to withstand it before the potency dissipates naturally."
Li Qingchen's brows furrowed with worry as he asked in a deep voice, "Then can you possibly concoct an antidote?"
"My lord, preparing the antidote is not difficult; the difficulty lies in determining the specific type of poison. Once the source of the poison can be found, the problem can be solved."
What if we can't find it?
Lu Beixing remained silent. No answer was needed from him. Li Qingchen knew that if the source of the poison could not be found, this problem would likely remain unsolved.
With a long sigh, Li Qingchen began to scan the room. "Since Madam Wei and Lady Wei were both poisoned in this room, the source of the poison must have been in this room last night. However, so many people came after the incident, and the maids from Fuqu Pavilion went in and out, but no one showed any symptoms. It is clear that the source of the poison has been dealt with by someone with good intentions."
“What you say is absolutely right, my lord. However, anything that has ever existed will leave a trace.” As Lu Beixing spoke, he began to carefully examine the incense burner, the curtain, and the artifacts displayed on the display shelf.
Li Qingchen didn't just wait idly. He touched the soft pillow Wei Shuwan was using, the brocade quilt covering her, and the cotton mattress beneath her. These were actually the places where medicinal powder residue was most likely to remain, yet would go unnoticed.
However, after searching every corner of the house, the two found no suspicious clues.
Finally, the two returned to the bedside and stared at Wei Shuwan, who was lying peacefully on the bed. Just as Li Qingchen was about to speak, Lu Beixing suddenly noticed a faint smell of medicine lingering around his nose. He frowned and raised his hand to signal Li Qingchen to be quiet first.
Then Lu Beixing slowly bent down, carefully sniffing above Wei Shuwan's body, searching for the faint medicinal scent. He lifted the quilt, gradually moving from Wei Shuwan's lower body to her upper body. Li Qingchen couldn't bear to watch any longer, "What are you doing?"
"My lord, please don't panic. To save Lady Wei's life, let me smell it one more time..."
Li Qingchen suppressed his displeasure as he watched Lu Beixing carefully sniff Wei Shuwan's slender neck, before finally moving upwards and hovering in front of her face.
Unbeknownst to him, Li Qingchen's hands, hidden in his wide sleeves, had clenched into fists. If Lu Beixing hadn't been dressed as a woman, he probably would have thrown that punch.
Lu Beixing lingered on Wei Shuwan's face for a moment before slowly returning to where her hand was. He took her hand in his again, but this time he didn't take her pulse; instead, he carefully smelled it.
Finally, Lu Beixing stopped sniffing, but then turned Wei Shuwan's hand over, pinched her fingertips, and examined the gaps between her nails.
Sure enough, some pine frost green powder remained.
This discovery shocked Li Qingchen greatly. "Could this be the source of the poison?"
"It's this one."
Lu Beixing smiled and shook his head, his admiration evident: "It seems that before Lady Wei fainted, she had already discovered the source of the poison. Perhaps she wanted to throw it away but it was too late. So, after she fell to the ground, while she still had some consciousness, she picked a little bit of the powder and put it under her fingernails, leaving a clue for the lord."
Li Qingchen did not doubt Lu Beixing's suggestion to leave him clues, because the Wei family or ordinary doctors would obviously not search for the source of the poison with such a purpose. However, Wei Shuwan had placed her last trust in him, and she knew that he would come to investigate the matter.
Unable to tell whether he was moved or impressed, Li Qingchen's Adam's apple bobbed as he tried to remain calm: "Quickly, take it and prepare the antidote."
"Yes." Lu Beixing replied, shaking off the powder from Wei Shuwan's fingers, wrapping it carefully in paper, and tucking it into his waistband. He glanced at Li Qingchen, nodded to indicate that the mission was complete and he could return.
Li Qingchen told him to wait outside, then stayed behind to rearrange Wei Shuwan's blankets, carefully tucking in the corners before getting up to leave.
But as soon as he turned around, he stopped and looked back at the young lady lying quietly on the couch as if she were fast asleep. He said gently, "Wait a little longer, you will be fine soon."
Having said that, he finally left the house.
Normally, Yuan Que would appear before Li Qingchen the moment he stepped out the door. But today was different. Li Qingchen stood at the door for a while, but Yuan Que still didn't come over.
Li Qingchen looked at the two people sitting in the pavilion and noticed that their posture was not upright, and they were leaning their heads together...
He came to rescue people, yet his attendants had the leisure to enjoy romantic moments with someone else's maid?
Li Qingchen casually picked up a small pebble and flicked it lightly on Yuan Que's head. Yuan Que groaned, clutching his head, and looked over. Upon seeing his young master emerge, his expression grim, Yuan Que's heart skipped a beat. He quickly rose, leaped over the railing, and stood before Li Qingchen, bowing deeply and admitting his mistake: "This subordinate deserves to die! I was supposed to be out keeping watch but fell asleep! I beg Your Highness to punish me!"
At this moment, Zi Qiao, who had been leaning on Yuan Que, suddenly lost her support and bumped her head on the balustrade with a crisp sound, instantly waking up. Turning her head to look at the door where the group was standing, she was also startled and sheepishly followed, "Young Prince."
Seeing that the man remained silent, Zi Qiao's eyes darted around, preparing to shift the blame. "Young Prince, you can't blame me just now. Yuan Que was sitting there counting stars, and I got carried away and started counting too. Who knew it would work even better than counting lambs? I fell asleep while counting..."
"Hey, how can you be so unreasonable? I was sleeping peacefully over there, passing the time, but you came and started sleeping too, and you made me fall asleep as well." Yuan Que was also a little annoyed.
Zi Qiao was not to be outdone: "Have you ever seen a lookout who is as idle as you, counting stars?"
"you!"
"Alright!" Li Qingchen interrupted the two of them, said no more, and leaped over the courtyard wall and left.
Lu Beixing and Yuan Que immediately followed.
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