Song Jinzhao emptied the dregs from the medicine pot to inspect them, but found nothing unusual.
Concubine Su was dead. Without their master, the person tampering with the medicine would definitely stop, but some traces could not be erased.
Song Jinzhao washed the medicine pot clean with water. Sniffing carefully, she could detect a faint scent of musk and aconite.
"The dregs are correct now, but they must have been tampered with before. There is the scent of musk and aconite. Since the smell remains even after washing, it must have been brewed more than just once or twice."
Liao Xiwen was puzzled. "If they weren't discovered, why would they stop?"
Kong Wanru's face tightened, her gaze like two ice picks. "That's because Concubine Su is dead."
Liao Xiwen stopped talking, as if she had suddenly gone mute. Thoughts raced wildly in her mind, and the more she thought about it, the more shocked she became, until she could barely stand.
If Concubine Su was behind this incident, could she also be related to all the miscarriages her mother had suffered in the past?
Kong Wanru was so enraged she almost crushed her back teeth. Thinking of the tampered decoctions, she opened her eyes and began to issue orders.
"Arrest the two maids responsible for brewing the medicine at once. Search their rooms immediately. We must find evidence."
Even if the person was dead, the truth had to be uncovered. Her years of suffering could not be in vain; she wouldn't let her off the hook so easily even in death!
Opening the door, Liao Xiwen pointed at a maid standing in the corner and shouted, "Someone, seize her!"
The maid, her hands restrained, looked bewildered and asked fearfully, "Miss, what wrong has this servant committed?"
Liao Xiwen ignored her. Her gaze swept quickly through the crowd, and she frowned in dissatisfaction as she questioned the others.
"Where is Hongju?"
The crowd looked at one another and shook their heads.
"She was just here. How could she disappear?"
Liao Xiwen felt a sudden sense of foreboding and yelled, "Hurry up and find her!"
The two maids' rooms were turned upside down. Linglong walked in holding a paper parcel commonly used for medicine.
"Miss, these medicines were found in Hongju's room."
Liao Xiwen turned her head and signaled, "Show them to Miss Song."
Musk, sanqi, aconite, morning glory seeds...
They were all there without exception. This time, they wanted to make Kong Wanru completely lose her ability to bear children.
"These are it. You can make the arrest."
Filled with righteous indignation, Liao Xiwen said to Kong Wanru, "Hongju is missing. I have already sent people to look for her. The mansion gates are closed, so she definitely can't escape."
Halfway through searching the Liao mansion, the gatekeeper dragged Hongju into the Spring Water Courtyard.
He threw Hongju onto the ground and opened her bundle, which was full of gold and silver jewelry, as well as silver ingots.
"Madam, when I went to the latrine, I bumped into this girl trying to crawl out through the dog hole. All these things were found on her person."
Kong Wanru forced her sick body off the couch, her eyes like an evil spirit crawling out of the abyss. "Why did you betray me? Have I ever mistreated you?"
Hongju trembled. She crawled over, hugged Kong Wanru's legs, and begged incessantly.
"Madam, I didn't mean to. It was Concubine Su who threatened me. I had no choice but to listen to her. I am innocent."
Kong Wanru raised her foot to kick her away, but her right leg lacked the strength.
Liao Xiwen hurriedly rushed forward and supported Kong Wanru's arm.
She kicked Hongju's shoulder and pointed at the jade bracelets and hairpins in the bundle, scolding, "You keep claiming you're innocent, so where did these things come from?"
"I think you are just greedy. You would do anything for money. A despicable person who betrays her master for glory and forgets loyalty for profit. Today, I must hand you over to the authorities."
"What is all this noise!" An angry roar made everyone's eardrums ring.
Everyone looked up and saw Liao Wangshu standing at the door, his face as dark and livid as the bottom of a scorched pot.
"I just returned to the mansion and it's in an uproar, closing the gates and searching the premises. Are you trying to turn the world upside down!"
Liao Xiwen angrily rushed up to explain, "Father, you don't know. Concubine Su instructed Hongju to poison Mother's medicine, trying to make her permanently infertile."
"Now we have both the culprit and the loot, and we are about to send Hongju to the authorities."
Liao Wangshu's expression froze. After reacting, he glanced at Song Jinzhao and Liu Xuanqing, the two outsiders.
He sternly reprimanded Liao Xiwen, "With outsiders present, what do you look like shouting and making a fuss? Your speech and demeanor lack the quiet gentleness of a lady from a noble family. I'll have your grandmother teach you properly another day."
After speaking, he looked at Song Jinzhao. "Doctor Song, please do not spread word of what happened in the mansion today."
After being respectfully escorted out of the Liao mansion, Liu Xuanqing sat in the carriage and said, "It seems Lord Liao wants to turn a big issue into a small one, and a small one into nothing."
A faint smile curled the corners of Song Jinzhao's mouth. "Family scandals should not be aired in public. It's not surprising he reacted this way."
Liu Xuanqing thought of how he had visited multiple times to check her pulse without noticing anything, while Song Jinzhao figured it out after just one visit. He couldn't help but feel discouraged.
"I started learning medicine at seven, finished my apprenticeship at twenty, and have practiced for nearly fifty years. Yet I couldn't even tell that a patient was taking the wrong medicine. I am truly incompetent; I've learned my medical skills in vain all these years."
Seeing him look up with a depressed face, Song Jinzhao comforted him, "The person prescribing the medicine was very clever, and they used a cold as a smokescreen. It's completely normal that you didn't notice. The insidious methods of the inner courtyard are endless; it's not your fault."
Liu Xuanqing leaned against the carriage wall and shook his head. "I know it's not my fault. It's just that after being a doctor for so many years and reaching this age, my medical skills are still so shallow. I feel like I haven't learned anything and have lived in vain. My heart feels empty."
Song Jinzhao's gaze softened, looking just like the mentor who guided her when she first started her hospital internship. Her tone carried a strong sense of guidance and instruction.
"The path of medicine is vast, and learning it has no end. There is always someone better, and there are always higher mountains. As long as you have given it your all, you haven't lived in vain."
"Besides, as far as I know, before I came, you were the best doctor in Anyang Prefecture. There's no need to belittle yourself."
Liu Xuanqing looked at Song Jinzhao helplessly. "But Grandmaster, you are only seventeen, and I am already sixty. How can I not feel dealt a blow!"
Song Jinzhao opened her mouth, hesitating to speak.
After a long pause, she explained, "Although I am only seventeen, my mental age is older. I matured early."
