Late at night.
Mei Zhilin was sound asleep in his residence outside the palace, holding his wife in his arms, even lost in a vivid and delightful dream.
Suddenly, a knock at the door startled him awake.
"Who is it?"
"Physician Mei, the young master of the Ping Prince's Mansion has suddenly developed a high fever. His Highness Prince Qin has sent this servant to urgently request your presence at the mansion. Given the emergency, please dress quickly."
Liuxi's voice carried a note of urgency.
Hearing it was such a grave matter, Mei Zhilin bolted upright from the bed. He soothingly squeezed his wife's hand before calling out, "I'm getting up now."
The moment he pushed open the door, Liuxi grabbed him and pulled him into a run.
"Liuxi, slow down, you little rascal! This old man's bones are about to fall apart."
Young people truly had no sense of restraint.
"Physician Mei, my apologies, but this is a matter of life and death," Liuxi said, panting. Children were especially vulnerable to high fevers. If his delay on the road affected the treatment, he would never forgive himself...
With Liuxi's help, Mei Zhilin soon arrived at the Ping Prince's Mansion.
But the two were stumped by the official seal plastered across the entrance. If the mansion was sealed, how were they supposed to enter?
"Physician Mei, you've finally arrived!"
The guards stationed outside the mansion brightened at the sight of him. The leader tore off the seal without hesitation, swung the gates open, and urged,
"Physician Mei, please hurry inside."
Mei Zhilin's eyes widened in shock. The seal could just be torn off like that?
Then the purpose of the seal must have been... to keep the people of the Ping Prince's Mansion from leaving?
"Physician Mei, quickly... go in..."
"Right away, right away." Mei Zhilin glanced at Liuxi, recalling the earlier scene, and rushed inside without another word.
......
Inside the Ping Prince's Mansion.
The moment Lady Chang saw Mei Zhilin, she finally found her anchor. "Physician Mei, Ah Shun suddenly developed a high fever and even showed signs of convulsions."
Mei Zhilin examined Ah Shun, noting the child's flushed face, and immediately took his pulse.
Gradually, his expression turned grave.
"The young master's flushed face isn't due to the fever—it's because he can't breathe."
Rarely resorting to it, Mei Zhilin pulled out the silver needles from his waist and swiftly inserted them into Ah Shun's pressure points. Only when the child's complexion eased slightly did he check the pulse again.
"Can't breathe?"
Chang Ling'er went limp, leaning weakly against Lady Chang. How could he suddenly stop breathing?
The more Mei Zhilin examined, the more alarmed he became.
This wasn't an ordinary child's fever... it resembled poisoning.
"Physician Mei, what's wrong with Ah Shun?" Lady Chang, sensing the severity, held her breath.
"The young master has been poisoned."
Silence fell over the room.
"How could he be poisoned? Since Ah Shun came to my courtyard, I've personally overseen every aspect of his care—food, clothing, everything. No one could have slipped poison in!"
Chang Ling'er reacted violently.
But Mei Zhilin's gaze at her was filled with pity. If his guess was correct, Chang Ling'er was still burning the incense gifted to her years ago by the eldest imperial grandson.
That incense contained a heavy dose of musk.
For adults, prolonged exposure would render them infertile. For a child, it was a deadly poison.
"Madam Consort, please... have someone remove the incense from the room."
Seeing the shock in Lady Chang's eyes, Mei Zhilin realized she, too, knew the truth about the incense.
"The incense... the incense is the problem?" Chang Ling'er's eyes hollowed. "The incense was a gift from His Highness. How could it be harmful?"
......
"Ah Shun... can he be saved?" Lady Chang had Chang Ling'er escorted to the courtyard before asking, her voice trembling.
"He can."
At Mei Zhilin's words, hope flared in Lady Chang's eyes—but then he sighed heavily.
With a bitter smile, he added, "But the musk will have damaged his brain. Even if he survives, the young master will be left... simple-minded."
"To save him or not... the decision rests with you, Madam Consort."
Tears streamed down Lady Chang's face.
She hadn't had the heart to tell Ling'er the truth. Since Ling'er could no longer conceive, she had allowed her to keep burning the incense.
But she had forgotten—Ah Shun was just a babbling child.
Step by step, Lady Chang approached the bed, tenderly stroking Ah Shun's small face. "Few royal children live to adulthood, let alone one who is... impaired."
"Let him go."
Hearing her words, Mei Zhilin felt an odd sense of relief.
In this case, mercy lay in withholding treatment.
That night, Lady Chang held Ah Shun in her arms, feeling his warmth fade into cold rigidity, until her tears nearly ran dry.
At the break of dawn, the door creaked open.
Chang Ling'er, standing outside, took one look at Ah Shun's lifeless body in Lady Chang's arms and let out a shattered scream.
"My child!"
"Ling'er, Ah Shun has been reborn into another family. The Ping Prince's Mansion was not fortunate enough to keep such a sweet child."
Lady Chang kissed Ah Shun's forehead. "Let him be buried under your name, as the son of a daughter of the Chang family."
"I want to know—what poison killed Ah Shun?"
Chang Ling'er took Ah Shun from Lady Chang. She had raised this child with her own hands. She wouldn't let his death go unanswered.
"The incense Song Yanzheng gave you was poisoned."
"It was laced with musk."
"Back when the Chang family was at its peak, he never intended for you to bear a child."
Three sentences laid bare a web of treachery.
......
In Song Yanzheng's chambers, the metallic tang of blood hung in the air.
A servant was carefully changing his bandages when the door burst open.
Chang Ling'er stormed in and slapped him across the face.
"You vile woman! How dare you strike me?"
"Song Yanzheng, was it amusing? Watching me fawn over you like a fool while you poisoned me with musk?"
Before he could react, another slap landed.
"You—"
"Ah—!"
Chang Ling'er dug her fingers into the wounds on his hands. Song Yanzheng's eyes bulged in agony.
"Thanks to you, your line ends here."
"I—I still have Ah Shun!" Song Yanzheng roared through the pain. "The one truly left barren is you, Chang Ling'er!"
A near-hysterical laugh escaped her. At this moment, Chang Ling'er resembled a madwoman.
"Ah Shun is dead."
