The father and son glared at each other angrily. Meng Wan watched from the side, her heart pounding wildly. If this continued, things might not turn out well!
Thinking of this, she hurriedly took two steps forward, grasped Huangfu Mi's arm, and said, "Feng Qi--"
Her body was suddenly pressed down, and she didn't know when the guards had appeared behind her, supporting her from both sides. Meng Wan was already dizzy, and now she became even more unsteady. After being supported for a few steps, her vision suddenly went black, and before she could say anything, she collapsed to the ground.
"Bang--"
Because it was so sudden, everyone in the courtyard was stunned. The two guards who had imprisoned her were so frightened that they took a step back. Looking at her lying there limply, they glanced at the emperor and then at Huangfu Mi. They were utterly ashamed of their ignorance of what a scholar should do.
Huangfu Mi rushed over in a few steps, knelt down, supported half of her body, and whispered in her ear, "Wan'er, Wan'er, what's wrong?"
Her eyelids twitched slightly, as if she wanted to open her eyes, but in the end she closed them again in despair. This frightened Huangfu Mi. She raised her eyes and shot a cold glare at the two guards, and asked sharply, "What did you do to her?"
The two men hurriedly knelt down: "Your Highness, please calm your anger! We did nothing wrong, Your Highness, please investigate!"
The emperor had already sent someone to fetch the imperial physician. Huangfu Mi had no time to pay attention to them. He picked up Meng Wan, kicked the two men aside, and rushed into the inner room.
--
Half an hour later.
Inside, the smoke from incense rose in wisps, making the small space feel even more eerie.
"Your Highness, I have done my best, but Miss Meng has been poisoned and the poison has penetrated deep into her internal organs. I am truly powerless to save her."
Several imperial physicians took turns checking his pulse, and by the end of the round, they were all drenched in sweat, but at this point they could only report the truth.
Huangfu Mi was taken aback: "You say there's no way to save him? Is that all the Imperial Hospital is capable of? Believe me or not, I'll kill you all!"
"Your Highness, please calm down!" The furious tone terrified them, and they were almost in tears, bowing their heads and begging for mercy, afraid that they would be implicated.
Huangfu Mi didn't even look at them, but looked outside: "Why hasn't Hua Jiuye arrived yet?"
He didn't trust the quacks at the Imperial Medical Academy, so when Meng Wan fainted, he ordered Puyang to go back and bring Hua Jiuye back. He just didn't expect it to take so long.
"Little, little, little Yangyang, you...you slow down--" As the words were spoken, Hua Jiuye's voice came from afar, clearly from running too fast and panting.
Puyang ignored him and with a slight effort threw him into the house: "Master, the man has been brought."
Hua Jiuye stumbled and fell there. He had originally intended to grumble, but after seeing Huangfu Mi's clouded face, he swallowed all his complaints. Seeing the imperial physicians make way for him, he took a few steps to the bedside and took Meng Wan's fair hand in his.
"How is it? Is there any cure for this poison?"
Hua Jiuye had already put away his usual carefree attitude and put on a serious expression. When Huangfu Mi asked him anxiously, he didn't answer but just waved his hand at everyone.
This was his usual habit: he didn't allow anyone to disturb him when taking a pulse. Huangfu Mi was well aware of this, so even though it was urgent, he still made everyone go to the outer room first, and he followed them out.
Once outside, the emperor was still sitting there, and beside him was Princess Hongxiu, dressed in a bright red wedding gown. He glanced at her but didn't pay her much attention. Instead, he strode towards the emperor, finally having time to ask about the poison.
"Father, the imperial physician says Wan'er has been poisoned. Do you know what happened?"
"What?" the emperor exclaimed in surprise. "How could this be?"
His expression didn't seem feigned. Huangfu Mi narrowed his eyes and turned to the two guards who had touched Meng Wan earlier: "Were those you? Were they?"
The sudden sharp tone made the two men, who had just stood up, kneel down again, repeatedly denying their statements.
At this moment, Hu Taiyi, an academician of the Imperial Medical Academy who had been kicked out, mustered his courage and whispered, "Your Highness, Miss Meng was poisoned with a slow-acting poison. According to my estimation, it has been in her body for more than half a month, so it should not be them."
If it wasn't them, then who could it be?
Huangfu Mi frowned. At this moment, the door to the inner room opened, and Hua Jiuye walked out. Her stunningly beautiful face was now scrunched up, clearly indicating that she was in some kind of turmoil.
Upon seeing this, Huangfu Mi's heart sank, and he strode forward to greet him: "How is it?"
"This..." Hua Jiuye raised her head, then lowered it again, and after a long while said, "The poison is called quinine. It has been seeping into the body little by little, so the poison has spread throughout the body. The only way to save her life is to have a blood transfusion."
"What? Blood transfusion?" Everyone in the room was stunned. They had only heard of blood transfusion before, but had never seen it in person. How was it done?
V42 Poisoning (Part 2)
"What? Blood transfusion?" Everyone in the room was stunned. They had only heard of blood transfusion before, but had never seen it in person. How was it done?
"Does it mean taking blood from one person and then transferring it to her?"
"Yes." Hua Jiuye nodded.
Another wave of astonishment swept through everyone, and they all looked at each other in disbelief, clearly quite frightened.
Only Huangfu Mi remained calm: "What do you want to do? Exchange lives?"
"No, filling her body with half the blood should be enough. However, my master only mentioned this blood transfusion ability casually before, and I have never tried it, so there are risks involved."
Just then, Meng Junheng came in from outside and heard the last sentence. He immediately stepped forward, ready to say something, but before he could speak, Huangfu Mi spoke first: "I'll do it."
Everyone was stunned again, and they all looked at Huangfu Mi. They couldn't understand why the Prince of Heng had gone mad. He had already said that the risks were very high, but he still insisted on the blood transfusion without hesitation. They didn't know whether to call him infatuated or foolish.
"Master--" Hua Jiuye has always been a very good doctor, but this time he himself is not very confident. If things go wrong, something serious could happen.
Huangfu Mi waved his hand: "There's no time to lose, go and prepare!"
"No!" Hua Jiuye hesitated for a moment before preparing to act, but the emperor suddenly stopped him. The emperor stood up and walked to Huangfu Mi, frowning as he said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Blood for blood? Are you crazy?"
"Your subject is not insane. Your subject believes in Hua Jiuye's medical skills and will definitely save Wan'er."
"But what if things go wrong? You'll die too!"
"What does it matter if I die? It's better than being forced to marry a woman I don't want to marry."