After the Old Master was out of danger, Jiang Yihua was still shaken. He went up to the waiter and demanded harshly, “Who told you to do this?”
Having witnessed the emergency induced vomiting just moments ago, the waiter was already terrified. He waved his hands frantically. “I don’t know! I really don’t know! They only told me to take the glasses away to be washed! I really didn’t know there was poison in it! I really didn’t!”
“Still playing dumb? Let me tell you, we’ve already called the police. You can try explaining yourself to them later. We’ll see whether they believe you!”
For a large-scale event like the annual banquet, the group had arranged emergency ambulances and a medical team in accordance with fire-safety requirements.
Five minutes later, the medical staff hurried upstairs from below. They placed Old Master Jiang on a stretcher and rushed him through the employee passage to a private hospital. Qiuyun went with them to the hospital for blood tests, while Assistant Qian also boarded the ambulance to look after them.
Because the incident had taken place away from the crowd, only a few senior executives noticed that something was wrong. Butler Lin came downstairs and explained that Old Master Jiang’s chronic leg pain had flared up and that he had gone back to rest.
Although everyone was somewhat suspicious, considering Old Master Jiang’s age, they did not think much of it.
The ambulance sped through the streets, its siren wailing.
Even after the emergency induced vomiting, residual toxins remained in Old Master Jiang’s body. He fell into a coma, his blood pressure dropped, and his heart rhythm became irregular. His condition was extremely serious.
When they reached the hospital, Old Master Jiang was immediately rushed into the emergency treatment room. An ECG, oxygen machine, and blood tests were all performed at once. His blood sample was sent to the laboratory for liquid chromatography screening. Before long, the source of the toxin was identified: aconitine.
It was the modern name for the poison known in ancient times as shewang.
Aconitine was extracted from plants in the Aconitum genus, such as Sichuan aconite, wild aconite, and prepared aconite. It had an extremely short incubation period and acted with terrifying speed. It was also easily dissolved in ethanol, while the spicy taste of alcohol could mask its distinctive numbing sensation.
Once the exact toxin and its concentration in the blood had been determined, the doctors immediately began emergency treatment. They administered potassium, used lidocaine to control his heart rate, and performed hemoperfusion. In short, every available member of the emergency department rushed to help.
Qiuyun, whose symptoms were relatively mild, was assigned to a trainee nurse and taken away for blood tests, an ECG, and blood-oxygen saturation monitoring.
Her basic vital signs had already been checked in the ambulance. Her blood pressure was normal and she was fully conscious. She was only slightly dizzy, indicating that she had ingested very little of the toxin. Even so, she still needed blood tests to check her cardiac enzymes and determine whether her heart muscle cells had been damaged.
Once Old Master Jiang’s heart rate and blood pressure had temporarily stabilized, a doctor finally wiped the sweat from his brow and went over to review Qiuyun’s test results. He prescribed her saline and furosemide.
She was young and had taken in only a tiny amount of the poison. All she needed was plenty of fluids and diuretics to force the small amount of toxin out of her system.
While the hospital continued working to absorb the toxins from Old Master Jiang’s blood, the annual banquet at the hotel finally came to an end.
Jiang Yihua kept his wits about him. He did not inform his brothers. Instead, he secretly called the police and handed over the evidence and suspect before quietly heading to the hospital with his secretary.
For the sake of caution, Butler Lin tacitly approved of Jiang Yihua’s actions and helped keep the matter hidden.
“Let’s go.”
The driver was just about to start the car when the door on the side suddenly opened. Jiang Chuling slipped inside, shut the door, fastened her seat belt in one smooth motion, and then sat properly in her seat, staring straight ahead with a solemn expression.
Jiang Yihua: “?”
“Get out. Dad has something urgent to take care of. Go home in your mother’s car.”
Jiang Chuling shook her head. “I want to go see Sister Xiaoqiu.”
“...”
Assistant Qiu really didn’t keep anything from his daughter.
There was no time to argue. Jiang Yihua had no choice but to have the driver set off, taking his daughter with him to the private hospital.
“How is he?”
Although Assistant Qian had been giving him real-time updates, Jiang Yihua still needed to hear the doctor’s assessment before he could feel at ease.
“We were incredibly lucky that the vomiting was induced in time.” The doctor was still shaken. “Aconitine, scientifically known as acetylbenzoylaconine, is extracted from aconite and prepared aconite. It has been a deadly poison since ancient times. With modern purification techniques, even zero-point-something milligrams can kill a person!”
Jiang Yihua drew in a sharp breath. He could not help wondering who could have been so ruthless.
After confirming that her grandfather was no longer in immediate danger, Jiang Chuling looked around. When she could not find Sister Xiaoqiu, she went to ask a nurse where she was.
As the person who had saved Old Master Jiang, Qiuyun had been placed in a VIP room. She had just woken from a nap and was feeling a little more energetic.
“Hospitalized?” Jiang Chuling only knew that Sister Xiaoqiu had said there was something wrong with the waiter and that her grandfather was in danger. She had no idea what had happened afterward.
Jiang Chuling frowned. “Which room is she in? Take me there.”
When Qiuyun came out of the bathroom, she saw that Miss had already arrived at the room.
“Sister Xiaoqiu!” Jiang Chuling hurried over. “Why are you hospitalized too? What happened?”
Qiuyun recounted the frightening events that had just taken place. Jiang Chuling could not help drawing in a sharp breath.
“P-Poisoning?”
She had only ever seen plots like this in palace-intrigue dramas. How could something like that happen in real life too?
And the target had not been just anyone. It had been the head of the Jiang family—her own grandfather!
She did not dare imagine what would have happened if the poisoning had succeeded and her grandfather had died from it.
Jiang Chuling shuddered.
No wonder her father had been silent the entire way, looking as though his own father had just died. His father really had nearly died.
“They chose the annual banquet and used the very glass of wine Old Master Jiang was certain to drink, so we can rule out someone from our own family,” Qiuyun said helplessly. “If it was a rival from outside, there are simply too many possible targets. The banquet was full of all kinds of people, and with so many guests and staff around, finding evidence will be extremely difficult.”
There was nothing she could do. Finding the mastermind among such a vast crowd would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
All they could do was hope the police could get some kind of lead from the waiter.
Jiang Chuling’s spirits fell. “That really will be difficult.”
Qiuyun patted her head. “Don’t worry. At least Old Master Jiang was saved.”
Still... he would probably lose several years of his life expectancy because of this.
After learning Qiuyun’s assessment, Jiang Yihua contacted the police from the hospital and shifted the focus of the investigation to several competitors who had grievances and entanglements with the Jiang family.
Unfortunately, investigating a case with no clear lead was truly exhausting. He stayed awake all night without making the slightest progress and could only place his hopes in the police.
The next morning.
Jiang Chuling made do with sleeping beside Sister Xiaoqiu’s hospital bed for the night.
The next day, Qiuyun got up and had another blood test. The amount of toxin remaining in her body was negligible, so she was cleared to leave the hospital.
After a full night of hemoperfusion, Old Master Jiang had also passed the critical stage. His vital signs were basically stable, and the doctor said he would probably wake within the next day or two.
However, aconitine primarily damaged the heart muscle cells and nervous system.
Given Old Master Jiang’s advanced age, his body’s ability to recover on its own was poor. Even after regaining consciousness, he would likely remain drowsy for a long time. He might also suffer from dizziness, ringing in the ears, and numbness in his hands and feet.
Jiang Yihua stared at the test report with a deeply furrowed brow. He was just about to ask Qiuyun what she thought when a commotion broke out around the corner of the corridor.
Secretary Zhu hurried over. “President Jiang, the family has arrived.”
