The maids worked quickly and efficiently, tidying up the room, opening the windows to let in fresh air, and placing a small charcoal stove in the corner of the room to warm Ju Mu'er, as Han Xiao had suggested.
"She won't die, but it will take time for her to recover." Han Xiao was called out by Nie Chengyan to eat something. After resting for a while, she washed her face, changed her clothes, and then came over to talk to Long Er.
Long Er stared at Ju Mu'er, nodding repeatedly in agreement. It was alright to let her recover slowly; he had money, and he didn't care how much it cost to nourish her. As long as she was alright, as long as she was still here, that was all that mattered.
Han Xiao paused for a moment, then said, "She was indeed poisoned, but it's been too long, so I can't determine what kind of poison it is. The toxicity isn't strong, but the poison is deeply ingrained; she must have ingested it more than once."
Long Er turned to look at her: "Mu'er contracted an eye disease more than two years ago and saw a doctor, but she eventually went blind. I originally asked Fengfeng to find you, firstly so you could examine Mu'er's body, and secondly so you could see if her eyes could still be cured. But a lot has happened recently, and I suddenly wondered if her blindness was also caused by poison? As you said, she ingested this poison more than once. Besides her daily diet, the only other cause of this is medicine."
"I can't say for sure," Han Xiao shook his head. "It's been too long. I didn't see her symptoms back then, and I don't know what medicine she was taking."
Long Er added, "I looked for the doctor who originally treated her, but he has already left the capital and can't be found anywhere. In my opinion, he must be feeling guilty."
“I understand what you mean. But no matter what you suspect, without the prescription and the dregs of the medicine, we can't verify anything. All I know right now is that there is poison in her body, but I really dare not say anything about the specifics.”
Long Er fell silent. The person who died in Ju Mu'er's room must have been the fake Lin Yueyao who was monitoring her. With that person dead, this lead through witness testimony was lost. The matter of Ju Mu'er's poison could have been investigated further, but with the doctor missing, they had no evidence. Was this lead also going to be lost?
Just as he was deep in thought, he suddenly felt a slight movement in his palm. He turned his head and saw that Ju Mu'er had woken up at some point.
"Mu'er!" Long Er exclaimed in surprise. Just a few days had passed, yet it felt like a lifetime had gone by.
Ju Mu'er was very weak, and her eyes lit up with joy when she saw Long Er, but she said in a spoilsporty whisper, "I have evidence."
Her voice was barely audible, almost hoarse. Long Er had to put his ear right up to her mouth to hear her clearly. She said she had evidence.
Long Er was taken aback: "Evidence?" In this touching moment of life and death and reunion, what "evidence" did she say?
"Do you know what kind of wrong medicine that doctor gave you?" Han Xiao leaned closer, very interested in what kind of poison it was.
Ju Mu'er opened her mouth, blinked, but shook her head. Then she said nothing and fell asleep again.
Long Er was startled, but seeing Han Xiao calmly take Ju Mu'er's pulse and then say, "It's alright, let her continue sleeping."
Long Er felt a surge of anger. This heartless woman! He had worried and feared for her, and what did she do? She had just returned from the brink of death, and she hadn't shown him any concern, hadn't asked how he was doing, hadn't said a single comforting word, only saying, "I have evidence." Who cared about her evidence? At least she should have said she missed him, said she couldn't live without him, or something like that.
Long Er grew angrier the more she thought about it. He had been so considerate, dressing up carefully before waiting for her to wake up. He just wanted her to see him looking presentable, not wanting her to have the chance to complain about his smell or his looks.
In the end, he wasted his time.
He would rather sit on the bed with the words "I lack evidence" in big letters, so that she can show off as soon as she opens her eyes. That would please her more.
Long Eryou was angry, but Han Xiao was extremely curious. What kind of poison and what method were used?
84. Careful analysis of the poison to deduce the true culprit.
Ju Mu'er woke up again in the middle of the night the next day.
First, she felt pain all over her body, then she felt completely drained. She was so tired she didn't want to open her eyes, but she soon realized she was sleeping with her arm around someone's shoulder, a position she liked. The person she was snuggling against had a familiar, pleasant scent that made her feel safe and secure.
"Second Master," she couldn't help but call softly. She didn't know if it was night or noon now. She snuggled closer to Long Er, as it had been a long time since Long Er had accompanied her for an afternoon nap.
"You're awake?" Long Er asked cautiously, turning over to hug her gently. Ju Mu'er blinked, still a little dazed. She hugged him back, pressing her palm against his, and felt a sharp pain. Only then did she remember everything.
"Second Master, Second Master, how are the guards?"
Not hearing a reply from Long Er, she cried out anxiously, "Second Master, I killed someone! I... I killed that fake Lin Yueyao..."
"Don't panic, it's alright, it's alright."
"Second Master, did you find me in the tree?"
"Who else could it be but me?"
“I was planning to wait until someone I knew came. Since Second Master wasn’t here, I figured they wouldn’t be able to guess what I meant. I was going to greet them when they arrived, but I fell asleep.”
Ryuji hugged her tightly: "You slept for a long time."
"Slept for a long time?" Ju Mu'er blinked. She had only had a few nightmares, how could so much time have passed? She had a bellyful of questions to ask the guards, the fake Lin Yueyao, and the helpers she brought.
Long Er also had a lot to say to her. He told her how he rushed back, how everyone thought she was dead, but he found the message she left behind. He praised her for being clever, for always remembering to tell him where she was going. He told her how infuriating the doctors who couldn't cure her were, and that a distinguished doctor named Han Xiao had come to their house. She was an exceptionally talented doctor, but her husband, Lord Nie, was unlikable, and he told her to ignore him.
The two of them talked non-stop. Ju Mu'er told everything she had heard from the fake Lin Yueyao, and when she heard that all the guards had died, she cried bitterly. While she was wiping away her tears, Long Er got up and called a maid to bring over the medicinal porridge.
The porridge was cooked until it was soft and melted in the mouth. Although the taste wasn't great because of the medicine, it was still much better than the medicinal soup. Ju Mu'er hadn't eaten properly for several days, so Long Er was very careful, afraid that she would vomit again. But Ju Mu'er unexpectedly swallowed half a bowl, smoothly, without feeling nauseous or uncomfortable.
This delighted Long Er. If Han Xiao hadn't instructed him beforehand to only drink half a bowl, he would have loved to bring the whole pot over so that Mu'er could drink as much as she wanted.
After drinking half a bowl of porridge, Ju Mu'er felt completely drained, and she lay on the bed, her eyes almost closing again. Long Er stroked her hair: "Sleep well, I'll wake you up to take your medicine when it's time."
Ju Mu'er closed her eyes, nodded, and reached out her hand. Long Er quickly handed it to her. Holding Long Er's large hand, she seemed to feel at ease. Just as she was about to sleep, she suddenly said, "I remembered something I wanted to tell you. The dregs from the last few doses of the medicine prescribed by Doctor Qi were buried outside the backyard, under the big tree closest to the yard. Although Doctor Qi has always been good to me, I was suspicious of everything back then, so I hid them. I thought that if I had the chance to meet a benefactor in the future, perhaps these things would come in handy."
Long Er replied "Okay," kissed her forehead, and watched her fall asleep.
Before dawn, Li Ke led a group to the backyard of the home-style liquor store. When Han Xiao got up early in the morning, an old prescription and dregs from more than two years ago were placed in front of her.
These items were wrapped in layers of paper, then placed in clean little wine jars, sealed with mud, and buried deep in the soil. Although quite some time has passed, they are still well preserved.
Han Xiao carefully examined the prescription, washed away the dregs, and meticulously examined each ingredient, finding nothing amiss. However, two ingredients caught her attention. She sat in her room pondering for a day, then discussed it with Nie Chengyan for half a day. The following day, she left the Long residence, visited several pharmacies, and on the third day, she went to see Long Er.
At that moment, Long Er was talking to Ju Mu'er. She had just taken her medicine and drunk half a bowl of porridge. With Long Er's permission, she had also seen Su Qing, who came to see her every day but whom she had never met. With this improved mood, Ju Mu'er's spirits were much better than they had been two days ago. She was even able to sit up against the headboard for a while.
When Long Er saw Han Xiao enter, still holding those old prescriptions, he already knew what she wanted to say, so he dismissed everyone. Han Xiao cut to the chase: "I think I've figured out how he did it."
Ju Mu'er listened intently, gripping Long Er's hand nervously, but she grasped the key point in Han Xiaohua's joke: "Speculation?"
"Yes, it's just speculation." Han Xiao placed the prescription and medicine packet on the table and said, "Before I explain my speculation, I have a few questions to ask Madam."
Ju Mu'er nodded: "Please speak."
"When will Dr. Qi begin treating your eye condition?"
"More than a year before I went blind," she thought for a moment and turned to Long Er, "Doctor Qi was examining my eyes for more than half a year before Mr. Shi's execution."
"More than a year?" Han Xiao seemed a little surprised, but she quickly asked, "Is your diet the same as your family's? Do they have any unusual illnesses or pains?"
Ju Mu'er shook her head: "My family members are all healthy, and we eat and drink the same things."
Han smiled and said, "Then I can't think of any other possibility. The method I've deduced is the most feasible. Second Master, Madam, as I said before, the poison in Madam's body is almost impossible to detect. If it weren't for this serious illness and internal injury triggering the poisoning, and the previous doctors having exhausted all their treatment methods, allowing me to quickly rule out other possibilities, I would have considered poisoning as the cause. This poison is difficult to detect; it cannot be confirmed by simply observing the symptoms and taking the pulse. Madam has been poisoned for a long time, and neither she nor her family has noticed. To successfully poison her so imperceptibly, five things must be done."
Han Xiao held up a finger: "First, this poison is weak and slow-acting. This way, it won't be noticed. Second, precisely because it's weak and slow-acting, it must be added to food or drink that's taken regularly. For example, if someone is taking medication regularly, it can be added to the medicine. Third, this poison doesn't have an unusual smell that would arouse suspicion, which makes it difficult to detect when added to medicine. Fourth, for the poisoned person to not suspect anything when it takes effect, they must happen to be sick. The symptoms mask the poisoning. Fifth, the entire process must also ensure that no doctor diagnoses it. If the poisoner is the poisoned person's doctor, then this matter will be much easier."
Neither Long Er nor Ju Mu'er interrupted; they listened attentively.
Han laughed and said, "You are indeed all-knowing in these five points, Madam. But there is one that I don't understand."
What is it?
"Time." Han Xiao pointed to the prescription: "There is indeed something strange about this prescription, but more than a year is not enough time for Madam to be blind. A year is enough time to take a life."
Ju Mu'er closed her eyes briefly; she simply couldn't believe that the kind-hearted Doctor Qi would poison her. She was slightly out of breath, but still clearly asked, "What if I'd only been poisoned for about half a year?"
"If it's less than half a year, then blindness is indeed very likely. But it's hard to control the degree. Simply put, based on the toxicity of this prescription, it's impossible to determine how long it will take to be fatal. It might be half a year, or it might be more than half a year, depending on the individual patient."
"What kind of poison is it?" Long Er, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke.
“Strictly speaking, this is neither poison nor poison.” Han Xiao picked up the prescription and pointed to two of the herbs, saying, “Both bellflower and fish eye leaf are good remedies for eye problems, but their effects are similar, so usually only one of them is needed in a prescription. This prescription, however, uses both. Normally, doctors are eager to cure patients, so adding an extra herb is not wrong. But there are many ancient prescriptions, and I don’t recall any that recommend this combination. Then I remembered that the Poison Classic records that if bellflower, fish eye leaf, and another common herb are combined in excess of a certain amount, they become poisonous. However, the toxicity is weak, and it is harmless if not consumed regularly.”
Upon hearing the name of the herb Han Xiao mentioned, Long Er looked at the prescription and confirmed that it was indeed listed. "You mean, if you want to treat the eyes, either the ten-bell herb or the fish-eye leaf would suffice, but combining them with another herb in the prescription would make it poisonous?"
Han Xiao nodded.
"If that's certain, why call it speculation?"
“I said ‘speculation’ because there’s nothing wrong with the prescription. As I just said, these three herbs only become toxic if the combined amount exceeds a certain threshold. The amounts written on the prescription are too small to cause any problems.” Han Xiao said, opening the medicine packet she had brought. “This is the dregs left by Madam from two years ago, this is the medicine I freshly prepared according to the prescription, and this is the dregs left after boiling the freshly prepared medicine. Second Master, please look, these are fish eye leaves. They are actually all powder, and after boiling, you can’t tell how much was originally added from the dregs.”
Long Er leaned over to look, and Ju Mu'er's heart pounded.
There was indeed no fish-eye leaf powder in the dregs. Long Er looked at it carefully and understood what Han Xiao meant.
Han Xiao nodded and said, "In this newly brewed medicine, I actually added three times the amount of fish eye leaf powder as prescribed, but it's completely invisible in the dregs. That's what I was speculating about. The dregs and the prescription seem fine on the surface, but using this prescription, it is indeed possible to take a person's life within a year."
"So my blindness is proof of the poisoning, and the reason I didn't die is because Dr. Qi stopped giving me medicine."
Han Xiao nodded: "That is indeed very possible. You have an eye disease, and the poison has changed your constitution, causing blindness first. If you continue to take the poison, your life will be in danger."
Ju Mu'er remained silent. Long Er squeezed her hand, knowing what she was thinking. Doctor Qi had treated her first, and then Mr. Shi's wrongful conviction followed. The mastermind behind this murder was truly terrifyingly meticulous, able to get Doctor Qi to commit the crime in such a way.
Ju Mu'er thought of Hua Yibai's death, which was indeed caused by the same poisonous methods used by Hua Yibai.
It's flawless, without any evidence.
While Ju Mu'er was deep in thought, Long Er took the opportunity to ask Han Xiao a few more questions before seeing her out.
Han Xiaoxing stepped outside the door and said softly, "Second Master, do you want to ask me if my wife's eyes can be cured?"
Long Er was taken aback: "It's been so long, you've gotten smarter."
Han Xiao shook his head and smiled: "It's not that I've become smarter, but Second Master is just like every patient's family member I've ever met. Usually, when he sees the doctor off at the door, he wants to ask these kinds of questions."
Long Er smiled wryly: "Can Mu'er's eyes get better? Now that you've identified the type of poison, do you have a way to cure her?"
Han Xiao shook his head: "More than two years is a bit late. I can't guarantee anything. This time, Madam is seriously ill and has internal injuries. She must be carefully cared for, otherwise there will be endless troubles. As for other things, I will do my best. Second Master, please don't lose heart."
Long Er was somewhat dejected, but still thanked Han Xiao. He took a few deep breaths outside the door to compose himself before going inside.
As soon as he entered the room, Ju Mu'er smiled and asked, "Second Master, did you go to whisper with Doctor Han?"
"Nonsense."
"Is Second Master asking Doctor Han if my eyes can ever get better?"
The second master choked, realizing that women who were too smart could be annoying.
Ju Mu'er smiled and said, "Doctor Han definitely didn't say it would be cured, otherwise Second Master wouldn't have come in pretending to be nonchalant."
"Alright, alright," Long Er said irritably. He went over and saw her looking exhausted; she'd only been sitting for a short while, and she was already completely worn out. Long Er helped her lie down and pinched her nose: "Let your head rest for a bit."
Ju Mu'er fell asleep, and Ren Long Er wrapped himself in the quilt, then laughed: "Actually, it doesn't matter if I can't see it, because in my imagination, Second Master is the tallest, most majestic, handsome and dashing. What if I'm disappointed when I see it?"
Long Er glared: "Are you trying to comfort me, Master?"
Ju Mu'er was amused by his tone and giggled. After she finished laughing, she took his hand and asked seriously, "Second Master, what do you think about this?"
Long Er knew what she was asking and replied, "The timing of the massacre of Shi Zechun's entire family was perfect. He arranged a scapegoat, left witnesses and physical evidence, and was able to control the trial, erasing all doubts. Although he couldn't control the Emperor, giving Shi Boyin the opportunity to communicate through the zither, overall, the whole affair was flawless. His killing of Hua Yibai was clean and efficient, and his attack on you was extremely discreet. If Xiaoxiao hadn't arrived just in time, and you hadn't been on the verge of death, no one would have noticed the poisoning, and the prescription and dregs you left behind would have been useless. This man is meticulous, calm, and ruthless."
Ju Mu'er nodded: "Everything should have been flawless, but there were two things that were done stupidly."
"Having bandits kidnap you before the wedding was superfluous and just asking for trouble. Kidnapping Ding Yanshan as well was even more foolish."
Ju Mu'er nodded, agreeing with Long Er's statement. "That incident not only made me more vigilant and cautious, but it also angered the Ding family. If the Ding family investigates, the matter may be exposed. Unless this person is confident that they can control the Ding family, or this person is extremely confident in themselves and believes that they can eliminate all clues, making it impossible for the Ding family to investigate, just like they did to me."
"Not only did we anger the Ding family, but we also angered my Long family. Although in the end no one found out anything, this matter was indeed poorly handled, completely unnecessary, and a recipe for disaster."
Ju Mu'er said, "There's another unnecessary and self-destructive thing she did, which was that fake Lin Yueyao coming to kill me. Even if I had successfully ambushed her, she could have called in her helpers, and I would have been dead for sure. But she didn't do that; it seems she wanted to kill me with her own hands."
“Perhaps she was afraid that you said something to her henchmen before you died, and there were some things she didn’t want them to know,” Long Er said. “Those henchmen knew about the emergency smoke bomb. According to Chief Iron, the smoke bomb wasn’t with the guard who originally carried it; it might have been knocked off somewhere and fired by another guard. This means those people are likely from the martial arts world, because that smoke bomb is a martial arts technique used by the Third Brother to train his guards. The Third Brother has already asked his friends in the martial arts world to investigate this lead.”
Ju Mu'er nodded: "I think that woman wanted to kill me herself, not that someone sent her." She paused and said: "I think I know who the mastermind is."