Snow falls and the wind blows

Chapter 93

Zhan Yun was slightly taken aback, and Duan Chen continued, "It sounds awful." Unlike his usual clear and gentle tone, it was instead hoarse and somewhat grating.

Zhan Yun was both amused and exasperated, and quickly nodded. It seemed Senior Xiao was right; he really couldn't talk too much these next few days. If he developed a chronic illness, Chen'er might start to dislike him!

Duan Chen helped himself up from the bed, walked to the table, and touched the small celadon bowl on the tray; it was completely cold. He glanced at the person on the bed, picked up the tray, whispered, "I'll be right back," and quickly left the room.

Duan Chen went to the kitchen, poured out another bowl of the prepared herbal medicine, added some honey, and carried the tray. He pushed open the door, walked around the screen, and saw Zhao Ting and Zhou Yufei there. Zhou Yufei stood up abruptly, his expression extremely awkward. He glanced at the two people beside him out of the corner of his eye, and forced a stiff smile: "Duan Chen, you're here!"

Duan Chen nodded calmly to him, placed the tray on the table, carried the bowl to the bedside, and handed it to Zhan Yun: "Senior Xiao ordered it to be cooked. It's cooling and soothing to the throat, and locust honey was added."

Zhan Yun smiled faintly as she accepted the bowl and slowly sipped it. Honeysuckle, ophiopogon japonicus, terminalia oleifera, salvia miltiorrhiza… all these herbs are used to clear heat and detoxify, and to promote saliva production and soothe the throat. However, these herbs have a bitter taste, and when combined, they are even more difficult to swallow. Even with honey, the strong medicinal flavor cannot be diluted. Zhan Yun drank very slowly, but somehow she could taste a hint of sweetness.

Watching Duan Chen's blissful expression, Zhao Ting felt a bitter pang in his heart. Turning his head to look at Duan Chen, Zhao Ting pursed his thin lips and after a long while, said in a low voice, "Chen'er, I have something I want to tell you."

Zhou Yufei chuckled awkwardly, "Go ahead, go ahead, I'll take care of things here, you two can chat as much as you want..." He was interrupted by a simultaneous glare from the two men. Zhou Yufei touched his nose, obediently sat down, and dared not utter another word.

Duan Chen nodded, turned and left the room. Zhao Ting quickly got up and followed him out. Zhan Yun's expression was gentle as he continued drinking his medicine. Zhou Yufei, watching the three of them from the side, felt a cold sweat trickle down his forehead.

The two strolled slowly through the courtyard, surrounded by blooming flowers and the faint chirping of birds—a truly beautiful scene. Yet, Zhao Ting felt a heaviness in his limbs and a tightness in his chest, making it hard to breathe. Reaching a pavilion, Zhao Ting stopped, turned, and pulled the other person into his arms. Closing his eyes, he whispered, "Chen'er, I love you. I really love you!"

Duan Chen reached out to push his chest, but his wrist was firmly grasped. A deep, pleasant voice carried a hint of helplessness and grievance: "Chen'er, please give me a chance, okay? You don't want to marry Yiran, you don't want to be Jiang Xueluo, perfect! You can be my queen, and I will never look at any other woman in this life, I will only be good to you!"

Duan Chen frowned slightly, his voice muffled as he was held tightly in his arms: "But I don't like you."

Zhao Tingmei frowned, stubbornly holding her even tighter, as if he wanted to melt her into his very bones. His heart pounded rapidly, but unlike any other time before, a panic he had never felt before gripped him. Even though he was holding her so tightly, he felt as if the person in his arms was drifting further and further away from him.

“My mother said I first saw you when I was six years old, just a hundred days old. Your mother brought you to live in the Prince’s Mansion and planted the magnolia trees in the back. When you were eight, your family returned to the capital. Yiran’s father invited the three families to dine together at Zhuangyuanlou. I was practicing riding and archery at the mansion with Yiran and Xingzhi. By the time we arrived at Zhuangyuanlou, you and your mother had already left. They said you were feeling unwell because you had just arrived in Bianjing and were not used to the climate. I remember my mother telling me then that you were Yiran’s little wife and would definitely grow up to be a beauty.”

"Twelve years later, I met you for the first time at Zhuangyuanlou. Xingzhi told me that the one in white was Duan, who had solved countless strange cases in three years and was famous throughout Liangzhe Road. We sat three tables away from you and watched you order a table full of dishes and three sets of chopsticks and bowls. At the time, Xingzhi and I didn't understand why you did such a strange thing."

“I didn’t know you were the eldest daughter of the Jiang family, the descendant of the Jiang family that my father and Yiran’s father have been searching for all these years. I didn’t know you were the baby girl we met once back then, and Yiran’s fiancée whom we missed at Zhuangyuan Tower.”

Zhao Ting slowly released his embrace, his voice slightly hoarse, and looked down at her: "But I fell in love with you a long time ago, and I have always wanted to marry you and make you my queen."

Duan Chen listened quietly until Zhao Ting finished speaking, then looked up at him and asked, "If I were Jiang Xueluo, would you still like me?"

Zhao Ting frowned in confusion: "You were originally Jiang Xueluo."

Duan Chen then asked him, "What if I, like my master, have half Liao blood?"

Zhao Ting was speechless for a moment. Duan Chen looked at him and said calmly, "You don't like me as much as you think. In Hangzhou, when you thought I was a man, at Wanliu Manor, when you thought I had Liao blood, and last night, when you learned that I was Zhou Yufei's betrothed, you looked at me with this same expression."

“Your liking comes with too many of your own limitations. But true liking for someone shouldn’t be like this.” Duan Chen said, a slight smile playing on his lips. “If you truly like someone, you won’t care about her identity, even if she’s from Liao or even if she’s a man.”

A hint of confusion flashed in his dark eyes, but Zhao Ting's thin lips remained tightly pressed together as he insisted, "I really like you."

Duan Chen remained noncommittal, simply observing him quietly.

Zhao Ting clenched her fist in frustration, took a deep breath, and was about to say something when she heard someone shout from a little distance, "Xiao Duan, come quick!" Duan Chen turned around at the sound and saw Xiao Changqing waving at her as he ran over, saying, "Everyone is looking for you everywhere."

The Prince's Study.

Duan Chen placed several items on the table one by one, showing them to everyone. Cao Minde picked up a piece of Xuan paper that had been repeatedly folded, unfolded it, glanced at it quickly, and exclaimed in shock, "This is..."

Duan Chen nodded slightly: "These are the names of all the officials who purchased 'Spring Breeze Delight' from Yidu Tower. The three at the bottom are marked in red, meaning that the pills they bought were laced with a deadly poison."

Zhou Yufei added from the side, "This morning I sent people to the homes of those three people. Except for one who took the pill last night and is already incurable, the pills in the hands of the other two were taken back. I have already gone to the Imperial Hospital, and they are stepping up their research on the highly toxic components in the pills. I estimate we will have results tomorrow."

"What is this?" The Seventh Prince picked up a small paper package and was about to open it when Duan Chen stopped him.

“This was originally ground ‘Qingfengsui’ tea powder, but it seems to contain the same kind of deadly poison. Lord Zhang died from poisoning after drinking tea containing this tea powder.” Duan Chen took the paper packet and placed it on the table.

The Seventh Prince then looked at Zhou Yufei, who nodded: "The other packets were given to the Imperial Hospital."

Duan Chen picked up the envelope again and handed it to Cao Minde: "The person who wrote this letter is named Qing Li, a popular courtesan at Yidu Tower. It details how he and several others were instructed by the Liao Kingdom to harm court officials."

Lord Cao took the letter, carefully read it, sighed deeply, and then handed it to the Seventh Prince. Zhao Ting and the others had already read its contents, and the atmosphere became somewhat heavy for a moment.

The young clerk was taking notes, while Cao Minde looked at Duan Chen, somewhat hesitantly: "Last night at Yidu Tower, we captured a total of twelve people, and seven others were killed on the spot by a hail of arrows. But among these people, there was no man with blue eyes..."

The others looked at Duan Chen upon hearing this. Duan Chen remained calm and explained softly, "Last night on the second floor, besides Qing Li, there was another man with blue eyes. He was already dead before the fire started. I've already asked Zhan Yun, and he did see the gyrfalcon brand on the man's wrist when he fought him. He should be the person Su Chen mentioned."

Everyone nodded, and it all matched up. The Liao Kingdom used Yidu Tower as a base, on the one hand stealing intelligence from various sources, and on the other hand using "Spring Breeze" to bewitch people. After a considerable number of people became addicted to it, they added a deadly poison to the pills in order to eliminate dissidents.

For example, the late Lord Zhang Jinglin, who passed away the other day, was a well-known advocate of war in the court. Just two days ago, he had even submitted a memorial to His Majesty requesting that troops be sent to attack Liao. This is why he was chosen as the Liao's first target. Although he frequently visited Yidulou, he only drank tea and listened to music, never buying any "Spring Breeze" tea. He was particularly fond of Qingli's "Qingfeng Marrow" tea. Qingli was ordered to sell him Qingfeng Marrow laced with deadly poison, and unable to warn him directly, she secretly placed the tea powder in a purse with a note beforehand and gave it to him as a gift.

With everything settled, Lord Cao carefully stored away the evidence, intending to present it to the Emperor at court the next day and for future use in court hearings. The Seventh Prince accompanied Cao Minde as they left the mansion to see him off, while the others, puzzled by the antidote, seized the opportunity to question Duan Chen.

Last night, everyone was practically running around in a frenzy. Zhao Ting rode at top speed to the Imperial Hospital and brought over the two imperial physicians on duty. Upon seeing her, both physicians shook their heads, saying they couldn't save her. Enraged, Zhao Ting kicked a chair, breaking it in two. The Seventh Prince, also anxious, was about to leave the palace to search for her when he happened to run into Duan Chen and his two companions returning. He even noticed the white jade bracelet on her arm.

Duan Chen staggered into the house, pulled a wooden box from her bosom, took out the white sandalwood hairpin, and while feeling around for the hairpin, asked the others for a bowl, a knife, and boiling water. The others quickly found these for her, and she unscrewed the snowflake-shaped hairpin head, tapped it against the rim of the bowl, and poured out a small amount of white powder. Then she picked up the knife, slid it across her fingertip, dripped a few drops of blood into the powder, diluted it with boiling water, and had someone take it to Zhan Yun to drink.

About fifteen minutes after taking the medicine, Zhan Yun vomited several mouthfuls of dark, purplish-black blood. The imperial physician quickly took her pulse and examined her complexion, saying that since it was the correct antidote, she should be fine. However, Zhan Yun remained unconscious and developed a high fever. Both imperial physicians said she would be alright, but everyone was still worried and stayed by her side. It wasn't until the next morning that Zhan Yun slowly awoke, while Duan Chen had already fainted from exhaustion.

Now that everyone has brought up the antidote again, Duan Chen first asks everyone who caught her last night.

Zhao Ting and Xiao Changqing both turned their gazes to Zhou Yufei, having entrusted him with finding Duan Chen when they left last night. Zuo Xin, standing nearby, also glanced at him; when she rushed over, Duan Chen was already in his arms.

Zhou Yufei waved his hands repeatedly: "It wasn't me! When I rushed over, one of my men was carrying someone and just threw him into my arms and left..."

Zuo Xin frowned as he listened: "Where is that person?"

Zhao Ting was also somewhat displeased: "Whose subordinate?" He had long known that entrusting Duan Chen to him was an extremely unreliable thing!

Zhou Yufei also felt wronged: "He's a government official! Wearing a uniform. He just threw a whole person at me like that, I almost fell backward. I didn't even have time to see where he went..."

Xiao Changqing stroked his chin, then suddenly smiled mysteriously: "Little Duan, I remember that hairpin had the character 'Chen' engraved on it. Was it a gift from someone?"

Duan Chen nodded slightly: "Li Lingke." So, what happened last night wasn't a hallucination; he really did save him. And he even told him to use three drops of blood as a medicinal ingredient.