Chapter 111 Xingxiangzi (Part 2)
"It's Doctor Wang."
Ni Su lowered his head and answered calmly.
The hall was warm. Ni Su had come all the way in the wind and snow, and her hands and feet were cold. This dry warmth made her whole body even colder.
"But what did Doctor Wang say? Was it you who wrote the prescription?"
The imperial concubine asked coldly from behind the curtain.
Ni Su heard the voice, but was not surprised. She didn't even look at Doctor Wang. Instead, she raised her eyes and looked at the vague figure of the imperial concubine behind the curtain.
She immediately lowered her head and said, "Your Majesty, Doctor Wang is trusted by you, and I am new here, so I don't want to make things difficult for him. I haven't had the chance to prescribe medicine these days."
When Doctor Wang heard this, his hunched back straightened up and he turned around, "What do you mean? Are you saying in front of the Empress that I won't give you a chance? Didn't I ask you to write a prescription today? Didn't you write it according to what I said? What did you add to the prescription?"
Doctor Wang leaned forward again and said to the queen behind the curtain: "I have been in the Imperial Medical Bureau for many years, and I dare not make the slightest mistake. The prescription I wrote is for warming and nourishing, and I absolutely did not use any medicine indiscriminately. Your Majesty, why don't you take out the prescription? Once I have a look, everything will be clear!"
"The prescription is in the Imperial Medical Bureau."
The maid standing beside the imperial concubine said, "Doctor Wang, the queen trusts you, so she has always asked you to diagnose the old master. How come something went wrong today?"
Doctor Wang was sweating profusely, and he was even more confused. He knew the prescriptions he wrote, but something like this happened today...
He looked at Ni Su fiercely, "Your Majesty! This woman doesn't know acupuncture at all. Yesterday she told me in person that she volunteered to treat the old master in order to save her life, but she didn't even know how to give me acupuncture..."
Ni Su stared at him calmly.
He suddenly stopped talking, and Ni Su just spoke: "Doctor Wang, why don't you continue? I can't see anything about you."
"Your Majesty, this woman is a swindling herbalist! She has no knowledge of medicine and acupuncture. When I found her yesterday, she begged me not to report her!"
Doctor Wang was heartbroken. "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I was soft-hearted and pitied her because she was an orphan. I didn't expect her to repay my kindness with hatred. In my opinion, she must have wanted to use this to frame me. In this way, she gained Your Majesty's trust, and Your Majesty only allowed her to diagnose the old master. But Your Majesty, don't forget! Your brother died because of her! What she has in mind is obvious!"
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this woman was setting a trap for him.
What about giving him a medical book about acupuncture with golden needles? She was full of lies!
"Ni Su, aren't you going to defend yourself?"
The imperial concubine was surprisingly calm.
Ni Su nodded when she heard the words, "My lady, if I had this intention, I would never have the chance. My every move is under the eyes of the servants and Doctor Wang. Even if I really squeezed out Doctor Wang, if I don't have any real ability, I can't escape the eyes of Your Ladyship."
"I wrote the prescription on behalf of Doctor Wang. If there were any mistakes in the prescription, I would not have said nothing." Ni Su paused for a moment. "I thought there was nothing wrong with the prescription written by Doctor Wang, but I don't know why Doctor Wang framed me."
Doctor Wang obviously didn't expect her to say that the prescription he prescribed was correct. He was stunned for a moment, "You..."
"Could it be because I noticed that you were not doing your best in acupuncture for the old master?"
Doctor Wang's pupils shrank, "What nonsense!"
"What are you nervous about?"
Ni Su stood up straight and pressed on, "Doctor Wang never allowed me to watch him when he used acupuncture. He said he didn't want me to learn your medical skills, but why? You know it very well."
"What a joke! I am a doctor, am I not better than a woman like you?"
"In that case, Doctor Wang, do you dare to tell the queen where each acupuncture point you injected into the old master today was located?"
Ni Su stared at him and took another step closer.
"If Doctor Wang has forgotten, how about I repeat it for you? We can ask Doctor Qin to come and let him judge whether each of your needles should be at the level of a doctor."
"you……"
Doctor Wang suddenly realized at this moment that this woman was just pretending! She was not unfamiliar with acupuncture!
He was in a state of confusion and took a few steps back. Just as he was about to defend himself, he heard the lady behind the curtain suddenly slam the teacup: "Well... Doctor Wang, you dared to murder my father! I will petition the emperor to sentence you to death!"
"My queen!"
When Doctor Wang saw that the queen believed Ni Su's words so easily, and heard the word "death penalty", his knees softened and he knelt down, "Your Majesty! I dare not!"
"Someone come!"
The maidens shouted.
Several eunuchs came in from outside and restrained Doctor Wang. The maid who was close to him lifted the curtain and said, "Doctor Wang, the queen wants to ask you why you did this."
"I am innocent..."
Doctor Wang’s voice was trembling.
The maid raised her hand with a cold face.
Several eunuchs were about to drag Doctor Wang out of the door. Doctor Wang completely collapsed at this moment. He was shaking like a sieve. "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, I have no intention of murdering the old master. I just didn't treat him with all my heart!"
"Drag it back."
The imperial concubine was helped up by the palace maids behind the curtain. When the curtain was opened, her face was gloomy.
The eunuchs dragged Doctor Wang back. Doctor Wang looked very embarrassed and his official hat fell off.
"Doctor Wang, if you can explain everything clearly today, I can still spare your life. If you can't explain it clearly, don't blame me..."
The imperial concubine stared at him.
“Yes, yes…” At this point, Doctor Wang had no choice but to tell the whole story. “I will never again deceive Your Majesty!”
"Who told you to do this?"
"It's someone from the Duke's Mansion... "
Doctor Wang was lying on the ground, "Your Majesty! I was blinded by a devil for a moment. The salary of the Imperial Medical Bureau was low this year, so I thought that my family had to get through the New Year no matter what. I thought this would not be considered harming anyone, so..."
When he was treating Wu Dai, the imperial concubine had not yet regained favor, let alone been pregnant.
Even if I wanted to get out later, there was no way.
The people in the Duke's Mansion have all the evidence.
"Who from the Duke's Mansion did you see with your own eyes?"
The imperial concubine clenched her teeth.
"No...it's just that the servant came with a letter." Doctor Wang no longer dared to hold back.
Since he is just a servant, why would the Duke of Lu keep him as evidence of his crime? Now the imperial concubine cannot even say a few words in front of the emperor.
The imperial concubine closed her eyes, her chest heaving, and ordered the eunuchs to drag the man out.
The palace was silent. The palace maid served the imperial concubine a few sips of calming tea. The curtain was hooked by teeth. The imperial concubine took a deep breath and then raised her eyes to look at the woman standing not far away.
After a while, she said, "Ni Su, you did a great job."
There was actually nothing wrong with the prescription. Everything that had just happened was just a show performed by the Imperial Concubine and Ni Su.
After Ni Su was sure that Doctor Wang's acupuncture method was wrong, he recorded every needle used by Doctor Wang in a handwritten letter and found an opportunity to secretly hand it over to the eunuch in the Wu residence.
The imperial concubine deliberately pretended to believe Ni Su in order to test Doctor Wang by threatening him with the death penalty.
"I have said that I want to ask for a way out from you, Your Majesty."
Ni Su lowered his head, being respectful and peaceful.
"Don't worry."
The imperial concubine stared at her and said, "You have helped me a lot, so I will naturally not make things difficult for you."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I am willing to do my best to cure the old master's epilepsy." Ni Su bowed.
"Okay, you go first."
The imperial concubine raised her chin slightly.
It was not yet dark and the palace gates were not locked. Seeing Ni Su being led out by the eunuchs, the imperial concubine's face in the palace suddenly became much gloomier.
The problem today is not the prescription, but the medicinal materials.
One of the wild ginseng ingredients had been tampered with. Fortunately, she was cautious and not only had people test the medicine in her house, but also had people check the herbs before using them.
Since the imperial concubine regained favor and later became pregnant, many people rushed to curry favor with the Wu family. Knowing that Wu Dai was ill, many tonic foods were sent from all sides.
These were all clearly recorded on the gift list of the Wu Mansion.
The ginseng used today can also be found on the gift list. Although the person who gave the gift was not from the Duke's Mansion, the son of that person's family got a new job because of Pan Youfang, the Three-Division Envoy.
"Your Majesty, I don't understand why the Duke's Mansion does this?" The palace maid who served the imperial concubine closely spoke cautiously.
"What else is there to not understand?"
The imperial concubine sneered, "He didn't kill my father because he wanted to keep me stable. He didn't want my father's epilepsy to be cured because he was afraid that if my father woke up, he would lose control of me."
Wu Dai has been immersed in officialdom for many years. If he is still sober, he will definitely use his daughter to turn the tables. By then, the situation will no longer be under the control of Duke Lu.
What's more, Pan Youfang, who had always been tied to Wu Dai in the past, is now in cahoots with the Duke of Lu. The imperial concubine had communicated with her father in the past, and she also knew that in her father's eyes, Pan Youfang was a poisonous snake that could bite him at any time!
The imperial concubine had no idea how deep the rift between her father and Pan Youfang was, but she knew that both the Duke of Lu and Pan Youfang were just treating her as a puppet.
Yao County still has the ready-made bloodline of Taizu.
If her belly wasn't well-behaved, she would be kicked out by these two at any time.
Maybe they were simply using her to fight against Prince Jia, and the people from Yao County were their real plan.
Ni Su hurried out of the palace before the gate was locked . The sky was gradually getting dark. She didn't have a lantern in her hand, so she took the hand of the person beside her and led him forward.
"Ah Xi, are you hungry?"
Xu Hexue couldn't see it and just followed her steps obediently.
"Well, I want to eat a bowl of noodles outside. I don't know if Qingqiong has eaten yet. I'll bring him some pancakes back." Ni Su said with a smile.
Xu Hexue said "hmm".
It was not snowing at this moment, but the snow on the street had not melted. Ni Su accidentally stepped on broken bricks and the puddles wet her shoes. She said nothing and pulled Xu Hexue to sit down in the felt tent on the street.
"Will the Queen relent?"
Ni Su asked softly while eating noodles.
"Doctor Wang's deeds have been exposed. She, Duke Lu, and Pan Youfang all have their own plans, so it is impossible for them to be honest. The only thing she can rely on now is the child in her belly. If it is a girl, she will be abandoned. Lord Meng and Deputy Envoy Zhou deliberately let her know about Yao County. She must be very uneasy now."
"Since she has understood her situation, she is naturally unwilling to be a pawn that can be discarded by the Duke of Lu at any time. At least if Yong Geng is still here, the one from Yao County will have no chance to go to the capital."
The imperial concubine must have wanted to leave a way out for herself and her father Wu Dai. If she gave birth to a daughter, the nearest way out would be Prince Jia.
So she couldn't kill Prince Jia completely.
"That's good."
Ni Su clenched her chopsticks and said.
Xu Hexue found the gift list in advance and picked out the person who seemed inconspicuous but had a very sensitive identity upon closer inspection. After Doctor Wang wrote the prescription, he took advantage of the servants of the Wu Mansion taking herbs from the warehouse and deliberately replaced the wild ginseng with some Panax notoginseng powder.
Although it is not fatal, it may aggravate Wu Dai's condition.
If the people from the Wu residence check the medicinal materials, they will find clues.
In addition, now that Doctor Wang's affair has been exposed, the imperial concubine must be even more wary of the Duke of Lu.
Ni Su bought some scones and went home with Xu Hexue, only to find Qing Qiong had already fallen asleep. He opened the door sleepily, and Ni Su stuffed him with hot scones, which sobered him up a little: "Thank you, Miss Ni."
Ni Su went to bathe to ward off the cold, and Qing Qiong ate baked cakes under the eaves. He made hot reed flower dew tea for Xu Hexue, but saw that he was flipping through a book, so he went over and asked, "General Xu, what is this?"
"recipe."
Xu Hexue answered briefly.
"Do you also write recipes?" Qingqiong saw that the pages behind him were blank. Although he could not recognize all the words on it, he could understand some of them. Moreover, the words on this book were not the kind printed in a bookstore. It was obvious that Xu Hexue wrote them himself.
"She always has trouble grasping the amount of ingredients and seasonings in common recipes, so she is always in a rush when she enters the kitchen. I want to compile a new recipe for her based on her habits and preferences."
Xu Hexue thought for a moment and said to Qingqiong, "It's not convenient for me to go out alone. If you are free during the day, can you find a chef who can cook Quexian cuisine? Ask him to write down all the dishes he is good at, and I can pay him."
"Where do you get the money?"
Xu Hexue's face was cold, with a hint of smile in her eyes, "I'll ask Ah Xi for it."
"Do you want to wait until you finish writing before telling her?" Qingqiong held his face.
"yes."
Xu Hexue closed the book and said, "If I'm not here, she won't want others to cook for her."
After A Zhou's incident, Ni Su wanted to learn everything on her own.
Qingqiong's originally relaxed expression froze. He was holding the scone in his hand, but he found it difficult to eat.
"What are you going to call this recipe?"
After a while, he asked.
Xu Hexue lowered his eyes. The blue cover was clean and tidy. "It's called 'A Xi's Food List'."
Qing Qiong clearly felt a little uncomfortable , but he smiled and said, "This is good."
The room was full of candles at night. Ni Su sat on the edge of the bed, and Xu Hexue wiped her wet hair. She turned her head and stared at him.
"What's wrong?"
Xu Hexue asked in a low voice.
"Can you tell me what kind of person His Royal Highness Prince Jia is?"
She said.
"Yonggeng..."
Xu Hexue spoke of his old friend with a relaxed tone, "He has a kind personality and is good to others. When I was young, he went out with me. When he saw the people fleeing on the road, he cried and gave away all the valuables he had with him."
"So when we arrived in Que County, we were penniless,"
Xu Hexue brushed the light hair away from her ears and said, "We went to Dazhong Temple for the vegetarian food in the temple."
Later, it was the princess' sister-in-law's people who came and took the two poor boys back.
Hearing him say this, Ni Su couldn't help but laugh.
"I suddenly understand why you are so close to His Royal Highness Prince Jia," she said.
"But his experiences in the palace have kept him living in fear. He kept silent when the royal family bullied him. I can't remember how many times I helped him fight."
Xu Hexue put the wet handkerchief aside. "He never likes to fight. He will only muster up the courage to fight back if I force him to do so."
During that period, Xu Hexue was often scolded by the princess sister-in-law.
The two of them lay down, and Ni Su wanted to snuggle into his arms again, but he wrapped her in a thick quilt.
"Ah Xi, I need some money."
"What are you going to buy this time?"
"No, it's Qingqiong who wants it."
Ni Su said, "What does Qingqiong want to buy?"
"have no idea."
He pursed his lips.
"Oh...then I'll ask him how much he wants tomorrow." Ni Su nodded.
As the night deepened, the snow became heavier.
There was no charcoal basin in Chongming Hall. Prince Jia had not worn shoes or socks for days, and his feet were injured and he was about to get frostbite. He curled up by the door of the inner hall. He heard the princess inside coughing from time to time, and her throat became hoarse from coughing.
She didn't sleep well.
Prince Jia had cracked lips and stared blankly at the moonlight shining through the gap in the window.
The quieter the night got, the more he thought about the only conversation he had with his teacher after many years.
At that time, it was in this temple.
The teacher said that he finally dared to pay tribute to that person.
Then, he stood on the scaffold and spoke up for his best student.
So what about him?
When will he dare to pay tribute to that person?
Prince Jia tightened his knuckles, realizing that he had crushed something in his palm, and hastily stretched his palm. Then, he stared at the scattered pills for a long time.
The more turbulent the court was, the less likely the government would take his life.
Prince Jia suddenly stuffed the pill into his mouth.
He stood up, the wound on the sole of his foot cracked again due to his walking, and bleeds appeared. He limped, and wherever he looked, cups, plates, and vases were all smashed to the ground.
"Someone come..."
He stepped on the broken porcelain pieces carelessly, blood seeping from between his teeth, "Someone come!"
He shouted.
The eunuchs outside were awakened by the noise. They looked at each other and hurriedly opened the door of the palace. The lights under the eaves shone in. They looked up and saw that His Royal Highness Prince Jia was staggering and unable to stand. In an instant, blood came out of his mouth.
"Your Highness!"
The eunuch was horrified.
There was a panic in Chongming Palace. As soon as the news of Prince Jia being poisoned spread, the chief physician in the duty room of the Imperial Medical Bureau rushed over immediately.
Prince Jia was pinned to the couch by the eunuchs. He could not struggle, his chest rose and fell violently, and blood came out of his mouth. "Let someone diagnose the illness of this prince's princess, otherwise, otherwise..."
There was blood foam in his mouth, and he spoke word by word, "Otherwise, I will never use medicine."
